How to Rope a McCoy (Hell Yeah!) (2 page)

A
touch on her leg made her jump. She looked. Edith was standing at the foot of
her bed. She was speaking, but Cato couldn’t hear. “Mama, I’m scared. I can’t
hear you!”

Her
mother’s lips moved, but no noise came out. She looked at the television where
Pocahontas was playing. She could see the leaves blowing, she could see
Grandmother singing, but Cato couldn’t discern the words or the music. She
remembered them, but she could no longer hear them.

Cato
was deaf. Her ears no longer worked.

She
could only listen with her heart.

Heath – Leaving Montana

           
“I want to go home,” Ryder cried as Heath held his sister close.

           
“Home isn’t there anymore, honey.”

           
“I don’t like it here. Montana is cold and no one is happy. Daddy won’t talk.
He just sits and stares out the window,” she sobbed into his shirt, her words
muffled.

Heath
felt helpless. He was at his wit’s end. After his mother’s death, the whole
family seemed to want to be as far away from Belle Chasse as possible. Oh, they
could’ve rebuilt. The land was rich and fertile. Rice would grow, sugar cane
would flourish and the hay meadows could support the herds. What couldn’t be
replaced was the sense of peace and welcome they’d once known. Christian said
he couldn’t bear to go back and see where Carolyn had been killed. Hurricane
Katrina had completely transformed their lives forever.

Their
father suffered a stroke at his wife’s funeral. For a while, the whole family
thought they’d lose him too. But he survived, although a changed man. Since
Christian McCoy had simply shut down, Heath had done the best he could to carry
on. He’d contacted a specialist in ranch realty and located a piece of property
on the Yellowstone River near the Dome Mountain Range. There was nothing not to
like about Paradise Valley—except that it wasn’t home.

As
he tried to console his sister, his eyes focused on the window where he could
see flakes of snow drifting down. The weather was harsh in Montana. As Heath
patted Ryder’s shoulder, he realized he’d made a mistake taking the family so
far from what they were used to. He hoped they’d forgive him in time. “We’ll
adjust, Ryder. We have to.”

“No,
we don’t have to.” The voice caused both of them to look up. It was their
father, Christian, his wheelchair filling the doorway. “Put this place up for
sale. We’re going back south. We have another home, we’re moving to Texas.”

“How?
Where?” Heath was confused. He had no idea what his dad was referring to.

Christian
rolled his chair closer to his children. “When your grandfather, Isaac,
divorced your grandmother, he needed a change of scenery, much like we did.
Painful memories, I guess. There was a dispute over ownership with a former
partner and they had trouble.” The old man rubbed his face. “Anyway, my father
sold Highlands, our family’s legacy, and since your mother passed, I’ve been
working to buy it back. And I think I’ve made a deal. I’m negotiating with the
current owner, Al Hollings. He’s been running cattle on the property and I’m
offering him top dollar. The man is in ill health and wants to liquidate his
holdings to form a trust for his only child, a daughter. Highlands Ranch has
been waiting for the McCoy family to come home. And if all goes well, that’s
where we’ll be going.”

“Why
didn’t I know anything about this?” Heath asked, feeling funny about not
knowing all of his family’s history.

“The
whole divorce thing between your grandparents was a sore spot. I was raised to
never talk about it. Ignoring our past became a habit. My father changed.
Losing a spouse is always hard.” He drifted off, deep in thought, as if what
he’d said explained everything.     

“So,
the
McCoys
are originally from Texas?
Yeehaw
!” Ryder tried to tease, wanting to snap her dad out
of his doldrums.    

“We
are, and it’s time we reclaimed our heritage.” Christian wiped his eyes and
smiled gently at his beautiful daughter.   

From
that moment, the family seemed to come alive. Montana was beautiful, but they
had no roots, no connection to anything or anyone there. It wasn’t overnight,
but the family made the transition, flying down and finalizing the transaction.
They set up housekeeping in the old homestead until a new house could be built,
a replication of Belle Chasse to honor their mother.

