“John Thomas!” Mel cried. “Stop, let him go.”
“You shut up! This is between me and him. Get dressed,” he growled.
“JT, I promise this isn’t what you think,” Sunny defended, using all his strength to keep JT’s wrists pinned to the ground.
“I think you fucked my cousin! My cousin!” JT shifted his hips and was able to send Sunny flying to the side. “Give me one reason to not kill you right now.”
“I love her,” Sunny spat the only words that could calm JT, because they were the truth. “I do.”
“You love her?” he asked as if it couldn’t be true. The problem with best friends was they are the last to accept you’ve changed. “You giving up the rodeo? Settling down? Because it was less than a month ago when you tried to everything you could to stop me from being with Bets.”
“Maybe I understand what you were doing now.”
JT walked over to the horse he’d been riding. “I can’t.” He guided it over to the pond for a drink. Must have ridden it pretty hard. “Melody, go back to the house.”
“JT,” she pleaded.
He turned to her.
She immediately gathered her clothes and rode back with Betsy to the house.
“I’m not one to talk about secrets right now,” JT said, looking mournfully over the placid water. “I still haven’t called home about Betsy.”
Pain seared Sunny’s chest as the lump he was trying to swallow strained his throat.
“When did it start?”
“When I got back to town. Some guy was…” Sunny shivered at the memory of how the man touched her. “It doesn’t matter. We tried to fight it. I did at least.”
“You saying my cousin came on to you and you had no choice?”
“No.” Sunny caught himself before he told too much of what he’d learned from Melody and her feelings. “I can’t read her mind, but I didn’t want you to think I seduced some little girl. She’s not a little girl anymore. She’s a woman.”
“You usher her into womanhood?” he snapped.
“She’s a Long and sexy as hell. If you think I’m the first you’re damn moron.”
JT turned and swung.
Sunny leaned back and the momentum sent JT in a full circle. “She’s not a slut,” Sunny barked. “But Jesus, she’s not a child. I protected her in a bar, but I didn’t know who she was at first. All I saw was hips and ass and a guy trying to get her to leave him and he wasn’t using charm.”
“Someone in Tender Root tried to force…” JT shook.
Sunny hoped his anger was being redirected.
“I can’t even thank you for stopping that because I’m so damn pissed at you. How could you sleep with my cousin? Is that all it is? Tell me the truth.”
“I did. I love her. I fell in love with her.”
“You know how to be a man, and you haven’t in this whole thing.”
“I didn’t know how to go to Henry and ask for permission.”
“He wouldn’t give it. Not a chance.” JT turned to his friend. “End it.”
“But—”
“I said end it. You’re good at that and I expect you to do as I wish. Whatever it was, it’s over. Now.”
* * * *
The ride back was silent. When they stopped at a motel, Sunny got two rooms and wished Melody a goodnight without so much as a kiss.
Melody was stunned.
He’d said he loved her. Declared it to her family. Well, JT at least. Not needing to stop as much and without the weight of the horses in the trailer, they were home hours before she expected and he dropped her off at her house.
“What happened?” she asked when he tossed the truck in park.
“I got a call from the rodeo. They need me to help behind the scenes.”
“You’re just leaving?” she asked and the tears she’d been holding in for two days trickled down along her cheeks. “The rodeo? You’re going back out on the road?”
“I’m a wanderer, your dad said so. It would be wrong to ask you to wait for me. Plus, you know how things are on the road.”
“How are they?”
“Mel, I’m not one to settle down. I’ll always feel like a part of me should be somewhere else. JT reminded me of that and it’s better we end this before…”
He was lying. She could tell by the fact he wasn’t looking at her.
“Please get out, I’ve gotta unhook the trailer and get out to the cabin to crash.”
“When are you leaving?”
“In a week.”
“Make it sooner.” Mel slammed the truck door and headed into her house. Peeking through the small square window of her door, she saw Sunny sitting with his head buried in his hands.
