Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More (45 page)

Based on the addendum, ownership of the farm is hereby transferred to Miss Margaret Michele Downs, with secondary ownership transferred to Miss Janneal Safford in the event Margaret Downs predeceases her. Since Gary Downs is the author of the above-mentioned addendum, any changes to the intent and contents must be requested only by him, until he is deceased, at which time, changes may be made by Miss Margaret Downs and approved by Miss Janneal Safford.

Please feel free to call our office if you have any questions about this document.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Pritchard

“Oh, my God!” Maggie exclaimed when she finished reading the document. “This is the document I asked them to send to me months ago. I totally forgot about it. Where did you find this?” 

“In the nightstand drawer next to Jan’s bed,” Jordan replied.

“Jan? How did she get it?”

“She must have intercepted the mail, Maggie. That’s the only thing I can think of. She obviously has a vested interest in making sure the deed stays exactly as it is.”

Maggie folded the paper and angrily shoved it back into the envelope. “Well, she has another think coming to her. I’ll call Daddy right now and insist he has this changed immediately. How dare she?”

“Do you have any idea where she is right now? I have a thing or two I want to discuss with her as well,” Jordan said.

“Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait a couple of days. She’s visiting friends out of town. She should be back on Friday. At least that’s what she told me.”

“Damn,” Jordan responded.

* * *

After dinner that evening, Jordan made excuses about a project she was working on in the barn and left Maggie to work through the tax papers. Jordan secreted herself in the hayloft and waited. She had a hunch that Jan was not really out of town. Near 9:00 p.m., as Jordan fought to stay awake, the door of the barn slowly opened. Jordan had positioned herself such that she had a clear view of the main area of the barn and sat as still as possible so as to not call attention to herself in the loft.

Jordan watched as Jan crept slowly into the barn and walked directly to Maggie’s saddle. Jordan’s view of the saddle was blocked by Jan’s body, so she was forced to wait patiently until Jan covertly exited the barn before she could investigate what she had done. She wanted so badly to rush Jan, tackle her to the ground, then pummel her senseless with her fists, but she had promised Kale not to mess with any events other than rescuing Maggie from the edge of the cliff.

When the barn door closed behind Jan, Jordan descended from the loft and approached Maggie’s saddle. She inspected it carefully. Jan had cut the right stirrup strap nearly clean through. It was hanging by barely a quarter of an inch of leather.

“Damn you, Jan,” Jordan said. She was shaking violently and had to consciously stop herself from going after the woman. Instead, she paced back and forth across the barn to calm down and think.

Finally, Jordan made a decision. She took Maggie’s saddle and put it into the repair pile for the saddler to collect. She would call him in the morning and ask him to collect it right away and return it by the end of the day on Thursday. She decided not to tell Maggie what had happened. She hoped that by removing the saddle from use, she could also eliminate the possibility that Maggie would die. Satisfied that she had an effective plan, Jordan left the barn and returned to the house.

On Thursday morning, Jordan dropped Maggie off at the new barn then drove the old truck across the north pasture. The sound of shovels rattling in the back kept time with each bump she encountered. Her mind was occupied with the events of the previous night when she had witnessed Jan sabotaging Maggie’s saddle. She was thankful Maggie didn’t argue with her about riding to the new barn instead of taking Shawny out on her usual morning run. She was hoping the saddler would keep his word and collect the saddle that morning and return it by the end of the day as he promised he would.

Finally, she spotted a mound of dirt in the distance and steered the truck in that direction. After a few minutes, she pulled the truck along side the dirt mound, turned off the ignition, and climbed out. Jordan walked over to the mound and peered over it to see the hole that had been dug in the earth by the well drillers. It was approximately three feet in diameter and was so deep that she couldn’t see the bottom.

“It’s not going to fill itself, I guess.” Jordan walked back to the truck to retrieve a shovel from the bed. Within moments, she was hard at work shoveling dirt from the mound into the hole. For the first hour she was unable to hear the dirt hit the bottom. Several hours later, the bottom of the hole became visible.

Jordan pulled a bandana from her back pocket to wipe the sweat from her brow. She looked up and guessed from the position of the sun that it was near 2:00 p.m. She had been shoveling for five hours. Two hours later, she scooped up the last shovel of dirt and held it above the filled-in hole.

“This one is for you, Sally.”

Jordan tipped the head of the shovel and allowed the dirt to slowly slip to the earth. She then stood on top of the small mound covering the hole and packed the soil firmly with her boots.

Covered with sweat and dirt, Jordan carried the shovel back to the truck and tossed it wearily into the bed. She then climbed into the cab and drove away.

Twenty minutes later, Jordan parked the truck in front of the barn and climbed out of the driver’s seat. She went directly to check out the saddler’s handiwork on Maggie’s saddle. To her dismay, the saddle was still in the repair pile.

“Damn it,” she shouted.

She headed toward the house and climbed the two steps leading to the porch. Jordan removed her cowboy hat as she pushed the kitchen door open and stepped inside. The tempting aroma of freshly baked cookies was stronger than her willpower as she reached for a cookie. Next to their cooling rack on the countertop, Jordan spotted a note from Maggie.

Jord—the saddler called and apologized for not making it out today. He had a family emergency. He said he’d be here by noon tomorrow.

Jordan read the note and cursed again under her breath. “Damn. I’ll just need to get up with Maggie tomorrow and convince her to take Sally out again since her saddle won’t be usable on Shawny.”

“Jordan, is that you?” Maggie called.

“In the kitchen.”

“Hey, you’ll ruin your dinner,” Maggie said as Jordan took a large bite of the tasty cookie.

“No chance of that happening. I’m famished.”

