Montana Morning (21 page)

“Just doing my
job.” She tried to sound glib.

“A lot more, and
you know it.” Jack gave her his lopsided grin.  “It’s not your job to love
him, but you do.”

“Got me there,” she sighed.  “Who wouldn’t
love that freckled faced, red headed kid?”     

“Which cheek did Scotty kiss?” Jack asked quietly.

“My right one, I
think.” She tilted her head to look up into his face. “Why?”

“His grandpa would
like to kiss the other one,” he answered, as he bent down and kissed her softly
on the cheek.

***

Saturday came and,
true to his promise, Jack had invited Jeff and Seth to bring their families to
join the celebration.  Scotty was in his glory.  He had to show all
the men how well he could ride and gave all the youngsters a tour of the
battlefields of the Civil War.  The ladies admired the garden and asked
him about all the different plants.  Addy had prepared four huge pizzas
and they soon disappeared.

“Time to cut the
cake!” Jack announced, as Addy brought out the chocolate cake, with cherry
filling topped with whipped cream and candles.  As everyone joined in
singing “Happy Birthday,” Scotty’s face turned as red as his hair and laughter
filled the old farmhouse.

“When can we give
this youngun’ his presents?”  Andy piped up.

“Now!” came
Scotty’s answer.

“Why don’t we all
go in the living room and sit down?  Scotty can open his presents in
there.” Jack suggested, as he looked around at the mob of people in the now
very crowded kitchen.

“Addy, I’ll help
dish up the cake and ice cream later.” Shelley offered.  Both she and
Sally were down to earth, nice young ladies, and Addy liked them right
away.  They reminded her of Amy.

“Wow, my own
harmonica.  Thanks, Andy.  Will you teach me to play it?”  

“I’ll teach you
what I know, which isn’t much.”  

Scotty didn’t
believe a word of it. “You play great and you know it,” he answered, as he
picked up the present he’d seen Jeff bring in.  The black western hat in
the box fit perfectly.

“Figured you might
need a hat, growing up on a ranch,” Jeff said with a smile.  The hat was
one he’d been given as a boy but had never worn. It looked great on his small
friend.  Seth and his family gave Scotty a homemade leather belt. He tried
it on.

“Fits fine, with a
little room to grow,” he announced, reaching for Addy’s gift.  Somehow he
felt whatever was in the box was special, and he sat quietly rubbing his hand
over the box, watching her face.

“You’ll never
guess.  Might as well open it,” Jack teased.

“Do you know
what’s in here?” he asked his grandpa.

“Not a clue. 
I’m dying of curiosity!  Open it up.”

“Okay! Okay!”
Scotty grinned, as he tore into the paper.  Inside the box was the most
beautiful shirt he’d ever seen.  It was turquoise and black with black
snaps. “A western shirt like Grandpa’s!” he shouted and rushed over the show it
to Will.  Will and Jack were both having a bit of difficulty keeping the
lumps in their throats from showing.

“Mighty nice,
Addy.” Will looked at the workmanship and delicate stitching. “You do this on
Em’s treadle machine?”  Addy nodded, returning his smile.

“When do I get one
like this?” Jack grinned over at her as he held up the shirt to Scotty’s chest.

“When you turn ten
. . . again.”  Will joked.  Jack excused himself and went to the
closet under the stairway.

“I didn’t wrap
your present from me,” he explained, as he reentered the room. “Couldn’t figure
out how.”  In his hands was the 22 rifle his dad had given him.

“Boy oh boy. 
Really?” Scotty ran his hands over the smooth stock of the gun.

“Yours from me,
just as it was mine from Pops on my tenth birthday,” he explained.  “You
have to learn to handle it before you can use it.  I’ll teach you, but
until then it stays on the wall in your room.  Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” he
replied.  “Yes sir, Grandpa!”

 Will cleared
his throat and soon had everyone’s attention.  “I couldn’t wrap my gift
either.  In fact, I couldn’t get it in the house.  Come with me,
boy.”

“Pops, always did
have a flair for the dramatic,” Jack whispered to Jeff and laughed.  “Come
on folks, let’s see what the man is up to.”  Scotty was half walking, half
running to keep up with his great-grandpa as they headed for the barn. 
Addy and Jack were bringing up the rear of the procession and glanced at each
other. Surely not . . . Standing in the stall was Melodies filly with a bright
red ribbon around her neck.

