Wounded

by Percival Everett

We stopped by Morgan’s ranch on the way home. She had built a fire, and smoke was coming from the chimney; the place looked postcard pretty in the late afternoon.

  “We’ve moved her horses to my place,” I said as I killed the engine. “This is a sweet place. It’s going to be hard for her to let it go.”

  Morgan met us at the door. Zoe was standing behind her and behind Zoe was the coyote, well formed, still with three legs and fuzzy. She was redder than I thought she would be.

  “Morgan, you remember David,” I said.

  “Of course I do,” she said. She gave David a hug, then kissed me.

  “The puppy’s really gotten bigger,” David said. He kneeled down and stroked both dogs. The coyote was not nippy, I liked that, and appreciated the attention.

  “Gus get off okay?” Morgan asked.

  “Yep.”

  “What’s the puppy’s name?” David asked.

  “Gus named him after my mother,” Morgan said. “Her name is Emily.”

  “She’s really strong,” David said.

  “So, how’s it going here?” I asked.

  “Getting there,” she said. “Mother had a lot of papers.”

  “We all do,” I said.

  “What do you say we kill the fire and head home?” Zoe came and pushed her nose under my hand. “Have I been ignoring you, girl?” I said to the dog. “I’m sorry.” I rubbed behind her ear. “We’ll all ride together. We’ll come back for your truck tomorrow.”

  “I just want to grab a few things,” Morgan said. Then to David, “How was your trip? Was the bus cold?”

  “If anything it was too hot,” David said. “The flight into Denver was bumpy. I’m not a fan of flying.”

  “Who is?” Morgan asked.

  “Get your stuff,” I said. “I’ll kill the fire. David, would you walk outside with the dogs and make sure the pup stays close?”

  “Sure.” David left with the dogs.

  “How’s he doing?” Morgan asked.

  “Fine, I guess.” I put my arms around Morgan. “I missed you.”

  “See, I knew you were a big pussycat. You’re not going to change after we get married, are you?”

  “Well, I hope being around you will make me better looking,” I said.

  “Keep wishing, cowboy.”

  Back at my place, I prepared dinner while Morgan and David went out to muck stalls. The temperature was plummeting and I asked them to throw blankets over a couple of the older animals. Morgan came in complaining about my being in the warm house and I told her that cooking was man’s work. David closed the door, took off his jacket, and slapped his arms.

  “This is worse than Chicago,” he said.

  “Chicago can be pretty cold,” I said. “David, I decided to let you have the bedroom downstairs. It’s down the hall off the den. I’m afraid the room upstairs is full of somebody’s stuff.”

  “My stuff,” Morgan said.

  “The bathroom is close and you won’t have to share it with Gus.”

  “Thanks. I think I’ll check out the bathroom right now.” David left the room.

  “He’s very quiet,” Morgan said. “He hardly said two words while we were out there.”

  “Really? I guess he’s shy.” I said. “You know you can be pretty intimidating sometimes.”

  Morgan snuggled up close to me. “Oh, yeah? You think so, do you?”

  “Yes, indeed. Downright overbearing.”

  She kissed me. “Little ol’ me?”

  “Yep. Now get out of here and let me cook. You make me nervous.”

  David returned. “The room looks great.”

  “It can be a little chilly in the morning. The wall heater in that bathroom is pretty good, though.”

  “Can I help?” he asked.

  “You can help by sitting down and having a cup of tea while I do this,” I said. “You, too, madam.”

  “I’m going upstairs to do a few things,” Morgan said. “Fifteen minutes?”

  “That’s about right.”

  When Morgan was gone, David said, “She’s nice.”

  “Yeah, she’s something special.”

  “So, when is the wedding?”

  “The spring, I guess.” I poured olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the salad and gave it a toss.

  “I never imagined ranch people eating like you,” he said.

  “All city people eat the same?” I asked.

  “Okay, okay.” David stood and walked to the window. “Does the mule always just wander around like that?”

  “I can’t stop him. Unfortunately, he’s mine now. I call him Pest. He answers to it, so I guess it’s his name.”

  “John, I want to thank you for letting me come here.”

  “You’re welcome. I don’t know if you’re going to be thanking me tomorrow when we’re riding the fence in ten-degree weather.”

  “You should probably know, I’ve never ridden a horse,” David said.

  I turned and looked at him. “Never? Not even a pony ride?”

  The young man shook his head.

  “Well, it will be a ten-degree riding lesson and then a fifteen-degree fence check. I’ll put you on my old App; she’s as safe as it gets.”

  “Have you ever fallen off a horse?”

  “I’ve been bucked off and launched off, but I’ve never fallen off a horse. You ever fall off a chair?”

  “Chairs don’t move,” he said.

  “Well, if you can sit on a chair without falling off, you can sit on a horse. You’ll like it.” I heard Morgan coming down the stairs. “David, why don’t you grab some plates out of that cupboard behind you.”

  “It’s not ready?” Morgan said.

  I gave the salad another toss. “Shadup and sidown,” I said. “But first, grab some silverware.”

  She opened the drawer. “Don’t listen to him, David,” she said. “This is not silver. I’m not sure what it is.”