“You home already,” her mother said.
Melody turned to fall into her arms. Heartbroken, she sobbed on her mother’s shoulder.
She patted her head. “It’ll be okay, baby. Whatever it is it will pass.”
But she didn’t want it to pass. She wanted Sunny and she knew he wanted her too. JT did something. She was supposed to be declaring she was with Sunshine to her family right now. Not holding on to her mother, afraid she’d collapse if she didn’t.
“Is this about the ranch?” her mother asked after Mel didn’t stop crying.
A knock at the door made Mel’s heart stop. Did he come back?
“Now who on earth is here at this hour,” her mother, said patting Mel’s back a few times before letting her go from the embrace.
When she opened the door, MeMaw was there with a frantic look on her face. “Is my baby girl here?” she asked, pushing past Loretta to find Melody. “Oh, thank the Lord Jesus you’re here.”
“MeMaw, how did you get here?” Mel asked, looking out the door to see the old Lincoln parked cockeyed in front of their house. “You know you aren’t supposed to be driving, especially at night.”
“I tried ringing folks, but then he went down again.” She stood in her housecoat and slippers wringing her hands.
“Who went down, Theresa?” Loretta asked.
“That damned dog. I told you I didn’t want the damn thing,” she cried as tears filled her eyes. “Now I’ve gone and—go…I hate that damn shit eatin’ sooner, but damn it.”
Melody had never seen her grandmother so distraught. Her heart, already in pain, wasn’t sure she could take another blow. Not now. “Where’s Lester?” Mel asked.
“I carried him to the car.”
Mel ran to the car and opened the passenger door. The mutt was lying on his side. She pulled back his eyelids. “Did he have a seizure, MeMaw?” Mel asked as she laid her head on his chest to locate a heartbeat and breath sounds. Again, she opened his eyes. They shimmered with life, but he was unresponsive.
“I gave him that fancy water, but I caught him lapping from the toilet a few times. This is why I didn’t want a dog.”
Mel looked at MeMaw being consoled by her mama.
“They’re like children. I’m too old for children. I can’t watch him every minute of every day.”
“This isn’t your fault, MeMaw,” Mel said as checked the heartbeat again. “I’m going to drive him to the clinic.” She got up from her knee and took MeMaw’s hands.
“I love that damn dog.” She sniffed. “He’s a pain, but he’s my baby.”
“I know.” Melody gave her a kiss on the forehead, then got in the car. Retrieving her phone, she called doc who said he’d meet her there.
Loretta brought MeMaw home where they both would stay until Mel had answers.
* * * *
Sunny took the truck to the edge of the county road, so he could be sure he’d have a signal. His cell phone lit up the cab of the truck as he called. He prayed there was work, so he could leave. JT made it clear. He wasn’t good enough, best friend or not. He was still a trailer trash Parker. “Hey Danny,” Sunny said when Danny Tuck picked up. “It’s Sunshine.”
“Sunny, well, how are you doing? You healing up?”
“The be
st one could in a few weeks. Hey, is there anything I could do with you guys? I need to get out of here.”
“I wish I had something for you, but my admin crew is already to the limit thanks to my old lady’s family all needing a job. The only spots I have are for competitors.”
“Alright, thanks.” Sunny hung up and rested his head on the headrest.
There were a few other rodeos, but it would be the same thing. He had savings, but where could he go with barely a high school diploma and nothing but years of rodeo experience? He was stuck and he’d just got kicked out of the only home he’d ever had.
He thought of kicking himself for stupidity, but he had fallen in love. Just like getting drunk, it was a damn mess. Worse yet, he remembered every moment of it. He knew it would haunt him for years. Throwing the truck into drive, he went back to the main house and got his gator. Once back at the cabin, he pulled his notebook out of his duffle and began sketching. This time it wasn’t a poem, but a face. Melody’s face. When the sun crept in the window, he looked to see the new day with exhausted eyes.
