Chapter Eighteen
Chance
I woke up with a dull, aching pain throbbing in my head. For a good few moments, I didn't know where I was or how I'd got there. I looked up at the open sky above me and heard the gurgle of the creek to my right. Magnum was there, nuzzling my face and neck. His usually spotless white body was covered in dirt, and there was blood running down one of his legs; it looked like he'd taken a fall.
That’s when it started coming back to me. We’d been crossing at the creek. Mackenzie had been with me, and I'd been going down the bank, leading the way across – but that was the last thing I remembered. I must have fallen, somehow, but I didn't remember doing it.
And where was Mackenzie? She'd been right behind me, but I was alone with Magnum. I groaned and hauled myself up from the ground. I crawled over to the creek on my hands and knees and splashed the cold water onto my face, which helped a bit to make me feel more alert and awake. Still, I was groggy and disoriented, and couldn't get up onto my feet.
“There he is! Chance, are you all right?”
It was Mackenzie's voice. I turned around, still on all fours, and looked up. She was at the top of the bank, still mounted on Daisy. Andy was with her, mounted on his own horse, Moonshine. He jumped off and ran down the bank followed by Mackenzie.
“Are you okay, kid? C'mon, say something, tell me you're okay!” Andy said frantically as he reached me.
“I'm dizzy, and a bit confused, but I'm all right, I think.”
“Mackenzie came and found me, told me you'd fallen down the bank and hit your head. Looks like you've got a nasty gash there,” he said, looking at the top of my head. “Must a' knocked you clean out.”
“When did it happen?” I asked.
“At least five minutes ago,” Mackenzie replied.
“Damn, so I've been out cold for at least five minutes,” I said. “I got hit good, I guess.”
“What made you fall?” Andy asked. “You've done this crossing thousands of times.”
“I don't remember. I just remember being on Magnum, heading down the bank – then that was it. How is he?”
Andy walked over to Magnum and looked him over. “He's all right. A few scratches from the fall, but nothing serious.”
“We have to get you to a doctor,” Mackenzie stated.
“I'll be fine,” I said. “Just help me up to my feet.”
She crossed her arms over her chest.
“We don't know that you'll be 'just fine',” she said. “You can't take chances with head injuries. You're going to see a doctor right away, whether you like it or not.”
I sighed. Her tone told me there wouldn't be any arguing.
“Okay, okay, I'll go see a doctor,” I replied, giving in without much of a fight. “But ya’ll need to help me up that bank. Once I'm back on level ground, I'll be able to get back on Magnum and get to the truck.”
“All right,” Andy said. “C'mon, I'll help you up.”
He knelt down next to me, put his arm around my torso and helped me to my feet. I was still dizzy and a bit unbalanced, but my stability was returning slowly but surely. I gripped Andy's shoulder to help me maintain my balance.
Halfway up the bank, Andy stopped. “Well now,” he said. “I think we know why Magnum took a fall.”
There, almost invisible but glinting in the sunlight, was a tight tripwire strung across the trail at just the right height for a horse to trip over. A rush of red anger flooded through me – this had to have been the work of the Circle B saboteur.
“Mackenzie,” Andy said, “look in my left side saddlebag, there's a pair of pliers in there. Do me a favor and bring 'em here so I can cut this tripwire, so nobody else takes a tumble down this bank.”
Mackenzie nodded and quickly searched around inside the saddlebag on Moonshine. She found the pliers soon enough and headed back down the bank.
“I'll cut this end,” she said, pointing to where the tripwire was fastened to a thick tree root growing out of the bank.
She knelt down and cut the wire, but before she stood up, she paused and sniffed at the root.
“What it is?” Andy asked.
“That's really weird,” she replied.
“What’s weird?” I countered.
“It's just the slightest hint, but I'd recognize that scent anywhere. It's perfume – a very specific kind of perfume.”
Andy and I looked at each other with a knowing glance. Before, we'd found a woman's footprints connected to the poisoning of Silver, and now there was evidence of a woman's perfume at the scene of another sabotage on my ranch.
“What kinda perfume?” Andy questioned.
