“I didn’t know if I should get it yet though,” she teased, her hands letting go of Allyssa’s to grip her hips and hold them in place.
“I think you should pick up the bargains when you see them,” her wife countered, her nibbles beginning to turn to licking along the shell of the older woman’s ear.
“Mmm hmm,” Fiona agreed, not caring in the least about Adirondack chairs as her hands went around to grab her wife’s butt.
“Ohhhh,” Allyssa’s breath exploded next to her ear as she enjoyed the sensations created by her wife rubbing her body along hers. The grabbing of her ass had been a welcome surprise and she was amazed that she enjoyed it.
In the silence that ensued as they made out, leading to a walk up the stairs to their loft, they heard the distinctive sounds of gunshots out on the range. They stopped in their tracks, both looking out into the night and hearing Rex barking a protest.
“What in the world?” Fiona asked, wonderingly.
“I wonder if that is Toby and his men?”
“He’s out there?” she looked up at her wife, all thoughts of lovemaking vanishing from her mind.
“I don’t know. I’ve seen something. The other day with Carmen we saw guys chasing a herd of horses on ATVs. Then we saw another herd that looked rather sickly.”
Allyssa saw Fiona looking concerned, which then turned to rage. “I bet they are rounding up wild mustangs and selling them for dog food!” she said angrily.
“Can they do that?” she asked, naively.
“Not legally they can’t, but who’s to say where they got them!”
“They have all those cattle. Why would they need the horses?”
Fiona led her to the couch now that it was apparent neither of them were going to make love; the conversation wasn’t conducive to lovemaking. “People that do that don’t care where they get the meat, as long as they get it. Ranchers don’t want the wild mustangs. They take food from the mouths of their cattle, horses, and sheep,” she explained before going on. “They can also bring disease, and if left unchecked they can break down fences and interbreed with valuable stock.”
“But I’m sure there are plenty of people who like the mustangs. They are so beautiful,” she answered, outraged. She had come a long way from the ’65 Mustang she purchased so long ago and the freedom it had implied, to the wild mustangs she had seen running on their prairie.
Fiona nodded. “I agree they are beautiful, and a lot of them were here long before these ranchers or farmers; however, they are protected from this very thing and if someone is harvesting them,” she stopped to nod to her wife who had wrinkled her nose at the word harvest, “taking them illegally, then we have got to stop them.”
“How?”
“Well, I’m going to call the sheriff and tell him what we heard, what you saw, and my suspicions. I’ve only met him once or twice and he seems like an honest guy.”
“Seems?”
“Well, I don’t know him. What if he knows about this and doesn’t care? How can you miss cattle trucks hauling stock around?”
“So, he could be in on it?” Allyssa suddenly remembered the cattle trucks she had seen at the roadside stand the other day with Carmen, and she told Fiona about it.
“You see? People do notice.”
“What if you call the sheriff and he is in on it?”
“Maybe we are being paranoid and should trust our elected officials?”
They both exchanged a look. “What if we just wait until morning? It could be someone firing a shot for a completely different reason?”
“Like they are lost and want someone to find them?”
Allyssa nodded eagerly, hoping to find a simple explanation for things and not wanting to think the worst of people.
“I think,” her wife said gently, “you’ve been watching too many TV shows.”
Allyssa looked at her wife, annoyed. Neither one of them watched much TV and had said time and again that the nice flat screen they had purchased had gone to waste. “Why don’t we just wait and see until tomorrow?”
“Because whoever it is, or whatever it is, could be long gone then.”
Allyssa agreed and watched as her wife looked up the number on the internet and then dialed direct. It was certainly not worth a 911 emergency call.
“Hello, this is Doctor Fiona Herriot out at the Falling Pines Ranch. We heard some suspicious gunfire and I was hoping you could send someone to check it out?” She listened a while, looking at her concerned wife as she waited. “Yes, that’s right,” she said into the phone, listening to whatever they had to say as she nodded. “But what if they get away before–” she began, but was obviously cut off. “But what if–” she said about three times. “Okay, I understand. Thank you,” she finally said before hanging up the phone.
