When they reached the car, Joe opened the passenger door for her and she climbed in on shaky legs, stashed her camera gear in the back and fastened her seat belt, taking deep, slow breaths to settle her stomach. Joe was wearing a broad, satisfied grin as he climbed behind the wheel. “What a ride,” he said. “That was kick-ass. I’d do that again in a heartbeat.” Dani moaned in response as he pulled out of the parking area and headed north. He gave her a sidelong glance. “You’re looking a little off-color. I remember passing a saloon on the way to the airfield. I’ll stand you to a stiff drink.”
“I’m fine,” Dani said as cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
“We should stop at the district office and see what they have to say about this whole messy situation, then I’ll buy you lunch. I could use a greasy hamburger.”
With an abrupt forward lurch, Dani reached for the door handle with one hand and covered her mouth with the other. “Pull over!” she blurted.
Joe didn’t waste any time. She ripped open the door as soon as he put the car in Park and lunged out into the roadside grass and brush, heaving up her breakfast and wishing she were dead rather than have Joe see her like this. She felt a hand between her shoulders as she bent over; another hand brushed her hair away from her face and cupped her forehead. Joe, steadying her while she threw up. She’d never felt more miserable and humiliated. Mortified, she straightened and accepted the wad of Kleenex Joe retrieved from the box in the car.
“Feel any better?” he asked.
She nodded, avoiding his concerned stare and wishing a bolt of lightning would strike her dead.
“C’mon, we’ll sit over here for a few minutes,” he said, guiding her to a grassy knoll. They sat in the strong wind and bright sunshine. An occasional vehicle whisked by. The wind made a sound like thunder, pushing across the land. Dani took deep breaths of the cool fresh air and slowly became aware of Joe’s arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him gratefully.
“Sorry about that,” she said.
“Don’t be,” Joe said, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “Gives us a chance to get to know each other better and do some serious cuddling.”
Dani laughed in spite of her misery. “Right now I don’t care if I ever eat again or take a ride in another chopper,” Dani said, “but I’m glad we found the mares and they’re okay. Now we just have to figure out how to save them.”
“Maybe they don’t need saving,” Joe said. “Maybe they’re fine where they are. They’re wild horses living in a wild place. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?”
Dani had no answer for that, but she was remembering what Luther Makes Elk had said to her when she visited him last. Sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing.
After dwelling on this conundrum for a few moments she said to Joe, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe we shouldn’t tell the forest service where those four mares are.”
* * *
THE STAFF AT the forest service office was polite but not very helpful. Yes, they had been informed of the shooting and one of the rangers would be dispatched to the scene as soon as they could be spared. It was a busy time for them right now, getting ready for the hikers and campers. All the sites had to be cleaned and stocked. And no, they hadn’t a clue who might have shot the horses.
“What’s the forest service policy on wild horses running in national forests?” Joe asked.
“The forest service administers a total of thirty-seven wild horse or burro territories located in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah,” the uniformed ranger responded. “There are no territories listed in Montana that are currently being managed by forest service personnel, so we don’t have a policy on wild horses in the Arrow Roots. The Pryor Mountain herd is managed by the BLM. We coordinate with the BLM in the management of adjacent territories as well as the removal of wild horses and burros in excess of the territory capacity, or horses that stray onto forest service lands that don’t belong in the wild horse territories or on land that isn’t designated as such.”
This delivery sounded carefully rehearsed. The ranger must have been expecting a visit from the media or wild horse groups. Joe could almost feel Dani spooling up to say something heated, and he headed her off with another question of his own. “In other words, the wild horses that were running in the Arrow Roots weren’t under your active management?”
The ranger shook his head. “We don’t recognize those horses as part of any designated wild mustang unit, so they aren’t a part of any management plan. For all we knew they strayed from some ranch.”
“They’re unbranded mustangs, not strays,” Dani corrected. “I’ve been photographing them for the past four years. You had to have known they were up there.”
“We were aware,” the ranger said. He was being put on the spot and was clearly uncomfortable. “There’s been some discussion, but the supervisor hasn’t decided on what to do about them. The solution would be to move them onto BLM lands and let them handle their removal.”
“So, you were planning to remove them from the Arrow Roots?” Dani challenged.
“I think you’d need to speak to my supervisor,” the ranger said. “I’m not authorized to answer your questions.”
“Is he here?” Joe asked.
The ranger shook his head. “He’s at a national conference in DC and won’t be back until next week.”
“Does a ranger usually check out the forest service rental cabins when the snow melts, to make sure everything’s in order?”
“A lot of those cabins are used year-round, including the one in the Arrow Roots. Skiers and snowshoers will go up there occasionally.”
“So, nobody checks periodically? Who’s the ranger in charge of that cabin? Did he check on it recently?”
“That would be Chad Marquis, and no. His wife had a baby on Friday, so he didn’t go up there.”
“Do you have any ideas who might have shot those four horses?” Dani asked.
The ranger shook his head. “None.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about what to do with the ones that survived. They’re gone. The shooter ran them off,” Dani said before turning to leave.
