Chapter 4

Mornings can be nasty after too little sleep and too much booze. This morning was a textbook example. After we spent the night sleeping around the pool, Polly took great delight in throwing cold water on my less than rested nudity. Anna was somewhat more gentle with an intertwined Sal and Mary and gently but firmly pushed them into the pool. The two women came to the surface sputtering and threatening evil upon Anna's body and soul.

Sander and Billie were already awake and enjoyed the morning entertainment. Things looked like they were going to get even more entertaining when Sal and Mary climbed out of the pool and started after Anna.

Polly put an end to the show. "If we're going to get to Vegas on time, we need to get moving now that everyone's awake." She then turned and ran after Anna.

Mary's ranch turned out to be Mary's and Sal's ranch, and they were my neighbors. We drove on a blacktop drive that split fields of green. Water from the crawling irrigation system landed on my windshield as we approached a massive horse barn to park in one of the many striped spaces.

When I parked, everyone rushed to the stalls to pick out mounts. Everyone knew where their horses were kept except me. I was walking through the building's arena like a tourist when something hit me in the back. I stumbled forward a couple of steps before I could turn around to see what had hit me. There was my new friend.

"Well, Baby, it's good to see you again too." I stroked the head of the mare I'd talked to yesterday and pressed my forehead to her cheek. "You're a real sweetheart aren't you? I could just take you home and keep you."

"You could at that, JD, but she's already yours."

I turned to the voice. "Hey, Dewey, what're you talking about?"

"Connie, Gentleman Jim, and about a half dozen of your more valuable stock were boarded here by the Feds until they could settle the auction. First time I ever saw the government do anything that made sense. They burned the barn down during the raid. They were burning a big pile of dope when they lost control of it. You should have seen it. Birds were coming from all over the valley. I swear there was no tern unstoned. Thank God the horses were out when the Keystone Cops did their thing, or the ranch would be worth about three and a quarter million dollars less.

That's how much of your horse flesh we have up here. They paid board for the entire year, so you have time to fix up your Shangri-La before you have to worry about the show stock. That is unless you want to sell any of it."

I looked at Dewey and smiled as I stroked my new four legged friend. "I suppose this is Connie. Now that I know she's mine, no way is she for sale. Did you say that you have seven more horses here? You have any idea where the rest of my stock is?"

"Yes, and no," he grinned, "It's most likely they're either on your ranch or on ours. There are some canyons out there that have water and grass, so I'd start there if I were you. I'd help you, but we have a Quarter Horse Association inspection next week we need to prepare for. Besides, I don't want to cramp your style."

"What style?"

"Why your three cowgirl roundup, of course."

Sal smiled and said, "Dewey, think you could move the fifth wheel down to the Pinkston Place for JD to stay in while he gets things set up?"

"Mom, Mamtha moved out there yesterday. She's not gonna be happy with that."

"JD can't stay out there without something, and it's too far to drive every day for him to stay with me."

We all turned around when we heard, "That's too fucking bad. The Rhinestone Cowboy can just go back to one of those fancy hotels in Las Vegas where he belongs! I'm sure Billie can find a place for him somewhere. After all..."

"Samantha Sally Jackson! You're not too big for me to wash your mouth out with soap. We're just helping out a neighbor, and don't you bad mouth Billie!"

"You're helping a neighbor who's probably fucking your brains out. I thought you were out of that business. Doesn't matter, I'm in the camper now, and I am not moving out for your boy toy! Billie, I didn't mean any disrespect to you, so don't you turn on me." With that, Samantha turned and ran from the arena.

"That could have gone better," commented Mary. "What bee got in her britches?"

Dewey won his fight to keep the smile off his face and smirked, "I think little Miss Rodeo Queen is still embarrassed because JD was forced to help her from breaking parts of her oh, so perfect ass. I've never heard of her losing control of a horse before. Her ego's bruised, and she doesn't like it."

Sal replied, "I'd rather have bruised ego than a bruised ass. That damn vet school put some funny ideas in her head."

"Mom, Oregon State didn't change all that much since I went there. You just spoiled her before she left for school. Unlike my unbalanced sister, I was never a spoiled child. That's why I'm so stable now.

"JD," he continued. "When do you want to see your horses?"

"Why don't we wait until we get back from looking for the lost herd? Sal told me she'd teach me how to ride a horse, and I'm looking forward to it." Turning back to the mare, I asked, "How about it Baby? You want to go for a little ride with me and my friends?"

I swear she shook her head yes. Dewey loaned me the tack for Connie, and away we went. It was clear where Mary and Sal's place ended and mine began. Dewey had set up irrigation up to my property line. One side was green, and the other was, well let's just say a lot less than green.

Connie was a dream to ride. It was almost like she read my mind. She would move where I wanted before I put pressure on the reins. She managed the valley and washouts without any help or direction from me. This horse was way smarter than anything I had ever ridden, and she was mine. Okay, Pop was beginning to look smarter by the minute.

This portion of my ranch was long and narrow with steep hills on either side of a half mile wide valley. Occasional stands of trees gave hope for a high water table in the valley, but apparently no seismic testing had been done for water in this area.

