Randee felt as if she were running in slow motion toward the vibrations of Ceil’s screams. One minute she’d been lost in the throes of passion, the next in the arms of terror. What was happening?
She reached Ceil in a matter of seconds. The older woman’s back was turned, and Randee could see she was trying to pull something out from under the front-end loader.
“Oh, my God. Rex!”
“It fell on him! It fell on him!”
Chase appeared behind her. Pushing past Randee, he jumped onto the tractor and pushed the control lever. Nothing happened. “The damn thing won’t budge. We’re going to have to pull him out.”
Randee raced to the back of her truck and grabbed her handyman jack. She returned as fast as she could, shoving the jack under the loader full of manure, and Chase helped her position it.
Dear God, please don’t let him be dead, Randee prayed over and over again. Adrenaline flowed through her veins as she pumped the handle. Together she and Chase inched the half-ton of weight from Rex’s body.
“Ceil,” Randee yelled, gasping for air. “Go get the stretcher. It’s in the red shed. And get the Bronco over here. We’ve got to get him to the hospital.” She refused to think it might be too late.
Ceil ran off to do as she was told, and Chase and Randee raised the bucket almost two feet by the time she returned. Grabbing the stretcher, Randee slid it under the bucket next to Rex. A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth and his eyes were shut.
Randee’s first-aid training had always been helpful on the ranch, but this was beyond her expertise. She leaned close to his face, talking to him in as calm a voice as she could muster. “Rex, can you hear me?” Leaning her head next to his lips, she listened. “He’s breathing,” she announced with a huge lump in her throat. She watched his chest as it rose and fell and added, “Thank God.”
Behind her, Ceil began to cry.
Randee gently touched her uncle’s eyelids, raising them to check if the pupils were equal. They were, which meant no apparent concussion. Her hands traveled the length of his slim body, checking for injuries and bleeding.
She gasped upon reaching the right thigh. His leg was bent up underneath him in an awkward position. There was no doubt it was badly broken.
“Rex, can you hear me? REX, DO YOU HEAR ME? UNCLE REX!” She slid her hand into his. “Squeeze. Oh come on, Rex, squeeze my hand.”
There came no response to her questions or commands.
“Ceil, go call an ambulance. He’s got a broken leg and I don’t dare move him. Tell them to hurry!”
Chase handed Randee two wool blankets. She covered her uncle, trying not to move his leg in the process.
“Now for the hard part,” Chase said.
Hard part? Randee couldn’t imagine anything harder than finding Rex like this. “What’s that?”
“Waiting.”
Chase was right. Although the ambulance arrived in record time—they took only fifteen minutes to drive the twelve miles from Ennis—the wait seemed like ten years to Randee. Throughout, Rex’s condition didn’t change.
***
The three EMTs seemed to know Rex and were anxious to do everything they could for him. Working carefully and quietly, they loaded him onto their stretcher. He started coming around just as they did, and Randee and Ceil crawled into the ambulance right behind him. Now, however, all they could do was wait. The emergency was clearly out of their hands.
Chase watched the ambulance fly off down the drive. He wanted to follow immediately, but he needed to take care of a couple of things first. First: secure the house and make sure the barn doors were closed and locked.
As he sped toward the hospital a short time later, Chase said out loud, “You better not die, you old bastard.” He knew he had to ask Ceil more about the accident too. Was the engine running? What had Rex said was wrong with the loader—and why was he under the bucket in the first place?
He met Randee at the Madison Valley Hospital. “How is he?” he asked.
“Going to be okay,” she said with a tired smile. “His right leg got it the worst. The femur is broken, but he was lucky the femoral artery wasn’t touched, so it’s not nearly as serious as it could have been. He must have hit his head on the ground, that’s why he was unconscious, but there’s no sign of head trauma. The doctor said he’s got a couple of cracked ribs, but unbelievably the damage missed everything vital. He also has a broken right arm. They’re doing surgery right now on his leg. He should be out in about an hour.”
For the first time since Ceil’s scream, Randee and Chase had a minute to themselves. Looking down, Chase took her in his arms and held her close. It felt so good to be here with her. So right.
Randee leaned her head back and looked up at him. Chase could see a surprised smile light up her face.
“What?” he questioned.
She started to laugh. “I didn’t ever finish cutting your hair.”
