Cowgirl Up (5 page)

“I would really like that, and I do feel we have a special connection,” she said as they walked toward the front door.

“Let’s make it happen then,” Melissa said as she held the door open for Coal.

Chapter Four

After a filling meal, she and Melissa walked back to the house to retire for the evening. As they stepped onto the porch, Melissa turned to her. “I’m not sure if I told you, but we will be having company join us in the house tomorrow.”

“Do I need to move out to the bunkhouse?” she asked.

“No, we have plenty of room in the house. My baby sister is coming for a visit and will be spending a month or two with us.”

“That’s going to be very nice.”

“Just so you know,” Melissa said, “Mary Leah is a cancer survivor.”

“I’m sorry to hear that she had cancer.”

“Me too. She had a double mastectomy and just finished her chemotherapy treatments last month, so her hair is just now starting to come back in.”
  

“Some fresh country air will do her soul good,” Coal said.

“It is very therapeutic for healing, isn’t it?”

“Yes it is,” Coal said with a smile. “I look forward to meeting her.”

“There’s something else you need to be aware of,” Melissa said. “Last week her lover of five years left her. Said she couldn’t help but be repulsed by Mary Leah’s scars.”

“What an asshole,” she said without thinking. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t judge.”

Melissa broke out in laughter. “I never liked the bitch anyhow,” she said as she opened the door for her.

†

The next morning she felt something cold on her hand, and when she chose to ignore it in her slumber, a warm tongue licked across her palm. Her eyes shot open and she found soft brown eyes staring at her.

“Well, hello there,” she said as she reached out to scratch behind the dog’s ears. “Where did you come from?” she asked the black and gray cattle dog that was wiggling with excitement beside her bed. She propped up on her elbow and continued to stroke the dog.

“Callie, where did you get off to?” a woman asked and then stopped in her tracks outside Coal’s bedroom door.

Coal smiled up to the woman from her bed.

“I am so sorry,” the woman said, looking away from her.

“No problem, I seem to have animal magnetism,” she said with a warm smile. “You must be Mary Leah.”

“Yes, I am, so you must be Coal.”

“The one and only,” she said as she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “And this adorable creature must be Callie.”

Callie’s ears perked up when she heard her name and felt it was an invitation to jump into Coal’s lap, and cover her face with wet kisses. “Bashful, isn’t she?” she asked with a chuckle.

“Callie, down,” Mary Leah said. “I’m sorry she’s normally not that affectionate with people she’s just met.”

“She’s okay,” Coal said. “She’s a beautiful heeler.”

“You know the breed then?”

“They are the best breed a rancher could ask for,” she said. “They are excellent workers, and very loyal animals.”

“That they are,” Mary Leah said. “May I at least offer you some coffee since she woke you? Melissa isn’t awake yet so I let myself in.”

“Sure, give me a minute to get dressed, and I’ll meet you on the porch. I take a sugar and a little cream, please.”

Mary Leah looked back at her and saw that she was wearing a tank top and green shorts. She smiled and blushed when their eyes met, “Come on, Callie,” she said and turned away.

Coal dressed quickly and quietly walked through the house to the front porch. “Hello again,” she said as she took the cup of coffee Mary Leah offered. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I couldn’t sleep last night so I decided to drive. I just didn’t realize how early I would arrive.”

“I know Melissa will be glad to see you,” Coal said as she took a spot on the swing.

“You must be fairly new. You weren’t here the last time I visited.”

“I’ve only arrived last week,” she said.

“I hope you are enjoying it here,” she said.

Coal smiled. “I feel very at home here.”

“I thought I heard voices,” Melissa said from the inside of the screened door as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. “You two realize it’s only six, yes?”

“It’s all my fault, I couldn’t sleep last night so I decided to get an early jump, and then when I came in to start the coffeepot Callie went and woke Coal,” Mary Leah said.

Melissa looked at Coal and smiled, then said to Mary Leah, “I’m glad you made it, sis.”

“Come have a seat and I’ll get you some coffee, boss,” Coal said.

Melissa pushed the screen door open and stepped out to hug her sister. “It’s so good to see you,” she heard her say as she stepped inside the house.

“It’s great to finally be here,” Mary Leah said. Then when Coal was out of sight, she whispered to Melissa. “You failed to tell me how cute she is.”

Melissa smiled at her baby sister. “I’m glad you approve.”

“A lot has happened since I talked to you earlier this week. I’ll have to bring you up to speed later,” Melissa said with a wink as they heard Coal’s footsteps approaching.

“Here you go, boss,” Coal said as she stepped through the door with a steaming cup of coffee.

“Looks like we might get more rain today,” Melissa said.

