“No one buys property in this county without The Earl or me hearing about it,” Missy said. “You should know that by now.”

Missy and Earl Alden had combined their ranches and were now the largest landowners in Twelve Sleep and Big Horn counties. Joe had recently speculated Missy would likely be looking to add to her holdings now that she had access to Alden’s millions, and would likely soon acquire a Third World country.

Missy said, “It just saddens me that. ”

“You don’t have to finish,” Marybeth said sharply and showed her palm as if saying Stop. “I know what you’re going to say.”

Said Missy, “I’m sure you do. It’s just that you had-and have-such promise. And here you are. ”

Marybeth set her cup down with enough force that both women looked to see if she’d cracked it.

“If you want to continue down this road with me right now, I’ll have to ask you to leave,” Marybeth said, keeping her voice even. “I’m not kidding.”

Missy appraised her coolly. “I know you’re not.”

“So what do you need, Mom? I mean, it’s nice you dropped by and all, but I took the day off of work so I could get some things done around here. I’m on edge waiting for Joe to call. And I know you well enough to guess that you didn’t just drop by to have my cheap coffee.”

Missy nodded. “I do wish you would serve that coffee I brought you from Africa.”

“Okay, that’s it,” Marybeth said angrily, pushing away from the table.

“Please, sit down,” Missy said. “I’m sorry I said that. Everything I say seems to come out as an insult, even when I don’t intend it to come out that way. Please sit down.”

Marybeth glared at her mother, pointedly looked at the clock above the stove, then back. Meaning, You’ve got five minutes.

Missy said, “I’ll get to the point. You know that friend of yours-Nate? The falconer who got in so much trouble a while back? I need to talk with him.”

“Why do you want to talk to Nate Romanowski?” Marybeth said, surprised.

Missy didn’t break her gaze. She neverbroke her gaze. “Do I really have to spell it out?”

“Yes, you do.”

“Well, actually, The Earl thought of him,” Missy said, sipping and trying to conceal the displeasure she got from the last swallow of her daughter’s coffee. “I was thinking I’d take care of the problem myself.”

“What problem?”

“Bud.”

“What about Bud? He’s a ruined man. You ruined him. Why pick on Bud Longbrake?”

Missy said, “He can’t let go. He can’t move on. He just stays in Saddlestring and drinks the Stockman’s Bar dry every night. He tells anyone who will listen his pathetic story and he says terrible things about The Earl and especially me. He’s like a cancer.”

“A cancer you caused,” Marybeth said. “Mom, you broke his heart and stolehis ranch.”

Missy made a tut-tut sound with her tongue. “The transfer was perfectly legal, sweetie. Men are so emotional these days. I long for the time when men were tough and stoic. Now all they do is cry and whine and vomit out their feelings. What happened to our warriors? Where have all the cowboys gone, Marybeth?”

Marybeth was speechless.

“Anyway,” Missy said, changing tack, “lately, Bud’s been calling the ranch and my cell phone. He’s threatening me. I want to hire Nate Romanowski to scare him off.”

“Nate doesn’t do things like that,” Marybeth said, alarmed.

Missy smiled. “Then there are obviously things about your friend that you don’t know all that well. You see, The Earl had some research done.”

Marybeth looked at the clock above the stove. “I’ve got to get some work done now. You’ve got to go home.”

“I’m not asking you to do anything to Bud,” Missy said. “All I’m asking is for you to pass along a message to Mr. Romanowski that I’d like to speak with him.”

“I don’t see Nate anymore,” Marybeth said. “He’s in hiding. There are federal warrants out on him, Mom,” she said, practically pleading.

Missy was undeterred. “Your husband talks to him. And Sheridan still does, doesn’t she?”

“I don’t know,” Marybeth lied.

Missy lowered her head slightly and smiled woman-to-woman. “Marybeth, if anyone can get Mr. Romanowski’s attention, it’s you. Do you forget what you told me a few years ago?”

Marybeth sighed and shook her head. “You never fail to disappoint. That’s why I don’t confide in you anymore, Mom. It’s like handing you bullets to use on me at a later date.”

“That’s a cruel thing to say. By the way, did Joe ever know?”

Marybeth’s voice got hard. “ Nothing happened. Besides, Joe and I don’t keep secrets from each other.”

Missy chuckled and shook her head. “Oh, dear, you still have so much to learn.”

“I have to get to work,” Marybeth said, pushing away from the table. “Besides, Nate’s in love these days. He’s different. He’d never consider your proposition.”

“Honey,” Missy said, “how do you think he makes a living? Haven’t you ever wondered about that?”

Marybeth had. But like Joe, she never wanted to find out.

“Let Nate make up his own mind,” Missy said. “He’s got a mind of his own, doesn’t he?”

Marybeth refused to respond.

“Just pass along the word,” Missy said, standing up. “That’s all we ask. Tell him we’ll make it more than worthwhile for him. You know The Earl. He’s fed up with Bud, and money’s no object. As for Nate, my understanding is his lady love has a toddler she’s raising on a teacher’s salary. I’m sure she could use some support.”

Marybeth snatched both cups from the table and took them to the sink so she could keep her back to her mother.

“You owe me this one,” Missy said quietly. “Don’t forget what we’ve done for Vicki, the girl you pawned off on us last year. Vicki is getting the very best of care, thanks to us.”

Marybeth closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. Vicki was a foster child who’d entered their lives and needed extensive mental and physical treatment. Marybeth had only one place to turn: Missy. Since then, a pair of grandparents had shown up and offered to take Vicki in when she completed treatment, but Missy still paid the bills. Marybeth knew at the time she was handing her mother more bullets.

“Thank you for the coffee,” Missy said. “Have Nate call me on my cell.”

Marybeth didn’t turn around. She heard her mother call good-bye to Lucy down the hallway and go outside. In a moment, the motor on the black Hummer roared to life.

When the phone rang she snatched it off the cradle, expecting Joe’s voice.

Instead, a man said, “May I please speak to Mr. Joseph Pickett?”

“This is Marybeth Pickett. Who may I ask is calling?”

The man identified himself as Dr. Vincent DeGrasso of the Rimrock Extended Care Facility in Billings, Montana. Marybeth felt a chill sweep through her.

“Joseph’s father is George Pickett, correct?”

“Yes.”

DeGrasso obviously made these kinds of calls often. “I hate to call with bad news, Mrs. Pickett, but Joseph’s father has taken a serious turn. Somehow, he convinced a friend to smuggle in a half gallon of vodka last Sunday, and from what we can tell he drank it all in one sitting. The alcohol reacted with his medication and he went into toxic shock. Right now he’s in the ICU and his organs are shutting down.”

Marybeth closed her eyes. “How long?”

“We doubt he’ll last the week. Even if we can keep him alive, he’s not ever going to be lucid or functional again. A decision needs to be made.”

“My God.”

“There was a moment of consciousness this morning,” DeGrasso said. “George asked for his son. He seemed to realize it was his last request.”

A breeze came up and carried the smell of blood, entrails, and tallow from Blue Roanie’s body to Joe, who watched the brothers at work from the aspen grove. They’d draped the hide over a log, then efficiently dismembered the horse. They didn’t speak or gesture but worked in a quiet rhythm of flashing knives and strong bloody hands, with no pauses or wasted movement. Within ten minutes, they’d dismembered it.