Page 112 of The Honorable Texan
“Here we go, old fellow,” she told the snake.She eased him over the wooden box and slid him down into the piles of unshelled corn.
He drew back in a threatening pose and hissed at her again.
Odd, the shape of his head, she thought, frowning as she studied him.It looked like an arrowhead.That other snake’s head had been rounded.
Well, it might be some other species of king snake, she supposed.Weren’t there several?
She walked back out of the barn into the daylight, whistling softly to herself as she started back to the henhouse.She was so proud of herself.She’d gotten the snake on the stick all by herself, without screaming once, and she’d carried him all the way to the barn and put him in the corn crib.She wasn’t afraid of the snake anymore.As Rey had said, they were beneficial.It wasn’t right to kill something just because you were afraid of it, she told herself.
The man who’d been standing by the truck was nowhere in sight, but the truck was still running and the driver’s door was standing wide-open.She wondered where the driver had gone.He must have been in a hurry for some reason.
Meredith went back to the henhouse, put the stick down, picked up her basket and went to gather eggs.There were no more snakes, but there were plenty of eggs.She could boil several to go in her nice Greeksalad.The spinach she’d bought to make it with was crisp and cold and almost blemishless.The brothers would love a salad if it had enough eggs and cheese and dressing.
She got the last egg into the basket and walked back out again, pausing to reach down and pet one of the big red hens who came right up to her and cocked its head curiously toward her face.
“Aren’t you a pretty girl?”she said, smiling.She liked the way the chicken felt.Its feathers were very smooth and silky, and the chicken made the sweetest little noises when she petted it.She’d never been around farm creatures.She found that she enjoyed the chickens and the cattle dogs and the endless cats that hung around outside begging for handouts.
Two other hens came up to her, curious about the tall creature in jeans and tank top.She petted them, too, laughing as they crowded close.But then one started to peck the eggs, and she stood up again.
She turned back toward the house, her mind on the snake and her bravery.She’d have to remember to tell Rey and Leo about it…
“Meredith!”
The loud, urgent deep voice sent her spinning around.Rey was running toward her, bare-headed, with the cowhand who’d been next to the running pickup truck at his heels.
“Hi, Rey,” she said hesitantly.“What’s wrong?”
He stopped just in front of her.He caught her a little roughly by the arms and took the basket away from her, setting it aside, while he looked at every inch of her bare arms and hands.He was breathing rapidly.He seemed unnaturally pale and tight-lipped.
“It didn’t bite you?”he demanded.
“What?”
“The snake!It didn’t bite you?”he snapped.
“No, of course not,” she stammered.“I just got it on a stick, like you did, and put it in the corn crib.”
“Get my Winchester,” Rey told the other man in a harsh tone.“Load it and bring it back here.Hurry!”
“I don’t understand,” Meredith said with noticeable confusion.“What’s wrong with you?Why do you need a gun?”
“Oh, baby,” he whispered hoarsely.He pulled her against him and bent to kiss her in view of the whole outfit, his mouth hard and rough against hers.“Baby!”
She had no idea what was wrong, but she loved the faint tremor in his hard arms as they crushed her against his body.And she loved the way he was kissing her, as if he couldn’t get enough of her mouth.He’d called her “baby…”
She held on and moaned under the crush of his lips.
He drew back.“I’m sorry.It was such a shock.I was scared out of my wits, I didn’t even stop to grab my hat when Whit came into the office…!”
Her mouth was pleasantly swollen.She looked up at him dreamily and smiled.
“You don’t have a clue, do you?”he asked huskily, searching her soft grey eyes.
“Mmm.About what?”she murmured, only half hearing him.
The other man came out with a rifle.He handed it to Rey.“Safety’s on,” the man advised.
“Thanks, Whit.”