“Well, my Green-Eyed Lady, you can damn well bet I’m going to make you finish. I’ve never enjoyed a haircut more in my life!”
They saw Ceil walking toward them, coming from the nursing station. The strain of the accident was evident in the dark circles gathered around her eyes, and when she arrived the older woman said, “It will be at least two hours before we can see him.”
Recognizing the state she was in, Chase put his arm around her sagging shoulders. “Come on, Ceil, let’s grab some coffee. We promise we’ll have you back before he’s even awake.”
The three traveled in silence the few blocks to Main Street and the Ennis café. As soon as their coffee was ordered, the conversation turned to Rex’s accident, and several of the restaurant’s customers stopped by to ask about it. News traveled fast in this small town, and Rex was both a popular and well-respected man. The time flew by.
“Was this an accident, or was someone trying to kill one of us?” Randee questioned. “Chase, will you take a look at the loader first thing in the morning?”
He nodded wearily, then Chase noticed Ceil nervously glancing at her watch. “I think we’d better get back to the hospital,” he said. “I remember my promise.” He threw down a twenty and they all headed to the door.
“Good night, Betty,” Ceil called to her friend behind the counter.
“You guys take care. And give Rex my love,” Betty replied.
Randee’s uncle was just being wheeled to his room as they returned. He slept peacefully, but Chase thought he looked like hell. His right arm was in a cast to the shoulder, his stomach wrapped with a band, and his right leg was covered in a cast from his toes to his hip. Chase was livid, seeing Rex in such a sorry condition. He had to figure out what happened.
When Ceil and Randee sat in Rex’s tiny room watching him sleep, instead of sitting on the plastic couch in the waiting room, Chase said to the ladies, “I’m going back to the ranch.” He knew he had chores to do.
Every animal on the ranch seemed grumpy about getting supper so late. As he finished, Chase gave the loader a wary look. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see much.
Arriving back at the hospital at two a.m., Chase was greeted by Randee who told him Rex was awake. He was still groggy, however, so after talking to the man for a few minutes they decided to go home, get some rest, and come back later. Although Ceil was determined to go to her own home, Randee insisted she stay at Triple Creek. She was surely suspicious about Rex’s accident as well.
As they walked through the kitchen door, Chase heard Randee give a big sigh. Behind her, Ceil did the same. Trudging up the stairs toward the guestroom, the older woman said, “Damn. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep.”
Chase had an idea. “How about a hot buttered rum to help you sleep? You go on, I’ll bring it up to you in a couple of minutes,” he told her when she paused on the stair.
“Thanks, sweetie. That’s probably a good idea.” Ceil creaked up the last few steps.
When he got to her room a little bit later, Chase tapped on the half-closed door. There was no answer, so he gently pushed it open. There she was, boots off but still in all her clothes, asleep on the bed. He quietly set the drink on the nightstand, pulled the remaining coat sleeve from her arm, tenderly lifted her legs onto the bed, and slid a pillow under her head. He dimmed the light in the corner in case she woke up; he didn’t want her disoriented in a blacked-out room. Then he kissed his fingertips and lightly touched her cheek.
“God love you. You are one tough old broad. You rest, we got it from here,” he added as he pulled a blanket up over her.
He went back downstairs, and he said nothing as he fixed some hot cocoa for himself and Randee, who sat staring into the cold fire. Handing her a mug, Chase sat down in the leather chair opposite her.
She turned her body and looked straight at him. “So, give it to me straight. How did they break the loader?”
He should have known. Randee was one of the most intelligent people he’d ever met. Of course she knew what was going on. Or what he suspected.
“Don’t know if they did. We’ll have to see in the morning.”
With quiet determination she spoke. “I’ve had enough. How are we going to fix this problem?”
Chase didn’t answer at first. He didn’t want her to do anything rash. “Let me think about it tonight, and we’ll try to put a plan together tomorrow.”
“Let me finish your haircut?”
He glanced over at her to see if she was serious. “I swear, woman, your timing’s the pits. Let it go for tonight.”
Randee shook her head and walked wearily over to the table that still held her hair-cutting supplies. “No. Let’s get this over with. I’m exhausted.”
