"Arnold! Mara!" I yelled for both of them but heard nothing in response.
"Shit," I swore out loud. "Rusty!" "Rocky!" The damned dogs didn't call back either.
"Damnit, damnit!" I said. Pulling out my handheld radio, I called for my dad.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Dad, Poocher just went after a hog."
"So, go get 'em," he replied.
I rolled my eyes at the radio.
"That's not the problem, Pa," I impatiently said. "I can't find Arnold or Mara or the other two dogs either. I'm going to have to go get Poocher on my own."
My dad said nothing for a few seconds.
"You best wait for some help. I think that Tim and I are about fifteen minutes away from you. Stay put."
I would be happy to do just that. No way did I want to go into the bush by myself. I was about to reply to my pa with an affirmative when I heard a dog yelping from the bush.
"Daddy - it's Poocher! I gotta go after him!"
"Lauren!" My dad's voice was loud over the two way radio.
"Sorry dad, I gotta go." With that, I put the volume on the radio way down.
Trying to calm myself, I checked my Winchester 94 to ensure that it was loaded; it was. I checked the knife that was strapped to my thigh; it was still there. I had no more time for dilly-dallying. Holding my Winchester, I walked into the brush after Poocher.
My heart was slamming in my chest as I walked into the brush. Still, my stance was relaxed as I held my weapon. Suddenly, I heard Poocher whimper again; I brought the gun up to my shoulder, placing the front and rear sights near my eye at the ready. Thanking the Lord for the clear night and the bright moon, I clicked the safety off as quietly as I could. Suddenly, I detected movement at the left of me. Quickly, I moved the barrel of the gun in the direction, never taking my eyes off the sights. I watched as what looked like a beige piece of carpet came my way. Quickly, I worked the finger lever on my Winchester before bracing the stock on my shoulder. As soon as I got the big feral hog in my sights, I shot him. He lay down with a squeal. To the right of me, I then heard more rustling coming my way. Acting quickly, I worked the finger lever again and shot at the dark brown hog coming my way. It also fell.
"Poocher!" I yelled.
I heard nothing in reply. That wasn't good. Looking at where the first hog fell, I saw a trail of blood going from its fallen body to some brush right behind him.
"Shit," I muttered.
The blood trail did not come from the mortal wound I inflicted on it, I suspected. Keeping the gun's sights near my own, I walked towards the brush. Suddenly, I recognized a blood covered paw that I knew very well. Tears filled my eyes.
"Oh Poocher," I said.
Looking down at him, I saw that the armor he had on his neck and chest hadn't prevented the hogs from eviscerating his belly.
"I am so sorry old boy," I softly said.
I felt awful. I had failed my dog. Just then, I heard galloping coming from right behind. Too late, I realized that I hadn't aimed on time. The first thing I felt was heat on the back of my left calf. After that, I was airborne for a second before landing on my back. My rifle was useless to me at that point so I pulled my knife out. Before I could even stand up, I heard the galloping coming my way again. My eyes widened as I watched the razorback coming my way. Thinking quickly, I grabbed a long branch that lay next to my arm and held it before me, hoping to joust the hog coming my way. I was surprised at how Eurasian it looked! Its tusks were fierce and long. Thankfully, the nearly blind hog ran right into my stick which made it squeal out loud. It shook the stick off in no time and was almost right on top of me when I sat up and sunk my knife into it as hard as I could. It went hilt deep. It squealed and tried to shake off of my knife. I let go of my knife as soon as I sensed that the hog wanted to get away from me. As soon as it got two feet away from me, I heard a loud gunshot right next to me. Surprised, I watched as the hog ceased its struggle for life.
My dad appeared before me, holding his Winchester.
"Oh, thank God!" I whined before laying my head down on the leaves beneath me.
I then heard my dad fussing over me followed shortly by Arnold and Mara. Opening my eyes, I looked at my dad who was looking down at me with such concern in his eyes.
