by Sylvia Nobel
Scarlet blotches stained Payton’s cheeks and he swore under his breath before swiveling around to make a beeline for one of the patrol cars. “Dan, what the hell is going on here?” he demanded, addressing one husky deputy perched on the front seat of his vehicle filling out a wad of forms attached to a clipboard.
Appearing slightly annoyed, the officer scowled up at him. “I’m kinda busy now, Payton.”
“I can see that but…someone said there’s been a shooting. Is Brett all right? Was he involved in any way? And what’s the deal with Jason and Champ? Are they being arrested? For what?” His voice had climbed to a screech.
“Why don’t you take a couple of deep breaths and calm down,” the deputy advised. “Now, unless Brett has been magically transformed into an immigrant male in his late teens, then he wasn’t the one who took a bullet in his gut.”
Payton looked slightly taken aback and swallowed hard. “Oh. Well, what happened?”
“We’re not really sure yet.” He nodded towards the group of illegals seated on the ground. “Apparently some of these fellows jumped out from behind some bushes and scared the living crap out of some of the guests during a trail ride earlier. There was a lot of panic when one of the horses spooked and a woman fell off. While she was lying on the ground, she claims one of the illegals roughed her up and tried to steal her horse. Champ tackled him, there was a scuffle, and he insists that his gun went off accidentally. But, the Mexican swears Champ deliberately fired at him. It remains to be seen if he’ll be charged.”
“With what?” Payton asked sharply.
“Whatever the Pima County Attorney’s Office decides. Could be attempted murder, aggravated assault or possibly endangerment.”
Pointing to the tight cluster of immigrants, Payton’s eyes turned flinty. “Is there no justice? Did they tell you what these barbarians did to their cattle over the weekend? How can you guys side with these…these…depraved criminals...?”
Vaguely, I wondered how Payton knew about the butchered cattle. Dan scowled back at him. “We’re not siding with anybody. Just trying to do our job. Period.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes and held the bridge of his nose momentarily before asking, “What does…how is Jason involved in this?”
The deputy shook his head in disgust. “Stupid kid.” He went on to explain that the younger Beaumont had made a complete spectacle of himself when Hispanic activist and immigration attorney Linda Lopez had arrived on the scene with a television crew demanding to know what had happened. Apparently they’d been at the port of entry in Sasabe doing a story on the rigorous new border policies when all the excitement erupted and they’d followed Border Patrol agents to the ranch. When Champ ordered her off his property, she’d threatened him with a second lawsuit. “That’s when Jason lost it,” Dan stated. “First he shoved the cameraman and then he went for the Lopez woman’s throat. It took me and two other deputies to pull him off of her. He’s just begging to have her file assault charges against him.”
“What happens now?” Payton asked, running a knuckle back and forth across his upper lip.
A shrug. “The usual. They’ll be arraigned before a judge in the morning and he’ll probably set bail. In Champ’s case, it’ll probably be pretty high since he’s already in hot water with the previous charge. Hey, look, that’s about all I can tell you without compromising this case. If you’ve got any more questions you’ll have to talk to Sheriff Musgrove,” he said, thumbing towards a mustachioed man leaning in the back window of the patrol car talking with Champ.
Payton thanked him and moved away mumbling bitterly, “That meddling bitch better watch her back.” Apparently forgetting that I was there, he turned and loped towards the house, most likely on a mission to find Brett. Because I needed his vocal chords to report my stolen car to one of the many law enforcement officers milling around, I scurried after him. The sudden exertion made me woozy and just a tad sick to my stomach. No doubt dehydration from the fever was taking its toll.
He rushed around the side of the house and pushed the kitchen door open. A cacophony of noise poured out, along with two harried-looking middle-aged couples with suitcases and plastic bags clutched in their hands. They jostled past us, one woman shouting behind her, “Come on, kids, we’re getting out of here now. This is too much wild west for me!”
