by Nora Roberts
“Okay.”
“He’s got a strong back and he’s not an idiot. I was talking to Bob Brown yesterday. He tells me his granddaughter’s looking for a job. Girl can ride, and she’s thinking about asking you if you need another guide.”
“I could use one, especially with the season coming up. Does she know the trails?”
“Bob says she does, and she’s got a head on her shoulders. You can talk to her yourself, and decide.”
“I’ll do that.”
Sam puffed out his cheeks. “Jessie Climp teaches over at the elementary, and she’s looking for summer work. You might want to talk to her. She’s been around horses all her life, and she’s good with kids. Might be she’d do fine for those pony rides we’re adding in.”
Coop smiled. So they’d discussed the changes and additions he wanted to make. “I’ll talk to her.”
“New computers and what-all, I’m leaving to you and Lucy. I don’t want any more to do with them than I have to.”
“We’ll look into that, first chance.”
“As for adding on, could be I’ll talk to Quint about drawing something up for that. I had a conversation with Mary Blunt about this retail business, and she tells me Lil’s place does a good turn on things like postcards and such.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“I saw the doctor yesterday. He says I’m fit and I’m sound. The leg’s healed up.” To prove it, Sam gave his thigh a smack. “At my age I’m going to have to pamper it some, but I can walk and stand and I can sit a horse and ride a plow. So I’ll be taking on some of the guideds again. You’re not here to work yourself to the bone—that’s not what your grandmother and me want.”
“I’m a long way from the bone.”
As Coop had, Sam leaned on the pitchfork. “I’ve been dug in about hiring on. Don’t like change. But things change whether you like it or not, and the fact is we’ve got a good business going with the rentals. Better than we ever expected. We need to hire on more help there. We need more help around the farm so you can do what you came out here to do, and if that’s adding some things, changing them some, that’s the way it is.”
“More help’s not going to hurt my feelings, but I’m doing what I came out here to do, whether we add on or change a thing.”
“You came out to help your crippled grandfather.” Sam did a bounce and kick that had Coop laughing. “Do I look crippled?”
“No, but you don’t look like Fred Astaire either.”
Sam wagged the pitchfork. “You came back to start digging in the roots you planted when you were just a boy. To run the horse business and help with the farm.”
“Like I said, I’m doing what I came out to do.”
“Not all.” This time Sam pointed a finger. “Are you married to that girl? Did you just forget to invite me to the wedding?”
“I didn’t come out here to marry Lil. I thought she was going to marry someone else.”
“Had that been the case, you’d’ve been working out ways to win her away from that French guy ten minutes after setting eyes on her again.”
“Maybe.”
Pleased, Sam nodded. “You would’ve done it, too. Anyway, we’re hiring on, and we’re adding on. Your grandma and me decided on it.”
“Okay. I’ll make it work for you, Grandpa.”
“You make it work for you, I expect it’ll work for me. And you’ll have time to do everything you came out here to do. I’ll finish up here. You go in and sweet-talk your grandmother out of some breakfast before you go on. She’s got the start of her spring cleaning in mind today, so God help me. I got the names and phone numbers of those I told you about in the kitchen.”
“I’ll haul this load out first.”
“Do you think I haven’t got the muscle for that?”
“Grandpa, I figure you can haul your share of shit and everyone else’s, but it’s on my way.”
Coop wheeled out the barrow while Sam guffawed. He headed to the manure pile with a grin.
IN THE CHANCE kitchen, breakfast was on. Farley plowed into flapjacks, dazzled by his luck. Along with them were sausage and hash browns. A kingly breakfast, in his mind, for the middle of the week.
“Our stomachs are getting full because Jenna emptied my wallet yesterday.”
Jenna bumped Joe’s shoulder with her elbow, then topped off his coffee. It did ease the guilt of the sting she put on their credit card. “That’s our wallet, mister.”
“It’s still empty.”
