Mare finished her cereal and coffee and stacked the dirty dishes and spoon in the dishwasher. No emergencies had come in during the night, so her plan for an early visit to the Meridian ranch was still a go.

She had taken some time last night to write down the points she would insist be placed in the retainer agreement. Pulling the list from the yellow tablet, she stuck it in her pocket, picked up her bag and got on her way.

Neither Paula nor Erin had gone back to sleep. They each quickly showered and dressed and started cleaning up. Erin cleaned TJ's room, double-checked her bed for glass, and got her comfortably resettled. Then she sat with TJ until her morose friend fell asleep.

After hours of sweeping and cleaning, Erin and Paula finally stopped. "Time for TJ to get up. I'll go wake her while you set out breakfast. Cereal's fine for me." Paula stretched and yawned, cracking her back and her jaw, one right after the other. Paula went off and Erin set out bowls, spoons, mugs, cereal, milk and sugar. As she finished, Paula returned.

"TJ asked to have a tray in her office." Erin cut a chagrined look at her partner, who shrugged. "I couldn't talk her into coming to the kitchen. She's really out of sorts. Only good thing about today so far is the weather isn't terribly hot and it's not raining. With all these windows out, it's bad enough we can't use the air conditioning, but rain would be a real pain."

Erin herself felt a bit down. That Mare could have seemed so nice, yet have fooled her so thoroughly, disturbed her. But that the vet could have hurt TJ so badly made her downright angry. "I know what's bothering TJ." When she explained to Paula that Mare had to be the one who spread the word of TJ's presence and indirectly caused the night's troubles, Paula got angry, too.

"She musta run right home and told everybody in sight that the Meridians had returned and were looking for trouble. Then sat here like Little Miss Innocent, swearing she hadn't told anyone that TJ was here. I think we've been played for a couple of suckers." Paula's lip curled as she berated herself for her own foolishness in trusting the doc. "Look, here she comes now."

The first thing Mare noticed was the shards of glass from the outside lights that were lying all around the edge of the parking area. Then she saw the broken corral gate and ran into the barn. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw all three horses in their stalls with no apparent problems. She jogged out of the barn and turned toward the house. That's when she saw the damaged windows. Sprinting onto the side porch, she knocked on the kitchen door, which was promptly opened by Paula.

"What in tarnation happened out here?" Mare turned a puzzled look on Paula as she stepped in, then swung her eyes around, seeing that all three windows in the kitchen were broken.

"Why don't you tell us?" Paula's cold voice surprised Mare who frowned comically.

"Me? What do I know about this?" Mare voice raised as she looked from one to the other of the two women.

Erin's voice dripped with disappointment. "You were the only one who knew that TJ was here; all the utilities and the post office are in my name. Only you could have told anyone. Obviously, her presence angered a certain element in the town and a bunch of them came out here last night and broke all the windows and all the outside lights and the corral fence."

"Is TJ all right?" Mare nearly shouted and her heart thudded in her chest until Paula answered.

"Yeah, no thanks to you. She could have been badly hurt."

The little vet walked right up to Paula, stuck her face into the taller woman's face and shouted. "If you think, for one minute, that I would condone anything like this, let alone cause it, then you don't know me very well. In fact, you don't know me at all."

Paula's nostrils flared and her fist closed, but Erin grabbed her arm. She looked at Mare, unhappiness showing in her face. "I think you'd better leave."

"I am not leaving. I came out here to see TJ and I am going to see TJ." Just as she had on her first visit, before anyone could stop her, Mare swung away and marched out of the kitchen, into the hallway, and up to and through TJ's office door, not bothering to knock.

TJ had heard the raised voices, yet Mare's barging in, unannounced, startled her. The vet strode over to the huge desk and placed her hands, fingers splayed, palms down on its surface, leaning in toward TJ. TJ jerked back away from the desk, huddled into the chair and hunched her shoulders as if warding off a blow.

Erin and Paula came running in right behind Mare. Erin intended to stop Mare, but Paula grabbed Erin's arm and pulled her back with a small shake of her head.

"I don't know who the hell you people think you are. You come here outta nowhere. You don't use the Meridian name, like it's a big secret. Then somebody finds out you're here, there's some trouble, and right away I'm the culprit--the terrible person who let out a secret that I didn't even know was supposed to be a secret! Did anyone ask me not to mention your name? No. But I got news for you, I didn't mention it in town, anyway." Irate, Mare picked up one hand and slammed her fist on the desk. "My life does not revolve around the Meridian ranch."

She stopped talking and glared at TJ. The slamming fist seemed to have awakened the dark-headed woman from whatever funk she had been in. TJ suddenly sat forward in the chair and glared back.

"Then how did they find out… Doctor?" TJ bit off the title like it was a dirty word.

Mare stood up straight, crossed her arms and smirked. "Well, I was wondering where your heart was."

TJ's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Mare waved an arm toward a corner trophy case. "All those trophies had to be won by someone with heart and courage. I was wondering where you parked yours while you sat around and felt sorry for yourself."

