Chemistry Lessons (3 page)

Tanner hurried out of the barn, heading toward the house. Rosie rushed
to the front lawn, and Destry followed. She seemed to be in rescue mode,
feeling for a pulse on the inside of Wile E’s thigh. Her brows pinched together
in concentration.

Perhaps he should have explained that the coyote was dead. He swallowed
hard. “I’m sorry. I think she’s beyond hope.” How could he make this up to her?
He couldn’t buy her a new coyote. She didn’t seem to be in need of another
animal anyway.

Mr. Curtis lifted himself from his chair. “Looks like our Wile E
finally got her comeuppance.”

Rosie glanced at Destry for just a second, offering him a half smile. “I’m
sorry about your chickens.” Cheddar came up behind her, whimpering.

Destry grabbed hold of Cheddar’s collar, pulling her out of the way. “I
hope you’ll let me dig the grave for you. I can put it wherever you like.”

 Rosie looked at her watch while holding her hand on Wile E’s chest. “There’s
no need for a grave.”

“You mean she’s alive?” he asked.

Rosie opened Wile E’s mouth and pulled a little on her tongue. “Barely.
She’s in shock, and she’s lost a lot of blood. Small animals drop fast when
their blood pressure falls, but she’s a survivor. It looks like the bullet
broke her shoulder.”

Tanner came out of the house, carrying a plastic tub.

“I need a blanket,” Rosie called.

Tanner tossed her a blanket off the top of the box. “I got a muzzle
too. The last thing I need is another bite from her.”

Destry moved aside while they muzzled the coyote. “What can I do to
help?” he asked, taking a step closer.

Rosie dug through the box while holding her phone to her ear. She
glanced at Destry. “Tanner and I’ve got it under control. We just need to drive
her to the vet.”

“I could drive you,” Destry offered.

Rosie slipped the phone back into her pocket. “He’s not answering.” She
handed a roll of gauze to Tanner. Then her voice broke. “I don’t know what to
do.”

Tanner wrapped his arm around her, kissing her on top of the head. “She’ll
pull through, sweetie.”

Destry stood behind them, still holding onto Cheddar’s collar and
feeling useless. They seemed to have forgotten all about him.

“I know,” she said, “but with all the blood and everything, it’s just
too much like—” She glanced back at Destry and then sighed while she rummaged
through her box of medical supplies, pulling out some IV fluid. “I have all the
equipment to do an IV. The vet would probably give her one for shock. What do
you think?”

Tanner wrapped the gauze around Wile E’s leg. “It couldn’t hurt.”

Destry watched as they slipped on gloves and assembled the IV tube in
the light from the porch. It was only after they sterilized the area and
inserted the needle that he remembered the flashlight in his pocket. He clicked
it on just as they finished.

Tanner clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for your help. I think we
can take it from here.”

“Yes, thanks for your help,” Rosie said. “And we’ll replace your
chickens.”

She didn’t seem angry at him, but Destry couldn’t tell what emotions
ran beneath the surface. He could only be certain that she thought he was
completely incompetent.

Her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket. “It’s the vet.” She took
the call while holding the bag of IV fluid.

Tanner walked toward Destry and lowered his voice. “I’ll let you know
how things turn out. Rosie’s got your number, right?” In other words, he wanted
Destry to leave.

Destry nodded. “I gave it to her the other day.”

The coyote still lay unconscious at Rosie’s feet when she ended her
call. “Let’s get her in the truck. The vet’s going to meet us at the clinic.
Can you hold this IV for us, Destry?”

Tanner and Rosie carried Wile E on a blanket toward a white pick-up.
Destry walked beside them, holding the IV fluid. Obviously, they weren’t going
to take him up on his offer to drive.

“I’d like to pay the vet bill,” he said as they laid the coyote across
the back seat.

Rosie took the IV bag from him and attached it to a hook above the
window. “That’s nice of you to offer, but I can take care of it. You had every
right to shoot her. Most people around here would have left her to die, even
with the collar.”