“What did they say?” Allyssa asked anxiously.
“They’ll send someone out in the daylight,” she told her wife, annoyed. Considering carefully, she looked at the clock on the computer. The data for the local sheriff’s number was still up on the screen and she completely signed out in disgust. “Would you like to take a ride?” she asked her.
“Now?” Allyssa looked out at the dark of the night. “We won’t be able to see anything?”
“You can see more in the dark than you realize,” she pointed out.
Allyssa debated, worrying her lip as she considered. “My concern is that we won’t find anything in the dark. But what if we do find someone or something?”
Her wife nodded in agreement. She really wanted to know where those shots came from. All they had were two .22 caliber pistols and a rifle to defend themselves. She knew she should have a stronger rifle, but had erred on the side of caution. She and Allyssa had target practiced out by the bluff so that none of the bullets would stray, but those shots they had just heard, those weren’t target practices, not this late. While a .22 wasn’t a very big or strong caliber shot, it could still kill, which is why she had chosen it. It was a deterrent and not a weapon that required much skill. Still, she had been pleased as Allyssa learned how to load and shoot as well as clean the guns in their possession. Now she was rethinking her decision and whether they should go out to investigate this late at night.
Watching her think about it, Allyssa put in her two cents. “Let’s wait for morning, babe. Any sign they leave will still be there, won’t it? It’s late and we really don’t know what we are getting into, do we?”
Annoyed because she really wanted to know, but realizing the logic of what her wife had said, she agreed. They both brushed their teeth and got ready for bed, the lovemaking they had planned long forgotten.
Fiona lay there a long time after Allyssa’s snores signaled she had fallen deeply asleep. She cursed in her head as she heard the rain fall on the roof.
* * * * *
The tracks were obvious in the light of day. They’d taken the Jeep Cherokee out and used the four-wheel drive to negotiate carefully on the range. Judging by the various water-filled tracks, big trucks had used this area many times. Fiona had thought the rain they got late the night before would have washed away any sign of something going on out here, but it was obvious something had been killed and dragged away…something big. She couldn’t tell without taking samples and having a lab investigate if it was a cow or a horse, but it was a mess.
“I think you might have to ask your tenant,” the sheriff’s deputy said when he finally joined them, “what he was up to.”
The look the doctor sent his way should have frozen him in his tracks; however, he seemed to be impervious to her icy glare and a bit clueless as well. Allyssa could see how angry Fiona was over the death and obvious butchery of an animal, but kept quiet to see how she would handle it.
“Well, you let us know if you find anything else,” the deputy said cheerfully as he got back in his own SUV and waved as he drove away, nearly grounding out in the mud as he slipped and slid on the turf.
“Still thinking the sheriff might be in on i
t?” Allyssa asked and then regretted trying to lighten the mood immediately as her wife’s icy glare was turned on her. She shrugged. “What can we do about it?”
“We can find Toby Colbert and ask him what the hell is going on here?”
“How? He doesn’t have a phone,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, and how suspicious is that? He should, at the very least, have a cell phone.”
Allyssa agreed and they looked some more at the tracks that were left before they made their way back to the Jeep and returned to the ranch.
Twice more in the next week they heard gunshots late at night. Fiona obtained a stronger caliber rifle and the bullets to match. She bought a Winchester, letting the salesman believe she had some hunting she wanted to do on her land that fall. “First female doctor I ever met who hunts too,” he told her with a grin. He didn’t care why she was buying it. If that’s what she wanted people to believe, then he would believe it. She also bought a shotgun. She knew anyone foolish enough to shoot animals out on the range and leave bloody evidence such as she had seen might not be foolish enough to face a double-barreled shotgun. She taught Allyssa how to load and shoot both, not caring that their practice shots could probably be heard by whoever was on their land. She hoped it would serve as a warning.