Payton and I stood aside as three kids wearing long faces trailed behind them. As they hurried towards a car bearing Ohio license plates, I couldn’t help thinking that this was just the type of scenario Champ had feared most. Filled with sympathy for him, I followed Payton inside. In between the parade of other guests and members of the Hispanic staff scurrying back and forth, I spotted a tall man in a checkered shirt with his back to me, the wall phone pressed to his left ear. Bethany, clad in snug tan jeans that emphasized her perfect buttocks, stood close to him, leaning her blonde head against his bicep while she cuddled Brett next to her.
I edged a glance at Payton’s features flattening with displeasure. I’m sure the sight of Bethany schmoozing with the hunky wrangler probably frosted him big time, but when I looked back at them again, icy butterflies danced a nervous jig in my stomach. Wait a minute. There was something terribly familiar about the cowboy’s muscular frame.
“Well now, isn’t this a cozy family picture?” Payton sneered.
Brett’s head whipped around. “Daddy!” he shrieked, breaking away from Bethany’s grasp to throw his arms around Payton’s thighs. “The sheriff is taking Grandpa and Uncle Jason to jail!” he cried, staring up at his father for consolation. “Can’t you stop them?”
Bethany peeked over her shoulder, saw me, saw Payton, and then, blue eyes aglitter, she slid her arm possessively around the man’s slim waist. The culmination of all the doubts festering at the epicenter of my subconscious mind erupted to the surface. No. It couldn’t be. But even as my eyes continued to reject the obvious, my tortured heart grasped the awful truth. As if in a dream, the man slowly turned and fastened startled brown eyes on me. Oh, my God! It was Tally.
20
Even if I’d had my voice, the shock of seeing him with Bethany’s arm coiled around his waist like a venomous snake would have rendered me incapable of speech. In the span of mere seconds, my emotions seesawed between wild elation and wounded bewilderment. More than anything else on earth, I wanted to run into his arms, but the sight of Miss Totally Perfect, clinging to him, and him not seeming to mind, brought bitter bile to the back of my throat. In contrast, I’m certain I looked as if I’d just arrived at death’s door. It was heartening to see a glimmer of relief behind his eyes, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by resentment as his questioning gaze tracked back and forth between Payton and me. “Never mind, Ginger,” he barked into the phone, “she’s just shown up. Yeah, I’ll call you back. What? Yeah, she appears to be fine. Looks like I cancelled my trip for nothing.” He slammed the receiver onto the switch hook and just stood there, breathing hard and glowering at me with a mixture of exasperation and disappointment.
“I…I can’t believe you’re here,” I managed to squeak out, really wishing that I’d said ‘what a sweetheart you are to have come looking for me!’
“Apparently,” came his dry reply.
“Bradley,” Payton remarked, nodding coolly, “I certainly didn’t expect to see you here.”
In an equally chilly tone, Tally replied, “Hello, Payton. Guess I could say the same.”
What? They knew each other? Mush. My brain cells were pure mush. And then it struck me. Payton had known the Beaumont family most of his life. Of course he would have run into the Talversons during that space of time.
“Brett, why don’t you run upstairs and get your things,” Payton said, giving his son a little push towards the doorway.
As the little boy streaked from the room, Bethany crooned, “Now see, Tally, you were all worried for nothing. Didn’t I tell you she was probably wit
h Payton? I mean, she’s practically spent the whole weekend with him.”
The intimate gesture of Tally’s hand coming to rest on her shoulder had my insides shriveling. “Well, Bethy, guess you were right.”
Smug. She looked so damned smug. Bethy? Had he called her Bethy? Even in my weakened state, a surge of heat fueled my dormant temper.
“Where in the hell have you been?” Tally growled at me. “I’ve been all over this town, all over this whole goddamned county looking for you!”
Holding my throat, I grunted, “I can explain….”
“I’m not sure I want to hear it. I’ve already heard several versions of your warm and cuddly lunch with Payton yesterday. So…is this the surprise you had for me?”
