Sea Of Grass (10 page)

Tess laughed and slapped him on the back. Claire and Jack exchanged glances as the two laughed heartily. “Are you making enough?”

Tom rolled his eyes. “I make more money being a distributor than I ever made on my own. God, Tess, that was a brilliant idea of yours, you college grad you. I’m so glad you’re back,” he said and they both laughed again. “Warren is fit to be tied,” he said through their laughter.

“The old fu…” She stopped herself and cleared her throat as she glanced at her two companions. “The old geezer,” she amended with a deep blush. “Tom, Claire is our new cook. She’ll give you her order each week. She and I will come into town and pick it up, just like usual.”

“Usual? You never came into town for that,” Tom said seriously.

It wasn’t possible for Tess Rawlins to blush deeper; she avoided the raised eyebrow from Claire. “I didn’t? Well, it’s been a long while.”

Tom shrugged and turned his attention to Claire. “It’s nice to meet you, Claire, and you, too, Jack. I look forward to working with you.”

“Thanks, Tom. It’ll take some getting used to,” Claire said.

“Are you kidding?” Tess argued. “Tom, she makes the lightest biscuits, they melt in your mouth. This morning, she made these cinnamon rolls with icing.”

Tom licked his lips and held up his hand. “Whoa! Enough. I’m starving. Will you be cooking at the party?” he asked, and Claire gave him a confused look. “The annual Double R barbecue.”

Tess grimaced and winced. “I completely forgot. We still do that?” She caught Claire’s look of confusion. “I’ll explain later. Thanks, Tom.”

They stopped outside
Harry’s
department store. “It’s not really a department store like in the city. However, Harry likes to think so. Humor him,” she whispered into Claire’s ear.

“Tess, what a surprise. I haven’t seen you in years. Are you back for good? Got tired of the city life, huh?” Harry asked.

“Something like that. Harry, this is Claire Redmond and her son, Jack. Claire is working at the ranch, taking over for Maria until she gets back. We need some ranching clothes for the young man. The works,” Tess said, and Harry rubbed his hands together.

In a short time, Jack stood there in his new Levi’s, cowboy boots, and denim shirt. “Three pairs each, Harry. Except the boots,
one pair should do it,” Tess ordered as she perused the cowboy hats.

“Tess, I can’t let you buy this,” Claire said as she came to her side.

“Which hat do you think?” Tess asked, ignoring her. She picked up a black ten gallon and held it up to Jack. “Nah,” she said with a frown.

“Tess…” Claire insisted.

“Here, try this one, kiddo.” Tess handed him a tan Stetson with gold braiding around the crown. Jack’s eyes lit up as he tried on the hat and stood in front of the mirror.

It was then Tess turned to Claire. “Claire, he needs to fit in. You can pay me back. I’ll take it out of your salary.”

“Which we’ve never discussed,” Claire reminded her.

“We haven’t?”

“No.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to pay you.”

Claire put her hands on her hips. “I didn’t think otherwise. My point, Miss Rawlins, is I don’t want you to be paying for my son’s clothes.”

“I didn’t mean to offend you. We’ll discuss your salary when we get back. You’re worth your weight in gold with your cinnamon rolls alone. How about five hundred a week, plus room and board?” She absently watched Jack and took the cowboy hat off his head.

Bending the brim to soften it, she handed it back to him. “Thanks...”

“Tess…”

“You’re welcome,” Tess said to Jack with a wink.

“Tess,” Claire said again. Tess noticed the exasperated voice and hid her grin. “I want to be fair. That’s too much money.”

“I’ve never had an employee tell me that,” she said and winked again at Jack. Tess looked back at Claire. “I’m the heir to the Rawlins dynasty. Stop arguing with an heiress,” she said in a haughty tone that emitted a snorting laugh from Jack.

“If you continue to spend money like this, you’ll have no dynasty left,” Claire said, trying to make her understand.

“Okay. I understand your concern, and I appreciate you looking out for the future of the Double R,” she said seriously. “Now let me make it up to you. You need a cowboy hat, as well, and a good pair of Levi’s.”

Claire ran her hand over her face. “Do you always get what you want?”
 

“I never thought about it.” Tess struck a contemplative pose. “Pretty much, yeah.”
 

Claire narrowed her eyes at the grinning woman and shook her head. “Fine, I give up.”

“Good, knew you’d see it my way,” Tess said with a sly grin.

“Mom, you look great!” Jack exclaimed as he walked around Claire.

Tess was sitting in the chair waiting, twirling her hat as Claire changed. She glanced up and blinked several times, dropping the hat. Claire Redmond has hips, Tess thought stupidly.

The Levi’s fit snug and the brown cowboy boots gave her just enough lift. Her white denim shirt tucked in accentuated her trim shape.

Harry came rushing over. “Here, this will go beautifully, Mrs. Redmond.” He handed her the leather vest. Claire, who was blushing, slipped into it. “Perfect! Tess, what do you think?”

Tess, trying to find some moisture in her mouth, just gave a noncommittal shrug. “Looks all right,” she said nonchalantly and leaned back into a hat rack. She avoided Claire as she and Harry picked up the wayward hats.

