One Ranch, Two Brothers
Chapter Three
By: BelleDayNight
Sesshoumaru made his way silently through the hallway of the ranch house towards Kagome's room, the picture frames adorning the wall catching his attention. The blue berry bagels he had stuffed in his pockets hit against his chest softly, reminding him of his mission. Perhaps he shouldn't bring Kagome this food after all.
He wanted to have a word with her. He wanted to stress that her little suggestion that he open up with the Wolfe brothers had failed. Sesshoumaru didn't like pointless chit-chat and he wasn't about to do it again. She needed to realize that this morning was the one and only time he would go through that effort.
He finally found himself outside her door and knocked thrice. There was no answer so he called her name softly. Still, there was no response so he eased the unlocked door open only to be greeted with an empty room.
Golden eyes surveyed the room and noted that the bed was made up. So obviously the good Veterinarian was already awake. He walked towards the window that faced towards the horse stables. Low and behold, one missing brunette was spotted vacating the building with a soft smile. She obviously started her duties of taking care of the animals.
Sesshoumaru shook his head as he left the room to meet his dear friend halfway between the house and the stables. She always did care more about the welfare of others than herself.
He found her brushing off her pants legs on the back porch and stood in the door frame casually. "Hungry?" His seductive tenor inquired with a twinkle in his golden irises.
Kagome grinned sheepishly at the attractive cowboy with the silvery white cascade tied in a loose ponytail at the base of his neck. "Don't you know it!" She exclaimed taking the bagel that he produced from his pockets. She raised a brow as she picked off some lint.
"Beggars can not be choosers," Sesshoumaru reminded her.
The two watched each other in silence as Kagome chewed on her bagel thoughtfully. She swallowed and then looked at him expectantly. "No water?"
Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed together in annoyance. "Woman, this Sesshoumaru is not your servant."
"Still talking in the third person I see," Kagome teased with a smirk as she took another bite. "I don't suppose you tried my suggestion this morning."
"This Sesshoumaru," he paused, "I did do as you requested. I have decided that I do not care to indulge in pointless prattle with the Wolfe brothers." His golden eyes locked with her sapphire ones. "You are lucky that I bother speaking to you."
Kagome rolled her eyes, not letting his belittling speech bother her. She had heard it many times in the past. "Yes, I remember you telling me that every day at lunch back in high school. Every lunch that you walked over to my tree and joined me for lunch."
"It was my tree first," Sesshoumaru argued, crossing his arms and a light stain of pink touching his high arching cheekbones.
Kagome giggled and raised her fingers to trace the pink blush. "You're so cute when you pout!"
"This Sesshoumaru is not cute, and you shouldn't skip breakfast. The horses will still be in the stable after you eat." Sesshoumaru informed her as he tried to regain his dignity.
Kagome patted Sesshoumaru on the shoulder with an understanding, motherly expression. "Of course dear, I'll keep that in mind," she vowed solemnly. Her eyes lit up, "Are you about to work with the cattle now? I'd like to see where they like to roam, get a feel for their personality."
Sesshoumaru used the last of his willpower to resist rolling his eyes at her eagerness. "You act as if the animals are humans," he teased.
Kagome raised a brow at her friend. "As if you don't think the same thing!"
Sesshoumaru chuckled deep in his throat. "I suppose you know me too well," he put an arm affectionately around her shoulders once she finished her bagel. "Come on, I want to introduce you to the other cowboys."
oooooOOOOOoooooOOOOOooooo
Kouga glared at the piles of paperwork on his mahogany desk. He loved his antique desk, it had been in the family for generations. It was too bad that he couldn't appreciate the beauty of such an impressive piece of furniture that was hidden under that paperwork.
Plus, he was feeling rather annoyed. His office wasn't far from the back door and he accidentally left his door ajar. He heard Kagome and Sesshoumaru's entire conversation. He didn't like the obvious rapport they shared with one another. He didn't like being out of the loop, especially when it involved his ranch.
He most certainly wasn't jealous, but he was aggravated. He didn't want some fille to come into his life and unbalance things on his ranch. He had worked too hard to prove himself a worthy and capable man. Not that he had to prove himself a worthy and capable man or anything.
If Sesshoumaru was going to take Kagome out to meet the other cowhands he might be inviting trouble. Kouga couldn't allow fraternizing amongst his men and his Veterinarian. There was no time for such frivolous affairs. Miroku's absentmindedness was more than enough distraction for the ranch.
Icy blue eyes focused upon the tedious paper work. He practically felt like a lawyer, trying to see the fine print and not be cheated for a moment's laziness. If there was one thing Kouga prided himself on, it was his efficiency.