“I don’t think a lazy Sunday will hurt anyone,” she said.

“I need to make a run into town this morning,” Mary Leah said.

Melissa looked at her. “You just got here, what could you need already?”

Mary Leah smiled at her sister. “I was so excited to leave I forgot to pick up my medicine from the pharmacy. I can call and get them to transfer it here after seven then drive in to get it.”

“I’ll drive you to town,” Coal offered.

“Thanks, I would appreciate that.”

Melissa smiled over at Coal. “Why don’t you stay and have breakfast with us, and you two can go to town later?”

“Okay, boss. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I want to check on my buddy,” she said as she stood and walked from the porch.

“His name is Shadow, by the way,” Melissa said.

She smiled. “Shadow. That suits him.”

“Yes, it does,” she said. “How do you like your eggs?”

“Anyway you want to cook them,” she answered.

Callie jumped off the porch and trotted alongside Coal.

“You have company,” Melissa hollered after her.

She turned and smiled at Callie, as Melissa and Mary Leah walked into the house.

†

Shadow saw her approaching and ran to the fence. “Hey there, pretty boy,” she said as he lifted his head to her hand and then shied away when he saw Callie. “It’s okay,” she said, bending down to where Callie was sitting and reached her hand through the fence. Callie stepped forward and she and Shadow stood nose to nose as they inspected one another. “Callie meet Shadow,” she said to introduce the two animals.

“Tomorrow’s going to be our big day,” she told the horse as she stood and patted his neck. “You’re going to be my horse and I’m going to be your warrior,” she said as her hand smoothed down his back.

Melissa was cooking bacon when she returned to the house. “That smells delicious,” Coal said. She reached for a slice and received a prompt slap on her hand.

“You have to wait just like the rest of us,” she scolded Coal, who suddenly grinned and motioned for Melissa to turn around.

Mary Leah was chewing on a piece of stolen bacon. “Oh geesh, you’re no better than Coal,” she said.

“Maybe not, but it is good bacon, and it’s all your fault for making it smell so good.”

Callie let out a short bark as she sat beside Mary Leah, her nub of a tail wagging as she licked her lips.

“Not you too,” Melissa said as she looked at the dog.

“Go, all of you, so I can finish breakfast,” she told them.

“We will be on the porch if you need some help,” Coal said.

Melissa smiled at her. “It won’t be much longer if you will stop all these interruptions.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said and led Mary Leah back to the porch. “Has she always been this grumpy in the kitchen?”

“I heard that, Coal,” Melissa yelled from the kitchen.

Mary Leah smiled at her. “She’s just letting us know she’s still the boss, even when she’s in the kitchen.”

“Ah, I see. It must have been brutal growing up with her then,” she teased.

Mary Leah settled down on a rocker and looked at her. “She’s the best big sister I could ask for.”

“She is a special lady,” Coal said.

“That she is. So tell me about you.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything you feel like sharing.”

“Well, I’m twenty-eight. Originally from the Lubbock area, and aside from a six-year stint with Uncle Sam, I have been a ranch hand at various spots across Texas.”

“What branch of the military did you serve in?”

“I was an Army Ranger,” Coal said proudly.

“Ah, the best of the best, at least according to Mitch,” Mary Leah said. “Did you know him?”

Mary Leah saw the look of pain cross Coal’s face and knew instantly that she had touched upon a sensitive subject. “I’m sorry if I’m asking too many questions.”

“No, not at all. Yes, I had the honor of serving with Mitch. We spent a rotation in Afghanistan together.”

Melissa was standing at the screen door listening as Coal and her sister talked. She too saw the pained look on Coal’s face, realized how difficult the conversation was for her, and sympathized. Coal too had lost the person she loved on that tragic day.

“Breakfast is ready,” she said and saw Coal jump in her seat.

They shared a sumptuous breakfast, and then Coal walked out to the bunkhouse to check on the crew as Mary Leah called the pharmacy.

†

“Morning, boys,” she said as Callie trailed in behind her. The crew was sitting down to breakfast.

“Hey there, Callie,” Harley said as the dog trotted over to him and took the slice of bacon he offered. “I take it Mary Leah has arrived.”

“Yes, she came in very early this morning.”

“Are you ready for some breakfast?” Harley asked.

“No, thanks, I ate with Melissa and Mary Leah already.”

Gene smiled up at her from a plate filled with scrambled eggs. “What are you going to do today?”

“I am going to take Mary Leah to town to the pharmacy then I thought I would do some laundry. What about you guys?”

“We have to finish up our cleaning, and then some of us were thinking about going fishing. Would you care to join us?”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” she said. “Let me go put a load of clothes in the washer to get a head start. What time do you think you will go?”