Hot Water
by Holly
Chapter Two
Slim drug the calf towards the makeshift pen. He didn’t care how attached Jess was to the stubborn lump of meat; it was going, one way or another. He had spent almost a whole morning trying to round it up, and then it dug its hooves in and refused to budge. Only a lariat could persuade it to go anywhere.
Slamming the poles into place, Slim stood and watched as the calf walked happily around his new ‘home’.
“Damn creature!” He turned as he heard someone riding in. It was Jess.
"Hi, how’d you get on?" Slim asked, as Jess pulled up Traveler in a cloud of dust.
Jess didn’t answer, just dismounted and made for the house.
Slim hurried and caught up with him just before the porch. He grabbed a sleeve and pulled Jess around.
“What’s up?” His words died on his lips as he saw the blackening eye and cut, swollen lip.
They entered the house and Jess disappeared into the kitchen, only to reappear dabbing his lip with a towel.
“You alright?” Slim asked.
“Yeah.”
“What happened?”
Jess kept dabbing his lip, as blood trickled down his chin. He turned to stare at his boss for a moment before speaking.
“We’ve got trouble, Slim.”
Slim took the towel from Jess and tilted the man’s chin with one hand, while with the other, he wiped the fine trail of blood Jess had missed.
“I can see that. What happened?”
“It seems your neighbor, Clay Richards, has taken on some more men. They sent a message.”
Slim frowned. “Took on more men, just when most are layin’ off?" He dropped the towel onto the chair, while mumbling: “You’ll live.” He studied Jess carefully. “What did they say?”
Jess went to the bedroom and checked his face in the mirror, then returned to the main room.
“They say Richards is taking over the stream, and any Sherman stock usin’ it will be shot.” He waited for Slim’s reaction, and it wasn’t long in coming.
“You sure they were Richard’s men, Jess?”
Jess pulled a face. “Sure, if you believe what they said. Old man Richards wasn’t there hisself, but iffen he needs to hire in guns, then he probably is too yella to do his own dirty work.”
“No, Clay Richards has been a good neighbor for years. There must be some mistake. You must have got it wrong.”
Jess’ eyes flashed, and Slim knew he’d lit the touch-paper. Sure enough, Jess slammed a hand on the table. “YOU THINK THIS WAS A MISTAKE?” He pulled his bandana off to reveal a bright red welt around his throat. Without waiting for a reply, he moved towards the door.
Slim chased after him and grabbed his arm. “You wait up! Okay, so something is goin’ on and we need to sort it out. But not that way, Jess. You come with me to see Richards and we’ll find out exactly what’s going on. Then we’ll decide what needs doin’.”
“I don’t need to talk!”
“Yes, you do. We both do, Jess. Just think for a minute, will you? Do you really want to start a range war? What about Andy? He and Jonesy will be back from Aunt Jane’s tomorrow. You want to have them coming back expectin’ a peaceful homecomin’ and facing a hail of bullets instead? You really want that?”
“I guess not,” Jess conceded. “So what do you plan on doin’?”
“Like I said, see Richards. And if his men did that to you, then we’ll see Mort. Let the law deal with it.
“Oh, Slim,” Jess was exasperated. “That won’t do it. I’ve seen too many range wars to know that.”
“If you don’t trust the law, Jess, you and me are going to have problems in the future. Trust me, will you?”
“I trust you Slim. It’s the law I worry about.”
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