The hours passed, Miroku had been gone since after breakfast. He hadn't heard Kagome come back inside his house, nor Sesshoumaru for that matter. Kaede was in the kitchen, probably preparing the evening meal.
He had a killer headache from all the little black letters and wanted nothing more than to ride his horse. The last time he had ridden his prized stallion was three days ago. It was time to take Argentina out for a run.
Kouga shoved his paperwork out of his way with a heavy sigh and pushed back his chair. He stretched and tried to loosen his muscles. It would do no good to try to ride his horse if he was stiff as a board. No one other than Kouga himself could handle the aggressive nature of his beloved Argentina.
His boots scuffed along the wooden floor as he made his way out the back door. He picked up his grey Stetson hat from the hat rack beside the door and slanted it over his eye. He made his way towards the stables with an eager bounce to his steps.
Kouga wasn't a cold hearted man. He loved his animals. He particularly loved Argentina. However, it was humans he wasn't so fond of. He tolerated them, true.
Once Kouga arrived at the stables he was surprised to see the second most temperamental horse absent. No one was allowed to ride Sesshoumaru's prized Prince Hector. Kouga laughed at the memory of the last stable boy that tried to help the stoic foreman name his horse.
Sesshoumaru was visibly insulted at the idea of naming his horse Achilles. He said it implied weakness. So he chose the name Prince Hector instead. Apparently he favored the Trojan prince to the Greek mercenary in the classic tale told in the Iliad. Kouga always wondered if Sesshoumaru actually read the book, seeing as Hector was killed by Achilles.
No one brought up that little detail though.
"Hey, where's Hector?" Kouga asked the twelve year old boy currently feeding the horses some carrots and hay. Joshua's father was one of the older cowboys that worked on the ranch. His mother had died a few years prior of Tuberculosis.
"That pretty lady took him out," Joshua informed him with a smile that accentuated his crooked teeth. Kouga silently reminded himself to offer dental insurance to Joshua's father. The child would certainly need braces.
"Does Sesshoumaru know?" Kouga asked, already annoyed that things were changing on his ranch right under his nose.
Joshua looked at Kouga with confusion apparent in his grey eyes. "Certainly he does mister Kouga," he assured his father's employer. "It was he who saddled him for her."
Kouga decided to make no further comments, it might imply that he was concerned which he certainly was not. He walked to his baby and gently rubbed his muzzle. Argentina turned his head into his hands affectionately.
Kouga had Joshua hand him his saddle and prepared his horse. He promptly settled upon his horse and trotted outside of the stable towards the fields where his workers were at. He wanted to check on their progress, but he was confident that Sesshoumaru probably had them ahead of schedule as usual.
Of course, on his way towards the fields he became distracted in the pure bliss he always felt atop Argentina. It was at such times that he forgot all his troubles and could reminisce about his days at the rodeo in his youth.
He was a champion rider, but once the ranch became a reality he focused on it. It had been a long time since his days of the rodeo. His fame had been both a blessing and curse. It had introduced her to his life. The woman that took his heart, ripped it out, threw it in a blender, and then handed it back to him with a smug look.
Those bitter thoughts caused him to ride harder. He failed to remember the temperament of his own steed and in his anger made a mistake.
He couldn't remember ever being bucked off Argentina before. It only served as further evidence that everyone he ever trusted betrayed him! His last thoughts were as dark as the darkness consumed him.
oooooOOOOOoooooOOOOOooooo
Kagome was riding with Sesshoumaru on his faithful horse Prince Hector. She was confident that his horse would take to her, but he was a little more cautious. They were both tired from spending the day with the cowboys and their various chores.
As usual, everything was ahead of schedule and Sesshoumaru offered to take her riding. He sat behind her on the saddle as he gave her a guided tour of the grounds. They were simply having a lovely time.
It was obvious to the young Veterinarian that it had been several years since Sesshoumaru had cut loose. She wasn't completely aware of the tragedy that haunted him, but she had a good idea. It had been nearly six years since they had seen one another, but rumors flew in small towns and she did go home occasionally.
She might not like either of the Wolfe brothers much, but if the only positive thing from this experience was a chance to help Sesshoumaru become the warm person he was meant to be, any obstacles would be worth it.
Miroku was a womanizer and she doubted if he had much of a conscious. Kouga was simply angry. That man hated her for the fact that she was using up his Oxygen!
All those thoughts vanished at the sight of the unmanned horse. Kagome turned to look at Sesshoumaru over her shoulder. She remembered having that horse pointed out to her in the stables. "Isn't that Argentina?"
Sesshoumaru's golden eyes narrowed as he looked past the horse to the direction he had traveled from. In the distance he could see the faint outline of a dark figure. "Curses!" Sesshoumaru muttered as he dug his heels into the flanks of Prince Hector and took off towards the figure.
