Storiesonline.net ------- The Hummingbird by Celtic Cowboy Copyright© 2005 by Celtic Cowboy ------- Description: Scott Miles was a lonely man. Then one day a girl ten years his junior speaks to him. She falls for him immediately but he needs a little more time. However, someone wants the girl dead. Will it be a wedding or a funeral? Codes: MF slow rom cons rape violent het ------- ------- Copyright © Celtic Cowboy 2005 Any resemblance between the characters in this story and persons living or dead is purely coincidental. The places in the story are taken from all over west Texas just not necessarily from the Sanderson / Dryden area. Please respect my copyright. This story would not be here without the encouragement and help provided by the following: John Smith, John Wales, Lazlong, Old Fart. I would especially like to thank Ian for his efforts at translating my Texan into English. ------- Cast of Characters Angiline (Angie) Bell — waitress from Lubbock Bill Carter — friend of Tia's and Scott'Dad Bobbi — one of Angie's roommates Capt. Amy Carson — Air Force flight surgeon Cheryl — one of Angie's roommates Christina Gonzales — Little Tina, daughter of Maria and Tomas Gonzales Cookie — woman that worked for Sam Miller cooking at the café Dallas (Dal) Jackson — Terrell County Sheriff Dan Bell — Angie's father Dana — Scott's first wife and a bitch of the first water Darcy Middleton — Motley County Sheriff's Deputy Delbert Masterson — Justice of the Peace who died of a heart attack Doc Eller — local doctor sometimes accused of being a Veterinarian and has been known to treat a horse or two. Don Grimes — took over as Justice of the Peace after Delbert Masterson died Don Grossman — man who owned the restaurant where Angie used to work Dr. Marks — Skin specialist in Lubbock Ebb Miles — Scott's great, great granddad and man that founded the —O ranch Eduardo Duarte — member of the Mexican National Police force, a Federale Erica — one of Angie's roommates Francisca Alavares — One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie was raised on a ranch Isabel Dias - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie J. D. Tatum — Sue Bell's current boyfriend Jack Rimes — Texas Ranger, friend of Scott Jake Dingle — bartender at the restaurant where Angie use to work James Dyers - the man from the Ft. Stockton funeral home Jason Adams — Terrell County Sheriffs Deputy Jesse Gomez — hired hand on the Bell ranch until fired by Sue, later rehired by Angie Josh — Sara's boyfriend Juan De Silva — man that lived at the end of the block from Silvia's house Justina Furtado - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie Lúcia Mendes - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie Magda Costa - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie Mari Carter — Bill's wife Maria Garza — woman that cleaned Scott's house every two weeks. Maria Rosa Demming — wife of Red Merilynn Bell — Angie's mother who died when she was a little girl Michele — the girl who got Angie's roommates to throw her out Monica Masters — Tom's wife Mrs. Hattie Logan — Angie's elderly next door neighbor Natália Teixeira - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie Olívia Carvalho - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie, one of the rape victims Paulina Sousa - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie Rafaela Nunes - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie, one of the rape victims Ralph Everett Demming — Red, doctor who practices medicine up and down the Rio Grande to people on both sides Samantha (Sam) Miller — owner/waitress at the café in Sanderson and long time friend of Scott Thoreau Miles — last of the Miles family Sandra Smith — Mrs. Logan's daughter Sara — college student that worked with Angie at the Restaurant Sebastiana Cardoso - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie was raised on a ranch Sherry White — one of Stan's students Silvia Guerra — Stan's girl friend Stan Willus— life long friend who is about to move across the state Sue Bell — Angie's stepmother Susan Quinterra — AKA Susie Q, head teller at the bank Talavera — Mexican family involved in the drug trade Tia Masters — Tom and Monica's daughter Tina — one of Angie's roommates Tom Masters- The priest who marries Scott and Angie Tomas Rios — only son of Jorge Rios, badly beaten in a bar fight by Tatum Will Turner — DPS Trooper assigned to Motley County Zara Rodrigues - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie only one of the girls to speak English Zeva (Z'va)Henriques - One of the girls rescued by Scott and Angie, youngest of the girls. Animals Dunnie — Scott's favorite horse a line back dun stud Pete — one of a matched pair of mules used for packing and working around the ranch Red — a sorrel gelding at the ranch Repete — Pete's half brother and the other half of the matched set of mules Spot — a paint mare at the ranch Stretch — a bay gelding at the ranch ------- Chapter 1: To Lubbock and Back The mood was pretty sombre when they'd left Dryden all those hours ago. This little jaunt of three hundred miles started about a month earlier when Silvia, Stan's girl friend found a suspicious looking patch on the back of Stan's ear. She finally convinced Stan, told him most likely, to have Doc Eller take a look at it. Doc Eller ended up cutting off a piece of Stan's ear and sending it to Lubbock to some friend of his. Skin cancer had killed Stan's father and all the old cowboys had bits and pieces missing from ears and noses; Stan was more than a little scared. Scott was pretty sure that Stan was more likely to get an ulcer worrying than have cancer. As far as the trip to Lubbock was concerned; hell Scott wasn't even supposed have been along. But when Silvia's mother fell at her home in San Antonio he was drafted, for "moral support" in her words. Truth was Scott was worried too, but Silvia had informed him in no uncertain terms that he was to be the pillar of strength that she would've been had she been there. Never mind that doctors, not to mention hospitals, gave him the willies, his orders were to go, give support, listen, and keep Stan out of the titty bars on the Slaton Highway. So when the nurse called Stan back to the exam room he asked Scott to go with him. Scott didn't bother to tell him that Silvia had already threatened him bodily harm if he didn't go in and make sure he asked the page long list of questions that she had typed up. Dr. Marks had gone through med school with Doc Eller and now taught at the university hospital in Lubbock so word of any failings on either of their parts would get back. Probably before they did. The doctor felt compelled to tell his favourite war stories from when he and Doc Eller were in med school. Nothing he could have told the two of them would have been a surprise as Doc Eller was one of those characters that had, and or would, do just about anything. When he finally got around to telling Stan that it wasn't cancer, he and Scott both felt more than a little relieved. The doctor did take the opportunity to preach to Stan and Scott on the evils of sunburns and expound on the liberal use of sunscreens. Scott had always thought a good hat, long sleeve shirt, and a bandana was plenty good and was fool enough to say so. He found out the doc wasn't all that impressed with his opinion, and didn't hesitate to tell him so. In the end he spent more time ragging on Scott's ass than talking to Stan. Scott was fully expecting to get dunned before he could get out the door. When they left Stan was grinning ear to ear and laughing at Scott while he felt like he should give the doc a wedding ring. The last person to eat his ass out like that had been his ex-wife. When they got to the doors to the outside of the hospital they discovered that Lubbock was having one of their Air Quality Crisis Days. There was a light breeze of 35 or 40 mph blowing and a whole lot real estate was trading places. Call it a sandstorm, dust storm, or just plain nasty; the sky was red and there was a smell to it that Scott couldn't describe. Say what you want to about Dryden, sure it's small, it's desolate, with no hope of ever being anything but small and desolate, but when the wind blows it doesn't blot out the sun. Lubbock was, is, and always will be in the middle of a cotton field. It didn't matter if they moved one million people in here there was still going to be cotton fields on every side and spring would always be brown and dusty. They managed to hold their hats down while they walked back to the truck as fast as they could. Stan called Silvia on his cell phone to give her the news. Scott was still pissed at the doctor for his little lecture and now, with his stomach growling and knowing that Stan's conversations with Silvia tended to run on the long side, Scott was getting ready for a long wait when Stan handed him the cell phone. "What did the doctor tell you Scott?", Silvia quipped. Scott hadn't heard Stan tell about his little "visit" with the doctor so he knew something was up. It was at that point that Silvia informed him that she had set him up with the good doctor. If nothing else Silvia and Stan were a perfect match when it came to their proclivity toward meddling and practical jokes. Stan had been known to spend weeks, even months setting up a joke and Scott was learning that Silvia didn't mind going that extra mile either. Turns out she had known the good doctor when she was studying nursing in San Antonio and as she had been unable to convince Scott as to the wonders of sun screen she thought maybe he'd listen to a doctor. "It's good to know she doesn't mind nagging both of us", Scott said glaring at Stan. What snappy come back did Stan have? "Well you need somebody to look after you." His comment reminded Scott of the recent efforts at matchmaking the two of them had been up to. The area around Dryden and Sanderson was not exactly overflowing with single women, though now and then there was the occasional new teacher right out of college. Generally speaking the complete absence of a social scene usually kept their stay to one year. A few of the less hardy souls didn't even make it through the school year. The most eligible bachelorette in town was Samantha Miller. She worked as a waitress at the café in Sanderson; actually she owned the café. Sam, as she was known to her friends, had grown up at the Pecos Gas Plant. It was the furthest point on the bus route for the Sanderson School district and right across the road from the turn off to the Miles ranch. Over the years during the long hours on the bus Sam and Scott had become fast friends. But friendship was as far as either had ever wanted their relationship to go. As far as Scott was concerned she was the little sister he never had. Stan had been talking to Silvia all this time and when Scott stopped day dreaming there was a frown on his face. At some point and time the conversation had turned serious. Stan took off his hat and threw it in the seat, got out of the truck and walked a little ways off for some privacy. Just to get out of the truck to talk meant that something was bad wrong since no one in their right mind wanted to breathe the brown, gritty dirt blowing around. The longer they talked the more morose Stan got and they talked for a good little bit. Stan had lost the smile the doctor had given him; in fact he looked worse than when he was worried about having cancer. He and Silvia said their "goodbyes" and "love yous" then he closed the phone. After Stan got back into the truck spittin' mud balls his eyes were red and watery, and Scott was pretty sure it wasn't all caused by the dirt. He'd never seen Stan tear up but ever since he met Silvia he had been a different person in many other ways. Still, he didn't say a word about what was going on and Scott respected his long time friend enough not to try to pry it out of him. They had the normal discussion as to where they should eat. After deciding the when and where, they left to go eat and then start on the long ass trip back, heading off to some chain eatery that Stan knew of. He was quieter than normal and Scott wondered what was eating on him. There was something wrong, maybe he'd tell him while they were eating. They'd never kept secrets from each other before. A blonde haired young lady greeted them and led them to a booth. The Mexico flavoured restaurant had sombreros, serapes and matadors in velvet paintings hanging from floor to rafter intermixed with piñatas and Tecate signs. Every so many feet some fake plant was making a home for dust bunnies and cob webs. It looked like every curio shop and border gas station had been stripped of their faded wares to decorate the place. No matter how you looked at this place it was a far cry from Ma Crosby's, the famous bar across the river from Del Rio, Texas in Ciudad Acuna. But by all accounts they put out a fair steak and according to Stan their beer was cold. So here they sat shoot'n bull and taking refuge from Lubbock's brown fog. Stan sat silently sipping his beer and that was not like him. Stanley Willus and Scott were best friends; neither had any siblings so they had basically adopted each other as brothers. They had spent almost every waking minute with each other since they had met twenty five years ago. Something else was eating on Stan; you'd of thought the news from the doctor would have had him in a great mood. The waitress came and went and Scott watched Stan till he had to say something. "What's wrong Stan?" Stan started telling Scott that Silvia's mother was in bad shape. She had fallen and along with a broken hip she'd had a stroke. Seems that Silvia's sister who lived a few blocks away hadn't checked on her and she had lain on the floor for a day and a half. Silvia would be staying in San Antonio until her mother recovered, and for now that looked like it would be many months. Silvia Guerra was one of those people that gave unconditionally and expected everyone else to do the same. Stan was pretty much the same way making them a perfect match. So in the normal course of things Silvia and Stan both tended to get a little put out at some of the lesser mortals that they had to endure. From the stories Silvia had told her family was slightly less giving than a rattlesnake. Stan was crushed thinking about the two of them being separated for that long. She had made a big difference in Stan since she had moved to scenic Sanderson to be the school nurse. Stan was the Ag and shop teacher, they met the first day of school and fell madly in love. So drastic had been the change that the teachers at SHS called that day the re-birth of Stanley Willus. Before Silvia he'd always been a little wild, crazy, mischievous, and more than a little hare-brained. Since that first day of school back in August they had spent almost every minute with each other. They were, to put it mildly, the talk of the town. Two weeks from today school would be out; Scott told him, "You can go to San Antonio then". If anything the thought of going two weeks without Silvia sent Stan into an even blacker mood. If Scott was a betting man he'd bet that Stan wouldn't make it a week before he headed to San Antonio. She'd asked if he would put the few things she had in his garage until she could send someone for them. They weren't breaking up, thank God, because Scott didn't think Stan could have stood that. It was at about this time that the waitress dropped off a fresh basket of chips and another bowl of salsa. As if to further confuse Scott, Stan started grinning. The grin went to a chuckle, then to a full blown belly laugh. Thinking that he'd been pulling one of his well known and usually not funny practical jokes Scott asked "What's going on?" "Look at the table", he said. Scott still didn't have a clue as what he was talking about and said as much. After the waitress left, Stan leaned across the table and asked, "Do you know her?" "Her who?", Scott asked. "The waitress!", he shot back, "she's been hovering around you, rubbing on you, and asking if you need anything every two minutes. Damn, Scott, it's not like you not to notice." Well when she made her next round Scott did take notice. He noticed she looked like she was eighteen years old. He also noticed that she was drop dead gorgeous, but Scott had long since given up on impressing little girls. After she refilled Scott's already full tea glass and left more fresh chips and salsa, there were now five bowls of salsa and three baskets of chips for the two of them. "She must think I'm a big tipper," Scott laughed. He was glad that Stan's mood had lifted and if it cost him some teasing it'd be a small price to pay. Stan and Scott ate their meal, all the while this eighteen year old beauty came and went, back and forth every two or three minutes. She reminded Scott of a hummingbird with one of those feeders full of the red juice. So they sat, laughing, talking and watching the hummingbird. It didn't take very much paranoia to see she was spending far more time with them than her other tables. They sat, talked and watched the hummingbird for an hour more than they should have. Scott finally had to remind Stan that they still had over six hours of driving before the day was over. Stan excused himself, leaving his credit card to take care of the check. Scott pulled out a ten dollar bill to leave for the Hummingbird — somewhere in the last hour she had gone from a hummingbird to the Hummingbird — and waited for Stan to come back. When after fifteen minutes Stan hadn't returned Scott started looking around for him. Finally he spotted him standing over by the bar. All Scott could see was his left arm and every so often the back of his head. It was plain enough that he was talking to someone but Scott couldn't see who it was, and with Stan there was no telling. He didn't want to leave Stan's credit card on the table so he waited a little longer. Scott was standing up and reaching for the credit card when Stan turned around and started back to the table. Not ten feet behind him was the Hummingbird with the check. Stan sat down motioning for Scott to do the same. "Who did you run into this time?", Scott asked. "Nobody". Stan told him he had decided to have one more beer. Scott was more than a little put out and with the hope of catching a nap on the way home gone, he reminded Stan how he felt about drinking and driving. Scott was about to tell him how the cow ate the cabbage when he heard the Hummingbird's cheerful voice ask "Is there anything I can get for you Scott?" Still pissed at Stan he told her no, she'd already scooped up the check and credit card and took off when Scott realised she had used his name. He was still sitting there ten minutes later trying to figure out how he'd missed the introductions when she returned. She handed Stan his card and copy of the bill back, turning to Scott she asked "Was everything alright Scott?" Scott was pretty sure from the grin on Stan's face that something was up. The matchmaking bullshit was coming to mind. He got up and found the little room marked "Hombres" and left some of the half gallon of iced tea that the Hummingbird had poured. When Scott stepped out of the restroom he caught a glimpse of Stan winking at the Hummingbird, before Scott got to the exit she came up to Scott and said "I'll see you real soon, OK?" "Sure next time I'm in town I'll stop by", Scott told her knowing full well that it had been fifteen years since he'd been in Lubbock and it might be another fifteen before he was back. As Scott walked to the truck he noticed a book store's bright green sign on the other side of the parking lot. Stan threw Scott his keys, knowing Scott wouldn't let him drive. Scott just walked past the truck and into the book store. Stan let out a groan that could be heard above the traffic noise. Any member of the Miles family in a book store was like a kid in a candy shop. The last thing Scott heard from Stan was something about getting a room. When he didn't show up behind Scott in the book store Scott figured he gone back in the restaurant for more beer. One thing was sure, if he gave him any shit about that girl he'd remind him that he was the one that went back inside and what Miss Silvia Guerra would do to him for flirting with another woman. Scott had told him the first time Stan had told him what her last name was that he was in trouble; her name meant war in Spanish. Scott wandered around the bookstore for over an hour. His mood had gone a little black thinking about Stan, Silvia, the Hummingbird and what it would be like to be in love. He couldn't ever remember feeling about Dana the way Stan felt about Silvia; maybe that's why it ended in divorce in two months. Two months of a marriage, living with a woman filled with hate and betrayal. She filed for divorce and told him she would get half of everything he had, and she did. He had just over a thousand dollars in a bank account. The judge had him give her $521.24. She kept screaming and cussing till the judge found her in contempt of court and fined her $1000.00. When Scott turned 25 his parents signed over the ranch to him. Three years too late for Dana to strike it rich. Scott finally left the bookstore with three volumes of poetry, a collection of murder mysteries by an English author he'd never heard of, the newest Kelton western. Scott bought The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis on CD for the school library. In truth they are for Johnny Diaz, a little boy who has been blind since birth. Stan told him that one of the new teachers had been teaching him Braille. This store had a few books in Braille so he loaded up all that he thought would be of interest to the little boy. And lastly Scott picked up a copy of Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada by Pablo Neruda (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair). Some how the last one just seemed appropriate. He stuck the books and CD's in the cab of the truck and started for the restaurant to get Stan. He was standing at the end of the bar talking to the girl that had seated them earlier and to you know who. The place was empty except for Stan and Scott and the two girls. The Hummingbird saw him, smiled and poked Stan who whispered something to her and started for the door. "Scott", she called out. He turned around to face her, she smiled, blew him a kiss, and winked saying "I'll see you soon". As Scott turned and walked away he thought he should be so lucky. Stan looked at Scott as he unlocked the truck and asked what he was thinking about. "Oh I was just thinking what you'd look like if Silvia found out about the Hummingbird" He grinned back at Scott and said, "You might be surprised what she'd think". There was something going on but Scott was damned if he knew what it was. Stan was asleep before they'd gone ten miles. It was a long lonely drive back that night. Scott passed the miles away thinking, that next year he'd be thirty, thirty years old with no wife, no kids, and no prospects. "See you soon", she'd said; yea he'd bet she wouldn't be awake all night thinking about a thirty year old cowboy. Yep it was going to be a lonely night for Scott. Just like the hundreds of lonely nights in his past and the hundreds in his future. A long lonely night. The trip from Lubbock to Dryden was six hours long; six hours of driving with Stan sleeping the whole way. So while Stan slept Scott tried to make sense out everything he was feeling. The girl at the restaurant was baffling. What could she possibly see in him? Why didn't he talk to her? Why couldn't he have at least asked her name? Questions, that was all Scott brought back from Lubbock; a bushel basket full of questions, unasked and unanswered. At the same time that Scott and Stan were starting back to Sanderson, Sue Bell was sitting in John J. Dillard's office plotting their next move. The murder of Dan Bell had gone off without a hitch. Four months earlier J. D. Tatum had rigged the old ranch truck's brakes to fail and that, plus the not so gentle nudge he had given it, sent the old pickup crashing into the deep box canyon, coming to rest upside down in the spring fed pond at the bottom. The authorities had ruled it an accident and that would have been just fine except that Dan Bell had thrown a wrench in the works. The day before he died Dan Bell had made a new will and had transferred everything into his daughter's name. This will left Sue with only the small amount guaranteed to her by the prenuptial agreement they had signed and for Sue that just wouldn't be enough. "So" Sue started, "what do we have to do now?" She looked at John J., loathing him but at the present still needing him. The problem was she didn't trust him any farther than she could throw him and that wasn't far. "Simple, kill the girl. With Angie dead you can argue surviving spouse." Sue pondered the lawyer's suggestion. If she had Angie killed that would give her the ranch and the money but she would have to kill this slimy lawyer as well if she wanted to keep it. J. D. wouldn't have a problem killing either of them and she had J. D. under her thumb so that would not be a problem. After pacing the room several times she turned to John J. "All right, I'll take care of everything, you just make sure there aren't any more paper work surprises." John J. nodded his head. He was already cooking up a plan to make damn sure he ended up with the ranch and the cash. ------- Chapter 2: What Happened to Angie When Angie saw the tall man in the cowboy hat come in her heart almost stopped. This was not going to be a normal Friday night. Her Dad had told her that when the right man came along she'd know. This had to be him; there was just something about him. In a way though it didn't make sense, Angie wasn't the cowgirl type. She didn't like C & W music all that much and she sure wasn't in to the party scene like her roommates. No, Angie liked the simple life, birds singing, fireplaces and good books. So what was it about this guy that had her so excited? She caught up with Sara as she was going back to get the cowboy and his friend and take them to a table. Sara saw that her friend was starry eyed over one of these two cowboys and agreed to seat them in her section. Angie was at their table before they could sit down. All Sara saw was two guys that had to be at least ten years older than Angie. Both were wearing work clothes; clean, but she almost expected the two cowboys to be tracking manure through the restaurant. It didn't take long to see which of the two Angie was interested in. The taller of the two, he wore a long sleeve blue cotton work shirt and wranglers. His boots were plain looking, not fancy snake skin like the Saturday night crowd. Neither of the guys had the stiff starch and creases seen on most of the cowboy types. Angie had picked up on all the things that Sara had and more; growing up on her Dad's ranch had taught her the difference between a working cowboy and the drug store variety. The one Angie had her eye on right now was a working cowboy, of that she was sure. The boots gave it away. They were what they called "mule skin". Made from thick harness leather, they were tough, the heel was a riding heel, and there were scuff marks left by the everyday use of spurs. She saw other things as well. His walk had that swagger that her Dad had had, like the old time cowboys. She remembered her Dad talking about the men who, if they couldn't do a job from the back of a horse, they didn't want to do it. She was sure that this man was just such a man. He also had an air about him that said he didn't need to impress anyone. While she was taking their drink order — tea for her man and beer for the other guy — she looked at his ring finger. No ring and no white band of skin where one had recently been taken off. She just hoped above all hope that there was no girlfriend. As she was setting the drinks on the table her eyes met his. She froze. His eyes were steel blue, with a twinkle that spoke of someone who was fun to be with. If she had not been taken with this guy before, the look they had exchanged had erased any doubt. He smiled and thanked her for the tea. Her heart was pounding as she walked away. After that look Angie was walking on clouds. She never missed a chance to take something to his table. The two men ate their meal then sat and talked for over an hour. Dozens of times during that hour she caught him stealing glances at her. Every time she turned to walk away she could feel his gaze upon her back. She listened intently on each visit trying to catch his name; it was driving her crazy. Finally his friend got up to head for the restroom, Angie was standing at the end of the bar getting a drink order for another customer when the friend spoke to her. "Are you interested in that cowboy?", the friend asked. Angie felt like she should be embarrassed but at the same time she wanted to find out who he was. "Yes! Who is he? Where is he from?," her voice was quivering. Stan could see the emotion in her eyes; she looked like Stan had felt that first time he saw Silvia. "His name is Scott Miles. He has a ranch southwest of Dryden Texas" Angie asked the question she most feared, "Does he have a girlfriend?" Stan smiled and shook his head "No, not in a long time. He's pretty lonely." Stan could see that a huge weight had been lifted from the girl but he had to make sure of some things himself. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a cell phone and called Silvia. "Silvia, I think I've found her", he said into the phone. Angie couldn't believe what the man had said. She was even more shocked when he handed her the phone. "Hello, who am I speaking to", Angie asked. "Hi Silvia ... my name? ... Angie ... I'm 19, or will be next month ... next weekend? ... I'm not sure ... I mean I, ... I don't know ... OK here he is." She handed the phone back to Stan. Stan had to laugh. Angie looked more shocked now than when he first spoke to her. The bartender tapped her on the shoulder and brought her out of her dream. "Your drink order?", he said shaking his head, wondering what planet she was off to. Angie grabbed the tray of drinks and took them to the waiting customers. Stan finished his plotting with Silvia and headed back to the table. Angie spoke to Scott on her next trip to his table. He didn't seem to realise that she had called him by name. But ten minutes later when she brought the check to the table she said, "Scott, is there anything that I can get you?" He looked almost shocked. For what seemed an eternity he just stared at her. Angie wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him and scream at the top of her lungs that she loved him. The drunken college student in the third booth started yelling for her to bring him another drink. She went to the drunk and gave him a withering look, then to further humiliate him demanded that he surrender his keys. The drunk was still trying to figure out what happened to the waitress who had been so bubbly and happy all night. The manager having already heard the shouting had called a taxi, Angie handed him the keys and turned to find the booth where Scott and Stan had been sitting empty. She was about to drop to the floor crying when she saw him stepping out of the restroom. Angie started towards him not really knowing what she was going to do, Scott was headed for the door and didn't see her but she saw Stan and he motioned for her to come to him, reluctantly she obeyed. Stan gave her a card with his number and a number for Silvia in San Antonio on it. "Don't worry. Call Silvia, we'll work something out." Stan told her Somehow it felt as though the love of her life was slipping through her fingers and there was very little she could do. Stan told her goodbye and walked out the door. As soon as the door closed behind him Angie went to the restroom, locked herself into a stall and started crying. She was sure that she would never see Scott again and it was just too much. She was so upset that she didn't know Sara had come in looking for her until she started knocking on the stall door. "Angie ... Angie, are you alright?", Sara asked "No, go away", Angie sobbed. "Angie that guy is back. He's asking for you", Sara explained "Scott! Oh my God! Scott is out there", Angie was really panicked now. "No, the... , the other one. He said his name was Stan", Sara said, still dumbfounded that her friend could get so upset over this guy. Angie stopped crying, went to the sink and started washing her face. She fixed her hair back and went out to see what Stan wanted. When Stan saw her he could tell she had been crying but with his limited experience with women he didn't have a clue as to why. Stan told her that Scott had gone to the book store across the parking lot and he would be there until they threw him out. Book stores were historically something of a weakness in the Miles family he explained. They sat at the far end of the bar and in between customers Angie learned about Scott. An hour and a half later Scott walked back into the room. Angie had already found out that they had to make the long six hour drive back tonight as Scott had livestock to take care of. She asked Scott if he wanted something to drink, he said some iced tea to go would be nice. When Jake the bartender told Angie that he'd take care of it, she never even answered him. She'd looked into Scott's eyes and had become completely lost, unable say a word. Angie was brought out of her trance when Jake handed the tea to Scott. Stan paid his tab and said goodbye and he and Scott headed for the door. Angie was staring at Scott's back as he walked away when Sara poked her. Surprised Angie called out, "Scott, see you soon. OK?" Scott had turned at hearing his name and said, "Sure I'll stop by next time I'm here" Everyone but Angie that heard his response doubted his sincerity. Angie just sighed and blew him a kiss. Sara and Jake shook their heads. They saw a heartbreak in the making. That night Angie lay awake for hours thinking about Scott. The question kept coming up: was she really in love with this man she barely knew? A man she had really never talked with. The answer would change her life. She put her hand on the medallion around her neck and said a short prayer, then she surrendered to sleep. Saturday morning found Angie happier than she had been in months. She got up, ate a light breakfast and went next door. For the last six months Angie had been going next door to sit with Mrs. Logan while her daughter, Sandra Smith, did her weekly shopping. It wasn't that she needed to be watched but that Angie had come to cherish the time she spent with the spry 80 year old woman. She had taught Angie many things, things Angie's stepmother couldn't or wouldn't. Angie had learned to can fruits and vegetables, make pickles, knit, and for the past month Annabelle, Mrs. Logan, had been teaching her to crochet. Today's lesson was fast turning into a waste of thread. Angie was so excited; she told Annabelle every detail about her meeting the man of her dreams. Annabelle listened as Angie repeated the story over and over, but smiled as she thought back to when she was in love. Finally when Angie slowed in her tale of love Annabelle asked her the questions that normally a mother would ask. For the next two hours Angie got advice from someone who had been happily married for fifty three years. Some of the things Annabelle told her made Angie blush but she had to admit that Annabelle's descriptions and instructions were much better than anything her stepmother or her rowdy roommates had told her. The day passed quickly. She ate supper with Sandra and Annabelle that night since she had the next two nights off from the restaurant. Sunday her roommates were all acting strangely, a new girl had shown up some time late Saturday night or Sunday morning and there was a lot of whispering going on. Angie was in too good of a mood to be bothered by her roommates' juvenile games. She spent the day reading and surfing the net looking for information on Dryden Texas. Monday Angie had the lunch shift at the restaurant from ten in the morning till two in the afternoon. When she left that morning her roommates were still in bed. Angie pulled into the driveway still enjoying the high from Friday night but that all ended when she walked into the house. There piled in the living room floor was almost everything she owned, sitting around the room were her four roommates and the new girl. Cheryl told Angie that she was to be out of the house that day and anything left in the house would be thrown away. The new girl Michelle had already moved into her old room. Angie started to cry and then decided that, no, they weren't worth it. Angie called Sara and told her what had happened and asked if she could get her boyfriend to bring his pickup and a dolly over to help her. She started loading her clothes into the Jeep Cherokee her Dad had bought her when she turned sixteen. No one lifted a finger to help her. After she cleared the stuff from the floor she took two boxes into the kitchen and loaded all the food and cleaning supplies that belonged to her. Her roommates had forgotten that the washer and dryer belonged to Angie. They told her she could leave them if she wanted. When she said that she didn't want to they offered to buy them from her. When Josh and Sara got there he helped Angie unhook the washer and dryer. With the roommates looking on Angie asked Josh if he had two dollars. Josh reached in his wallet and removed two one dollar bills. Angie asked him if he would like the washer and dryer. He said yes, but before he could finish the sentence Angie grabbed the two dollars and said, "Come on I'll help you load them." The roommates were fuming. Michelle was further angered when Angie had Josh help her remove the day bed and the rest of the bedroom furniture. Josh and Sara offered Angie their spare bedroom, but at this point she wasn't sure what she should do. For