Maggie approached Jordan and tried to wrap her arms around her waist. Jordan took a step back. “Whoa. I’m dirty and sweaty from working in the field.”

Maggie crossed her arms. “Well then, get in the shower. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Jordan saluted while clicking her heels. “Yes ma’am!” She kissed Maggie on the cheek. “I’ll be back shortly.”

In their bedroom, Jordan stripped off her dirty clothes and threw them into the hamper. She reached behind the shower curtain and turned on the water. Once in the shower, Jordan relished the pulsating warm liquid. She basked in the feel of the needle-like spray as it massaged muscles worn sore by what seemed like endless shoveling.

Jordan remained under the spray for a long time with her eyes closed and her hands braced on the sides of the shower as the water rinsed the dirt and grime from her body. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. She willed her eyes to remain closed as she felt hands slide across her hips and abdomen while a soft, supple body molded itself against her from behind. One hand slipped downward, coming to rest in the curly patch below her navel while the other hand pressed firmly on her abdomen.

Whoa, this feels way too familiar. Didn’t I dream this? Did I dream it because I’m now part of Maggie’s past and this really did happen?
Jordan allowed her forehead to contact the shower wall as Maggie’s fingers slipped between her folds. She moaned loudly.
Oh, God, that feels so good. Just enjoy it, Lewis. Shut up and enjoy it.

* * *

Jordan reached over to silence the offending peal when the alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. As she rolled back into bed, she noticed a hollow in the pillow beside her, an indentation that clearly indicated someone had been sleeping in that spot. She smiled and reached over to discover the pillow was still warm.

You haven’t been gone long, my love, have you?

An intense feeling of déjà vu washed over her. She stared at the ceiling trying to remember when she had experienced this sequence of events before. Suddenly, she sat up in bed.

“Maggie!”

Jordan realized she had slept too long and had missed the opportunity to ensure that Maggie took Sally instead of Shawny for her morning ride. Jordan grabbed her robe from the back of the bedroom door and headed toward the kitchen.

“Maggie? Maggie, where are you? Clothes... I need clothes.” She started rummaging through the dresser. After a moment, she found a pair of jeans and a button-up flannel shirt that she hurriedly put on as she sat on the edge of the bed. She slipped on a pair of cowboy boots that had been sitting partially under the bed.

Jordan ran to the kitchen and grabbed her jacket from the hook by the door.
Please don’t let me be too late, please!
Jordan shrugged into her jacket and headed for the door when she noticed the note sitting on the counter. With intense dread, she opened the note and read the all too familiar words.

My Dearest Jordan,

I awoke this morning and saw your beautiful face beside me. Last night was so incredible. How did you have the energy to make love after working so hard yesterday filling the well? I wanted desperately to wake you with kisses and make love to you all day long, but I knew you needed to sleep. Thank you for filling the well. You were right. Putting it in the middle of the north pasture was a bad idea. How did you become so wise, lover? I’ve decided to take an early morning ride along the west ridge. I anticipate making love with you upon my return.

I love you with all my heart, Maggie.

Fear settled into the pit of her stomach as a searing pain shot through her temples. She grabbed the edge of the counter to steady herself as a loud ringing filled her ears and dizziness caused her balance to falter. Her knuckles were white as she held on. She closed her eyes to lessen the wave of nausea that invaded her stomach while the room seemed to spin. Suddenly, a vision rushed in and sent shock waves deep to her heart. In her mind’s eye, she saw Maggie lying at the bottom of a cliff.

“Why did I sleep so late? I’ve got to stop her. Please tell me she didn’t use her defective saddle.”

Panic clenched Jordan’s heart. She jumped to her feet and hurriedly made her way out into the yard. Within moments, she had run the distance between the house and barn and flung the barn door open. It resounded with a bang as it flew into the side of the nearest horse stall. She checked the repair pile and realized Maggie’s saddle was no longer there.

Damn it! Damn it all to hell!

Jordan desperately searched several empty stalls until she came across one containing a magnificent mustang steed.

Jordan talked soothingly to the animal as she first threw a blanket and then a saddle over the horse’s back. “Come on, big guy, we’ve got a job to do.” Ten minutes later, she led the horse out of the stall and climbed into the saddle. With a quick jab to the horse’s ribs, she was out of the barn and on her way in a full gallop across the barnyard heading for the western edge of the property bounded by Lake Champlain. As Jordan rode across the plains, she agonized over how long it was taking to cover the distance between the house and the lake. In her desperation, she was oblivious to the biting cold that chafed her cheeks as she rode.

I’ve forgotten how large this property is. God, please let me reach her in time.

Nearly a half hour later, the frozen lake came into view. The sight encouraged Jordan to dig in her heels and push her steed nearly beyond its limits as their speed increased and she felt airborne.

Maggie, please stay away from the edge. Please! I’m coming, my love, I’m coming. Please let me reach her in time.

Suddenly, Jordan heard a shot ring out. Intense fear filled her mind as she dug in her heels and urged a faster gait from her steed.

A few moments later, Jordan approached the last knoll between herself and the cliffs. As she crested the knoll, the sight she saw robbed her of breath. There before her was a rider-less horse. Jordan’s heart fell within her chest.

“Maggie! Oh, my God, no,” she screamed. Again, she dug in her heels. Within seconds, she reached the edge of the cliff and brought the steed to an abrupt stop. Jordan’s feet hit the snow before the animal was fully settled. The impact of hitting the ground so suddenly caused her to tumble into the snow.

Jordan climbed to her feet and limped to the edge of the cliff. She threw herself to the ground as she reached the edge and peered over the side. At the bottom, among snow-covered boulders and rocks, lay a decidedly female form. Her arms and legs were askew at odd angles and her long red curls splayed out around her head.

“Maggie,” she whispered breathlessly.