“Grandpa Will, are
you sure you want me to have her?  Grandpa says you wanted this foal real
bad.”  Scotty couldn’t believe Will would part with this filly, the first
born of Grandma Emily’s mare.

“Figure Em would
want you to have her.”  Will said quietly, as he stroked the filly’s
neck.  “That’s why I didn’t give her a name.  Thought maybe you’d
like to do that yourself,” he added as he stepped aside so Scotty could get in
the stall with his horse. 

Scotty patted her
side, stroked her mane and scratched her nose.  This was a big decision
and he took his time. 

“Grandpa said
Grandma Em had a pretty voice, but not like Addy.  Addy sings melody,
Grandma Em sang . . .”

“Harmony.” Jack
filled in.

“Yes, that’s it,
Harmony.  That’s her name  . . . Harmony.” He stated with pride.
“Harmony for Grandma Em.”  This time there was no way to hide the tears of
joy.  Will shed them proudly. 

***

Father’s Day
arrived with a yowl and a growl in the early morning hours.  An
ear-piercing scream sat Addy straight up in bed and her feet hit the floor
running, her only thought that the creature outside was after the chickens in
the coop next to the barn.  She threw on her housecoat, ran down the
stairs and reached for the broom by the back door.

“Just where do you
think you’re going?” Jack took the broom away from her and pushed her away from
the door.  He had a rifle in his hand.  “Stay put.”  He shut the
door quietly behind him and crept into the yard.  Sparky was beside him,
and the hair on his back was standing on end.  Addy watched from the
window.  In the predawn light it was difficult to make out what was
happening.   Jack stopped, and then slowly turned towards the
corrals.

“Jack out
there?”  Will asked, as he came to stand by Addy at the window.

“Yes, he headed
for the corrals.  Will, what’s out there?”

“Cougar,” he
whispered, trying to talk and listen at the same time.  “I’d go out and
help him but I’d likely get shot.  One gun in a barn yard at a time is
enough.” Will looked at her for the first time.  “What are you doing down
here?” he asked, noticing the broom by her hand.  “Don’t tell me you were
going outside with that?” he laughed.

“I didn’t know
what it was,” she answered, trying to explain her stupidity.

“Good reason not
to go out,” Will told her. “Hope Jack watches what he’s doing.  Cougars
are dangerous, especially in the dark.” Just then a shot rang out.  “Stay
put.”

“Where have I
heard that before,” Addy said under her breath, knowing she had no intention of
going anywhere.  Within minutes Will was back on the porch.

“Is my medical kit
still in this cupboard?” he asked her as he began digging.

“Second
shelf.  Is Jack . . .” she felt her chest tighten.

“He’s fine!” 
Will grinned up at her ashen face.  “This is for the cougar.” He was back
out the door.  Orders or no orders she had to find out what was going
on.  She ran upstairs, got dressed and rushed out into the barnyard. 
There lying on the ground was the most magnificent cat she had ever seen. 
Its legs were tied and its head snubbed off to a corral post. On its head was a
small bloody wound, but that wasn’t where Jack and Will were looking. As she
bent down she could see the shaft sticking out of its haunch.

“What is this?”
she asked, as she reached out to touch the red swollen area around the shaft.

“My guess would be
a broken arrow.” Jack answered, as he poured the disinfectant.

“Explains why a
young cat like this would be hunting cattle instead of wild game.  He’s
lame.” She could tell by the sound of Will’s voice, he was angry. “Stupid
idiots.  Never should shoot unless you’re sure, and have a backup.” 
Will had used a bow when he was young, and he knew hunting cats with a bow was real
tricky business.  “Let’s hope we can get it out and get him moved away
from the ranch to higher ground before he wakes up.”

“How long will he
be out?” She stepped back and watched the men work feverishly to save the
cougar who had been making dinner out of their calves.

“No telling. 
I just grazed him.”  Jack said, as he opened the wound around the shaft
with his hunting knife.  Puss poured out as he separated the tissues and
removed the arrowhead. “Damnation, there’s a lot of infection in here.”

“Addy, run back to
the house and get the whiskey.  It’s in the cupboard over the sink,” Will
ordered, as he began to clean the wound. She did as she was told and Jack
poured the entire contents of the bottle into the open hole. Will whip-stitched
it and they loaded the cougar into the back of the pickup.  Will untied
its feet and the men headed up the mountain road to the wilderness area. 
They would keep driving until the cougar woke up and then wait for him to get
out.  The farther from civilization the better chance he had for survival.

