So�This Is Montana� Ch. 23
For JC, Justin, and Lance, much of their day was spent asleep in a shared bedroom while Joey and Chris spent their time quietly visiting, trying to figure out why in the world the group was having such bad luck on Lance�s new ranch.
�You want to hear something funny, Joey?� Chris said as he raised his can of coke to his lips then took a small sip.
�Sure,� Joey replied lazily from his position on the bed that he and Chris were sitting on, their backs leaning against the headboard.
�Well�last night�while Justin and I were waiting for news on you and Lance and for JC to show up, Justin got this crazy idea in his head,� Chris said with a slight snicker as he placed the now empty can on the nearby bedside table.
�Oh, come on, Chris,� Joey said with a growing smile. �Like that�s something new. Baby J has those all the time.�
With Joey�s remark, the two had to work hard to keep their laughter down so that they would not disturb the others in the next room. Justin was well known for his impetuous ideas and active imagination, which they all chalked up to his being the youngest member of the group and Joey was certain that whatever Chris had to say would be just one more example of the same.
Once their laughter died down, Chris shook his head as he stood up and walked around the room.
�Justin got this idea in this head. Joe that all of these things happening to us�you know�� Chris said, gesturing with his hands.
�The car wreck two months ago�the mishap with Stan�s truck the other day�Lance falling off his horse yesterday and JC�s assault�man I hate that word�assault,� Chris said in near disgust at the word.
�Yeah�more like attack�kidnapping,� Joey said in agreement as he gazed with a blank expression at the floor before looking up at Chris in curiosity.
�Yeah�those fit much better,� Chris quietly agreed with slight anger replacing the amusement that had been evident in his voice just seconds earlier. Joey heard the change in Chris�s tone and quickly tried to get his friend�s mind off of that train of thought.
�What was Justin�s idea, Chris?�
�Oh�sorry,� Chris apologized with a small smile. �Kinda lost track there.�
�No problem,� Joey replied, completely understanding Chris�s lapse. He was just as frustrated with the term as the older man as well as the entire situation involving JC.
�Well, Justin seemed to think that all of these things are happening because something is going on around here.� Chris grinned over at his friend but was surprised to see that it was not being returned.
�Oh,� Joey said quietly as he scooted down the bed until his was able to lie down on it. Chris walked over and took the empty coke can from Joey�s grasp and threw it away.
�Um�thanks, Chris,� Joey mumbled as if in deep thought. Chris knew that tone of voice and shook his head.
�No, not you too,� he said in disbelief. �Justin having wild notions I can handle, but a Justin, Joey combination might be too much.�
�What?� Joey asked in slight confusion. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had not even realized that his friend had mad a sarcastic remark against him. Chris rolled his eyes before speaking.
�Listen, Joey�I�ll tell you just like I told J last night�I think we�re just being careless since we�re someplace unfamiliar. Things are just happening�and the things that are happening are just accidents,� Chris said, trying to convince the young man.
�Well�I don�t know, Chris. I mean, think about it,� Joey said in a thoughtful tone as he looked up at the man staring down at him with a less than amused look on his face that Joey chose to ignore.
�Lance is an excellent rider�better than anyone of us and he happens to have an �accident,�� Joey said, using his fingers to make bunny ears in emphasizing the word, accident.
�Well�sure he�s a better rider,� Chris admitted, not sure that he was following what Joey was beginning to imply about Lance�s riding abilities. �But things like that happen all the time.�
�So�they just happen to put Lance on a horse named Skitty?� Joey replied as he raised one eyebrow and cocked his head somewhat as he stared up at Chris.
�Skitty?� Chris said with a small grin. �What kind of name is that for a horse�did he like Skittles or something?�
�No�it was short for Skittish�the horse was easy to scare,� Joey answered, watching as a look of dawning realization passed slowly over Chris�s face.
�How�how did you hear about that Joey?� Chris asked slowly.
�Um�while we�me and Pete�were waiting for word on Lance at the clinic, he told me that he thought it was pretty weird that one of the other hands had saddled up that horse for Lance even when they knew that his right hand wasn�t really strong enough to handle a horse that pulled so hard to the right.�
Joey glanced over at Chris, who was now sitting on the other bed in the room and saw that he had his friend�s full attention.