Chase gave a frustrated sigh and acquiesced. He sat down on the chair in front of her; she finished in less than five minutes and the whole time didn’t say a word. Chase knew her well enough to know she was worried sick for her family and was in no mood for any funny business; not that he was, either. He supposed he should be glad she wasn’t going to leave him half trimmed.
“Try not to worry, Randee,” he said as he swept up his hair from the floor afterward. “We’ll figure something out,” he added, watching her put away her equipment. But he doubted she believed him.
They finished up. As he put away the broom Randee whispered, “Try and get some rest.”
As if. Not when he wasn’t exactly sure what was going on at this ranch.
Chase left for his cabin. When he got there, he went inside, got his pistol, and doubled back to the big house. Creeping into the great room, he stretched out on the couch. It’d be a better place to keep watch.
***
Nothing happened, but at daybreak Chase was up and ready to investigate. He walked toward the tractor, looking at it as if it were the enemy. Obviously the hydraulics had malfunctioned, but why? Now was the time to figure it all out.
He checked the lines carefully, running his hands along the hoses from top to bottom. They seemed fine. So what was it Rex had said earlier? What wasn’t working right on the front-end loader?
“Damn,” he mumbled. He should have asked Ceil. It wasn’t worth going back in the house, though. Not at the moment.
He chewed on his lower lip while pondering the possibilities. If the hoist would come down but yesterday just dropped, what had been keeping it up until it did fall? But that wasn’t it. When they’d tried the hydraulics to lift the bucket off Rex, it wouldn’t move. So what the hell was wrong with it?
As he continued to look, he spotted a puddle of hydraulic fluid under the control lever. Gripping a wrench, Chase took the hose off at the valve…and found the evidence he needed. It appeared to be the corner of a man’s handkerchief. It had plugged the valve, which sure as hell would stop the bucket from lifting.
There’s one answer, he thought. Next question: What had kept the bucket up in the first place?
As he looked around, lying to the side of the left front wheel was a length of painted board about twenty inches long. He wondered if this played a part in the bucket’s descent. Carefully he tested its length and widths on places in the hydraulic rams to see if it could have been used as a wedge. Pretty soon he had the answer.
As he returned to his cabin he thought, Those bastards could have killed Rex. What did they have against an old man? Or maybe it wasn’t Rex they were trying to get. Who should have been fixing something like that?
The hired man.
***
Rex was awake when the three of them arrived at the hospital. Randee was glad to see him so alert.
“It’s about time,” he said as they walked through the door. “I hope you brought me some clothes.”
“Clothes?” Randee asked. “What would you need clothes for? You won’t be out of here for at least ten days, maybe longer.”
“Good Godfrey Moses, girl. If you think I’m gonna lie in this prison in this nightgown for ten days, you’re sicker than I am.”
Ceil stepped over and took his hand. She was still not her usual jovial self. “Are you all right, darlin’? I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared in my life. I must look ten years older to you,” she added, touching a calloused hand to her weathered cheek.
We never get too old and tired to try to look good for our men, Randee realized as she watched the love Ceil showered on her uncle. It brought back memories of another time when she was just six years old, when Ceil’s husband drowned in the Madison. Randee had no idea then what hardships would come to a woman with four small children trying to run a ranch alone. Ceil had paid her dues; it was time she and Rex began to enjoy life. Randee made up her mind right then that after Rex recovered she would send them on a vacation of their choice and see that all the work got done on Ceil’s ranch out of her own pocket.
Rex’s tone was gentle as he raised his hand to touch her cheek. “You look pretty as a wild rose to me, honey. Sorry I scared ya.” He tried to shift his body in the bed, but with a leg and an arm in casts it was almost impossible.
Ceil fluffed his pillows and straightened the bedding while they discussed what the doctor told him about the operation on his leg. Randee’s main concern was his recovery. After all, he was over sixty, his bones were brittle to begin with and he’d already suffered a mild heart attack. Could his heart handle this additional strain?
“I’m going to find the doctor. I’ve got a few questions I’d like to ask him,” Randee announced.
“Good idea,” Rex said. “Why don’t you take Ceil with ya? She’s gonna be my nurse when I get home.”
***
Both Chase and Rex followed the women with their eyes as Randee and Ceil left the room. Chase could tell that Rex wanted to talk alone.
“It was them again, wasn’t it?”