***

By the time the
men returned from the mountains, the chores were almost done and it was mid-
morning.  The smell of fresh cinnamon rolls, frying ham and coffee greeted
them as they came in the back door. The table was set and a bouquet of spring
flowers was sitting in the window. 

“Pretty nice place
to come home to these days,” Will said, as he took off his coat.

“Sure is.” Jack
grinned, as he fingered the flower petals. “Wonder where everybody is?”

“Doing chores
would be my guess.  How’s the arm?”

“It will be fine.”

 Will noticed
Jack hadn’t removed his coat and was about to comment when Addy came in with
the egg basket.  Jack made a fast exit for the upstairs bathroom.

“How did it go?”
Addy asked, seeing the look of concern on Will’s face.

“Just fine. This
place sure smells great!” he said, changing the subject.  “Hope we didn’t
miss breakfast.  I’m starved.”

“We’ll eat as soon
as Andy and Scotty get back from the barn.” 

Will went into his
room to change clothes and Addy went upstairs.  She had a feeling someone
wasn’t exactly leveling with her, and she was right.  Jack was standing in
front of the mirror trying to put the tape on his forearm.  There was
blood all over the shirt laying on the edge of the tub.

“Just exactly how
did you plan on sneaking this by me?” she asked, as she took the tape from him
and pointed to the stool for him to sit on.

“Can’t blame a
fellow for trying,” he said sheepishly, as she cleaned the scratches and poured
the disinfectant on his arm.  “Ouch, take it easy!  That stuff
burns!”

“Serves you
right.” The two scratches were deep and ran almost the length of his forearm.
“What went wrong?” she asked, as she searched the medicine cabinet for the
butterfly bandages to draw the wound together.

“We got him to the
end of the maintained road and he still hadn’t come to.  We pulled him out
of the back, and I bent down to see if he was coming around and well . . . he
was.” He smiled at the dirty look he was getting.   “I think he’ll make
it.”

“I’m glad . . . I
think.” She smiled back at him despite her anger.  “Next time you do
something stupid and get cut up, just tell me.”

“Speaking of
something stupid, you with the broom . . .”

“I’ll drop the
subject if you will,” she conceded, as they looked up to see Scotty standing in
the doorway.

“Are you all
right, Grandpa?” Scotty’s voice was shaking with fear.

“He’s too tough
not to be all right.”  Addy grinned.  “Just not all that bright.”

“Woman . . .”

“Breakfast is
ready!” she announced with a grin, as she scooted out the door and down the
stairs.

 “Happy
Father’s Day” Scotty said, as he sat their cups of coffee on the table. 

“Worlds
Greatest Grandpa . . . Bar None,” Jack read his mug and gave Scotty a big
smile.

“Great Grandpas
are just like Grandpas . . . just wiser,” Will read, his voice rolling with
laughter.
  “Thanks, Scotty.  Didn’t think you’d noticed.”

“That’s not
all.”  Scotty pulled the packages from behind his back.  “Addy helped
me with these . . . a lot.  There’s one for you too, Andy, because I
figured you’re kind of like my uncle, and they don’t have an uncle’s day.”

“Good point,
Scotty.” Jack and Will agreed as they opened the presents. Inside were new
western shirts. 

“You made these?”
Will looked up in total disbelief.

“With a whole lot
of help from Addy.” Scotty was standing behind her chair and she winked at
them.  “Thought I gave the whole thing away yesterday, when I said my
shirt was just like yours,”

Scotty admitted. “But guess you
didn’t catch on.”

“Sure didn’t.”
Will said, pulling on the new shirt. “Fits like a dream.”

“They should. We
made them off of Grandma Em’s patterns,” Addy laughed.

“We’ll be the best
dressed fellows at the Fourth of July celebration.” Jack strutted back and
forth across the kitchen, grinning at Scotty the whole time.

“By the way, Son,
do you know how to dance?”  Will asked, as he sat back down and sipped
coffee from his new mug.

“No way am I going
to dance with any girl.” Scotty squirmed, as they broke out laughing.

“Not even me?”
Addy put on her best pout.

“Well, maybe you .
. . if I knew how,” and he added hurriedly, “but I don’t, so that’s that.”