“It's called Jasmine Seventeen,” Mackenzie told us. “I’d know it anywhere. It used to be my go-to perfume when I was in my early twenties so that scent is imprinted forever on my memory.”
“Why the heck would someone wear perfume when they were sneaking onto someone's land and setting traps?” Andy asked.
“Well, that's the thing with Jasmine Seventeen – it's pretty resilient stuff,” replied Mackenzie. “The scent stays on you a long time, sometimes even lasting through a shower. So, whoever did this might have put it on several hours before doing this, or might have gone out somewhere the night before they did this.”
Andy nodded. “I see. Well, good detective work there, Miss Shea. One more piece a' the puzzle, one more piece. And eventually, we're gonna put it all together and catch the bit—” Andy stopped himself. "'Scuse my French. The unsavory character who's been doing this.”
“No offense taken, Andy,” Mackenzie replied, “because whoever has been doing this is a bitch. An evil, conniving bitch who deserves to be in jail.”
“Damn straight,” Andy agreed. “And we will see to it that happens. But for now, let's try to get Chance here up the bank.”
“Yes, that's the priority for the moment,” Mackenzie concurred.
She made her way to me and put her arm around the other side of my torso. With the help and support of both of them, I managed to get to the top of the bank. Then Andy went down and led Magnum up to join us.
“You sure you're all right to ride?” Andy asked as he handed me Magnum's reins.
I was still a little dizzy, but I felt okay to ride.
“Sure, probably better than trying to let me walk. We'll just keep the pace kinda slow,” I said.
Andy helped me up onto Magnum, and then I led the way back to the ranch, setting the pace and keeping it slow and steady. Once we were back at the stables, Andy helped me dismount and then got the horses back in the stables.
“I'll get one of the boys to get the saddles and riding gear off the horses and get them watered and fed. For now, Miss Shea, can you help get Chance up to the house? I'll drive him to the doctor.”
Mackenzie nodded. “Sure. I'll see you up there in a few minutes.”
I draped an arm around Mackenzie's shoulders and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Thank you, Mackenzie.”
“No problem,” she replied. “You feeling all right? You able to walk up there? Just lean on me as much as you like.”
“I'm mostly okay,” I said. “I'll let you know if I'm feeling dizzy.”
We walked up to the house together, and Mackenzie helped me get onto the porch, where I sat down on the porch swing.
“I'll go to the kitchen and get you something cold to drink while we wait for Andy,” she said. “Is there anything, in particular, you'd like?”
“There's some orange soda in the fridge,” I said. “I sure wouldn't mind a cold glass a' that right now. The fridge has an ice dispenser, could you drop a block or two in for me?”
She smiled and kissed me on my forehead.
“Of course. Do you need anything else?” she asked.
“Not right now. Thank you... you're a sweetheart.”
She smiled, turned around, and walked into the house, and despite the state I was in, I couldn't help but stare at her sexy, curvy ass and the sway of her hips as she walked. Damn, she was a beautiful woman with a beautiful body, and I couldn't wait to get to know her better – in all sorts of ways.
She returned shortly with a glass of cold soda, which she handed to me with a smile – a smile that would have made me weak at the knees even without a blow to the head. I was glad that I was already sitting down, otherwise, it would likely have knocked me right off my shaky legs.
She had poured a glass for herself as well, and we sipped the soda as we talked until Andy arrived.
“Feeling better, kid?” he asked.
I nodded. “Sure am, even though I wouldn't say I'm a hundred percent.”
“All right boss, well, if you're ready, you can give me the keys to your truck, and I'll drive you down to Doctor Ford's. I gave him a call, and he's expecting you.”
“Thanks, Andy.” I looked at my watch and then at Mackenzie. “Mackenzie, could I ask you a huge favor?”
“Sure thing. What is it?”
“Cassie will be waking up from her nap soon. Could you fix her a lil' something to eat, and hang out with her while I'm out? Jess needs to leave soon. We shouldn't be gone longer than an hour and a half.”
She smiled. “I'd be happy to.”