Erin's jaw dropped and she made a move to come forward, but Paula, still hanging onto her arm, frowned and shook her head.

TJ's head jerked as though she had been slapped and her lips twisted. "You don't think I have a reason to feel sorry for myself? What do you know about it?"

"Sure, you have a reason to feel sorry for yourself… if that's what you want your life's goal to be. Susanne Wallers was born blind, but she learned to do everything around a busy house that a sighted person can do. She got married and raised three children and her oldest boy just won an art scholarship. He's proficient in a field she'll never be able to appreciate, but she's as proud and happy as any other mother would be."

The blue eyes dropped to stare at the desktop. You know she's right, TJ. You have parked your heart and your courage somewhere. And your pride. What's happened to your pride? You think Lance would approve of the way you've been acting?

Mare continued her tirade. "Stan Birsek was paralyzed in a farming accident when he was fourteen. Fourteen! He took an in-home writing course and now he produces a national newsletter for farmers. I could go on and on. Plenty of people have had to overcome serious handicaps. And they have, because they never gave up. They set their goals higher than just sitting around saying 'Poor me.'"

TJ's eyes swept up and met Mare's and an electric current sparked through the vet's heart. Here come those damn eyes again. No fair.

The two women stared at each other for a long moment, seemingly mesmerized. TJ dragged her eyes back down to the desktop, searched for a pencil and picked one out of the desk caddy. Several unidentifiable expressions crossed her face, while she began to spin the pencil through her fingers. Then she looked back up at Mare and spoke in a quiet tone. "You still didn't answer my question about how the town found out I was here."

The question was so far afield from Mare's current focus that it confounded her. She weakly waved a hand and shrugged. "I… er…" Suddenly she threw both palms against her face and dropped into the nearest chair. "Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. It was me."

Mare's pained expression opened a tiny wedge in TJ's reserve and curiosity got the better of her. Ignoring the fact that Mare's admission should have angered her, she frowned and tilted her head inquisitively. "What?"

"Johnny Robertson. Remember at the accident? I called your name." TJ started to shake her head, but Mare saw the recollection dawn on her face and the two women both said the same thing at the same time. "Miss Meridian."

The embarrassed vet nodded. "Then I told him you lived on the ranch across from his farm." She hid her face in her hands momentarily, then looked back up. "I come charging in here popping off to you and I was wrong the whole time."

A self-deprecating grin edged a corner of TJ's sculpted lips. Her rich, low-pitched voice disagreed. "Not the whole time."

When her meaning struck Mare, the contrite vet impulsively reached across the desk and laid her hand on top of one of TJ's, quieting them. "I had no right to say those things to you. I apologize."

TJ dropped the pencil, turned her hand up and clasped Mare's within both of hers. "Don't apologize. It's about time someone kicked me in the butt and got me jumpstarted."

Paula and Erin quietly left the room, large smiles rimming their faces.

TJ looked down at their entwined hands, then back up at Mare and felt the vet's captured hand twitch. She let go of the hand and Mare hastily withdrew it, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

"You're good for me, Mare. Most people tiptoe around my feelings, scared to make me angry. Not without good reason, I might add." A lopsided grin and cocked eyebrow accompanied the remark. "Think you can keep an eye on me and give me an occasional boot when I need one?"

"I'd be happy to!" Mare blurted, then her green eyes twinkled and met an answering gleam from TJ's breathtaking blue ones.

"Great." TJ smiled. For the first time in months a heavy load had shifted from her heart and life had started to look interesting again. She pulled a sheaf of papers from a drawer. "Now let's talk about that retainer."

********************

Erin lifted one end of the wooden rail and rested it against the post, then turned and looked at her partner, sighing. "Paula, honey, wipe the grin off of your face and help will you?"

"Hmm? Oh sorry." Paula quickly lifted her end so that Erin could hammer in the nails. "I was miles away."

"No, actually, I think you were about a hundred feet away. But I have a lot of work to do around here today and I’d like to get the corral patched up so we can get the horses out of the barn." Erin finished securing her end of the rail and quickly walked over to Paula and started on hers.

"So what do you think?" Paula asked her partner as she watched her hammer away at the post.

"About what?"

"Come on, don't give me that. You know exactly what I mean."

"Okay, you can let go now," Erin replied. Standing back from the mended fence, she reached forward and shook it, testing its sturdiness. "I don't know, but I think TJ likes her," she said with a smile on her face. "Wonder how she feels about TJ?"

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Erin chuckled. "At least we know she's not intimidated by her."

"Are we done here?"

"Yep, all fixed. Let's go and let the horses out." The two women turned and walked toward the barn.

Paula, the taller of the two, draped her arm around her partner’s waist and pulled her close. "What do you think they are talking about up there?"

Erin smiled up at Paula. "Don’t know, and don’t really care. It's just nice to have her talking to someone other than us."

"Yeah, that is good to see. What time did you rearrange her therapy for?" asked Paula as they stepped into the cool shade of the barn.

