by Marla Monroe
“How are you feeling after your trip to the hospital Saturday?” Laney asked out of the blue.
“Wow, news travels fast. I’m fine. No ill effects at all.”
“You were incredibly lucky,” the other woman said.
“I know. It could have been poison or something I was allergic to,” Jessie agreed.
“I sure hope they catch the person behind it and soon.”
“Me, too.”
Jessie told the other woman bye and gathered up her books and purse to head home. She’d only made it as far as the end of the hall when Glen Brooks, the assistant principal, stopped her.
“How are you doing today?” he asked, touching her elbow.
“I’m good. Thanks. How are you doing?” she asked with a broad smile.
“Fine, fine. I’m more concerned about you. I hope you’re not going back out to that ranch after what happened,” he said.
“No more horseback riding, but the guys want me to come have supper again this weekend,” she told him.
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to date two men, Jessie?” he asked.
“That’s personal, Glen.”
“Not when it affects your job it isn’t.”
“How will seeing Cole and Wesson affect my job? I only see them on the weekends, so it doesn’t have anything to do with work.” Jessie felt heat burn her cheeks.
“It’s not normal, Jessie. People are beginning to talk, and that isn’t good for a teacher’s career,” he said with a slight sneer tightening his features.
“Since it’s my career, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t lecture me about it. I can make my own decisions, Glen.”
Jessie stalked off, leaving him standing in the hall behind her. Fury beat in her belly like a bat flapping its wings in an effort to get out of the daylight. She couldn’t believe he’d threatened her like that. It was a threat. He was holding her future as a teacher over her head because she was seeing two men. It was what she’d originally worried about when she’d started seeing Cole and Wesson in the first place. Now, after having met so many other women who were married to two men, she didn’t think he could hurt her job as a teacher, but a nagging feeling still burned deep in her gut.
I love teaching. I got my masters so that I could teach. What if my being with both men jeopardizes that?
The thoughts churning around in her head had her hands shaking as she started her car and pulled out of the parking lot to drive home. Surely they wouldn’t fire her for it. There were so many other families in town who were threesomes. Their kids were in school now. She didn’t teach them yet, but she would eventually. Was it enough to discourage anyone from firing her? Jessie didn’t know.
By the time she’d gotten home, Jessie was all worked up and afraid for her job. She changed clothes and pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Now she’d never be able to settle down and read. Instead, she called her best friend, Brenda.
“Hey, girl. How’s school going?” the other woman asked when she’d answered her phone.
“Classes are great. You know how much I love to teach.”
“There’s a but in there. What’s up?”
“The assistant principal stopped me in the hall and essentially threatened my job if I continued seeing Cole and Wesson. He actually said it wasn’t normal and that people were talking. What if he gets me fired?”
“Oh, hon. That’s not going to happen. There are too many people living here who are fine with the threesomes living here. Try not to worry about it. I’ll call Gale Finnwick who’s on the school board and talk to her about it. She’ll talk to the others and make sure your personal life isn’t going to affect your job,” Brenda said.
“Do you think she can do that? The principal is the one who can fire me, and the assistant principal is his right-hand man.”
“True, but if they reach out to him and tell him it wouldn’t be in his best interest as an employee of the school district to do so, I think he’ll think twice about it.”
“I hope you’re right, Brenda. I can’t afford to lose my job, and now I don’t want to lose the guys. I’ve gotten really attached to them,” she told the other woman.
“Are you in love with them?” Brenda asked with what sounded like glee in her voice.
“Um, I think it’s too soon to say that,” she lied.
Somehow admitting it to her friend made it all the more real, and Jessie needed time to get used to the feeling herself before she said anything to Brenda. Once her friend knew about it, there would be no stopping her from trying to plan Jessie’s wedding as well as her own. She had no idea how the men felt at this point. Sure she knew they cared about her. They’d more than proved that with how attentive they’d been ever since she’d started dating them. Still, she needed to hear it from their mouths before she could say the words herself. She was scared that it would all be one-sided.
They talked about work and the wedding and how excited Brenda was. She had only two more months before the big event. Jessie was happy for her friend and enjoyed helping her plan the big event.
Once they’d hung up, Jessie felt a little better and settled down in her favorite chair to try and relax and read.
Chapter Thirteen
“I’ve contacted all the other ranches that have been affected by this guy and compared names of men we’ve fired,” Cole told Wesson. “Funny thing is that the only ranches affected are those where they’re either in a ménage relationship or are actively looking for a woman to share.”
“That’s too much to be just a coincidence,” Wesson said.
“I agree. There are two men we all have in common as having fired. I’m going to run into town and talk to the sheriff about them,” Cole told his brother.
“Good idea. Did you find anything when you rode around the ranch?” Wesson asked.
“No. He covered his tracks well.”
“He had to have left something behind. We’ve got a lot of territory out there. Maybe you missed something,” Cole said.