the moment, though, Sara and Josh took Angie's furniture and his new washer and dryer back to his house. Angie went next door to tell Sandra and Annabelle what had happened and to ask their advice. After Angie told her story to Annabelle she finally gave in to the tears. Sandra and Annabelle held her as she cried out her hurt. Annabelle handed her a tissue and asked, "Isn't there someone in San Antonio you need to call?" It was something that she hadn't thought about, but Annabelle was right. Her stepmother had emptied her college account. That was why she wasn't enrolled in college this semester. The only thing keeping her in Lubbock was the job at the restaurant. Calling Silvia would be a good place to start on her new life. Annabelle handed her the phone while Angie pulled out the piece of paper with the phone number on it. Angie dialled the number, "Hello Silvia this is Angie..." Angie told her story to Silvia and it didn't take long for Silvia to come up with a plan. ------- Four days later The Restaurant in Lubbock J.D. Tatum was pissed. Sue Bell, Angie's step mother had sent him to Lubbock three days ago to make Angie disappear. He went to the restaurant where she worked and waited at the bar for four hours. The bartender wasn't very friendly and when he had asked about Angie he had said she didn't work there any more and wouldn't give him any more information than that. J. D. walked to the pay phone by the restrooms and made his call. "She's not living in Lubbock any more. Her roommates sent her packing. One of them thought she was going to some place called Dryden. This asshole bartender won't tell me anything either". J. D. listened as Sue Bell talked, "Yea OK I'll be back in just a little bit." J. D. hung up the phone, paid his bill and walked out of the restaurant. Jake called Sara over to the bar. "Did you see that guy that just left?" "Yea, the creep put his hand on my butt." Sara was visibly mad. "Well" Jake started, "He was asking about Angie." Jake opened the register and took out the receipt. "His name is J. D. Tatum; he made a call on the pay phone over there" pointing towards the restroom. "J. D.? That's the guy Angie's step mother was living with I think. Angie didn't trust him." Sara was worried now. The bad feeling Jake had must have been catching, because now Sara had it too. "Jake can you find out who he called?" Jake nodded his head and picked up the phone. Sara knew that Jake had friends and friends of friends on both sides of the law. In two days Jake would know all there was to know about J.D. Tatum. Sara looked at her watch. She would have to try the number Angie had left her, she just hoped she could reach her and warn her that J. D. was looking for her. ------- Chapter 3: Back at the Ranch The next week was a miserable one for Scott. He couldn't get the Hummingbird off his mind. There it was again: "Hummingbird". He didn't even know the girl's name. Every day Scott thought up four or five more things he'd have liked to ask her. Calling her was out of the question first he lived too far out in the boonies to have a phone and even if he had one he still didn't have the girl's number. He guessed he could go into town and call the restaurant, but then what would he say if he called? "Hello. I was eating supper in there last week I need to talk to my waitress. Her name? Oh we called her the hummingbird." Even if they didn't think he was nuts they'd think he was some kind of stalker. For the ten thousandth time he cursed his stupidity for not asking her name. He spent many hours thinking about the girl but he had also discussed the matter thoroughly with Dunnie. Dunnie however had offered no solutions and being a horse was not likely to do so any time in the near future. Daylight hours saw him talking out loud to every animal and inanimate object on the ranch. Night time found him sleeping in a bed that suddenly, after all these years, had become unbearably empty. By Friday Scott was ready to head to Lubbock, or the nearest nut house. Coming to the conclusion that he could not stand another week, a plan was made. He fed the horses then turned them out into the house pasture. He cleaned and filled up an old pig feeder with dog food. He bathed, shaved, and ran the old flat iron over his shirt and wranglers. It was at this point that he noticed his best wranglers were at best a little ragged and more than a little bit faded. Then it hit him; the M. L. Leddy suit in the closet. The suit he'd bought for his parents' funeral. He got the suit out of the plastic bag and gave it a quick going over with a clothes brush and it was good to go. Scott put on his best white dress shirt and grabbed the tie he'd bought to go with the suit. He'd put the tie on when he got to Lubbock. He packed a small bag with his best shirts and wranglers, reminding himself once again that he needed to buy a new pair or two. With a change of clothes and the rest of his kit in the pickup Scott closed up the house and headed to Sanderson. As he drove into town he made a mental list of the other things he needed to do. He needed to go by the bank, the school, grab a quick bite to eat at the Café, and then ... Then he was going to find that girl one way or another. When Scott walked into the bank conversations stopped save a whisper or two. The bank manager and head teller were staring open mouthed at him. The silence was finally broken when Susan Quinterra, known locally as Susie Q, asked, "Who died?" Everyone in the bank knew about the surprise that Stan and Silvia had cooked up for Scott. The whole town knew about the new girl in town who was helping Sam at the Café and giving Silvia a hand with her mother. Rumour had it that she was here to meet Scott. What worried Susan was the thought that someone had spilled the beans. Scott was in no mood for teasing and bluntly stated, "It's just a suit. Ain't you ever seen a suit?" "Not on you." Susie commented. Then she remembered seeing that same suit when they had buried his parents. She was really wishing she could take back the "who died" comment. Scott walked up to the teller; Susie Q made a call to Stan to find out if Scott knew what was going on. The teller, meanwhile, tried to make polite conversation in order to worm out of Scott what he was up to. Scott, already a little defensive after Susie's earlier comment, stated rather loudly that if they must know he was going back to Lubbock on business. Susie sitting at her desk had just taken a drink of coffee when Scott made his announcement; she sprayed coffee all over her desk. Still on the phone to Stan she asked in a slightly strangled voice, "Did you hear that?" She then quickly explained to Stan what he'd said. "You better get here quick or he'll be looking for that girl in the wrong town." Stan was in a panic by that point; a call to Silvia was in order. In the past week Doc Eller had arranged for Silvia's mother to be transferred to Sanderson. The stroke had been minor and Silvia's mom wanted to get away from the humidity of San Antonio. In Sanderson there was no shortage of folks to help look after her and Doc Eller would come by everyday to check on her. You couldn't get that kind of service in San Antonio. Silvia got Stan calmed down, called the bank and told Susie to stall Scott. Stalling Scott, however, was no easy task. He was starting to walk out the door when Silvia got to the bank. "Silvia! What are you doing here? " Scott quizzed. "Nice to see you, too Scott. Did someone die?" Silvia returned. "For crying out loud can't a guy look nice ever once in while?" Scott complained. He was getting a little touchy about the suit and was wishing he hadn't put the damn thing on. "No, you look nice. Have you talked to Stan about this weekend?" Silvia asked "Well I'm not going to be here this weekend. I'm going to Lubbock." Scott replied "What for?" Silvia was grinning when she asked "It's none of your damn business what I'm going for." Scott was getting pissed. He had never been one to meddle in other folks business and didn't much appreciate people not giving him the same consideration. Silvia's smile turned into a frown and she slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry Scott she's not there any more." Still trying to salvage the planned surprise she continued, "I tried calling Tuesday after Stan told me about her; Monday was her last day there." Scott felt like he'd been kicked. He didn't say a word, just started walking back to his pickup. Silvia had never seen Scott show that much emotion. Now she was afraid that she might be carrying the joke a bit too far. She called out to him, but it was as though he was in shock. He didn't answer, he didn't stop, he just walked back to his truck, got in and headed back to the ranch. Silvia was stunned; this wasn't the way it was supposed to turn out. She had no way of knowing what the past week had done to Scott. She never thought about the possibility that Scott had already fallen in love with the girl, Stan talked like he hadn't been interested in her. The full impact of what she had said, combined with how he had reacted hit Silvia like a ton o' bricks. She had just started crying when Stan drove up to the bank. ------- Scott felt like his heart had been ripped out. He didn't hear Silvia call to him, didn't even hear the car that honked at him when he drove through the stop sign. He was going back to the ranch, by himself, alone just like he'd been for years. All alone. Over the last few days he had convinced himself that she was the one he could love, and she could love him. Now all that was gone. He opened the door of the ranch house and walked in, heading straight to his bedroom. He didn't remember turning off the highway nor did he remember any of the seven push gates that he had gone through to get home. It didn't matter now, he was home. ------- Back in Sanderson Stan was trying to pry from Silvia what had happened. He saw Scott drive off, running the stop sign at the end of the street, headed back to the ranch. Stan had never seen Silvia this upset. After getting Silvia to calm down she told Stan what had happened. The original plan was to go out to Scott's ranch Saturday to ride horses, cook some steaks and enjoy Scott's hot tub. Something the two of them did almost every weekend. The surprise was to be bringing Angie as a guest. Now that that plan had been knocked into a cocked hat they decided that they couldn't wait any longer. Silvia called Doc Eller to make sure someone could take care of her mother till Sunday. Stan called the Café and told Angie that the plans had changed and they would be headed to the ranch in the next thirty minutes and she'd need a change of clothes. At the Café Stan's call created a minor panic. Angie hung up the phone, turned to Sam and said, "Something has happened. We're going to the ranch today instead of tomorrow." Angie had a look of absolute panic. Five minutes ago she'd been excited but anxious about meeting Scott. Now, she looked at Sam with a pleading look "What could have happened?" Sam smiled. She knew Scott better than anyone. In the course of all those hours riding the bus back and forth to school Scott and Sam had developed a friendship closer than most marriages. "He's been out at that ranch all week wondering about you, if you were the one. I'd bet he came to town to go to the bank or buy some clothes on his way to Lubbock." Angie dropped on to the stool at the end on the counter like she'd been shot. "Do you think that's what happened?" she asked. "Look," Sam explained, "Scott and I spent almost five hours a day, five days a week, riding that damn school bus. We talked from the first grade till we graduated from High School; he's the best friend I have. And if you'll remember I told you Tuesday night, while you three sat right over there plotting this thing, that he'd never make it 'til Saturday before coming to town." Angie looked at Samantha Miller with a new respect, and also a little curiousity as to why Sam and Scott had never got together. Or had they? Angie was slipping into a dream like trance thinking about Sam and Scott when Sam jarred her into the present. "You better get a move on sugar. You're going to want a change of clothes aren't you?" Sam asked "Oh shit!" she blurted then blushed blaze red. "I've got to get to Silvia's house." Angie hit the door at a dead run, across the pot hole strewn parking lot and grabbed the door handle of the Jeep. "Locked!"... "Keys? ... Purse? ... Damn it!" She turned to run back to the Café; Sam shook her head and met her in the parking lot with her purse. "Slow down Angie. And take off your apron" Sam told her as Angie got in her Jeep. "Angie, he's a great guy, and from what I've seen of you this week he's getting a great gal. Just slow down and enjoy each other. When you get back Sunday night we'll have a talk, just me and you. Now get!" Sam closed the door on the Jeep and sent Angie on her way to meet Scott. Meet him and find out if he felt like she did. Stan pulled up to the front of Silvia's house. Silvia had a small bag with a change of clothes. She put them on the back floor board of Stan's crew cab pickup. "Where is that girl, we have got to go," Silvia was beside herself. "Just calm down Sil', it's going to be alright." Stan had already told her this at least ten times since the incident at the bank, but it didn't appear that she was any nearer being convinced. And if the truth were known Stan wasn't all that convinced either. About this time the now familiar red Jeep Cherokee came sliding around the corner and skidded to a stop behind Stan's truck. It had barely stopped rolling as the door flew open and the petite Angie bailed out at a dead run heading for the house, her apron flying behind her like Superman's cape only white with mustard stains. "Be just a sec," She yelled as she went in the house, the screen door slamming shut behind her. Five minutes later she came out of the house at about the same speed she went in. She was about to throw her bag in the back of the truck when Stan said "Here, you don't want to ride that back there, it'll be full o' dust by the time we get there." Angie got in the back seat behind Stan; Silvia sat on the front passenger side. For the first five miles no one said a word. Finally Angie broke the silence and asked, "What happened?" Silvia broke down and started crying. After three attempts to explain the day's events ended in sobs Stan looked at Silvia. Before Stan could start the tale, Angie started crying as well. "If you two will stop crying, it's going to be alright," Stan started. He explained to Angie how Scott had come to town to get money so he could go to Lubbock to find her. No sooner had Angie's tears stopped than her laughter started. She laughed harder and harder until once again the tears were flowing, but this time for joy. Because now she knew that Scott had wanted to see her again. Silvia was beside herself, "What's so funny?" Angie, still laughing said, "Sam was right." "What do you mean Sam was right?" Stan didn't know what she was talking about. "Don't you remember that night in the Café?" Angie was grinning, "Sam said it wouldn't work." Now Stan remembered. Sam had said that Scott would be in Lubbock by Saturday, he just hadn't believed her. Stan started laughing now, and in a few minutes Silvia was laughing so hard she was about to wet herself. Stan turned off the highway to start down the dirt road that ended at the — 0 (Bar None) Ranch. "How much farther is it Stan?" Angie asked. The first few miles of this dirt road reminded her of something she'd been in too big a hurry to do. "Twenty five rough and dusty miles, why? ", Stan already had a good idea what the problem was but what the hell, he didn't mind teasing a little bit. Looking around at the wide open desert, Angie decided that it wasn't going to get any better, "Stan would you mind stopping a minute?" "Yea no problem Angie, we're coming up on Silvia's hill." Stan's comment netted him a slap on the shoulder. Stan slowed then stopped at the crest of a steep hill. As soon as the truck stopped Silvia and Angie bailed out of the truck. Stan eased the truck down the other side of the hill to give the girls some privacy. A few minutes later the girls climbed back in the truck and they headed to the ranch. ------- Chapter 4: The Meeting The Meeting As the ride to the ranch was coming to an end Stan got Angie's attention and said, "Angie, it's just two more miles to the house." The panic Angie felt at the Café had returned in force. What would Scott say? What should she say to him? Angie was still deep in thought when the pickup began to slow to a stop. Stan eased up to the last of the seven push gates and stopped. Angie, who had been in her own little world since Silvia and she had made their pit stop, looked at Stan and asked, "Do you need me to open the gate?" "No. It's a push gate just like the six others we've gone through," Stan laughed and wondered where her mind had been for the last twenty three miles. "A push gate is a gate that's designed to open by pushing it open with a pickup. They're made so that they close on their own." "We just had regular gates and cattle guards on my Dad's ranch." Angie replied, "Why do you use them here?" Stan put the truck into first gear and floored it, the truck accelerated through the gate. It swung all the way open then held still just for a brief second or two. "The sheep and goats don't respect the cattle guards all that much," Stan replied. Angie turned in her seat to watch the gate close and was shocked as the gate, made from two inch steel pipe, swung back and forth with more than enough force to crush a car. "Guess it wouldn't pay to stop in the wrong place. Huh?" "Nope it wouldn't." Stan said "Do you see that steel t-post this side of the gate?" "Yea there was another one on the other side" Angie answered "What are they for?" "That marks the point where the gate swings. If you stop inside of those posts your car will get scratched," Stan said, repeating the joke he made every year when he brought hunters into the ranch. "Scratched!" Angie exclaimed "Totalled would be more like it." Only then did Angie realise that Stan had sucked her in on another of his jokes. She smiled as she thought about how fast she had been accepted. She wondered if it would stay that way if Scott didn't like her. "There it is." Stan's voice brought her back to the real world. From the top of the hill you could see the ranch headquarters laid out in the valley in front of them. There were huge cottonwood trees lining the creek that wound through a lush green meadow. Out in the meadow horses, mules, and a few cows were grazing. The road wound down the hill then disappeared under the canopy of oaks and pecans. After the desert scenery on the drive to the ranch, the view of the meadow and all the trees seemed out of place. At the far end of the valley Angie could see several buildings. The ranch house, a large adobe building was mostly hidden by the trees. From the point they were at on the road all that could be seen was the sun reflecting off the solar panels on the roof. Off to the east were several small sheds. Sitting even further back were two small houses separated from each other by fifty or sixty yards. The barn sat almost 300 yards north of those two houses. It was two stories tall; adobe with a sheet metal roof. There were pens and sheds off to the side. But the thing that had Angie's attention right now was the light reflecting off the two lakes as it passed through the oak and pecan trees. There were so many trees Angie couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Is that water over there?" she pointed. "Those are ponds. There are three of them that are fed by the springs back behind the house. They are all crystal clear; we go snorkelling in them when it's warm." Stan explained. "Oh wow!" Angie was so excited now she could hardly contain herself, "Is that an observatory?" she pointed to the white dome that had just come into view. The contrast of the white dome against the green shades of the trees made the dome jump out of the scenery. Memories of the many nights Angie and her father spent looking at the stars came flooding back. Silvia was laughing at Angie's excitement; she looked like a kid on Christmas day. "Scott just put that in last year. He was tired of lugging his telescope to the top of that hill." Stan chimed in, "It's over nineteen feet wide, he ended up buying another telescope." "What kind of telescope is it?" Angie asked. "All I know is that it's about sixteen inches in diameter and everything about it is computerized," Stan told her. "But didn't you tell me that there is no phone and no electricity?" "There's not but he put in some solar panels and batteries to take care of the computer and the telescope." Stan laughed. They drove down the road and out of the bright sunlight and into the shade as the road wandered underneath the canopy of the trees. "Look over there." Stan pointed towards the three whitetail does grazing beneath the trees. "Watch up here on the left Angie. There are usually some turkeys out in that clearing." Today the turkeys were nowhere in sight, instead six javelinas, small pig-like creatures native to West Texas, rooted under the big oak at the edge of the clearing. "This place is so beautiful," Angie exclaimed, "It's really is an oasis isn't it?" Angie couldn't get over the change in the landscape, after miles and miles of desert. Suddenly, over a hill and into a valley of trees where there was lush green grass, and running water. Stan drove the last half mile to the ranch house. Scott's two dogs met them. The dogs knew Stan's pickup and rather than barking, they followed his truck wagging their tails. As they got out of the truck Angie knew that if this wasn't the moment of truth then it soon would be. All the doubt, worry and wondering would soon be over, one way or the other. As they walked up on to the wrap around porch, Stan and Silvia held up and let Angie walk up to the door alone. Angie stepped up to the wood framed screen door, and then turned to look at Stan and Silvia. Stan smiled, "Well, go ahead. Knock." Angie knocked. As she waited with her heart in her throat, she examined the woodwork on the screen door. It almost seemed out of place, the ornate Victorian trim of the door on the white stucco of the adobe house. Scott heard the knock on the door. Since he hadn't heard the dogs barking that meant that Stan and, no doubt, Silvia were here. The last thing he wanted was company. He wanted to be left alone. Angie knocked again then bucking up her courage another notch she knocked again even harder. Scott had had enough, "Go away!" he shouted "Leave me alone." All alone, Scott thought — that's all I'll ever be is alone. Angie had been unsure when she first knocked on the screen door, but hearing the hurt in Scott's voice had assured her. "Why Scott?" Angie called through the screen door, "Why should I leave you alone?" Scott froze; his heart rate doubling in an instant. When he had heard the first two words he thought it was Silvia. The second time she spoke, though, jarred him. "That wasn't Silvia!" Scott said quietly to himself. He wanted to ask who it was, at the same time he knew who it was. But how? Why? Angie wasn't sure why it was taking so long for him to answer. "Scott," she called again, "Why should I leave you alone? Tell me, I want to know." Scott got off the bed, his clothes wrinkled from sleeping in them for the last hour. He turned the corner from the hallway to where he could see the front door. The sight that met him stopped him dead in his tracks. His heart was pounding, his mouth suddenly dry. He didn't know what to say and wasn't sure he could have said it if he knew. He was well read, with a college education and there he was standing in a cold sweat, struck absolutely dumb. He stood there staring at her through the screen door afraid to move then just as suddenly afraid not to. He took the last few steps to the door and pushed it open. Angie heard him moving in the house then suddenly he came around the corner and froze. He stood there for the longest time just staring. Finally he stepped forward and pushed the door open so quickly that Angie had to step aside to keep it from hitting her. Now he stood frozen holding the door open, still not a word having come from his mouth. They stood for several minutes staring, neither saying a word. After a more than pregnant pause Scott said, "Hummingbird! What are you doing here?" Angie turned to look behind her. Stan and Silvia were standing back by the gate, just out of Scott's sight behind one of the ancient junipers that flanked the flag stone walk that led to the front door. They were close enough to see and hear but too far away to be involved in the conversation. Smiling she asked, "Hummingbird? Are you talking to me?" She was gigging him a bit since Stan had already told her about what Scott had said that night at the restaurant. Even with the shadows she could see the change in Scott's face. Though tanned from days in the sun he blushed the deepest shade of scarlet. "Your name," he stuttered, "I don't even know your real name." Angie was a little surprised. She had assumed that Stan had told him her name although she hadn't asked him. The sudden thought of him driving six hours to Lubbock looking for a girl he called the Hummingbird almost caused her to start laughing. It was with no small amount of effort that she suppressed a giggle. Looking at the tall cowboy in sleep wrinkled clothes, his face blushing scarlet, only added to the humour of situation. "My name is Angiline Bell. My friends call me Angie." "Angie it's so good to meet you, uh I mean, uh find out, uh learn your name. My name is..." "Scott Thoreau Miles." Angie finally let loose a laugh as she finished his sentence. "Are you going to invite me in or are we going to stand here letting in flies?" she grinned at him. Scott's face turned even redder and the heat radiated from it like a wood stove on a cold winter day. "I'm so sorry I don't know what I'm thinking. Come in, come in sit down, do you want something to drink?" Scott ushered her to the formal living room just inside the front door. The furniture was well cared for but by no means new. Scott had had all of the pieces of Victorian furniture reupholstered; except for a few scratches it looked little different now than it had when it was unloaded off the ship in Galveston over one hundred years ago. Stan and Silvia had watched the exchange on the porch. Stan grabbed Angie's bags and sat them on the porch. "Come on." Stan said to Silvia, "Let's go." "Go? Now? And leave her here?" Silvia was floored. "She'll be all right. Scott will bring her to town in a few days," Stan was grinning from ear to ear. "But what if she doesn't like him? Where will she sleep?" Silvia still couldn't believe Stan was just going to drive off and leave Angie. "Come on Sil they'll be fine. You've been saying for a week that all they needed was to spend time with each other. So now they get to spend time with each other and without us in the way." Stan started to get into the truck. "But what about the steaks and stuff we brought?" Silvia asked "Oh yeah Forgot about that", Stan grinned then grabbed the ice chest and walked over to the summer kitchen, opened the refrigerator that ran off the batteries and solar panels Scott had installed, and put the meat and vegetables away. Silvia met him with the two sacks of miscellaneous groceries that had also been bought for the occasion. After everything was put up Stan and Silvia got in his truck and started the long drive back to town. Back inside the house Scott and Angie shared their life's stories for hours as the afternoon passed. It was starting to get dark as the sun began to set. Scott turned to Angie and asked, "How did you find your way out here?" "Stan and Silvia brought me. Where are they?" Angie asked "They must have gone to one of the guest houses. I sure hope they don't mind dirt. Neither of those houses has been cleaned in years." Scott got up and walked to the window and looked out. "That's funny!" "What?" Angie got up to see what Scott was looking at. "Stan's truck, it's not here." Scott walked out of the living room and stepped out on the porch. "Is this your bag?" Scott held up the small suitcase to show Angie. "Yes that's mine. Did they leave?" she asked. "It sure looks like they did. Don't worry I can take you back to town." Scott stepped back inside the house and got his hat off the rack by the door. "Are you tired of me already?" her smile and wink caught him completely off guard. "No! No! You can stay as long as you like." Scott stammered. "Good!" she grinned "Now that we've got that worked out are you as hungry as I am?" Scott's stomach picked that exact moment to growl loudly causing him to start laughing. "Yeah! I guess I am. Let's go out to the summer kitchen and see what we can stir up." "What's a summer kitchen?" "Well it gets pretty hot here most of the time and cooking in the house just makes it hotter in the house. So they built a kitchen separate from the main house. Mine is screened in and I have a table out there, I like to eat and watch the sun set. Come on, I'll show you." Scott started down the porch but before he could take the first step Angie reached out and took his hand in hers. They walked side by side, hand in hand to go have their first meal together. ------- Stan and Silvia's trip back to town was very quiet. Silvia wasn't sure that leaving Angie there without saying something was the right thing to do. Stan on the other hand, didn't have a doubt that leaving her there was the right thing. In fact he couldn't wait to go to the café and tell Sam what he'd done. That had been how he had decided to do it in the first place. He had asked himself, what would Sam do? The answer to that question was leaving them alone and let them work out any differences they had. So straight to the café they went. Sam saw Stan and Silvia pull up to the café. Angie wasn't with them and Stan was grinning from ear to ear. "You left that girl out there didn't you, Stanley Willus." "Yes I did," Stan was grinning like a fool. "Does she know you left her?" Sam was standing there trying to look like she was angry, when in fact she was tickled to death. Silvia, thinking that she had been right and they shouldn't have left her started in on Stan. "See I told you that you shouldn't have done that." Sam's face broke into a smile, "I'll tell you right now Stanley," she knew it burned him up to called that, "If she's not back here by Monday night your scrawny ass is going to be in here all day Tuesday, waiting tables while I go to Del Rio." Silvia laughed and a feeling of dread passed over Stan on hearing those words. The three of them were so wrapped up their conversation that they didn't notice the stranger sitting at the counter nod his head in acknowledgement, and they sure didn't hear him quietly say, "so that's where the little bitch is at." They did see him get up to leave. Sam looked at the ten dollar bill he'd left with the check. "Did you want your change?" Sam called to him as he walked to the door. "Naw keep it," he said gruffly then adding under his breath, "there's plenty more where that came from." Sam, Silvia, and Stan went back to their conversation, not paying any attention to the man that left. ------- Chapter 5: Supper and a Sunset Supper and a Sunset When Angie's hand closed on Scott's, he felt a happiness he had never known. He wasn't sure that it was love but it felt better than anything he had felt before. After Scott showed Angie around the summer kitchen they started some water to boil for pasta. Every time they touched it felt electric. The simple act of making spaghetti turned into a slow dance of two people in love for the first time. Scott opened a bottle of wine. They laughed all through supper. Sitting side by side they watched the sun as it sank behind the hills west of the ranch house. Scott lit a kerosene lamp and they sat and talked as they finished the wine. Scott marvelled at Angie's beauty in the pale yellow light of the lamp. As he gazed at her he could see the lamp's flame reflected in her eyes. He reached and caressed her face with the back of his hand, afraid to touch her beauty with his rough, callused palms. They sat and stared at each other as a full moon rose. Their faces moved closer and closer until finally their lips met. The kiss started out as a light friendly kiss but quickly evolved into a hot, passion filled kiss of long lost lovers. Scott moved his hand up and ran his fingers through Angie's short silky hair. He broke the kiss still holding her head with his hand. Now he knew this feeling for what it was. Scott looked at Angie and said, "I love you." Angie heard the three little words and her heart felt like it would explode. "I love you too Scott." In her head she knew this was crazy but in her heart she knew that Scott was the one. Now he had told her that he felt the same and she was very, very happy. Things were going pretty fast and Scott thought that he should slow down at least a little. The one thing that he was sure of right now was that he didn't want to do anything to jeopardise having a relationship with this beautiful woman. Scott looked at Angie and asked, "Would you like to go for a walk?" Angie, thinking that doing anything with Scott was all she would ever want to do, simply nodded her head. Scott stood up and offered her his hand. They walked out of the screened in area of the summer kitchen and down the moon lit road to the foot bridge that his father and he had built over the spring fed creek. When they got to the bridge they stood in the middle of it and just held each other. It was close to midnight when the two lovers realised how late it had become. Still not rushing it they walked hand in hand back to the ranch house. Once inside the house Scott lit one of the many coal oil lamps. Then picking up Angie's suitcase he led her to the guest bedroom. "I hope this will be all right." Scott started, "Maria just cleaned it last week and I've had it closed up since then." "It's fine, though it looks like a boy's room." She commented. "Yea, it was mine till my folks... ," Scott's voice faded and his eyes searched the floor for something to focus on. Stan had told Angie that Scott's parents had been killed in a car wreck. It was obvious that he still grieved for them. Angie reached up taking Scott's head in her hands, "It's OK, I understand." Scott set the bag on the floor, "Do you need anything else?" "Would you have a flashlight I could borrow?" Angie smiled. "Sure, just a sec." Scott went down the hall to his bedroom and returned with a small flashlight. "I just put new batteries in it a couple a days ago." Scott turned and started back to his bedroom then stopped. He turned and walked back and took Angie in his arms. "I can't believe you're here. It's been a dream, you being here, and me holding you like this." Angie looked up at Scott and sighed, "If it is a dream, I never want to wake up." Scott found himself once again getting lost as the lamp light reflected in her eyes. "I hate for this night to end." He pulled her into a tight embrace, inhaling the scent of her hair. "The only reason I can bear it is so I can spend tomorrow with you." He leaned down and kissed her goodnight. It wasn't the first time he had kissed her tonight but it was the goodnight kiss he had dreamed of since that night he first saw her. He was kissing his Hummingbird and absolutely nothing in this life or the next could be better. The next morning started just like every morning on the ranch. Scott was up and dressed a little after 5:30 a.m. He went to the house kitchen and started some water for his cup of tea. Tea was a habit he'd picked up from his mother since neither of them could stand the taste of coffee. While preparing his tea, Scott paused a moment to wonder if Angie would want breakfast and, if so, what. He was still wondering when Angie walked into the kitchen dressed in jeans, boots and a long sleeved shirt looking more like she was ready to work than date. "I don't have any coffee. Sorry. I just don't drink it." "What's in the cup then?" said Angie, grinning, "I don't drink it either." "It's tea. I always drink tea in the morning. Would you like some?" Scott was a little more at ease around Angie but not much. "Sure I'd love some." Scott fixed Angie a cup of tea and asked, "What would you like for breakfast?" "What were you having?" "I usually have a big breakfast because I don't always eat lunch." Scott wasn't sure what they were going to do today. There weren't any pressing jobs to do on the ranch, although a ride to the windmill in the southeast section would be a good idea. "Do you want to stay here for a few days or did you want me to take you back to town?" Angie put a faked hurt look on her face as she replied, "Are you trying to get rid of me already?" "No! No, I ... I didn't meant that at all. I meant we could go eat in town if you wanted." Scott was so flustered he didn't know which way to turn. "Kinda a long way to town and back just for breakfast, don't you think?" Angie had to smile just so she could let Scott off the hook. Scott swallowed nervously, "What did you want to do today?" Angie set her tea down of the table. Stepped over to Scott and took his tea cup and set it beside hers. Then she wrapped her arms around Scott's waist and looked into his eyes. "I want to spend the next three days getting to know you." "Do you have to go back to Lubbock then?" Scott was dreading the thought of Angie leaving. "No, Silly, I'd stay right here from now on except I told Samantha I'd run the Café for her Tuesday. She has to go to Del Rio on business. That and the fact I only brought clothes for overnight." Angie grinned. There were a few minutes of silence as they both stared into each others faces. The Lubbock question brought up something