"Sacha couldn’t fit her in until six this evening, but she has arranged for TJ to get an x-ray when we get there so we don’t have to hang around."

"Great. Mr. Thorton said that fixing the windows was too big a job for what he had at the house but said he’d have a crew out here this morning from Sharlesburg to get things fixed. And I also gave Adam a ring. Asked him to send out a crew to get an expanded security system installed. If feelings around here are that inflamed about TJ being here, I don’t want anybody to be able to get up the drive without us knowing about it; especially since we’re not always nearby. I wish TJ would reconsider getting some help in here. I’d rest easier, knowing she wasn’t in the house alone when we’re not around."

Erin stopped at Flag’s stall. "You think TJ is going to agree with expanding the system?"

"I doubt it, but I’m not going to give her the chance to say no. We’ve got a busy time coming up. You need to get out and inspect the fences, outbuildings and water sources. I need to start interviewing and getting the staff for here and the plant, which is going to take me off of the ranch. After last night, if TJ won’t get a housekeeper or something, then I’m having it installed for my own peace of mind."

"You won’t mind if I make sure I’m out of the country when you tell her, will you?" Erin said with a raised eyebrow.

Paula grinned as she snapped on Flag's lead rope. "Oh no, my pretty one, you’re going to be standing right next to me, catching the flak and telling her you agree with me. Besides, if I tell her it’s to make sure that Flag and the horses are safe, she won’t say a word."

"She’s going to see right through that, but you might get away with it," Erin replied, getting Runny and Ebonair and leading them out of the barn to the corral. "Why don’t you come into the city with TJ and me this evening? We could all get a bite to eat and maybe catch a movie."

"You buying?" Paula let Flag go and watched as the horse playfully bolted into the freedom of the corral, quickly followed by the other two. Feeling Erin’s arms wrap around her waist, she turned toward her.

"Only if you make it worth my while," laughed Erin as she pulled her taller partner into a kiss.

********************

The trip to the city turned out to be better than either Erin or Paula had imagined. TJ was given a clean bill of health by Sacha and, in way of celebration, the three friends invited the physical therapist to eat with them. Paula picked out the wildest restaurant she could find and they never made it to the movie.

Both Erin and TJ imbibed more than they should have, knowing that Paula was driving home. The women weren't about to tell TJ she wasn't supposed to overindulge, it was the first she'd relaxed fully in a long time. They finally made it home just after midnight and Paula and Erin, with happy smiles on their faces, put the tipsy TJ to bed.

From then on, life at the ranch moved at a startling pace. Despite the damage that Paula did to the vandals' truck, the sheriff was unable to apprehend them, which didn't surprise Paula or Erin.

There were no more direct attacks on the house, but fences were broken along the road and slogans were daubed in red paint on the gates. TJ seemed unaffected by the events. Not even a thrown bottle, which shattered the van's windscreen as they drove out of town, upset her.

Surprising both Paula and Erin, TJ agreed wholeheartedly with the installation of the expanded security system. Adam and his team visited shortly after the initial attack. They began to survey the property and design the system, and the ranch house put up its first visitors. The ranch gates were to be replaced with electronic ones, which could be opened and closed from the house. Cameras were installed so that they could see who was at the main entrance. Cameras were also placed in strategic areas around the ranch buildings, including the barn and corral.

That week, the engineers turned up and installed the stair lift so that TJ had free rein of the house. Shortly afterwards, builders arrived to construct the ramp for the porch and several walkways around the rougher areas of the land near the house.

Erin made a thorough survey of the whole of the ranch lands and its associated buildings. Luckily, the bunkhouse didn’t need much more than a cleanup and minor repairs. A few of the family houses needed more done to them but, on the whole, the accommodations for workers were in pretty good condition.

Next, Erin took to surveying the water sources and outlying barns and feed drops. She did all of this from horseback, occasionally taking a sleeping bag and food to camp out overnight.

Despite Erin’s claims to Mare that Paula could hire away angels from heaven, she was having a tough time organizing hands for the ranch and packing plant. She had spent several days in the city, and at the factory, with a consulting firm, finding out what was needed to bring the factory up-to-date. With that in mind, she hired another consulting firm to computerize and update the machinery within the plant.

Once that was well in hand, she turned to the task of buying livestock to start the herds up at the ranch. Again, she had to resort to hiring outside of the town. She had traveled around with Bill Jacobs, whom she had hired away from a ranch in Porter Valley. Bill would be the foreman of the ranch once it was up and running. He was selecting prime livestock direct from ranches he knew and later, when the cattle auctions started, he’d be buying there as well.

Mare became a frequent visitor to the ranch, and made sure to check in more often if she knew Erin and Paula were out of the house. Her friendship with TJ was developing slowly, and she knew that it would take time for her to break down all the barriers that the enigmatic woman had built between herself and the world. Still, she rapidly learned how to pull a smile from the reserved woman’s face and how to cajole her into relaxing a little more often.

