CHAPTER THREE

LADY TRACKS

WEDNESDAY

As usual, Heath awoke before sunrise. He could smell the biscuits cooking and the coffee brewing. He checked the shoe prints he'd left around Eugene, and they were still in place. He smiled and went to the waterhole to clean up, then was first in line for breakfast. He took coffee and a few biscuits back for Nick and Gene.

Nick was awake, sitting on his bedroll, relaxing. He gratefully accepted the coffee. "Thanks."

They sat and chatted quietly until the sun appeared and the men were waking.

"Should we wake sleeping beauty?" Heath asked.

"Go ahead," Nick answered.

"Gene. Eugene! Let's go!" Heath yelled, rolling his bed roll.

Gene sat up sleepily.

Heath handed him a mug. "Here's some coffee."

"Thanks." Gene sipped the still-warm beverage.

"Hey, Nick," Heath called. "C'mere. What kinda tracks are these?"

Nick stepped closer to Gene, staying away from the footprints.

Some of the hands heard the commotion and also came over.

"What is it?" Gene asked.

"Looks like lady tracks to me," Nick answered.

"Lady tracks? What's that?"

Nick laughed. "Heath, tell the boy what lady tracks are."

Heath pointed to the shoe prints. "Well, now, that kinda look like these tracks come from the woods, to your bedroll, and then back out to the woods."

One of the hands whistled, and a few others laughed. "You holdin' out on us, boy?" Shaeffer demanded.

Eugene looked at the tracks. "Those are—those are shoeprints."

"Yeah, they are," Nick agreed. "Look kinda small and narrow for a man's foot, though, don't they?"

"Those are lady prints, all right. Definitely lady prints," Jefferies said with aplomb. "Of the genus common woman."

Everyone laughed.

"Boy, you got some explainin' to do," Nick said.

Eugene stared around. "I don't know where they came from."

"C'mon, boy, 'fess up," Nick said. "You sneakin' a woman out here?"

"No!"

Nick shook his head. "No need to lie about it, Gene."

"I'm not lying!"

"Careful, Nick," Heath said. "You're gonna get him all riled up again."

Gene shook his head. "You're just trying to frustrate me."

"Looks to me like it's the rest of us who're frustrated. Looks like you had you a good night."

Gene's face turned even redder.

But then Nick noticed something. "All right," he said to those still hanging around. "Go get some coffee and get ready to move."

As soon as they were gone, Nick pointed at Gene's hand. "What happened to your knuckles?"

Gene pulled his hand back. "Nothing."

"That ain't nuttin'. C'mon. Let's go down to the chuckwagon and get something for it. Where're your gloves?"

"Wet."

"Why?"

Gene shook his head.

"C'mon." Nick put his arm around the younger man and walked with him to the chuckwagon. "Cookie!" he yelled. "We need some ointment and bandages."

Cookie was busy cleaning up from breakfast. "In the trunk, Nick. Right on top."

Nick opened the trunk and grabbed the supplies. He took a good hold of Eugene's hand before pouring a bit of whiskey over Eugene's knuckles.

"Damn it!" Eugene yelled and tried to wiggle away from Nick.

"I know, kid. It burns like hell. But you know we gotta do it. It will stop in a minute." Nick kept a hold of him until he quit squirming. "Ready for the ointment?"

"No, but go ahead." Again, Nick held tight to Eugene while putting the ointment over the busted knuckles.

Gene didn't fight as much this time.

"Now, let's get those wrapped for you." He wrapped each knuckle individually. "So, what did you hit?"

"Nothing."

"I'd guess a tree trunk," Nick said.

Gene scowled at him.

"Did you draw a picture of me on it before you slugged it?"

Gene ignored him.

Nick laughed. "Now, let's see if we can find you a new pair of gloves." He went to one of the other trunks and found a pair of large gloves. "I know these are too big for you, but they got to be to fit over the bandages." He held them while Eugene pushed his hand in.

"Now, drop your drawers," Nick said.

"What?"

"Drop your drawers."

Gene took a step back. "Hell, no."

"I thought maybe you'd want some ointment on those saddle sores."

"My saddle sores are just fine, thank you."

"Suit yourself." Nick patted Gene's arm. "Try to stay outta trouble today, okay?"

"Me?" Gene shook his head. "You and Heath are the ones who keep aggravating me."

Nick's dimples appeared. "That's the way it's supposed to be, little brother. Now, make sure you grab some biscuits, and we better ride out. You wanna ride flank or drag?"

Eugene would much rather ride flank. But he knew it was customary for the newest member to ride drag. Heath had already taken it for a day and a half. "I'll ride drag," he finally said.

Nick slapped his shoulder. "Okay, but if you need a break, let me know and I'll take drag and let Heath play boss."