“It’s possible. Like you said, there’s a lot of ground to cover. I’ll keep looking after I talk with the sheriff. The best place will be where Jessie was shot. We don’t have a clue about where the horse or the cows were originally shot.”
“I’ve got the ranch work covered here. Concentrate on finding this guy. I don’t want anything to happen when we have Jessie over this weekend for dinner. I’m still not sure it’s a good idea with this bastard still out there,” Cole said.
“She’ll be inside with us. It should be safe,” Wesson said.
“Maybe. We’ll keep her away from windows, too. All of this has me spooked.”
“Me, too.”
Wesson grabbed his hat and walked outside to head to town. On the drive over, he continued to go over everything that led up to firing the two men but couldn’t narrow down which one it could be. Hell, it might not be either one of them, but it was all they had right now. Hopefully the sheriff could get a confession out of one of them.
When he pulled up in front of the office, he was relieved to see that the sheriff’s SUV was parked in the lot. He hadn’t thought about what he’d do if the other man was out on a call. Wait he supposed.
The receptionist smiled when he walked in.
“Hey there, Wesson. How are you doing?” she asked.
“Hey, Jill. Fine. Is the sheriff available? I need to talk to him,” he said.
“Just a minute and I’ll check.”
Wesson waited as she picked up the phone. She spoke into it while he looked around the small room.
“You can go on back, Wesson. He’ll see you.” Jill waved him behind the counter where the sheriff’s office was located.
Wesson walked through the swinging gate and strode toward the sheriff’s office. The other man stood and held out his hand when Wesson entered the room.
“Good to see you, Wesson. What can I do for you?” he asked.
“I know you’re stretched thin with everything you’ve
got going on, so I’ve been thinking about who would possibly shoot darts at our animals and now Jessie. I’ve narrowed down a list of disgruntled ex-employees that all of the affected ranches have fired in the last few years. There are two men we all have in common,” he said.
“That’s a good idea. I was going to suggest that the next time I talked to you but have been so damn busy that I haven’t called you. What did you come up with?” the sheriff asked.
“Matthew Kirkpatrick and Sammy Jones. Both men were angry that we fired them and have been fired from the other ranches, as well. Another thing we figured out is that all of the ranches affected are into sharing their woman. This could be a hate crime,” Wesson told him.
“Funny. I hadn’t put that together. You are in a relationship with Jessie, the new school teacher. That’s a good connection, but it opens up the field for more people to look at,” the other man said.
“What do you think? Could it be someone who hates people who prefer ménage relationships?” Wesson asked.
“It’s possible. There have been instances where some of the men around here have made it more than clear they don’t like it. Of course there are a lot of women, as well. I honestly wouldn’t think it would be a woman, but it is a possibility. There’s no law that says women can’t be criminals,” the sheriff said.
“I hadn’t even considered it could be a woman. Doesn’t seem right to suspect one,” Wesson said.
“I know, but women can be very vindictive. They can be just as much a fanatic as a man.”
“I guess you’re right.” It didn’t sit well with Wesson that a woman could be their culprit.
“I’ll do some digging into the background of these two men you’ve given me. Maybe something will pop out about them that will give me a clue to if one of them is involved. After that I’ll have a talk with them. It’s not much to go on though.”
“I know. But we have to start somewhere, and I figured those two men were good candidates.”
“I’ll pay them a visit and see what turns up,” the sheriff said.
“I’m going to comb our ranch for anything he might have left behind in hopes it will help find this bastard. I’ll give you a call if I come up with anything,” Wesson said.
“You do that.”
“Any luck with locating who might have bought a dart gun or tranquilizer gun?” Wesson asked.
“Not around here. I have a long list of names to go over from the surrounding cities. You’d be surprised how many are sold. If he got it online, there’s no way to track him down that way. We don’t have the resources for that,” he said.
“Anything we can do to help, just say the word,” Wesson said.
“Right now, all you can do is keep your eyes open. I just hope whoever this is doesn’t escalate to using something more serious before we catch him.”
Wesson shook the man’s hand and left to head home. He had a lot to do before sunset. The ranch was huge, but he’d concentrate first on the surroundings of where Jessie had been shot. The bastard would have been fairly close according to what he’d learned about dart guns. Of course, he might be using a tranquilizer gun instead. That would mean a hell of a lot more land to search.
The sheriff had said that they could have purchased either one online, so narrowing the field down using that hadn’t gotten them anywhere. No one sold them in the general vicinity. He was a little discouraged that the search in the surrounding cities hadn’t kicked out someone from their town, but the sheriff was still checking the names. Maybe he’d get lucky. Right now they could use all the luck they could get.
Wesson drove home and saddled up his horse to begin searching for any clues he could find. He started with the surrounding tree line and worked his way out. He was just about to give up when he found footprints in the dry ground behind some brush and rocks about two hundred yards from where Jessie had been shot.