  David chuckled.

  “He’s not a bad cook, though,” Morgan said. “He’s kind of a keeper.”

  The next morning was clear and hard cold. David was bundled up in a down coat and wore a watch cap pulled down over his ears. We finished the feeding, ate some cereal, and saddled the App for his lesson.

  In the round pen I told him the basics of reining. “Touch her neck on the left side with the rein and she’ll go right. You don’t have to pull. The horse will go where your belly button points. Point your navel to where you want to go, lay the rein on her neck and you’re off. Now, give her a little kiss sound and a squeeze with your calves.”

  He did and the horse walked.

  “Go ahead and walk her around the circle.”

  David was awkward, but the horse was confident and soon he looked comfortable enough.

  “That’s all we’re going to do is walk,” I said.

  “What if something scares her?” he asked.

  “This old girl is bomb proof. But if a spaceship does land and gets her running, hang on and realize that she’s the least of your worries.”

  We rode out the gate and toward the southeast.

  “What are we doing again?”

  “Duncan Camp wants to park some cattle on BLM adjacent to my place and I want to make sure my fence is good.”

  “A range war,” David joked.

  “That’s right. No, not really, but I don’t want his cows coming close and messing up things. I don’t much like cows, if you haven’t noticed. Besides, it will be easier for him to find the beasts if they can’t wander across my place and find their way onto the desert.”

  We rode the fence and re-stretched barbed wire in places, rolled up discarded wire and made sure the gates were in good shape and closed. The work and the sun warmed us up and soon we were a little sweaty in our coats.

  “I’m getting hot,” David said.

  “Well, stay hot. Better to be hot in your coat. You take that jacket off and that cold hits your wet body and you’ll be sorry.”

  “Got it.”


  We stopped on a ridge and looked down at the valley. “This is something, isn’t it?” I said.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “I never get used to it.” I looked at him. “I’m glad you’re here, David.”

  “Me, too. Thanks.”

  We came on one last sagging string of wire. David managed to tangle it around his leg. It ripped through his jeans and sliced his calf. He let out a scream and started hopping around.

  “Let me see it,” I said. “You’re going to have to drop your pants.”

  “Jesus, that hurts.” He undid his belt and exposed his leg.

  I pulled my first aid kid from my saddlebag and began to treat the wound. “This is going to sting a little,” I told him, then put some antiseptic on.

  “A little?”

  “Okay, a lot.” I looked at the flap of skin. There wasn’t a lot of blood. “You’re not going to bleed to death. Tell me this, cowpoke, do you remember the last time you had a tetanus shot?”

  “No.”

  “In the past ten years?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

  “Past five years?” I asked.

  “No. I’m sure of that. Is that bad?”

  I stared at the wound. “It would be real bad if we were in the middle of nowhere,” I said.

  David looked around and started to laugh. “I guess everything’s relative. What now?”

  “We drive into town and get you poked with a big needle,” I said. “That way you won’t get lockjaw and whooping cough and die before your time, leaving me to explain things to your parents.”

  “Don’t sugarcoat it.”

  “A big, fat needle.”

  “That’s better.”

  “Besides, you deserve a better dressing than the one I can give you,” I said. “Mount up.”

  We dropped Morgan at her place and she planned to drive back in her car. We didn’t have any wait at the hospital. David got his shot and we left. I decided I wanted to buy some flowers for Morgan, so we stopped in at the only florist shop in town. As we walked out to the Jeep, I saw the BMW parked across the street. The rednecks were just getting out as we were getting in. They shot me a look as we drove away. I don’t think David saw them.

  That night Gus called and told me what time his bus would be arriving the next day. He sounded low and I asked him how the tests went and he said he didn’t know, only that they were uncomfortable and he was tired.

  “How is he?” Morgan asked. She was sitting on the sofa in the study, reading.

  “Tired.”

  “Thanks again for the flowers,” she said.

  “Pretty gal like you needs pretty things around her,” I said in my best cowboy voice.

  “You’re the one who’s tired,” she said. “I’ll pick up Gus tomorrow. You catch up around here. That will make three days into town in a row.”

  I couldn’t argue with that. “Thanks, honey.”

  I fell onto the sofa next to her. “You know, I never called anybody else sweetie and honey before.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Where’s our guest?”

  “I think the young man has retired for the evening,” I said. “It was a rough day for him. He was nervous the whole time he was on horseback.”

  “At least he’s a sport,” Morgan said.

  “He’s a good kid.”

  “He’s not a kid. He’s twenty years old.”

  “He’s not a kid to you because you’re a spring chicken,” I said. “He’s a kid to me because I’m old as dirt.”

  The phone rang and I walked across the room to the desk to answer it. It was Daniel White Buffalo.

  “Another cow dead?” I asked.

  “No, but Clara Monday thinks somebody took a shot at her,” he said.

  “Say again?”

  “She was over in the Owl Creeks, just riding along, and she says somebody put a bullet into the slope behind her.”

  “Did she see anyone?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so.” Daniel took a breath and listened to my silence. “I just thought you should know.”

  “Thanks, Daniel.” I hung up.

  “What is it?” Morgan asked, closing her book and leaning forward, seeing the expression on my face.

