Cowgirl Up (32 page)

“Yes, ma’am, just let me take a quick shower to wash this dust off me,” she answered.

“Go ahead then and I’ll start the grill.”

Coal disappeared into the bathroom and enjoyed a hot shower to wash the dust and grime from her body. She loved the haying season, but the heat and dust was thick enough to choke a mule she thought as the water turned from dark tan back to clear as she rinsed her body. The scar from the shrapnel was starting to fade. She brushed her raven-black hair and walked to the bedroom.

She dressed in faded jeans and a worn tee before entering the kitchen. “I feel almost human again,” she announced.

“Well, you certainly look and smell human,” Mary Leah teased. “The grill is ready and the chicken is too. If you get started grilling, I’ll finish up here and bring you a cold beer.”

“That’s the best offer I’ve had all day,” she said with a wink.

“I plan to up that ante later,” Mary Leah said with a grin as she handed her a pan filled with chicken and pushed her wildly grinning girlfriend to the door.

Mary Leah turned on the floodlights as Coal passed through the door into the slightly cooler Texas night. She placed the chicken on the grill and settled into a comfortable chair. Her eyes floated across the yard, following the flight of several fireflies as they danced through the air and in the distance she heard the howl and yips from several coyotes out on the hunt. She sent up a silent prayer that their hunt would be successful and they would not prey on any of the livestock. Melissa was willing to allow them on the property unless they became a nuisance and she hoped they wouldn’t have to hunt them down any time soon. Coal loved all animals and would hate to have to be a party to eliminating the coyotes, but if necessary she would do her job.

 
She was lost in her thoughts when Mary Leah arrived at the deck carrying two cold beers. “A penny for your thoughts?” she asked.

She smiled up at her lover and took the offered beer. “I was just enjoying the night.”

“I was listening to the radio on my way home and the weatherman said we had a teasing chance for some rain this weekend.”

“We sure could use it and a break from this heat,” she answered, and took a long drink. “Damn, this tastes good.”

Mary Leah’s head turned at the sound of the coyotes. “Are you worried they will become a nuisance?” She studied Coal’s face as she waited for an answer.

“So far they have only been after wild game, but if they turn toward the livestock we will be forced to put them down.”

“Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Amen,” Coal said as she stood and walked over to check the chicken. When she lifted the lid, the aroma of the cooking meat filled the air.

“That smells really good. Did you use your special sauce to marinate them?”

“Of course, the secret’s in the sauce,” she said, cracking a smile.

“I’ve got salads chilling and corn boiling, is there anything else you would like?”

“Do we still have some fresh Brussels sprouts?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Excellent,” she said and walked into the house. She located an aluminum pie plate and covered the bottom with olive oil and then cut the Brussels sprouts in half, dumping them into the oil. After coating them with the olive oil, she sprinkled brown sugar across the top and carried the pie plate out and placed it on the grill. “Tonight we are going to try something different,” she told Mary Leah.

“I love your experiments.”

†

The meal turned out fantastic, and after cleaning the kitchen together, Mary Leah announced she was going to take a shower. Coal undressed and climbed into the bed, listening to the sounds of the night as she waited for Mary Leah.

When she approached from the bathroom, Mary Leah asked, “Did you remember to take your medicine?”

“Not yet,” she said with a smile as Mary Leah climbed onto the bed.

†

Wednesday morning passed quickly. At lunchtime, the crew looked up to see a semi turn into the drive to deliver the stock for training. Stan rode back on the gator with Melissa to see the stock settled in the corral. The crew was excited to begin the training and they finished the haying for the day and rushed back to get a look at the stock. Stormy pulled the truck into position at the barn to lift the hay into the loft, and they all piled out of the truck to walk to the corral.

“What a handsome bunch we have here,” Coal said as they all climbed on the rails.

“I can hardly wait to get my hands on them,” Gene said.

“Well, they have to wait another day until we finish bringing in the hay, and I see a full truck that still needs emptying,” Stan said.

“Yes, sir,” Harley said as he stepped down from the railing. “You heard the man, boys, let’s get back to it.”

The crew followed Harley back to the truck and quickly stored the freshly baled hay. When they finished, Coal rode for home to shower and prepare for her appointment with Del.

†

Mary Leah returned home just as she had finished dressing. “You look nice and refreshed,” she said.

“Thanks, it was a good day,” Coal answered.

“Mine too. I couldn’t help thinking about last night,” Mary Leah said with a blush.

“We were way overdue for some loving.” She grinned. “I hope that made up for it.”

Mary Leah sighed. “Last night was more than fantastic.” Her gray eyes sparkled with excitement.

Coal reached forward to move a strand of Mary Leah’s light brown hair behind her ear. “More to come soon, I promise,” Coal said and they walked out to the car.

†

Del paced in her office after preparing for Coal’s appointment. She planned to push her young friend as far as she could tonight and was anxious for the appointment. Coal had held up well to her previous therapy with the Virtual Iraq program and Del planned tonight’s session to be the last for the week, giving her the weekend to process her thoughts.