The trio walked down the sidewalk. Tess was giving Jack a lesson in walking cowboy style. Claire smiled and kept silent as Tess spouted her words of wisdom.

“It’s been a while, but as I remember, you have to walk like you don’t have a care in the world,” she said and Jack listened intently. He took a deep breath and walked ahead of them.

“There you got it,” she said. “Now you need to swagger just a little.
Kinda
like John Wayne.”

“You’re not serious,” Claire said.

Tess laughed. “Of course I am. He has to walk the walk.”

“I love John Wayne! I know what you mean,” Jack said eagerly.

The imitation had both women screaming with laughter. Jack was in heaven. “Now you just wait a minute, missy,” he drawled and swaggered closer. “What’s
s’golldarn
funny?”

“Jack, stop! Please,” Tess begged as she doubled over with laughter. She took her hat off and fanned herself. “God, I’m having a stroke.”

Claire wiped her eyes. “Jack, you belong on stage. That’s enough, let’s not kill Miss Rawlins. She hasn’t paid me yet.”

A voice called out from behind them. “Well, Tess, you’ve come back. And who have we here?”

Tess immediately stopped laughing. “Telford, good afternoon.”
 

Claire watched the exchange between them; she saw the dark look on Tess, which changed her appearance completely. Gone was the fun-loving nature. She glanced at the object of Tess’s dark mood. He was average height, perhaps an inch or two shorter than Tess was. He was a rotund man who wore a gray suit and a bolo tie and a pair of shiny black cowboy boots. He took a long puff on his big cigar. He looked like a man on the verge of a heart attack.

“And who are you, young man?” he asked with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Jack stepped closer to his mother.

“This is Mrs. Redmond and her son, Jack. This is Warren Telford,” Tess made the introductions.

“Friends of the family?” he asked as he looked at Claire.

“No, Mrs. Redmond is an employee. She’s taking over for Maria. It’s always nice to see you, Telford.” Tess took Claire by the elbow and led them down the street.

“You look a little tired, Tess. You can’t run that ranch by yourself. Now that Stephen is gone,” he added, and Tess froze.

Claire saw her entire body tense as Tess let out a low growl and started to turn around. Instinctively, Claire put a firm hand on her forearm. The muscles underneath her fingers flexed.

“It’s getting late, Tess. I need to get back and start supper.”

Tess looked into her eyes; Claire smiled when the angry look dissipated. The three walked away without another word or look back.

“Nice to see you, too, Tess. A pleasure, Mrs. Redmond,” he called after them.

They drove through town in silence.

“Who was that man, Tess?” Jack asked, breaking the silence.

“Jack, it’s none of our business,” Claire said.

“It’s all right. He’s been after the Double R for as long as I can remember.” Tess rubbed her face. Claire noticed the tired lines etched in her brow.

“He’s huge,” Jack said from the backseat.

“Jack!” Claire exclaimed, then gaped at Tess, who was laughing.

“Well, he is. He’s an old…” Tess started.

“Enough, the both of you,” Claire said.

Later that night, Tess sat at the large mahogany desk in the living room. The small light illuminated the area as she looked over the books. Sipping on brandy, she sighed heavily as she checked the figures.

“Are we still in business?” Jed asked from the doorway.

Tess looked up and grinned tiredly. “Yes, Dad. We’re fine. Actually, we have more cattle than we originally anticipated.”

“Then why are you up so late and why the glum look?” He sat on the edge of the desk.

She tossed down the pen and rubbed her eyes. “I saw Telford this afternoon when I was in town with Claire and Jack. He made a comment about Steve.”

“What did he say?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said quickly, seeing the anger in his eyes. “But that I even hear Steve’s name on that fat fucker’s lips,” Tess hissed. “How could Steve have been thrown from his horse? I still can’t believe it. Do you buy it at all?”

He took a deep sad breath. “No, I don’t believe it. But Pat Hayward investigated and…”

“Shit, Dad. Telford had Pat in his back pocket for some reason. I don’t trust him.”

“Maybe there is something to what Tom said about the night Steve died. He said Steve was on his way home to tell me something. Damn it, I wish I knew what it was.” Jed put a gentle hand on Tess’s shoulder. “There was just nothing I could do. I tried getting the district attorney in Helena involved, but with Pat Hayward finding it an accident…” His voice trailed off.

Tess saw the tired look in his blue eyes.

“I’m so tired of thinking about it.”

Tess remembered when she got the call about Stephen. She made it home just in time for the funeral. Warren Telford had the nerve to show his ugly face. He hated her family and Tess never quite understood why. Perhaps it was because her father was an honest man who owned most of the land in the county. Everyone respected Jed Rawlins, and no one seemed to care for Warren Telford. He was a money-grubbing old man who would steal from his mother if he could make a profit.

When a couple of other farms went under, instead of helping, Telford foreclosed without a moment’s hesitation. Tess remembered her father and the other ranchers going to Telford, pleading with him to give the owners until the end of the planting season. Jed was furious when he came home that night. She and Stephen were sitting at the kitchen table doing homework. Her father came in swearing, and her mother tried to calm him down. Young Tess had never seen her father so angry. From then on, the name Warren Telford was synonymous with Satan.