�Pete said that even after he found out that Lance was a good rider by watching him on their ride, he would still never have put Lance on that horse himself knowing the difficult terrain that they were riding on along with Skitty�s reputation might be a problem for someone wearing a cast and not having been on a horse in a while.�
�Well�who put Lance on that horse?� Chris asked, suddenly beginning to feel like Justin�s idea might not be a bad one after all, but still it could be a coincidence.
�Pete didn�t know for sure,� Joey answered in a voice of regret. �He knew that it wasn�t Troy or Mitch because he was with them the entire morning. He kinda thought it could have been either Matt or Drew�maybe even Stan.�
�So�it still might all be a coincidence,� Chris replied in a less than confident tone of voice.
�Well�what about JC?� Joey countered as he turned from his back to his side to better face his friend who was now seated on the other bed in the room.
�What about him, Joe?� Chris asked. �Those ranch hands were supposedly putting him through some sort of spur of the moment, initiation type deal.�
�Do you think they would have picked JC if we hadn�t been gone? I mean, think about it, Chris�out of all of us�do you think they would have picked you if you had stayed behind?� Joey asked quietly as he watched Chris tilt his head to the side.
�No�,� Chris answered. �Probably not.� He hadn�t thought about that scenario.
�Yeah�because you could defend yourself�maybe run away�anything. Even Justin with his arm in a sling could probably have done the same thing�it would have been a little harder for him. Then Lance, seeing how he is the new owner, I don�t think they would have been messing around with him too much and why even bother if they had a better chance of doing something to him while he was riding that horse. Then�me�I probably wouldn�t have been able to do too much
as far as defending myself with my arms and chest all banged up, but I still would have at least stood a better chance than C with his concussion.�
During Joey�s speaking, Chris had remained quiet. Some of what his younger friend was saying was beginning to make some sense and that scared him. At the same time, Joey could tell that the wheels were beginning to turn in his friend�s head by the expression written on Chris�s face so he continued speaking.
�Remember the last time you woke Josh up yesterday?� Joey asked and watched as Chris nodded his head in answer to the question.
�You told us out on the front porch when we were leaving that he was still pretty out of it�kinda confused and all.�
�And not too far away was Jared,� Chris said in disbelief as he suddenly collapsed back onto the bed he was sitting on when he realized what his comment may have done.
�I set my little brother up�I set JC up,� Chris moaned through his hands that he had placed over his face. �I set him up.�
Alarmed, Joey immediately sat up, wincing at the pain his quick movements caused, then stood up and quickly made his way to Chris�s side.
�No�no, Chris�you did not set Josh up�you did not,� Joey said firmly as he sat down beside the older man and grasped his shoulders.
�If I had kept my big mouth shut, JC would have been left alone�he would have been safe while we were at the clinic�they would have left him alone,� Chris whispered. He brought his hands down and Joey sorrowfully shook his head at the sight before him.
Tears of anguish and pain were streaming down Chris�s face causing Joey to regret his words.
�I am so sorry, Chris�I never should have told you�I�m so sorry,� Joey said sadly as he reached down to wipe away the tears from his friends face with the back of his hand while tears of his own made their way down his face.
�I never should have told you.�
�Mitch!� Troy called out as he quickly strode into the ranch house. Just moments earlier he had seen what he, Mitch and Pete had been dreading for the last several hours beginning to approach the ranch in the far distance.
�Yeah!� Mitch yelled in reply from the kitchen area before meeting Troy in the living area.
�They�re driving up right now,� Troy said in a grim tone of voice as he pulled his cowboy hat off his head and ran a hand through his hair as he watched Mitch approaching him.
�Where are the boys?� Mitch quickly asked. He didn�t want to be worrying about them in the next few minutes.
�They�re in their bedrooms and all the doors are still locked�I just checked on them a few minutes ago.�
�Well�Pete�s out there right now so, we better get out there too,� Mitch said as he reached for his cell phone that was sitting on the couch. He hoped that he wouldn�t have to use it to call one of the sheriffs for help, but he wanted to be prepared just the same.
The two men hurriedly moved through the house then went out the front door to meet Pete on the front porch.
�They aren�t moving like they�re in any real hurry,� Pete commented to the two as he pointed at the cloud of dust in the distance that was slowly growing closer.