that Angie hadn't told Scott. As she thought about it the grin began to fade from her face. "There's something I do need to tell you Scott." He started to interrupt her so she placed her finger over his mouth to stop him. "No I need to tell you this. I should have last night. I ... I just ... well let me just tell you. When I left Lubbock I moved to Sanderson ... well that's not exactly right. You see I was kicked out of the place where I was living and there was nothing there for me. Silvia and Stan convinced me to come down here. They said they could find me a job and a place to stay." Scott tried again to speak. "I have to tell you this. Please! I didn't come here to force myself on you. We were just going to come out for the day and I would get to meet you. It wasn't supposed to be this way." Scott would stay quiet no longer, "I don't care why you're here. You're here and that is all that matters. I'm glad they left you here. I was coming to Lubbock to find you, to ... get you. How? Well I'm glad it didn't come to that. Angie I fell in love with you that night. I told myself you were too young, you'd never want me but I had to find out. I love you Angie. I'll always love you." Scott turned his head and tried to look away. He could feel his eyes misting over. The last thing Scott wanted was for Angie to see him tear up and cry. Angie reached up with both hands and turned his face towards hers. When she saw Scott's eyes she started crying. "Oh Scott I love you, too It's crazy I know but when I saw you that night I knew you were the one, the one that ... Oh Scott don't you see we were meant to be together. I've never felt this way about anyone." Their faces moved closer and closer together until their lips met in a kiss that was tentative at first, their lips just touching then retreating while their eyes traded the love they held for each other. Finally their lips crushed against each other with the passion normally reserved for old lovers. Seconds later their tongues met and traded back and forth until by some unknown signal the kiss ended. Scott and Angie held each other for a few more minutes. The distant nickering of a horse brought them back to the real world. "We better get some breakfast so I can go feed," Scott told her. They broke their embrace but Scott held on to Angie's hand as they went to the summer kitchen and fixed a pile of scrambled eggs, sausage, and fried potatoes. After eating all they wanted, Scott got out some flour tortillas and made some burritos for later and stuck them in the fridge. "I need to go feed the horses. I'll be back in just a little bit." Scott explained "Let's go," Angie shot back, "I told you last night I was raised on my dad's ranch. I know you have work to do and I want to help you with it." Scott couldn't have been more pleased. His first wife wouldn't have helped on the ranch if her life depended on it. They went into the house so Scott could get his hat; Angie disappeared into her room and came out with a khaki coloured cap with some seed company logo on it. "Sorry, I left my other hats in Sanderson." Angie smiled "You know things didn't work out quite like we planned it yesterday." Scott busted out laughing, grabbed Angie and lifted her from the floor and spun her around. "It's not my fault. In fact it's all your fault." "My fault? How can it be my fault?" Angie squealed. Scott smiled, put his nose right up against Angie's and said, "You made me fall in love." "I made you? How did I make you fall in love?" Angie shot back Scott got the impish grin that warned anyone who knew him that something ornery was about to transpire. "Oh, I'd say it was that third bowl of salsa." He gave Angie a quick kiss and bolted to the door. Angie took off right on his heels yelling "I'll get you for that." Scott and Angie fed the horses and took care of the other chores around the house. As they were walking back into the house Angie asked, "Can I see the rest of the house? Scott led Angie from room to room of the place that had been the home of the Miles family for over a hundred years. The original adobe house built by Ebb Miles in 1882 had been added on to until it formed a square with an open courtyard in the centre. A porch surrounded the house and between the porch and the pecan, oak and ash trees most of the house was kept in shade. They walked through the summer kitchen into the house kitchen. From the house kitchen Scott showed her the dinning room. It was the first time that she had really looked at the room. She had passed through the room twice that morning but it had been dark both times. Now sun light filtered into the large rectangular room through the lace curtains on the double French doors. The table and chairs were beautiful examples of Victorian wood working. But the thing that caught Angie's eye was the ornately carved china cabinet. The china cabinet was filled with the most beautiful china. "Oh my God! Scott, do you know what this is?" Angie was more than a little bit excited, marvelling at Blue Willow plates, cups and saucers. The cabinet was filled with Staffordshire, Wedgwood, Churchill, and even some English cloisonné. All of the pieces were from the 1800's and all very valuable. "Scott some of these pieces are priceless." Angie's face was glowing as she turned to Scott, "My grandmother left me some very nice pieces..." Angie stopped in mid sentence as she realised that the china her grandmother had left her was yet another thing her stepmother had stolen from her. Scott watched the sadness come over the woman he loved. She had already told him some of the problems with her stepmother. Not that that affected how he felt about Angie; he loved her enough that if her stepmother had of been the wicked witch of the east it wouldn't have mattered. What her stepmother had done to her, though, did make him angry. Scott was sure that some, if not all, of her stepmothers actions were illegal. He reminded himself to get in contact with his friend Jack and have him do some checking. If a Texas Ranger couldn't get to the bottom of it no one could. He led Angie over to the French doors and out into the courtyard. He waited and watched as she walked straight to the fountain in the centre. "It's so peaceful out here." She turned toward him and saw the wooden tub in the corner behind him. "What is that, a hot tub?" "Yes, it's designed to be heated by burning wood," Scott told her. "What's through those doors?" Angie pointed to the opposite side of the courtyard. "That door is to the room you slept in last night and those double doors go to the bedroom I slept in." "What about that other set of double doors there?" "That," Scott paused wondering what she would say when he opened the doors, "is the pride of the Miles family. Come on I'll show you." Scott reached for Angie's hand and led her to the doors. Opening the right hand door he let her enter the room first. Angie stepped into a room lit only by the sunlight from the open door behind her. She couldn't believe her eyes. There in front of her were books: hundreds, no thousands of books. Scott moved across the room and opened a heavy dark curtain and light flooded the room. "Oh my! Scott, there's so many. I love books, I can't believe this. How can you have so many books?" "My family has a thing for books. There are books collected by every generation of Miles going back to the late 1700's. Many of them were brought from the Miles' family home in England when they first came to this country." The pride in Scott's voice was something he just couldn't hide. The awe that Angie was displaying showed that she had a love of books that equalled what any Miles had. Angie walked down the aisles looking at the books. The room looked like it belonged in some English country estate, not the wilds of west Texas. Save for the two windows and the French doors every wall from floor to ceiling was covered with bookcases, the wood a dark mahogany. Aisles ran from the end of the room to about twenty feet from the opposite wall. They ended at an open area at the east end of the room. In that open area sat an old roll top desk, an equally ancient wooden chair in front of it. On the other side of the desk was a credenza with three lead crystal decanters and a tray of glasses sitting on it. Centered in the middle of the end wall was a fireplace. Two wing back chairs sat on either side of a beautiful mahogany table. Angie turned to Scott and said, "This is the most wonderful place I have ever seen." She walked up to Scott and said, "Now show me the rest of the house." "But you've seen it all, well all but the other bedrooms but there's nothing to them." "Come on." Angie grabbed his hand and turned to go back to the courtyard. "Whoa, girl." Scott laughed, "I thought you wanted to see the rest of the house?" "I do." "Well then let's go this way." Scott now led Angie to the door that opened into the hallway that went to the bedrooms. They walked past the guest room where Angie had slept the night before, and past three other bedrooms with only a peek in the unused rooms. They turned the corner. That brought them back to the front of the house and to the door to Scott's bedroom. He opened the door and Angie walked in. The bedroom was quite large; to the left as you came in the door was a sitting area with a Victorian style sofa and a couple of wing back chairs. On the other side of the room was a four poster bed. The bed was made, a homemade quilt serving as a bedspread. Angie looked around the room. There were no clothes laying anywhere. The room just didn't look like a single man lived in it. She peeked into the closet and found it neat as well. The last place on her inspection took her to the bathroom. Looking at the bathroom had Angie wondering if Scott had slept last night or cleaned his room. Thinking back, though, she realized the whole house was clean and not man clean, it was woman clean. Curiosity got the best of her. "The truth now, is it always this clean?" Scott looked up at the ceiling and said in an almost tearful way, "Thanks Mom, you were right." Then turning to Angie he said, "Yes. My mother took great pride in teaching my Dad and I that we didn't have to live like pigs." Angie looked to the ceiling, "Thank you Mom, I'll make sure he keeps it up." She walked back over to the bed and lay across it. Scott stepped over to the bed and lay beside her. Once again he found himself staring into her eyes. Every time he had looked into her eyes a feeling of peace came over him; a peace that he'd never felt before. He had loved his parents deeply but even they hadn't inspired this feeling in him. This was the peace that came from finding what he had been searching for his entire life: the love of his life. They lay next to oneanother talking and kissing until noon. After a light lunch Scott and Angie walked down to the barn. "Do you feel like going for a ride?" Angie's face lit up at Scott's question, "I'd love to." "I guess your saddle is with your hats?" Scott grinned "No." The smile had evaporated from Angie's face. "Oh Angie, I'm sorry. It's at your Dad's ranch isn't it?" Scott heart sank; Angie's grief over the death of her father was even fresher than his. "Angie, there are a lot of things that we don't know about each other, but please know that I would never do anything to hurt you. You know that don't you? Please forgive me." Scott looked to Angie hoping for forgiveness. "There's nothing to forgive Scott," Angie reached up and touched his face. The big line back dun horse walked up to Scott and nudged him with his head. Scott was holding Angie in his arms and wasn't paying any attention to the horse's attempt to interrupt him. The horse, feeling slighted, gave Scott an even harder nudge. "Damn it Dunnie stop that." Scott's chastisement only caused the big dun to shake his head and nicker at Scott. The big horse was acting like a teenage boy and moved up close behind Scott once again. This time he stretched his head and neck as far as he could and, with a move the horse had practiced many times, flipped Scott's hat off of his head then ran out the gate and down the road a little ways. Usually when Scott and Dunnie played this game Scott caught his hat but not today. With his arms wrapped around Angie the hat hit the ground and Scott couldn't help but laugh. "What is that all about?" Angie asked as she began to laugh along with Scott. "That is a game that got started when he was a colt. I think he's a little jealous." They turned to see the big dun stick his head around the corner to find out why Scott hadn't chased him the way he always did. "Come here, Dunnie." Scott called. The horse walked up to Scott, "Dunnie, this is Angie. You be nice to her, you savvy?" Dunnie nodded his head and snorted. "Dunnie knows all about you. I talked to him all last week about you and what I should do." "I see. And what did the two of you decide?" Angie asked while she scratched the underside of Dunnie's jaw. "I was heading to Lubbock Friday remember?" Scott chuckled as he reached down and picked up his hat. "Now which of those three horses would you like to ride?" Angie looked at the three horses standing under the shed roof of the barn eating hay. There were two geldings; a sorrel and a bay, and a paint mare. "How about the paint?" Angie replied. "The paint it is. Come here Spot," Scott called to the horse. "Spot!" Angie laughed, "Who named her?" Angie couldn't get over how strange it sounded to have a horse with a name that sounded like it belonged to one of the dogs. Scott was laughing too; it had been a long standing family joke. "I think my granddad started the tradition years ago. But my dad named Spot. He was real disappointed when she was born." "Why?" Angie couldn't help but ask. "He was going to call it Fido if it had of been a horse colt." They finished saddling up and rode off together. It didn't take long for Scott to notice that Angie sat a horse as though she had been born to one. He watched her as they rode; he liked her short cut hair and thought that if it were longer it would take away from the beauty of her face. Everything about her was in proportion. She was petite, almost boyish but as far as Scott was concerned there wasn't a prettier girl in the world. They rode around the house pasture and got back to the barn an hour before sunset. Scott had spent the day with the love of his life and now he didn't have a single doubt that she was the right one. He knew what he wanted to ask but there was something he had to do first. Without saying anything to Angie he walked to the small fenced in area that was the Miles family cemetery. Going to his parents' graves he removed his hat and got down on his knees and began to tell his mother and dad about Angie. Angie was absolutely bubbling. What a wonderful day. She turned to say something to Scott only to see him walking toward a fenced off area under the giant oaks. She followed and watched him take off his hat and get on his knees. When she got to where she could hear her tears began to flow. He was telling his folks about her, telling them that he was in love. Angie didn't realise that she had walked up to Scott's side until she reached to touch him. He raised up his hand, she took it and held it. Scott turned to face Angie, still on his knees, tears running down his cheeks. He looked up at Angie, into those eyes that captured him every time he looked at them. Reaching into the pocket of his wranglers he pulled out a ring; his mother's ring, his grandmother's ring, and his great grandmother's ring, the ring Miles men had given for over a hundred years. He took her hand and asked, "Angie, would you marry me." She didn't wait, she didn't think. She had known Scott for less than 48 hours and he was asking her to marry him. "Oh Scott," she sighed, "yes, there isn't anything I want more than to marry you." He got to his feet, handed Angie his hat then picked her up. Shutting the gate to the cemetery with his foot, Scott carried his future bride all the way back to the ranch house. ------- Chapter 6: Time Together Time Together Angie basked in the glow of the afternoon's events. First the proposal and now she was cradled in Scott's arms being carried back to the house. Her head lying on his shoulder, her dreams it seemed had come true. Scott walked into the ranch house carrying the petite Angie in his arms. As he was about to enter the living room he heard Angie softly say "Take me to the bedroom. Scott." Scott turned and went down the hallway to his bedroom; the room that had once been his parents'. Walking over to his bed he laid Angie on the homemade quilt. The hand that had held her legs caressed one of them until it came to her boot. He gently pulled her boots off before removing his and lying down beside Angie on the bed. Their lips met and for the next hour they kissed and caressed. As the passion grew Angie fingered the buttons of Scott's chambray shirt. The buttons undone, Angie ran her fingers through the hair of Scott's chest, teasing his nipples with her fingernails. She kissed down his neck slowly moving down his chest placing light kisses as she went. Angie inhaled the scent of an honest man, no cologne or aftershave, just the scent of a man as the Gods and Goddesses had made them. She kissed her way to Scott's nipple. She had teased it with her nails, now she placed a kiss on it. She listened to him utter a throaty growl. Taking her tongue, she explored around it making it even more sensitive by blowing gently on it. When she thought he could stand no more she changed from kissing the hardened nipple to biting it, each time a little harder than the previous. Scott reached down and pulled Angie up and kissed her. His tongue duelling hers, their passion ready to boil over, Angie looked into Scott's eyes and quietly asked, "Make love to me Scott." They kissed, they held, they made love throughout the afternoon, through the evening and into the night. This was the way it was meant to be; a man, a woman, in love, beginning their lives together. They fell asleep holding each other. The first rays of a new day filtered through the double French doors. Normally Scott would be up and starting the day but today he was happy right where he was. Laying there with Angie sleeping in his arms, her head resting on his chest, felt right. For the first time in his life it felt right, for the first time he felt love. There was no doubt that Angie was who he was to spend the rest of his life with. He had only one regret, his parents wouldn't be there, wouldn't see him marry the right woman. This time he knew that Angie loved him as much as he loved her. Angie moved; looking up at Scott she smiled, one of those sleepy confused smiles. Her hair mussed on one side. Scott smiled at his future wife. "What?" Angie asked in a sleepy voice. "I love you, that's what." Scott felt the warmth of her smile, a smile that grew the longer he looked at her. "We need to get up. I need go check on a windmill that's been giving me trouble." Angie got up and started for the bathroom, Scott could not believe how beautiful she was. Even more unbelievable was the fact that she loved him as much as he loved her. "Scott, can you come here?" Scott came out of his dream and headed for the bathroom, "What do you need honey?" He laughed at himself as he realised what had said. Angie grinned at Scott, "Do you want to wash my back?" Scott took her into his arms, "Always and forever." Normally Scott didn't use the propane fired hot water heater but after his first shower with Angie the inconvenience of getting propane delivered seemed too small to worry about. After getting out of the shower Angie asked him if he would mind getting her overnight case. He brought the case in from the other bathroom and left her to get ready. Scott walked to the far corner of the bedroom. Dropping his towel he knelt before the shrine built into the corner and began his morning prayers. "O Gods and Goddesses hear me as I pray." He went into his normal period of meditation then, after he felt at, peace he began to pray, "Thank you Epona, ancient Celtic Goddess of the horse, for bringing Angie into my life. Guide me, help me to be the husband she needs, protect her from harm." Angie stepped into the bedroom and about to speak when she heard Scott begin his prayers. Quickly stepping back into the bathroom she pulled a silver medallion from her overnight case. She eased across the room, dropped her towel and knelt beside her future mate. It startled him at first when Angie knelt beside him but what happened next shook him to his core. Angie took Scott's left hand and placed the chain in it as she held the chain on the other side of the medallion; on the medallion a woman sitting sideways on a horse surrounded by three birds. She looked up into Scott's eyes and asked, "May I pray with you?" Scott could not believe his eyes, there in their shared grasp the symbol of Epona. Epona his guardian, his protector. A million questions came to mind but not a single word could he utter. He nodded his head and Angie began to pray. "Gods and Goddesses hear my prayers." She began to cry. As the first tear drop hit the floor in front of her she spoke. "Forgive me Epona, for doubting you, for being ashamed to wear your symbol. Thank you for bringing me here. Thank you for Scott, watch over him and protect him. Help me to be the wife I need to be." With that said she turned to Scott put her arms around him and held him as though her life depended on it. Angie felt a tear hit her forehead; she looked to the tears on the face of her love, her mate, her all. Slowly one by one she kissed them away. When she finished she looked at Scott and said, "I didn't know, I was afraid you wouldn't understand." Scott silenced her confession with a kiss, when their lips parted she started to continue. He slowly shook his head and said softly, "It doesn't matter, it really doesn't matter, it's alright. No, actually it's better than alright. This was meant to be. I love you Angie." Angie couldn't believe what had happened since Friday, her Dad would have been very happy. Scott stood and offered his hand to Angie, "If you'll start breakfast I'll go feed so that by the time we've finished eating and cleaned everything up they'll be through as well." Scott went out the door headed for the barn, whistling some unknown song, happier than he'd ever been. He fed the horses and mules then put the tools and parts he might need for the windmill in the wagon they would be taking. Then he headed back to the summer kitchen to see if Angie had breakfast ready. As Scott approached the summer kitchen he could hear Angie singing. It took him back in time, his mother use to sing while she prepared their meals. To Scott it felt as though he had known and loved Angie all his life. She made him feel whole, she made him feel alive. He stood there listening as she sang, his mind going over the feelings of the past week. He was still standing there when Angie came out looking for him. Angie saw him standing there lost in thought. "Scott breakfast is ready." He walked the last few feet to the summer kitchen. "What were you doing out there?" Angie asked Scott as he washed his hands. "I was listening to you sing. It reminded me of my mother." They ate their breakfast then cleaned up the kitchen. It would be an all day trip to the windmill and back so Scott and Angie packed a lunch, a few drinks, and some snacks. When they got everything packed Angie asked, "Do you want me to put this in the truck?" "We're not going in the truck. Just leave it sitting here while we go up to the barn to get our ride." Scott and Angie walked up to the barn. Scott caught Pete and started putting his harness on him. After finishing with Pete, Scott caught Repete and put his harness on. When both of them were rigged up Scott hitched them to the 1905 John Deere farm wagon. Angie couldn't believe the condition of the old wagon. "Where did you find this?" "My Great Granddad bought it new, it's been rebuilt a couple of times. Go back there and look under that tarp." Angie walked to the very back of the adobe barn where she lifted the corner of a dust covered tarp, "Oh Scott! It's beautiful. How old is it?" "It was made in 1885 in England and came first by sea to Galveston and then by rail to here." "Are these the only horse drawn vehicles you have?" "No, there's a buckboard and another work wagon over in the hay barn." With the mules hitched Scott lifted the petite Angie up on the wagon seat. Climbing up beside her he took up the reins, giving them a flick, "gid up boys." Scott and Angie sat side by side as they drove back up the house. When they got there Scott hopped down off the seat and went to get the food and drinks they had packed. Spring in west Texas can leave you sunburnt or frostbit with equal ease. It was looking like it would be a sunny March day. When Scott looked up at Angie sitting on the wagon seat with her seed cap and t shirt, he decided she needed a little more protection. Running into his bedroom he grabbed one of his chambray shirts. Going into the closet in his old bedroom he pulled down a hat box from the top shelf. Inside the box was a brand new palm leaf cowboy hat. Scott had bought it for his mother for her birthday, but she had died before he could give it to her. He had put it in the closet and hadn't thought about it till he looked up at Angie on the wagon's seat. In a way the hat felt like the first step taken in healing the wounds left by his parent's death. He looked at the shirt in his hand that would swallow the diminutive Angie. Reaching to the back of the closet where the blouses, dresses and clothes that had once belonged to his parents still hung, he grabbed one of his mothers long sleeve blouses, dropped the first shirt he'd picked up off, and headed to the wagon. Scott handed Angie the blouse as he was sitting down. Reaching over and taking off Angie's cap he put the new hat on her head, "How about, that it fits." "Whose hat is this Scott?" "I had bought it for my Mom's birthday; she never got to wear it." "Are you sure about this?" Angie worried about causing him more pain over his parents' deaths. "If she was here she would insist on it. Now, you ready to head out?" "Wagons ho," Angie said with a laugh and off they went. Angie was amazed at how desolate the area was. There were two things in the wagon that she was curious about and after an hour she had to ask, "Scott why do you have that pistol strapped to your side? You also have a rifle in this scabbard. It seems like an awful lot a firepower just to go check a windmill." "You see those mountains?" Scott pointed off the south. "They're in Mexico. This is still pretty wild country. We've had drug smugglers, people smugglers and a host of ne're do wells from both sides of the border that come through here all the time. Do you know how to shoot honey?" "Yea, Dad taught me how; I have a Ruger mini 14 and a Glock 9mm at home. They are in a hidden cabinet Dad had made so I know Sue hasn't found them," Angie paused for a minute then asked, "Scott, could we make a trip to my Dad's ranch and pick up some things next week?" "I don't know why we couldn't do that if you wanted to." Now it was Scott's turn to reflect a bit. "Angie when do you want to get married? I'm ready for you to move to the ranch right now." Angie smiled, leaned into Scott giving him a hug," We could start on it tomorrow when we go back to Sanderson," Angie giggled. "Who all are we going to invite?" "Well other than the friends I've made here I'd like to invite my friends Sara and Jake that I worked with, and Mrs. Logan and her daughter. There's no one else that I care about." Scott thought for a second, "Well everybody in Sanderson would show up if we'd let 'em, but Sam, Stan, Silvia, and maybe Doc Eller is all I care about having there." The rest of the trip was spent planning their impending marriage. There was no one there to tell them they were rushing into this. No one there urging them to think it over. As far as they were concerned they had waited long enough. When they arrived at the mill Scott made a quick check of it and found it to only need a little maintenance. Before he started on the mill they decided to eat lunch. They ate on an old quilt that spread under a mesquite tree which was prospering from the overflow from the concrete storage tank. After finishing their lunch, Scott and Angie stretched out on the quilt, kissing, and touching, Scott would have been content to lie right that there but Angie wasn't going to let him. It took an hour to check the blades and tail on the mill. Scott checked to see if there were any loose bolts. The pump would need a new set of leathers and a new ball and seat before the long hot days of summer hit. Scott was making his way down the tower when he heard a giggle and a splash. Scott turned and looked down to see a very naked Angie swimming around in the concrete storage tank. "Come on in, it's not too cold." "Yea right little over a week ago it was covered with ice," Scott finished climbing down the tower and walked over the wagon and reached under the seat pulling out a large plastic bag. He opened the bag and took out two beach towels and put them where Angie had piled her clothes. After stripping down he climbed the ladder and dived into the eight foot deep concrete tank. It was cold but not as bad as he had thought it was going to be. Angie swam up to him and put her arms around Scott's neck, "This tank is so big! I've never seen one this big." Scott kissed her, running his tongue along her lips. They kissed passionately for several minutes before breaking the kiss. "What were you saying?" "Nothing!" she pulled him into another steamy kiss, "can we get out now? I'm starting to get cold." Angie started swimming towards the ladder. "Sure, come on, I'll warm you up." Angie turned and smiled at Scott, "Is that a threat or a promise Mr. Miles?" "That, my soon-to-be Mrs. Miles, is a promise." He gave her a gentle boost so that she could sit on the edge of the tank. As she was sitting there he couldn't help but stare at her beautiful body. Her breasts were small but on her five foot one inch frame they looked natural. The cold water had made her nipples stand up hard and proud. Her skin was flawless and smooth as silk and lightly tanned. He eased up to her and put his arms around her waist. The view before him was just too tempting, so he buried his nose in her curly pubic hair. "Oh Scott," she moaned as his tongue began to explore her lower lips. Using her arms she lifted herself and edged forward giving him even better access to her hidden charms. It wasn't long before Angie's moans turned to screams as she came from Scott's oral ministrations. Scott held her while he waited for her to recover, then helped her down the ladder and picked up the two towels. "Here you go babe," he said as he handed the towel to her. "When did you put these in?" "They stay in the wagon. I keep them in the box that's under the seat. Along with extra food, water, ammunition, and survival gear." He took her in his arms again, "Angie this country is unforgiving, and if you get caught unprepared it will kill you." Angie saw the serious look on Scott's face; she saw the love there as well. "I'll be careful Scott, I promise." Scott picked her up and carefully walked to the quilt in his bare feet. He laid her gently down and began to make love to her under the mesquite tree. He started kissing at her forehead and slowly worked his way down. He kissed her eyes, cheeks, then down her throat. From there he kissed through the valley between her breasts, slowly circling each breast while teasing the nipples with his fingers. He kissed up and down her sides then across her flat tummy, stopping to play with the bauble that dangled from her pierced belly button. Still moving downward, he zigzaged back and forth across the area between her belly button and her bush, using his tongue to trace little lines as he moved from kiss to kiss. Angie's moans were getting louder and as Scott got closer to her lower lips the scent increased as did the moans. Scott kissed all around her pussy but never on it, hearing the frustration in her moans. Then he moved the kisses down her leg. "Noooo Scott pleeeeaaase" she begged. But Scott kept up his torture all the way down her leg then back up the other one. Angie was on fire. Her pussy leaked fluid; the scent of a woman aroused was filling the air. As Scott approached her pussy this time, the anticipation was almost more than she could stand. His lips got closer and closer then he paused, taking a finger he lightly spread her inner lips. Using some of the natural lubrication that was running out of her he coated his middle finger. Slowly circling around her lips he eased the finger into her depths. He was feeling for something, something that he knew was there and finally he found it. Slowly he massaged the rough patch just inside her opening. Ernst Grafenberg wasn't the first one to discover this little spot but he did get the honour of naming it. Scott wasn't sure exactly how he was going to tell Angie about the lessons he and Sam had given each other over the years. But he was pretty certain that Angie was going to want to know where he had learned the little trick she was about to experience. Angie was on the verge of total meltdown, "Scooottt!" When Scott thought she could take no more he used his thumb on her clit. The result scared the hell out of the mules. Angie screamed, then went completely limp. Scott lay down on the quilt beside her and waited as she slowly rejoined the land of the living. Angie blinked a couple of time then through slitted eyes she moaned, "Oh, Scott." Holding out her arms she embraced him then they shared a short but passionate kiss. They made love once more, hot, passionate, hurried as though this time would be their last. ------- J. D. Tatum was pissed. He'd been stuck in this shit hole of a town for three days. He had found Angie's red Jeep. It was sitting in the driveway of a house just a few blocks from the café. The problem was nosey neighbours and a constant coming and going at the house where it was parked. But one little piece of information he had picked up at the café was that the old lady that was living there had a doctors appointment at 10:30 Monday. So Monday would be the day that J. D. would fix the little surprise he had made for Angie's Jeep. Then the next time she took off in it Sue Bell would inherit a ranch and a very nice trust fund. He smiled to himself when he thought of all that money. Angie would make two bodies that he and Sue Bell had on them. Angie's father had sealed his fate when Sue found out he was about to divorce her. The one thing they hadn't counted on had been Dan Bell changing the will. That had almost cost J. D. and Sue everything. Now it was going to cost Angie her life. ------- Chapter 7: A Death Before Sun Set A Death Before Sun Set For two days Sara, Angie's friend from Lubbock, had called the number that Angie had left her. The problem was that number belonged to Stan Willus. Until Silvia came along Stan had neither an answering machine or a cell phone nor a reason to have either one. It didn't take Silvia long to get frustrated trying to hunt him down when she needed him and insisted that he catch up with the times. Stan still wasn't used to the - as he called them - electronic leashes. He rarely had the cell phone turned on and rarer still checked the answering machine. Added to this was that when he was staying with Silvia there was no one that needed to get a hold of him — or so he thought. And Stan had been staying at Silvia's since returning from the ranch. After leaving yet another message on Stan's machine, Sara called Jake to voice her concern. "Jake I still can't get anyone at that number." Sara could not hide the worry in her voice. "I know, Sara," Jake returned, "I called a friend of mine last night. He's a Texas Ranger, he should be in Sanderson right now. And do you want to hear something funny?" Sara was much too stressed right now for one of Jake's jokes, "No, not really, do I have a choice?" Jake laughed, "Well, my friend Jack Rimes knows this Scott character that Angie took off after." "Really! Is he a good guy?" Sara asked. "According to Jack she couldn't have picked better. In fact he spent almost an hour quizzing me about Angie to find out if she was good enough for Scott." Jake could hear the relief in Sara's voice even through the phone. Sara had been very worried that her friend was getting in over her head with someone she really didn't know. ------- Stan and Silvia met at seven that morning for their usual breakfast together at the Café. Samantha Miller had once again threatened Stanley with waitress duties if Angie failed to show. The three of them enjoyed joking with each other and speculating on how Scott and Angie's weekend had gone. With Angie coming back today Stan would have to stay at his place tonight so after leaving the Café he had decided to stop by and turn the air conditioning on so the house would be cooled off later when he got home. As he walked through the door he saw the light blinking on the answering machine. Out in the pick up Silvia sat waiting on Stan to come back out of his house. She was already running late. They had spent over two hours at the Café. The nurse that was watching Silvia's mother would be wondering where they were. After fifteen minutes had passed she turned off the ignition and went into the house. There sat Stan, on the phone with a worried look on his face. He motioned for Silvia to sit down as he listened and wrote down notes on the yellow legal pad. Silvia could see two 806 area code numbers and she knew that meant Lubbock or the surrounding area. She also saw the name J. D. Tatum and beside his name Stan had drawn a skull and crossed bones. If all of that wasn't enough to cause alarm at that very moment Stan wrote the name Jack Rimes down. Jack Rimes, a Texas Ranger, was