by Nancy M Bell
“Michelle, it’s Stacey,” she sounded panicked. “I hate to bother you. I know you’re still recovering…”
“Quit the drama, what is it? What’s wrong?” Michelle cut her off.
“I just fed the cows and counted heads. There’s two cow-calf pairs missing. They’re in the coulee. I can see them and the river’s getting close to where they are.”
“Damn!” Michelle made her way to the window overlooking the coulee between Cale’s and her childhood home. Huddled against the side of the coulee at the bottom, tails turned to the driving rain, the cattle were barely visible. The angry mass of muddy water loaded with huge trees and unfortunate dead animals swirling in the turbulent current was only a few feet away from them. “Stacey, listen to me. You have to leave them. There’s no way to reach them in time.”
“I can’t. I keep seeing those big brown calf eyes and I just can’t stand it. Which horse do you think can make it down there and back? I don’t know who to saddle.”
“Stacey, no!”
“Michelle, I have to. I can’t just let them drown without trying,” she wailed. “Are you going to help me or not?”
“Be reasonable. What do you want me to do?” Michelle snapped.
“Look, I realize you’re not in any shape to actually come and help me. But tell me which horse to take, what should I take with me? How do I get the cows to follow me?”
“Stacey, you can’t. Do you hear me? Even if I wasn’t hurt I’d think twice before trying something that dangerous,” Michelle tried to reason with her. Her head hurt now and her arm was throbbing again.
“Like hell! You’d be down there in a heartbeat and you know it. Look, I don’t have time to argue with you. The river’s rising.” Stacey hung up.
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” She set the phone down and returned to the table. Her knees gave out and she more fell than sat into the chair. The doctor said she had a mild concussion, but surely it should be better by now. When she quit seeing double, Michelle got to her feet and looked out the window. Leaning on the wide sill for support she squinted into the driving rain. “God damn it!” Barely visible, a horse and rider stood at the top of the trail down into the coulee. The rider’s red jacket was what caught her eye. That and the blonde hair streaming in the wind. “Don’t do it. Don’t do it.” The pair started down the steep slope.
Michelle hesitated for a minute. Then she returned to the desk as fast as her legs would take her. She picked up the phone and hit the speed dial. “Mary, thank God you answered. Listen. Can you get a hold of Doc or Cale, or anybody? Stacey’s headed down to the river to try and rescue some cows. I couldn’t talk her out of it.”
“What are you talking about?” Mary demanded. “I’m not sure where the men are right now.”
“Stacey is on her way down the west trail into the coulee. The river’s rising fast.” She ran out of breath.
“Okay. You stay put. I’ll try and reach Luke and Cale. If I can’t, I’ll find someone to go help. You stay put.” Mary reiterated.
Michelle hung up and returned to the window. The bright spot that was Stacey was a quarter of the way down the trail. She held her breath when the horse slid for a bit before regaining its footing. Below, the river had risen higher. The time was running out for the cattle. Making a decision, Michelle left the cane leaning against the table and went to the mud room. Shrugging into her oilskin, she hissed as the sleeve pressed on the staples under the thick wrapping. It didn’t bend well but at least she could get her arm in. Snatching the keys to the farm truck off the hook by the door she battled the wind and reached the truck.
It was oddly still inside after the wailing wind and rain outside. She inserted the key and turned the ignition. A smile of triumph lit her face when the engine came to life. Now was no time for old truck to be cantankerous. The gravel road was rutted with runnels of water flooding over it. The ass end skidded when she turned into the lane under the Wilson Ranch sign. She drove right up to the barn and gingerly stepped down from the vehicle, cradling her arm.
The wind wrestled with her when she opened the barn door. Relief surged over her at the sight of a buckskin head poked over a stall door. “Hey, Toad,” she greeted the gelding. “Ready to be like the cavalry and ride to the rescue.” He whickered in response. A saddle sat on its nose by the stall with a bridle and pad draped over it. It was slow tacking him up with only one hand but she managed. The horse was reluctant to go out into the storm but followed readily after hesitating in the door.
She hooked the reins over the horn and managed to pull herself up into the saddle. Toad moved off before she was quite settled, the wet reins slipping a bit in her hand. Touching him with her heel she trotted over to the top of the coulee where the trail dipped over the edge. Stacey was about three-quarters of the way down. “Stacey! Hey! Wait for me!” The rider below never hesitated. The rain and wind must drown out her voice. Closing her eyes to ease the pain in her head she waited a moment for it subside a bit. Opening them, she started down the incline. The muddy clay was slick underfoot. The gelding sat on his haunches and slid twenty feet. “Stacey! Wait!”