Going outside, he got the ladder and got ready to pull off the old roof. He’d spend the next seven days making this cabin amazing. Working to exhaustion would keep him focused enough to not think of the way Melody felt. The only goal he had was keeping his mind occupied and his body sore from a good days work.
There wasn’t a real base under the tin roof. He was surprised it hadn’t leaked over the years. That did explain why it had been so loud when it hailed. Stopping for moment, he gathered himself trying to put the memories out of his mind. In the cabin, they had an old boom box and tapes from when they were all in high school. Retrieving it, he blared the music that echoed along the canyon walls. Anything to keep him focused as he pounded the plywood onto the beams of the house before he started in with the shingles.
The days melded together and he lost all sense of time. He wasn’t going back to the main house since he had enough food for the week. Instead, he kept the music going and his mind gone.
Music vibrated through his body. The mix tape made by one of the guys was the perfect example of the bipolar nature of the Long family members. Metallica, Randy Travis, then Guns and Roses. When Welcome to the Jungle cut off mid Axel Rose scream Sunny became disoriented and barely caught himself from falling off the ladder. He’d been adding a gutter since the roof no longer had the natural drainage.
“Sunshine Parker,” Henry called out.
Sunny leaned his head on his arm ready for the fight, but without the strength to do anything about it. “I just need till the end of the week to finish up the house, Mr. Long.”
“You leavin’ us?”
Lifting his head, he peered over the ridge of the roof to see Henry’s truck, but not him. It was then he noticed he did a damn good job putting up the shingles. Coming down the ladder, he inspected his paint job. Maybe it was the delirium from no sleep, but it looked professional with its soft blue coloring and tan trim. As he rounded the corner, he found Henry standing with his hand on the freshly painted column. In jeans, boots, and his old Stetson he made other cowboys look like metrosexuals.
“You seen Mellie?”
“No,” Sunny said and the pain he’d been pushing down for the past few days bubbled to the surface. “Why?”
“Doc called the house, she left a while ago. Last time she was out here getting samples.”
“I haven’t seen her since we came back from Minnesota.”
“She’s been busy with the EPA stuff.” He sighed and examined the cabin.
“They give you any answers?”
“No official report to the town yet. Melody thinks it might be that gas company.”
“Federated?”
“Yeah, they’re newer. I thought they were building a wind farm.” Henry shook one of columns holding up the porch. “You’ve done a really nice job here.”
“Thanks.”
“I was sure that thing was going to collapse.”
“It was rotted out, so I got a new one when I was in town.”
“This place looks great from the outside.”
“The inside’s still a work in progress. That’s why I need a few more days.”
“That’s right,” Henry said as he stroked his chin. “You said something about takin’ off. Back to the rodeo?”
“Probably.”
“You’ll be missed.” Henry peered through the window. “That’s a work in progress?”
Opening the door, the cabin had its own fresh coat of paint and Sunny had put new cabinet facings on.
Henry ran his hand over the scrollwork Sunny had done. “Son, you’re an artist.”
“Growing up I had to fix things. Mostly recycled—well, from the dump. It made my mama happy.”
“I bet it did.” Henry looked into the bathroom that was in pieces. “Probably would still make her happy.”
The trailer did look worse than when he was in high school. Holes were patched with paper stuffed in them, instead of with boards to make the wall look smooth. His father was known to go into rages and punch, kick, and otherwise destroy the place.
“I better get back to that gutter.”
“All right, I’m just going to call over radio that Mel’s not here. Then you can start that noise back up.”
“Yes sir.” Sunny smiled.
“If you ever wanted to settle down you’d make one hell of a cabinet maker.” Henry looked at them one more time, then nodded his head before leaving.
* * * *
“How’s Lester?” Doc asked when Melody got to the clinic.