well known to Scott and Stan. They had gone to college together and every year the three of them went hunting together. So when Stan's voice exclaimed "He's here, right now!" Silvia knew if the Texas Ranger was being called in, something was going on and she knew that something couldn't be good. Stan hung up the phone looked to Silvia and said, "We have to drop this tape by the Dallas' office." Stan popped the micro cassette tape out of the answering machine walked down the hall and turned the air conditioning on and he and Silvia headed to the Sheriff's office. ------- At the Terrell County Sheriff's office the morning had been very busy. It had started off like any other lazy day in Terrell County. Jason Adams was leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk, day dreaming about being a deputy in one of the more populated counties but all that ended when Jack Rimes showed up. Jason was used to seeing the Texas Ranger at the start of hunting season but this wasn't hunting season and the look on his face said something bad was about to happen. "Where's Dallas?" Jack's booming voice reverberated throughout the Court house. Jason had been trying to get his feet down and between the look on Jack's face and the urgent tone of voice he used it almost caused him to go over backwards. Jason tried desperately to get his feet on the floor so that he could stand up. He pointed to the Sheriff's office even as Jack was going through the door. For the next hour and a half there was a flurry of faxes and computer printouts leading to Jason being sent to the Café with a picture of J. D. Tatum. It took Sam only seconds to recognise him and tell when he had first shown up. When Jason called that information in to the office he was then sent to the local Motel to find Tatum. On the other side of town Tatum was pulling into Silvia's driveway. ------- Breakfast Monday morning was a little subdued. The past two and a half days had been heaven for Scott and Angie. Their first weekend was coming to a close. Angie needed to be at the Café at eleven. They cleaned the summer kitchen together then sat at the table drinking their tea. When it got light enough they would go and feed the livestock then turn them into the house pasture since they wouldn't be coming home till the next night. Yesterday they had discussed the wedding and Angie moving to the ranch. The only problem they hadn't worked out was the ranch at Matador that Angie's Dad had left her. Right now it was in the hands of Sue Bell but with Scott helping her Angie was sure she could revive her father's dream. Scott and Angie drove back to Sanderson still feeling that honeymoon bliss. They drove in to town a little after nine. After checking in with Sam, Angie and Scott were headed to Silvia's house so Angie could change clothes. As they turned the corner a block from her house, Juan D'Silva flagged Scott down. "Scott, do you know that guy down there at Silvia's in that Ford pickup. He pulled in there about five minutes ago, I tried calling Silvia but she didn't answer." "Oh No!" Angie's face went white as a ghost. "Ang, who is it baby?" Scott had an idea who it was. And since Angie seemed to be petrified he decided to act. "Juan, get in there and call the sheriff. Get him here quick, there's trouble." Juan headed into his house at a dead run. Scott reached back and got the binoculars off the back seat of the crew cab pick up. "Angie, look through these and tell me who that is." "I don't need them. That's J. D. Tatum's truck," Angie's voice was as cold as ice. Scott dropped the binoculars and pulled the .45 long Colt revolver that was in the driver's side door pocket. Juan came back out of his house with his Winchester lever action rifle. "Scott, the sheriff and a deputy are going to close off the other two streets." Juan checked to make sure there was a round chambered in the rifle. "Oh yea, Scott, Dal said to tell you that Jack Rimes was with him and he'll be here in a second too." The Sheriff, Deputy, and Texas Ranger all slid to a stop right behind J.D.'s truck, blocking him in. Jack Rimes was the first to spot the man. "Ease out from under the Jeep." Jack's booming voice could make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Stan and Silvia had been in the Sheriff's office when Juan's call had come in. After hearing where the trouble was they had followed the Sheriff back to Silvia's house. Angie wanted to go and see. It was all Scott could do to keep her back until Jack signalled it was clear. Jack was watching the man that had crawled half under the red Jeep Cherokee. He could see the Browning Hi-Power clone in the holster the man had. The way it was on his belt he used the cross draw method and he was left handed. The man under the Jeep was taking his sweet time coming out from under the vehicle. Jack watched as the man's left hand came out from under the car and moved towards the pistol. Jack took the last few steps and jacked a round into the 12 gage, pump shotgun. Since the man still seemed determined to remain horizontal, Jack placed the barrel of the shotgun right on the zipper of the man's blue jeans. "You are fixin' to get castrated asshole." "Ok! Ok! I'm coming out," the man called out from under the Jeep. Jack reached down and pulled the pistol out of the holster. When the man got out from under the car he started to get up. "Stay right there, roll over and put your hands behind your back." Jack handcuffed the man, then he and the deputy pulled him to his feet. "What were you doing under there?" Jack asked. "I ain't saying anything." The man grunted then spit in Jack's face. Jack took out his handkerchief and slowly wiped the spit from his face. He refrained from cold cocking the jerk but this jerk's health and welfare had now become a major concern for Jack, but not in a way that Tatum would find good for him. The deputy had finished searching the man, "His name is James David Tatum from Matador." Stan and Silvia had joined the growing crowd of folks wanting to see what all the excitement was about. Angie could be held back no more and went over to see what was going on. Scott holding her hand could feel her trembling. Just as we got to where Jack was standing "Jack!" the sheriff shouted, "He's put something on the brake line. There's some putty looking stuff and a small black box with a blinking light on it." There was a burst of murmurs, exclamations, and threats uttered by the crowd Tatum had a grin on his face, one that Jack was tired of. Suddenly Tatum's crotch ran into the butt of Jack's shot gun. He fell to the ground puking his guts out. A collective groan came out of the crowd of onlookers, but oddly enough it seems no one had seen anything happen to the man that was now laying on the ground rolling in his own vomit. Angie told Jack what she thought of Tatum and Scott filled in what he suspected Angie's step mother's involvement was. Jack decided to err on the side of caution and called his boss to ask for an explosives expert. Twenty minutes later Jack got a call informing him that an explosives expert with the Department of Public Safety or DPS was on his way from El Paso and would be there when he got there. Jack hollered at the Sheriff, "Dal, if you'll get all these people out of here I'll take this jackass and lock him up." Looking at Tatum he said,"I sure hope the judge ain't down on the river fishing it might be 4 or 5 days before your hearing." Jack turned and winked at the Sheriff. Dal nodded his head, "I think he just left." Scott looked at Jack and asked, "Can Angie go in there and get her some clothes out?" "Scott, you need to stay away from the jeep but go ahead, just don't touch the Jeep till the bomb guys get here." Jack shook his head realising that the rumours of Scott being in love were not rumours but fact. He then turned to his prisoner, "You are not getting your nasty ass in my truck." "There's a water hose over there Jack, we can hose him down then put him in my car," the deputy called out. "Thanks Jason, that's a good idea." Jack dragged the handcuffed Tatum to the middle of Silvia's front yard then picked up the hose. Jason turned on the water; the first blast was hot, the sun having heated up the water left in the hose. But the warm water didn't last and soon the cold well water was being generously sprayed all over Tatum. "Sure seems a shame for them high dollar lizard skin boots to get all wet. Don't you think Jase?" Jack laughed then stuck the hose in the top of each boot filling it to the top with water. Jason noticed the cell phone on Tatum's belt and said, "Don't get that cell phone wet Jack it will tell us who he's been talking to." Jason watched and laughed as Jack finished filling the boots then pulled the cell phone off and put it in his shirt pocket. "You small time deputies are real smart ain't you?" Tatum grumbled Jason smiled at Tatum, "I'm the only small time deputy around here. The man with the water hose, the man whose face you spit in, is a Texas Ranger." The look on Tatum's face brought laughter from the three lawmen. He looked like he was going to throw up again. "Are you going to get sick again?" Jack asked the now dejected Tatum. Tatum knew he had really screwed up. Small town cops were one thing but if the Rangers were involved he would be very lucky not to end up with a needle in his arm. He thought about the reason he was here, an idea of how to save his own neck was starting to form, he had one chance, one card to play; he hoped it would be enough. Jason took the soggy Tatum and put him in the back seat of the Explorer he used for a patrol car and drove away Angie and Scott had just stepped out of the house when they saw Tatum being driven away. "See Baby," Scott told her, "that bastard is out of your life for good." Angie dropped the suitcase she was carrying and hugged Scott as though she was going to lose him. Looking up at him, "and my step mother?" "If she had anything to do with this Jack will take care of her too." He kissed Angie on the nose, "It's not smart to spit in the face of a Ranger. Not literally or figuratively and he's done both." Scott and Angie left Silvia's and drove to Stan's house. Mostly Stan stayed at Silvia's since they had found each other but long ago he had given Scott a key to his place for the times when Scott didn't want to drive back to the ranch. Angie changed clothes and held Scott. She knew she needed to get to the Café but wasn't sure she could face everyone. And in Sanderson everybody would already know what had happened to the new girl. The girl that worked at the Café with Sam. The one that came down here looking for Scott. You know the one, Scott Miles' girl. ------- Scott and Angie walked into the Café a little after eleven. Angie was holding her apron in one hand, the other firmly gripping Scott's. As they walked in conversation faded to silence. Sam had just stepped into the kitchen when she heard the noisy café go suddenly silent. She turned and rushed to meet the only two people in town that could have caused that to happen. Samantha looked at Scott, and then at Angie, "Alright, let me see it." Angie dropped Scott's hand and handed him the apron she was carrying. She then raised her left hand and showed the heirloom ring now residing on her finger. Sam smiled pulled Angie into a hug, "I knew you were the one the day you walked in that door." In only minutes Sam and Angie both had tears of joy running down their cheeks. Scott, Stan, and Silvia sat around the table in the back corner of the Café that Sam used for her office and entertaining friends. Sam took their drink orders and she and Angie worked the busy lunch crowd. Stan and Silvia pumped Scott for information on Tatum while Sam and Angie took and delivered food orders but he refused to answer any questions about what had happened over the weekend. An hour and a half later Angie took Scott, Stan and Silvia's food order and turned it in to Cookie. She returned to the table with a pitcher of tea to refill everyone's glasses, shortly after that Sam arrived with everyone's meals. As they sat around the table eating, Sam and Silvia were trying to squeeze out every detail of the past weekend. No one mentioned the events at Silvia's, this was a happy time and nothing was going to change that. "So," Sam started, "when and where is the wedding going to be?" As soon as she had said it, another question popped into her mind, her hand reached to her neck and felt the silver chain there. She looked up to see Scott grinning at her. "What about?" she looked around, the Café had emptied out after the noon rush. Her eyes pleaded with Scott, she didn't want to ask what was on her mind, afraid that Angie would get upset. "Angie, show Sam your medallion," Scott said as he grinned. Angie, sensing Sam's ill ease and seeing the grin on Scott's face, pulled the medallion out ever so slowly, then before it could be seen, covered it with her hand. "Is there something bothering you Sam?" Angie smiled as she teased Sam. Sam was looking more and more uncomfortable, "Well it's just that Scott...", she paused, not knowing how to say what she wanted to say. Angie decided to let her off the hook, "There's not a problem Sam, the Goddess has taken care of everything." Angie removed her hand revealing the medallion showing Epona on her horse. Sam pulled Angie into a hug and started crying, no one said a word. After Sam had recovered they started planning the wedding. They picked the first weekend in April, the weekend after next. All that was left was to call the judge. The café's ringing phone broke up the planning session; the sheriff wanted Angie and Scott at the courthouse. ------- While the gang at the Café had been planning a wedding the Terrill county Sheriff and Ranger Jack Rimes had been quizzing J. D. Tatum. Tatum had made it very plain that he was not going to answer any questions. It took only a small amount of digging to find out that Tatum had made some mistakes in his life, some of them big mistakes. The biggest of these was not spitting in Jack's face but that spit was going to result in a custody transfer which Mr. Tatum was not going to find beneficial to his long term health. Two years earlier Tatum in a drunken rage had severely beaten a Mexican man in a bar fight. Tatum may not have known who Tomas Rios was but Jack Rimes sure as hell did and he decided that now was as good a time as any for Mr. Tatum to find out who he was or, more specifically, who his father was. Jack put down the print out of Tatum's criminal record. "Well Mr. Tatum," Jack started, "I see here that two years ago you beat a man almost to death in a bar fight in Lubbock." "No charges were ever filed," Tatum mouthed back at Jack. Jack smiled, "Yes, that's right, do you want to know why?" Not waiting for an answer Jack continued, "The man you beat up is the only son of Jorge Rios." Tatum could not help but notice that the bored look on the Sheriff's face had been replaced by a smirk, and the deputy almost fell out of the chair he was leaning back in. "Is that supposed to mean anything to me?" Tatum gruffly asked. "No! No! Doesn't mean a damn thing to you unless I pick up the phone and make a call," Jack smiled as he said let his words soak in. Jack's smile was very frightening to Tatum and without realising he had let Jack know that very fact. "What would happen then?" Tatum's confidence was beginning to crack. "Oh, then we'd have to leave you in this jail all by yourself. That way none of us would get killed when they come in here and get you out." Jack had seen Tatum's tough guy façade cracking, one more little bit of information and he would tell everything he knew. "You see Mr. Tatum, Jorge Rios is the enforcer for the Talavera family just across the border in Mexico. You fucked his little boy up pretty bad. I'm afraid he's going to want to have a nice long talk with you. And don't expect any of us to put our life on the line to save your sorry ass. If you were talking to us that would be one thing, but, since you have already said that you're not going to talk to us, well, I guess that puts you on your own." J. D. knew he was stuck. He could spend the rest of his life in prison or be dead after a long period of torture. The choice was an easy one; he told the Ranger everything that had happened. A court reporter and a video camera made a record of every word he spoke. As soon as Tatum had finished his story, Jack Rimes called the Motley county attorney and explained what was going on. Less than an hour later a warrant had been issued for Sue Bell for conspiracies to commit murder and theft, the capital murder of her husband, Dan Bell, the attempted kidnapping and murder of Angiline (Angie) Bell, and the theft of her college fund. A Sheriff's deputy and a DPS trooper were being sent to the Bell ranch to arrest her. In Terrell County, every charge that fit and a few that wouldn't, were being brought against Sue Bell. At the same time that Motley County was swearing out warrants, so too was Terrell County. Sue Bell might dodge the death penalty in Motley County but she would never again breathe free air again by the time she was convicted of even half of the charges now being brought against her. Tatum's cell phone had been ringing every thirty minutes. The caller I.D. showed Sue Bell's number. Rather than tip their hand they simply turned the phone off. Now if only those folks in Motley County would get to the Bell Ranch and arrest the bitch. ------- It was late afternoon Monday at the Bell Ranch and Sue Bell was starting to worry. J.D. hadn't called in last night like he was supposed to. When he had called Sunday afternoon he was certain that the little bitch would be dead by dark Monday. It would be dark in less than an hour. She looked at her watch for the hundredth time. "Something must have gone wrong," Sue said to no one as she paced back and forth. She was going over all the things that could have gone wrong. Of all the things that she thought of that could have happened, J. D spilling his guts to the cops was way down on the list. He had always been a stand up guy who thought fast on his feet. She called his cell phone yet again with no answer. She lit yet another cigarette, the last in the pack she had opened earlier that day. She had just stepped out on the front porch to watch the sun set. Coming down the road to the house were a Motley County deputy and a DPS Trooper. She may have under estimated Mr. Tatum. Slipping back into the house she slipped the .380 auto into the back of her jeans, snubbed out her cigarette and stepped out to meet them. The trooper was typical of the old style highway patrol. He had to be six foot three or four and built like a body builder. He had that air about him, no bullshit, none given none taken. The sheriff's deputy was the complete opposite. To start with the deputy was a female. It looked like she was just over five foot tall and if she weighed a hundred pounds it would have amazed Sue. This was going to be easy Sue thought. She put her hands in her back pockets. "What can I help you nice officers with this evening?" Sue laid on the southern belle accent trying to make herself seem helpless. Darcy Middleton's senses had gone to high alert when Miss Prissy put her hands behind her. Will Turner, a five year veteran of the DPS, on the other hand hadn't given the blonde suspect a second thought. For all his training he didn't have the real life experience that Darcy had spent the last year and a half getting. Three short months ago Darcy had been in Baghdad and she had the hardware to prove it. She had one of every medal the Army gave with the exception of the Congressional Medal of Honor and if her commanding officer had his way she would soon have that. Her coolness and bravery had saved most of the men and women in their convoy after they had driven into an ambush. She saw an ambush in the making right now, "Will!" Sue had written off the deputy as being just a female trying to fill a man's shoes. She drew her pistol down on the trooper and had him dead to rights when she heard the two rounds fired. Someone had hit her in the chest. She didn't remember pulling the trigger but she had heard the shots. Sue was feeling weak. Maybe she should have eaten something earlier. Wait, the trooper was standing over her. How could she have missed an easy shot like that? It didn't make sense. Well to hell with him anyway, she was tired, she was just going to take a little nap. She closed her eyes and slumped over on to the floor. Will's hand was shaking like a leaf as he felt for a pulse, not that he expected to find one. He never saw the woman pull the gun out. He had been looking down at the first of the dozen steps that led to the porch. He should have been dead. When he got the call to come out here he hadn't even bothered to put his vest on. He turned and looked at Darcy who was still ready to put another round into the woman should it be necessary and shook his head. Sue Bell was dead, two forty calibre rounds to the chest, the hole in her white blouse just bigger than what a single round would make. Two rounds in almost the same hole from over twenty five feet. She was a better shot than anyone he knew and boy was he ever glad she was. He had a feeling that his wife would think so too. Darcy walked back to her patrol car and called in the shooting. She then pulled out her cell phone and called the guy who was to have picked her up two hours from now and cancelled their date. It was going to be a long night; a very long night. ------- Chapter 8: Truth and Tears Sam, Stan, Silvia, Scott and Angie had been sitting at the Café planning the big wedding. For Silvia, a wedding meant a church, fancy dresses for the bridesmaids and tuxes for the men. Listening to Scott and Angie talking about contacting Tom Masters, the head of the Gorsedd, to perform the ceremony, and making sure the grove was cleared of broken limbs and readied for the big day, Silvia looked from one of her friends to the other and then back to Stan. It occurred to her that she and Stan had never talked about religion and she wondered if he was a Druid as well. When a pause in the conversation came up she asked, "Are all of you Druids?" Stan had an idea what she was worried about, "I'm not." And then after lengthy pause he finished with, "Not yet anyway." Then he smiled at Silvia. Angie had seen the look of distress on Silvia's face when she turned to give Stan one of those looks. She quickly winked at Scott and Sam, "Scott, what do you think about having the wedding skyclad?" Scott was expecting her to say something but definitely not that and the result was him almost spraying iced tea all over the table. Instead he inhaled the mouthful of tea causing him to choke and sputter. Angie was slapping him on the back fretting over him as he slowly regained his composure. He had almost recovered when Silvia asked, "What's skyclad?" The table erupted into laughter from everyone except Silvia; she was looking from one person to the next still not understanding what was so funny. Stan was watching her, knowing that the humor would be wearing thin very fast he leaned over and spoke where only she could hear it, "It means in the nude." Her eyes became the size of saucers, and once again she looked around the table, "You're joking right?" She was hoping Stan was pulling her leg. Angie reached across the table and took Silvia's hand, "It's all right; I was just joking." The table erupted again when Silvia sighed in relief. They had worked out the details of the wedding. Sam and Angie worked the early supper run and had just served the last customer before the grill was to be shut down when in walked Sheriff Dallas Jackson and Texas Ranger Jack Rimes. They walked directly to the table where the five friends were sitting. Sam got up, "Do you two want something to eat? Cookie was about to close down the grill." They looked at each other and nodded; Sam looked at the Sheriff and asked, "The usual? And what about you Jack?" "How about a chicken fried steak and gravy." Jack smiled and walked over to the table where Scott and Angie sat. He asked Scott and Angie if he and Dallas could speak them in private. Silvia and Stan decided this was a good time to go check on her mother and they left to do so. As Jack sat down he said, "It's been a busy day." Before Scott or Angie could speak Jack began to tell them of the events of the last few hours. By the time he had explained how her step mother had died Angie was awash in feelings but none of those feeling included sorrow. She was still deep in thought when Jack asked her what she wanted to do with the ranch. It took several minutes before Scott answered for her and started explaining that there was a hidden vault and that it might contain the answers to many questions. "Then we need to be there as soon as we can," Jack announced to the table. Angie had been deep in thought when he said it but she remembered she had to run the Café tomorrow and was about to say so when Sam set the two Chicken Frieds on the table. She reached down and touched Angie's hand and their eyes met, "It's all right, I called and cancelled, you go and take care of your business. This all needs to be out of the way before the wedding." Angie stood and embraced Sam. They held each other for several minutes then they went back into the office area where they could exchange some therapeutic tears. While Scott watched Dallas and Jack finish eating, they discussed plans for the next day. 4:00 a.m. Sanderson, Texas The Beech King Air circled the small airport, laughingly referred to by the locals as Sanderson International after the Feds forced a plane full of illegal drugs to land there ten years ago. For the most part Federal and State law enforcement and an occasional hunter flying in for a weekend hunting trip were the only ones who used it now and it was indeed a law enforcement plane that landed and taxied up to the three vehicles waiting there. Texas Ranger Jack Rimes, Terrill County Sheriff Dallas Jackson, Scott Miles and Angiline Bell waited for the plane to come to a stop and the door to open. The early morning air was quite cool and Scott held Angie close to his side. The plane stopped and eventually the door opened; Angie looked up at Scott her eyes asking a question that she couldn't put words to. Scott smiled, leaned down and kissed her, gently reassuring her that everything would be all right. The four of them boarded the twin engine plane and as Scott and Angie strapped in Jack went to talk to the pilot. In a few minutes he returned, "He said it would take us about an hour to get there so just sit back and relax." Scott started to chuckle. Angie gave him a questioning look; Jack and Dallas were staring at him as well. "Jack, I don't suppose there's a cold drink back there is there?" Scott asked motioning towards the small refrigerator at the back of the plane, his laughter steadily growing. Jack opened the small refrigerator and took out soft drink and handed to Scott who was almost beside himself laughing. He took the drink and said, "Jack, you are the ugliest stewardess I have ever seen." Scott had barely got all the words out before completely succumbing to laughter but now he had the company of Angie and Dallas. Dallas interrupted his howls and leg slapping to add, "Do you think one of those little dresses would help?" The laughter was so loud now the pilot turned and asked what was so funny. By the time Angie and Dallas explained what had been said, the pilot had tears running down his face. Jack in the mean time was just shaking his head, "Damn you Scott, I'll never live this down." A small chuckle erupted then another, "Shit, I'll be getting little wings and airplanes till I retire." With that he broke into guffaws. The laughter seemed to shorten the flight and even after they landed they were having trouble suppressing it. Darcy Middleton sat in the passenger seat of the Suburban waiting at the Motley County airport. She couldn't help but wonder how this was going to turn out. Looking over at the vehicles driver she let out a small sigh. Will Turner heard the sigh and turned to Darcy, "Are you all right?" Darcy held up her hand hoping to stop him from thanking her for saving his life for the thousandth time. "Will! It's okay, I'm just nervous about meeting the girl. I'm not sure how she feels about me killing her stepmother." Will gave Darcy smile and a nod of the head to let her know he understood, "Maybe we'll find out what all this is about, I mean the warrant was for attempted murder after all, that doesn't sound like mother of the year material to me." Whatever Darcy was going to say in reply was lost as the King Air touched down. "Well here they are, we'll know something pretty quick now," Will stated as he started the Suburban and drove over to meet the plane. After parking, Will and Darcy got out and started walking towards the plane, the door of the plane opened and the petite Angie stepped out of the plane. The first thing Darcy saw was Angie wiping tears from her eyes and her heart fell, "Oh God! She's crying." Darcy turned away trying to get a grip on her emotions, "Will, I can't do this." Will had just put his hand on Darcy's shoulder to comfort her when two more men stepped out of the plane and both of them were laughing and wiping tears from their eyes, "Darcy, those aren't tears of sorrow, they're laughing about something." The next one out of the plane was Jack Rimes, Will had met the Texas Ranger before and he too was laughing and shaking his head. Will and Darcy walked over to meet the people they were to drive to the ranch. Jack Rimes introduced himself and Angie, Scott, and Dallas. After a short walk to the Suburban they loaded up and started the drive. The trip to the ranch was a case of twenty questions for Will and Darcy as Jack quizzed them over the shooting and what they had found at the ranch. Jack had read the crime scene report that the Motley County Sheriff's office had faxed to him, but the report didn't elaborate on the shots that killed Sue Bell. Will made sure that Jack, or anybody else that asked, knew that Darcy was a very good shot and had saved his life. Darcy for her part was just embarrassed by all the attention and was still uneasy about talking in front of the girl about killing her step-mother. The trip to the ranch passed quickly enough. When they got there Angie had Will drive straight to the barn. In the barn Angie walked over to a door that led into the tack room. Once inside the tack room, she reached to the backside of a saddle stand and unlatched the hidden catch. Once it was released she tipped the saddle rack over and let it lay in the floor, Angie moved another saddle rack to the middle of the room, and said "I need a pencil." Jack handed Angie a pencil, she took it and pushed it into a hole in the floor there was an audible click and part of the floor popped up. Angie lifted the trap door up and then reached inside and turned on a light. Looking at the others gathered in the room, "There's only enough room down there for three of us." With that she started down the ladder Jack and then Scott followed her down the ladder to the small room below. The room was rectangular, roughly eight by twelve feet, the long walls were lined with gun safes and at the far end of the room was a wooden table with two small safes underneath it. Angie went to the larger of the two safes under the table and with just a few turns of the dial she had it open. Laying right on top was an envelope with Angie's name on it. "That's my Dad's handwriting." Her hands were trembling as she opened it up. Inside was a letter. Dear Angie If you are reading this then something has happened to me. I hope that you are safe. I am leaving here in a few minutes to see our lawyer, that's our old one not Sue's friend. I called him last night, I am filing for divorce. I found out yesterday that she and her lawyer friend are trying to steal the ranch. Her prenuptial agreement will keep her from getting anything. In this envelope are copies of the proof of their conspiracy and an audio tape, as well as my current will. Also in this envelope is the deed to this ranch. I had signed it over to you two years ago. That will make it that much harder for her to take it from you The will was just done this week so don't let that bitch run over you honey or show you a different will. Always remember that I love you and always will. I hope that you find someone to share your life with like I had with your mother. Take care my little girl Love Dad Angie had tears streaming down her face as she handed the letter to Jack. Scott took her in his arms and held her, kissing her gently on the top of her head as she cried out her hurt. She had grieved for her father after the accident but now it appeared that it hadn't been an accident. Now it felt as though she had lost him all over again, except this time he had been murdered. Jack read the letter then looked through the contents of the envelope. There was more than enough there to indict the lawyer and he was going to reopen the case on Angie's Dad's death because it looked like he very well may have been murdered. Jack looked over to where Scott was holding Angie, "Angie I just have one question. Why didn't you look in here after your Dad died?" Angie turned in Scott's arms to face Jack, "Sue told me not to come out and I was afraid to. J.D gave me the creeps." Jack nodded his head and said quietly, "Well it probably worked out better this way." Before leaving the hidden room Angie wanted to get her pistol and her rifles out of the gun safe to take back with them. She got out the ones she wanted and showed Scott the rest and asked if there were any that he would like to take back to the ranch. There were a couple that he was interested in so they took those and handed them up to Dallas and then they all went back up the ladder. Angie turned off the lights and latched the door and after setting the saddle rack back up, and hooking the hidden latch, they put everything back to rights in the tack room and closed the door. Scott and Angie would be loading up some other things and taking them, but they would see their friends off first. When they walked out of the barn Darcy was walking towards them from the house. She called out, "Hey Angie, your lawyer is here." "Bill Squires?" Angie asked "No, it's John J. Dillard, he says this ranch is his and he has the papers to prove it," Darcy replied. Jack Rimes just started laughing, "Boy it doesn't get any easier than this. The damn crook drives out to you to get arrested." Scott and Angie put the guns into the Suburban and Will drove them up to the house. Inside Mr. John J. Dillard was going through the drawers in Angie's Dad's study when they walked in. "Oh there y'all are, you need to get off my property, and you will not be taking anything with you," Dillard announced. Angie looked like she was about to explode so Jack turned to her, "Just a minute Angie, I can straighten all this out real fast." Jack then turned to Dillard and introduced himself, "My name is Jack Rimes, I'm with the Texas Rangers and you, sir, are under arrest." Dillard's face paled, then he swallowed and asked, "What for?" "Well it looks like according to these papers in this envelope that you and Sue were trying to steal this ranch and I suspect that the two of you had Angie's Dad murdered. How's that for starters?" Jack was grinning as he walked over and handcuffed the shyster and read him his rights. Jack then picked up the phone and called the district judge and explained to him what was going on. Before he hung up search warrants were being drawn up. Jack then reached into the envelope and removed the deed and handed it to Angie, "You keep this with you. I'm sorry but I'll need to keep the letter your dad wrote. Between the letter and the other stuff in this envelope it should be enough to put a needle in this scumbag's arm." Jack really wasn't sure that was the case but he didn't have any problem making Dillard think so. Angie just nodded her head, turned to look at Scott then turned back to Jack, "There won't be a problem if Scott and I load up some of the stuff I wanted to take back will there?" Jack smiled at her, "No, the ranch is yours, get what ever you want. You were planning on driving back anyway weren't you?" "Yes. We're planning on taking back two of the horses." Angie replied Scott walked out to the Suburban and got the guns they had put in earlier and brought them into the house. He laid them out of the way and watched as Jack and Dallas searched Dillard then took him and put him in the Suburban. Scott and Angie said their goodbyes and watched as Jack and Dallas drove towards the highway back to town. Once they were alone Scott looked at Angie and asked, "Where do you want to start?" Angie smiled then kissed Scott, "Let me make some phone calls and then we'll hook up the trailer and start loading stuff." For the next hour Angie talked to her Dad's lawyer as well as the bank. Both places had paperwork that she would need to sign but none of it could be ready before nine the next day. Scott and Angie talked it over and decided to spend the night at the ranch. That would save them having to make a special trip back later. They spent the rest of the day loading up the things Angie wanted to take back to Sanderson. They even made another trip to the hidden room where Angie retrieved some of her mother's jewelry and some cash that her Dad had stashed away. The last thing to be loaded was a beautiful walnut chest. As Angie opened it the aroma of the cedar lining filled the room. After removing a quilt made by her grandmother Angie came to the item she was searching for. She carefully laid the package on the bed and began to unwrap it, inside was her mother's wedding dress. Angie was holding it up to see how it was going to fit; her Dad had told Angie for years that she was the spitting image of her late mother