The red-coated rider glanced back, blonde hair streaming in her face. She lifted a hand and waved but kept moving. Michelle gritted her teeth and navigated the switchback in the trail before taking the next downward section. Stacey reached the bottom and halted. A minute later Toad came up beside her.
“Michelle, thanks for coming,” Stacey shouted. “What do we do now?” She waved at the shivering cows and calves huddled in the dubious shelter of some bushes. The roar of the river was louder than the wind down here in the bottom land.
“We need to get behind them and convince them to go up. Just be careful, the ground is soft. We need to hurry and get out of here though.” Michelle glanced at the raging torrent a few feet away. “You go first and get them moving. I’ll stay here in case they decide to go toward the river. Toad and I can turn them.”
The blonde nodded and eased her horse around the cattle. Michelle moved back a few feet to give them a clear path up the trail. “Wave your hat at them,” she screamed over the noise.
Stacey hollered and slapped her hat on her wet thigh. The cows raised their heads and bawled but didn’t move. The blonde shouted again and tried to swat the nearest one with her long reins. It jumped forward and the calf went with it. Michelle waited, glancing behind her where the river edged closer to the horse’s heels.
“Keep at it!” she encouraged. The damn cow doubled back. Gritting her teeth, Michelle moved Toad carefully by them and joined Stacey. “Okay, we’re gonna shove them and hope they go up and not into the river. You ready?”
Stacey nodded.
“Follow me. Do what I do, your horse knows what he’s doing, let him do his job. If the cows go in the river let the damn things go. Don’t go after them.” The pain in her arm made her want to puke. The shivers shaking her body weren’t helping. “You wave, I can’t and steer too.” Without waiting for an answer she moved Toad toward the cows. He shoved a shoulder into one and it moved in the direction they wanted. Stacey got the other pair to follow. Michelle held her breath until the first pair set foot on the upward slope. She held back and let the other cow and calf go ahead of her. “Okay, now we just need to keep them moving,” she shouted to the other girl. “You go ahead.”
Stacey started up after the cows. Toad quivered under her, twitching at the huge pieces of flotsam that rushed past just a few feet away. Once the other horse was far enough ahead, Michelle gave Toad his head. Her stomach clenched and flipped as his hind end dropped out from under her. The bank they were standing on collapsed into the river. The buckskin threw himself forward and clawed back onto semi-solid ground. Between the pain in her head and with the use of only one hand, Michelle slid out of the saddle. The rain blurred her vision and her head spun. There was no way she was going to get back on the horse. Stacey was a quarter of the way up the coulee, obviously unaware Michelle was in danger. Another old cottonw
ood uprooted by the river bobbed by, its branches scraping along the ragged bank.
Toad nudged her with his nose, eyes showing white around the edges. He wouldn’t leave her until she gave him permission. She looped the dragging reins around the horn and swatted him on the ass. “Go on, git!” Tears of frustration mingled with the rain on her face. Toad refused to move, shoving his head into her chest. “Go on!” He rolled his eyes but stood fast. Tearing a switch off a bush she whacked him as hard as she could. “Git! Go, you jack ass!” Snorting the gelding surged up the track, mud flying from under his sliding hooves.
Water soaked her jeans and ran down the back of her neck. The river lapped around her ankles, sucking at the earth under her feet. Michelle scrambled up the bank unto the trail. She grabbed at the bushes on the side with her good hand. Falling to her knees she gasped at the pain shooting up her arm. If the damn hand would just work. Somehow she regained her footing and inched another few feet away from the river. She looked up, rain running off her hair and down her face. She’d lost her hat somewhere, damn it. Toad’s buckskin rump disappeared around the switchback above her. Letting go of the scraggly bush beside her, Michelle lunged for one further up. Her fingers closed on the branch, prickly thorns tearing her palm. “Fucking thorn bush!”