On her downtime when she had no patients to see, which was rare enough these days, Fiona and Allyssa went out on the ATVs or the horses, searching, looking for something…anything. With Rex accompanying them, their rifles and the shotgun in boots they added to their saddles, they went under the premise of sightseeing. While Allyssa hadn’t seen parts of the ranch, Fiona knew it all from her childhood. She knew spots that were well hidden and only accessible from certain points. She knew how to follow the cattle tracks into such hidden areas. Several times they had to back out as they heard an angry snort from the brush, calling Rex back as they left an ornery steer or cow alone. They rarely saw humans, and when they did and tried to catch up to them, they always disappeared.
“That’s strange,” Fiona pointed out as they saw some cows ambling along.
“What’s strange?” Allyssa asked, seeing nothing but cattle she had seen dozens of times before and wondering what she had missed.
“See how most of them have a brand? There is actually a couple of mavericks there among them.”
“Mavericks? Is that a breed of cow?” She knew nothing about cattle.
“A maverick is a cow that hasn’t been branded,” she explained. Then, smiling for the first time in days since they had begun their search, she added, “There was this guy in Texas who claimed every unbranded cow he could find, his name was Maverick, so it kind of stuck. Any unbranded cow is called a maverick. The name is also used on an independent kind of cow, one that doesn’t need the herd.”
“Well, those all seem to be together,” she noted, seeing the ten cows in no hurry to get anywhere. She’d seen a lot of them making paths to the creek and figured they were just heading either to or from it.
“Yes, but if Toby is running his cattle on here there shouldn’t be any mavericks. Furthermore, I’m going to take pictures of his various brands. There is certainly more than one on the ranch.”
“You can have more than one brand?” she asked, amazed at how much her wife seemed to just ‘know.’
“Oh, yes. If you buy a herd from someone you can add your own brand to them, but you don’t necessarily have to if you have the bill of sale….” She started to think and a nagging suspicion began to take shape. She didn’t like what she was thinking and took many pictures of cows as they rode out.
* * * * *
“I’m so glad you got these ATVs working,” she mentioned one day as they used them instead of the horses. There were some places where it was easier to ride with horses, but the ATVs were fun and she enjoyed them.
“Well, they are noisy,” Allyssa commented after they came back in from the range. They scared off the cattle easier than the horses. Still, she enjoyed going out with her wife to look around, not quite sure what they were looking for.
“Yeah, I think we should use the horses from now on,” she admitted regretfully. The ATVs got them places faster, but the noise signaled anyone that they were coming. She still wasn’t certain what was going on. They hadn’t been able to find Toby to ask him, but something was going on and she didn’t like it. She’d sent the pictures off asking about the various brands, but bypassed the local sheriff’s office. Not because they didn’t seem to care, but because she was certain they didn’t have the resources.
As she was coming back from one of her clients one day, she was stopped by a man she had never met before. This happened frequently when someone was looking for the doctor on the various deserted roads she traveled. Out of habit, she casually reached for the small .22 pistol she carried…you never knew.
“You the doctor? The vet?” he asked when he flagged her down.
Not getting out of the truck, she wondered if the guy could read. Her truck had ‘Herriot Veterinary Services’ on it all over. Still, she would be polite. “Yep, I’m Doctor Herriot,” she told him cordially.
He leaned in from where she had rolled down the window. “Now, you listen to me, Doc. You stop makin’ questions about brands and such that don’ concern ya,” he said ominously.
“Why, whatever do you mean?” she pretended ignorance and slipped the gun from its holster along the bottom of her car seat.
“You know what I mean,” he said, his hot breath coming in through the window as he tried to intimidate her.
“I suggest you back off,” she told him, starting to get a little scared, which made her angry. She knew if she were standing, he would have tried to scare and intimidate her with his size. Bullies always did piss her off.
“Yeah? Whatcha gonna do if I don’?” he smiled, his bushy mustache making it look positively leering.