She laughed and sat to look over her grocery list, the list for the feed store, and other errands. “It’s market day, so I’m going to be putting another dent in that tin can with the spare cash you’ve got buried outside.”
“I used to think you really had one of those,” Farley said between bites.
“What makes you think I don’t? Take my advice, Farley, get yourself a tin can and bury it deep. A married man needs some backup.”
Jenna’s eyes twinkled with humor even as she narrowed them. “I know where everything’s buried around here. And just where to bury you where no one will ever find the body if you’re not careful.”
“A woman who can threaten your life before you’ve finished breakfast is the only kind of woman worth having,” Joe told Farley.
“I’ve got one of those. I’m a lucky man.”
“The two of you lucky men better finish up and get out of here if you expect to get your work done, then help Sam.”
“We’ll be the best part of the day. We’ll have the radio if you need anything.”
“I’ve got my own full day. Lucy’s packing you two lunch so you won’t starve, or have need to come back in before you’re done. I’ll be heading into town later on, then swinging by Lucy’s. She’s started her spring cleaning, so I’m picking up what she needs at the market.”
“Can you go by the hardware? I need a couple things.”
“Put it on the list.”
Joe wrote down what he needed while he finished his coffee. “We can call the dogs in if you want them around today.”
“I’ll be leaving in a couple hours anyway. Let them have a good run with you. Are you home for supper, Farley?”
“Well, Tansy’s mom’s going back today, so I was thinking . . .”
“I know what you’re thinking. I’ll see you in the morning, then.” She added to her list while Farley cleared the table.
“I’ll load up the tools,” he said. “Thanks for breakfast, Jenna.”
When they were alone, Joe winked at his wife. “We’ll have the house to ourselves tonight, so I was thinking . . .”
She laughed. “I know what you’re thinking, too.” She leaned over for the kiss. “Get going so you can get back. And don’t work so hard you’ve got nothing left for what you’re thinking.”
“I’ve always got something left for that.”
She smiled as she finished her lists in the quiet kitchen, because that was the pure truth.
LIL HELPED CLEAN and hose down the enclosures before going into the offices. It was dental hygiene day at the refuge, so Matt and several of the interns would be busy drugging animals and cleaning teeth. And a shipment of chicken was due to arrive that morning. More interns busy unloading and storing. The winch on the door of the lion’s habitat had made unfortunate noises that morning as she’d lowered it to keep Sheba out of the enclosure while they’d cleaned and disinfected it. Maintenance on the list, she thought, and some prayers that it didn’t need replacement.
Maybe one day she’d be able to afford hydraulics, but that was not today.
“Don’t you look bright and happy this morning,” Mary commented.
“Do I?”
“Yes, you do.” Mary tipped down her cheaters. “Good news?”
“No news, so I suppose that’s good. It’s going to hit seventy today, a veritable heat wave. Forecasters claim it’ll hang around through tomorrow before we drop about twenty degrees. We do need more feed for the petting zoo.”
&
nbsp; “I ordered it yesterday.”
“I’ve got news.” Lucius waved the whip of red licorice in his hand. “I just checked the website. We’re up to five thousand dollars in donations attached to Delilah. People are all excited about her, and her and Boris. It’s the love story that’s done it, I think.”
“If it is, we’re going to generate a romance for every animal in here.”
“They’ve gotten more hits than any of the others on the webcam this week, and more comments. I was thinking we could update the bios on all the animals, juice them up a little. And replace some of the photos, maybe do a couple of short videos.”
“That’s good. And you know what, Lucius, maybe you could get some videos of Matt and his interns working on the dental. It’s not sexy, but it shows what kind of care we give them, how much work’s involved. It’s educational, plus it may stir up donations from people who don’t realize what goes into tending them.”
“Sure, but it would work better if you wrote up a little piece on it. Something fun that talks about how people hate to go to the dentist and stuff like that.”
“I’ll play with something.”