and from the size and shape of the dress it seemed that was true. She was holding the dress up looking into the full length mirror when Scott walked up to the doorway. He was about to call out Angie's name when he saw her holding the dress. The sight in the mirror took his breath away. As he stared at the image in the mirror the events of the past week played back in his mind. Just over a week ago he had seen her for the first time and two days ago he had asked her to marry him, and a short twenty four hours ago someone was trying to kill her. A chill ran up his spine as he thought of what it would have been like to lose her lose the love of his life. He shuddered again and thought to himself. No! That can't happen, they had found each other, nothing could come between them now. No, now they would have each other. Scott walked up behind Angie and put his arms around her, "I love you Angiline, you make me feel alive." Angie sighed and for a few minutes just stood there in Scott's arms, basking in his love. He had brought her strength and love when she had needed it most. She turned in Scott's arms and looked up at him, "I love you." Angie pulled herself into Scott with all her strength, "Hold me Scott." For over an hour they just stood there holding each other finally Angie looked up at Scott, "Make love to me." Scott picked her up and carried her to her old bedroom and laid her gently on the bed and lay down beside her. Their kisses were gentle and loving as they slowly removed each other's clothes. Scott moved his hand to Angie's centre and she moaned into his mouth. Angie raised her leg and inserted Scott into her wetness and for the rest of the night they alternated between making love and sleeping. They awoke the next morning and made love again in the shower. Today would be a long day but whatever else it brought, it would start with love. ------- Chapter 9: A Move and a Surprise Angie awoke the next morning looking into Scott's piercing blue eyes. A sigh escaped her lips as she felt the warmth of his embrace. She felt safe in his arms; she wasn't sure why, she just did. They lay there holding each other for a few minutes till Scott leaned towards her and kissed her gently on the lips and said, "I need to go to the little cowboy room." Angie giggled, "You are not a little cowboy." She let him out of her embrace and listened as he took care of his morning chores. "Scott, do you think we should load up the horses and take them with us or go into town and take care of our business and come back for them?" "Well, does that trailer have a water tank where we could water them after a while?" Scott asked. "Yes, it does. It's probably empty but it's easy enough to fill." "Then let's just take them with us and we won't have to drive back out here. Did that deputy talk you about keeping her horse out here?" Scott was a little uneasy about leaving this house without having someone staying in it. "Scott, do you think she would be interested in staying out here? I hate to think about what could happen to this place with no one around except the hired hand." Scott laughed out loud, "What are you doing reading my mind?" Scott walked out of the bathroom and over to the bed. Angie gave him a quick kiss and scampered off to the bathroom. When she returned they lay in bed discussing all of the things they wanted to get done before heading back to Sanderson. Angie called the sheriff's office and talked to Darcy Middleton. She had been living with her parents until she found a place of her own. So Darcy was going to house sit for Angie and Angie was going to furnish Darcy a place to keep her horse. Everyone was tickled pink. While Angie was talking to Darcy about the house, Scott had hooked up Angie's Dad's new pickup to the custom horse trailer and filled up the water tank on the trailer. Scott was very impressed with the trailer. It was thirty four feet long but there was just room for two horses and their tack in the back with the rest of the trailer set up as living space. The living area was made even larger by having two sections that pulled out. One was formed when the hide-a-bed couch was pulled out and the other when the dining table area was pulled out. Angie and her Dad had enjoyed trail rides and team roping and they had spent many summers travelling together and had been looking forward to another summer together when he was murdered. Scott went into the house to see how Angie was doing, "Angie the truck has less than a quarter of a tank of gas. We'll have to fill it in town." Angie walked into the kitchen carrying a box full of books, "Take it down by the big shop building. There's a diesel tank there we can fill it out of." Scott frowned, "Sweetie, your Dad's pickup isn't a diesel." Angie had a sheepish grin come on her face, "You hooked up the wrong truck." She smiled a mischievous smile, grabbed his hand and dragged him to the big metal building on the north side of the house. Angie opened the door and walked over and hit the switch to start the overhead doors opening. With the extra light streaming in now, they could see a fire engine red C5500 GMC Top Kick crew cab sitting inside. Scott stood and stared at the truck; it was as customized as the trailer, it even had a matching paint scheme. Scott turned to Angie and grinned, "Wow!" "Yea, you should have heard the fit Sue threw the day he brought this home." Angie thought back to last summer and the fun her Dad and she had had going up to Yellowstone. Angie sighed, "Oh well, the bitch is over it now." Angie walked over and opened the passenger side door, "Come on, let's start this thing up and go swap out that pickup." Scott climbed into the driver's seat and found it to sit like no other vehicle seat he had ever sat in. He looked at Angie raising his eyebrows, "Custom seats?" "The best made," Angie grinned, "Dad spared absolutely nothing on this rig. That's why even the paint job matches." Scott turned the key and waited assuming it had a glo-plug to ease starting. A light on the dash soon came on and he started the big red truck up and looked around while he waited for the engine to warm up. As Scott poked at the dozens of buttons and knobs Angie started to smile, "Dad loved gadgets and he had every one he could think of put in this thing." She leaned forward and turned on a screen and a map popped up, taking a keyboard she entered in the addresses of the places they needed to go. When she had finished another screen showed the route they would need to take. Scott got that impish grin on his face, "What? Do you think I won't stop and ask directions?" "Oh you!" Angie reached over and grabbed Scott by the collar and pulled him towards her stopping just long enough to stare into his eyes. The seconds passed as each of them sank into the others eyes. Angie ran her hands up Scott's cheek and into his hair, "I love you so much, you have made me whole." Scott could see her eyes misting up, "I love you too, you have made me believe again. I was ready to give up on ever finding love." The kiss they shared was slow and tender starting out but soon it progressed to a barn burner. Scott was thinking of checking out the sleeper that the custom truck had when someone started knocking on Angie's window. They broke the kiss to see a red faced Darcy Middleton standing on the running board. Angie hit the switch and rolled down her window, "Hey, Darcy, is it that time already? Hop in we'll give you a ride back to the house and I can show you the place. I just need to help Scott swap out vehicles." "Sure," Darcy got in the back seat and Scott drove out of the big building. "Angie you don't know how much I appreciate you letting me live out here." Angie turned in her seat to face Darcy, "Hey this helps us out, too. We didn't want to leave the house sitting empty, too many accidents happen that way. By the way, I hired Jesse Gomez and his wife back. They'll be moving into the house he lived in before that bitch fired him." Angie saw Darcy's face change expression, "Darcy, don't feel bad about shooting her, she was going to kill both of you if you hadn't killed her. She was a murderer plain and simple. She killed my Dad, tried to kill me, and was going to kill that state trooper. You had to shoot her." Darcy nodded her head, "I know. I just thought when I left Iraq that I had left killing behind. I am the only deputy that has killed someone in the line of duty in this county in fifty years." Scott stopped beside the trailer, "Finish your talk girls, I am going to unhook this trailer." Scott got out of the truck, unhooked the latch on the gooseneck and jacked the trailer up. He was about to get in and move the pickup when he heard Angie and Darcy get out of the truck. Angie called out, "I'll drive that one back up and put it in the shop where we got this one and Darcy can use it if she needs it." Angie and Darcy drove her Dad's pickup off while Scott hooked up the trailer. He had just finished when he heard the two girls giggling and looked up to see them walking towards him. They didn't look all that different size and shape wise, but Darcy's bright red shoulder length hair made her stand out from Angie. Scott called to the girls, "Get in, we are going to be all day if we don't get a move on." Angie stuck her tongue out at Scott, then ran and grabbed him for a kiss. Darcy just smiled as she watched them and wondered if she would ever find someone like Angie had. Scott pulled the truck and trailer up in the driveway in front of the house and began to load the boxes Angie had set out. Angie and Darcy went in the house so Angie could show Darcy where everything was and give her instructions on what to do about her Dad's and stepmother's clothes. After loading up all the boxes Scott drove back down to the barn and loaded up Angie's saddle and another one she wanted to bring to the ranch. Looking at his pocket watch, Scott decided it might be a good idea to get some feed for the horses. It wouldn't take many more delays and they would be spending the night on the road somewhere. The feed in the small tack compartment on the trailer looked old so after dumping it and cleaning out the container he refilled it with fresh feed and loaded a bale of hay. He hoped that he had everything that Angie wanted; he'd ask her in a minute. He loaded up the two horses and drove back to the house. Darcy was driving down the road headed for the highway as Scott pulled back into the driveway. Angie was standing there waiting on him; she walked around and got in the truck with Scott. He looked at her, "Ready?" Angie nodded her head silently then turned to look out the window. Scott put the truck in gear and started down the road to the highway. Angie sat looking out the window not saying a word. Scott thought he knew what she was going through and he searched his mind and heart for something to say. The problem was he remembered how he had felt after his parents had been killed by that drunk driver and he knew that the right words just didn't exist. So finally he said the only thing he could think of that might help, "I love you Angie. I'm here for you if you need me." Angie turned to face Scott, tears streaming down her face. She wanted to hold him but the damn seatbelt was in the way. They were just coming into town and Scott saw a gas station and pulled in the first bay and stopped. Angie had already released her seat belt and now climbed into Scott's lap and began to cry in earnest. They sat there for over half an hour, him holding her, gently caressing her hair and whispering his love for her. How long they would have sat there is unknown because they were interrupted once again by Darcy knocking on the window of the truck. This time she was on Scott's side so he rolled his window down and Darcy asked, "Everything all right?" Scott shook his head negatively, "The events of the last few months are hitting home," he told Darcy. "Well," Darcy started, "it may be about to get worse. Jack Rimes called right after I got back to the office. Tatum has decided that with Sue Bell dead there's no good reason to talk." Scott muttered a curse under his breath, "So what's Jack going to do?" "He said if push comes to shove he'd just extradite him to Mexico. Do you know what he's talking about?" Scott searched his memory and could find nothing that fit, but he also knew Jack. Four years at college and hanging out with him and Stan; and the years since then, spending time hunting every year, he knew that Jack was always gathering information. What information he had now Scott was uncertain of but he was sure Jack knew something and knowing that, Scott was sure Tatum would never be free to terrify Angie ever again. Darcy's radio going off pulled Scott from his thoughts, "It will be all right, Jack will see to that." Angie's grief had been interrupted by Tatum's name being spoken. Hearing Scott say that everything would be all right put her at ease. She trusted him implicitly and completely, he held her heart. She looked into those steel blue eyes. "I love you." He would always hold her heart, he would always protect her. She thought that the first time she saw him and now she knew it was true. ------- J. D. Tatum was very pleased with himself. When he heard that Sue was dead he decided that his need to cooperate had ended, but he had forgotten something. Jack Rimes looked relaxed on the outside but inside he was fuming. Tatum's decision to stop talking meant that it would be very hard to convict him for the murder of Dan Bell just the attempted murder of Angie. Jack decided to remind Tatum why he needed to plead guilty. "So," Jack started, "you think if you keep your mouth shut and listen to your lawyer you'll get out of this with a minimum time in jail?" Tatum grinned at Jack, "That's how I see it." "So you're sure you don't want to plead guilty and go to prison for the rest of your life?" Jack's mind was just about made up this man was a cold blooded murderer with no remorse. He'd give him one more chance; if he didn't come around he'd make the call. "Well this is your last chance, plead guilty and go to jail in Texas or Mr. Rios finds out you're here." Tatum's smirk vanished and his face lost all colour, "You wouldn't would you?" Jack just stared at him, "Why not? You tried to kill my best friend's girl. Besides it's not like I'll be doing anything to you myself. All I'm going to do is make a phone call then take the sheriff and the deputy out to supper. You'll stay here." Tatum knew he was stuck, "You know that this isn't right don't you?" "Right!" Jack shouted, "Right! You murdered a man to get his ranch. You tried to murder his daughter, and you beat a teenage boy to the point of making him a vegetable for the rest of his life. Which one of those acts is right?" Tatum sat silent. All his life he had been a bully, preying on the weak for everything he wanted or needed. Now it seemed the time had come to pay for his crimes, now he was being bullied. Try as he might he could not find a way out of the mess he was in, he looked up at Jack. "What do you want?" Jack was glad to see Tatum come around, he really had no intention of making that phone call but at the same time he wanted to make sure Tatum never bothered Scott or Angie again. For the next half hour he made that point clear to Tatum. When he agreed he turned him over to the Motley county sheriff so that he could answer for the murder of Dan Bell. ------- Scott and Angie spent the day talking to Angie's lawyer and Jesse Gomez. Jesse was given the keys to the house that he had lived in when he worked for Angie's Dad. She also gave him the keys to her Dad's pickup until her lawyer could purchase another one for use on the ranch. It was so late before they left Matador so they decided that they would spend the night in Lubbock. Angie made a quick phone call to her friend Sara. Sara had already left for the restaurant and her hostess job so she spoke to Josh, Sara's boy friend. Scott made the motion of spooning food into his mouth and Angie asks Josh if he would like to eat supper with them. Josh agreed and said that he would meet them there, Scott and Angie pulled into the parking lot at the restaurant thirty minutes later. Angie went into the living quarters of the trailer so she could freshen up a bit although Scott assured her that she looked absolutely beautiful. While Angie made herself presentable Scott checked on the horses. As he was waiting on Angie his eyes came to rest on the book store. It reminded him that he hadn't heard from Johnny Diaz, the little blind boy back home. Scott was so lost in thought wondering if the boy needed any other books that he didn't even notice Angie standing beside him. "Honey, what are you thinking about?" Angie asked. He turned towards her, his blue eyes met hers and a smile replaced the look of concentration that had been there seconds before. "Do you know Stan and Silvia's phone number?" Scott was wondering if he could get hold of the teacher. "Yes, I've already programmed it into the cell phone. Why?" Scott explained and a short phone call ensued and ended with Stan giving Angie a warning about letting Scott any where near a book store. They started off towards the restaurant hand in hand, but after only a few steps Scott dropped her hand and put his arm around her shoulder pulling her closer. For Scott it was like an adrenalin rush every time he could feel her body against his and now was no different. He reached to open and hold the door for Angie, and when she walked in there was Sara. Sara and Josh were standing at the podium that held the seating charts. She could not believe the look on Angie's face, "My God! You are absolutely glowing." When Josh had called and said that Angie and Scott were on the way there to eat she couldn't wait to ask her how things were going, but anything Angie told her now would just be details. That she was the happiest that Sara had ever seen was as plain as the ear to ear smile she wore. Sara and Angie hugged each other as though their lives depended on it, leaving Scott and Josh to introduce themselves to each other. After Scott and Josh had shook hands, a man a little larger than Jack Rimes but with that same look about him, stuck his hand towards Scott. "You must be Scott", the big man said, "Jake Dingle. Jack said you're all right, and that's good enough for me." Jake motioned with his head towards where Angie and Sara were still hugging each other. "You know if you hurt her though I'll have to hurt you, Jack or no Jack." Scott looked Jake straight in the eyes and said, "If I ever hurt her you'll have to stand in line behind every one in Sanderson. She has won the heart of every one I know." Jake smiled and nodded, "Yea she's like that." Another man walked up just then, "Scott," Jake said grinning, "This is Don Grossman, he owns this joint. Don, this is the son of bitch that stole our Angie." Don reached for Scott's hand and shook it firmly, "Don't pay any attention to him, he acts like an old hen where these kids that work here are concerned." Don turned to Sara, "Sara, you are officially off duty. Go eat with your friends." Turning back to Scott, Don asked, "When is the big day?" Scott grinned, "Weekend after this coming one." Shaking his head and laughing, "We just couldn't get all our ducks lined up before that, try as we might." Another couple walked into the restaurant about that time forcing the party in the waiting area to break up. Don clapped his hand on Scott's shoulder, "Congratulations son, she is a sweet and wonderful girl. I know you'll both be very happy." Turning to the other hostess he said, "Put them over in the fireplace section, try to keep that whole section just for them if you can, and the meal is on me." Scott tried to protest but Don refused, Jake leaned over to Scott and said, "I have a real good bottle of Champagne over there. Do you want me to bring it over?" Scott smiled, "Why don't you ask Angie, I don't drink." Jake nodded his head, "I'm sorry Scott, I forgot. Jack told me about your parents. I'll get you guys some iced tea over there in just a minute." Jake left to go take care of their drinks while Scott and Josh gently herded Angie and Sara into following the other hostess to their table. After being seated Jake came round with their drinks and the waitress came by and got a hug from Angie and an introduction to Scott. This turned into a pattern as the entire wait staff, waitresses to dishwashers made their way over to the table to meet and wish the couple well on their upcoming wedding. The food was great, the company even better, and the evening passed all too quickly. ------- Sara and Josh lived in a small house out south of town not very far from The Strip. The Strip is one of those insanities of living in the Bible belt. Lubbock proper is dry, meaning alcoholic beverages cannot be sold, but out past the city limits it's wet, so on the east side of Highway 87 the liquor stores are butted up against each other to the point it looks like a mile long strip mall. With Josh and Sara's house being outside the city limits there would be no problem with parking the trailer there and letting the horses out for the night. Scott and Josh took care of the horses while Sara and Angie went in to continue their visit. Scott and Josh used the time to get better acquainted. They talked as Scott levelled the trailer and strung out an extension cord so that they would have electricity in the trailer. Josh was amazed at the trailer and commented that it sure took the edge off roughing it. They were about to give up on the girls when the front door opened and they came out looking for the guys. Angie walked up to where Scott was leaning up against the bright red truck and sank into his arms. Looking up at Scott she said, "It's been a very long day are you ready to go to bed?" Scott smiled as he leaned down and kissed her forehead, "Any time you're ready sweetie." Angie sighed, squeezed Scott and then stretched to kiss him on the lips. The kiss might have started off as just a small demonstration of affection but it rapidly evolved into something that was going to necessitate the removal of clothes any minute. The kiss might have continued if not for Sara's giggle. "Good night you two," Sara laughed, "You better get inside before you do something that could get you arrested." Sara grabbed Josh's hand and they went in the house leaving the two lovers still kissing passionately. ------- Josh had an eight o'clock class so he was up at seven getting ready. He looked out the front door to see Scott already dressed and taking care of the horses. Josh had his jeans and boots on but no shirt when he walked out to see if Scott or Angie wanted any breakfast. He had just greeted Scott when Angie stuck her head out the door and asked him if he wanted something to eat. Finding that Angie already had everything fixed he went back inside to get Sara and a shirt. After the four of them finished their breakfast Josh said his goodbyes and left for class. Sara's first class was at nine so she gave Angie a hug and went inside to finish getting ready. Scott and Angie finished cleaning up the small kitchen and then got the trailer ready for the six hour trip back to Sanderson. By the time Sara was finished getting ready for school Scott and Angie had the trailer ready and the horses loaded. After hugs, kisses, and goodbyes Scott and Angie loaded up and headed south. They'd see Sara again weekend after next at the wedding. ------- It was a long but uneventful drive for Angie and Scott. They had stopped several times to check on the horses and again for lunch in Midland. While in Midland Scott did have a passing thought as to where in the world his Dad's old buddy Handley was. He'd been in Switzerland when Mom and Dad were killed. That thought led to Scott opening up to Angie about his parents. Growing up isolated on the ranch the way they were he had always been very close to both parents. When he was little his Mom and Dad were the only people around for him to play with and the three of them really enjoyed their time together. Scott's first year of going to school had been a real eye opener; many of the parents of the other kids wanted time away from them. Scott's Mom had taught him how to cook, even how to sew, and every day there was time for one or both parents to read with or to him. His parents were his best friends. That's why when the drunk driver in San Angelo ploughed through their pickup killing both of them Scott had been devastated. It wasn't just his mother and father he had lost, it was the only two people he trusted and confided in. Angie's relationship with her Dad had been much the same as Scott. Six months ago she had grieved her Dad being killed in a car wreck, now she had learned that it was really murder. In some ways it was like he had been killed all over again, so the trip back to Sanderson became a time to talk about their parents. It was a time to learn and a time to heal, and they were doing it together. It was a little after four in the afternoon when they pulled up to the Café in Sanderson. That time of day the Café normally wasn't all that busy but today there were quite a few vehicles parked in front of it including one Scott hadn't seen in a long time... "Come on," Scott said the excitement obvious in his voice, "there is someone you just have to meet." Scott practically dragged Angie into the Café; to Angie he was like a kid on Christmas morning heading for the presents. When they got inside there were Sam, Stan, Silvia, Dallas and Jack all gathered around a couple and a small girl. Scott bellowed out, "Where is that no account quack?" The group around the couple all parted enough for the man sitting at the table to see Scott. "Damn it Sam! You'll let anybody come in here." Looking straight at Scott he continued, "What are you up to you sorry sheep herder? And unhand that girl, she's much too pretty for the likes of you." If anyone had been in the Café that didn't know these two, they would have sworn they were mortal enemies about to square off to fight. But almost everyone in the Café was laughing, Scott put his arm around Angie and said, "Angie, this is Dr. R period, E period, D period," Scott made a point out of each initial as he spoke. "Dr. Red, also known as Raaallllphfff," he stretched the word out making it sound like a cartoon dialogue, "Everett Dumming ... I mean Dimwit ... No! That's not it. Oh yea! Demming." Angie was giggling at Scott's exaggerated antics while the man at the table was just shaking his head. "So it's true. Only a man in love would act that foolish. He hasn't been jumping on any furniture has he?" He smiled and spoke to Angie, "Sweetheart, please come over here, I really need to talk you out of this before you make a terrible mistake." The man's grin betrayed that there nothing serious about his words. Angie stepped forward extending her hand, "It's good to meet you Ralph." No more than the words had escaped her mouth than the entire Café erupted in laughter as Red cringed at being called by his first name. "Honey," he had to shout over the laughter, "Call me Everett, call me Red, call me a low down son of polecat, but please, don't call me Ralph." Angie grinned from ear to ear and a little wrinkle formed in the corner of her right eye, it was a look her Dad had known well and one that Scott had noticed the night before when she had been teasing him. "Okay, I'll try to remember that Ralph." The Café was once again plunged into laughter, "Oh my God," Red complained, "she's just like he is!" When the laughter died out Scott introduced Angie to Maria, Red's wife, and little Tina, Maria's daughter. They sat with their friends and visited, Scott excused himself to go check on the horses. When he came back inside Angie informed him that Red, Maria and Tina would be staying with them until the wedding. Scott was about to protest when Jason Adams, the Sheriff's deputy slid his Explorer to a stop and ran in to the Café. "Jason, what's going on?" Scott had an idea he wasn't going to like what he had to say. "They found the deputies that were transporting Tatum back to Matador in Ft. Stockton. Someone had used a stun gun on them," Jason really didn't want to say the rest of it. Scott glared at him, "What are you saying?" Jason looked from Scott to Angie before he spoke, "Tatum is gone. He's escaped." ------- Chapter 10: Death Comes to the Ranch The colour drained from Angie's face and suddenly her legs were no longer capable of holding her up. Before Scott could take a step Maria had her by the arm taking her to the bathroom. Scott looked at Jason, "Where's Jack?" "He told me to tell you not to worry," Jason knew when he said it that it sounded stupid. "Scott, he's checking on something, he thinks ... well he has an idea what happened to him." Scott stood glaring at Jason waiting on him to finish. "Well?" Scott shouted, "Are you going to tell me what's going on or am I going to have to do something that neither of us wants?" Jason didn't want to say what he thought, and that was that Jack Rimes had called someone in the Talavera family. It was just as possible even probable that someone here in town had called and reported Tatum's presence. "Jason, damn it!" Jason's hem hawing was fast using the last of Scott's calm, "You start telling me what's going on or we are about to have a big problem." Jason was trying to figure out how and what to say to Scott when Jack pulled up. Jack took one look at Scott and knew he was wound up tighter than an eight day clock. "What the hell is going on Jack?" Scott's voice removed any remaining doubt that he was pissed. Jack was opening his mouth to start explaining Tatum's connection with the drug family across the river when his cell phone rang. Jack reached to take the phone off his belt. Scott hated cell phones; he didn't like hearing them when he was eating and he damn sure didn't like one going off while he was trying to get some answers. Red, who had followed Scott out, looked on with some concern. Right now he figured Scott's blood pressure had to just about off be the scale, so it was with no small amount of concern that he put his hand on Scott's shoulder. "Not now Doc!" the venom in his voice caused a cold chill down Red's neck. It also had the desired effect of causing Jack to interrupt his phone conversation. "Scott, just calm down. Angie is in no danger." Jack looked at Scott questioningly, "Come on Bud, have I ever lied to you?" When Jack had told him to calm down Scott's fist had clinched and what little control he had left was used up when he didn't punch Jack in the nose. Jack had been his room mate his first year in college. Their friendship had been solid ever since and only the fact that he hadn't ever lied to him assured Scott that Angie was not in danger and allowed him to start to calm down. Scott and Red had both been right there listening to Jack's side of the phone call but it had been mostly "yes", "no" and "I don't know" until Jack said, "Well Dr. Demming is here I'll ask him." Jack held the phone to his chest and asked, "When they found the two deputies in Ft. Stockton there was a jack of clubs playing card laying on one of the deputy's chest. You have any idea what that means?" Red started nodding his head, "Yea, I think I do, but if you want to know for sure get hold of Eduardo Duarte he's a federale that covers from Ojinaga north." Jack groaned, "Do you have any idea how much red tape is involved getting information from those people?" "Call and ask for Eduardo tell him I said for you to call him." Red pulled out his billfold and dug through it looking for something eventually pulling out a well worn business card, "Here, this is his direct number. If he's not there leave a message using my name. He'll get back to you quick enough." Jack informed the party on the other end of the phone that he had to make a call and ended that conversation. Jack was about to start explaining to Scott what was going on when Scott stopped him, "Call this Eduardo fellow then tell me everything." Jack made the call and in just a few minutes knew exactly what the playing card meant. Before the conversation was over Jack also knew he had made a new and very valuable contact. The doctor would let him know how trust worthy it would be. Jack ended the call with the federale and began explaining Tatum's role in beating a teenager to the point of brain damage and who that teenager was. The federale had told him that the jack of clubs left at the scene was the calling card of the boy's father. What ever else Tatum was he would never be a threat to Angie ever again. His life wasn't worth one thin dime right now and that was assuming he was still alive. Scott simply nodded his understanding, turned and walked into the Café to find the love of his life. Jack and Red watched him go, Jack finally breaking the uneasy silence, "I've never seen him like that. I knew he loved that girl but I had no idea it was that strong. God help any one who gets between him and that girl." Red laughed, "From what little that I've been around her, she seems to be the same way about him. How long have they been dating anyway?" Jack looked at his watch and smiled, "This is Tuesday. They've been together since Friday afternoon ... four days. He saw her for the first time a week ago Friday." Jack was shaking his head, "You know he dated Dana his first wife for four years? He never was like this with her." Jack smiled at the doctor, "I hope that means it won't end up like that one did." Red nodded his head,"Yea, I hope so too. He was a mess after that bitch got through with him. One thing's for sure Jack." Jack looked at the doctor, "Angie is nothing like Dana was ... Thank God." Jack chuckled quietly, "Yea, you can say that again." With that Jack and Red started walking back into the Café to join their friends talking as they went. "Red what brings you and Maria out this way? Usually the only time I run in to you is in Presidio." "Doc Eller twisted the arm of one of the drug companies and got me a bunch of samples for the clinic." Red explained, "Then when Doc told me that Scott was getting married we decided to stick around for the big event. I called Eduardo and told him we'd be back in a week or so and here we are. I don't have a clue where we are going to stay. Guess I better go get Maria and Tina and see about a motel room." Red had just finished getting those last words out of his mouth when Angie spoke up, "Oh no you don't, Ralph! Maria, Tina and you will be staying with us at the ranch. I can't let my flower girl stay in any old motel." Angie was holding little Tina in her arms, the girls face was absolutely glowing. "We decided that before you went outside. You really ought to pay better attention there Ralph." Angie winked at him as he cringed at her use of his first name. Everyone in the Café had broken out laughing when Angie had used Red's first name. After his initial cringe at hearing his first name used he looked to Maria to see what she thought. Maria simply raised her eye brow and smiled, "Tina is very taken with her new Aunt Angie. So unless you want to upset her you're stuck." Maria's smile was disarming; Red turned to Angie and said, "We'd love to be your guests." When Stan and Silvia showed up at the Café even more fun broke out. Scott got with Stan since both he and Angie had vehicles in town. Stan made a couple of quick calls and two of his Ag students showed up. Scott handed them the keys to his pickup and Angie's Jeep and told them to meet back at the Café. When the boys got back Scott asked them if they had eaten. When they told him they hadn't he set them down and told Sam to get them what they wanted and ordered a cheeseburger for himself. That was followed by the rest of the gang putting in their orders. Angie gave Sam a hand delivering the orders and finally a dent was put in the noise level as everyone settled in to eat. After everyone had finished eating Scott wanted to get back to the ranch. Getting everyone pointed in the right direction was a lot like herding cats. Finally he looked over at Angie, pushed his hat up so that it sat on the back part of his head and said, "The horses and I will be waiting." Angie and Sam couldn't help but laugh as he walked out the door shaking his head. Angie went over to Red who was engaged in a very animated conversation that involved a plethora of hand gestures. Just as she walked up, Red's left hand came directly at her in a sweeping motion. She caught the hand and arm before it hit her, "You sure are dangerous when you talk Ralph," Angie was reduced to a fit of giggles as the good doctor's face blushed crimson. "You're face is red, Red." She said between giggles. After several attempts to speak had failed Red looked to Maria for help, "Would you like to go now before you make a bigger fool of yourself?" Maria said with a laugh. Red simply nodded his head, which had the effect of reducing the entire group to laughter. As everyone was getting ready to go little Tina turned to her mother, "Mama may I go with Aunt Angie?" Maria smiled and nodded her head. Tina ran to Angie and grabbed her hand. The two of them walked out to join Scott in the truck. Shortly after that it looked like a small parade as the group drove out to the ranch. Scott gave the two boys who had driven his and Angie's vehicles out a few dollars and they left to find Stan so they would have a ride back to town. Scott put the two new horses in a pen by themselves to make sure there was no fighting for position in the pecking order. He then unloaded the few items that Angie had put in the small refrigerator in the trailer and took them into the summer kitchen. By the time he got in the house Angie had everyone settled in a room for the night. Later as they lay in bed Angie asked, "Did Jack tell you about the papers he found in the envelope we got out of the safe at the ranch?" Scott gave Angie a kiss, "No sweetie he didn't, were they important?" "Apparently Sue