He was careful not to disturb the prints and scoured the area for any other clues. There were no cigarette butts, candy wrappers, or anything that would connect someone to the crime. The shoe prints were all that he could locate in the vicinity. He pulled out his phone to call the sheriff but found that he had no cell service. Cursing, he prayed the prints wouldn’t get messed up before he could get the other man out there. Wesson urged his horse into a run to call the sheriff about his find.
* * * *
Jessie breathed a sigh of relief when she dropped her keys on the little table by the door and tossed her bag on the island in her kitchen. Another school week finished. She loved teaching, but by the end of the week, she was ready for some downtime. The kids were so full of energy that it wore her out just being around them.
Today she’d had to really work to keep them focused. The promise of the weekend had them all distracted. Heck, she’d been just as distracted. The promise of being outdoors and having dinner with the guys was more than enough to make her lose focus a time or two. That hadn’t helped keep the kids in line.
She kicked off her shoes and walked to the fridge to pour herself a Diet Coke. The first sip went a long ways to clearing her head of the jumbled thoughts of school. The second sip helped her relax enough she felt like doing something other than collapsing in a chair and vegging for a few hours.
Instead, she changed into jeans and a T-shirt then grabbed her garden gloves, shoving her hands into them. She walked outside on her front porch and looked around to see what she wanted to do. The sight of her leaf-covered front yard gave her the perfect idea of how to work off the restlessness churning inside of her. She’d spend an hour raking leaves. The exercise would do her good and help her sleep when she went to bed.
By the time she’d gotten the front yard leaf free, she was exhausted. Her muscles burned from the effort it had taken to fill the four bags she sat on the edge of the yard to be picked up when they ran the first of next week. She looked forward to a hot shower.
She looked around and shivered. For the last twenty minutes or so she’d felt as if someone had been staring at her. Looking around, she didn’t see anyone and there were no telltale signs that one of her neighbors was spying out their windows at her. Jessie really didn’t think any of her neighbors had a reason to watch her.
Looking across the street she wondered if old Mrs. Magillicutty had been looking out her living room window, but the curtains were drawn, and they didn’t move as she stared at the other house.
Jessie shook off the feeling and chalked it up to how quiet the neighborhood seemed. She’d expected there would be other people out working in their yard, but no one had ventured outside. The sun was just about to set, and the growing darkness seemed ominous.
She smiled at her handiwork and pulled off the gloves before returning the rake to the shed out back. Despite the uneasy feeling she was being watched, it always felt good to do something around the house to make it look nicer. She’d tackle the backyard in the morning.
Her cell phone was ringing when she walked back inside. She grabbed it and hit Answer.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Jessie. How are you doing?” Cole’s voice greeted her.
“I’m doing fine. I just finished raking leaves,” she told him.
“It’s nearly dark out. You should be careful after dark, sweet thing. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’m careful. It wasn’t full dark when I finished. What are you doing?” she asked.
“Talking to the prettiest woman I know.”
“Seriously, how is ranch life?” she asked.
“Fine. I’ve been doing paperwork, and Wesson’s been out roaming the range,” he said, the smile evident in his voice.
“Well, I’ve had a great week with the kids, but I’m sure glad to have a break. They’re exhausting,” she said.
“I can imagine. I don’t think I’d have the patience to try and teach them anything worth knowing,” Cole said.
“You could teach them about ranching. That would be a good idea. Ranching is such a big
part of the area that learning more about it might help some of the guys to consider it when they get out of school.”
“Don’t leave out the women. There are plenty of women who choose to work on a ranch,” he pointed out.
“True. I shouldn’t have left them out.”
“I’d be satisfied if some of the kids would want to make some extra money and work after school. Don’t get many kids wanting to work anymore. Parents give them such generous allowances that they don’t feel the need to take on an after-school job anymore,” Cole said.
“That is too bad. Working helps build a sense of responsibility.”
“Yeah. There’s not enough of that in the youth of today. I bet you have a hard time getting them to do their homework, don’t you?” he said.
“Yes. I do. I have to make it a larger part of their grades to get them to do it. Otherwise some of them would settle for a passing grade without finishing it and turning it in. I’m nicer than some of the other teachers. I only give them homework two days a week,” she said.
“We’re looking forward to dinner with you tomorrow night,” Cole told her, changing the subject.
“I’m looking forward to it, too,” she admitted.
“How about we pick you up around five,” he said.
“I can drive out. There’s no need for you to drive into town just to pick me up.”
“We want to,” Cole said.
“I don’t get it, but fine. You can pick me up.”
“Great. Wesson wants to talk to you. I’m going to put you on speaker phone,” Cole told her.
“Hi, babe. How are you doing?” Wesson asked.
“Good. I hear you’ve been out riding the range. Herding the cows?” she asked.
“Something like that. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow night. I’m actually doing most of the cooking tomorrow,” Wesson said.
“Should I be afraid? Maybe call the fire department to be on guard?” she teased.