  “It seems somebody fired a shot at Clara Monday.”

  “Oh, my god,” she said.

  “Daniel said he thought I should know.”

  Morgan walked over and put her arms around me.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. I knew, however, that she could feel my uneasiness. I stroked her hair.

  In my dream, I was dragging a reluctant donkey around a large pen. I was afraid she was going to colic and I didn’t want her to roll. The vet had called and told me he would be right there, but that was hours ago. It was a hot day, sweltering, and I was drenched. The donkey would willingly walk a few steps with me then fall back on her heels, leaving me to drag her and her quarter-ton pendulous belly forward. Then she would stop and try to cough up something and I began to think it was choke and not colic. Susie came out to the corral and told me that the vet had called and that he was on his way and that he was all worried that the donkey was going to die and so she was all worried that the donkey was going to die and I said, “Well, she isn’t dying yet, so let’s wait and worry when we know enough to worry about.” This made her mad and she walked away into the house. I wanted to go after her, to tell her that my saying that was probably just a clumsy way of my expressing worry, but I couldn’t leave the donkey. Every time I tried to walk away from the donkey, she moved as if to lie on her side, so I would start tugging again. The vet showed up and Susie joined him as he walked toward the donkey and me. Just as they reached the gate, the donkey hacked up a black piece of plastic. The vet sighed relief and said, “So, it was choke.” He turned to Susie and said, “I’m sorry I got you all worked up.”

  I said to the vet, “We were both pretty nervous, all right.”

  “Well, I’ll take a look,” the vet said. “We’ll put a tube down her and pump in some oil to be sure everything’s going where it ought to be going.”

  Susie had turned away and was marching to the house.

  I followed her inside, but couldn’t find her anywhere. I looked in all the rooms and then in the barn. The vet was riding the donkey around in the pen. I looked out across the field and saw footprints in the snow, even though it was hot, but I didn’t follow them. I just went back into the house and tried to start a fire, but every match I lit went out and I became more and more frustrated. Finally, my hands were trembling and the matches wouldn’t even spark.

  “John.” Morgan woke me. Her voice broke through and when I opened my eyes I saw the hint of sunrise through the window.

  “Yes?”

  “You were having a bad dream.” She used her thumb to stroke the furrow of my brow.

  I put my arm around her and pulled her close. Her skin was bare and warm. “Was I kicking and screaming like a dang fool?”

  “No, just muttering.”

  “Sorry about that,” I said. “What time is it?”

  “Five-forty-five. We’re burning daylight.”

  “I might as well get up then.”

  She pushed me back down. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Why, do you have something else in mind?”

  “Maybe,” she said.

  “I get it,” I said. “You want us to sleep for another half-hour. I can do that.” And I turned over.

  Morgan poked me in the side and made me jump. “You’d better show me some cowboy lovin’ or you’re in for it.”

  “Oh, all right, if I have to.”

  I fed the horses and groomed those whose turn it was. Then I worked Felony in the round pen for a while. He had really come along and it was about time to let him go home to Duncan Camp. He’d begun a fairly steady ride and his big body let him cover ground in a hurry, even if it did make him a little clumsy on steep terrain. I cantered around a
few more times, then stopped in the center of the ring and looked up at the sky. The sun was out and the only clouds were well away over the mountains. The day promised to be mild, but those clouds were going to make things bad, I just knew it in my gut. I’d asked Morgan if she wanted to saddle Square and take a ride into the high country with me, but she said she was going to make bread. She suggested I take David up there. He and Gus were sleeping late. I figured that they deserved it on New Year’s Eve. I left Felony saddled and tied at the post outside the kitchen.

  Morgan was measuring flour into a bowl next to the sink. David was at the table, dressed and finishing a bowl of cereal.

  “How about a ride in the hills?” I asked. I could see that he was apprehensive. “Nothing fancy. You’ll be used to this in no time. It’s not necessary to ride a horse to work on a ranch, but it’s the fun part. Unless that leg’s going to give you trouble.”

  “No, it’ll be all right.”

  “We don’t have to go out,” I said.

  “No, really, I want to,” he said. “I’ll just run and brush my teeth.” He left the room.

  “I didn’t push him, did I?” I looked to Morgan.

  She shook her head. “No. But it’s kind of cute.”

  “What is?”

  “That kid really wants to please you.” She cracked an egg into the bowl. “He looks up to you.”

  “He doesn’t even know me,” I said.

  “Well, that would explain it,” Morgan said.

  “Very funny.” I poured myself half a cup of coffee. “You feed the puppy yet?”

  “Yep. She’s really growing. She’s got a nice temperament.”

  “And what are you making?”

  “Cookies,” she said. “I woke up and felt like making cookies. I’m praying that David loves cookies because I don’t want to eat them all myself.”

  “Is Gus still in bed?”

  Morgan nodded.

  I looked at the clock. It was almost eight-thirty. “I think I’ll check on him. You think I should?”

  “Please,” Morgan said.

  I walked up the stairs and tapped on Gus’s door. “Hey, Gus.”

  “Yeah?” he answered.

  I felt a load lift from me. “You okay in there?”