It had been four days since she’d rushed him to the clinic. Every day Doc asked the same question when she walked through the door. She may focus on large animals, but it was just like being a dermatologist when a woman goes into labor—if you’re the only hand on board, you’re gonna have to pinch hit. “He’s been moving around a lot more now.”
“And Theresa?”
“Not quite back to hating him for show. That really hurt her seeing him like that.”
“Animals can’t talk. He might have been feeling bad for days and hiding it. Lester was a stray so showing vulnerability is not in his nature.”
Mel went to the stack of maps she’d been looking over with Doc the day before. “I was looking over those maps the EPA gave us. The ones that outlined the fracking zone, they didn’t match up to the map of the Winston’s.”
“That’s why they said it couldn’t be them.”
“No, I’m saying the Winston’s property line, that’s not where it is.” She pointed to the EPA map showing the edge of the Winston’s property a good half mile past the creek. “I was out there collecting samples remember?”
“Where’s the line?” Doc asked.
Melody pointed to the north edge of the creek. “That’s where the gas company put their fence. Didn’t that one guy say they don’t even try to drill up to a mile from their borders to make sure any contamination will only be on their property?”
“With the underwater aquifer that wouldn’t make any difference.”
“Yes, it would,” Melody replied as she laid the transparent groundwater map over the top of the topographical. “Kind of. Where they have the Winston’s he’s in the middle of the aquifer that the whole area uses. The edge is still within the mile no drilling zone. Have you seen the county’s property map?”
Doc shuffled through the maps and the solution jumped out at them. There was no way the gas company would have been given rights to drill there. They’d bought up a piece of land with an aquifer. The maps showed nothing but shale north of it and that, according to the county, was the gas company’s.
“Maybe I’m wrong.” Mel looked over the maps. What did she know of topography? “Let me bring these to Conrad.”
When she pulled up, Conrad was holding a roll of barbed wire. “Something up?” he asked as she got out of the car.
“Can you look at some things with me?” she asked.
�
�Sure.” He tossed the wire to the side. “That can wait for a bit.”
“Got a breech?”
“I’m not sure. Julio said the storms knocked down about a mile stretch of fence. We’ve got the herd staying close to the house just in case.”
“Doc and I were going over the maps. You know, water sources and such. Your line isn’t matching up, but I could be wrong. Any chance you’d be willing to take me out?”
“Of course. What part?”
“The northern border.”
“Perfect, that’s where the fence fell.”
“Really,” Mel said, feeling very uneasy with that fact.
Jumping in Conrad’s truck, they took off along the fence line. Mel watched for landmarks as she compared it to the county’s property map. “How many acres you have?”
“About fifteen thousand.”
Mel used her finger to measure the scale. Yep about fifteen thousand according to the county, but that didn’t include the stream. They came up to where the fence line had gone down. It didn’t look like storm damage to her. Instead, it looked like the post had been ripped out of the ground. They stopped by the stream where the man with two black eyes was pounding the fence back in place, but the yellow signed fence had moved at least twenty feet back from the last place it’d been.
“You never come out this far do you?” Mel asked.
“No, we don’t have a nice cabin like you guys. A lot of the guys working for me have been here since my dad ran the ranch.”
“Who’s that guy?”
“That’s Julio.”
Julio glared over his broken nose at her when she got out of the truck.
With the maps in hand, she started to show Conrad what she believed happened. “They must have drilled here at some point.”
“If there was gas, they wouldn’t pretend the land is mine.”
“Even the chemicals they send down to blast are bad.” Mel looked over at Julio who’d stopped working. “How long has Julio worked for you?”
“Over a year. Why? You think he has something to do with this?”
The same black truck pulled up and parked at the edge of the property once again, watching Conrad and Melody. Mel’s heart began to beat hard. “Doc was looking over the maps and seeing the same thing I found.” With a hard swallow, his face paled before he looked to Julio.
One Last Sunset (The Long Ranch Series Book 1) Page 14