She took a deep breath when she heard Coal arrive and went to open the front door. “Good evening,” she said as she and Mary Leah entered. “How are you feeling? Did you experience any side effects from the last session?”

“Other than being incredibly thirsty and exhausted, I was good.”

“That’s a good sign. No nausea or lightheadedness?”

“Nope, all good, Doc, no motion sickness either.”

“Okay then. Are you ready to get started?”

“Let’s go, Doc,” she said as Mary Leah settled into the waiting room.

†

Coal settled into the recliner and placed the helmet over her head, her heartbeat steady and breathing calm as she buckled it in place. She listened to Del’s voice as she started the program. She placed a sensor on her finger and placed the controller in her hands, then took a seat across from her.

When the music stopped the video began and she soon found her body walking down the streets of Afghanistan once more. Her heart rate increased slightly as she reached the point where they had ended the previous session. She hesitated then continued her forward progress, moving deeper into the video series.

Del relaxed when she felt Coal move beyond her previous progress and sat back on the couch. She observed her closely but remained quiet, allowing Coal to move forward at her own pace.

The familiar sound of the helicopters overhead filled Coal’s ears with the thumping rhythm and she tasted the hot dust of the desert in her nose and mouth. She reached for the bottle of water Del had placed next to the recliner and took a long drink. When she placed the bottle back on the table, the scene before her eyes had shifted. She was now in the mess hall, sharing a meal and laughing with Tessa and Mitch. She had her camera in her hand, snapping shots of them as they discussed plans for returning home in a few weeks. She knew one of those shots now rested in Melissa’s den and a smile came to her face. This was a happy time for Coal. She remembered every detail of Tessa’s face. She was beyond beautiful in her eyes. Her curls surrounded her cherubic face and the eyes that stared back into Coal burned into her heart. “I will love you forever,” she whispered. They were the last words Tessa had spoken to her before they went on their final mission.

She reached out her hand to caress Tessa’s cheek and the scene shifted before her eyes. Her hands clutched her sniper rifle as they walked in reconnaissance formation. Mitch and Tessa were behind the unit, geared up for a possible bomb detonation. Her eyes instinctively moved to the window where the terrorist had triggered the bomb that killed Mitch and Tessa, but there was no one there. Panic threatened to seize her as her eyes moved from window to window in search of the terrorist.
 

Del watched the monitor as Coal’s heart rate and respirations increased dramatically. “Are you all right, Coal?”

“Yeah, I’m good, Doc,” she said as her soldier walked to the car she knew in the past had held the bomb. She felt her eyes searching the trunk for the bomb only to find it missing. Her body broke out in a cold sweat, instantly soaking her T-shirt, and her hands felt suddenly clammy. “Where is it?” she groaned. She turned to see Mitch and Tessa approaching a different vehicle. “No, no, no,” she yelled. Her eyes flashed to the window and she saw the curtain billowing in the wind. Still no sign of the terrorist. She trained her rifle on the window. Another chopper flew low overhead, filling the air with sounds that further confused Coal as her eyes moved from window to window. The sound of the chopper caused windows to fill as men and women peered out the windows. Panic seized her heart. “Where are you?” she growled between clenched teeth.

Coal’s hands gripped the plastic controller so tightly Del feared it would shatter in her hands. Just a few more seconds and she would end the session, but she wanted her to see there were many options and there was no way she could cover all of them in preventing Tessa’s death. She stood and killed the video, filling Coal’s ears with soothing music. She took the controller from her death grip and replaced it with a bottle of water.

Coal sipped the cool liquid, soothing the ache in her throat from the dust and scorching heat. When the music ended she nestled the water between her thighs and removed the helmet, blinking her eyes from the light of Del’s office.

“How do you feel?”

“Exhausted. Nothing was as I expected it to be. The bomb was different and there were multiple targets that could have been the terrorist.”

“That is exactly what I wanted you to realize. You may have killed the right one, but he may not have been the one that actually triggered the bomb. There were so many variables at play; there is no way you could have saved them.”

“But I should have, Doc. I was trained to pick the right one,” Coal cried.

“You are only human, Coal. No one could have prevented what happened from occurring unless it never happened to begin with.”

“That is something I could not control.”

Del just smiled at her and let her own words sink in for a few seconds. When she saw a small lightbulb light in Coal’s eyes, she changed gears. “When do you leave for Austin?”

“Next Friday morning.”

“Good, let’s take Friday off and we can do two sessions next week before you leave. Think about today’s session and process it for yourself.”

Coal stood and surprised Del by pulling her into an embrace. “Thanks for helping me.”

“It’s the least I can do,” Del said. “You and others have given so much for us.”

“Will you be coming to Austin?”

“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away. I’m addicted.”

She grinned. “Addicted to the adrenaline rush or the cute cowgirls?”