Chase wasn’t surprised by the direct question; nevertheless, it took him a few seconds to recover before he could speak. When he did, he didn’t mince words. “I found a small board with a splintered end lying next to the front wheels, about this long,” he said, holding his hands apart, showing Rex the approximate length. “Were you using something like that on the loader last night?”
“Nope. I was just leanin’ under the bucket to shine my flashlight on the ground at some oil.”
“They also plugged the control valve with what looks like a piece of a man’s handkerchief.” Unfortunately, before Rex had time to comment, the door was pushed open without a knock. It was Miles Grant.
“Rex, I just heard about your accident! How are you feeling, old bud?”
“Like I could dance a jig, Grant. How do ya think you’d feel if a ton of steel fell on you?”
Chase grinned.
Miles shook his head. “What in the hell were you fixing the loader for, anyway? I thought you’d given up ranching after your heart attack.”
“Hell,” Rex sneered. “When I give up ranchin’, I’ll give up livin’.”
Chase’s thoughts were on who could have gotten into the yard and out without anyone seeing. Anyone, he supposed, while they were eating and getting haircuts. Then he felt a little guilty that it hadn’t been him outside trying to fix the loader, but a warmth passed through him as he remembered the passion he’d tasted instead.
“Where’s Randee?” Miles asked when neither Rex nor Chase spoke.
“She went to find the doctor. Why don’t ya see if she’s in the hall somewhere?”
“I’ll do that. Get better soon.”
The door soon closed behind Miles, and Rex admitted, “I don’t like that guy. Never have, even if he is Margaret’s nephew.”
Chase couldn’t argue with that.
“I want ya to watch over my ladies, Chase. Don’t let anything happen to them. Promise me?”
Chase looked into the older man’s pale grey eyes. “I promise.”
A few minutes later Randee and Ceil were back in the room, and they’d only been there for a heartbeat when there came a soft knock at the door. Owen White, the county sheriff and an old friend of Rex’s, entered and removed his hat.
“Good morning, ladies, Rex. I don’t believe I know you,” he added, extending a hand to Chase.
“Chase Gregory, sir. I’m the hired man.” Out of the corner of his eye, Chase could see Randee grin.
“Glad to meet ya. Where ya from?”
It was an innocent question, but Chase had dealt with cops before and felt himself tighten up. “Utah.”
The answer must have satisfied, because the sheriff turned his questions elsewhere. “Rex, what’s all this business about this not being an accident? What makes you suspicious?” asked the sheriff.
Randee reminded him of the threats from the Allan Mining Company, of Ceil’s accident, and now Rex’s. She told him about the man who had come to see her and how he’d said that if she wouldn’t sell he couldn’t be responsible for her safety. “It should all be documented in the reports I filed.”
“Have ya seen anyone on the ranch?” Owen asked. “Did you see anyone near the tractor?”
“No, Sheriff White, we never see a thing. That’s what’s so crazy about it.”
The man scratched the back of his head. “Well, these accidents are serious…but they could have happened on anybody’s ranch. I’m sorry, but until you have some hard evidence, I’m afraid I can’t do much.”
“Is a piece of cloth clogging a valve considered hard evidence?” Chase asked.
The sheriff sighed. “Okay. Leave the loader like you found it, and I’ll come out to take a look this afternoon.” He paused and eyed each one of them. “Look, folks. I want that damn mining company out of here as bad as anyone. They’re making my job hell. I know what they’re doin’ to people, but they’re so damn sneaky we can’t do a thing about it. To be right honest with you, I just don’t have the manpower to leave a man at Triple Creek and Red Rock. So keep a close watch on things and log everything that happens. Sorry I can’t do more right now.” With an apologetic look, he walked to the door and turned. “I’ll see you later at the ranch, Mr. Gregory. Rex, I’m sure sorry you’re so buggered up. If this does have something to do with the mining company, they’ve gone too goddamn far this time.”
As the sheriff left, Randee paced at the foot of the bed. “Well, that was a lot of help. We’re supposed to sit around waiting for something to happen like ducks on a pond? No. I’m not going to do it.”
“There’s not much else we can do, Randee,” Chase said. “We’re going to have to wait and see if we can catch them in the act. We’ll have to set up our own watch and take care of ourselves.”