was trying to lease out the ranch to an oil company behind Dad's back. Some man called Dad and was asking about it. That's when Dad got tipped off." Angie began to sob, "Why Scott? Why did she have to kill him? He gave her anything and everything she ever wanted. Why? I just don't understand." "It's greed, pure and simple," Scott sighed, "I told you that I had been married before. Dana and I had dated from the time her dad was transferred here with the railroad. We got out of high school and went to college. My Mom and Dad really didn't like her but I didn't see what they saw. We got married and she changed, always wanting things: jewellery, new cars, everything had to be the very best. She started making plans for the time when the ranch would be ours. When I came home one day and found the maps and letters where she was going to break up the ranch and sell it off for hunting leases I almost lost it. I told her I would never break up the ranch. She said as soon as it was in my name it was half hers and there wouldn't be a damn thing I could do. I filed for divorce the next day. She thought I had a lot of money squirreled away. She got so mad and threw such a fit that the judge ended up fining her more than what she got from her half of what I had. I guess the thing that hurt the most was that she never really loved me. I was just a means to an end for her. All I was was an asset she could liquidate." Angie looked into Scott's eyes, her hand reached up to touch his face, "That's why you were trying to ignore me that night at the restaurant." Scott smiled at Angie, "Yea. That and I couldn't believe someone as young and beautiful as you would really want anything to do with me. There was something in your eyes though. All week long every time I thought about that Friday night I knew that I had let something slip away. That's why I was on my way back to Lubbock. I had to find you; I had to find out if you were the one." Angie looked at Scott, the look was one of pure love, "I knew Scott, I knew the second I saw you that you were the one for me. I wasn't going to give up, I couldn't. ------- Over the next few days things were more or less normal around the ranch. Red took off and made a trip across the river giving medical attention to any that needed it. Maria and Tina stayed at the ranch with Angie, and she was amazed to learn about Maria. Maria looked nothing like the stereotypical Mexican woman. Instead of Indian features that dominate the Mexican population Maria had reddish blonde hair and blue eyes. She had passed these features on to Tina. Angie was surprised to learn that Tina was not Red's daughter. Maria had been married to a young man who had left to work in the oil fields of West Texas, where he had been killed in an accident. When Angie listened to the story of Maria's life she was amazed at how she was able to always be upbeat and look for the bright side of every dark cloud that came her way. Tina was just like her mom, she was also a sponge for information. At four she could already read and like her mother she was multilingual. Maria and Tina spent much of their days at the ranch exploring the Miles family library and reading from its many volumes. Life on the ranch, though, knows no rest and the thunderstorms that rolled through on Wednesday meant that Scott and Angie would be very busy repairing the many water gaps on the ranch. Thursday morning Scott had the mules hitched to the wagon and the wagon full of t-posts and wire, both net and barbed. The first gap they came to was the one on the spring fed creek of the house pasture. Water gaps are made where a fence crosses a creek or, as is most often as the case is in West Texas, a draw or gully that is bone dry ninety nine percent of the time. The gaps are made so that in a best case the water is allowed to run through the fence but if trees, brush or, as sometimes happens, sheep and goats get washed into and tangled up with the fence to the point that it forms a dam, only the gap gets washed out rather than pulling down the surrounding fences. As is often the case in west Texas the day after heavy rains like the ones Wednesday, this day would be sunny, very sunny. Actually it was damn hot. Down in those creek beds and gullies where the wind couldn't be felt with ninety plus temperature and the left over humidity from previous day's rain it was in a word, miserable. By noon Scott and Angie had checked and repaired six water gaps, the last one had had a small Hackberry tree take out the entire gap and had to be completely rebuilt. Dripping with sweat Scott looked at Angie and said, "Have I told you that I love you today?" Angie pulled the bandana out of her back pocket and wiped at the sweat that was running down her back, "No! But you better, otherwise I am going to quit on you." "I love you Angie," Scott's smile was going from ear to ear. "Let's load up. A little over a mile from here is a spring, we'll eat lunch there." They loaded up their tools and what wire they had left and started for the spring. "We don't have much wire left after that last one. How many more gaps do we have? Angie asked. "Well," Scott started, "there's another reason for going to the spring. We have a small shack there where we keep extra supplies. We'll restock but there aren't that many gaps left and the rest of them are all small." Scott had just finished his sentence when he smelled smoke. It could have been caused by a lightning strike, but that possibility evaporated when Scott and Angie heard a woman scream. Scott had already been scanning the hills for smoke and had just spotted it when they heard the scream. Scott pulled up on the mules and reached down to pull the lever action 45 Long Colt rifle from its scabbard under the seat along with an extra box of cartridges. Angie hadn't been idle either, she had pulled out the mini 14 she had brought from her father's ranch and was searching under the seat for the extra clips she had put there earlier. Scott looked at Angie, the concern showing on his face, "I don't guess there is any way in the world I can convince you to stay here is there?" The look on her face was one of pure determination, "If we are going to make it we have to do things together, good things, bad things, doesn't matter, but always together." Scott nodded his head; he could live with that. He hoped they could both live. Another scream had them out of the wagon and moving up the hill as fast as they could. As they eased up to look over the hill they saw ten young women or girls cowering as one of two men beat another woman. "Smell that?" Angie asked. "Yea, smells like cigar smoke." Scott replied quietly. "Neither of those two are smoking." Angie's eyes were scanning the area looking for another man and then she whispered, "There, look by that creosote bush. Is that smoke?" Scott smiled and grinned, "Way to go eagle eye." Angie swatted him lightly on the arm, "Be serious. What do you think is going on?" "I'd say those three are coyotes, low life bastards that smuggle people across the border. But it's strange them coming this way. It's a long ass way to a highway from here." Scott was interrupted when the man started to rip off the girl's clothes. "Scott we can't let him rape her." Angie was both frightened and angry. "I know sweetie. Look, the only cover they have is right there where cigar man is. If I go back down the hill and circle around to that hill there," he pointed to the hill he was talking about. "If I'm there they won't have a chance unless they grab one of those women for a hostage." Scott paused for just a second, "We can't let them do that you know." Scott smiled when he saw the quiet determination on Angie's face. "Okay, when I get over there you holler at them. Be ready but stay down no matter what. You hear." Angie nodded her head, "I love you." "I love you too, be careful." Scott eased back down the hill and then ran as hard and fast as he could around to the other hill. When Scott got in position he was out of breath and it felt as though his heart was about to pound out of his chest. The man had just knocked the girl to the ground when Angie yelled at him and shot about three feet behind him. The two men who had been assaulting the girl dove towards the cigar man. So Scott put a round right in front of them before they could get to their buddy. Cigar man stood up with a bolt action hunting rifle and it looked like he was about to shoot at Angie. Scott didn't hesitate he dropped cigar man right where he stood. Scott saw Angie slip down the hill and figured she was moving to where she could have a clear shot. When cigar man had stood up Scott saw that he had a naked girl there with him. One of the two rapists pulled a pistol and grabbed the naked and scared girl. Pointing the pistol at her head the coyote called up to Scott, "Put your rifle down and come out gringo or I'll kill the girl." Scott looked at the man standing beside the girl and thought 'If I just wound him he will kill that girl, but if he's wounded in the right place he won't have his mind on the girl.' Scott took careful aim and put the 45 long Colt round right in the center of the zipper on the man's fly. The coyote dropped the pistol and started screaming like a banshee as the almost half inch around piece of lead ripped through the his dick. The other would be rapist rolled to where he was pretty sure that the girl on the hill or the man in front of him could not see him and slipped his pistol into the back of his pants. His problem was that Angie had moved and had watched him put the pistol in the back of his pants. Right after he got the pistol where he wanted it he put his hands in the air and started walking towards Scott. Angie had her rifle trained on the last coyote as he walked towards her love. "Gringo! I give up! Come on down, don't shoot me," The coyote called out. Scott had a real bad feeling about this asshole and he was scanning the hill where he thought Angie had gone. When they made eye contact Angie made a pistol with her hand and pointed at the coyote. "You make one move towards that pistol you have in the back of your pants you'll be laying on the ground just like your compadres." Scott yelled down to the man. "No! No! Señor, I no got a gun," he yelled back at Scott. Scott thought he'd test the man's resolve, "How about I shoot your dick off I like I did your amigo. The man looked over at his buddy writhing around on the ground in pain and saw the man shiver. He then looked around like he was planning his next move. Scott figured what the heck, he was probably right handed so he put a round in the palm of his right hand. The man screamed a curse at Scott and was drawing the pistol with his left hand when he was hit first by Angie's .223 round and then by the one from Scott's 45 long Colt. Either bullet would have been enough to kill him but together they pretty much made mush out of the man's heart. Scott hollered to Angie, "Keep an eye out honey while I go down check them out." It didn't take long to find that cigar man and the last one they had shot were dead. The third man was in shock and already had lost so much blood there was little hope for him, he would be dead before they could get him back to the ranch. Scott signalled for Angie to join him and they started trying to talk to the women. It didn't take long to find out that they were illegals but they were what the immigration people call OTM's, Other Than Mexican. In fact all of the girls were from Brazil. Neither Scott nor Angie spoke Portuguese but one of the girls could speak a little English; through her they were able to calm the others down. Since they had not had food or water in two days, the coyotes had refused to let them eat unless they had sex with them, Angie fed them from the emergency supplies Scott kept under the seat in the wagon. While Angie fed the girls Scott took the wagon over to the shack at the spring which was little more than a quarter of a mile away and unloaded all of the t-posts and wire from the wagon to make room for the girls. By the time he returned the girls were ready for the long ride back to the ranch. Scott went to check on the one wounded coyote and found that he had died. Scott had very little remorse for these people, just last year another group near Presidio had locked twenty five people up in the back of a tractor trailer rig and left them to die in the hundred plus degree heat of summer. They preyed on the weak; this time there was someone stronger than them. "Should we bury them?" Angie asked. Shaking his head Scott said, "No! Leave them I'll have to bring Jack and Dallas out here tomorrow." Angie got the girls loaded into the wagon, it was very crowded, and then they headed back to the ranch house. A long, hot, three hours later Scott stopped the wagon in front of the house. He was very glad to see Red's four wheel drive suburban sitting at the house; that meant he could give the girls the medical attention they might need. Tina came running out when she heard them pull up and Scott sent her back inside to get her mom and Red. Angie helped the girls out with Maria, Red and even little Tina trying to lend a hand. Scott smiled at the little girl, "Tina you want to help me unhitch Pete and Repete and take care of them?" She turned to her mother and said something Scott didn't understand, Maria responded in kind and Tina looked at Scott and said, "She said I could." "That wasn't Gaelic was it?" Scott asked the girl. "No that was Cymru the language of the Welsh. We found some books on it in your library so mother and I have been learning to speak it," little Tina said as if it was the easiest thing in the world to pick up a book and in a couple of days be speaking another language. Scott laughed, "Well when we get back I guess you better look and see if there's a book in there on Portuguese." Tina grinned, giggled and said, "Vocês não falam Português?" Scott laughed, "I should have known." He then picked Tina up and sat her on the wagon seat, climbed up beside her and drove the team to the barn. He hated not to clean his and Angie's rifles but he thought he better wait until he heard from Dallas. After he and Tina finished up they walked back to the house. Angie and Red were in the house kitchen when he and Tina walked in, "Honey, I guess I'll drive in to town and get a hold of Dallas." Red spoke up, "Scott, I've got a phone you can use. It's a satellite phone. I conned one of those knot heads with Homeland Security that I might see something they would need to know about. I started to call for you but figured you'd want to talk to Dallas." "Yea, thanks Red." Scott said. He then had Red show him how to call and he explained to Dallas what had happened. Dallas said he would get everyone together and they would meet them at the ranch first thing in the morning. Scott handed the phone back to Red, "Thanks, I sure was dreading that drive." "I'll bet. What did he say?" Red asked "They will all be here first thing in the morning." Scott told his friend. Angie sighed, "I better get some more bacon and sausage out of the freezer." Then she left to do so leaving Scott alone with his thoughts for a few minutes. When she returned she grabbed Scott by the arm, "Come on, let's go to the outside shower then into the hot tub. I've already lit a fire in the snorkel unit; it's heating up right now." Scott didn't have an argument left in him by that point and he and Angie went out to knock the grime and grit off. While they were showering Scott asked, "Where are all the girls?" "Well since you and I had cleaned out the bunk house yesterday, Maria and I thought that would work just fine." Angie laughed and continued, "Oh by the way we used up most of your Gatorade. Red said those girls were real dehydrated." "That's fine. Are they going to be all right otherwise?" Scott asked. Angie sighed and said, "Two of the girls had been raped repeatedly. The one that was naked is in the worst shape. Scott, I don't care if the girls stay here or whatever the government wants to do with them but that girl is going to need a lot of help. Do you think Dallas or Jack could see to it? I'll pay for it out of the Matador ranch account if that's a problem." Scott just nodded his head, "I'm sure Jack can find someone to help her." Scott pulled Angie in for a blistering kiss, "I love you." Scott and Angie finished their shower and made their way to the hot tub. Scott closed the damper to smother the fire and he and Angie got into the hot tub. It didn't take long for the warm water to revive them and even less time for them to start making love. Tomorrow there would be sheriffs and questions but right now none of that mattered. Right now it was just Scott and Angie together under the stars. ------- Chapter 11: Dreams and Nightmares Sleep was a long time coming for Scott that night. When he did fall off to sleep it was restless and filled with dreams. For Angie the night was even worse; since the first night that they had slept together she had found that she slept like she had before her Dad had been murdered. It was as though she drew comfort, love and security from Scott. Gone were the nightmares of her father's wreck and his lonely death. All that was replaced by the warm gentle strength of Scott. Tonight, though, Scott's tortured sleep seemed to only get worse, until somewhere around one in the morning. It was then that he suddenly became peaceful; it happened so suddenly, in fact, that Angie felt a panic come over her until she realized he was breathing normally. In his dreams Scott relived the shooting over and over. Sometimes he was shot, sometimes Angie was, and in his dreams he would scream out his rage. The last of these dreams happened a little before one in the morning. Then suddenly he was plunged into a dream unlike any he had ever had. Scott's Dream: Scott walked into the summer kitchen, listening as his mother sang softly. The kitchen was rich with the smells of bacon and eggs. She urged him to sit and poured him a cup of tea, sat the teapot down and kissed him on the forehead as she had thousands of times before and said, "Morning my boy." It was as though she had never died. Everything seemed to be back like it was before that day, that horrible day. The outside door opened and Scott's dad walked in, put his hand on Scott's shoulder, patted it and said, "Morning son, did you sleep well?" His dad sat down as his other handed him a cup of coffee. As he stirred in some sugar he looked over at Scott and smiled, "You have done well Scott, the ranch looks great. I like the changes you have made. We knew when you met that girl that things were going to get better for you." Scott looked up as Angie waddled into the summer kitchen rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Scott stared at her as she was big with pregnancy, seven or eight months at least. She walked over to Scott's mother and kissed her on the cheek. His mother interrupted her cooking to pull Angie into a hug, being ever mindful of the precious cargo she carried in her belly. Angie then walked over behind Scott's dad and draped her arms over his shoulders and around his neck leaning over to give him a kiss on his cheek. Scott was still in shock, 'How are my parents alive now? When did Angie get pregnant?' It was all so real but it couldn't be, could it? Angie whispered something into his dad's ear and they both broke out laughing, she walked over to Scott motioning him to scoot his chair back. He did and she sat in his lap taking his left hand she placed it on her swollen belly. "Your son and daughter are trying to kick their way out this morning. Here, feel." She placed Scott's hand on her belly and he felt the tiny hands and feet as they pushed and kicked at the inside of her womb. Angie kissed Scott on the lips, lightly at first but then with more and more passion until Scott's ad cleared his throat. Angie giggled, and said, "I need to set the table." Angie got up and started setting dishes and silverware around the table. Scott looked at the table and saw that she had set six place settings. Looking up at Angie he asked, "Who else is here?" "I'm not going to tell you, it's a surprise," she giggled, "You'll have to wait and see." She had no more finished saying that than in walked a tall man who he only knew from photos, it was Dan Bell. Holding his hand was a woman who almost looked like Angie, but she was different. "Mom!" Angie screamed, "You made it. Oh I'm so glad to see you again, it's been such a long time." Tears were streaming down her face, "I missed you so much." After they had hugged and cried Angie and her mother helped each other set the table. Angie's mom was beautiful and looked to be only a few years older than Angie herself, but then she had died shortly after Angie was born. Scott watched with an open mouth as four people who were supposed to be dead talked and visited like old friends. They laughed and talked about the coming birth of the twins and how busy he and Angie would be after their arrival. The four parents told Scott and Angie to follow their faith, love each other, and help those that they could. They finished breakfast and then the six of them sat at the table and visited until the four parents said it was time for them to go. There were hugs, handshakes, kisses and tears as they said their goodbyes. Then, as though it happened everyday, they walked out the door and disappeared into the twilight with promises to always watch over them. Just like that Scott was ripped from his dream and plunged back into the restless sleep he had been in when the dream started. He wanted to see his parents again, there was so much more he wanted to know, wanted to tell them; but they were gone. His sudden return to troubled sleep woke Angie up. She watched as Scott tossed and turned mumbling the names of his parents. Then he said, "Dan ... Merilynn ... come back please." Angie's heart almost stopped, she thought back, she had never told Scott her mother's name. Again he mumbled, "Merilynn ... Dan ... Mom ... Dad ... come back!" Scott rolled over on to his back. Angie moved over on top of Scott and started kissing him. "Scott," Angie called softly, she kissed him softly on the lips. Angie continued kissing and rubbing her body against Scott until at least his body began to respond. Angie persisted in trying to gently wake Scott from his now distressing dream. Angie moved down his body and took his now hard manhood into her mouth. Once it was well lubricated she moved up, straddled his hips and impaled herself on his hardness. Scott's confusion was mounting, first a visit by four people long dead then, while he was trying to call back his parents and in-laws, he was getting aroused. His mind turned to Angie, was it true he wondered? Would Angie have twins? Was she pregnant now? He realized how careless he had been, he hadn't asked her about protection. Scott thought about how he felt about Angie, the Hummingbird that had flown into his life. Now his life seemed full. The more he thought of her the more powerful the feeling of belonging became. He wanted to kiss her and that want began to overpower the sense of loss left from the dream. Angie knew at once when Scott began to come out of the tortured dream state of the last half hour. He turned his head and pursed his lips as though he were going to give a kiss. Angie took his head in her hands and turned it towards her lips. She kissed him hard using her tongue to pry apart his lips. Suddenly Scott was awake. Angie was kissing him in a way that absolutely set him on fire. Slowly his dream fogged brain discovered that Angie was astraddle his hips and he was buried in her wetness. With the kiss, Scott's passion was suddenly way past the point of gentle love making. He wanted Angie; he wanted her now, tomorrow, always. He pulled her petite body against his and rolled until he was on top. Their passion exploded, and the world collapsed until all that mattered was the two of them. Together they made each other whole, together they could face anything or anyone. Even in the early morning hours their passion did not go unnoticed. ------- At the end of the hall next to the library Maria turned to Red, "Have you ever seen two people more in love than those two?" Red turned to face Maria, putting his arm around her and pulling her even closer, "Yes I know another couple who are that much in love." He kissed Maria gently, "I love you that much." Maria smiled then returned Red's kiss with interest, interest compounded to the point of usury. Now a second couple's passion was added to the night. The house that had been home to so much loneliness now threatened to burst with love and passion. ------- Their passion was peaking. Scott and Angie's sweat covered bodies reflected the moonlight pouring through the French doors. Angie was urging Scott on, pushing for that last bit of pleasure. She felt him tense then push hard and deep into her and that was all it took for her to join him in the little death. They lay together enjoying the afterglow of their love making. Once their breathing had returned to normal the other sounds of the house became apparent. Angie giggled, "I guess we started something." Angie moved so that she was half resting on Scott's chest, the still hard nipple of her left breast drilling into his chest. "Scott, what were you dreaming about? You were calling out my Mom and Dad's names and I don't remember ever telling you my mother's name." "They were here. In the dream I mean, they introduced themselves to me. My Mom and Dad were here as well and they know each other and are very happy that we are together." Scott paused for a minute, the look on his face was one Angie had not seen and she could not stand it. "What is it? There's something else, something you're not telling me?" Angie's face was only inches from Scott's, "Tell me, is there something wrong?" Scott rolled Angie over on her back, rising up where he could see her in the moonlit room. Then he took and ran his hand over Angie's flat tummy, "Are you pregnant?" The question was not what she was expecting, "I'm on the pill, you know that, but it's not foolproof. The only reason I was even taking it was because I was having trouble with my period. But why are you asking? What's wrong?" Scott's hand was moving in circles on her tummy, "In the dream you were pregnant, big pregnant," Scott was nodding his head, "with twins, you said it was my son and daughter." For the next few minutes silence ruled. Angie lay basking in the love she had found in Scott. Scott felt that he was on top of the world, he had found the love of his life and if she was pregnant then he would have something he had long given up on; children. Down the hall the sounds of passion from Red and Maria's room had died out, but that thought caused a stir in Scott. He leaned down to kiss Angie and she knew exactly what he wanted. In minutes the sounds of passion filled the room once again as this time Angie straddled her lover for an early morning ride. Angie was moving at an urgent pace. Scott held each of her small breasts, rolling the rock hard nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. Angie's moans were steadily increasing as her pace quickened. She leaned forward over Scott's body, her mouth right at his ear, "Give me a baby." Her words hit Scott like a lightning bolt, "Angeee!" he groaned as he came. His climax was all that was needed to push Angie to hers, her body rigid as her inner muscles milked the last of Scott's sperm into her body. Angie collapsed on top of Scott as both of them struggled to regain their breath. It was over a half hour later before Scott glanced at the clock on the bedside table; it was a quarter to five, "Let's go take a shower." They walked hand in hand into the bathroom; today would be a long and difficult day. ------- Scott and Angie went to the summer kitchen and started making breakfast, but this morning it would be a little more than breakfast for two. When Maria, Red and Tina walked into the summer kitchen Tina was still trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. "Good morning," Scott said to the trio as they walked through the door. Red called Tina over to him and whispered something into her ear. Tina left the summer kitchen at a dead run and returned a few minutes later at the same speed. She handed Red a shoe box and then returned to the table and the book she had left there. Red was grinning from ear to ear, "Here Scott." Red began to pull four bottles out of the box, "these are some vitamins that I really do think you need to start taking." Red and Maria were both laughing now but Red couldn't resist adding, "That and you really are going to have to learn to pace yourself. You're not as young as you once were, you know." After the laughter had died down, Maria looked around the kitchen wondering how they were going to feed all the girls. "Well, Scott, have you ever fixed breakfast for seventeen people?" Maria was smiling as she said it, but she was a little worried. Scott grinned, "It will be just like it is at shearing with a few extras thrown in. It won't be like the ordinary breakfast but everyone should end up with a belly full of hot food. Maria, I mixed up some masa trigo dough last night, do you think you could roll out some tortillas?" Scott went over to the cabinet top across from the old wood stove. "Red, could you give me a hand with this counter top?" Scott opened the doors to the front of the cabinet and released the latches that held the top on. "Grab that end Red and we'll just take it right outside and stand it up for now." Red wasn't all that sure what this was in aid of but he grabbed his end and grunted. The top came off revealing an eight foot long flat metal surface. Once Red spotted the drain holes on the backside of it he knew it was a restaurant style grill. Scott threw Red a wet soapy rag and he started cleaning the top while Scott made sure the drip pans were in place. Angie had just given Tina a glass of juice when Zara Rodrigues came in. Tina was the first to see her as she stepped through the door and with her normal bubbly voice she said, "Bom dia.(Good Morning) " What followed was a very normal early morning conversation that only half of those present understood, that being Maria, Tina and Zara. The rest of them looked back and forth from one person to the next; it was the verbal equivalent of a tennis match. Somewhere in the conversation, the subject of Tina's ability to speak Portuguese was brought up, which caused Zara to exclaim in her very best English, "You are a very smart little girl Tina. You will have to help me teach the other girls to speak English. Yes?" Zara gave Tina a hug and a kiss on the cheek then asked, "What can I do to help?" Scott grabbed a pan and a potato peeler, "Would you mind peeling some potatoes?" Zara smiled, reached for the peeler and said, "Claro, bonitão." She then turned to the giggling Tina and winked as she began to peel the pile of potatoes in front of her. Maria walked over to Scott and whispered the translation into his ear and so Angie could hear. When he found out she had simply said, "Sure, good looking," Scott's face went bright red. Angie stood on her tip toes and kissed him, "She's right you know." Angie started back to what she had been doing but not before swatting Scott on the butt and saying, "You have a nice butt too." Scott's face took on another two or three shades of red. Zara leaned out of her chair as though she was trying to get a better look, "Yes, very nice," she gave an exaggerated sigh, "very nice indeed." Everyone in the kitchen except Scott was laughing, he was simply glowing red and shaking his head. Scott and Red added all of the leaves that he had to the dining room table and got the extra chairs from the closets they had been stored in. He showed Tina where the dishes were and she and Magda, another of the early rising girls, set the table. When they had finished setting the table Angie sent Tina down to the bunkhouse where the girls had slept to get the other girls for breakfast. They had used all of the bacon, sausage and milk Scott and Angie had on hand as well nearly all the potatoes. About the only thing left in any quantity were pinto beans and masa trigo for tortillas. So it was looking like a trip to town would have to be made after the girls left. Scott hoped the immigration people would treat the girls' right but he didn't have a lot of faith in bureaucrats, state or federal. ------- Jack Rimes was getting tired of the Sanderson Motel. He jokingly thought he was going to sit Scott down and have a talk with him. Ever since he had met Angie there had been trouble, but he had never seen Scott this happy. He stopped and thought for a minute, wouldn't it be great if he could meet someone like Angie. Then Jack looked around the bare motel room voicing his thoughts, "It would make this place feel a lot better if I had someone to come home to." Jack had been on the phone already this morning and he was sure that Scott was going to be very surprised to find out those twelve girls he rescued were going to be his problem. The INS, Immigration and Naturalization Service's policy on "OTM's"- other than Mexicans - was to issue them a summons to appear before a federal judge and hope they showed. If they didn't show their attitude was a shrug of the shoulder and go on about their business. So Jack was back on the phone now, as was Dallas as the two of them tried put together enough food and clothes for the girls. Jack had also arranged with Doc Eller to contact Red to see if there were any medical supplies that were needed. Seven a.m. came and went as did eight and nine. The Fed's were late and getting later. At ten that morning Dallas sent Jason out to the Miles Ranch with the food and clothes that they had gathered. Jack decided to go along and take care of the crime scene. He would take the Justice of the Peace with him and let Jason bring him back. ------- The turn off for the Miles Ranch was ten miles east of Sanderson, from the highway it was twenty six long dusty miles to the ranch house. It was not a trip you can make in a hurry. Between the rough road, push gates and cattle guards the trip to the ranch could take an hour and a half, that's if the weather was good. If the weather was bad you just didn't go. Rainfall on the rocky ground quickly ran off and flash floods were always a real threat. It had been clear all morning but a dry line was predicted to move through later that afternoon. A dry line often brought thunderstorms, sometimes nasty ones, and that was what the weather service was predicting for the area this time. Jack knew that he wanted to get to the ranch and get back before it got dark. Waiting for the Fed's to show had already put that in danger. So Jack left thirty minutes after Jason, at least that way some of the dust would be settled by the time he got there. ------- Meanwhile back at the ranch things were going pretty much in a normal sort of way. Stock had to be fed and there were still a few water gaps that needed mending, but today would be spent waiting on folks to show up. Angie and Maria busied themselves preparing a meal while Scott took care of a few chores down at the barn. Two of the girls that had been rescued had grown up on a ranch. Sebastiana Cardoso and Francisca Alavares had followed Scott and Tina down to the barn. As the two girls walked along behind Scott and Tina they were giggling and speaking Portuguese, about ever tenth word or so Tina would giggle. Scott had the distinct impression that he was being talked about. The girls insisted that they could and would help him so, making use of Tina's linguistic skills, Scott showed the girls some jobs they could do. It took them almost no time to finish them and, after looking around, they found their own work. When Scott finished hitching up the mules he found Sebastiana and Frankie, as she preferred to be called, mucking out the stalls where he had been keeping Angie's horses. Both had sweat dripping down their faces. Frankie stopped shoveling and nudged Sebastiana, fanning herself with the front of her shirt. Frankie said, "Está quente!" Scott was pretty sure that quente meant hot as it sounded very much like the Spanish word. The sweat was making the girl's blouses stick to their bodies highlighting the fact they weren't wearing bras. He chuckled to himself, "Yea, hot in more ways than one." The girls looked at him and then at each other not having any idea what he had said; a situation that Tina fixed by translating not only what he said but adding some to it, which just went to show she wasn't the innocent little five year old Scott thought she was. She finished her translation then winked at Scott causing him to blush. By the time he had made his escape Scott's face was glowing. "Tina, tell them when they get through to go clean up." He walked out to the wagon, got on and went to the hay barn for a load of hay. When he returned Frankie and Sebastiana had just finished with the stalls so they fell in and helped Scott stack the bales in the loft of the adobe barn. Now the two girls were covered with hay to add to the sweat and horse stuff. Scott just smiled. They were pretty good hands, or was it pretty and good? "Come on girls; let's go get a cold drink." With that Frankie and Sebastiana got in the wagon with Tina and Scott and they rode up to the house. Jason's Explorer and a Suburban from the funeral home in Ft. Stockton were parked at the house. Angie, Maria and the rest of the girls were unloading boxes out of the Explorer and it appeared to be filled floor to ceiling. "What's all this?" Scott asked, not really sure if he wanted to know. Red was coming out of the house after another load and decided he would answer Scott's question, "Food, clothes, make up, and feminine hygiene products. Everything you'll need for your new harem Scott." Frankie and Sebastiana asked Tina something in Portuguese, she responded