She went into her office to work on a piece she hoped to pitch for pay on Delilah’s rescue. She’d beef it up with the romance angle with Boris, she decided. Good nutrition, proper care, and housing all mattered, she mused, but the connection to another living thing made life rich.
Nodding, she sat down to work on it, and thought romance was certainly in the air.
HEWAS READY, fully prepared. It had taken hours of work, but he felt everything he needed and wanted was now in place. Timing would be an unknown, a risk factor, but it would be worth it. In fact, it would be more exciting, more important with that unknown.
He was ready to kill, here and now, and take that risk as well. But as he watched, hidden, he lowered the crossbow. He might not have to kill to retrieve the bait. It would be better if he could make this clean. Take less of his time, his energy.
And make the real hunt-and-kill that much more satisfying.
Look at them, he thought, look at them going about their business, their useless business, without a clue he was close. No idea they were being watched.
He could kill them so easily. As easy—easier—than shooting a buck at his watering hole.
But wouldn’t she try harder, run faster, fight more viciously if he let them keep their worthless lives? Too much blood and she might lose heart.
He couldn’t have that. He’d waited too long, worked too hard.
So he watched them load the fencing. Fucking farmers, making their rooms out of the land. His land. Trapping their mindless cattle, animals not even worth the hunt.
Go on, go, he urged them, setting his teeth as their voices and laughter carried to him. Go. Everything will have changed when you get back. Yes, it was better to let them live, let them suffer when they realized what he’d done right under their noses.
Their tears would be sweeter than their blood.
He smiled as the dogs raced and ran and leaped in anticipation. He’d been resigned to killing the dogs, but he’d have been sorry for it. Now, it seemed, even that blood could be spared.
They rode off, the dogs in joyful pursuit. And the little farm in the valley of the hills went quiet. Still he waited. He wanted them well away, out of sight, out of hearing before he broke cover.
He’d watched the women many times in the past, studied the routine of the farm as he would any herd he stalked. She was strong, and he knew they had weapons inside the house. When he took her, he’d take her quickly.
He circled behind the barn, moving fast and silent. In his mind he wore buckskin and moccasins. His face bore the symbols of the warrior.
Birds sang, and some of the cattle lowed. He heard the chickens humming, and as he neared the house, the sound of the woman’s voice singing.
His mother hadn’t sung. She’d kept her head down, kept her mouth shut. She’d done what she was told to do or she got the boot. In the end his father had had no choice but to kill her. As he’d explained, she’d stolen from him. Held back her tips. Hoarded money. Lied.
A worthless white bitch, his father had explained when they’d buried her deep. A mistake. Women were no damn good, and white women the worst of the bad.
It had been an important lesson to learn.
He eased up to the side window, letting the lay of the kitchen come into his head from the times he’d scouted it. He could hear clanking and clattering. Doing the dishes, he thought, and when he risked a look, he saw—pleased—that she had her back to him as she loaded the dishwasher. Pans stood stacked on the counter, and her hips moved as she sang.
He wondered what it would be like to rape her, then dismissed the idea. Rape was beneath him. Just as she was beneath him. He wouldn’t soil himself with her.
She was bait. Nothing more.
Water ran in the sink, pots clattered. Under the cover of the kitchen noise, he stepped lightly to the back door, tried the knob.
He shook his head, vaguely disappointed it wasn’t locked. He’d visualized kicking it in, and the shock on her face when he did. Instead, he merely pushed it open, stepped inside.
She spun around, a skillet in her hand. As she raised it to strike or throw he simply lifted the crossbow. “I wouldn’t, but you go ahead if you want this bolt in your belly.”
She’d gone white, so her eyes shone black against her skin. He remembered then she had some of his blood. But she’d let it go pale. She’d ignored her heritage. Slowly, she set the pan down.
“Hello, Jenna,” he said.
He watched her throat work before she spoke, enjoyed the fear. “Hello, Ethan.”