"Good God," Kagome exclaimed as she slid off the horse and rushed towards Kouga's prone form. Her medical training kicked in and she checked the young man's vital signs. She may have been an animal doctor, but humans were just another type of animal as far as she was concerned. At least, in Kouga's case he didn't seem much more than an animal.
"Well?" Sesshoumaru demanded as he moved beside her.
"His pulse is a little slower than I'd like," Kagome answered distractedly as she held Kouga's wrist in one hand as she compared his radial pulse to the second hand on her watch.
She kept his hand in hers and squeezed it, hoping for some sort of response as she counted his breathing. "His respiratory rate is a little slow too, but it's as if he's asleep." She looked up at Sesshoumaru, the concern in his eyes reflected in his own.
"Is he in a coma?" Sesshoumaru demanded, cutting to the chase.
"No, just unconscious," Kagome smiled suddenly and redirected her gaze towards Kouga's hand in hers. "He just squeezed my hand, that's a good sign."
"It's about time you got your lazy selves here," Kouga muttered as he opened hazy blue eyes slowly. He glared at the two, but the look had little affect considering his disposition.
Kagome dropped his hand and stood up. She turned to Sesshoumaru. "He'll be fine, we need to get him to the ranch." She looked back down at Kouga as Sesshoumaru picked up the slightly smaller man, losing his balance for a moment before adjusting to the weight as the tossed him over his shoulder.
"You're going to have to stay awake Kouga," Kagome informed her boss. Kouga growled at her. "If you have to growl to stay awake, that's fine. I won't hold you to it."
"Should I put him over the back of Hector?" Sesshoumaru asked Kagome. "Or will the ride be too bouncy for him?"
"It's not a good idea to jostle him about. Do you think we could get a truck out here or something?" Kagome reasoned.
"Put me down, I'll walk. I just need a little support," Kouga informed the pair. If he didn't have such a killer headache he'd probably use all the four letter words in his dictionary to throw out at them.
"Fine," Sesshoumaru conceded as he allowed Kouga to slide to his feet. Kagome got on the rancher's other side. Sandwiched between Sesshoumaru and Kagome, Kouga was not a happy camper.
If there was a couple of people he'd rather avoid it would be them.
"Don't look so grumpy," Kagome told the dark haired man, trying to ignore the way his arm felt around her shoulders. Her arms was snug around his waist and she couldn't help but notice how the muscles rippled under his button up shirt. He was certainly lean. Against her better wishes she found herself fantasizing what those muscles might look like.
"Why shouldn't I be grumpy?" Kouga fired back, his temper automatically ending those little fantasies before they got anywhere good.
"I'm not especially pleased about hauling your heavy, useless body around," Sesshoumaru interrupted. He was growing annoyed with Kouga's taunts towards Kagome. He didn't care if his employer had a bad history with women, Kagome was not the root of all evil. "Just ignore him Kagome, maybe he'll go away."
"If only such miracles were to be," Kagome sighed dreamily, winking at Sesshoumaru over Kouga's slouched head.
"I hate you both," Kouga groaned as another round of pain ran through his body.
Concerned for Kouga's welfare, Kagome and Sesshoumaru put all thoughts of torturing Kouga aside and concentrated on moving fluidly to avoid injuring him anymore. "Do you feel sore anywhere in particular?" Kagome inquired in a serious tone.
"I don't think I broke anything," Kouga answered. "I've had broken ribs before, and this doesn't feel the same."
"It's possible you bruised them," Kagome commented.
"I think I probably did, they sure feel like they are on fire." Kouga grimaced as another flash of pain drew his attention.
"I've got some medical diagnostic tools in my room, I can check you out. Or we can call a doctor from town. The decision is yours. Although, if I think you broke anything I will call a medical doctor regardless." Kagome informed the man who was in too much pain to argue too heatedly.
Kouga gritted his teeth. This was probably the hardest thing he ever had to say in his life. "I suppose you'll do," he conceded.
Sesshoumaru looked over Kouga's head and shared a conspiratory wink with the young woman. "You really should work out and lose some of this pudge," Sesshoumaru teased. His boss didn't have an ounce of fat on him, but that wouldn't matter.
Kouga bristled at the insinuation. He forgot his pain in his anger. "I'll have you know I'm in excellent shape!" He raged with a fierce glare at his foreman.
"Well I suppose when I perform my physical exam of you I'll be a better judge of that," Kagome offered.
Kouga turned pale as he glanced at her in disbelief. Sesshoumaru struggled to keep his laughter contained. Kagome frowned at Kouga's pale features. Now wasn't the best time to tease him. "Don't worry, I'm a professional."
They were lucky the rancher didn't fall unconscious in a faint at the comment.
TBC