On the other hand, when the occasion called for it, she practically grabbed TJ by the scruff of her neck and told her to buck up. Rather than letting loose with one of her famous temper tantrums, TJ rose to the challenge.

As the feisty vet pulled TJ out of the depression she had fallen into, TJ slowly began to take control of her life again. The companies soon realized that their commander-in-chief was back, and where she had once hidden in her office, TJ now directed from it. The phone rang at all times of the day and night, as various departments and offices demanded her attention. Her computer was constantly busy, receiving and sending data and mail across the globe.

TJ seemed happier as her plans for the ranch and packing plant began to take on momentum. The only thorn in the plan was the attitude of the town she was trying to help.

Mare finished clipping the blades of grass that were too close to the tombstone for the mowers to reach. She wiped the hand shears on the carpet of mown grass she was kneeling on and returned them to the tote bag at her side. Reaching over, she brushed her fingers across the letters chiseled into the granite monument. Jane Arnold Gillespie. Hi, Mom.

Mare often marveled at the cemetery's quiet beauty. Jane's gravesite sat atop one of the softly undulating hills, resting just beneath a sheltering tree that spread its branches over several graves in peaceful guardianship. Mare had planted colorful petunias, remembering how her mother loved many different flowers, but petunias were her favorite. This past spring, she had planted them again.

Today marked the first anniversary of her mother's death. In defiance of her terminal cancer, Jane had clung to life long enough to see Mare graduate and open her practice. A month afterwards, as though those two events were the milestones marking the end of her earthly journey, Jane succumbed.

Mare, bereft not only of her mother, but also of the only close friend she had ever known, buried herself in her work. Many late evenings had been spent at her piano, seeking solace in her music. On the first Sunday of each month, Mare visited her mother's gravesite and recounted the month's activities, believing that, somewhere, her mother was listening and watching over her.

Rising and picking up her tote bag, Mare kissed her fingers and touched them to the stone. I gotta go, Mom. I'll keep you posted. She walked slowly to her truck, drinking in the peace and tranquility, storing it away in her heart. Climbing into her pickup, she drove home, musing over a woman with unforgettable blue eyes, unaware of a particular event about to unfold that would drastically affect her life.

********************

And they call Sunday a day of rest! Mare stood up and stripped off the sterile latex gloves that had all but turned her hands into prunes. She sighed and wiped at the sweat threatening to run down her face. With one last dejected glance toward the dead animal, she turned and looked at the worried face of Abner Stirkle who leased the small holding she had been on for the last four hours. "Sorry, Abner, there wasn’t anything I could do. The others should recover okay, though. I think I got to them in time." The man nodded and scuffed the dirt with his booted feet. "Are you sure you haven’t changed their diet or introduced something they might be reacting to?"

"Nope, Mare. It's like I said. They were fine yesterday but I came up to put out their feed this morning and those three were down. I’ve racked my brain trying to think what it could be but I really haven’t got any idea."

"Maybe you ought to keep the cattle nearer to the homestead for a while. Don Holland had a few of his come down with similar symptoms the other day. To be honest, it looks as though they have been poisoned in some way. I’m still waiting on the results from Don’s livestock. I’ll send bloods off on yours as well but it will be a few days until I get the results. Keep a close eye on the herd and if any of the others start to show signs give me a call. If I’m not at the house then page me, or call my car phone. That card I gave you has all the numbers on it."

"Thanks, Mare. I sure appreciate you getting out here so quick, I can’t afford to lose cattle like this." Abner lifted his hat and scrubbed at his hair with his hand. He looked at the perky blond standing before him, considering his next words. "Rumor has it, you’re gonna be working up at the Meridian ranch. That true?"

Mare sighed, knowing that it would soon start to spread around and that questions were going to be asked. At some point, she would have to answer them. She just hadn’t thought they would be so quick about it. Taking a deep breath, she decided to be up front about it; after all they were all going to benefit from her association. The signing fee that TJ had insisted she take had enabled her to get hold of some of the more expensive medications she had wanted to use in this area but had not been able to afford; and she had been able to update a lot of her equipment already. "Yeah, it’s true. They’re gonna have a lot of livestock arriving soon and they needed a vet."

"Lot of folks around these parts aren’t going to be too happy about that. The Meridians aren’t liked around here. Mare, you should know that; you’ve lived here long enough."

"Yeah, I do know that, Abner, but let me ask you a question. Can you afford the $400 medication I just gave your cattle?" The rancher looked at her unhappily. "I didn’t think so, but the monthly payment I get from the contract I’ve signed means you don’t have to, until you can. People may not like it, Abner, but it gives me options I didn’t have before. We have all been living on the very edge the last few years, me as much as any of you, and I’ve tried to keep costs down. But some things can’t be treated without money. People are just going to have to get used to it if they expect me to be able to keep treating their livestock, in the way I have, for the amount they are able to afford. Sorry, but that’s just how it is." Mare looked over at Abner, waiting for a reply, but the rancher just nodded at her. "I’ll come back tomorrow to check on them."