The
family moved on.

Philip
finished his degree and spent time overseas on an archaeological dig before
coming home to teach at the University of Texas. He still went on adventures
when requested. Jaxson jokingly called him their own Indiana Jones. But he was
never gone long. The Highlands seemed to call him back.

Jaxson
worked the ranch along with Heath, but he also rode the rodeo circuit, becoming
a National Championship bull rider. Tennessee fulfilled a lifelong dream and
formed a tracking company, spending a couple of weeks a month on the road
performing rescues and assisting in wilderness searches. He also married—too
quickly. But Molly wasn’t the person Tennessee thought she was. The old saying
‘marry in haste, repent at leisure’ was something he well understood.

Ryder
and Pepper grew up to be beautiful women, but taking care of their father and
their brothers robbed them of the freedom many girls their age enjoyed. It also
didn’t help being female and the babies of the family in an all-alpha-male
household. To say they were sheltered was an understatement. So Ryder and
Pepper began pushing the envelope, testing their wings and giving their
brothers fits. The girls looked upon it as an adventure.

All
of them settled in, they made friends. Heath bought Canyon of the Eagles resort
and began oil and gas exploration at Highlands. More importantly, he met a
woman…

During
the negotiations to buy Highlands from Al Hollings, Heath had been introduced
to his daughter, Amy. At the time, she’d been young, just out of high school.
But Heath had noticed her. Hollings had died and they’d lost touch, but when
she graduated from college, Amy returned home. He ran into her at the country
club and from the moment he saw her, Heath knew she was meant to be his.

Amy
was petite, cultured, and a perfect lady. Blonde, blue-eyed and perfectly
coiffed, she was quickly able to twist Heath around her little finger. Heath
fell hard and fast, proposing within a month of their first date and Amy
accepted. The only fly in the ointment had been a man who’d worked for her
father, Jack
Arness
. Later, Heath would find out Jack
had been his grandfather Isaac’s former partner. But at the time, that
important fact eluded him. All he knew was that
Arness
seemed to have a hold on Amy and her mother, an influence Amy didn’t seem
willing to shake. He advised Camille Hollings, Al’s widow, on investments. And
for one reason or another,
Arness
made it clear he
was against Amy seeing Heath. But Heath didn’t let one man’s interference
dissuade him.  

He
was in love.

Cato – Learns About Heroes

Cato
woke up. It was dark. She struggled to see. Inky blackness. Was she blind? For
a moment, uncontrollable panic rolled over her. If she lost her sight, as well
as her hearing, she would go crazy. “Mama! Mama!” As part of her punishment for
not losing weight, Edith had taken away Cato’s night light. Throwing the covers
back, Cato slid from the bed. “Mama!” Grabbing for the lamp, she knocked it off
in her confusion.

All
of a sudden a bright light flooded the room. Cato was so relieved. Even though
she was twelve years old, sometimes she got scared. “Thank you,” she said. But
before she could turn around to speak to her mother, her arm was roughly jerked
and Cato tumbled backward into the bed. “
Ow
!”

Her
mother grasped her shoulders and shook her. Cato began to cry. “How many times
have I told you not to talk? Read lips and sign. No one wants to hear that
loud, garbled crap coming out of your mouth.”

“I
need to talk to you sometimes, Mama,” she whispered. Or she thought she
whispered. Cato couldn’t tell.

Slap!
Cato cringed. Her mother had hit her right on the mouth.

“Sign,
don’t speak! You sound like a retarded freak.”  

“I’m
sorry.” Cato rolled over, escaping another blow. She began signing “I’m sorry,
I’m sorry, Mama,” over and over again. How could she make her mother understand
how hard it was to stay completely silent? She didn’t understand how her speech
could be so bad. It hadn’t been that long ago she spoke just like anyone else.

Pulling
her by the hair of the head, Edith Vincent snatched Cato’s head around. “Why
did you wake me up, you fat little pig?”