Every so often, the hills would open to show a short side canyon. Well large gully may be a better description. The first gully we came to looked like NASA pictures from Mars. Rocks littered the floor, and the walls formed ragged cliffs about a hundred feet high. There wasn't any obvious flora or life at all in the box it formed.

I dropped back to Sal's side. "That can't be a natural formation. It's too symmetrical."

"You're wrong, JD. These ridges were pushed up centuries ago by tectonic movement. We have some of these just as symmetrical on our ranch too."

"What about the lack of vegetation? I've never seen anything so desolate. Some kind of something can always live anywhere, but there's nothing there. All apparent life stops at the edge of the gully."

Mary and Billie caught up to us and Mary added, "You're right about that. I don't think our gullies are this barren. I wonder why this one is. You must have 20 acres here without so much as a scorpion to be seen."

A cold shiver passed up my spine. "When I have more time, I'm going to come back and check out this puppy. It gives me the creeps. Right now I have livestock to find."

As we continued our mission of discovery, Billie rode next to me. "I saw you looking my way last night at Sal's. I couldn't read your face. Do I still have a dancing partner?"

"I don't know why you wouldn't unless Sander's mad at me and keeps me out of The Dance Hall. You're a hell of a dancer, and you make me look good."

"What I am, what you saw, doesn't bother you?"

"What you saw was surprise. When I look at you, I see an attractive human being with a good heart. I don't see us becoming lovers, but I'd like to be your friend. I like you a lot."

Billie sighed, "I can't ask any more than that. Other than Mary, Dewey, and Sal, I have so very few friends. Thank you."

"No, I have to thank you. I've only been here a couple of days, and all of you make me feel like we've been friends for years. There aren't a lot of people like you guys around. I'm lucky to have met all of you."

During our conversation, Mary and Sal had ridden ahead. "Hey, JD, you two slackers need to get up here and take a look at this."

High in the sky buzzards were circling something laying at the opening to another gully. As we approached the objective of the birds, the contrast to the surroundings captured our attention. The gully was the exact opposite to the first one we observed. I looked at about 40 to 80 acres of lush green with water standing in several places, and filled with what looked like much of my missing livestock.

The few birds that had landed waddled away as we approached until Billie kneed her big Appaloosa mare, Paint, to run at the object. What we found almost turned my stomach. The bloody ground around the body of the horse held witness to the fact she had been mutilated beyond anything a predator would have done.

The throat had been slashed. I could only hope that had been done before the mare had to suffer the myriad of wounds she suffered. Flesh had been torn, but not eaten. The horse's gut had been cut open, and a dead foal laid dead half pulled from her uterus.

Sal moved beside me. "Look at those markings. She's from Gentleman Jim. She was one of yours. Between the mare and the foal, you just lost a ton of money."

I dismounted and handed Connie's reins to Sal. I walked to the carcass. "They haven't been dead for more than a couple of hours. I don't care about the money. I just want the sick bastard that did this to helpless animals."

Mary was riding in a circle around the dead horse and stopped. "It looks like there were three of them. They must have teased that poor thing for some time before they brought her down. Look at those tracks. She fought hard. Holy Mother of God, who could be this demented?"

Sander pushed his chair back from his desk when his six year old niece ran into his office to claim her place on his lap. "Uncle Sander, where's Billie? She's gonna start teaching me how to dance and play the guitar. I can hardly wait. Mom and I are going to Circus Circus to go on the rides. That's so much fun. Can you go with us Uncle Sander? Where's Billie? I bet she'd love to go on the rides. Can you and she go with us? I'd sure like to learn how to play and sing music like Billie does. She is gonna teach me! She promised!"

"Millie, slow down so your uncle can get a chance to talk. How can he answer your questions if you don't stop talking?"

"But Momma, Billie should be here. Uncle, did you two have another fight?"

"Millie!"

"Oh Momma, just everyone knows Uncle and Auntie love to fight so they can make up again."

Jenney fought back laughter as she asked, "And just who told you that?"

"Mr. Tom did, and Mr. Jerry agreed."

Sander grunted, "I'm gonna have to have a little talk with those two.

"Billie, Mary, and Sal are helping our new friend, JD, out at his new ranch. They're looking for his missing stock. Now I've got a little free time, so why don't we turn on the juke box and you can show your mom and me what Billie has taught you so far. You don't mind dancing with an old man do you?"

"Momma said that you have two left feet. Is that good?"

Sander gave a red faced Jenney a look and replied, "Sweetie, it's the best. The juke box man replaced my favorite Garth Brooks' song. Let's go try it out."

"Mr. Tom said you knew Garth Brooks is that true?"

"Yes it is honey. We went to Oklahoma State at the same time. We had some marketing classes together."

"Is it true what Mr. Jerry said about you being one of his friends in low places? I don't understand. I thought The Dance Hall was on a hill."

"Millie!"

"Well, when he first wrote the song I had a place in a valley."

"Oh, that explains it. Is Garth Brooks really as smart as Billie says?"

"Garth is one of the smartest men we know."