"He didn't get anything important - just my left calf."
My dad's eyes quickly went from my face to my leg. Quickly, he pulled up my pant leg and I winced as I felt the fabric abrade my wound down there.
"We've got to get her to the hospital." he sounded worried.
"I got 'em all dad," I said with a smile, trying to lighten things up.
"You sure did, baby girl! Now don't move - we are going to haul you outta here."
Suddenly, I was being hoisted by my dad and Arnold.
"Where's Tim?"
"He's getting the truck."
Suddenly, bright headlights illuminated the branches of trees above us and shined light through the brush on the ground. In no time at all, I was in the back seat with Mara and Arnold sitting on either side of me, putting painful pressure on my leg wound. I didn't say anything as the truck went from the hard-packed dirt to the asphalt-covered streets off of the ranch.
I listened as Tim called Laura on his cell phone and told her that we were headed to the hospital; I heard her say that she would meet us in the ER. I listened as my dad called the owner of the ranch and told him that we would be by in the morning to pick up the hog carcasses and the body of poor Poocher; the owner was very understanding and told my dad that he would pray for me. Arnold and Mara were quiet. Before I could say something, my dad spoke.
"Arnold Ambrose McCoy. Where in the hell were you?" My dad's voice was deep and very, very scary.
I looked at my brother and watched as he swallowed.
"I wasn't where I needed to be, Pa." Arnold then looked at me and blinked a few times. "I am so, so, so sorry Lauren."
I watched Mara as she dried tears off of her face.
"You failed your sister, Arnold. You failed me."
"I know," he said as tears fell from his eyes.
After a minute, I spoke. "Jackass."
"I know, Lauren. I know it. I am so sorry."
No one said anything else until we pulled into Starling County hospital's ER driveway. Tim and Arnold carried me to a wheelchair while my dad and Mara parked the truck. Inside, Laura quickly kissed Tim and then rushed to my side.
"Is it bad?"
I considered the question. "I don't know. It was bleeding a lot, but Arnold and Mara stopped the flow with some pressure. It does sting, though."
"How did this happen?" Laura asked Tim.
Tim rigidly shook his head. Just then, a couple of people in scrubs came and spoke to us about my wounds. It felt kind of good being whisked away from my family and into the care of the physicians. I'd gotten tired of their fussing.
Apparently, I'd lost a bit of blood. They hooked me to an IV for fluids and then cleaned out a brand-new, seven inch scar on my calf. I yelled a bit and didn't care. I got a few shots and then got some stitches. A nice big white bottle of pills too. It was morning by the time we drove home. I didn't even look at my brother or at Mara.
"Dad, Mara and I are going back out to the ranch to get the hog carcasses and...Poocher's body too."
My dad grunted and said nothing. We came home to the smell of food cooking in the kitchen. I looked at the stove and watched Laura as she put together a plate of sausage and bacon before setting it on the table. I watched as Tim walked to her side and looked down at her with a look of devotion in his eyes. She smiled up and gave him a quick kiss. The tenderness of their moment was so sweet that it stung me more than my freshly stitched scar. I wanted what they had.
With a sigh, I happily accepted the coddling and ministrations provided by my dad, Tim and Laura. I stuffed my face with delicious bacon, sausage, eggs, home fries, and pancakes. I then took some of the antibiotics given to me by the fine physicians at the hospital. I had no ide
a where Mara and Arnold were. I didn't much care, either.
After carefully showering, and clothing myself in loose sweats, I joined my family in the living room. My dad let me have his recliner which was nice of him. Laura and Tim were seated next to each other on the couch.
"Now tell me. What happened out there?" asked my dad.
Sighing, I told him the story. After I finished, he asked me a question.
"How the hell did those two get away from you? Why would you let that happen?"
Now it was my turn to blush and squirm. After considering the facts of the matter, I decided to spill the beans.