“Outside.” He plucked her cell phone out of its charger on the counter, stuck it in his back pocket. “I can put one of these in your foot and drag you,” he said when she didn’t move, “or you can walk. That’s up to you.”
Giving him as wide a berth as possible, she went to the door, and out to the porch. He closed the door behind them.
“Keep moving. You’re going to do exactly as I say and exactly when I say it. If you try to run, you’ll find out how much faster a bolt is than you are.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out when we get there.” He shoved her forward when he decided she wasn’t moving fast enough.
“Ethan, they’re looking for you. Sooner or later they’ll find you.”
“They’re idiots. Nobody finds me unless I want to be found.” He forced her across the farmyard toward the trees.
“Why are you doing this?”
He watched her head move, left to right, and knew she was looking for a place to run, gauging her chances. He almost wished she’d risk it. As Carolyn had. That had been interesting.
“It’s what I am. What I do.”
“Kill?”
“Hunt. Killing’s the end of the game. Against the tree, face-first.” He pushed her. She threw her hands out to catch herself, scraping her palms on the bark. “Move, and I’ll hurt you.”
“What have we done?” She tried to think, to find a way out, but couldn’t push past the fear. It crawled inside her, crawled over her skin until there was nothing else. “What have we done to you?”
“This is sacred ground.” He looped a rope around her waist, pulled it tight enough to stop her breath. “It’s mine. And you, you’re worse than the rest. You have Sioux blood.”
“I love the land.” Think, think, think! “I—my family has always honored and respected it.”
“Liar.” He pushed her face against the bark, drawing blood. When she cried out, he yanked her back by the hair. “Put this on, zip it up.” He thrust a dark blue windbreaker into her hands. “And pull up the hood. We’re going for a hike, Jenna. Listen close. If we run into anyone, you keep your mouth shut, your head down, and just do what I say. If you make a move, try to get help, I’ll kill whoever you speak to. Then they’re on your head. Understand?”
�
��Yes. Why don’t you just kill me now?”
He smiled widely. “We have places to go and people to see.”
“You’re going to try to use me to get to Lil, and I won’t let you.”
He grabbed her hair again, yanked until she saw stars dancing. “I can use you dead as easy as alive. Alive’s more fun, but dead works.” He patted the knife sheathed on his belt. “Do you think she’d recognize your hand if I cut it off and sent it to her? We can try that. What do you think?”
“No.” Tears born of helplessness and pain tracked down her cheeks. “Please.”
“Then do what I tell you. Put this on.” He handed her a battered backpack. “We’re just a couple of hikers.” He gave the rope a yank. “And one of us is on a short leash. Now, walk. Keep up or you’ll pay for it.”
He avoided the trail as much as possible, kept a hard pace over rough ground. If she stumbled, he yanked or dragged. And since he seemed to enjoy it, Jenna stopped any attempt to slow him down.
She knew they skirted the edges of her daughter’s land, and her heart thundered. “Why do you want to hurt Lil? Look at what she’s done. She’s preserving the land, giving shelter and care to animals. You’re Sioux. You respect animals.”
“She puts them in cages so people can stare at them. For money.”
“No, she’s dedicated her life to saving them, to educating people.”
“Feeding them like pets.” He gave Jenna another shove when she paused. “Taking what should be free and caging it. That’s what they want to do with me. Cage me for doing what I was born to do.”
“Everything she’s done has been to preserve the wildlife and the land.”
“It’s not her land! They’re not her animals! When I’m done with her, I’ll free them all, and they’ll hunt as I hunt. I’ll burn her place to the ground. Then yours, then all the rest.”
His face shone with madness and purpose. “Purify.”
“Then why did you kill the others? James Tyler? Why?”
“The hunt. When I hunt to eat, it’s with respect. The rest? It’s sport. But with Lil, it’s both. She has my respect. We’re connected. By blood, by fate. She found my first kill. I knew someday we’d compete.”