and both girls started clapping and saying, "Oh goodie! Oh goodie!" In their heavily accented English they sounded like two Charos, a fact not lost on anyone who had heard of Charo, and any thoughts that they might act like her caused more than one smile. Angie had heard all of this and when she looked at Scott he simply said, "Dunnie and I will be running away right after lunch." He then tipped his hat, "Ladies," and walked towards the house to wash up. Angie turned to Red, "You know Ralph that ain't all that funny." She grabbed another box, "Besides, half of the girls are going home with you." She left Red with his mouth open and wondering what kind of deal Maria had put together without him knowing. Now it really wasn't all that funny. Just as they had finished unloading the Explorer, Jack drove up. Maria greeted him and said, "Lunch is just about ready. Come on in and clean up. Are you going to want tea to drink, Jack?" Jack nodded his head and followed the last of the boxes into the house, but not before taking a look at the sky. He had a bad feeling about the front that was coming through. He hoped that he could get his business taken care of before any storms, either man made or natural, hit. ------- During lunch Jack sat next to Zara. At first he asked about the events of the previous day, but quickly their conversation moved to other topics. Pretty soon it was clear to everyone there that a spark was being kindled. Scott watched the interaction between the two and couldn't help but think that Jack's days as a confirmed bachelor were growing short. Catching Angie's eye he motioned towards the budding couple. Angie's smile was dazzling, "Jack?" she called to him in a soft questioning voice, "Are you all right?" Jack looked around the table to find everyone staring at him and all with a smirk on their faces. Zara blushed and tried to turn her head to hide her face. "What?" Jack stuttered, "We are ... we're just talking, that's all." With that the whole table erupted into laughter ------- After lunch Jack and the JP (Justice of the Peace) decided to try to drive to the site. Scott didn't like the idea of going in one vehicle. Jack was confident that his four wheel drive Yukon could make it but all Scott could think of was how long a walk it was if it didn't. Jack looked at Scott and chuckled, "You are just like the old time cowboys aren't you. You think if it can't be done from the back of a horse it's not worth doing. Would you feel better if we rode over there?" "No!" Scott was already put out at all the lolly gagging around, "But if we're going to go let's get. We are burning daylight and there is going to be a storm this afternoon, I can feel it in my bones." Scott was grumbling and thinking how bad an idea this really was, "I don't guess you got one of those phones like Red has do ya?" Jack was shaking his head, "Yea I have one and I have Red's number programmed in. Are you happy now?" "No, I'm not happy," Scott looked up at where the sun was in the sky, "it's after half past one, first thing in the morning my eye." Jack couldn't help but look at his watch. It was twenty eight minutes after one in the afternoon. He knew Scott hadn't looked at a clock in the house, he was pretty sure there wasn't a clock in the house. When Jack looked at Scott it was like looking back in time. He hoped that Scott and Angie would have kids, it would be a shame to let that lifestyle die out. Jack checked the emergency supplies he kept in the back of the Yukon and found one of the water jugs to be half empty. He pulled it out and handed it to Scott, "Go fill this up and we can get out of here." Scott kissed Angie goodbye and took longer about it than he normally would have. He just had this nagging feeling that he couldn't shake. Scott didn't fail to notice that Jack and Zara had an extended goodbye session that ended with a friendly kiss, a kiss that evolved rather quickly. Now it was Jack that didn't want to leave, but leave they did. It only took two hours and forty five minutes to drive to the bodies with the Yukon, a whole quarter of an hour faster than the wagon. Once there Scott went over his story showing Jack where they were and where they had fired from. Overnight a few of the local scavengers had nibbled on the three dead coyotes, but not badly. Luckily the javelinas and the four legged coyotes hadn't found them. The JP had checked 'cigar man', and 'pistol hider' first. When he came to the man that Scott had shot in the crotch he asked, "Why did you shoot this guy in the balls?" "He was holding one of the girls as a hostage and shield. I figured if I shot him there he wouldn't be thinking about the girl much," Scott grinned as the JP shivered at the thought of being shot that way. "What were you shooting?" The JP had noticed that the entrance wounds were all quite large with the exception of the one in the back of one of the men. Scott reached down to the gun belt he wore and pulled one of the 45 long Colt cartridges out and handed it to the JP. The JP had interviewed the girls as Jason and the others had unloaded Jason's Explorer so he knew pretty much what had happened and when. Still he had to ask, "Why was that... ," he pointed to 'pistol hider', "man shot in the back and the front?" Scott explained Angie's hand signals and where she was. She simply shot to try to keep me from being hit. The JP knew Scott was a good shot but as he looked from the hill where Angie was supposed to have shot from he whistled, "That was a pretty good shot to make." Looking at Jack, "You say that mini 14 she shoots is open sights?" Jack nodded, "She is probably as good a shot as Scott." Jack laughed then added, "She shoots a nine millimeter for her pistol rather than using a hog leg like Scott here though." Scott cleared his throat, "If you two are through? I suggest we get the hell out of here before we get stuck." He pointed to the line of clouds on the horizon. They put the bodies into the body bags Jack had brought, tied them on the luggage rack on top and hauled it. Jack pushed hard going back to the ranch. His Yukon would definitely need to see Mr. Goodwrench to makes things right again. That included some body shop time for the rearranged rear quarter panel. Still, though, they were over a mile from the ranch when the bottom fell out of the clouds. The joke about rainfall in West Texas goes like this: The stranger asks "What's the annual rainfall here?" The local responds, "twelve to fourteen inches." To that the stranger says, "That's not very much is it." Then the local finishes with, "You wouldn't think that if you were here the day it happened." There is more truth in that than most want to think about. More often than not a large percentage or even multiples of the annual rainfall can come in a twenty four hour period. One of the stunning sights in Sanderson is a very large earthen dam. That dam is there because of the "Great Sanderson Flood" on June the eleventh, 1965. A flash flood came through Sanderson canyon wiping out whole families and leaving caskets washed out of the cemetery and bodies, both the long dead and the just drowned, up and down Main Street. Flash floods are serious business in West Texas, or anywhere for that matter. Dry creeks and gullies could become raging torrents in a matter of seconds and the last place you want to be is caught in one of those creek bottoms. ------- Angie had not been idle. With the help of some of the girls she had cleaned up the four other small houses and one large one that at one time or another had been the home of married ranch hands and distant relatives. Next week these would be where the many guests coming for the wedding would stay. But for now there were already plenty of guests needing a place to stay. The INS folks showed up at four in the afternoon. The man was maybe five foot two and bookish, the woman on the other hand had a very confident air about her. So it was a surprise when the woman said nothing as the man started off being heavy handed and goonish. He might have stayed that way had not Red made a call. Angie didn't know who was on the other end of the satellite phone call but when Red handed the phone to the man he went pale. From that moment on it was, "Yes Sir", "No Sir", and "I'm sorry Sir", for the rest of the conversation. The woman stood and watched with a huge smile on her face, and everyone knew there was a story there just waiting to be told. After that the girls filled out the paper work and by five the INS man and woman, now smiling even more broadly, were on their way back to town. The woman let the little man go out the door first, then turning to Red she said, "Thanks, now maybe my complaints will be listened to." Red said he had some connection and he would see what he could do about getting the girl's visas. Angie couldn't help but wonder who was on the other end of that call. Connections indeed. Angie watched the black clouds move in, her spirit reaching out for her lover. Oh, how she wished he was here. There was something foreboding about this storm. Sebastiana and Frankie showed up with little Tina in tow. Sebastiana spoke to Tina and Tina relayed the message that the two girls had shut up the horses and mules in their stalls and had closed the doors to the barn. Angie smiled and hugged them both. In her worrying about Scott she had completely forgotten all the other important things she needed to have done. She sent the girls off to get cleaned up before the storm hit. Angie kept up her vigil, with Zara joining her watching for any sign of Jack's Yukon. When the rain hit she knew what the old timers meant when they said the phrase 'cloud burst'. A blinding flash of lightning was followed immediately by a deafening roll of thunder, and the water came. Quickly the giant oak and pecan trees disappeared behind a solid wall of water. Angie thought she saw headlights but it was only for a fraction of a second and then it was gone. If it hadn't been raining so hard she might have heard the crash. She did however hear something that was out of place. It was a car horn and it wasn't stopping. It caused a chill to go down her spine. A machine screaming like a banshee at the beginning of a dark rainy night left Angie with a very bad feeling. She felt empty inside for the first time since she had met Scott. ------- Scott was not happy. Jack's Yukon got half way up the side of the rain slick creek bank and stopped. "Damn it Jack this not the place to be parking!" "I know! I know!" Jack yelled. He threw the SUV into reverse and backed up to the bank on the other side to get a running start. Throwing the Yukon into low he floored the truck and charged the other side. Don Grimes, JP, was new to the Sanderson area. He had gotten the JP job by appointment when the old one, Delbert Masterson, died of a heart attack. In the fall he would have to run for the office. As he listened to Scott it sounded like he was scared and that seemed strange, to say the least. Then he heard it. What a strange sound he thought, "Hey guys, do you hear that?" "Hear what?" Jack's voice was as strained Scott's. Don laughed, "Well there for a minute I thought I heard a train." If Don was going to say anything else the wall of water that hit the Yukon broadside stopped him. In less than a heartbeat being inside the Yukon was a lot like being in a washing machine. The horn was blowing and wouldn't shut off. The left rear window shattered as what looked one of the water gaps, a three inch cedar post with three or four feet of barb wire on it, shot into the rear area of the SUV along with gallons of muddy water. The Yukon was barrel rolling down the creek bed, Scott, out of habit, had his seat belt on. Jack and Don however didn't and as the SUV rolled their hands and feet flailed around the inside of the Yukon. Water was coming in but before there was enough to stop Jack's flailing body his foot came flying at Scott's head. Suddenly Scott had something other than a taste of the muddy water in his mouth. First came the smoky taste of a broken tooth followed by the coppery taste of blood. Suddenly the Yukon stopped and when it did the cold water began to pour in. Scott was hanging from his seat, the strain on the seat belt was such that the buckle would not release. Scott reached for the map lights on the ceiling hoping they would still work. When he turned them both on, Scott could see Jack floating face down in the water. Looking over his shoulder he saw Don face down as well but he was in the process of floating out the broken window in the rear of the SUV. Scott's head was a little foggy. He knew he had to get out and he had to get Jack out. Scott was reached for his hunting knife to cut the seat belt. Just as he cut the belt something hit the bottom of the SUV and it started moving again. Scott grabbed Jack and was almost out of the vehicle when something hit him and everything went black. ------- Angie was standing on the porch that went all the way around the house. She could faintly hear the horn and once she thought she saw a headlight, but strangely it was going in a circle. She had a very bad feeling – a great loss was very close. Something bad was happening and she was powerless to stop it. Suddenly it felt was as though her very soul was leaving. Maria had just walked out on the porch to ask if Angie or Zara would like some tea when Angie screamed, "Noooooooo!" and took off running into the rain blackened night. ------- Chapter 12: Love and Bandages One minute Angie had been standing on the porch, the next she was running into the dark rainy night screaming at the top of her lungs. It scared Maria senseless but only for a second or two then she yelled into the house. That yell brought Red, Tina, the girls, and Dallas who had led the INS folks in and had stayed so he could talk to the JP. Zara turned to Maria and started crying uncontrollably and not even Zara knew why for sure. Maria quickly explained what had happened. Dallas and Red grabbed flashlights, Red picked up his medical bag. As they were headed out the door, Dallas spotted Scott's new poly lariat on the coat stand by the door. Thinking it might come in handy he took it with him. Dallas and Red then took off in the direction that Maria had last seen Angie going. A few minutes later they heard her calling out. ------- Angie did not know what the feeling was that had passed over her. It could have been death itself for all she knew. What she did know was that it felt like her heart was being pulled out of her chest, as though the last ounce of love she had left was being pulled away from her. The only thing that that could mean as far as she was concerned was that Scott was hurt. Hurt and maybe dying, and she could not let that happen. She ran as fast as her feet would carry her, screaming out his name as she went. Strangely it was easy to know where to go; it was as though someone was guiding her. If she started going in the wrong direction the strange feeling got weaker. The distant roar of the creek grew louder as she got closer. But there was another sound that she didn't understand; clicking. Soft clicks buried in the sound of the rushing water and loud clicks, their sound out of place. ------- Scott's hand was looped through Jack's gun belt and he was holding on as though his own life depended on it rather than Jack's. A piece of cholla propelled by the water hit Scott in the side of the face. The burning was intense as his body reacted to the crude steroid in the paper like covering of the spines. The locals called it jumping cholla because of its habit of sticking in the back of your boot only to be flung into your butt by the act of walking. Now the flood waters were sending them through the water by the dozens, along with every other kind of thorn covered vegetation known to West Texas. Scott knew he had to get out of the water — every second he and Jack were in the water increased their risk of being pinned against something and drowned. Scott also knew not to put his feet down as his water logged boots and jeans tried to sink. If his feet went down they could catch in the brush or even barb wire from a washed out fence or a water gap. He kicked his feet as hard as he could, struggling to swim with one arm and carry Jack with the other. Going through his mind along with all the dangers was his love for Angie. His muscles were on fire and he was tired and cold, but his love for Angie pushed him for the side of the creek that he knew had to be there. ------- Back at the house Portuguese was flying through the air at a blistering rate. Maria realized she had to do something to take their minds and hers off of whatever it was that was going on outside. Quickly she divided the girls up into groups, sending some to look for blankets while sending others to make hot tea and chocolate. She saw two of the girls make the sign of the cross and for a second thought it a bit funny given Scott and Angie's beliefs. But if the saying any port in a storm were true, then any God or Goddess in a storm was just as true. Maria walked back out on the porch, There Zara and the youngest of the girls, Zeva, joined her as they kept a silent vigil. ------- Angie realized that she was moving slowly downstream as she followed the feeling, "Scott! Scott where are you?" she screamed into the blackness. Behind Angie, Red and Dallas moved towards her screams. Sometimes the roar of the water completely masked her calls but they had heard enough to know she was calling for Scott. What they didn't know, nor could they figure out, was why she was running through the night calling his name. They could not imagine how she could have seen anything from the house with the weather like it was. Still they felt like they needed to catch up with her before she got hurt herself. ------- Scott was exhausted; he started thinking he wasn't going to make it. He thought about letting Jack go but he just couldn't do it. Surviving at the cost of another's life was a price he couldn't live with. He had to get out of the water. He knew had to be close but the current was so strong. Suddenly he felt it — mud right in front of him. He took a chance and put his feet down so he could push Jack up on the bank. He'd almost made it when a floating mass of prickly pear pads and cholla hit him in his side knocking him and Jack down. Another of the cholla hit him in the face across the bridge of his nose and eye brow. Scott was struggling to get a breath of air from this last knock down when suddenly he and Jack went over a six foot plus drop. The only good thing about their fall was that Scott now knew where he was and when he and Jack washed out of the deep pool at the bottom of the waterfall Scott was able to get them both to the bank. He used the last of his strength to push Jack up out of the water. Scott knew that they needed to get further away from the creek but he just didn't know how he was going to do it. His head hurt so badly that he was dizzy. Then nothing. ------- Angie was getting closer, she could feel it. A lightning flash arced through the sky and there, directly in front of her, was Scott. Her Scott, his face all bloody, cholla spines in his ear and around his eyes. The prickly pear pads had left thousands of their tiny hair like glochid spines that would almost be impossible to get out. She ran to him and pulled him into her lap, "Scott wake up baby! You can't leave me." ------- A few yards away Red and Dallas were still moving towards the creek but Angie's calls had stopped, so now they called, "Angie! Where are you?" "Over here," She screamed trying to be heard over the roar of the creek, "Over here, Scott's hurt bad." Red and Dallas ran to Angie's side and Red started checking Scott and Jack out. Red turned to Angie, "Go up to the house and get Scott's truck," but when Red saw the look on her face he knew that wasn't going to be the way it was going to happen and so did Dallas. "I'll go." Dallas said and he left heading back to the house as fast as he could. Red pulled another flashlight out of his bag and handed it to Angie, "Here take this and these forceps and start pulling those spines out of him leave those glochids alone till we get him to the house," with that he turned and started checking out Jack. Jack was in much worse shape than Scott; his arm was broken as were several of his ribs, but the worst of it was the huge bump on his head. Red was very worried about a concussion. ------- Dallas' arrival back at the house was the cause of a million questions, but he waved them off and grabbed Scott's truck and headed back to the creek. Dallas got as close as he dared with the truck, leaving the headlights trained on Red and Angie. Red worried about moving either man but the creek was still rising and they were going to have to do something quick. Red sent Dallas to look in Scott's truck for anything that could be used as a backboard. Finding some of the one inch thick corral lumber Scott had been using to make fence repairs, Dallas was able to cobble together something Red could live with. Hopefully Jack could too. It was over an hour later that Red, Dallas and Angie managed to get the bruised, battered, and bleeding Scott and Jack back to the ranch house. When they did get there it was nothing short of bedlam with more than one of the twelve Brazilian girls saying, "meu deus." All of the girls were concerned for Scott, after all he and Angie had been the ones to rescue them, but for Zara the pain was compounded. When Jack Rimes had interviewed Zara that morning something clicked for both of them. The interview had turned into a pleasant conversation between two lonely people getting to know each other. Now the man that hours earlier Zara had begun falling in love with was tied to four pieces of corral lumber fashioned into a back board; he looked like death warmed over. Maria set about assigning the girls to tasks; one of the first of those was to get Angie out of her wet clothes. Sebastiana and Frankie took that job to heart in spite of Angie's protests. Maria then asked Zara to go and get Red and Dallas a change of clothes from her room. It was the first and only request that was refused as Zara looked at Maria in anguish and begged, "Please let me stay with Jack." It was the first time that anyone realized that she had feelings for the Texas Ranger. Shortly Red and Dallas had Scott dumped into a bed with Angie and Maria getting his clothes off so that Red could examine him when he got through with the more badly injured Jack. Red handed a pair of heavy duty shears to Zara, "Start cutting his clothes off, including the boots." Zara went to work quickly but gently, all the while murmuring to Jack words that even to Red's linguistically challenged ears sounded like terms of affection. Red and Zara cut away Jack's clothes and Red started his examination. Jack's breathing was labored and after getting his shirt off the reason was fairly plain to see. It looked like at least three ribs on his left side were broken and his lung had collapsed. In a few minutes Red had a chest tube in and Jack's lung inflated. Jack's breathing immediately eased. Zara had by now positioned herself by Jack's head and was busying herself running her fingers through his hair and giving him small kisses on his face. Red's concern only deepened when Jack remained unconscious when he put in the chest tube. He finished checking Jack out and knew he had to get help here fast. What he didn't know was how they were going to get that help and get it in time. Moving to the room where Scott was lying Red did his examination. Scott was not in as bad a shape as Jack, but he was pretty sure Scott had a concussion. Other than that most of Scott's injuries were cuts, bruises and cactus spines. He did have a bad gash on the side of his head that he would have to stitch up, but first he had to get Jack to a trauma center. Red's call started things rolling. The problem was the storm. It had stalled out; right now it was just adding more water to already swollen creeks, gullies, and draws. It could be days before the ranch would accessible by a vehicle if the rain washed out the road, which left only a helicopter capable of reaching the ranch. ------- Del Rio Texas Red's call had interrupted the sleep of folks from Austin to Washington D.C. A Black Hawk helicopter belonging to one of Homeland Security's many groups sat on the tarmac at Laughlin Air Force Base. Onboard a flight surgeon and nurse waited for the pilot to be cleared for take off. It was the third time that night that they had loaded up and warmed up the helicopter; twice they'd had to stand down because of the weather. Flight surgeon Captain Amy Carson had talked to Dr. Demming and knew that the Texas Ranger was in bad shape. In trauma, doctors always talk about the golden hour, the Ranger's hour had started last night at eight p. m. It was now ten minutes after nine, his golden hour was over twelve hours old. The helicopter had a range of 315 nautical miles on internal fuel tanks and the ranch was over 200 miles one way as the crow flies. The problem was that 'as the crow flies' went through Mexican air space and that was always a complication. So they would be taking the long way to the ranch. In the end the helicopter had been equipped with two 230 gallon external tanks but with the head winds they would be stretching the fuel to the very limit and every minute that they sat there with the engines running they lost more of their margin of safety. The pilot called in once more for permission to take off. When it was not forth coming he started shutting down so the tanks could be topped off. "Damn it" Amy did not want to take a long ride to pick up a dead body. The fact that they had been up all night was adding to their stress. The ground crew came out and refueled the helicopter as another hour passed. Suddenly Capt. Carson's headset crackled, "We are clear. Radar says it's as good as it is going to get," the pilot said over the intercom. Capt. Carson looked around the inside of the Black Hawk wishing this was one of the UH-60Q MEDEVAC units. "Oh well," she said to herself, "maybe after this the powers that be would see how badly they needed one in this area." The blades on the helicopter were picking up speed and moments later they were airborne and westward bound ------- Zara had not left Jack's side. From the looks of her the next morning she hadn't slept either. When Red came in at six she looked at the doctor and shook her head negatively as a tear followed a well worn track down her face, "Can you stay here just a minute?" she asked in her heavily accented voice. Red nodded his head,"Sure take all the time you need." Zara rushed across the hall to the bathroom and in just a few minutes she returned to the chair where she had spent the night. Maria came in later and tried to convince her to go eat some breakfast but she refused to leave. Maria gave in and had Isabel take her a tray; Zara ate while she watched over Jack. In Scott's room it had been a long night as well. It was a full hour before he regained consciousness. At first he was confused and combative but Angie was able to calm him quickly by smothering him in kisses; this in spite of Red's objections. Maria seemed to be every where. Rafaela and Olivia, the two girls who had been raped still needed comforting, although they did seem to latch on to Scott's recovery. They had done for Scott and Angie pretty much the same thing Zara had done for Jack. The differences being Zara was obviously in love with Jack. Red watched as Scott slowly shook the cobwebs out of his head and returned to normal; so much so that by six a.m. that morning he was champing at the bit to go and take care of his chores. And if Red thought he was combative before, telling Scott he couldn't go do what he knew needed to be done was the cause of a major battle. In the end the solution was simple, Angie put her foot down. Sebastiana and Frankie went to take care of the chores as they had the previous afternoon when Scott had been gone with Jack and the JP. Dallas and James Dyers, the man from the Ft. Stockton funeral home had left the house at first light riding two of Scott's horses and leading four others with pack saddles on them, searching for the missing JP as well as the bodies of the three coyotes. They found the Yukon but none of the bodies were still tied to the top. They did find Justice of the Peace Don Grimes' body and they carefully loaded it on to one of the pack saddles and secured it. About a half a mile further down stream they found two of the coyotes' bodies, but as one of them was on the other side of the still raging creek they passed on recovering it until later. After riding two more miles downstream and not finding the third body they decided to go back upstream with their search, and sure enough five hundred yards up stream from the Yukon they found the body of the third coyote. They secured him on a horse and started back to the ranch house. It was a little before ten and the sound of a helicopter could be heard as it flew up the valley towards the ranch house. ------- Scott looked like he had tried to fight his way out of a sack of wild cats. There were very few places on his body that weren't scratched, scraped, cut, or bruised. The next morning when he got up to go to the bathroom he felt like he was a hundred years old. Angie helped him dress when it was clear there would be no keeping him in bed. By the time he had made it to the breakfast table Sebastiana and Frankie had already fed and taken care of the livestock. Once again he thought about hiring the girls, he would have to talk to Angie about that before he forgot, but right now he was filled with worry over his friend Jack. Zara had stayed by Jack's side all night, it was plain for anybody to see that the girl was madly in love and scared to death of losing that love. Scott, with Angie's help moved, to the east side of the porch to soak up some of the morning sun. That's where he was sitting when he heard the sound of a helicopter coming up the valley towards the ranch house. Ten minutes later the blades of the Black Hawk were coasting to a stop. Red had waited on the porch until the pilot had shut down the engines. He then walked out to meet the flight surgeon. He had talked to Capt. Carson several times during the night and he was anxious to put a face with the voice he had heard. Amy Carson knew of Dr. Demming, Red was famous on both sides of the river from Del Rio to El Paso. He had brought medical care to hundreds who lived in the remote areas. In many ways he was the kind of doctor that Amy wanted to be when she retired from the Air Force. They met half way between the helo and the house and Red started briefing her on his patients. Seeing Scott on the porch they went to him first. When it was clear that they would need Angie to get him to cooperate they drafted her and soon Scott was back undressed and unhappy, as the two doctors poked, prodded, and exchanged comments in Latin and doctoreze. For Scott the good news was that his concussion was a mild one and he showed every sign that he would heal quickly. Jack, on the other hand, was in bad shape. Capt. Carson had taken one look at him and ordered the flight nurse to start prepping him to be flown out. One of the things that Amy had noticed when she was examining Jack was the young Brazilian girl who never got very far away. When Amy stepped out of the room to talk to Red she asked, "What's the deal with the girl?" Red chuckled, "It appears that she and Jack fell in love yesterday. I hope that you will consider taking her. She'll be a lost puppy here without Jack." Amy knew it was against the rules but considering the state of her love life she was not about to sabotage anyone else's. When they walked back into the room, Amy looked at the girl, "Miss? What's your name?" Zara stood and walked towards the lady doctor, "My name is Zara Rodrigues." Amy smiled at her, trying to put her at ease but not succeeding, "Can you go with us and help to nurse him back to where he needs to be?" Zara's face absolutely lit up the whole room as she finished the last few steps towards Amy and wrapped her arms around her. "Yes! Oh Yes! Just tell me what to do," Zara said her voice choked with emotion as she began to cry. Amy held the young woman patting her on the back as she sobbed out her happiness and the tension from not knowing what would happen to her or her new love. Amy broke the embrace and turned to Angie "Can you help her get some clothes together so she can go with us?" Angie knew it was a very special thing the lady doctor was doing, "Sure, come on, Zara let's get ready to go." Fifteen minutes later Zara walked beside the gurney to which Jack was strapped, headed for the helicopter that would take her and Jack to a place where he could get better. She held his hand so he would know that she was there. Zara knew that Jack would get better; she simply would not allow any other thought. He would get well, they would marry and she would have his baby. It had all been worked out the first time they had laid eyes on each other and, although she was worried now, she knew it would be all right. She had seen it in Jack's eyes, it had to be true. In the helicopter Zara was shown where to sit and handed a headphone set. Amy made a point of making her feel welcome. From what she had seen this young lady might very well be the key to Jack making a full recovery. If Jack felt about her the way she felt about him he would be in a big hurry to get out and about. Scott watched as his friend was taken away. After they were away he looked at Angie, "You need to call Jake and tell him what happened." Angie looked at Scott thinking maybe he was hurt worse than Red thought, "Jake the bartender where I used to work? Why?" she asked. "Have you not noticed the tattoo on Jake's right wrist?" Scott quizzed. "The circle with the seven in it?" Angie watched as Scott nodded his head. "They were on the same SEAL team. They are closer than brothers; he'll want to know." Scott told her. Angie smiled at Scott, "I'll go see if Red will let me make a call." Angie left Scott sitting on the porch in the sun and went to find Red. After finding him and making the call she returned to find Scott fast asleep in the old wooden rocker. She sat down beside him and watched him sleep. ------- In Lubbock Jake was calling his boss, Don Grossman. As soon as Jake told him that he had a team member down Don was sending him on his way. He understood the bond of team members. As he hung up the phone he looked down at the cartoon character tattooed on his forearm and it reminded him, he needed to make a few phone calls himself. Thirty minutes later Jake had thrown the bag that he always kept packed on the floor board of his classic 1976 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ-40 and started down the long highway to Del Rio Texas to check on his team mate. That Jack was hurt was a concern; if Angie was right and he was in love, then that would be a curiosity. ------- Scott awoke to the gentle caress of Angie's hand, "Wake up sweetie we have some lunch ready." It took two tries for Scott to get up and when he did he really wanted to sit back down. The pain was unbelievable; it was also all over. If there was a single square inch of Scott's body that didn't hurt he couldn't find it. He walked towards the dining room at a snails pace stopping every few feet to take a deep breath. His forehead was beading up with sweat. Finally he stopped and collapsed into a chair in the hallway, he was not quite halfway to the dining room. Angie went to get Red. She had tears in her eyes, "He needs something for the pain Red. Please?" "You ready to stop hurting now?" Red looked at his stubborn patient. Scott had turned down the pain medication earlier that morning. Turning to Maria, "Go get that syringe I filled earlier, there's a prep pad, Band-Aid, and a tourniquet with it. Maria returned and gave everything to Red. Red rolled up Scott's sleeve and put the tourniquet on his arm and used the prep pad to clean the site. Red slipped the needle into Scott's vein and slowly began to inject the medicine. "What is that Red?" Scott asked, "It feels like the pain is just melting away." "It's called Buprenex. That Air Force doctor left it for you. She said it would take care of the pain without causing you to have that 'high' feeling that comes with the opiates." Red had finished injecting the medicine in and put the band aid on, "How do you feel now?" Scott smiled, "Let's go eat," Scott got up and started to the dining room. He was still moving slow but the pain relief was plain to see. And Red, seeing that, said, "Don't get the idea that you can waltz down to the barn and go to work." Red chuckled as he saw Scott's shoulders visibly slump at the news. After lunch Dallas left to see if the creek had run down enough that the last body could be recovered. It was and a little after three p. m. James Dyers left with four bodies in the back of his Suburban, with Dallas following him. Two hours later Dallas called Red to let him know that the roads had not washed out too badly and they could get out if they needed to. ------- Capt. Amy Carson looked at the results of the last set of tests that had been run. Things were looking up for the Texas Ranger. He had come to in the helicopter on the trip to Del Rio. Zara had been the first to notice Jack's return when he moved the hand she was holding. Amy had been watching the girl and suddenly her face lit up like a search light. She undid her seat belt and was on her knees kissing Jack's face and crying. He smiled and said, "I must have died. I'm seeing an angel." Zara was trying to shush him and ask him if he was hurting she kept saying, "It's all right; I take care of you now." Jack smiled, "That would be real nice, for a change." He faded in and out for the rest of the trip, but it looked a lot better for the Ranger. A lot better in