"Sure. Thanks, Mare." The vet collected her things, thankful that no one else required her services this evening. She climbed into her truck, dreaming of a nice, relaxing evening at the piano followed by a soothing bubble bath and topped off by snuggling up in her sitting room with a good book.

********************

Music filled the house as Mare's fingers moved confidently across the piano keyboard. She halted their movement as she heard a banging at the front door. The vet hurried to answer it, pulled open the door, and smiled apologetically at Lew Sturgess. "Sorry, Lew, I didn't hear the bell."

The silver-haired gentleman's eyes crinkled and a friendly smile lit his face. "No problem, Mare. I could hear the music and knew I'd have to bang on the door to get your attention." Following Mare into the house, he took a seat at the kitchen table. Mare opened the fridge and poured two glasses of lemonade as she wondered what had prompted the lawyer's visit on a Sunday evening.

Medium height, slim and tanned, Lew had been a friend of her mother's for a long time and took care of her legal work for her, including her will.

After he and Mare had chatted for a while, finishing their lemonade, he came to the point of his visit. "Mare, before your mother died, she called me to the house and handed me a sealed envelope. She didn't tell me what was in it, she just asked me to put it in my office safe and give it to you on the first anniversary of her death. I know it's Sunday, but I stopped by the office this evening and I had this lying on my desk to bring to you tomorrow. When I saw it, I thought, today is the actual first anniversary and since I was coming right by here on my way home, I brought it over." He reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, pulled a buff envelope out and handed it to the young doctor.

"To Mary Theresa Gillespie, My Daughter." Mare's eyes misted as she read aloud the words scripted onto the envelope in her mother's strong hand. She turned the envelope over and started to open it and Lew stood up. "I'll show myself out, Mare. I think you may want to read it privately."

Mare's dampened green eyes smiled up at the man and she sniffled. "Thanks, Lew. And I appreciate your loyalty to my mother's wishes." The vet heard the front door shut as her fingers closed on the letter. Mom's last words to me. What could she possibly have wanted to wait a year to tell me?

Before she started reading, Mare laid the letter flat on the table. She ran her fingers over some of the words, then pressed her hands against it and closed her eyes. Oh, Mom. You made these letters, you touched this same paper; if only I could touch you! Why did you have to die? The past year's loneliness gripped her heart with an almost physical force. Her hands slipped from the letter and she hugged her arms to her body, rocking back and forth. I am so alone. But directly on the heels of that thought came another: Except for TJ. That unexpected thought surprised Mare enough that she opened her eyes and gradually stopped rocking.

Except for TJ? she asked herself, then reflected on it. Well, yes. In a very short time, TJ has helped to dispel some of my loneliness. I've started thinking about someone besides myself. I was even playing happy music for a change!

With a small smile, Mare picked up the letter and started reading. The beginning discussed Mare's adjustment to living without her mother and Jane's undying love for her daughter. But the next part dropped a bombshell.

Mare put her head down on the kitchen table, stretched her arms out past her head--still holding the letter in both hands--and groaned. Her hands laid the letter down and started patting it. A father. I might have had a living father all this time and I never knew him. I have to find him. I have to.

The sudden revelation that could possibly cause a dramatic shifting of Mare's whole life overwhelmed her and tears dripped from her eyes, gradually becoming a torrent. She cried for the mother she had loved and lost and for the father she had lost before she had a chance to love him. She cried for what had been and for what might have been. Finally, she cried herself to sleep, there at a kitchen table in Meridianville, Texas, in a turmoil over what her search for a missing father might uncover.

********************

Two days later, as she neared her destination, Erin slowed Ebonair's gallop to a canter, then a walk, giving the animal a chance to cool down from the hard ride. She guided her into the barn, a look of concern apparent on her face. Jumping down from Ebonair’s back, Erin grabbed her travel pack from the saddle, then undid the girth and pulled the heavy leather off of the black mare's back, resting it on a nearby box. She then removed the bit and bridle, put a halter on Ebonair and closed her into the stall to await her grooming.

Paula had obviously been in the kitchen and not her office when she rode in, because she could now hear her footsteps approaching from behind.

"Hi, love, everything okay?" Erin felt her tall lover's arms slip around her waist and moist lips press against the side of her neck, and she relaxed back into her embrace.

Despite her seemingly carefree attitude, Paula knew something was wrong. Her normally assertive mate was a little too docile for her tastes. When she felt the tense bunching of muscles, she knew it was more than a small problem.

Erin turned in Paula’s embrace and hugged her back. "I missed you," she said as she snuggled into Paula’s chest. "And no, everything isn’t okay. We have a pretty big problem. I need to talk to TJ."

Paula's arms gave Erin an extra squeeze and she kissed her hair. "I missed you, too." Then she chuckled. "I haven’t even kicked her out of bed yet."

Erin frowned. TJ was known for rising early in the morning. "She okay?"

