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“That sounds like the voice of experience,” Quint guessed.
The old man nodded. “I thought I had that old bull Rutledge by the horns when I got his foreman on tape making threats about what might happen if I didn’t sell. All charges against him were dismissed for lack of evidence. Even the copy of the tape I’d put in a safety deposit box disappeared. And you can be damned sure I never put it in any of the banks Rutledge owns, but he still managed to get to it. Mind you, I can’t prove he did. But I know in my gut it was his doing.”
“It might be different this time,” Quint said and looked directly at Dallas. “But it’s up to you since you’re the one who would have to get Boone on tape.”
“It would be a waste of time.” Her shoulders moved in a vague shrug of dismissal. “After what happened the last time, he’ll be suspicious if I try to get him to talk about it again. And you can bet his father will warn him about the last time.”
“I guess that settles it then.” Quint pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. “I’ll write you a check for two weeks’ pay, Empty. You can take it with you when you leave.”
/> “Now you just haul back on the reins there, son,” Empty said with high indignation. “I don’t recall handing in my notice.”
Quint smiled, touched by the gesture of loyalty, but it wasn’t one he could accept. “The price to work here is a little too steep for you.”
“That’s for me to decide,” the old man insisted.
“I think your granddaughter has a say in it, under the circumstances,” Quint reminded him.
Empty never drew a breath. “If Dallas ends up getting fired, she can find herself another job. She’s a smart girl and a hard worker. We’ll manage.”
Quint shook his head and turned away. “I’ll get your check.”
Dallas spoke up. “If you think that by paying him off, it will mean I’ll keep my job, you’re wrong.”
He halted and made a slow turn to face the pair, leery of misconstruing her statement. “Why would I be wrong?”
There was a slightly combative tilt to her chin. “I guess I never got around to mentioning that I told Boone what he could do with his offer and his threat. Then, just for good measure, before I came out here, I swung by the feed store and officially quit.”
Quint stared at her in angry disbelief. “Why the hell did you do that?”
“How should I know!” She flung up her hands and rose to her feet in sudden agitation. “Maybe I knew I’d never persuade Empty to quit. Maybe there’s more of my grandfather in me than I thought. Or maybe I was just tired of the Rutledges always bribing and bullying people into doing what they want. And maybe I didn’t want to be another one of those people who gave in to them.”
“There were other ways of handling Boone’s threat.” Quint fought down the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. “You could just as easily have told him that you needed some time to think. You didn’t have to fly off the handle and quit!”
“Maybe not, but whether you like it or not, it’s done. And there’s no turning back from it now.” Head up and chin high, Dallas was all defiance.
“There certainly isn’t,” Quint muttered grimly, then challenged, “Just what do you propose to do next?”
Dallas had a ready and decisive answer for that. “You and I both know that the best thing would be for me to work here at the Cee Bar. Empty can tell you that I’m as good as any man at ranch work. And it’s obvious you need somebody to keep house and fix your meals,” she added, casting a disparaging glance at the empty soup bowls on the table. “You can’t keep opening soup cans or slapping a piece of meat between two slices of bread and calling it lunch.”
But Quint noticed that Dallas made no mention of wanting to keep an eye on her grandfather, something he suspected was the true motivation behind her proposal. In her shoes, he’d feel the same.
“You’re right. There would be safety in numbers,” he conceded.
“I’m glad you see that.” She relaxed a little, satisfaction easing some of her tension.
“Divide and conquer, that’s always been one of Rutledge’s favorite methods.” The old man leaned back in his chair and grinned. “It sure isn’t going to work this time.”
But Quint wasn’t so easily convinced that this particular problem was solved. “Just how far do you think Rutledge is prepared to go to carry out his threat, Empty?” he asked, recalling his own run-in with the three men in the parking lot.
The rancher was quick to follow his train of thought. “You’re thinking that Rutledge might try something to get back at Dallas and me for going against him?”
“Would he?” On this, Quint had to rely to a certain extent on Empty’s judgment and experiences with the Rutledges.
“He’d almost have to try something just to make sure nobody else around here got out of line.” His expression turned thoughtful as he ran through the possibilities in his mind. “I suppose he could trash our trailer or catch us on some lonely stretch of road and try to run us off. He might even have some of his boys pay us a late-night visit. I can’t see him doing anything more violent than that, though.”
Quint hoped he was right. At the same time he didn’t really want to take the chance that Empty was wrong.
“Then let’s make it harder for Rutledge to get to you,” he said.