more ways than one. ------- Chapter 13: Ghosts and Guests Three days after the accident Scott still felt like he had been rode hard and put up wet. And if having every muscle in his body feeling like it had been hammered on with a baseball bat wasn't bad enough, sitting around watching things get done was driving him plumb crazy. The first day after the accident the limiting factor had been the pain. Red's shots did a good job of relieving the pain but on the second day it felt like every muscle in his body was frozen. He had never been so stiff and sore and it didn't seem to be getting any better. The problem with that was that he had a date with the love of his life and a priest. If it hadn't have been for Sebastiana and Frankie doing the chores Scott would have been worried to death. The two women seemed to thrive on the ranch work. The more they did the more they laughed. By the second day of Scott's incapacitation the women were begging Scott to let them stay on the ranch and be his new hired hands. That decision would have to be made by Angie; it was one that Scott was just not comfortable with. Angie had watched the interplay between Scott, Frankie and Sebastiana. It was obvious that he couldn't treat them like 'one of the guys' simply because they weren't one of the guys. Scott just wasn't wired that way. The two women teased him unmercifully and Scott squirmed under their torment. Angie knew that they had an effect on his libido as she had had to relieve the pressure several times after their teasing. She might have been jealous of the two women if not for the fact that it was very plain that Scott was refusing every advance by the two. Then there was the day when Maria showed up with Sebastiana and Frankie in tow. All of the girls had made a real effort to learn English and with Maria helping them Frankie and Sebastiana had explained how they felt. Angie had been surprised to find out that Sebastiana and Frankie were lovers. They also loved her and Scott, but that love was like that of a brother and sister. They worried that Scott took some of their teasing as flirting and through Maria they explained how they could never betray the two people that they owed their lives to. Angie had to stop their talk in order to go get Scott so he could hear what they had to say. Thirty minutes later the Miles Ranch had its first female hired hands and Scott and Angie had two women who really cared for them working with them. News of Jack's recovery cheered up everyone at the ranch. He would need at least a month to heal. Jack wanted to spend that month at the Miles Ranch and he wanted Zara to be there with him. It only took a few calls and a hospital bed was brought to the ranch and set up in one of the guest rooms. Capt. Carson wanted to keep him a week but she surrendered after three days. Monday morning Jack and Zara were loaded on to the same helicopter that had brought them to Del Rio. Now it took them back to a place that would always be magic for the two of them. The Miles Ranch would always be the place where Jack and Zara first met. Jake Dingle had, for some reason, decided to stay in Del Rio till Friday. He would then travel to the Miles Ranch to see Scott and Angie get married and by a strange coincidence he would be bringing a date. As the week played out preparations for the wedding were in full swing. Scott's Dad had made panels that turned the shearing shed into a twenty five foot by forty foot screened in pavilion. With a bundle of corral lumber, a bunch of metal sawhorse brackets and some two by fours, Red and the girls, with Scott's supervision, built long tables. Scott's mother had several very large pots. On Friday they would be filled with pinto beans. Stan had sent some of his Ag students out to the Miles Ranch with the big trailer mounted barbeque. So a place to cook and a place to eat were ready. The next big chore was one Scott had been dreading; crawling up on Dunnie so he, Angie, Sebastiana, and Frankie could go gather the livestock that they were going to kill for the barbeque. Among the sheep and goats on the Miles ranch were two meat breeds. Dorpers are a hardy sheep breed developed in South Africa and Scott's dad thought that they would be the future for mutton production in the US. They had done OK but they hadn't really taken off like the Boer goats had. Boers were to the goat industry what Dorpers were to the sheep industry and, like the Dorper, the Boer was developed in South Africa and therefore they handled the arid heat of West Texas very easily. Scott and his three lady wranglers took off at first light to find and bring back a few head. By late afternoon they had rounded up enough that they could choose the ones they wanted to sacrifice for the wedding feast. For Scott it had been a test of sorts: first to see how badly it hurt to sit a horse and second to see how his future wife and his two new hands did handling stock. One of the first things the two new hands had to learn was how to handle a gun, specifically his dad's and uncle's old 45 long Colts. Since Frankie was the smaller of the two she got his dad's gun and holster and Sebastiana got his uncle's — after the belt was modified to fit her much smaller waist. Scott's uncle had been a big fan of eating and his fifty inch waist had showed his passion; a passion that had killed him in the end. The girls didn't have to be told why the guns were needed but Scott thought they would get a kick when they saw the other reason to carry a pistol when gathering sheep and goats. They rode to the end of the pasture where the Dorps and Boers were kept then spread out and started working their way back to the house. As they rode into a small valley they found most of the Dorps and a good many of the Boers. The problem was that the Boers were up near the rim of the Mesa that formed the wall of the valley. Scott rode up as high as he could get with Dunnie then pulled out his pistol and fired a round into the rocks behind the Boers. Just like they knew what they were supposed to be doing they started running along the trail at the top of the mesa. Scott eased them along only having to shoot up behind them a couple of times to prod them along. When they reached the end of the trail they started down the hill and joined with the Dorps that Angie and the girls had been moving along. With Sebastiana and Frankie on one flank, the fence that ended at the ranch house making the other flank and Scott and Angie pushing them they drove the mixed herd of sheep and goats to the corrals at the ranch house. Just as they were getting up to the corrals one of the Boers decided to make a break for it. Scott watched in awe as Frankie spurred her horse after the escaping goat while Sebastiana turned her horse to face the herd and used her mount to keep the rest from following. When he looked up at Frankie she was twirling something above her head then just as suddenly she released it. The runaway goat went crashing to the ground as Frankie rode up, stepped off her horse and finished tying the front legs of the goat. She then hefted the goat up on the neck of her horse and rode back to where they had stopped the herd, and were waiting on her. She had a smile that made Scott feel warm all over and when he looked over to Angie she was smiling as well. The rest of the drive was uneventful and after Scott had closed the gate on the herd he had to ask what it was Frankie had used on the runaway. The day that Angie and Scott had told them they could stay and work on the ranch they had asked for some rawhide. Scott had given it to them and had not thought any more about it. He was reminded of it when he asked Frankie what she had thrown, using hand gestures mimicking what he'd see her do, and the girls showed him the bolos they had made. Scott was duly impressed. He pointed to the bolos and asked "Vaca? Cow?" The girls laughed and said, "Yes, cow, no problem." He had to laugh, just about everything that he asked the girls was 'Yes, no problem.' "Come on," he told them, "let's go catch a steer." He had a particular steer in mind. In fact it was one he had in the house pasture just for putting in the freezer. So the four of them set off to catch the steer before supper. Scott pointed to Angie then said to the girls, "Watch this." Turning to Angie he asked, "Head or Heel?" Angie got a thousand megawatt smile and said, "Heel." Scott pointed out a black bald face steer then the two of them spurred their horses into a run after the steer. It didn't take long for the steer to figure out his number was up and he took off. Scott swung an easy loop catching the short horns on the steer, then he dallied off and started turning the steer, setting him up for Angie. Angie had dropped her reins on to her horse's neck and used her knees to guide her mount into turning after the steer. She threw the loop and let it wrap around the steer's back legs. When she saw she had made the throw she jerked the slack out of the rope and dallied off, stretching the steer's legs straight out behind him and stopping him. Looking over at Sebastiana and Frankie, Scott saw the same smile he had had earlier when Frankie had caught the runaway. Turning to Angie he said, "I think we need to enter the roping in San Angelo this year." Angie's response? She just glowed! Scott thought he might have caught a glimpse of a tear but he was having a kind of hard time seeing as well. Angie let her rope go slack and the steer shook off the loop. Scott called to her, "Throw a loop on his horns; we'll guide him back to the house." Angie roped the steer, dallied off, making sure her fingers didn't get between the rope and the saddle horn and then they started on the short trip back to the house. The steer must have had an idea what was in store for him as he fought all the way back to the house. When they finally got him there they put him in a corral by himself. There he would wait till Friday when he and the goats and sheep they had picked out would be slaughtered for the big day. It had been a long hard day at a pretty fast pace and when Scott finally did slow down he hurt, and bad. He and Angie grabbed a couple of towels and headed to the solar showers. The solar showers were something that Scott had put together when he spotted an oilfield chemical salesman with a trailer load of black plastic barrels that would each held fifty five gallons of water. Scott was able to talk the man out of ten of the barrels. When Scott explained to Stan what he wanted to do Stan volunteered his Ag students help in building an overhead rack that would hold the barrels so that gravity would supply the water pressure. In the end six of the barrels were mounted on a frame made out of two and a half inch pipe. The six barrels held over 300 gallons of hot water — when it was sunny, of course. And when wasn't it sunny in West Texas? Scott and Angie had just turned the water on when Sebastiana and Frankie came to join them. Sebastiana smiled timidly at Angie and said, "Is okay?" Angie was watching Scott closely when she replied, "Yes, come on." She motioned the girls into the shower. It was not like it was crowded or anything. There were three shower heads for the eight foot square shower area. Scott's erection, brought on by Angie as soon as they were in the shower, eased under the force of his embarrassment, but when Sebastiana and Frankie brought their naked bodies into sight it returned with a vengeance. It looked like Scott was going to have a hard time overcoming his shyness then Angie got that funny little look on her face and the corner of her mouth got that little wrinkle in it. Scott had seen it before over the last two weeks and he quickly played those times over in his mind. It hit him like a ton of bricks, but before he could open his mouth to say anything Angie called the girls over. "Come on," she said, "let's clean him up good." Frankie squealed with delight, grabbed the big luffa and soaped it up; Sebastiana took the shampoo and started on Scott's hair. They stayed till the last drop of water ran out of the six barrels. There was nothing really sexual about it but at the same time the four of them found that they were forming a bond. Where that would lead, no one knew or cared. Thursday finally came around, bringing with it some of the wedding guests. Sara and Josh, Angie's best friend and her boyfriend, were taking Friday as a Road Scholar day. were also bringing down Mrs. Logan, the neighbor lady that had befriended Angie, and Sandra Smith, her daughter. It seemed like there were a million things left to do, Angie just hoped that they would all be done. Scott, Sebastiana, and Frankie had left right after breakfast with instructions not to look for them. All they would tell Angie was that is was a surprise and she would find out Saturday. Jack Rimes was enjoying being out of the hospital. For one thing the food was better. Jack and Zara spent most of their waking hours talking, and what they had found out was that they were very much in love. Thursday morning Jack ventured out of the bed for the first time. Zara helped him walk to the front porch where the two of them sat enjoying the warm spring morning. They were talking to Tina when Jack caught the reflection of a windshield on the hill above the house. Jack smiled at Tina and said, "Tina, run tell Angie that someone is coming." Tina left at her normal speed, which meant she was returning only a minute or so later. Angie walked out on the porch, "Jack, did you see someone?" "Sunlight reflecting off a windshield, there on the second hill on the road coming in, who were you expecting?" Jack asked. "Well," Angie started, "Sara and Josh, with Mrs. Logan and her daughter, but they weren't going to leave Lubbock till seven AM, that can't be them." Jack figured it was someone who was supposed to be coming down that road but just to be safe he sent Zara after his pistol and binoculars. Angie stepped back into the house and moved her Ruger mini 14 to stand right by the door. It was several minutes later that they saw a vehicle top the hill to descend into the valley. Jack was watching through the binoculars and recognized the bright yellow Landcruiser. "It's Jake!" "Jake Dingle?" Angie exclaimed, "I thought you said he was staying in Del Rio till Friday. Jack shrugged his shoulders, a move he immediately regretted as the pain from the broken ribs almost made him pass out. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and his breath got very short. Zara scolded him, not that the ribs hadn't already extracted a steep penalty. Tina showed up with a syringe full of medicine which Jack gladly accepted. They watched as Jake's car came through the valley to the house. Jake pulled up to the house and got out. Angie was off the porch and out the front gate in a flash. "Jake!" she squealed, "I'm so glad you're here." Jake grabbed Angie by the waist and lifted her up above his head, "I wouldn't miss this for nothing, little bit." He brought Angie back down to the ground but gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Come here I want you to meet someone." Angie looked at the woman getting out of the other side of Jake's vehicle. "Dr. Carson, it's good to have you back," Angie called out. Angie walked over to the doctor and gave her a hug. "Rumor has it that you and that gorilla over there," Angie turned and pointed at Jake, "have fallen for each other." Angie grinned as Jake's face turned bright red. Angie turned to Amy Carson, "You will be staying till the wedding won't you?" Jake spoke up, "I have my camping gear in here if you don't have enough room." "Nonsense," Angie giggled, "I'm not going to let you sleep in the house, but I'm sure not going to let you sleep in the yard. Come on, there's a spare bedroom in the Yellow house." Angie started down the walk to the Yellow House then stopped and turned back to Jake and Amy, "Were you two going to want separate rooms?" Jake was still blushing and apparently was having a hard time finding his tongue so Amy spoke up for him, laughing, "No, one bed is fine, we can share," then winking at Angie she continued, "I have already found out he is too cheap to get a motel." Jack had been sitting on the porch with a huge smile on his face, straining to keep from laughing, but the effect on Jake from the comment Amy made had everyone laughing. Well, everyone but Jake and he looked like he wanted to get back in his car and leave ... Instead he grabbed the bags and walked along behind Angie and Amy looking a lot like a whipped puppy. Lunch was running late and as it worked out that was a good thing. Sara and Josh showed up a little after one PM. Angie ushered them into the dining room table and told Tina to call Scott and the girls in to lunch. Tina couldn't hold the iron bar that the adults used to ring the triangle that hung from the summer kitchen porch, in fact she couldn't even reach it. But she enjoyed ringing the bell so much that a small step ladder had been set up for her to climb and a hammer hung in place of the iron bar. Tina climbed the ladder and gave the triangle a good working over. Down at the hay barn Sebastiana, Frankie and Scott heard the dinner bell and went to work getting the black polish off their hands so they wouldn't give away their secret. For the last week the three of them had taken every spare minute to clean and polish the hand made carriage and its harness that one of his forefathers had brought from England. Every year the Miles men had always carefully maintained all of the horse drawn vehicles. This year the carriage was getting special treatment but then it was going to have a special task come Saturday. The polish took time to get off so the three of them had to run to keep from being late for lunch. Scott was surprised to see Jake and the Air Force doctor sitting at the table. Jake on the other hand saw something he didn't like in how Scott and the two women he came in with were acting. He looked to Angie and saw no concern. If Scott was doing Angie wrong, Jake felt compelled to straighten him out. His feelings weren't helped when Angie asked what Scott and the girls had been doing and he wouldn't tell her. What Jake didn't know was that this had become a game that Angie had been playing with Scott and the girls. She'd ask and they would refuse to answer, but it was all in fun; Jake wasn't having fun. Lunch was lively. Scott was introduced to Mrs. Logan and her daughter Sandra. After lunch Scott, Sebastiana, and Frankie were heading back to the hay barn to finish up on the carriage when Jake stopped them and demanded to know what was going on. Angie and Jack had both seen Jake storm out and had followed; Angie going straight to Scott's side. Scott started to explain when Angie reached up and touched his lips. "Jake, you are way out of line here." Angie was not smiling, "I know you think you are protecting me but you're not, you're meddling. They are putting together a surprise for my wedding and I trust Scott, Sebastiana, and Frankie without question." Angie gave Jake a withering look, one that Jake found very uncomfortable. "Now," Angie said, "apologize to Scott and go with him and see what the surprise is but don't you dare tell a soul." Jack Rimes had to laugh. Amy was standing right next to him and couldn't for the life of her see anything funny, "What's so funny?" "Jake. I used to think he wasn't afraid of anything alive, but I just watched a mere slip of a girl completely whip him." Jack was smiling, "He must think a lot of her." Amy could smile now, "Yea, on the way down here the way he was talking about her you'd have thought she was his daughter." Jack looked around to see who all was around him, "You know about her Dad don't you?" A sad look passed over Amy, "Yes, Jake told me." Amy then looked Jack up and down, "How are you feeling?" "Like I need to go lie down," Jack answered and as soon as he had said it Zara was at his side helping him to his bed. Amy followed thinking she would check him out while she was there. Amy said, "Well go lie down but don't go to sleep. I'm going to go get my bag and come check and see how you are doing." Amy took the flagstone walk to the Yellow house and picked up her med bag. Stan didn't have too much trouble getting time off to help with Scott's wedding. The Sanderson schools had a library that was the envy of some colleges and the only reason for that was the Miles family. Stan had for years teased Scott about his love affair with book stores but the taunts were very hollow and Stan only had to look at the book shelves in his own office to be reminded of just how hollow. Stan, and for the most part all of his students, would be at the Miles ranch setting up and getting things ready for Saturday. It was the school's way of giving back to someone who gave so much to the school. Sherry White walked into Stan's office leading the blind student Johnny Diaz. Sherry was a senior and was planning on becoming a teacher. For the last two years she had been the student aid that helped Johnny's teacher. She also loved the little boy like a brother. "Mr. Willus, the guys have the chairs loaded in the trailer." Stan turned to face the student speaking to him, "Thanks Sherry, when are you and Johnny taking them out?" Sherry smiled, Mr. Willus was her favourite teacher, and responded, "Well, I'm spending the night at Johnny's house so I don't have to drive the fifty miles to the ranch and back." Sherry lived on a ranch 25 miles west of Sanderson. "Then we'll leave sometime after lunch tomorrow. That will leave enough time to set the chairs up, won't it?" Stan nodded his head, "Yeah, that will give us plenty of time to dust off the chairs and set them up. Have you got your sleeping bags and change of clothes in?" "Yes sir," Sherry started, "if you hear of anyone that wants a ride out let them know when we are going to leave." Sherry turned to leave, "I need to get Johnny home." Stan pulled out the list of things he was responsible for and checked off the chairs. Then he stood and walked out of his office and got into his pick up headed to get Silvia then on to the Miles ranch. When Stan and Silvia got to the ranch the first thing that Stan had to do was help Scott and some of the Ag boys slaughter the animals that would furnish the meat for the after-wedding feast. The Miles ranch had always slaughtered all of the meat they used. To do that they had long ago built a slaughter and a smoke house. One of the things that Stan taught the young men and women that went through his Ag class was how to kill and process meat animals, so today class was in session. By the time class was over the two solar powered freezers were full and the meat for Saturday was packed in ice chests until tomorrow when the Ag students would start cooking. By Friday evening all the guests who would be staying the night had arrived and the Yellow house and the Blue house were full to overflowing. Tom Master, the man who would perform the wedding had almost filled the Blue house's three bedrooms with his crew. There were his wife Monica and his daughter Tia and Tia had brought her new friends Bill Carter and his wife Mari. Bill, as it turned out, had been a friend of Scott's Dad years ago and when Scott saw him he was almost moved to tears. The two men had embraced each other as best they could as Bill was for the most part confined to a wheel chair. Down at the bunk house the eleven Brazilian girls made room for Sherry White and Johnny Diaz. Ann and Jan Berry, the other two girl Ag students, had brought an air mattress so they set it up in the corner of the bunk house. This left Johnny the only boy in a room of fourteen girls. The other male Ag students playfully teased Johnny about his situation to which he replied, "Be nice to me and I'll tell you about every thing I see." One of the boys had got very excited about that until he realized Johnny's condition. He went from an excited smile to an embarrassed frown. Johnny leaned over and whispered something to Sherry, "Yes," she said, "He's frowning Johnny, you got him." Johnny turned to the direction where he had last heard the boy, "Sorry, but I like to tease, too." For Sherry it had been a glimpse into a side of Johnny that she had never seen before. He wasn't happy with his blindness but he was accepting of it enough that he could tease someone about it. That night the Ag students and the Brazilian girls played cards and board games all night long as they kept watch on the meat that was slow cooking on the barbeques outside. In the morning they would have to make the potato salad and coleslaw since there wasn't enough room to refrigerate it. Then they would be ready to feed all of the wedding guests. At the main ranch house a small party was going on. They had gathered for supper and Scott smiled as he put all of the extra leaves into the dinning room table. His mother would have been tickled to death to have her dining room so full of happy people. There were eight couples: Scott and Angie, Stan and Silvia, Red and Maria, Jack and Zara, Jake and Amy, Josh and Sara, Tom and Monica and Bill and Mari. Also at the table were Mrs. Logan, Sandra Smith, Tia Masters, and little Tina. It was the fullest that Scott could ever remember and as he looked at the people seated around that table he realized he was a very rich man. He reached over and took Angie's hand. He squeezed her hand slightly then they both stood as Scott started to speak, "I'd like to thank you all for being here," he looked into Angie's eyes and she continued, "All of you are our friends, Some of you were Scott's friends and some of you were my friends, now you are our friends. It means so much to us for you to be here to share this time with us." Angie looked to Scott and he finished, "Welcome to the Bar None, I hope you enjoy your time here. Tomorrow after the wedding Angie and I will be leaving. The rest of you may do what you wish but the two of us will be gone for a week or so." Scott paused for a second then continued, "Just before, as I looked around this table tonight, I realized that I am a very rich man, rich in friends. My marriage to Angie only adds to this wealth," Scott raised his glass, "To friends!" The table echoed, "To friends." Scott and Angie sat back down. Red looked around the table then stood. Red looked at the couples sitting around the table, he raised his glass, "To love," Red paused for a second and thought about what the words he was about to speak meant to him, "for without it where would we be." Echoes of, "To love", were heard around the table. After that the group settled down to a lively meal. Afterwards four of the Brazilian girls took over and cleaned up the dining room and kitchen while the group adjourned to the courtyard to enjoy the rest of the evening. The group was about to break up and Zara was ready to take Jack by the arm and lead him to bed in spite of his protests that he was feeling fine. Before they had left Amy turned to Red, "That's how she was in the hospital. It's like she has a sixth sense that tells her how he really feels." Red nodded his head, "Yes, but if you think those two are connected you should watch those two." Red pointed to Scott and Angie, "You didn't hear how she found them that night did you?" Amy shook her head, "Never thought about it, but no I didn't hear. How did she find them?" Red started the story of that night and Jack asked Zara to wait as he wanted to hear the story. After Red had finished Amy sat open mouthed, "That's unbelievable." She looked around realizing just how many people had witnessed the miracle. Looking at Scott she asked, "How do you explain that?" Scott smiled, "We are all subject to the calls of the Gods and Goddesses. The hard part is keeping your heart prepared and open to those calls." Angie smiled and pulled Scott closer, "He's part of me now. It was easy to tell when he was in danger. It felt like part of me was dying." Zara spoke up, "Yes that is what I felt. It was like a hole was opening in my soul, then on the helicopter I felt the hole close up. That's when I saw that he was coming to." The only thing that Amy could think of was that she wanted this connection herself. She wondered if it had something to do with this place. She looked around. It didn't seem to be anything special, but for some reason it was like she could feel love here. Whatever the reason, because of the events here at this ranch she had finally met someone; someone she was very much in love with. After Jack and Zara had left, Hattie, Mrs. Logan, walked over to Angie. She hugged her and kissed her on the forehead as though Angie were her own child. She told Angie good night and then she and her daughter went to bed. The group broke up with Scott and Angie being the last to leave the courtyard. For a few minutes they just held each other there in the star light. "I love you Angie. I love you more than life itself." Angie squeezed Scott holding on to him as though her life depended on it, "I love you too Scott. You have filled up the hole that I had in my heart. I'll never be whole without you." They kissed, there in the starlight streaming through the French doors. As they kissed they exchanged bits of each other's souls. Their love was strong; strong enough to take them anywhere they wanted to go, strong enough to overcome the dangers that lay ahead of them. Tomorrow they would be joined, tomorrow the last pieces would come together, tomorrow they would be one soul in two bodies. Saturday morning broke with the sounds of birds singing and the smells of wood smoke and barbeque. Scott awoke to the growling of his stomach. Since the accident, his first moves in the morning were very slow. It wasn't hard to tell that he had overdone it the last two days and right now his body was lodging a very vocal protest. Angie had gotten up earlier and returned with Red who looked at Scott with a frown, "I told you yesterday to slow down." "I know, I know, I don't suppose you have one of those shots do you?" Scott asked. "What? You don't want to just force your way through the pain?" Red was smiling. "Yes, I have a shot for you; two actually." Red took Scott's arm and swabbed a spot on his bicep. Taking the first syringe he injected the white liquid into the muscle of Scott's arm. When he had finished with that injection he took and swabbed another place on Scott's arm and gave him the clear liquid Scott had come to know for its magical way of melting the pain from his body. "There," Red said, "it will take a little longer to feel the effects but that should take care of the pain. The other shot was an antibiotic; that one place on your side is not healing like it should and I don't want it to get infected so I'm putting you back on some pills that will make sure you don't have an infection on your honeymoon." Red got up and left the room. Angie had brought Scott a cup of tea and they sat talking quietly as they waited for the pain shot to take hold. In a few minutes they would separate to get ready for the wedding. They kissed one last time before they parted. Stan had sent seven of the boys to go and hold the push gates open so that there was no danger in any of the guests getting their cars damaged. The guests slowly filed in and were shown to the chairs in the grove where the wedding was to be held. Samantha Miller had left the Café in the hands of Cookie and her niece. Sam was so happy today she refused to even worry about it. She found Angie with Sara helping her getting dressed. They chatted briefly before Sam left to find Scott. Scott was dressed as were Sebastiana and Frankie. With Maria's help they had taken two of Scott's Dad's suits and made a uniform reminiscent of Victorian England. Sebastiana would be the driver and Frankie the footman, or in this case, the footgirl. Maria put the finishing touches on the uniforms then turned to Scott, "You need to get! Is the carriage ready?" "Yes, it's waiting on the girls to bring it around. I just wish I could see the look on her face when she sees it for the first time. She has never seen that carriage before," Scott said. "Don't worry," Maria started, "I recruited Josh to video tape her as she comes out of the house." Scott smiled, pulled Maria into a hug, and kissed her on the cheek, "You are the greatest." Scott left, headed for the Grove, and Sebastiana and Frankie left to move the carriage into position. At the Grove the chairs had been set up in rows. Scott at the last minute asked that four chairs be left empty. Two on the left side of the aisle and two on the right; Stan knew at once that those chairs were for the parents who couldn't be there. Scott was standing at the front chatting with Tom Masters when Sam found him. "Scott, I am so happy for you. I knew the minute I met Angie that she was the one. You have always been like a brother to me, now finally after all these years I am getting a sister." Sam kissed Scott, a sisterly kiss, a kiss between friends. Anyone who looked saw the tears forming in her eyes, but they were tears of happiness. It was time and Angie was ready, well ready except for the long walk to the Grove. Sara smiled at Angie, "It's time. In fact if we don't hurry we are going to be late." Sara opened the door and let her friend lead the way. She had been let in on the surprise at the last minute so that she could make sure Angie went out the front door rather than the one in the kitchen. "Go out the front. I'm afraid you'll get food on that white dress if you go through the kitchen," Sara said, proud of herself, thinking she hadn't sounded as excited as she felt. Angie walked out the front door of the ranch house to see two horses pulling something coming into view. When she saw the carriage her heart almost stopped. When carriage stopped at the end of the walk just outside the gate, Frankie got off the back of it and put down a small step and waited for Angie with a smile brighter than a thousand suns. Angie walked up to the carriage, Frankie took her hand and helped her into her seat, then she helped Sara to hers. Frankie picked up the step and took her place on the back of the carriage. Sebastiana turned around smiling at Angie and checking on Frankie at the same time. "Are you ready my lady?" Sebastiana asked, her accent erased by the hours of practice she had put in on that very question. Angie felt like a queen. She was fighting back tears, "I'm going to whip that Scott. He is going to make me ruin my make up." Then looking at Sebastiana she said in her best attempt at a British accent, "Yes driver, to the Grove and do keep the dust down." Sebastiana smiled broadly and replied, "Sure, no problem." She turned and with a practiced hand flicked the reins and set the two horses on their way. She was so overwhelmed by the carriage that she had not even noticed that Josh had been videotaping the whole thing. He hopped up on the back of the carriage beside Frankie and rode with them to the Grove. Scott saw the carriage coming and the change on his face caused every head to turn to see what he was looking at. That caused a collective sigh and several comments. The carriage circled around and stopped. Frankie was at the side of the carriage in a flash with the step and helping Angie to descend from the carriage. Red was standing waiting. Angie had asked him if he would walk her down the aisle and give her away. It had been a request that had reduced Red's gruff exterior to tears. Even now he couldn't put into words how honored he had been by her asking. When they had practiced yesterday he had answered the question 'Who gives this woman away?' with "A friend of the family." As Red walked down the aisle with Angie on his arm it came to him that it was not his right to give her away and just a quickly the answer came to him. They stopped on the marks where he was to deliver his answer. Tom Masters stood before him in his white robe, "Who gives this woman?" Red turned and looked at the two empty chairs on the bride's side. He could almost see them sitting there so proud of their little girl, so sad that they were not there. Red answered, "Dan and Merilynn Bell." Red kissed Angie on the cheek and saw the tear fall from her eye before he turned and went to sit in the place that Maria had saved for him. Scott had no idea that Red was going to say what he said but when he looked at the two empty chairs Scott did too, and there were Dan and Merilynn just as they had been in his dream. He turned to look at the two chairs behind him and sure enough, there sat his Mom and Dad. He felt his heart swell and the tears fall, he took Angie's hand in his and said as quietly as he could, "look!" Angie smiled and quietly responded, "I know." The ceremony went along as planned save for Red's ad lib and soon it was time for Scott to kiss his bride. Scott lifted the veil to reveal her tear stained face and for the first time the people in the audience could see her tears as well. Scott looked on the face that had come to mean so much to him, "I love you my little Hummingbird," he then kissed her. As Tom introduced them as Husband and Wife to those in attendance they turned. Angie blew a kiss to the two chairs where her parents sat as Scott bowed his head to them. Angie turned and blew a kiss to the chairs where Scott's parents sat as Scott mouthed, 'I love you, Mom and Dad.' Scott took Angie's hand and they started down the aisle together. At the end was Frankie with a smile brighter than day, waiting for them. Frankie and Scott helped Angie into the carriage. Sebastiana turned to Scott, "Ready Boss?" "To the house and don't spare the horses," Scott laughed. "No Problem!" Sebastiana and Frankie chorused. The End? No Siree! This is the Beginning! Thanks Ian and for helping me make this happen. And a special thank you to Tendertouch for taking the time and effort to go back through and reedit this version ------- The End ------- Posted: 2005-11-22 Last Modified: 2010-09-04 / 04:22:35 am ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------