Tanner closed the side door before Destry could get in. “Rosie’s scared
to death of driving at night—she was in a real bad accident last year—so I
think it’s best if it’s just the two of us. I’ll let you know how things turn
out.”

Destry stepped back. “I’d appreciate that.”

Tanner got into the driver’s side and started the engine. Destry held
his hand up, watching them drive away. A minute later his feet still hadn’t
moved. Somehow, he knew Tanner wouldn’t let him know how things turned out.
Neither would Rosie. He was still the outsider.

Wile E rolled over on Rosie’s bed and pawed at the cone around her
neck. Seeming frustrated that her right leg was in a cast, she twisted, trying
to scratch with her back paw.

“Come here, girl,” Rosie said, sitting down on the edge of her bed. She
rubbed Wile E’s neck under the cone. After two days of watching the coyote
sleep, Rosie loved to see her this feisty.

Her phone rang. She grabbed the cell and stared down at the caller ID.
It was the bank returning her call. She swallowed, willing herself to feel calm
before answering. “Hello.”

The loan officer ran through the usual polite exchange of greetings
before he dropped the bomb. “I’m sorry. You don’t qualify for the mortgage
loan.”

She sucked in her breath. “Can you tell me why?”

“It seems you cosigned on a loan for your mother a while ago.”

Oh, no!
She
had forgotten all about cosigning on her mother’s mortgage.

“Is there anything else I can do for you? We could get you a decent
rate on an auto loan.”

“No, thank you,” she muttered. She said goodbye and called Tanner. Wile
E lay next to her, licking the palm of her hand.

Tanner answered on the first ring. “Hey, Rosie. What’s up?”

“I didn’t qualify for the loan.”

“Oh.” He sounded calm, almost like he’d expected this to happen. “I’m
sorry, sweetie.”

“It’s because I cosigned on my mom’s mortgage a few years ago. Now all
I can get is an auto loan.”

“You’re not thinking of getting a new car are you?” he asked.

“I thought I’d feel like getting a new car by now. I mean, it’s been a
year since the accident.”

“Your grandpa doesn’t seem to mind you driving the old hatchback.”

“I think he likes that I drive grandma’s car. It helps us remember her.
And it’s a little bigger than my old car. It’ll keep me safer if I ever get in
another accident . . . Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d been
driving Grandpa’s truck instead of my little car that night. Maybe Grandma
would’ve survived.” She could hear Tanner running water in the background while
she spoke. Was he washing dishes while she poured out her heart to him? Did he
have the phone on speaker?

“When Janessa hit you, her truck was going fifty miles per hour. I don’t
think your grandma would’ve survived even if you were driving a truck.”

“I guess there’s no use second-guessing myself.” She closed her bedroom
door, not that Grandpa would hear anything. “Besides, that’s not why I called.
If I can’t get a loan to buy the ranch, what else can I do? Grandpa’s serious
about selling. He’s started telling the neighbors.”

“Why don’t you let me take you out to dinner? We can talk it over then,”
he said. “It’s been too long since you took a break. I’ll get my dad to come
milk your cows for you so we can go someplace nice.”

Someplace nice—that sounded like she’d need to dress up. She had a long
list of chores to do, but he was right. She needed a break. “Alright.” If she
hurried, she could get all her chores done before their date.

“I’ll pick you up at three. It’s a long drive to where I want to take
you.”

No sooner had she hung up than Grandpa pushed his walker into the
hallway. He pulled a rubber chicken from his breast pocket. “A young man
dropped this by.”

She took it from him. The label said it was a dog toy, obviously a gift
for Wile E. “Was this from Destry?”

Grandpa pulled an envelope from his other pocket. “He left this too.”

As soon as she felt the envelope, she knew there was a stack of bills
inside. “When?”

“Just now.”

She ran through the front room and out onto the porch only to see the
dust trail of Destry’s BMW a half-mile down the lane. She opened the envelope
and pulled out the stack of twenties wrapped in a sheet of printer paper.
Destry had scrawled a note on the paper.