�Maybe they�ve had time to settle down some,� Troy said as the truck continued to approach at an almost snail�s pace.
�Let�s hope so,� Mitch added as the truck continued to make its way toward the ranch house.
Minutes later, Mitch, Troy and Pete watched in slight trepidation as John�s truck pulled into the ranch house�s front yard. Once the vehicle had stopped, John and Steven stepped out and casually walked over to the trio, who had stepped off the front porch, ready to defuse any situation that might arise.
�How are those boys doing?� John asked with a slight smile on his face, causing Mitch, Troy and Pete to look at each other in slight confusion.
�No�wait a minute,� John said after catching the glances that were flying between the three men. �Don�t tell me�Hal called and told you how angry we were�right?� he asked his smile growing even larger at the thought of the three younger hands having probably worried how they would handle him and Steve if they hadn�t already recovered from the intense anger that they had experienced several hours earlier.
�Yes, he did give us a call when you two both left his office in less than pleasant terms,� Mitch replied.
�Less than pleasant terms, Steve�we left in less than pleasant terms,� John said in an almost mocking tone of voice then laughed and shook his head at the three young men before him.
�Listen boys, me and Steve were just blowing some steam at Hal�s office,� John explained as he pulled his cowboy hat off his head and ran his hand through his thick graying hair. �I�ll admit it�I was pretty angry with the fact that five of my hands took it upon themselves to pull the game on our guest, but��
�Now, wait a minute, John,� Troy said in disbelief. �You and Steve sounded more upset that the game was being taken so seriously�you were trying to blow off the fact that Mr. Chasez had been injured during the game.�
John took a deep breath to steady his nerves. He could feel anger beginning to well up inside him, but he had to keep a handle on his emotions if he was going to be able to fool the trio into thinking otherwise about him and Steve.
�Okay�I�ll also admit that I was upset with the fact that the game had been labeled as kidnapping and assault�I�ll even admit that I thought that Mr. Chasez was possibly putting on a good act, but then I had a chance to speak with the doctors this morning and I had to change my tune.�
The lies slipped so easily off John�s tongue and Steve himself would later tell John that he would have had him convinced if he had not already known that he had not even bothered to call the clinic or had spoken to neither
Dr. Granger or Dr. Parrish in the last few days. And, apparently, Troy, Mitch and Pete bought the lies and minutes later, the two groups separated. John and Steven headed for the house that the ranch hands all shared, Pete headed for the tack room in the stables to tend to some of the saddles, Mitch headed for the heavy equipment barn to work on some of a tractor that needed some slight repair work, while Troy walked back into the house to tell Joey, Chris and the others that the coast was clear�the anger that had been evident earlier had easily blown over�maybe too easily.
�Thanks, Troy,� Joey said quietly after opening his bedroom door and entering into the hallway. �The rest of the guys are still asleep�Chris too so I guess I�ll lay down for a while now that we know that everything is okay.�
�Yeah�I guess their tempers got the best of them, but everything seems to be alright now and back to normal,� Troy replied, the relief evident in his voice.
�I�ll let you know if something else happens�if we need to do this again. I�m hoping that we won�t have to again.�
�Hey, don�t worry about it, Troy,� Joey said with a reassuring smile. �Listen�this sort of thing happens all the time for us with our bodyguards when we�re on the road making appearances and such. Dre, Lon, and Mike like to call it a �lock-down,� and we�d rather be safe, cooped up in our rooms than in trouble so we�re going to just have to trust your judgment.�
�Okay�fair enough,� Troy said with his own smile. The two shook hands then Joey went back into his bedroom and quietly shut the door while Troy walked back down the hallway to leave the house. He had chores that he had neglected long enough.
Meanwhile, with a small sigh, Joey crossed the room and stood at Chris�s bedside. With a small shake of his head he looked down at his friend�s tearstained face. Chris had finally cried himself to sleep, heartbroken by the thought that he had somehow paved the way for the ranch hands to assault JC.
Almost a half an hour ago, after many words�and tears, Joey had finally somehow been able to convince Chris that he had not been the one who initiated JC�s attack with his words. They came to the frustrating conclusion that no matter what anyone had said, in the end, who ever had stayed behind would have been the fall guy to the cruel game that the ranch hands wanted to play. JC was just the unfortunate individual who had happened to stay behind when the others had taken Joey to the clinic to change his bandages. Joey was convinced though, that something was definitely going on and that it would be up to the group to find out what it is.