My screech of protest came out a crackling honk and I threw Payton a ‘hey, how about helping me out here’ look, but his hostile stare was drilling a hole through Bethany, who appeared delighted with his discomfort. Eyes sparkling with malicious pleasure she clicked her tongue. “My goodness, Payton, what a bad boy you are.” Her eyes raked over his mud-spattered clothes and then zeroed in on my torn jeans. “Looks like you two have been rolling in the mud.”
I glared at her, anger forming a hard block in my chest. What the hell was she up to? Skewered by Tally’s look of outraged betrayal, I stood mute, benumbed by the entire situation, physically unable to say anything to defend myself. Surely he wasn’t going to buy into this carload of crap? When my pathetic attempt to dispute her allegations came out sounding like a strangled hiss, I locked in to his intractable gaze, shaking my head in denial, hoping he’d decipher the SOS in my eyes. But as he surveyed our incriminatingly disheveled appearance and continued to wait stone-faced for my explanation, I could sense a gulf forming between us. The palpable disconnection of our hearts seemed almost audible and left an aching void in my chest.
“I’m positive there’s a special corner in hell reserved especially for you,” Payton responded in a deadly tone, meeting Bethany’s wicked expression.
Consumed with white-hot rage, I took several steps forward, poised to go for her jugular, just as Twyla staggered into the room and collapsed into a chair. “Oh, dear God!” she wailed. “What am I going to do?” She stared at us as if we somehow held the answer to her dilemma. “I’ve got six more couples arriving this afternoon from a Chicago brokerage firm. They’ve pre-paid for a cattle drive plus a barbeque cookout with dancing tomorrow evening! What about the other guests? How am I going to run this place when I’ve got to meet with our lawyers in Tucson first thing in the morning? I might be there all day.” Voice cracking, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed, “This is going to ruin us!”
Payton said crisply, “Don’t worry, Twyla, I’ll contact the rancher’s coalition right away. We’ll take up a collection to get them out.”
As if not to be upstaged by Payton, Bethany sprang to her side. “Don’t worry, Mummy,” she crooned, slipping a comforting arm around the older woman’s shoulders, “everything’s going to be okay.” For once, she appeared genuinely concerned. “Look, Tally’s here now. I’m sure if we ask, he’ll be glad to stay and help us out for a few days.” She turned to him, her vivid blue eyes beseeching, beguiling. “You can stay, can’t you? Please say yes. Please?”
Twyla looked up, her tear-stained face brightening with hope. “Oh, Tally, would you? We would be ever so grateful!”
Taken off guard, Tally paused before leveling me with a look that made me question whether my heart was still functioning properly. “Well, since it appears that Kendall has decided to stay on to pursue her own agenda…I guess there’s no reason I can’t stick around and give you folks a hand.”
Twyla jumped up and threw her arms around him. “God bless you, dear boy.” Then she turned to me. “Oh, Kendall, I’m so sorry about your California plans, but I so much appreciate you loaning him to us for a little while. I’ll tell you what, since Champ may not be arraigned until Thursday, you two can have our room and I’ll take the lower bunk in Brett’s room. Will that be okay? Blah…blah…blah….”
Strange. Her mouth was moving but suddenly her words made no sense. Maybe it was because of the loud ringing in my ears. Blackness closed around me as the floor came up to meet me.
The next thing I remember was the sensation of someone placing something cold on my forehead. I strained to open my eyes, but my lids felt like they were stapled shut. I drifted again peacefully for a while before the murmur of nearby voices intruded. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you people all along!” Payton spat. “Come on, Brett, if we leave now, we’ll just have time to make the movie.”
Bethany called, “Have him back by….”
“I’ll bring him back when I damn well please.” Seconds later the slam of the front door reverberated throughout the room.
“Well, my goodness, he’s in a snit today,” Twyla fretted. “As if we don’t have enough problems.” A short silence was followed by, “So, what are we going to do with her? We can’t take a chance on her infecting the other guests.”
Fully awake now, I stayed still, deciding I’d glean more information if they assumed I was unconscious. A saccharine voice easily identifiable as Bethany’s whined, “Tally, I’m sure you don’t want to take any chances on being around her either. She’s probably really contagious. Why don’t we put her back in the spare room like before and you can sleep in my bedroom?”
