“She’s not feeling well. Has a fever.” He poured a mug full and saluted them before he took a swig. Tori looked down at a laughing Jacob.
“Well, shit. He is a talkative one, isn’t he?”
Jacob’s mirth exploded and Doc grinned at the couple. Tori giggled and kissed Jacob’s nose. After pouring a cup of coffee, she headed toward the bedroom. “I guess I’ll go talk to her and see if I can get her to take it easy. You two get to tend the animals.”
“You going to get off that floor?” Doc offered a hand up.
Clasping the offered assistance Jacob pulled hard forcing Doc to brace or fall. “Hardy-har-har, asshole. If you hadn’t decided to come out I would have been getting lucky on this floor.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. She wanted to get up and didn’t need me there.”
Jacob grabbed a coffee mug and poured himself a cup. “Know it’s not my business, but a word of warning. Don’t screw me here, dude. Tori is more than a piece of ass to me, man. She’s the one. That means I give a shit about her family. You catching what I’m pitching?”
Doc sat his cup down and turned, rubbing his face with his free hand. “Don’t fucking assume I’m going to tap it and leave it, Skipper. She is a good woman, and she deserves something a whole hell of a lot better than me.”
Jacob took a deep pull of his coffee trying to come up with some advice that wouldn’t make him sound like some panty-waisted woman. “You’re a better man than you give yourself credit for.” There. Not bad.
“Well now, Martha, thanks for the ego boost.”
“Ah fuck you, man. You know what I mean. If you want her, go for it, but not if you’re just after a piece of strange. I don’t need the complication. I don’t want to have to kill you.” Jacob put down his cup and shrugged into his down-filled coat.
Doc grabbed his jacket from the peg at the door. “Don’t worry. I won’t touch her again. Good enough for you?” The door opened and closed before Jacob could respond.
What the hell was that about? Good enough for me? Seriously? How the hell did this morning go from almost getting laid in front of the fireplace to Doc getting as pissy as a teenage girl? Jacob knocked on the bedroom door. “Tori, heading out to saddle up. You have ten minutes.” At her muffled reply, he stepped into the bitter cold.
*
Tori closed the door and walked to the bed. Her sister lay on top of the sleeping bag. Her skin tinted pink from fever. Tori sat down on the bed and handed her sister the coffee.
“Did I hear Adam and Jacob?” Tori nodded his response.
Keelee coughed a deep rattling blast that sounded painful. Her muttered “damn” echoed Tori’s own thoughts.
“Feeling pretty bad?”
Keelee nodded. “Yeah. Like shit. Thanks for asking.”
Jacob knocked on the door giving them ten minutes before they needed to head out.
“Kee, you know we can do this without you. Why don’t you just stay in the cabin where it’s warm and we’ll bring the cows in?”
Tori felt her sister’s shoulders stiffen. “I’m fine Tori. Just a cold.”
“Alright. Then come eat something before we mount up.” Opening the door, she turned back. “You don’t have to act so tough, you know. It is alright to be sick.”
Keelee set down the cup and got off the bed. Pulling on thermal shirt over her t-shirt, she threw a sideways glare and stomped out of the room. “FYI. I don’t act.”
*
Tori’s body ached. The icy air cut through her layered clothing and made her feel as if she wore nothing against the arctic blast. Yet they all worked the hills and valleys of the pastures to the north and moved the cattle down. The breaks cut back into the hills, and dense thickets of trees, made slow work of gathering the herd. Keelee and Victoria were experienced cattlewomen and the cow-savvy horses they rode made sure nothing slipped past them. Tori suspected that all of them worked non-stop because each, for their own reasons and with experiences from their own past, knew no other way. By dark, all the cattle had been cleared and pushed down to the holding pasture adjacent to the line shack.
Keelee was supposed to called her dad on her cell and let him know they would meet him at Hell’s Canyon at noon the next day. But she coughed whenever she tried to speak so Tori dialed the cell and waited.
“Hey, Daddy.”
“Hey yourself. Why isn’t your sister making this call?”
“She’s sick, being an ass, and won’t go in to rest. But we got the herd gathered and we’ll meet you tomorrow.
Keelee rode over and coughed wickedly.
