by Eileen Green
“All right,” Amanda said with exasperation. She then turned to Jasper, who had a sly smile on his lips. “But you need to mind what Jimmy says, do you understand me?”
Jimmy smiled at her comment. She was going to make a good mother.
Yes, Mother, Jasper signed, but Jimmy knew in the boy’s head, he was probably being sarcastic with the mother part.
Amanda nodded her head toward the horses that were waiting for the two. “Go before I change my mind,” she retorted. “But don’t think I don’t know what you were thinking with that mother part.”
Jasper had the grace to blush at that.
Jimmy led Jasper over to the horses. He waited until Jasper had mounted up before he did so himself. They headed out to the sector where they had been instructed to go. It ran straight down the fence line along Connor’s ranch.
The quiet was overwhelming. They were far enough away from the road to hear traffic, but occasionally the cry of an eagle or hawk overhead disrupted the quiet. The swishing of the grass as the horses walked could be heard.
There was only one problem with going out with someone who didn’t talk. They didn’t talk.
Occasionally, Jimmy would make a statement, wanting to know that he and Terence were serious about Amanda, and that they were going to ask her to marry them on Easter Sunday. No comments came from Jasper, of course, but a chuckle sounded from the kid when Jimmy had said Easter Sunday. That had Jimmy thinking of the day. Was there something significant about it with Jasper, or for Amanda?
It was about three-quarters of an hour after they had set out that Jimmy noticed the circling of vultures in the distance. In another fifteen minutes, they came across a dead cow. “Stay on your horse,” Jimmy instructed Jasper as he dismounted.
Slowly, Jimmy went over to the cow. He checked to see if it had sustained any injuries, or if it had died for some different reason, starting from the rear at the rump. When Jimmy got a closer look at the neck of the animal, he saw where teeth had ripped apart the flesh there.
Rounding the cow, he could see where the vultures had already been feeding, but also something with sharp teeth and the ability to pull off strips of meat. The animal was most likely a wolf by the look of the teeth marks.
Wolves hunted in packs, but there would have been more meat missing if that was the case this time. They hadn’t seen any animals running away from the area when they were close to the cow. It seemed as if there was one, maybe two wolves feeding.
If there was only one wolf, and he was taking the meat somewhere else, there could possibly be a den close by. That was a concern.
Going back to his horse, he mounted it. He retrieved his cell phone from his shirt pocket and dialed Storm Goodall, who was riding with one of the ranch hands, Dave Olson. Storm answered on the first ring.
Jimmy gave him the details of their find and where it was, and finished with, “We’ll look around some more before heading back in.”
After returning his phone to its rightful place, he pulled his shotgun from where it rested alongside the saddle, as he said aloud, “It looks like it’s been about an hour.”
He didn’t expect a reply, and he got none.
They began to move down the fence line farther, looking for someplace a wolf or two might hole up. After making a turn toward the west where the Circle G ended, Jimmy spotted a small stand of bushes.
He tried to get close to them to check it out, but his mare, Jo, must have caught the scent of the wolf. The black horse whinnied before rearing up. At the same time, Elsa copied Jo. Jimmy prayed that the boy would be able to stay in the saddle.
As soon as Elsa’s front hooves touched the ground, she was off and running in the direction they had come. Jimmy wasn’t so lucky.
The shotgun went flying, for he had to let go of it to use both hands on the reins. The horse reared again, going higher and higher. Jimmy held on tight, but he had no control over the animal, and before he knew it, he was falling to the ground.
Fireworks exploded in his head as he landed partially on a rock. There was a sickening cry from the horse that Jimmy feared was from the wolf, seconds before he saw her form falling directly at him. Scurrying backward as fast as he could, for trying to get up like a normal person would take too long, he wasn’t fast enough.
Pain shot through his left leg as Jo fell across it and his right foot. The horse continued to whinny and snort as she tried to gain her feet again. Jimmy tried to pull his leg out from under Jo, but she was just too heavy, and each time he moved, the pain was excruciating.