"Arnold and Mara are sweet on each other, pa. I might have let them get ahead of me so that they could spend time together."
It was Tim and my dad's turn to sneer at me.
"Why in the hell would you go and do that? We were out there to work - not to hook up!" yelled Tim.
"Hey," I yelled back, full of indignation. "I was working! I thought they had gotten ahead, but didn't know how far they were until Poocher got the hogs' scent."
"Look at you now, though. You are all messed up. You are going to have to be laid up for a while now," Tim said as he pointed his finger at me.
Feeling angry, I got catty.
"How many pigs did you take out last night, Tim?"
I watched as his ire waned away. "None," he replied.
"I got three more than you all by myself. I think that my work speaks for itself."
"Settle down, Lauren," said my dad.
Feeling tired, I yawned and then got off the recliner. "I'll settle down right in bed. I'm feeling tired."
And I was. I was also tired of the inquisition dealt by my dad and brother. Looking to Laura, I smiled.
"Thank you so much for coming over and cooking for us, Laura."
"You are welcome, Lauren."
I then squeezed her shoulder and carefully padded to my bedroom. Whining, I lay myself down in my bed and pulled the quilt over myself. Exhausted, it took me no time to fall asleep. I was woken up a few hours later to someone sitting on my bed. Furrowing my brow, I saw that it was Arnold.
"You," I said with a sneer.
"I am so, so, so, so sorry Laura. Mara is too."
"Whatever," I muttered and then carefully rolled over to lie on my side.
I had hoped that he would leave, but two minutes later he was still there.
"Were you guys hooking up?" I said to my pillow.
"No," he said, full of indignation.
I looked at his face and saw that the shock there matched the shock in his tone.
"I would not do such a thing."
"Then where in the hell were you? What were you doing?"
"We found an empty hog nest twenty minutes away from...where you were injured. We were trying to get the dogs to track a scent." He sighed. "To no avail, obviously."
I kept staring at him, trying to figure out how mad I was at him.
"Are you still mad at me?"
"Yes. And no," I added with a groan.
He half smiled at that. "I will gladly accept that. I will also promise that I will never leave your side again while we hunt. Not for anything."
I kept sneering at him.
"Why are you sneering at me?" He said with a whine.
"Are you serious about Mara?"
His eyes widened at that. "Wow. I wasn't expecting this."
"Well, answer up. You owe me."
He sighed and stared at the mirror in front of him, where his eyes stopped on a picture of Mara.
"Fine. I like her. But I don't want to rush into anything. She's a family friend. I don't want to do anything that might ruin that."
Ugh. I hated that any remaining anger I had towards him began to dissolve at that point.
"That's...reasonable."
He nodded at that.
"So do you forgive me?" He asked.
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On how you are willing to make amends."
He sighed. "Whatever you want. I'll do it."
He sounded so earnest - so much so that I almost felt guilty making my request.
"Will you run to Wendy's for me?"
His brow furrowed at that. "Really? Wendy's?"
I nodded.
"Not steaks on the grill?"
"I'll take that for dinner."
He rolled his eyes at that. Suddenly I felt tired again and let out a big yawn.
"Hey. It's a good thing you haven't signed a lease yet."
I opened my nearly closed eyes at that. I hadn't signed a lease because I hadn't yet found a place that would serve all of my needs, but I really wanted to know what Arnold's interpretation of my indecision was.
"Why?"
"Because you need taken care of."
My brow furrowed at that. "Do we need to discuss the identity of the person who put me in this position?"
He lifted his hands in surrender. "No. Not at all. I'm just saying that it is good to have you near when you are injured."
He had a point. I wouldn't admit that, though.
"Also, because I think that you might have made it into American Sharpshooter."
That made me sit up.
"What? Did they call? Did they e-mail?"
My heart slammed in my chest as I awaited his response.
"No, nothing like that - yet. But what I do know is that they have viewed your video - a lot! I embedded tracking codes on the video that tells me how many people have viewed it."