Dear Rosie,

Please accept this money as my apology
for the suffering I’ve caused you and your family (Wile E included.) I’m
betting you’ll try to return it to me. Please don’t.

Your friend,

Destry

She picked a peach from a tree at the side of the house and ate it
while she considered what to do. She couldn’t keep the money. Sure, the
operation had cost her at least that much, but Destry had probably spent an
equal amount rebuilding his chicken coop. Not to mention that he’d lost several
chickens.

She hopped into Grandma’s hatchback and drove down the lane. She found
Destry standing next to his fence, saddling his new horse. As she approached,
the horse turned its head, acting as if it might bite him.

Destry stepped back. “Whoa, there boy,” he said in a calm voice. True to
form, he wore board shorts and flip-flops, but she couldn’t help noticing his
muscular arms, holding onto the reins.

She approached the scene slowly, talking to the horse. “I won’t hurt
you.” She ran her hand along the horse’s side. Destry had cinched the saddle
too tight. She loosened the strap, and the horse calmed.

“What did you just do?” Destry asked.

“I loosened the cinch.” She took the reins, so Destry could see for
himself.

“So I had it too tight?”

She nodded, stroking the horse’s nose. “I don’t recognize this horse.
Where’d you get him?”

“I found him online. His name’s Orion. I got him from a guy in El Paso.”

She ran her hand down Orion’s nose. “Pleased to meet you, Orion.”

“I’ve still got a lot to learn.” Destry pointed to a bucket of apples a
few feet away. “I hear it’ll help to pamper him.”

“Horses are a lot like people that way. They only do what you want if
it benefits them.” She handed him back the reins. “Speaking of people.” She
pulled the envelope from her back pocket and unfolded it. “I’m sure what I paid
for Wile E’s operation is about the same as you paid to replace your chicken coop.
If I take this money, I’ll feel like I have to pay you back somehow. Then, once
I pay you back, you’ll try to pay me back. This could go on forever.”

He grinned. “That’s fine by me.”

A tingle of pleasure danced over her skin. She pulled his note from the
envelope, leaving only the money. “Can we call a truce?”

“If that’s what you want.”

“It’s what I want.” She handed him the envelope.

To her relief, he took it. “I still feel like I owe you.” His lips
tilted in a forced smile.

“Most people around here wouldn’t bat an eye at shooting my coyote.
Thanks for caring enough to save her. It means a lot to me.”

It took Destry a moment to reply. He seemed a little stunned. “You’re
welcome.”

“I better go,” she said, glancing at her watch. “I have a ton of chores
to get done, and I only have a couple hours to do them.”

She walked back to the truck, but the image of Destry in flip-flops by
his new horse would not leave her mind. It stayed there while she bottle-fed
the calves, burned the trash, and laid out Grandpa’s pills for him to take at
dinner. It stayed while she showered and put on her off-white, cotton dress
with the A-line skirt. And it was still there as she sat in Tanner’s pick-up.
Maybe she should have stayed to help with his horse. Destry could easily hurt
himself.

Tanner stopped his truck at the end of the lane. He pulled a pack of
gum from his pocket and offered her a stick. “You’re quiet tonight.”

She took a piece of gum and chewed. It was spearmint, Tanner’s
favorite. “I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“Destry.”

Tanner frowned and turned on his stereo. She had said the wrong
thing—again. It was easy to do with Tanner. She didn’t know whether it was his
nature or the fact that they’d known each other for so long. Whatever it was,
Tanner didn’t disguise his feelings well.

She couldn’t remember the first time she’d met Tanner. She imagined he
might have been the squirmy two-year-old she had played with one hot summer day
in the irrigation ditch. She was six years old at the time and visiting for a
week. For as long as she could remember, Tanner’s family and her grandparents
had helped each other with branding, shearing, cutting hay, and every other
labor-intensive chore ranch life required. Through the years, Tanner had
somehow woven himself into Rosie’s life so tightly that she couldn’t easily
remove him, not that she minded.