The more Jo protested, the more Jimmy was beginning to think that the wolf was closer than before. Reaching around, Jimmy looked for his gun. It was nowhere to be seen. Panic began to set in.
When a gunshot sounded not too far behind him, Jimmy turned to see what was going on.
About ten feet away from him stood Jasper, with Jimmy’s shotgun. It was raised and pointed in off to Jimmy’s right, the direction they had been headed. The cry of a wolf split the air a second after the shotgun blast, indicating Jasper had struck the animal.
Jasper ran over to Jimmy and laid the gun next to him. “Jimmy, are you okay?” Jasper asked, fear dominating his words.
“You need to get out of here, Jasper! Go for help!” Jimmy spouted out his orders as he picked up the shotgun. Aiming it off in the same direction as before, he had a moment to think as he scanned the area near where the bushes could be seen over the long green grass.
“Wait! What did you say, Jasper?” Jimmy asked in disbelief.
Silence met him, giving him reason to believe he might have suffered a head injury from when he hit his head. Then, “Are you all right?”
“Oh my gawd! You spoke!” Jimmy couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But a rustling of the wind in the grass had Jimmy’s full attention back looking for the predator.
“I have to get you help!” Jasper exclaimed.
Jubilation ran through Jimmy, but there would be time for celebrating later. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed for his phone. It wasn’t there.
“Go, Jasper! Go, now!”
Jasper ran for Elsa, who stood off at a distance. Jimmy kept his eyes out for danger as he marveled at what had just transpired.
Jo was still making noise. However, this time, he didn’t think it was from the nearby wolf. All Jimmy’s extra shotgun shells were in a bag hanging off the saddle horn. There was only one left in the gun, and Jimmy needed to save it as he couldn’t reach the bag from where he was trapped.
I should have had Jasper get me the shells before he left.
Now, as time passed, the sun shifted until it sat over the mountains just off in the distance, and Jimmy had to worry that Jasper would be able to get back to find someone. It took them over an hour to get where they were, so it would be another two hours before he would be rescued.
He ignored the pain in his leg, but the pain in his head was getting worse, not as easy to forget.
His thoughts were on Amanda as he waited. He had been so lucky that she loved him, and that she was wanting to be a part of his life. He had pursued her for so long, he was beginning to doubt that she’d come around. And now, he had to hope she would be willing to marry him.
* * * *
The small bundle in her arms wiggled within her blankets. Soft cooing along with small bubbles was coming from Amethyst Rose’s little cupid’s mouth. She had just been fed, diapered, and was ready to go to sleep. However, she was looking up at Amanda, who was making faces at her.
Lyndee had an easy delivery, only eight hours of labor, and no complications. She was released the next day and in the past month had a massive amount of people coming to visit. After hearing Lyndee’s story of how she arrived in Montana and the arms of her three gorgeous men, Amanda had gained a good friend and a sounding board for ménage relationships.
“How’s Terence doing?” Lyndee asked as she set a glass of iced tea next to Amanda.
Some of their new friends were able to com
e support Terence at the time of his mother’s death, but Lyndee hadn’t been able to make it to the funeral. She did send a casserole with Storm and Austin while Trey stayed home with Lyndee and Amethyst Rose.
“He’s doing all right. Most people tell him that he must have accepted her death before she passed, since it was inevitable, but people don’t realize what happens in cases like this. You can mourn all you want, knowing that someone is going to pass. However, once it happens, there are so many emotions.
“First, the person goes through the emotions of losing that person. They also go through guilt because there should have been something more they could have done to help that person. Of course, there is the anger that the person didn’t try to hold on longer, or that you didn’t do enough to make sure they didn’t pass away. The bargaining already took place before the person passes, you know, the take me instead.” Sadness still swept over Amanda occasionally for Terence. He had to go through his mother’s passing, and most likely in the near future, it would be repeated with his father. “Terence still has his moments. Sometimes he’ll pick up his phone and start to call the house to see how his mother is. And then there are those times when he gets sad. All I can do is be there for him and let him know that I love him very much.”