"Oh yeah, she’s fine. A certain vet came over last night and they spent the evening talking horses in the living room. Which, of course, progressed to watching TJ’s videos of Flag in the nationals. Think Mare finally got out of here just after two."

Paula laughed again. "I don’t think the poor woman knew what had hit her. She hasn’t exactly seen TJ’s best side has she? I did try to warn her that she would be out of her depth when it came to talking horseflesh with TJ; but you know what she’s like, she steamed right in there without any thought of the consequences."

"What did TJ make of the visit?" Erin had now torn herself from Paula’s loving hold and started to groom Ebonair.

"Don’t think I’ve seen her smile so much since Lance told her he’d got Harvard Med. That vet has caught TJ’s eye, that’s for sure."

"Yeah, Mare seems to be enjoying herself, too."

Erin smiled. "You think you could kick TJ out of bed? She ought to hear what I’ve found, as quickly as possible."

"You got it, honey. See you in the kitchen in a few minutes. I’ll have breakfast waiting for you." Paula picked up Ebonair's saddle and bridle and put them in the tack room on her way out, bringing a tickle of warmth to Erin's heart for her thoughtfulness. We've been together for eight years and she's still a sweetheart.

Paula had breakfast laid out and coffee poured. Erin sat at the island, still in dusty jeans and shirt, looking tired. TJ was rocking back and forth in her wheelchair, mulling over what Erin had just told her.

"How many streams did you say were affected?" TJ stopped for a second.

"Looks like all of the southwest sector." Erin took a swig from her mug and watched, as TJ turned her chair and wheeled herself from the kitchen.

"Be back in a second." True to her word, a few minutes later she appeared with a rolled map across her knees. She handed the map to Paula who unrolled it and flattened it out, using the condiments as holders. TJ handed Erin a red marker. "Can you mark the affected areas for me?"

"Yep." Erin took the marker and studied the map, marking it in several places before clicking the red cylinder's top back on. Paula then picked the map up and folded it so that TJ could see where Erin had marked. TJ studied it, tracing the streams that Erin had marked back through to their sources.

"They all originate outside of our land. Do you think someone has deliberately poisoned the water?"

Erin considered TJ’s question. "I doubt it. Even if we did have livestock on the land it wouldn’t be down in that area. Our best grazing is to the north by the lake and river. It would make more sense to poison that supply if it were deliberate."

"And the river and lake are okay?"

"They were when I checked three days ago. From the amount of dead fish I saw in the streams in the southwest, it has been that way for longer than three days. I backtracked as far as I could up the streams but I couldn’t find an obvious source or cause for the contamination."

The room descended into silence. Then Paula spoke up. "So, what are we going to do?"

TJ started rocking back and forth in her chair again. "Paula, I want you to drive into Sharlesburg and send Erin's sample to our biochemical division. They should be able to figure out what it is and how to get rid of it. I’ll phone them and tell them it is on the way and to assemble a cleanup team asap.

"Erin, see if you can find somebody around these parts who does aerial photography and get them to do some visuals of all the water sources on the property. Let's make sure that the southwest range is the only area affected. Then go into town; see if you can find out who else is having problems. Mare said she would try to stop by today. I'll get an update from her, too."

Now that they had something to do, the kitchen soon emptied. Erin went to grab a shower and get changed; Paula got hold of her partner's bag and left with the sample to be shipped to the biochemical division. TJ retired to her office. She got on the phone, booted her computer and got the resources of her vast empire working on a solution to their current problem.

Erin popped her head around the door before she left for town. "You want anything while I’m there?"

"No, thanks," replied TJ, frowning in concentration at the computer screen. Then her head raised. "Unless we're out of cookies. I think Mare and I finished the last of them off last night."

"You and the doc seem to be getting friendly," said Erin, perching on the side of the desk. "I take it you like her?"

A smile unconsciously spread across TJ’s face. Do I like her? Yeah, you could say that. She is always smiling, she knows how to kick my butt and make me forget about my problems. The mere thought of her brightens my day and I count the hours between one visit and the next. "Yeah, I like her. She’s feisty and won’t take any crap, not even from me. I like that; I respect it. She isn’t someone who lets life get on top of her, no matter how bad it seems." TJ's face fell. "She’s the exact opposite of me."

Erin was touched that TJ had obviously spent so much time thinking about the woman. In the past, her affairs had been short, and not all that sweet. No one had been able to get past that wall around her heart. When her father was alive, her love life had been non-existent. And thinking about it, she honestly couldn’t remember anybody having this sort of effect on her friend, at all.

"Well, it isn’t as if Paula and I aren’t like night and day now, is it? If you were the same it wouldn’t be interesting." Erin looked out of the window as she heard the rumble of an engine coming to a rest. "Speak of the devil." TJ looked, and the smile swiftly returned as she saw Mare step from her vehicle.

Oh yeah, my friend. You have got it bad, thought Erin as she stood up from the desk. Just hope the little doc reciprocates. "I’ll send her on in, shall I?" TJ just nodded, her eyes still glued to the slim and perfectly defined body of the vet.

