Sea Of Grass by Kate Sweeney

pulled at her arm, but she angrily shrugged him off. “And what about his crushed head? I saw it. Did you see any sign of his horse kicking him in the head? Shit, Pat, what’s going on?”
    “I have to go by what the coroner said, Tess. It’s like I told Jed, they determined it was an accident.”
    “I suppose that it means nothing that he had words with Telford that night or that Telford warned him to back off, in front of witnesses. I suppose that means shit, right?” Tess yelled, and Pat winced at her anger but said nothing. Tess wiped away the angry tears.
    Jed agreed with Tess. “She’s right, you know. Warren Telford killed my son as sure as you’re standing here denying it.”
    Tess took a menacing step toward her old friend. She never wanted to hit someone so badly in her entire life, but she knew Pat was not entirely to blame.
    “Go to hell, Sheriff Hayward,” she said in a dead flat voice. Without another word, she turned on her heels and stormed out, slamming the door with such anger, it shattered the glass paneling.

    Tess finished her brandy as she reminisced and put her head back. Tears filled her blue eyes while she watched the dying embers of the fire flickering across the log-beamed ceiling. With a sad, tired sigh, she closed her eyes.
    Someone was shaking her.
    “Tess,” Claire whispered.
    Tess blinked and opened her eyes and focused on the worried face. “Go to bed. You’ll be stiff as a board tomorrow.”
    Tess sat up, shaking the sleep from her eyes. “God, I fell asleep. What time is it?” she asked through a yawn.   
    “Nearly midnight. C’mon.”
    Tess groaned and stretched. Claire noticed the ledger and bills on the desk. She said nothing as she turned out the light.
    Standing in the glow of the fire, Tess looked down into Claire’s blue eyes. “Why are you still up?”  
    Claire pulled the flannel robe closer and shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. I heard mumbling. You were talking in your sleep.”
    “Really? What did I say?” Tess asked with a small grin.
    “You mentioned some man named Mel.”
    “Man…?” Tess chuckled. “Mel is short for Melanie. She’s a, well, a colleague at the university.”
    “A colleague?”
    Tess laughed again and scratched her neck. “A long story for another night. Go to bed. Thanks for waking me up. I would have been a pretzel by morning.”
    Claire laughed as they walked down the hall and stopped by her room; she handed Tess her cowboy boots. “Thanks again for today. Jack had a wonderful time. It was very generous of you.”
    “Did you have a good time?”
    Claire smiled and nodded. “I had a very good time. I only hope you didn’t destroy too many cowboy hats. Good night, Tess.”
    “Good night, Claire.” Tess laughed and backed up as Claire walked into the room and closed the door.
    “I can’t believe I knocked over that rack,” she said with a sigh and limped back to her room.

 

    Chapter 7

    Tess walked into the kitchen the next morning and heard Pedro talking in Spanish; she assumed he was talking to Manny and was shocked when she heard Claire’s voice. The two of them were conversing, and of course, Tess had no clue what they were saying. She was vaguely aware this bothered her as she walked into the kitchen.
    “Bonito tardes ,” she said with a grin.
    Pedro and Claire stopped and exchanged quick glances, then started to laugh.
    Tess immediately frowned and was acutely aware this bothered her. “What’s so funny? Didn’t I say good morning?”
    Claire stopped laughing. “No. You said pretty afternoon.”
    Pedro hid his grin in his coffee cup. Tess grunted and sat opposite him at the table, mumbling a thank you to Claire when she set the hot coffee in front of her. After a moment, Tess shrugged. “It could be a pretty afternoon.”
    Claire laughed and explained to Pedro, who laughed along. He stood and picked up his hat. He nodded to Tess and Claire and walked out.
    “Nice guy.” Tess watched him through the