Gene smiled. "That's okay. I have to pay my dues. Don't want anyone thinking I'm getting special favors."

XXXXX

Gene did fine all morning, but with the afternoon, the drudgery of the job had his mind wandering. First, Sally Jane. As soon as he got back to the ranch, he needed to figure out how to tell his mother he wanted to spend the rest of the summer in Ohio.

Of course, with Sally Jane came frustration. Would she consent to marry him? Like, soon? He could barely stand to be away from her. And when he was with her, he could barely keep his hands to himself—or his mind where it should be. It was a constant test of willpower—and he just didn't know how much longer he could wait. He loved that girl. Damn, he wanted that girl.

Nope, he needed to get his thoughts off that girl. Just thinking about her did things to him.

Think about something else, think about something else, think about something else.

Yeah. Think about trying to get respect. All these men were bigger and stronger than he. It was extremely unlikely he could save any of them from anything. It would be more likely they'd be saving him from something. Except—he was smart. He knew things. He'd already finished four years of college, and he knew a little bit about a lot of things and a lot about a few things. Maybe he could save the herd from an anthrax epidemic. He'd done that for one of Nick's friends—proved the science worked.

Or maybe he could use math to solve a problem. He'd had lots of math—trigonometry, calculus, statistics. Unfortunately, he didn't have a slide rule with him, but he could probably still do the math. It would just take longer.

Or maybe one of men would get hurt. He could figure out the problem and maybe keep them alive until they could get him to the doctor. He'd taken two semesters of anatomy.

Anatomy! Why did he have to think about anatomy! That only made him think of Sally—

"Eugene!"

Gene jumped. Nick pointed at a stray, and Nick did not look happy.

Gene swallowed hard and went after the stray. How did Nick always know? How could he watch everyone all the time? Gene's eyes went to the hillside. Of course. Nick rode parallel to the herd where he could oversee it all.

"Eugene!" Nick galloped to him. "Damn it, boy. Pay attention!" He pointed to where the steer had gone.

Gene tried to drive the steer back to the herd, but it kept escaping him. Every time he'd think he had him headed in the right direction, the ornery thing would double back and be gone again. Not once, not twice, not three times. Lots and lots of times. He'd lost count.

Finally, Nick assisted him in corralling the steer and took charge of getting him back into the herd.

And then he stayed, riding right next to Gene.

Gene refused to look at him. He didn't have to. He could feel the anger directed toward him.

"I have my own job to do," Nick said, his voice dangerously low. "And I can't do both yours and mine."

Gene didn't say anything. He didn't need to be yelled at and he didn't appreciate Nick's anger. But he knew he'd better keep his own temper under control. A mad Nick wasn't a good Nick to cross.

"Look at me, boy!"

And that was all it took. He was done. Finished. He didn't need to be chewed out. He didn't need to be treated like a child. And he didn't need to go on a cattle drive to prove anything to anyone.

Eugene turned his horse around and galloped in the opposite direction of the herd.

Nick quickly caught up to him, and when Gene didn't slow down, he pulled even to him and snatched the reins out of Gene's hands. Nick soon had both horses stopped.

"Get down!" Nick ordered.

Gene's stomach churned.

"Get down, or I'll take you down," Nick said.

Gene swallowed hard and dismounted.

Once Eugene was standing, Nick also dismounted, still holding the reins to both horses. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"I'm going home."

"No, you're not."

"You can't stop me."

Nick moved his hat back on his head. "I can, and I will."

Gene tried to make his mind work. An angry Nick was a dangerous Nick, and Gene knew he didn't stand a chance against his brother. Not a chance.

Someone had to back down, and it wouldn't be Nick. "Look," Gene tried. "I don't belong out here. I don't know what I'm doing. You're better off without me."

"Too late for that. We don't have no extra men."

"Nick, c'mon. Just let me go home."

"I don't have time to argue with you. So, you have two choices: you can get on your horse and go back to your job, or I can turn you over my knee and take my belt to your saddle-sore ass, and then you can get on your horse and go back to your job. Which one will it be?"

Eugene glared at Nick. How dare he! How dare he! Talk about treating him like a child! His fist tightened and all he wanted to do was show Nick he was a man. But his tightened fist reminded him of how sore his knuckles were.

"I said, which is it?"

Gene jerked the reins out of Nick's hands, jumped onto his horse, turned it, and headed back to the herd.

Eugene was aware Nick was following him, but he was far enough back that if Gene tried to turn around and make a run for it, he wouldn't have a chance. His older brother was smarter than he acted.

Once Eugene was back in his place, Nick pulled next to him. "Now, unless you want to get your butt beat in front of all the drovers, I suggest you quit acting like a snotty-nosed kid. Pay attention to what you're doing and do the job you're supposed to be doing. And don't make me come back here again."

