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.Retirement was a closer reality than ever before, but thatdidn t mean it had to be at the WSR.It was a nice enoughplace and maybe he would seriously think about staying if ithadn t been for Chad.But the young man changed theplaying field by imagining he was falling in love.Jesse wasfar too old to let Chad limit himself to someone like him.Thoughts continued to circle in his brain as he andAngel made their way toward the fence line he would be111 L.E.HARNERinspecting today.And if it happened to take him past thespot where he and Chad first made love so be it.He couldadmit to himself that had been the plan, Chad would neverhave to know.As he looked around the beautiful chaparral vegetationand thought about settling down, Jesse knew this was justthe type of place he d like have when it came time.The rightelevation, moderate climate, rocks, trees, and miles of bluesky in every direction.He had very few expenses and otherthan those associated with his truck and travel.Between hisprize money and odd jobs, Jesse had enough to buy himselfa small plot of land.He just needed to figure out how he wasgoing to make enough money to build someplace to live.Until then? Well, he d slept in the bed of his truck before.A low moan and slight rustle of the brush caught hisattention and had Angel skittering in surprise.Reining in hishorse, Jesse held his breath as he listened for the soundagain.Another small snap of dried brush and quiet groanhad him dismounting.Jesse pulled his rifle from the saddleholster.Even without all the shit that had been going on atthe ranch lately, there was always the danger ofrattlesnakes no one rode the range without being armed.Getting his bearings, Jesse scanned the area for anysigns of life.There was no movement, no hint of anythingout of place.It had been a man s voice, he was sure of that.He couldn t see any sign of a horse, but the only thing thatmade sense was one of the men who d ridden out at dawnhad some kind of accident and lost his mount.He hadn tseen any sign of a loose horse heading back for the barn, andalthough a well trained ranch horse might stay by his rider,he didn t see anyone.Either way whoever was down neededhis help.112 HANGING CHAD Hello? Are you hurt? Jesse kept his voice soft, notwanting to spook any horses that might be hidden fromview.It would carry far enough in the quiet. Thank God, someone found us.Hang on,Tanner& hang on. The voice was panicky, urgent. Hey,we re over here. A man in a torn shirt, looking worse forwear emerged from between densely growing junipers atopa steep cliff face.It wasn t particularly high, but Jessecouldn t see an easy path to reach the top. Hold on, I ve got to find a path up.Is everyone okay? Be careful, there s a game trail just to the south side. Got it, I m heading up.Why don t you tell me whathappened? Rattler.My brother s horse panicked.I tried to grabhim I did! The stranger s voice rose to a panicked whinethat made Angel snort. Hey, it s okay, but I need you to stay calm. Jessedivided his attention between the narrow crevice he wasclimbing and searching for rattlers.If the brothers had seenone, there were likely others in the vicinity.It was hard to say what happened.One hand clung tightto the trunk of a small oak, while he used the rifle butt in theother hand to push forward.With a shower of pebbles andstones, the rock shelf he d been standing on gave way.Jessedove forward, trying to propel himself up one more step.From the corner of his eye he had a glimpse of somethingmoving toward his head with a blinding swiftness.For just amoment, it seemed as if everything slowed down and hecould feel every beat of his heart, every labored breath.Caught between a rock and a hard place, his inner voicemocked.Suspended in midair, even as he tried to jerk out of theway of the home run swing aimed at his head, Jesse had113 L.E.HARNERfinal moment of clarity.He d walked straight into a trap.Fuck.Then the side of his head exploded.114 HANGING CHADChapter Eleven Thanks for taking the time with the investigator andthe insurance adjuster this morning, Chad.I had them set upto meet with you tomorrow, since I didn t actually expect tosee you today. Chad looked at Cass s tired eyes and regretted hismomentary resentment of the delay. No worries, Cass.I ve got nowhere to go, and untilthey settle this thing with the fire, I ve got nothing to do.Anyplace you want me to be working? Cass narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a longminute. Come to think of it, I actually didn t expect to seeJesse this morning, either.And there he was, sauntering upto the kitchen about thirty minutes after I handed outassignments.He was looking for something to keep himselfbusy.Wonder why that is? Chad turned away, stared toward the distant hills, andbit at the inside of his lips. There was a time when I thought all I needed was thisranch, all these wide open spaces, big sky.A man canbreathe out here, can feel things without actually having totalk about them.Your horse doesn t give a good goddamn ifyou go three hours without saying a word. The big cowboy walked slowly toward the paddock andChad followed along, curious as to where this story was115 L.E.HARNERgoing.When they reached the split rail fence, Cass pushedhis cowboy hat so it sat farther back on his head and leanedhis elbows on the top log. Do you know the story of Tyler s arrival on the ranch? Chad shook his head. Before Ty, I was a whole lot like Jesse.Oh sure, I had aworking ranch, but deep inside, I was completely content tobe that lone cowboy.Go where I wanted to go hewinced do who I wanted to do
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