Mare grinned as she stepped into the now familiar kitchen and saw Erin walking toward her. "Hi, how is everyone today?"

Everyone’s just peachy now that you’ve turned up. "We're fine. TJ's in her office if you want to go on in."

"Okay. I’ll see you later, then." Mare walked past as Erin grabbed her keys and made for the door.

"Hey, Mare?" called Erin before she stepped through. The vet turned. "You know anybody who does aerial photography?"

"There isn’t anybody in town, but if you drive out to Bancroft they have a small airstrip there. Some guy out there does it. Don’t know how good he is, though."

"Great. That will save me a bit of time. See ya later."

"Bye."

The door to TJ’s office was open. As Mare approached she looked in but couldn’t see TJ. "Hey, TJ, you here?" she yelled.

"Be right with you!" came the shouted reply from further up the hallway. "Go in and make yourself at home."

Mare went into the office and sat in one of the more comfortable chairs, leaning her head back and relaxing for the first time since a five a.m. wakeup call. Uh... Less than three hours' sleep and no end in sight. I should be out checking the other ranches, making sure they haven’t got any cattle down. But, to be honest, an hour of relaxation here will be as good as a couple of hours' sleep. She heard the door and struggled to open tired eyes, but still managed a grin for her friend. "Hi ya."

"Hi!" TJ smiled as she wheeled herself into the office. "You okay? You look a little tired. I didn’t keep you up too late last night, did I?" Her voice didn’t hold the slightest bit of remorse for the previous evening’s marathon video session. It wasn’t often she got to indulge in her obsession with horses and she had thoroughly enjoyed last night.

"Of course, you kept me up too late last night, but that was my fault. I could have gone at any time; I was just having too much fun." Actually, I was having too much fun watching you rave on about that horse of yours, and that smile on your face was worth the loss of sleep. "But I also got called out to the MacMasters ranch. Some of their cattle decided they couldn’t wait until office hours to become ill."

"You want some iced tea? I could rustle you up something to eat as well, if you’d like." TJ raised an eyebrow, wanting to do nothing more than make her tired friend a little more comfortable.

"Sure, that would be great," replied Mare.

"Come on, then." TJ turned her chair around and proceeded out of the door. "So," she said over her shoulder, "what’s wrong with the cattle?"

"Not too sure. I’m still waiting on test results from a load of cattle I saw the other day, but whatever it is it seems to be spreading. This is the third ranch to be affected." Mare rested her hand on the handles of TJ’s chair but didn’t push. She’d already seen how her friend reacted to what she saw as coddling.

TJ frowned as she listened to Mare, wondering whether her problem might be the same as the other ranches except she didn’t have cattle.

"Mare? Could the cattle be ill because of some sort of contaminant in the water?"

Mare felt her heart rate pick up. Oh, TJ, please don’t tell me this is something else the Meridians are caught up in. "Yes," she said cautiously. "Why do you ask?"

"Where are the ranches that are affected in relation to us?" asked TJ as they entered the kitchen

"The MacMasters ranch is the next one over to yours. The other two are to the south. Why?"

"Erin’s been out checking over the fencing and water supply for the last couple of days. She came back in today; most of our water supply in the southwest section of the ranch seems to have been poisoned with something. Erin says the streams have dead fish in them. I wondered whether the same thing could have affected the cattle," she replied, pulling open the fridge and getting the pitcher of iced tea that was constantly kept full.

Mare let out a silent sigh of relief. "Well, it sure could. The cattle weren’t found particularly near to water but that doesn’t mean they hadn’t drunk it. I’ll need to go out and get some samples."

"Erin already did that. Paula’s on her way to Sharlesburg. She’s sending a sample to my biochemical division and we should have an answer by tomorrow. There’s a map on my desk in the office. If you go get it, I can show you what we know is contaminated and you can figure out whether the ranches affected are on the same water source as our streams."

Mare spent the next hour studying the map, seeing where the streams had started and following where they headed. As far as she could tell, there were two more ranches likely to be affected and then the contamination would hit the town.

"You think that the town's water supply could be hit with this?" Mare asked as she finished the last of the croissants that TJ had placed before her.

"Depends where you pull your water from and whether it goes through a treatment works first."

"We have natural aquifers and it isn’t treated. There hasn’t been any need."

"Then, yes." TJ’s voice was serious. "If the aquifers become contaminated, the town could have a big problem on its hands. I’m having some aerial photographs of the area done to see if any of my other water sources are involved. We have a massive lake up in the northern sector. If that is affected, we could be in bigger trouble since that is supplied from the river."

"I need to get back to town and let someone know about this. I hate to run out on you, especially after the effort you just put into feeding me."

TJ smiled. "No problem. You go. I should have the photos tomorrow and the results from the labs."

"Okay, I’ll drop in tomorrow and see what you have." Mare jumped down from her seat and pulled her keys from her pocket. She bent down, impulsively kissed TJ on the cheek and was out the door, leaving a rather stunned TJ behind.