I considered his words. I marveled at the affect they had on me. I was excited. Darnit, he was making me want this. I didn't want to want it because I didn't want the rejection that would come should I not make it in.
"This is too much excitement for me in one day. I'm going to sleep."
Arnold smiled at me and squeezed my foot.
"I'll let you sleep."
"What you will do is go get my Wendy's, Arnold."
He groaned at that and rolled his eyes. "Fine. But this guilt is only going to last so long, you know."
I knew it. And I was going to milk it for all I could.
Chapter 6
I'd felt better only a few days after my calf gouging, thankfully. The antibiotics took away any infection that I might have contracted from the nasty hog tusks and the rest and relaxation let the wound begin to heal up nicely. Daddy had prohibited me from doing anything strenuous with the hogs and I gladly abided by that. So, I cooked, cleaned, worked the administrative side of the business and looked at rental properties online.
Surprisingly, the houses I kept going back to were the ones I had already seen with Laura. I clicked on the first house and wondered if I could live with a train going through my back yard four times a day. I clicked on the third house and wondered if I could live with my big brother being within binoculars range of me; and within walking range too. What got me the most was that the house I kept clicking on was the second one - the one in the family neighborhood that featured the baby-making water in the aqueducts beneath the street. The house was okay, I recalled. The kitchen was a bit outdated, but serviceable. The master bedroom had an attached bathroom which was a plus. There were two spare bedrooms that were decently sized. The light was pretty good too. What my mind kept going back to was the backyard and the woman next door. If I remembered right, she had looked tired. But she also looked happy. I remembered the slightly dazed look she had in her eyes as she sniffed the top of her baby's head. That looked like happiness to me. I wanted her life. With that sad and lonely thought, I turned off the monitor and headed back into the house to prepare for the evening meal.
Mara surprised me by showing up as I began to chop up some veggies for beef stew. She carefully walked through the living room door with her hands behind her back. Trying to lighten the mood, I asked her a question.
"Do you have a gun back there?"
She rolled her eyes at that and showed me a bouquet of spring flowers instead. Smiling, I set the potatoes down and
took the flowers from her.
"Thank you," I said.
She sat down on a stool before the island while I filled a glass of water for the flowers.
"I would have been over sooner, but...I was too ashamed of myself."
I gave her my back as I tried to hide my expression of displeasure with her. I'd already forgiven her for gallivanting with Arnold when she was supposed to be hunting; what I didn't forgive was the fact that she had not been over to see me since I was injured.
"At least you called," I replied, trying to placate her guilty tone.
She didn't say anything to that. Turning around to face her, I saw that she was blushing. What was going on with her, I wondered. I asked.
She took a deep breath and held it for a minute before releasing it.
"I...I'm...I don't even know how to say this without sounding like a heel."
I put my hands on my hips and widened my own eyes.
"Spit it out, Mara."
"I'm sorry. But I am in love with your brother. I am so in love with Arnold!"
I was only partially surprised by the news; I'd always known that she had a crush on my brother. What I couldn't understand was why she was so...devastated by her emotions.
"Well...what's wrong with that?"
I watched her chin quiver.
"I'll tell you what's wrong. You are my best friend. He is your brother. If things work out for the good, that would be wonderful," she said with a big smile. She then took a deep breath and let it out. "But if things don't work out, things will be so awkward."
I sighed and leaned down, resting my elbows on the counter.
"You are absolutely correct, Mara. But why has that kept you away from me?"
She tilted her red-curled covered head before replying.
"Because of guilt. I feel like I am putting you in the worse position ever."
I smiled at her.
"Cheer up, you. I think that you are the only one who is obsessing about the complications that any relationship between you two might bring."
Her blue eyes widened at that.
"Oh my God!! Did he mention it? Has he said anything about me?"
That was where I drew the line. Putting my hands up in a stopping motion, I answered her.
Nice Shootin' Tex Page 4