By the time she managed to reach the third switchback her legs refused to take her any farther. She glanced down where the river raged and leaned against the steep side of the coulee as it rose above her. The water wouldn’t come this high. At least she hoped so. It doesn’t matter, I can’t go any farther. I’ll just sit here for a minute until I feel a bit better. Her teeth chattered and her jaw ached from it. The cold must have numbed the pain in her arm because she barely felt it. A fresh gust of wind and rain hit her face. Michelle hunched down in her oilskin and tried to hide her face. Wide rivulets of muddy clay and water rolled down the trail digging deep ruts as it went. She collapsed onto her butt, legs curled in front of her. She pushed ineffectively at the wet mess pooling around her with her good hand. Cold, so cold. I’d kill for a coffee and Baileys. The world slipped away from her. The cold faded to be replaced by blissful nothingness. Someone called her name and she resisted leaving the warm safe place she found herself in.
“Michelle!” No, someone was definitely shaking her.
“Toad, go on. Git!” She flapped her good hand. “No sense both of us drowning, jack ass.”
“Michelle. C’mon, wake up a bit.” Hand hooked under her arms and her feet slid beneath her.
“Leave me alone,” she muttered refusing to open her eyes.
“Chelly, it’s me. C’mon, you’ve got to help me. Here! I found her.” He must have been speaking to someone else.
Found who? More voices intruded on her conscious and another pair of hands held her upright. Finally dragged out of her safe refuge Michelle opened her eyes in irritation.
“Cale?” Rain plastered his dark hair to his head, mud streaked his face and clothes, but it was definitely him. “What are you doing here?
“Chelly? Thank God. Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here. Try to help us as much as you can. We’ll be as gentle as possible with your arm.”
She allowed herself to be hauled up the steep incline with a minimal amount of cussing. Or so she thought. Once on solid ground Mary’s face swam into view and she wrapped her in a warm wool blanket.
“Do you ever listen to anything I say?” she scolded.
“Stacey! Where’s Stacey and the cows. Did Toad get up okay?” Michelle looked around wildly.
“Hush. They’re all fine. Stacey had a hot shower and Mary’s got her tucked up in bed with hot water bottles.” Cale picked her up and carried her into the familiar kitchen. Gramma’s big old wood stove throwing welcome heat from its place in the corner.
“How did you find me?” Her teeth chattered.
“When Toad came up without you Stacey was frantic. She was just about to go back for you when Doc and I showed up with help,” Cale explained.
“But why were you here in the first place?” Nothing was making any sense.
“You called Mary, remember? You told her about the cows and Stacey wanting to go after them. She managed to reach me and I called some neighbors, and when we got here Stacey had just come up out of the coulee with the cows. Toad was right behind her, but there was no sign of you.”
“The bank collapsed and I fell off. Couldn’t get back on. No sense Toad drowning because I’m stupid.” Michelle shivered harder.
“Search and Rescue is on its way, but I couldn’t wait for them. We went looking for you. God, Michelle. I thought you were in the damned river.” He buried his face in her lap.
“I was coming. I just had to wait. I was so tired. I would have made it up eventually,” she insisted.
“Like hell.” Mary snorted by her side and pressed a hot drink into her good hand.
“You’re an idiot,” Cale grumbled lifting his head from her lap. “You should have known I’d find you. I told you before…”
“I know, I know. Come hell or high water, you’ll always be by my side.”
“Come hell or high water,” he repeated.
The kitchen door let in a wash of cold air and the scent of mud and rain. “Ambulance is here,” Doc announced.
“Don’t want an ambulance,” Michelle protested.
“Humour me.” Cale helped the EMS strip off her wet clothes, get her on the gurney and wrap her in warm blankets. “Between the Half a Mile of Hell, the High Wood River and your stubborn Wilson pride I’m gonna be an old man before my time.”
“But I love you,” Michelle reminded him as they bumped the gurney down porch steps and into the back of the waiting ambulance.
“I love you, too.” Cale climbed into the ambulance behind her for the second time in a month. “Promise me you aren’t going to make a habit of this. We’ve got a date for next May you can’t miss.”
“Promise,” she said as the unit pulled out of the yard.
The End
Other by this author from Books We Love
Longview Romances
Storm’s Refuge
A Longview Christmas
The Cornwall Adventures
Laurel’s Quest
A Step Beyond
Go Gently
Arabella’s Secret
The Selkie’s Song
Historical Fiction
No Absolution by N.M. Bell
About the Author
Nancy M Bell has publishing credits in poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Nancy has presented at the Surrey International Writers Conference and the Writers Guild of Alberta Conference. She loves writing fiction and poetry and following wherever her muse takes her.
Please visit her webpage http://www.nancymbell.ca
You can find her on Facebook at http://facebook.com/NancyMBell
Follow on twitter: @emilypikkasso
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