If they’d lived closer to the city, things probably would’ve been
different. Tanner might not have considered dating a woman four years his
senior. He would’ve found someone else. She might have too. But, here in Lone
Spur, there were few single people in their twenties—most people got married
straight out of high school. Early marriage had never been part of her plan,
though. It was a good thing Tanner felt the same way. He was someone she could
trust. He was probably better looking than any guy she could get in the city
too.

She ran her fingers through the short hair at the back of his head. “You
look nice tonight.” It was true. He wore a crisp white shirt and tie with black
pants—something he’d never done in the thirteen months they’d been dating. It
was a nice change. She liked a guy who could dress up after a hard day of working
in the fields.

He turned down the music. “Are you going to ask where we’re going?”

He had said they were going somewhere nice, which made her think they’d
be going to the Joshua Tree restaurant, but it didn’t seem like he wanted her
to guess, so she asked, “Where are we going?”

“Up the mountain.” There was only one mountain he could mean.

“You got us all dressed up to go up Mount Morris?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t want to go.”

“I want to go. I’m just not sure about the dress.” Or the gold sandals.
She also hadn’t planned to be gone so long. It would take an hour just to get
to Mount Morris.

“I have it all planned out,” he said. “Don’t worry about getting dirty.”
He turned the music back up as a country song came on.

If she wasn’t mistaken, he had made a new playlist of romantic songs.
It should have made them even more romantic that he sang along and reached to
hold her hand. What he didn’t know was that her third stepdad had also liked to
sing along to romantic songs, especially when he and Rosie were the only ones
home. He had a way of sneaking into her bedroom in the middle of the night too.
Would it ruin the mood to tell Tanner about that? Yes, it probably would. She
held onto Tanner’s hand and took a deep breath of air-conditioned air.

As they passed over a stretch of desert, she tried to focus on the
view. She caught sight of tree cholla—short little cacti with straggly arms
that looked like they’d been designed by Dr. Seuss. Gradually, the scenery
changed to tall grasses. Variety was one advantage of living in the Southwest.
She could view prickly pears, sunflowers, and mountain columbines all in one
afternoon.

Thankfully, Tanner didn’t know all the songs on his playlist by heart.
His singing came to an end, and he turned to a subject more comfortable for her—politics.
Unlike him, she had a hard time taking a side. Though she saw no easy solutions
for illegal immigration, health care, or rising taxes, they spent a lively hour
debating the issues. In some ways, their discussions reminded her of the way
her grandparents had talked with each other. They’d been opposites too.

Tanner switched to the subject of ranching as they drove up the
mountain. She loved Mount Morris. The cool air, abundant trees, and grassy
meadows were a retreat from the harsh landscape of normal life.

“I love living in Lone Spur,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean I want to
live the way everyone else does. Did you know that living in an underground
home can save you almost seventy-five percent of heating costs?”

She laughed. “Sure, but who wants to live underground?” She meant it as
a rhetorical question.

“I would.” His words picked up speed. “A nice underground home with sky
lights and a central courtyard could be really comfortable. I’d put solar
panels on the roof too.”

She kept her words relaxed, knowing how bent out of shape he’d get if
she kept disagreeing. “I can’t imagine a better home than the one I live in
right now.”

“Once you buy it, though, wouldn’t you want to make it your own?” he
asked. “You could remodel the house. Or build a new one. It looks like your new
neighbor’s building a new house.”

She had seen construction equipment driving down the lane. It seemed
like too much work to her. “I like my house the way it is.”

“I’ll have to show you some pictures when we get home,” he said, and
with that, he turned the subject to his future family and how he hoped it would
operate. There would be no cold cereal for his children. Their breakfasts would
all be high protein and nutrition packed. All of their TV would be educational.

“You’re kidding, right?” she asked, pausing to squeal as he barely
missed a squirrel running across the road ahead of them. “Your kids are never
going to watch a Disney movie?”