“It
was dark. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t hear. I panicked.” Cato signed, biting her
lips to keep the words in. Cato wasn’t free to speak out loud unless she was
alone or with Tessa. Sometimes she felt like she’d been bound and gagged,
living in a strait jacket. And to make matters worse, the unhappier she became,
the more she ate. Frustration and depression just made matters worse. Food was
her friend.

“You’re
deaf. You’ll never be able to hear again.” Her mother put a hand to her own
forehead as if in despair. “You will never sing and your voice was your only
redeeming quality.”

“Could
you leave on a light?”

“No,
don’t be stupid. There’s nothing to be afraid of in the dark. No one’s going to
break in and harm you.” Cato could tell her mother was laughing. “Who would
want to attack you? Look at you! No one wants you. No one will ever want you!”

Cato’s
heart sank. She didn’t really understand. The only person she wanted to want
her was her mother, but Edith acted more like she hated her now than anything.
She was young, but Cato wasn’t dumb. She understood Edith had been using her to
fulfill a dream she hadn’t been able to fulfill herself. And Cato had failed.

“Okay.”
She didn’t know what else to say. Anything she said to her mother didn’t seem
to matter much.

“I’m
going back to bed. You shut up and go to sleep!”

Cato
pulled up the covers as her mother turned out the light.

It
was dark and silent once more.

*  *  *

“You’re
new in town, aren’t you?” the librarian asked as she checked the young man’s
books out to him.

“Just
visiting my aunt for a few days.” He smiled.

All
of a sudden a hoarse, desperate cry rang out in the library.

“What
was that?” She gasped.

“I
don’t know, but I’ll find out.” He grabbed his books and ran toward the noise.

In
the back, down the long hall that led to the bathrooms, Cato was fighting
someone she couldn’t see. He held her down. She couldn’t move and if he was
saying anything to her, she couldn’t hear. Cato knew she needed to scream for
help, but years of being forbidden to speak had taken their toll.

Her
mother had been wrong, Cato was being attacked—why, she didn’t know. All she’d
done was go to the bathroom, leaving her things sitting at one of the cubicles
by the window. Keeping her head down, she’d made her way through the tables and
by the check-out desk, making eye-contact with no one. She wasn’t aware anyone
had noticed her at all. So when a cruel hand jerked her backward and someone
began choking her, forcing her to the ground, Cato was shocked and scared to
death.

What
was happening? She struggled, she tried to crawl away. But her captor had his
knee pressed into her back, holding her down. A hard jerk tore Cato’s dress
from top to bottom. “Oh, God,” Cato prayed silently. She was about to be raped.
A renewed determination to escape drove her to arch her back, attempting to
dislodge her assailant. But a hard blow to the side of her head made Cato see
sparks.

Suddenly
the weight on her back was gone. Cato scrambled forward, desperate to find a
way to escape her attacker. When she reached the wall a few feet away, Cato
turned around, making herself as small as possible.

Someone
had come to her rescue! Two men struggled. A younger, angry looking man held
another man aloft. The man being held in the air was thin and sallow looking
with a few teeth missing in the front. The only problem was, she didn’t know
which one had attacked her and who her savior was. Trying to calm down, she
considered running, but her dress was falling off and she couldn’t bear to be
seen half-naked.

As
she huddled against the wall, focusing on the unbelievable scenario in front of
her, Cato could see the younger man was speaking. Watching his lips, she
realized this handsome, strong man was her champion.

“Why
are you disrespecting women? Only weak pathetic men attack those weaker than
themselves. Is this the only way you can get a woman, attack one?”

If
the other man responded, Cato couldn’t hear it.

Everything
was happening so fast, she felt like she was watching it all from a distance.
Her hero wore a cowboy hat and boots. The hat was lying to one side next to a
stack of books. The top book had slid off and lay near to her. She saw it was
Heart
of Texas
by Laurence
Culhane
. As if in a daze,
Cato resolved to one day read the book.