Рита Браун - The Hounds And The Fury

“Thank you, Jason, but really I’ll be fine, and Gray’s on his way. Save your skills for humans,” she replied.

“All right, then.” He turned to fall in alongside Walter, who had mounted up after checking Dragon.

Although they were human doctors, if Dragon needed emergency surgery or stitching, Walter or Jason could do it. In a pinch, a vet could put together a human, too.

As the field rode away, Sister noticed how well turned out they were. Hunched against the weather, all were correct in their attire, their tack. They had such pride in being part of the Jefferson Hunt, and she had such pride in them.

She put her hand on Dragon’s head. “That’s a deep ugly wound, but it’s a long way from your heart. Thank God for Walter; he stanched some of the bleeding. Come on, big fella.”

“It hurts, but I can do it. If you’d put your nose over that hole, you’d smell the carcass.” He then remembered the odor wouldn’t register with her.

“Wish you’d killed that damn coyote. Marauders, every last one of them.”

“Wish I’d killed him, too.” Dragon, head down in the biting weather, agreed.

Once inside the woodshed, Sister sat on a low line of stacked hardwood logs. Dragon rested by her feet. Leaning over, she rubbed his ears, a comfort to a dog. She stroked under his neck, praising him for closing so quickly on his quarry.

“He miscalculated.” Dragon, despite his pain, touted his skill. “I’m fast. Really fast.”

Both animals, grateful for the shelter, listened to the rattle of ice on the rooftop, to the wind picking up.

Sister checked her pocket watch. The hounds and field should have crossed into After All by now. If Tedi picked up a trot where the footing was good, they’d be at the trailers in another fifteen minutes. She reminded herself to give Tootie a small present for taking Aztec back. Leading a horse through rough territory, which some of this was, took talent on the part of the human, cooperation on the part of the horse.

Dragon shivered.

“Getting to you, buddy.” Sister took off her coat, draping it on the hound. She sat down in the dirt beside him to hold the coat closer on him. “You’ll make it, Dragon; you’ll make it.”

“I love you.” He half closed his eyes.

Both heard the welcome note of the eight-cylinder Land Cruiser engine.

Sister stepped outside, waving to Gray, who drove off the driveway to reach her.

“Janie, you’ll catch your death of cold.”

“No, I won’t. Honey, he’ll bleed on the backseat.”

“Put it down. Garvey gave me a blanket he kept in his office for when he sleeps over. I’ll buy him a new one.” He smiled as he strode into the woodpile, knelt down, and gently lifted the seventy-pound hound into the Land Cruiser.

Dragon immediately felt the warmth from the car heater as Gray closed the door.

The windshield wipers clicked against the ice as Gray drove on good roads to Crozet Veterinary Clinic.

“Think he’ll make it?”

“He will. The wound is deep; he’s lost blood. I don’t want him to go into shock. I checked his gums when I put my coat around him. But Marty can handle it. He’s dealt with worse cases than this.” She filled Gray in on the coyote, on Uncle Yancy in the tree, and on the possibility that the graveyard had been disturbed by more than a coyote.

“After Betty called me,” said Gray, “I called Sam. He’ll be there when Ben arrives.”

“He can’t drive, can he?”

“He shouldn’t, but my little brother will manage. Crawford may allow Rory to go with him, but if he doesn’t, you know Sam.”

Once they were inside the scrubbed clinic, Marty Shulman checked Dragon, put him under anesthesia, and thoroughly cleaned the wound.

Sister would need to pick him up tomorrow, but Dragon would be good as new once the wound healed. He’d be out for the season, which would hurt Dragon more than his wound. Yes, he was arrogant and could be hardheaded, but the hound breathed fire like a dragon. He lived to hunt, and his nose and voice were outstanding.

Driving west back toward Roughneck Farm, Gray sighed deeply. “Funny, we haven’t been apart that long. I didn’t realize how much I look forward to our weekends together until now. You spoil me.”

“I do,” she agreed lightheartedly.

“This last year has been one of the happiest years of my life.”

“Mine, too.”

“I can’t wait for Friday.”

“How about if I make that pork roast you like so much? Your mother’s recipe?”

He smiled. “How about if I bring you a gardenia bush in full bloom?”

She turned to stare at him. “That’s major.”

They pulled into the farm as Shaker walked out of the kennels. Gray stopped. “Get in the car, Shaker; the ice is coming down too hard.” Shaker hopped into the back, where the seats were laid flat, and sat with his legs straight out.

“How’s the boy?”

“Being sewn up as we speak. Pick him up tomorrow.”

“You should have seen it.” Shaker leaned forward.

“Sister told me it was dramatic.”

“And funny. On the way back, Uncle Yancy followed us. He hung back with Bobby and Lorraine. No fool. Going home is a lot easier for him if he can follow in our footsteps, since this will probably turn worse. And the wind was in his face. Hounds couldn’t get a whiff. Amazing creatures.”

“Did Bobby notice where Uncle Yancy left them?”

“The big sycamore at the second creek crossing.”

“Changed dens.” Sister liked knowing where her foxes lived.

“Gray, honey, I need to see to Aztec. I’ll have to leave you.”

“Girls did everything. Cleaned your tack, too. Cleaned up after Felicity,” Shaker remarked.

“What did she do?”

“Threw up coffee.”

“I’m going to call Charlotte. Felicity might have a bug. This is the second time she’s thrown up.”

“Well, don’t be so fast. She took a bet from Val that she couldn’t chug the thermos full of coffee. Val bet her ten dollars. She said it’s much harder to chug a hot drink than a cold drink. So Felicity took the bet. She held it down for about fifteen minutes. Dumb kids.” He laughed.

“Felicity is in charge of the kitty. Guess she’s trying to fatten it up. I’d think Val’s profanity would be doing that,” Sister said.

“I never hear Val swear. She’s a lady.” Gray was surprised.

“Among her peers she swears like a trooper.” Sister filled him in. “So Val, Tootie, and Felicity each put in a dollar if they swear. At the end of the semester, they’re going to throw themselves a party.”

“Good idea.” Gray nodded.

“Need any help in the kennel?”

“No, Boss. All done. Lorraine’s got the fire going. She said she’s making navy bean soup.” He winked. “By the time that’s done she won’t be able to drive home. These roads aren’t going to get better.”

“Lucky devil.” Gray laughed. “Wish I could say the same, but I need to get home and see if Ben is there.”

“Something’s not right.” Shaker rubbed his hands together. His joints hurt on a day like today.

“Damn kids. They knock over the tombstones. I guess this time they’ve dug up someone, or tried to. What’s the matter with them?”

“Last year two kids dug up a lady buried back in the 1930s because they’d heard she was buried with her jewelry on.” Shaker found it gruesome but titillating. “What they found wasn’t jewelry but the sheriff, who came up on them at the right moment. Remember?”

“I do.” Gray paused. “Did you notice which grave had been disturbed?”

“Not exactly disturbed. Coyote dug a hole. But the earth was packed down. Recent. Too recent.” Shaker wondered what was going on at the old Lorillard place. He put his hand on Sister’s shoulder. “Good hunt.”