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Irritated that he had left with nothing finished between the?”

He paused in the doorway and turned back, his tall broad-shouldered fra “I don’t have time to stand around and thrash this out with you In case you forgot, we have cattle to move and not much time to do it in It will take every hand I can spare fro sheds and then soive your mother a call and see if she can help Sally look after the twins for the next few days”

His stateered Jessy all theon her heel, she stalked to the telephone in the living room as Ty closed the door behind him

Neither ain But it simmered between them, unspoken and unresolved

Chapter Nine

The area known as Wolf Meadow had a large stretch of broken country, croith flat tablelands and riven ide coulees In every direction it sprawled, vast and pri miles of more of the same

A red-and-white Cessna aircraft swooped low to the ground, flushing a pair of coith calves fro plane, they bolted into the open, tails high Theriders, they swerved

Closest to the it in

to a gallop She chased them for nearly a quarter of a roup was headed toward the bunch that had already been gathered, her weary horse slowed to a rough trot that jarred every bone in her body

It had been over two years since Jessy had spent this many hours in the saddle She was out of shape; every stiff and sore muscle in her body attested to it

To her relief, the sun hung low in the western sky, its rays already painting the undersides of the scattered clouds with a fuchsia brush Soon it would be too dark to continue the search for et this bunch to the holding pens that were better than a mile distant

When she reached the s position and called to the other two riders, “Let’s take these home”

High overhead, the Cessna flew by and wagged its wings in a signal that it was heading to the landing strip Jessy watched it with a trace of envy, knowing it would reach the headquarters long before she would As beat as she was, the end of the day couldn’t coh

When they topped the last rise and finally saw the portable holding pens near the fence line, the setting sun bathed the entire scene in a golden light, giving it the look of an old tintype But Jessy was too tired to admire the picture it made

As soon as they had driven their cattle into the first pen, Jessy peeled away to head for the picket line Her legs felt a little rubbery when she dismounted She blocked it out and loosened the cinch on her saddle, then rubbed down her horse