Part 5 (1/2)
They sat on opposite sides of the dining room table. Her mother reached across and grasped her hand and said, ”You haven't heard a word I've been saying, have you?”
”I thought you were talking to Lucy,” Marybeth said.
”No, Lucy managed to slip away,” Missy said, through a pearly-cold smile. ”She's never going to wear that blue dress, is she?”
”Mom, I don't know know,” Marybeth said with a sigh.
”It's not a trivial matter. I can sense her slipping away from me. Perhaps due to the influence of her older sister and her father.”
”Please, not now.”
Missy pulled her hand away and sat back in her chair. Missy had always won battles by withdrawing her affection. It worked almost every time. She knew her beauty-and now her wealth-gave her power over others. Missy dramatically studied Marybeth over the rim of her coffee cup.
Marybeth antic.i.p.ated what was coming.
”You're killing yourself,” her mother said, putting the cup down. ”I hate seeing what I'm seeing. You have weary eyes, and I can see wrinkles where I've never seen them before. There, on the corners of your mouth from fretting. Now I hear through the grapevine you're thinking of buying a new house.”
”What grapevine?” Marybeth said, not answering the question. The down payment the accounting firm had paid for MBP was enough for them to look seriously for a new home outside of town, where Joe wanted to live. He'd never liked their house in town even though he refused to admit it. Marybeth wanted to have her horses accessible again, and to wake up with the possibility of seeing wildlife. Removing April from easy contact with whatever kids she was hanging around with would be a plus as well, she thought. Lucy would miss suburban living and access to her friends and social whirl, and Marybeth hadn't told her about a possible move.
”No one buys property in this county without The Earl or me hearing about it,” Missy said. ”You should know that by now.”
Missy and Earl Alden had combined their ranches and were now the largest landowners in Twelve Sleep and Big Horn counties. Joe had recently speculated Missy would likely be looking to add to her holdings now that she had access to Alden's millions, and would likely soon acquire a Third World country.
Missy said, ”It just saddens me that . . .”
”You don't have to finish,” Marybeth said sharply and showed her palm as if saying Stop Stop. ”I know what you're going to say.”
Said Missy, ”I'm sure you do. It's just that you had-and have-such promise. And here you are . . .”
Marybeth set her cup down with enough force that both women looked to see if she'd cracked it.
”If you want to continue down this road with me right now, I'll have to ask you to leave,” Marybeth said, keeping her voice even. ”I'm not kidding.”
Missy appraised her coolly. ”I know you're not.”
”So what do you need, Mom? I mean, it's nice you dropped by and all, but I took the day off of work so I could get some things done around here. I'm on edge waiting for Joe to call. And I know you well enough to guess that you didn't just drop by to have my cheap coffee.”
Missy nodded. ”I do wish you would serve that coffee I brought you from Africa.”
”Okay, that's it,” Marybeth said angrily, pus.h.i.+ng away from the table.
”Please, sit down,” Missy said. ”I'm sorry I said that. Everything I say seems to come out as an insult, even when I don't intend it to come out that way. Please sit down.”
Marybeth glared at her mother, pointedly looked at the clock above the stove, then back. Meaning, You've got five minutes. You've got five minutes.
Missy said, ”I'll get to the point. You know that friend of yours-Nate? The falconer who got in so much trouble a while back? I need to talk with him.”
”Why do you want to talk to Nate Romanowski?” Marybeth said, surprised.
Missy didn't break her gaze. She never never broke her gaze. ”Do I really have to spell it out?” broke her gaze. ”Do I really have to spell it out?”
”Yes, you do.”
”Well, actually, The Earl thought of him,” Missy said, sipping and trying to conceal the displeasure she got from the last swallow of her daughter's coffee. ”I was thinking I'd take care of the problem myself.”
”What problem?”
”Bud.”
”What about Bud? He's a ruined man. You ruined him. Why pick on Bud Longbrake?”
Missy said, ”He can't let go. He can't move on. He just stays in Saddlestring and drinks the Stockman's Bar dry every night. He tells anyone who will listen his pathetic story and he says terrible things about The Earl and especially me. He's like a cancer.”
”A cancer you caused,” Marybeth said. ”Mom, you broke his heart and stole stole his ranch.” his ranch.”
Missy made a tut-tut sound with her tongue. ”The transfer was perfectly legal, sweetie. Men are so emotional these days. I long for the time when men were tough and stoic. Now all they do is cry and whine and vomit out their feelings feelings. What happened to our warriors? Where have all the cowboys gone, Marybeth?”
Marybeth was speechless.
”Anyway,” Missy said, changing tack, ”lately, Bud's been calling the ranch and my cell phone. He's threatening me. I want to hire Nate Romanowski to scare him off.”
”Nate doesn't do things like that,” Marybeth said, alarmed.
Missy smiled. ”Then there are obviously things about your friend that you don't know all that well. You see, The Earl had some research done.”
Marybeth looked at the clock above the stove. ”I've got to get some work done now. You've got to go home.”
”I'm not asking you to do anything to Bud,” Missy said. ”All I'm asking is for you to pa.s.s along a message to Mr. Romanowski that I'd like to speak with him.”
”I don't see Nate anymore,” Marybeth said. ”He's in hiding. There are federal warrants out on him, Mom,” she said, practically pleading.
Missy was undeterred. ”Your husband talks to him. And Sheridan still does, doesn't she?”
”I don't know,” Marybeth lied.
Missy lowered her head slightly and smiled woman-to-woman. ”Marybeth, if anyone can get Mr. Romanowski's attention, it's you. Do you forget what you told me a few years ago?”
Marybeth sighed and shook her head. ”You never fail to disappoint. That's why I don't confide in you anymore, Mom. It's like handing you bullets to use on me at a later date.”
”That's a cruel thing to say. By the way, did Joe ever know?”
Marybeth's voice got hard. ”Nothing happened. Besides, Joe and I don't keep secrets from each other.”