Eugene closed his eyes and hoped Nick would just disappear.

"Damn well better keep those eyes open."

Gene opened his eyes but didn't look at Nick.

Nick left, heading back to the hillside where he could see everything.

Gene released his breath. Damn you, Nick. Damn you!

XXXXX

When lunch time came around, Heath went to the hillside to visit Nick instead of heading for the chuckwagon. He offered Nick a leftover biscuit.

Nick took it.

"What's going on?" Heath asked.

Nick explained what had happened. "I really wasn't that mad at the kid, but don't tell him that. I wanted to put the fear of God into him."

"The fear of God or the fear of Nick?"

Nick grinned. "About the same, ain't it?"

"If you say so." Heath rolled his eyes.

"Father did that to me on my first drive. Of course, I was only about twelve or thirteen, but it straightened me right out." Nick shrugged.

"You want me to take over as spotter?" Heath asked. "That way, if he does screw up, you won't have to deal with him."

Nick sighed. "That might be a good idea. I'd really hate to make good on my word." He considered. "And you might want to remind him to put more distance between himself and the herd. I told him on Monday, but he hasn't adjusted. I really do think that will give him more time to react."

"Yeah, I'll remind him."

"But keep an eye on him. I'm still not sure he won't bolt. I know he's damn mad, but at least he kept his temper mostly in check."

"He is the one of us that got your temper."

"I know." Nick looked worriedly into the distance.

"He'll be fine," Heath said.

XXXXX

Eugene didn't see his brothers at lunch, which worried him a bit. He wasn't sure where they were, and he hoped they weren't talking about him. Or that something else had gone wrong they had to handle. Of course, maybe they already knew they wouldn't be missing anything by skipping lunch. Nick had been right about that—each day, the food got worse.

When the others went back to the herd, Gene quickly took his place. He scanned the hillside for Nick but didn't see him. Of course, he hadn't seen him there for the first two days, either, but evidently, he'd been there.

Soon, Heath came up next to him. "You doing okay?"

Gene nodded. "Where's Nick?"

"He's riding point for a while. I'll be spotter this afternoon."

Relief flooded over Gene. At least Nick wouldn't be breathing down his neck.

"He told me to let him know if you had any, uh, problems this afternoon," Heath said.

Eugene scowled. "I'll bet he did."

Heath smiled. "Tell you what."

"What?"

"Stay alert this afternoon, and I'll tell you what Nick's scared of."

Eugene looked at his newest brother, interested. "Nick is scared of something?"

Heath nodded. "And I know how we can scare the bejesus out of him."

Eugene grinned.

Heath glanced up at the hillside. "Hey, I gotta go. You might find it easier to keep up with the herd if you back up some. Give yourself more space to see what's happening."

Gene nodded.

"Keep your eyes open." Heath took off.

XXXXX

Heath joined Eugene for dinner, but Nick didn't show up.

"What's Nick scared of?" Eugene asked.

"Snakes."

Eugene considered. "He was in on putting that snake in my boot."

"Yeah, but he kept his distance."

"So, what will we do?"

Heath explained his plan to Eugene. "I got everything we need."

Eugene laughed.

"Remember, we're not gonna do it until morning. That means you have to wake up quietly when I shake you. I already told the guys what's going on, so they'll all be up early and ready to watch too."

"Don't ever get mad at me," Eugene said. "You're way too devious."

Heath grinned.

It was almost dark before Nick arrived.

"Everything okay?" Heath asked him.

"Yeah. Good. We only got fifteen miles to go tomorrow," Nick said, "So we're gonna try to make it to Sacramento tomorrow."

"Will the holding area be ready for us at that time?"

"I reserved it for three days—tomorrow being the first of those three days—just in case."

"That means we'll just have to camp for an extra day or two?"

"Camp?" Nick's brow wrinkled. "No. Shouldn't. They should have the livestock cars there and available, and we can get them on their way early."

Perez approached. "Just wanted you to know that a rattler almost got Morgan."

Nick frowned. "Did he get hurt?"

"No. He was able to get away from it. But be careful out there. The woods around here seem to be full of 'em."

"Maybe we should build a couple of campfires between our bedrolls and the woods," Nick suggested.

"Ain't likely they'd come out here in the open. They like to stay in the woods. 'Course, I've seen it happen a time or two." Perez shrugged. "'Course, you're the boss. If you wanna build a campfire, go ahead."

Nick looked at Heath.

"I'd say just move farther away from the woods," Heath said. "But I'll build you a campfire if you want one."

"Okay." Nick looked at Perez. "Tell the guys to stay closer to the campfire tonight. It's better to sweat than to die."

"Will do, boss." Perez went out to spread the word—except not exactly the word Nick assumed.

XXXXX