With those thoughts in mind, Joey walked into the adjoining bathroom and opened a bottle containing his pain medication. He popped one of the pills into his mouth then turned on a sink faucet and gulped down several handfuls of water to wash the medication down his throat then rinsed his face off and brushed his teeth.
Once he had finished at the sink, Joey walked quietly into the other bedroom to check on the rest of the group and saw that Justin and JC were still sleeping side by side on one bed while Lance slept on the other smaller bed with his hand propped up on several pillows at his side.
�Man�I hope everything stays this peaceful for the rest of the trip,� Joey whispered to himself as he walked back through the bathroom and entered his bedroom.
With another small sigh, he lay down on his bed and turned so that he was facing Chris�s sleeping figure. In his mind he was forming a plan. He would first go to Justin and let him know that he agreed with the young man�s suspicions then, together, they would have to somehow convince the rest of the group that perhaps, there really is something going on at the ranch�something that they would need to uncover.
Pete stepped into the stable�s tack room and quickly began opening a small tin of leather soap. After gathering up the other necessary items, he sat down on a low stool and began rubbing a cloth through the tin then over a dusty and worn saddle.
As he worked, he whistled a simple tune, lost in his thoughts, not knowing that there was someone just outside the room listening to him. A slight movement out of the corner of his eye alerted Pete to the fact that he wasn�t alone and he quickly glanced up.
�Oh�hi, John,� Pete said disinterestedly as he continued to wipe the cloth over the saddle before him. �What can I do for you?�
�Well�I was just wondering how everything�s going, Pete,� John answered. �Are they suspecting anything yet?�
�Maybe just a little, but not too much,� Pete answered almost sullenly. �I think I�ve got the heat directed toward some of the others and not you and Steve.�
�Hey, I don�t think I like that tone of voice, Pete,� John said angrily as he snatched the cloth out of the young man�s hand and tossed it to the floor. �I think you need to remember who you�re talking to and what I can do to you if you get on my nerves.�
Pete kept his gaze focused on the cloth lying at his feet in an effort to control his own frustrated emotions.
�Now�if you don�t want me to go to Mr. Benson with our little secret, you�ll keep feeding me information,� John said in a low tone.
Pete slowly nodded his head then reached down for the cloth. He hated having to give in to John, but he couldn�t really afford to do otherwise. He needed the money that he earned on the ranch�it was good money. It was a well-known fact that Harvey Benson paid handsome salaries to his employees and the majority of the money that Pete was earning was being sent to his family in North Dakota to help support them through a difficult time. His father was unable to work due to cancer and his mother was doing the best that she could working at the small town caf� in his hometown.
John watched the young man�s movements and just as Pete�s fingers grazed the edge of the material, John�s brought his right boot down upon his fingers. Pete groaned painfully at the crushing weight resting on his fingers and brought his pain filled gaze up to meet John�s hateful gaze.
�Remember, Pete�I know you were in Huntsville, Texas�in the pen for drug possession�and if I tell, Mr. Benson will make sure that you don�t find another ranch to work on for in a thousand mile radius of here. Do you understand me, boy?�
Pete cringed at the harshness of the words and the intense pain that he was experiencing�so much pain that all he could manage to do was whisper his reply while adamantly nodding his head. Seconds later, Pete groaned with relief when John lifted his boot off his hand. He sat back on the stool and cradled his bruised hand against his chest.
�Remember that, Pete. I know that you withheld that information on your employment application and you can be sure that if it�s ever found out, you�ll never work on another ranch�ever.�
John sneered at the young ma, grimacing in pain then turned on his heels and walked out of the tack room. This was just too easy for him�using Pete as his little bird on his shoulder. He needed someone who could get close enough to the new owner and his friends and Pete was that connection.
Pete slowly stood up once he was sure that John had left the building. He stared down at his now bruised and swollen hand. Somehow, he was going to have to find the courage to do the right thing, but for now, he didn�t have that much courage or determination. So, for right now, he�d have to continue feeding John and Steve with information, no matter how guilty it made him feel.