Joe escorted her out of the building and opened the passenger-side door for her. She hesitated before getting in. “How can they pretend Custer and his mares aren’t wild horses?”
“They’re probably getting pressured by hunters and ranchers who want them gone, and then by folks like you who like having them there. They’re caught in the middle and don’t know what to do.”
“Well, I do. We need to get them recognized as a wild horse herd. If they’re a designated band, they’ll have to be recognized as mustangs and managed according to the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.”
“Would that be such a good thing?” Joe said. “Right now, as far as the forest service knows, they’ve vanished into the wild. Maybe those mares won’t come back into that valley and they’ll live out their lives in the wilderness.”
Dani shook her head. “Maybe. I don’t know. I can’t think straight.”
“Let’s stop by that saloon we passed and grab a sandwich,” Joe suggested. Dani didn’t look overly enthusiastic about the idea but he was reasonably sure a little food would make her feel better, and he was starving.
* * *
THE SALOON NEAR the forest service office was called the Hairy Dog, and their luncheon special of the day was Salt Horse in a Sinker with Whistleberries. “Real cowboy grub,” Dani explained after the bartender interpreted the menu item as a Reuben on a house-made biscuit with a side of beans. Dani said she wasn’t hungry but Joe ordered two of them. “Six Shooter Skink is cowboy coffee,” she added, still perusing the menu and hoping the luncheon plates were small.
“What if I wanted a beer?”
“You’d ask for a John Barleyc
orn.” Dani grinned at him. “Molly says the grub’s good here, even if you aren’t a cowboy.”
“Good. ’Cause I don’t ride horses.”
“Most don’t anymore. They use ATVs to get out on the land and check the herds.”
The bartender set a mug of coffee in front of Joe, tea in front of Dani and returned a few moments later with two large plates heaped with cowboy fare. Joe lit into his while Dani picked carefully around the edges. She was definitely still feeling the effects of the helicopter ride. No point in courting a repeat performance. She pushed the plate away and focused her thoughts on the four mares stranded up in the high valley. “I sent photos to the Wild Horse Foundation last night,” she said. “We should call Comstock after lunch and fill him in on our helicopter flight. He’ll want to know those mares are okay and he can pass the information on to the sheriff.”
“Not hungry?” Joe asked.
“Not really,” Dani admitted. “I don’t particularly like flying.”
“I have to admit, after that wild chopper ride, I was thinking what a kick it would be to do that every day.”
Dani regarded him skeptically. Jack used to talk like that. He was always flying off somewhere; kissing her goodbye and trying to look sad that he was leaving, only deep down inside she knew he wasn’t. He was glad to be getting back in the air. Eventually, of course, he flew right out of her life. “Maybe you should take lessons, if you like flying so much.”
Joe raised an eyebrow at the edge in her voice. “Did I hit a nerve?”
“Something wrong with your food?” The bartender appeared to check on them before Dani could respond to Joe’s comment.
She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’m just not that hungry.”
“She’s a little queasy—went for a helicopter ride this morning and it was really rough,” Joe said.
The bartender raised his hand. “Say no more. We get a lot of that in here on windy days. Must’ve been Nash you flew with. He’s a real professional, best pilot around, but sometimes he flies when he shouldn’t. Nothing keeps him out of the air. What you need, little lady, is a bowl of salty beef broth and some dry crackers. That’ll settle your stomach.” He disappeared into the kitchen.
Dani frowned at Joe. “I’m not queasy. I’m just not hungry.”
“You still look kind of green around the gills to me.”
The bartender reappeared with a steaming bowl of beef broth. “Here. Try to get some of this down—it should help.”
“Thank you,” Dani said, picking up the spoon. “Eat my sandwich, Joe.”
“You sure?”
“You could stand to gain at least ten pounds.” She tasted the broth. It was salty and good, and the bartender was right. It settled her stomach. By the time she’d finished the bowl of broth, Joe had polished off everything on her plate. She gazed unabashedly at him while he finished his coffee. He was the handsomest man she’d ever laid eyes on, and every single time she looked at him she felt that curious jolt in the pit of her stomach that had nothing to do with being airsick, and a flutter in her heart that had everything to do with being lovesick. Which was ridiculous. She’d heard stories about Joe ever since she’d known Molly, but on a personal level she barely knew him...although she had thrown up in front of him, an intimate act if ever there was one.
Joe set down his mug and turned his head to meet her gaze. They were sitting so close together on the bar stools their shoulders were almost touching. For a moment they studied each other in a pretty intense silence. Dani had the distinct impression he was about to lower his head and kiss her. Her heart trip-hammered. She felt a little light-headed and breathless in anticipation, and was hoping her kiss measured up, but the bartender chose that moment to deliver the check, and the moment was ruined. Dani flushed, and she retrieved the check before Joe could. “We’d better get on the road. It’s a long drive to the Bow and Arrow, and I’d like to stop by Molly’s place first to pick up my dogs and get some Chinese food for Luther Makes Elk. He doesn’t live that far from the Bow and Arrow. I think you’ll like him.”
