“I don’t think so.” Daniel took a breath and listened to my silence. “I just thought you should know.”
“Thanks, Daniel.” I hung up.
“What is it?” Morgan asked, closing her book and leaning forward, seeing the expression on my face.
“It seems somebody fired a shot at Clara Monday.”
“Oh, my god,” she said.
“Daniel said he thought I should know.”
Morgan walked over and put her arms around me.
“Don’t worry,” I said. I knew, however, that she could feel my uneasiness. I stroked her hair.
In my dream, I was dragging a reluctant donkey around a large pen. I was afraid she was going to colic and I didn’t want her to roll. The vet had called and told me he would be right there, but that was hours ago. It was a hot day, sweltering, and I was drenched. The donkey would willingly walk a few steps with me then fall back on her heels, leaving me to drag her and her quarter-ton pendulous belly forward. Then she would stop and try to cough up something and I began to think it was choke and not colic. Susie came out to the corral and told me that the vet had called and that he was on his way and that he was all worried that the donkey was going to die and so she was all worried that the donkey was going to die and I said, “Well, she isn’t dying yet, so let’s wait and worry when we know enough to worry about.” This made her mad and she walked away into the house. I wanted to go after her, to tell her that my saying that was probably just a clumsy way of my expressing worry, but I couldn’t leave the donkey. Every time I tried to walk away from the donkey, she moved as if to lie on her side, so I would start tugging again. The vet showed up and Susie joined him as he walked toward the donkey and me. Just as they reached the gate, the donkey hacked up a black piece of plastic. The vet sighed relief and said, “So, it was choke.” He turned to Susie and said, “I’m sorry I got you all worked up.”
I said to the vet, “We were both pretty nervous, all right.”
“Well, I’ll take a look,” the vet said. “We’ll put a tube down her and pump in some oil to be sure everything’s going where it ought to be going.”
Susie had turned away and was marching to the house.
I followed her inside, but couldn’t find her anywhere. I looked in all the rooms and then in the barn. The vet was riding the donkey around in the pen. I looked out across the field and saw footprints in the snow, even though it was hot, but I didn’t follow them. I just went back into the house and tried to start a fire, but every match I lit went out and I became more and more frustrated. Finally, my hands were trembling and the matches wouldn’t even spark.
“John.” Morgan woke me. Her voice broke through and when I opened my eyes I saw the hint of sunrise through the window.
“Yes?”
“You were having a bad dream.” She used her thumb to stroke the furrow of my brow.
I put my arm around her and pulled her close. Her skin was bare and warm. “Was I kicking and screaming like a dang fool?”
“No, just muttering.”
“Sorry about that,” I said. “What time is it?”
“Five-forty-five. We’re burning daylight.”
“I might as well get up then.”
She pushed me back down. “Oh, yeah?”
“Why, do you have something else in mind?”
“Maybe,” she said.
“I get it,” I said. “You want us to sleep for another half-hour. I can do that.” And I turned over.
Morgan poked me in the side and made me jump. “You’d better show me some cowboy lovin’ or you’re in for it.”
“Oh, all right, if I have to.”
I fed the horses and groomed those whose turn it was. Then I worked Felony in the round pen for a while. He had really come along and it was about time to let him go home to Duncan Camp. He’d begun a fairly steady ride and his big body let him cover ground in a hurry, even if it did make him a little clumsy on steep terrain. I cantered around a few more times, then stopped in the center of the ring and looked up at the sky. The sun was out and the only clouds were well away over the mountains. The day promised to be mild, but those clouds were going to make things bad, I just knew it in my gut. I’d asked Morgan if she wanted to saddle Square and take a ride into the high country with me, but she said she was going to make bread. She suggested I take David up there. He and Gus were sleeping late. I figured that they deserved it on New Year’s Eve. I left Felony saddled and tied at the post outside the kitchen.
Morgan was measuring flour into a bowl next to the sink. David was at the table, dressed and finishing a bowl of cereal.
“How about a ride in the hills?” I asked. I could see that he was apprehensive. “Nothing fancy. You’ll be used to this in no time. It’s not necessary to ride a horse to work on a ranch, but it’s the fun part. Unless that leg’s going to give you trouble.”
“No, it’ll be all right.”
“We don’t have to go out,” I said.
“No, really, I want to,” he said. “I’ll just run and brush my teeth.” He left the room.
“I didn’t push him, did I?” I looked to Morgan.
She shook her head. “No. But it’s kind of cute.”
“What is?”
“That kid really wants to please you.” She cracked an egg into the bowl. “He looks up to you.”
“He doesn’t even know me,” I said.
“Well, that would explain it,” Morgan said.
“Very funny.” I poured myself half a cup of coffee. “You feed the puppy yet?”
“Yep. She’s really growing. She’s got a nice temperament.”
“And what are you making?”
“Cookies,” she said. “I woke up and felt like making cookies. I’m praying that David loves cookies because I don’t want to eat them all myself.”
“Is Gus still in bed?”
Morgan nodded.
I looked at the clock. It was almost eight-thirty. “I think I’ll check on him. You think I should?”
“Please,” Morgan said.
I walked up the stairs and tapped on Gus’s door. “Hey, Gus.”
“Yeah?” he answered.
I felt a load lift from me. “You okay in there?”
“I’m fine,” he said, gruffly. “That bus ride took it out of me. I’ll be down in a while.”
“You bet. No rush.”
I walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen. David was in the mud room, pulling on his boots.
“How is he?” Morgan asked.
“I think he’s just tired. He said he’ll be down soon.”
“Maybe I should take him up some juice,” she said.
I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Morgan understood and went back to the counter. “See you later, sweetie,” I said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Sure you won’t come?”
“Have a good ride.”
“Ready to ride, cowboy?” I stepped out of my house shoes and into my own boots. “Let’s go pop some brush.”
David, like many people on their second time in the saddle, was tense and trying to feel in control, so he held the reins short in a tight fist and clamped his legs around the horse.
“Let her have her head,” I said. “Give her some slack. Relax your body. Let it go.” I took a deep breath and let it out to show him.
He eased up.
“Take another breath,” I said. “Let it all out.”
He did.
“Now, you relax and let the horse do the walking.”
We rode out through the south gate and toward the hills.
“How’d you sleep?” I asked.
“Pretty well. That room is nice and warm.”
“It’s the warmest room in the house and I have no idea why. It’s a little tight in there, I know.”