“You really a Godsend, you know that?” I said, leaning across to kiss her.
I got up – now feeling able to walk on my own, without assistance – and headed over to the truck. Andy helped me into the passenger side, and then we both waved goodbye to Mackenzie as we drove off. I watched her standing there on my porch until she faded out of sight. God, she was a beautiful woman, inside and out.
“What are we gonna do about this sabotage situation?” Andy asked as we drove.
“I'm not sure. I really don't know what to do. I mean, it seems we're getting closer to catching the culprit, but they're also ramping up their efforts. Sooner or later, something more serious is gonna happen. What that's gonna be I'm not sure, but at this rate, someone is gonna get hurt worse than a knock on the head.”
“I know,” he said grimly. “I just hope we can catch 'em and put an end to this before something like that happens.”
We got to the doctor's office twenty minutes later, and I didn't have to wait long for him to see me. He took my blood pressure, checked my pupils, and asked me a few questions. Then he cleaned up the cut on my scalp.
“You took a nasty hit there,” he said, “and you have a concussion. Luckily, it's not extremely serious, but it's no laughing matter either. You're going to need plenty of rest over the next few days, and I wouldn't recommend doing anything like driving or operating heavy machinery for at least twenty-four to forty-eight hours, not just for your own safety but for the safety of others around you. You can take aspirin for the headache, which will likely persist until tomorrow or the next day, but otherwise, as I said, just take it easy, and you should be okay. If you start having blackouts or find yourself losing your balance a lot, though, come back and see me immediately.”
“Thanks, Doc,” I said. “Much appreciated.”
We finished up with the doctor, and I stepped out of the exam room and made my way back to the waiting room where Andy was sitting reading a gun magazine. Sitting two seats down from him, I was surprised to see a face I hadn't seen since high school: a good buddy of mine from my teenage years, Judd Wilson.
“Judd, holy crap, is that you?” I asked.
He stood and grinned, and we shook hands firmly before pulling each other into a hug. He was a little heavier and a little balder than when I'd seen him last all those years ago, but otherwise, he looked like the same old dude.
“Damn, well how about this? Chance freakin' Lawson. How you doing buddy? You still out on the family ranch?”
“Sure am. Just took a tumble off one of my horses actually, cracked my head open on a rock, that's why I'm here.”
“Damn, sorry to hear that. I'm just here on account of an upset stomach. Maybe it's just I'm not so used to this Nashville water anymore, but I figured better safe than sorry.”
“So, you don't live in Nashville anymore?” I asked.
“Nope, I'm a native of Austin, Texas now.”
“Ah, cool. Austin is a great place. What are you doing there?”
“Actually, I own Regent Records,” he replied.
I was surprised to hear that. Regent was becoming a very well-known record label among many of the artists I played on my station. They weren't quite major league, but they were far bigger than most indie labels.
“Ah, yeah man, I know Regent Records. Hell, didn't know it was one of my old high school buddies who owned it, though! What are you doing in Nashville then, looking to come here and poach some of our homegrown talent?”
“Actually, yeah, that's exactly why I'm here,” he replied. “We're always looking to take on new artists. We've got a great setup, actually. I own a big property just outside Austin. I've got a few smaller houses built on the land, and a recording studio. For new artists, they get to come live in one of the houses and they have full access to the studio to rehearse and play. I've found it works well when it comes to the process of writing and recording an album.”
“That sounds interesting,” I said. “So, the artists move to Austin?”
“Well, yeah. That's how the deal I offer them works. Gives them the chance to focus solely on their music without worrying about a day job and how they’re gonna pay the rent, which means I get a better product to promote.”
“Yeah, for sure man,” I stated. “That makes sense, and sounds like a great opportunity for the artists. So, who are you here to steal from Nashville?”
He smiled. “Well, actually...you two seem to have a mutual friend. James Masters. Maybe you know how to get hold of her. I saw a clip on YouTube of her playing Thunder and Rain with James, and as soon as I saw it, I knew right away that she was gonna be a star – a star I need on my label, by any means necessary. Mackenzie Shea; you heard of her?”