********************

Erin slumped back in the seat and switched the engine off, enjoying the calm silence that enfolded her. She had been up as the sun rose above the horizon this morning; now it was well past midday. The drive out to the airfield at Bancroft had proved fruitful and at this time Paul Williams and his partner, Jenny, were readying their helicopter to photograph the ranch's water resources. Erin had also asked them to fly as far up the contaminated stream as they could, to see if they could locate the source of the contamination.

She pushed the door open and got out of the van, stretching tired muscles and noting with a little disappointment that Paula hadn’t yet returned from Sharlesburg. Trudging slowly up to the house, she removed her Stetson, and plodded into the kitchen.

"Hi, TJ," she said as she saw her friend and employer sitting cradling a glass of something cold. "Photos will be done this afternoon and the photographer is going to drop off the prints tomorrow." She opened the fridge and grabbed a cold beer, forsaking the iced tea for something a little stronger. She frowned, not getting an answer, and turned to take a closer look at her friend. TJ sat near the island rocking back and forth in her chair as was her habit when thinking. She was flushed and had the weirdest look on her face. Erin walked over to her, placing her hand on TJ’s forehead, checking for a temperature. "You okay? You look a little flushed."

TJ’s smile grew wider. "Oh yeah, I’m fine."

Erin removed her hand, still studying her friend. "Okay, if you say so. Mare gone?" Erin swore that TJ's face lit at the mention of the vet’s name, her flush becoming a full-blown blush. Well, well, well, our TJ is well and truly smitten.

"Yeah," replied TJ, coming back to her senses from the dream world she’d been floating in since Mare had left. "She’s been having a few problems with cattle becoming mysteriously ill. I think some of the other ranches in the area are affected, too, which makes it unlikely that it is anything against us specifically. She’s gone to inform the town that their water supply may be hit since they are about ten miles further down the water course affected."

"Is she coming back?" She saw TJ’s face fall slightly.

"Not till tomorrow. I said I’d give her whatever the labs come up with."

Paula returned to the Meridian household later that evening. She’d spent the day in Sharlesburg, conferring with several of TJ’s companies on how to tackle the problem they had on the ranch. Whether the contaminant could be cleaned up quickly would depend on what it was. Of course, TJ had already alerted them to her emissary's imminent arrival in the city; all Paula had to do was sort out the details.

The biochemical division had already received the sample that Erin had brought back with her and had identified it as an industrial byproduct. They would have a proper breakdown of its components in the morning. They also had started to gather a cleanup team, which would arrive on the ranch tomorrow afternoon. Another disaster averted. Let's go see what else has happened today.

Nobody was in the kitchen when Paula entered, so she put her bags down (never having been one to miss the opportunity to shop when it arose). Music was coming from the living room so she headed that way, spotting her lover sprawled on the couch listening to Shania Twain on the stereo. Erin looked completely relaxed, with bare feet resting on one arm of the couch and both forearms folded across her face.

Paula crept over and tickled the bottoms of the exposed feet. "Yo!" Erin yanked her feet back and pulled both arms down. She half-lifted her head, but it quickly flopped back onto the couch as her yelp turned into a groan.

Paula sniggered, pleased with the results of her tormenting. "What are you groaning about?"

"While you were out having yourself a good old time all day, I came back and unloaded a load of hay. Then I mucked the stalls, which were a bit overdue. How can just three horses produce so much… fertilizer? Yuck." Erin made a face. "Wonder when TJ's going to let us hire some extra help? That is one job that is going to the top of my 'To Be Delegated' list." She started giggling. "Gives a whole new meaning to the word 'pooped.'"

Paula grinned and sauntered slowly alongside the couch, bending over several times to twitch her nose and sniff loudly at Erin's body. Finally, nearing Erin's head, she remarked in a mockingly supercilious tone, "There seems to be a suspicious absence of unpleasant odors for someone who claims to have engaged in such an aromatic pursuit."

"Well, cutie," Erin said drily, "that's because I did exactly what you would have done when finished. I made a mad dash for the shower."

Paula tousled her lover's blonde curls. "Yep, you are a little damp."

A saucy smile slowly curved Erin's lips.

Chuckling, Paula leaned over to place a kiss on Erin’s forehead only to find herself pulled down on top of her partner. "So, feeling frisky, are we?" she said as her lips closed over the soft sweetness of her partner's.

"Hmmmm, that would be a 'yes,'" replied Erin as their kiss ended, wrapping her arms around Paula and pulling her closer.

"Where is TJ?"

"In the barn, fixing something on her saddle and talking to Flag, knowing her."

"Soooo.." Paula snuggled into Erin’s embrace, her fingers walking slowly down Erin’s chest. "We have the house all to ourselves?" Her eyebrows rose and her fingers began to undo the buttons of Erin’s shirt.

"Yep, all to ourselves…"

To be continued in Part 4

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Karen A. Surtees or PruferBlue