Her insinuating offer, followed by Tally’s hesitation, turned my insides to ice.
“I’m going to make this easy for everyone,” came his weary reply, “and stay in the bunk house with Art.”
Twyla protested, “I won’t hear of it. I insist you stay in my room. Brett won’t mind a little company, I’m sure.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Bethany cut in. “Why don’t we have someone drive her back to Castle Valley?”
I tensed during the extended pause and then relaxed when Tally stated, “No, I think she’s too sick to travel.”
I despised being talked about in the third person and forced my eyes open to stare at the dark wooden beams running the length of the living room ceiling. Flat on my back on the couch, still fuzzy-headed, I turned my head and looked up into Lin Su’s expressionless eyes. “Drink,” the Chinese woman said, proffering a cup to my lips. “You feel better.” She placed one hand behind my neck and propped my head up. It was some kind of tea with a sweet licorice flavor. The warmth soothed my fiery throat, so I gulped it greedily. She pulled it away, cautioning, “Sip. Sip slowly.”
“You’re awake.” The two simple words made me turn to stare into Tally’s fathomless brown eyes, hoping to see the light of forgiveness there. I didn’t.
“Payton explained where you were last night.” His words sounded crisp. “Sorry to hear about your car.”
Not sorry to hear about my ordeal or that I was so sick, just sorry about the car. The brittle tone of his voice matched his gaze, assaulting my senses, and making my heart feel like it was being pulled through a cheese grater. What was the matter with him? Still unable to talk, I shot him a perplexed look as he continued with, “I passed along all the information you gave Payton to one of the deputies and I’ll call Ginger about your cards and things.” He offered no apology for doubting my faithfulness, just continued to look offended and totally pissed off. A heavy mantle of guilt settled around my shoulders. It wasn’t difficult to read his mind. As far as he was concerned, sick or not, my zeal to pursue Lupe’s story had produced the same results. Our California trip was history. I came off looking like a total shit-heel, having broken my promise and he appeared in no mood to forgive and forget. Obviously reveling in my misfortune, Bethany’s expression of haughty triumph irked me to no end.
I mouthed, “I’m so sorry,” then indicated that I needed something to write on. Lin Su scooped up the little notepad sitting beside the phone and handed it to me. I wrote, ‘I need to talk to you alone soon. I have some really important
things to share with you’ and held it out to him. His fingers brushing mine sent a pleasurable thrill through me. Surely, he wasn’t going to stay angry with me forever?
Maintaining an impassive expression, he read the note and folded it up. “Maybe later, when you get your voice back and you’re feeling better.” He turned to Twyla. “I think she may need medical attention.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” was her breezy response. “Lin Su is our unofficial medical practitioner. She’ll whip up a bowl of her famous herbal soup and Kendall will be on her feet in no time.” She fastened an affectionate smile on the Chinese woman, who nodded in return. “Her medicine is better than anything you can get from a regular doctor, trust me.”
Tally looked as skeptical as I felt, but said nothing. In no condition to complain, I was banished to the little ironing room again on the second floor, where I lay alternately sweating and shivering. Lin Su insisted I hand over my grungy clothes to be laundered, and since replacements were in the trunk of my missing car, I had no choice but to accept a nightgown that I assumed belonged to Bethany. She helped me into it, left and then returned to rub an acrid-smelling salve on my throat. After piling blankets over me, she plied me with spoonfuls of herbal soup and left me with a bowl of ice chips with lemon sprinkled on top for my raging thirst. Time dragged as I fretted about Tally. Where was he? Why hadn’t he come to see me? How was I ever going to make this up to him? I could imagine Bethany taking full advantage of the situation and I seethed with fury. Outside the open window, the muted sounds of ranch life wafted up from below before being drowned out by the rumble of arriving vehicles. Probably the large party of guests Twyla had mentioned. From my sickbed I could hear the sounds of car doors slamming, lots of good-natured chattering, raucous male laughter, and finally someone shouting, “Yee Haw! Let’s brand some doggies!”
