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claiming to understand how he feels. Which is the truth, Sloan?
 I have known that man all my life. Every word was carefully and firmly
enunciated, a tight anger trembling in her voice.  How many times have you met
him? Once? Twice?
Working to haul in his temper, Trey looked at her for a long second.  One of
the first things I was taught as a boy was how to recognize a rattlesnake. It
doesn t matter whether it s coiled and ready to strike or just slithering
through the grass, it still has fangs and venom. Only a fool is blind to
that.
 Uncle Max is a rattlesnake now, is he? Sarcasm was thick in her voice.
A muscle leaped convulsively along his clenched jaw.  I think we d better
agree to disagree where Max Rutledge is concerned and just drop the subject.
 Fine, she snapped and jerked the napkin across her lap.
The solution was far from a satisfactory one, and Trey knew it. At the same
time he couldn t pretend that Rutledge was innocent of any wrongdoing, not
even to please Sloan. And she refused to concede the possibility of his guilt.
Which left no area for compromise.
Swept by a sudden raw energy, Trey pivoted away from her and muttered,  I ll
throw another log on the fire.
Before he could take the first step toward the wood box, the phone rang. Trey
swung around to answer it. When he saw the way Sloan s glance ricocheted from
the phone to him, suspicion reared its head.
 Was Uncle Max going to call you back, or should I answer it? he challenged
smoothly.
 You can answer it. I m eating. She dipped a fork into the vegetable medley
on her plate, all cool and stiff.  But if it is Uncle Max, I ll talk to him.
One rigid stride carried him to the telephone. He snatched the receiver from
its cradle and carried it to his ear.  This is Trey, he said curtly.
A man s voice spoke above a background din of music and voices.  Is Johnny
there?
 Johnny?
 Yeah, I was given this number and told to ask for Johnny. This is the Calder
Ranch, isn t it?
 It is, but Johnny isn t here. Who is this? Trey couldn t place the man s
voice.
 My name s Al. I m the bartender at The Oasis. We got one of your cowboys here
who s too drunk to stand, let alone walk or drive. Sounded like he said his
name was Tank, but it s probably Hank.
 No, it s Tank, Trey acknowledged.
 Well, Tank is tanked. He said this Johnny fella would come get him.
 There s bound to be other Triple C hands there who can give him a ride home.
The initial response was a partially muffled,  Yeah, yeah, I ll be right
there. The promise obviously was issued to someone else.  Look, this place is
packed, he said to Trey.  I haven t got time to poll the customers and find
out who works where. Donovan said I should call out of courtesy since a lot of
our business comes from the Triple C. But I don t really care whether the guy
spends the night in the drunk tank or not.
Sighing in grim resignation, Trey glanced in Sloan s direction, but she
appeared oblivious to his conversation.  Give me an hour, he told the
bartender.
 That s all you got, the man replied and hung up.
Trey pushed down the disconnect button, then released it, and punched in
Johnny s phone number. Sloan continued to ignore him. Trey waited for the
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phone to ring. Instead, the intermittent buzz of a busy signal came over the
line.
Turning, he said to Sloan,  That was the bartender at The Oasis. I guess Tank
passed out. I have to run into town and get him. There and back, it ll
probably take me a couple hours maybe longer with this snow.
 Be careful. The phrase sounded more like a perfunctory statement than an
expression of concern.
 I will. He was almost irritated enough to leave it at that. But Sloan was
pitting her will against his. As much as he had always admired her strength
and determination, this was something he couldn t allow to continue.  While
I m gone, you can think about this, he told her.  You re my wife, Sloan, even
when I totally disagree with you. So get that damned chip off your shoulder.
Her eyes flashed to him in surprise, but he was already striding toward the
door. Downstairs, Trey paused long enough to inform his mother where he was
going and why, then headed to the door and collected his coat and hat from the
rack.
Snow covered the windows of the pickup. While he let the engine warm up, Trey
brushed the snow from the windshield and side mirrors, then took a few swipes
at the side windows as well before he slid behind the wheel.
The ranch yard was blanketed in white, all previous tracks obliterated by the
new-fallen snow. And more flakes continued to fall when he reversed away from
The Homestead. On impulse, he pointed the pickup toward the Taylor house.
Johnny s mother came to the door when Trey knocked. Rather than track snow
into the house, Trey waited on the porch while she went to get Johnny.
 Something wrong? Those were the first words Johnny spoke when he came to the
door.
 I got a call from the bartender at The Oasis. Tank s drunk, Trey explained.
 I m headed into town to go get him. Somebody will have to drive his pickup
back. Want to ride along?
 He s drunk? Johnny said in surprise.  Hell, it ain t even half past nine.
 Course, he did take off right after he picked up his paycheck. It d be just
like that fool to try to drink it up in one night. Let me grab my coat and
I ll be right with you.
Taking him at his word, Trey retraced his footsteps to the pickup. Johnny
climbed into the truck only seconds after Trey did. The minute the door closed
after him, Trey set off, aiming for the east lane that would take them to Blue
Moon.
 Can t help wondering why he called you, Johnny mused.  Tank knows you ve got
a wife with a little one on the way.
 The bartender asked for you when he called. Snowflakes swirled in the
pickup s headlight beams, and the wipers maintained a fast, steady cadence to
prevent the flakes from accumulating on the windshield.  I figure Tank got the
phone numbers mixed up and gave him ours instead of yours.
 More than likely, Johnny agreed.  I don t imagine your little woman was too
happy about you going out on a night like this, though.
 She was fine with it.
Trey s somewhat clipped response suggested something entirely different to
Johnny. He ran a considering glance over Trey s profile, noting the closed-up [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]