“She sounds sick, baby girl. She got what Danny has? Do I need to ride over there?”
“She probably does have pneumonia, but I don’t think you need to ride over Dad. We got a doctor on staff if she gets worse.”
Tori heard her father’s deep breath. “You tell that stubborn girl if she feels bad to ride on home or hold up at the shack till she’s feeling better.”
Tori relayed the command and Keelee tried to laugh but ended up coughing again. Finally, she cleared her throat. “Tell him I’m fine.”
Before Tori could relate the message, Frank finished the call. “Yeah, she sounds fine. See you tomorrow.”
Once all the cattle were settled into the holding pasture, Jacob and Doc tended to the horses while Tori and Keelee cooked dinner. Tori pointed to the couch, “Kee, just sit down. You don’t feel good, and I can do this.”
“I’m fine. Quit treating me like a baby.” Keelee stubbornly stood in the kitchen and put together a ranch favorite of bacon, onion, garlic, and potatoes. She buried the cast iron pot in the hottest part of the fire next to the pot roast and vegetables that Tori already had working.
“I’m not trying to baby you, Kee. I’m attempting to make sure you don’t drop dead. Come on, just come over and sit on the couch with me.”
To her relief, Keelee dropped into the sofa and leaned against the arm supporting her head as if it weighed a ton.
“So…you and Doc huh?” Tori’s question got a quick glance.
The blush that lifted from her neck to her cheeks had nothing to do with the fever the woman fought. Finally, Keelee spoke in a soft, wistful voice, “No, not really. I mean, I think he’s so… Well, I’m actually attracted to him, but he’s leaving when you do. No reason to get my spurs tangled with his.”
Tori gave a little whistle. “Damn, you do like him don’t you?”
Keelee groaned before she moved her feet onto the couch and sighed. The sigh, of course, caused a fit of coughing. “Damn it! I hate being sick.” Her stuffy nose made her sound slightly pathetic.
“Well, at least you’re admitting your sick now.” Tori went to the kitchen and retrieved a beer for herself and water for Keelee.
“Here. Drink this.”
Keelee thanked her and took a sip as Tori popped the top of her beer. She played with the label on the water bottle. “What’s wrong with me Tori?” The depth of the emotion in her sister’s words caught Tori’s attention.
“Besides the cold you mean?”
Keelee snuffed and nodded.
“Not a damn thing. You live on a ranch that you never leave. How do you think you’ll meet anyone? There’s always Clint.” Tori held back the small sigh of resignation that came with the realization her sister didn’t have many options.
Keelee groaned again and lay back against the arm of the couch, but not before shooting Tori a disgusted glance “He’s fixated on a wanting a wife and family. He has some crazy idea I’m interested. Honestly, he kinda creeps me out sometimes.” She shivered and that set off another spate of coughing. “Anyway, I think he has his eyes on the ranch. I’m a means to an end. Besides, he is not my type. He’s always telling me what to do. Like I’d listen to him? The only reason I went out with him to begin with was because I’m so damn lonely.”
Tori rubbed the stocking feet that sat her lap trying to give some semblance of comfort. “I’m sorry, honey. I don’t know why you don’t at least try with Doc. He is handsome and a great guy.”
“Yeah, and way out of my league, and let’s not forget he’s leaving. Doesn’t make for a good relationship.”
Tori kept rubbing her sister’s feet. She didn’t know what to say. Keelee was pretty, kind, and worked so damn hard. She wished there was a magic wand to wave giving Keelee an incredible man. But like her dad always said, if wishes were fishes we’d all be fed.
The sound of boots against the wooden porch prevented any further conversation. And the door opened on a cold gust of air to admit Doc and Jacob. They grabbed several pieces of cooked bacon from the table and a beer from the fridge. Jacob dropped in front of where Tori sat. With the bacon strip dangling from his mouth, he handed her his beer as he pulled off his boots. He reached around and pulled Tori off the couch and onto his lap.
Tori couldn’t help the happiness that bubbled out in a giggle. The joy she felt just seeing him multiplied by a million when he wrapped his strong arms around her. “Better now?”
Jacob growled in agreement as he pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her while opening his beer with his other hand.