Lyndee smiled. She had taken a seat in the recliner across from Amanda. “I’m glad you finally agreed to go out with Jimmy. I remember how enamored he was with you when you guys first met. I was told he didn’t want you coming upstairs when that woman was holding me at gunpoint. And then after that, when you’d be working, and he’d come around for some reason, he would seek you out. Also, he has needed to move on for a long time. I’m glad it’s with someone who can appreciate his love, but also be supportive of his past.”
Amanda felt the heat of her blush rise in her face. Amethyst Rose saved her from any more comments when she squeezed up her face and then sneezed. Snot emerging from her little button nose had Amanda grabbing a tissue from the box on the table next to her and cleaned her up. Amethyst Rose didn’t like that. She began to fuss, and within a few moments, she was crying.
Rocking her and talking softly to her didn’t help. Amanda had been around babies before, but only at the hospital. Since she didn’t have any friends, she really hadn’t been relaxed with a baby before, and she didn’t know how to get them to stop crying.
Amethyst Rose and Lyndee must have sensed Amanda’s sudden unease. The former began crying harder, and Lyndee got up and took her daughter gently.
“I’m sorry,” Amanda offered quickly.
Before she could say anything more, Lyndee spoke up. “There’s no need to be sorry. You’ll get used to babies quick enough.”
Amethyst Rose continued to cry even when Lyndee sat back down and began to rock her. Amanda thought on the words Lyndee had said about getting used to babies.
If the guys wanted to get married, would they want to start having babies right away? Or would they want to wait? Perhaps Jimmy didn’t want any kids at all because it would remind him of the loss of his baby and wife. These were things they needed to talk about.
Shouting and boots pounding on the porch out front had Amanda and Lyndee’s attention drawn to the door, which opened suddenly. One of the Circle G ranch hands entered quickly. Amanda remembered being introduced to the man a few weeks ago. She knew he was in a ménage relationship with two other men and their woman, Anita.
Kevin—that’s his name—looked directly at Amanda. “I’m sorry to burst right in, but your brother came back alone.”
Amanda was up and out of her chair in an instant. She followed Kevin out of the house and out into the driveway area where Jasper was standing with the horse he had been working with. Both looked a little worse for wear.
“Oh my gawd!” she exclaimed as she ran up to him. “Are you all right? Where’s Jimmy?”
When she had gone up to Jasper and grabbed hold of his shoulders as she looked him over, he tried to shed her grasp. “Stop it! I’m all right, Amanda!”
“Don’t tell me to stop, Jasper! I want to make sure you’re all right!” She turned him around and checked his back before turning him back to face her. “Are you…” Wait! What? Did he really talk?
“Amanda, stop fussing. I’m fine. Jimmy’s the one who needs help,” Jasper said exasperatedly. “We need to get back to him.”
Shock settled upon Amanda like a blanket. She knew she was staring at her brother. The brother who didn’t talk. The one who hadn’t spoken in six years. Man, when did his voice start to change?
“Oh, you spoke!” she pointed out matter-of-factly. Then, as if she realized her own words, she giggled, grabbed him in a hug, and shrieked, “You spoke!”
“I know, Amanda,” he said quickly, his voice cracking and irritated at the same time. “But you have to listen to me! Jimmy is in trouble. He’s trapped under a horse!”
The reality of his words broke her revelry of Jasper speaking. Dread washed over her. “What do you mean he’s stuck under a horse? Is-is he all right?”
Jasper looked at Kevin, who was standing to her right and who Amanda hadn’t realized was there. To her left was Lyndee sans the baby.
“We found a dead cow that Jimmy said hadn’t been dead long, and fresh meat taken from it. We were going down the fence line and then turned when the property ended. He saw some bushes that he thought maybe a wolf could be hiding in. When we were going toward it, the horses went wild. Jimmy’s horse went up on her hind legs, and Jimmy fell off. The horse fell over on him on one of his legs.”
