A Maverick's Heart

“Why didn’t you wake us? Maybe collectively we could’ve convinced her to see a doc. It sounds as if you think she should have,” Gavin said.

Ben laughed. “Gav, how many women do you know who can be moved once their mind is made up?”

Gavin shrugged. “I can’t recall ever trying to move one.”

Their party reached the vehicle, ending the discussion of women.

“Hot damn, she’s stuck, all right,” Ben announced then issued a whistle as he walked to the back of the mired Cherokee.

“It actually looks worse this morning.” Seth crouched to inspect the SUV’s cantilevered rear. “Last night I figured only the back left tire went into the culvert, but now I see both did.”

Hunter Wright paced over and leaned heavily on his cane. “You can see skid marks where she probably braked hard after entering this low spot where there’s still standing water. The fact both tires went into the muck will make extracting it with your brother’s winch easier.”

“You think so?” Seth rose to stand beside Hunter.

“I’d trust Hunt’s opinion,” Ben said. “But maybe nobody told you he’s an engineer.”

“Was,” Hunter stressed. “Before I went into the military.”

Seth took another look at the injured man. “Zeke only said you were all in the same unit in Iraq then got split up but kept in contact. I’d think engineering would be a field you could return to now that you’ve left the service.”

The man leaning on the cane gazed into the distance. “My dad and brother own a firm in New Jersey. I’m not sure I could fit back in. I only worked there a year before opting out to join the military. And my orthopedic surgeon at Walter Reed says I need at least one, maybe two, more surgeries on the leg.” He tapped his hip above the missing limb. “I envy you getting to stay here longer, Seth. It’s pretty much God’s country. Do you think you’ll do like Zeke and settle down here?”

Surprised by the question, Seth shrugged. “Part of me hankers to stay put. But I’ve got to travel the globe for work. It’s all I’ve ever done since leaving college. I don’t know how I’d support myself if I wasn’t searching for gems.”

Gavin, who’d circled the whole vehicle, arrived back at the group in the middle of Seth’s lament. “What about going after sapphires in some of Montana’s abandoned mines? Sapphires are pricey gems, right?”

Seth gaped at him. “Real sapphires?”

“I assume so,” Gavin said. “When Zeke phoned to ask if I could get leave to be in his wedding, I didn’t know a blessed thing about Montana. So I did some internet research. Sounds like there’s sapphires as well as gold and copper mines. Some of them are near here, but I don’t know if they’re operating. If Zeke can’t tell you, you could ask some of the old-timers we met at his wedding reception.”

“Speaking of the newlywed,” Ben interrupted, “here he comes. Let’s rib him about not wanting to leave his bed—so he makes us stand around waiting for him to show up.”

“Skip the teasing,” Hunter warned. “His wife is with him.”

Indeed, Myra jumped out of the pickup as soon as Zeke stopped. “Where’s Lila?” she asked, glancing around. “This looks bad. Was she hurt? I thought you told Zeke she was okay,” she challenged Seth. “It’s not like her to not be out here supervising.”

“There’s no need for her to come out,” Seth shot back. “I told her the guys and I would help Zeke rescue her vehicle.”

“Zeke,” she called, “I’m going to run up to the house to check on Lila. She sometimes tends to be too stoic for her own good.”

Her husband nodded. “This shouldn’t take long. Don’t get too wrapped up talking to Lila about what all you missed at last night’s Artsy Ladies meeting.” Grinning, Zeke winked at Myra even as he unhooked the cable on the winch.

“I’ll be quick,” she promised and jogged off.

“She had to miss a meeting to feed all of us last night?” Seth asked his brother.

“She didn’t have to. She wanted to see you all again and thank you guys for showing up on such short notice to be in our wedding. Well, not you, Seth. You already had tickets to visit. But the others.” He handed Seth the hook on the end of the cable and smiled at his groomsmen. “Damn, but I’m going to miss you guys all over again. Remember, any time you can take leave, ours is a revolving door. You, too, Hunter, once the docs get you squared away.”

Gavin let out a big guffaw. “Don’t you mean the door here at the Owl’s Nest revolves? It was clever how you prebooked us here.”

Zeke didn’t bother to look sheepish. “Hey, buddy,” he said instead, “wait until you get married and see how many big dudes you want snoring all night on the other side of your bedroom wall.”

“I was kidding.” Gavin gave Zeke a friendly fist bump. “Shall we quit jawing and get this SUV unstuck? Or am I the only one tempted by the cinnamon smell of whatever goodies Miz Lila fixed today?” He sniffed the air. “My mouth’s watering from here.”

The others agreed and, outside of Hunter Wright, who moved out of the way but still offered insight on the best way to hook the cable to the mired auto’s front axle, their teamwork made the retrieval short and easy.

Seth helped Zeke rewind the cable onto the winch then scanned the others. “I’m going to drive the Jeep to the house. Who wants a ride?”

“Do you have the key?” Ben asked.

“It’s still in the ignition.”

Zeke, who’d been about to climb into his pickup, stopped. “You left it in the ignition all night?”

Seth frowned. “It wasn’t like anyone could climb in and drive it away. Don’t forget it was rainy and dark, and I had a boy and dog to shepherd as well as carrying Lila, who was woozy after banging her head on the side window.”

“What? She hit her head?” Zeke exclaimed. “Myra is gonna be pissed at you. You led us to believe she was A-OK.”

“Yeah, well she let me know that wasn’t something she wanted to get around and worry her mother. She had a small knot, but the skin wasn’t broken.”

“Boy, Myra’s probably going to say it could’ve been a concussion.”

Seth shrugged. All at once Ben and Gavin, standing near the front of the Cherokee, ducked and flung their arms over their heads. One of them shouted, “Hey, cripes! Incoming! What the hell is that?”

The air stirred as a large bird dived talons first into the culvert and rose again with a screeching rodent. A second, slightly smaller, all-white bird circled above the dumbstruck quintet of men, crying, pyee-pyee, pyee-pyee right before the pair flew off.

“Wow.” Zeke was first to break the silence. “Those were snowy owls, guys. The male made off with a good-size rat.”

By then the others had sufficiently recovered from their initial shock to squint and follow the birds’ flight.

Hunter shifted his stance. “What a sight. I’m glad we had this experience. From the way Myra’s friend Tawana talked about how the owls return here every year to nest... I figured they’d already all gone north.”

“Are they dangerous?” Gavin asked. “I think that second one grazed my head.”

Zeke watched Gavin scrub a hand through his crew cut. “They don’t attack humans, dude. They do rid our ranchlands of pests like mice, rats and voles. Myra and I had a tug-of-war with a huge male once who tried to make off with her minipig, Orion.”

Ben muffled an expletive. “Not in your kitchen, right? Then again, who keeps a pig in their kitchen?”

Zeke socked his pal’s arm. “Hey, a pet is a pet is a pet. And the day it happened, we had Orion in a pen outside near where we were cutting alfalfa. I told you last night...the little guy grows on you.”

Wisely his friends held their tongues, although not all schooled their doubtful expressions.

“Orion is cute,” Seth said, opening the Cherokee’s door. “Hey, if we want any of that great-smelling breakfast before we leave for the airport, we’d better hop to it.”

Ben and Gavin climbed into the backseat, leaving the front passenger seat for Hunter.

“I’m positive keeping a pig in any part of the house, especially the kitchen, wouldn’t grow on me,” Gavin asserted once they were inside the SUV and out of Zeke’s hearing.