CHAPTER TEN
DANI’S DOGS WERE happily sprawled in the back of the Subaru while Joe drove. Dani chatted about her childhood growing up on a dairy farm, and Joe talked a bit about his years in the military and the different perspective that being deployed in a war-torn country gave him upon his return. It was quiet conversation. Reflective. And when they were talked out, they drove in a comfortable silence, until Dani dozed. She seemed startled when she woke to find that she’d fallen asleep and that they were near their destination. “It’s just another mile or so,” she said.
“Your miles out here are a lot longer than our miles back east,” Joe said. “But the scenery’s a whole lot better, so I’m not complaining.”
Dani sat up and fixed her hair, taking out the ponytail, smoothing it with her fingers and then replacing the hair band. “Luther’s always been home when I call on him—always seems to know I’m coming, too.”
“Maybe that’s because this road’s so flat you can see clear to Billings?”
“He’s a holy man, and he saved Steven’s life. So I expect you to be on your best behavior—Molly’s told me about all the awful tricks you used to play on your parish priest.”
“I was a lot younger then, and a little wild,” Joe told her. “I’m older and wiser now. If this holy man saved Steven’s life, that’s good enough for me.”
“He doesn’t say much and I don’t usually stay long. I never really know how long I should stay.”
“I’m sure he’s glad to have a visit from you, long or short. I would be.”
“He’s officiating at Molly’s wedding.”
“No priest? I hope she’s kept quiet about that. Our mother’s as Catholic as they come.”
“Luther Makes Elk was at Caleb and Pony’s wedding, too. I’m sure Molly’s will be just as beautiful. It’s going to be at the Bow and Arrow. I can’t think of a more romantic setting for a wedding.” Dani sighed and gazed out the window.
“My ex-wife wanted a big wedding,” Joe said. “I never saw anything as pretentious as the extravaganza she put on. We could’ve bought a mansion in Newport for what she spent. She wanted the perfect wedding that all her friends would envy her for and talk about for the rest of their lives. I guess all brides want that one big day because they know it’s downhill from there.”
“Oh?” Dani said in a prickly voice.
“Maybe not all,” Joe conceded, “but mine was. The courtship, the proposal, the huge fancy wedding, the romantic honeymoon in the Greek islands, all followed by a five-year-long nightmare until the divorce papers were signed.” Joe shook his head. “When I saw those photos you took of the wild horses, I realized why I connected with them. It’s what I saw in their eyes. The wildness. They were free. Unbranded. And finally, so am I, and I plan to stay that way.”
“Unbranded.”
“That’s right. I’m not letting myself be roped and tied again. Marriage is a fine institution for some, but I was never meant to be institutionalized.”
“It’s the next shack on your left,” Dani said tartly. “The one with the warped asbestos siding, the rusted tin roof and the two old Crow sitting on a bench in front of it. And for the record, Joe Ferguson? What Molly and Steven have is really and truly special. I’m sorry that you never found a love like that. I’ve been burned, too, but I’m not giving up. Love is a risky business, but truly loving someone is the one thing that makes life worth living.”
* * *
DANI’S LEGS WERE stiff when she climbed out of the Subaru at Luther Makes Elk’s shack. Her back was stiff. Her neck was stiff. She was stiff all over and seriously pissed off at what Joe Ferguson had just said. She didn’t quite know how to transition from his abrupt declaration of war against serious commitment, to being in a holy man’s
spiritual presence. The two old men watched with dark eyes as she and Joe approached the bench. Dani held the bag of Chinese takeout in her arms like a peace offering. She handed the warm, greasy paper bag with the savory smells to Luther and nodded to Joe.
“This is Molly’s brother Joe Ferguson,” she said. “He’s visiting from back east. We’re on our way to the Bow and Arrow and thought you’d like some Chinese food.”
Luther took the bag and nodded. “I hoped you would bring some,” he said. “Did you get the egg rolls?”
Dani nodded. “And the hot mustard and sweet-and-sour sauce.”
“Good.” Luther nodded again. “I like that hot mustard. It clears my thoughts.” He looked at the old man sitting next to him. “This is Johnny Old Coyote. He visits me sometimes when he wants to save me from my own company.” Then he studied Joe for a long quiet moment, eyes narrowing in his deeply wrinkled face. “Dani, tell Redhead her brother needs a sweat lodge before her ceremony. His blood is not strong, and his strength will be needed.”
Dani had never heard Luther speak more than a few words at a time in the four years she’d been visiting him. “I’m pleased to meet you,” she said to Johnny Old Coyote, who was dressed, like Luther, in a faded flannel shirt, old blue jeans and scuffed boots and was holding a pipe in one gnarled hand. Johnny Old Coyote nodded gravely in response. She stood for a few moments more, hoping Luther might speak further about Joe, give some hidden words of meaning about Marconi and the Mob, but he remained silent, intent on studying the take-out bag’s contents. She didn’t want to stay any longer and keep him from enjoying his meal. “I’ll be sure to give Molly your message,” Dani said to Luther. She waited a few more moments to give him a chance to respond, then said her goodbyes, turned and walked back to the Subaru. She heard Joe’s polite farewells and his footsteps behind her.
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