Jasper was talking fast, and articulate, which amazed Amanda even though the circumstances were bad. He went on. “Elsa went up, too, but then she ran off with me on her. I was able to stop her and went back a ways. A wolf was moving toward Jimmy.” Amanda gasped. Lyndee circled her arm and her waist and held Amanda to her side. If Lyndee hadn’t done that, Amanda thought she might have sank to the ground. “I picked up Jimmy’s shotgun, which had fallen when he fell, and I aimed at the wolf. I shot it. It cried out, but I don’t know if it’s dead. Jimmy couldn’t get out from under the horse, so he told me to come get you guys.”
A man stopped behind Jasper, holding the reins of three horses. Amanda thought perhaps they were going to let her go with them, until Kevin spoke. “Jasper, take Rizzo here, and lead us back to Jimmy. Lyndee, get a hold of Andrew or Jake and see if they can have an ambulance on standby for us. We’ll need to have Jimmy ride back with us since he’s so far out. We’ll call if we need a helicopter to bring him in.”
“I’m a nurse. I can go with you, even though I’ve never ridden a horse before,” Amanda informed the man.
Kevin looked down at her, his face tight and unrevealing. “I appreciate that, but it’s already almost dark. Riding out there is going to be difficult enough. We need to concentrate on getting out there, getting him, and bringing him back. Those fields are full of holes and rocks. If our horses stumble, we can straighten them up quick enough.” He reached out a pressed a hand to her shoulder as if appeasing her. “You need to be here when we get back to help him. All right?”
Amanda nodded, her stomach doing flip-flops. “Please bring him back to me,” she said softly, afraid if she spoke louder she’d break down.
“We will,” Kevin assured her. He turned to Jasper. “Why didn’t he call someone?”
“He couldn’t find his phone, and I left mine in the car. I didn’t think I’d need it since I only play games on it.”
Stepping from Lyndee’s side, Amanda threw her arms around Jasper’s shoulders. “Please be careful, little brother, and bring him back to me,” she whispered to him, but her voice cracked with her emotions.
“I will,” Jasper responded as he hugged her back. “You may want to call Terence and let him know what’s going on. I know that both of those men love you very much.”
Releasing her hold on him, she looked at Jasper closely. She could tell that he really meant what he had said. She nodded her understanding as he turned and
got onto the horse that had been brought out for him.
The moment felt so surreal as she stood with Lyndee and watched the three men ride off toward the south. Her life had changed so much in the past month or so, and now, for some unknown reason, her brother was talking. She could only hope he continued after this.
Also, she could only pray that Jimmy was going to return to her, safely. She didn’t know what she would do if something bad… Don’t think that way! He’s going to be fine!
Amanda let Lyndee lead her back to the house, her body cold and numb. By the time they arrived, a fire was just coming to life as Angela, Running Wolf’s wife, stood in front of the stone fireplace when they entered. “There we go,” she said sweetly as she moved over to help guide Amanda to the couch facing the window of the living room.
Angela was a beautiful woman with fiery red hair. She had green eyes that always seemed to be smiling even when she wasn’t. She had had a baby about a year ago, and Amanda had to wonder where the little tyke was.
Lyndee grabbed a crocheted blanket from the back of the couch and spread it across Amanda’s shoulders. It helped warm her a bit, but the cold she was experiencing was coming from the worry deep within her.
Margaret, the Goodall’s housekeeper, entered from the kitchen holding Amethyst Rose. Behind her was a little boy, unsteadily trying to walk. When he saw Angela, he raised his hands as he ran to her, “Mama, Mama!”
He plowed into Angela’s legs before she picked him up and sat him across her lap. He was facing Amanda. He had shockingly blond hair and freckles along the bridge of his nose. His eyes were a light green with a lot of flecks of gold in them, a very unique color. He resembled Angela, but where did he get the blond hair from, and the eyes? Running Wolf was American Indian and had beautiful dark brown hair and eyes.
“Amanda,” Angela said beside her. “This is my son, Lawrence Wolf Lighthorse Whitaker. The guys call him L. Dub, but this little guy can’t get the L part right. He keeps saying Dubby, so that’s what we’ve been calling him the past few months. Dubby, can you say hello to Amanda?”