“She told me this Laredo character was a touchy subject,” he remarked with seeming idleness.
But it put Jessy on guard. “Logan, do you have any idea how difficult it is to defend your friends when the accusations against them have no basis in fact? It’s impossible. And Tara didn’t help the situation—as usual.”
“An excellent point.” A wry smile tugged at a corner of his mouth. “Tara would love to see you fail. Mostly because she envies you and wishes she were in your shoes.”
“Tara in charge of the Triple C—now that is a scary thought,” Jessy declared with feeling.
The front door opened behind her. “Jessy, what on earth are you doing out here?” At the familiar sound of her mother’s voice, Jessy turned to face the slender woman she favored. “Logan,” Judy Niles said in surprise when she finally noticed him. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I just drove up a couple minutes ago.”
“Isn’t it just terrible about Sally?” Judy Niles declared, doing everything but clicking her tongue. “It seems like it’s just one tragedy after another. My mother always told me death comes in threes. I can’t help but wonder who might be next.”
“That is nothing but an old wives’ tale, Mom.”
“I know. Still . . .” she murmured, unconvinced, then appeared to realize she was standing with the door open. “Good heavens, what is the matter with me? Come inside, you two.” She stepped back to admit them and kept talking. “Amy and I were just discussing whether Sally should be buried next to her late husband. What’s your opinion, Jessy? Do you think it would be appropriate?”
“I didn’t realize she had been married,” Logan said.
“Years and years ago,” Judy declared. “To an ex-rodeo rider. He had been working at the Triple C less than a year when he was killed in a car accident. Stumpy said he was next to worthless. Naturally he didn’t have any insurance. What cowboy does? So Chase paid for the funeral and buried him here on the ranch. Ike says the plot next to him is available. But they were married so long ago—and not very happily. I just don’t know if Sally would want that.”
“It isn’t something we have to decide tonight.” Jessy paused in the entryway while her mother closed the door.
“I know, but the decision has to be made soon,” Judy Niles remarked, then quickly raised a finger as something else occurred to her. “Before I forget, I thought of someone you might want to consider hiring to cook and look after the house. DeeDee Rains. She did nearly all the cooking for Sally when she had the restaurant in town. I don’t know what she’s doing now, but I know she isn’t working at Harry’s.”
“I forgot about DeeDee,” Jessy admitted. “I’ll talk to her and see if she is interested in working here.”
“I hope she will be, because we wives can fill in for a while, but you will need someone permanent.” Judy stopped, a look of contrition claiming her expression. “Isn’t this awful? Here we are, talking about such things and Sally is still lying in there.”
“It’s reality, Mom. Sally would be making her own suggestions right now if she were still alive.” The conversation with her mother claimed only half of Jessy’s attention. The rest of it was on Logan as he wandered into the living room where the others were gathered. Somehow she needed to alert Laredo to the comments Logan had made. And soon.
Night cloaked the cabin’s interior in darkness. The only light came from the starshine that grayed the windowpanes. Restless, Chase rolled onto his side and stared into the darkness. He had no idea of the time, but knew it had to be somewhere around midnight. Sleep had eluded him. The best he had managed was a fitful doze that fell somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.
He shut his eyes and tried again. After a few seconds, he gave up the effort, threw back the summer-weight blanket, and swung his legs out of the bunk. He had no difficulty locating the clothes he had taken off only hours ago. He put them on and stepped into his boots. After a glance at the twin bed along the opposite wall where Hattie slept, he quietly crossed the cabin and walked outside into the star-studded night.
The breeze’s cool breath touched him, prompting Chase to button the front of his shirt that he had let hang open. Shadows blanketed the landscape, deepening to black in the low places and lightening to charcoal along the higher areas. There was a stillness and calm out here that soothed some of his edginess.
It was a big and empty land that stretched before him, a land that would still be here, changed yet unchanging, long after he was gone and forgotten. It wasn’t a thought that bothered him; instead he found some comfort in it, a sense of rightness.
The stretching of the screen door’s spring made a faint sound, but in the stillness of the night, it was loud to his ears. Swiveling at the hips, Chase looked behind him as Hattie stepped outside, her hands tying the sash to her cotton robe.
“Is any thing wrong?” Her dark eyes were thorough in their quick inspection of him.
“Couldn’t sleep.” He squared around to run his gaze over the broad sweep of land beyond them.
“It’s almost too stuffy in there to get any rest.” She moved to his side, standing tall next to him, the dramatic streaking of gray in her hair silvered by the starlight.
Chase located the North Star and calculated the time by the position of the stars around it. “It’s well after midnight.”
“Twelve thirty-six, to be exact,” Hattie replied. “I looked at the alarm clock when I got up.”
“I wonder what’s keeping Laredo. I thought he would be back by now.”
“Over the years I have learned not to worry about him. He always shows up when I least expect him.”
Chase picked up on the affection in her voice. “You are very fond of him, aren’t you?”
“In a way, he’s like the son I never had. It hurts to know that a bad mistake made long ago has taken away his future. It could have been a good one.”