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James was next and his shot came close to the ‘X’.
“If you don’t mind,” Carter said, already drawing out his rifle. Hoss smirked but Carter ignored him. He drew his rifle to the level of his shoulder and after a few seconds made his shot. It went straight to the heart of the ‘X’.
“Show off!” Hoss said.
“You’re a sore loser Hoss,” Carter taunted.
It was odd that he and his youngest brother were always at odds. Carter blamed it on Hoss. If he took up his responsibilities at the ranch, they would never be at logger heads.
“When is the meeting?” Hoss asked to Carter’s surprise.
He hadn’t thought he had been listening.
“A week from now, in Butte. I’ll probably be gone for a couple of days,” Carter said, cheered by Hoss’s interest.
He noticed then a kind of tension between his two brothers, before James looked away.
“Excuse me, I want to check on the calves,” James said and left.
Carter yawned. “I suppose I need a bit of a rest too, and then I might go into town later in the afternoon.”
“Want some company, I have a few things I want to get,” Hoss said.
“Not particularly,” Carter said and then grinned and winked at Hoss. “I might look in on Stephanie. You know what they say about three being a crowd.”
“Ah but Stephanie might not want to see you,” Hoss said quietly.
“And why is that?” Carter drawled.
“She was here on Thursday. Apparently you hadn’t deemed her important enough to let her in on your plans.”
“I never have, so why should I start now,” Carter retorted. “Stephanie knows that what she and I have is hardly the stuff marriages are made of.”
“Does she?” Hoss asked, a hard edge in his voice.
Carter shook his head as if freeing his mind of cobwebs.
‘Why in God’s name are we discussing Stephanie? She is my business, not yours,” Carter said, starting to heat up.
What was the matter with Hoss? He had had an attitude ever since Carter returned home.
“I’m off,” Carter said coldly and turned back towards the house.
He felt stirrings of guilt. Despite what he had told Hoss, it had been wrong of him not to cancel their rendezvous with Stephanie. He imagined how impatient she had been waiting for the carriage. That must have been one hell of a frustrating day for her, he thought with a grin.
Stephanie was a passionate woman and once she set her mind on certain activities for a day, he cringed to imagine how upset she must have been at having her plans disrupted. He would make it up to her when he saw her. Suddenly, Carter felt weariness come over him. They had travelled on horseback most of the night and now the thought of going into town dismayed him.
Perhaps he could leave it till the following day. His route took him near the workers’ quarters and on a whim, he decided to check on Aaron. He had broken his leg a couple of weeks ago after falling from a horse. Carter rounded the corner and the first person he saw was Aaron’s wife, Beatrice.
“Good day to you Beatrice, how’s our patient fairing,” Carter asked her.
“Oh not good Mr. Taft. The man insists on coming in to work. We had words a few minutes ago. I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you, perhaps you can put some sense into him.”
The man in question came hobbling out just then. He wore a sour face before he saw Carter. Carter grinned at him.
“I hear you’re a stubborn patient.”
Aaron gave him a sheepish grin. “You know how it is boss. I’m not cut out for lazing around. I’d rather be working.”