“I may have to hurt you. You see, I’m a doctor and anything I do to you, I’d have to fix. I don’t think you’d like the stitches,” she tried to use humor to throw him off.
“Oh, yeah?” he answered, now angry that she wasn’t taking his intimidation tactics seriously. He went to reach for her through the window and she pulled the gun, cocking it at the same time.
“I suggest you back off,” she repeated in a matter-of-fact tone.
He couldn’t see what caliber the gun was. All he could see was the black hole where the bullets came out pointed in his face. He hadn’t expected her to pull a gun. Everyone had said what a kind and caring doctor she was. He hadn’t expected her to defend herself at all. He took her suggestion and backed up. When she gestured with the gun towards his own truck, he backed up even further.
“Don’ think this is the end of this,” he blustered, furious.
“I’m sure it’s not, but just know I’ll be ready for you. I suggest you tell Toby or whoever it is running cows on my range to get them off. This terminates our contract,” she told him, still holding the gun steady. She was surprised it wasn’t shaking in her grip, but her adrenalin was up and she could feel it.
As he got back in the truck, slamming the door angrily, he leaned out his own window to give her a final warning. “Don’ forget your little ‘bride’ is alone a lot of the time at that ranch.” He started to drive away, but heard her clearly.
“Good, cause she’s a better shot than I am!” Fiona watched in her rearview mirror, memorizing the license plate as he drove away before the dust of the backroad obscured it from sight. She quickly wrote it down so she wouldn’t forget it, uncocking the gun, slipping the safety on, and putting it back in its holster before she took up her pencil. She leaned back in her seat. “Shit,” she swore loudly and long as the adrenalin surge began to make her weak. She had to warn Allyssa! She picked up her cell phone intending to call her, but got no bars. Next, she tried the CB, but all she got was static. By then she felt able to drive again and put the truck in gear. She reported the guy to the sheriff, filled out the report and signed it, and included
a description of him, his truck, and the license plate. She had a feeling they weren’t going to do much. It was time to up the ante.
As she drove back to ranch, she reached Allyssa on the phone. She told her what had happened and advised her to be careful.
“You really think these guys are going to do something in broad daylight?” Allyssa asked, but checked on the pistol she kept in the desk to be sure it was there.
“They threatened me in broad daylight,” Fiona pointed out.
“I’ll be ready,” she promised and she was. She put on the holster her wife had purchased with the gun, never thinking she would have need of it. She felt like a little kid wearing it. It clipped to her belt instead of the belt slipping through the back of the holster, and the gun fit it perfectly. It was obviously made for this exact gun. She checked the chamber and slipped a cartridge into it before slipping on the safety and putting it in the holster. Fiona was pleased to see her wearing it.
“What do you think is going on?” Allyssa asked her wife when she got home that evening.
“I think someone is running cattle on our range that has no business being there and they are probably taking mustangs too, like I told you.”
“Oh no, not the beautiful horses,” Allyssa lamented. “They’re so wild and free.”
“That’s just it, they are free and they are worth money in the right circles even if they end up as dog food.”
Allyssa looked down to Rex who was panting happily at having his humans together again and petted him absentmindedly. “You wouldn’t feed him horse meat, would you?”
“Not when there are plenty of alternatives,” Fiona told her. “Let’s get dinner and go out earlier tonight. I’m gonna grab our sleeping bags and we’re gonna stay out tonight,” she told her wife.
“You think they are going to do something tonight?”
She shrugged as she headed for the stock shed so she could fill up her truck, then distracted, she turned back to her wife. “I don’t know, but we have to catch them at it or no one is going to believe us. I don’t know if the cabin is safe to stay in anymore.” She looked up at the hills around them, suddenly feeling like they were being watched. The man knew she was married to a woman. They knew her wife was frequently alone at the ranch. That bothered her, but she didn’t want to frighten Allyssa more than she already had.
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