Ashes of the Red Heifer Read online

  Her mother shifted her eyes to Annie. They glinted with satisfaction and she rose with dignity.

  The nurse stepped back to usher Arlene. “We never allow people into recovery, but the doctor doesn’t think Mr. Grant will rest until he talks to you. It’s touching to see a man who loves his wife so much. I’ll take you to him, Annie.”

  The name seemed to echo and magnify its sound. It could have been shouted into a microphone and repeated over and over. Then suddenly, the waiting room fell deathly quiet.

  Annie’s insides burned but her skin felt frozen. She wished she could take back every word the nurse had said. Better yet, she wished it had been Arlene’s name on Matthew’s lips, not her own. “Mom, I’m sorry.”

  Her mother’s mouth hung open. She turned to Annie with open hostility. She whirled around and flew back to the chair by the window, wrapped herself around her purse and stared ahead.

  The nurse shifted her gaze from Arlene to Annie, looking as though she’d stumbled into a beehive. “Mrs. Grant? I’ll take you to see your husband.”

  Her mother drew into a tighter ball and refused to look up. Confusion settled on the nurse’s face.

  Annie cleared her throat. “I’m Annie.”

  The nurse colored and managed a pained smile. “I see.”

  There was a moment of awkward silence. Why did she feel guilty and dirty? She’d done nothing except work hard and love her father. His feelings and her mother’s pain didn’t lie at her feet. In fact, Annie wanted to see her father. It might be the last time.

  But the pain didn’t stop. Her head didn’t convince her heart. She bit back an apology to her mother. Annie walked past Lizabeth, Melvin, and David, out the waiting room door ahead of the nurse. “I’d like to see him now.”

  The nurse caught up and passed in front of Annie, holding one of the swinging doors open for her.

  Her feet felt like cement blocks, her legs like rubber bands.

  The nurse stopped beside an open door. Inside lay her father hooked up to monitors with tubes going into his arms and oxygen running under his nose. He didn’t look too bad, considering Annie had thought he was a goner.

  He was pale but not ghostly. His eyes closed, he looked peaceful except for the medical technology hissing and humming around him. Thoughts tumbled through her head as she approached the bed. What words could tell him how much she loved him? It occurred to her now that he would always be at the ranch, surrounded by people who would never know him the way she did. She knew how lonely that could be.

  How to say good-bye forever? She reached out and touched his veined, callused hand where it rested on the white sheet. He opened his eyes. They had a watery, far-away gleam as he studied her.

  Tears threatened Annie, fueled by the hard lump rising in her chest. “Hey, Dad,” she whispered.

  He blinked and focused more intently on her. “Take the heifers. Take what you want and leave.”

  Pain landed in her stomach as though it were a cannon ball. What had she expected? A blessing? Maybe blanket forgiveness or repentance? “What made you change your mind?”

  He wagged his head slowly and his eyes glistened. “God spoke to me.” His voice rose barely above a whisper and he wheezed after each sentence. “I’ve been waiting for a vision and now it’s happened.”

  Disappointment filled Annie until she wanted to sink to the floor. He wasn’t helping her or doing it for the good of mankind or even to save his family. He did it because he thought God told him to. Melvin had been wrong; he didn’t love Annie with undying devotion, he’d forgotten all about her and was blindly following something he’d dreamed in a post-operative muddle.

  His tongue slowly ran across dry lips. “Listen to me, Annie. You can give the Jews what they want because God will take care of it in the end. They want their Third Temple. They don’t know Jesus was the chief cornerstone of it. And we, his faithful, are living stones.”

  Annie barely heard his words. She watched him, remembering their life, hoping to keep him in her heart by memorizing his face. She dipped a cotton swab in water from his bedside table and wet his lips. “I’m sorry, Dad. I never meant for this to happen.”

  He looked in her direction, but she couldn’t be sure he saw her. His sentences seemed disconnected, his thoughts snippets of memory. “The holiness of the Temple is replaced with the divinity of Christ. God will destroy the Third Temple in the earthquakes predicted in Ezekiel and Revelation. Don’t worry about that. Protect yourself.”

  Sadness enveloped her. She slipped her hand under her father’s cold fingers and squeezed them. “Thank you for the heifers. I’ll leave the money at the house.”

  Alarm flared in his eyes. “No money. Just take them. God said, ‘Do not try to take advantage of Israel as they seek to turn back to God.’”

  He might just as well quack at her for all the good his words did. “We’re leaving tonight. Good bye, Dad.”

  She turned and his hand closed around hers, bringing her back to face him. New strength seemed to fill him and his eyes lost their dreamy quality. “When the battle of Armageddon is waged, all the Jews will be destroyed to burn in eternal fires. All except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who turn to Jesus, the true Messiah. Annie, be in those legions. Let me see you in heaven.”

  His words broke the lump from her throat and sent the flood of tears from her eyes. He’d offered her farewell and love wrapped in his own style and she understood the emotion behind those words. He’d never tell her he loved her or that he was proud of her, but he wanted her to be in heaven and that meant the same thing.

  In their old way, they connected on whatever intuitive level they knew each other so deeply. She could only think of it as their souls touching. She smiled at him, the tears dripping their salt over her lips and into her mouth. She didn’t have to speak; he knew what her words could never say.

  Her father closed his eyes and his breathing became deep and regular. Annie leaned over and kissed his clammy forehead. She let her gaze linger a moment on his pasty face, then she walked toward the door.

  “Annie.” His voice sounded weary.

  She turned. “Yes?”

  “Don’t let Melvin catch you. He’ll use it against me. Against you.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  Annie leaned back in the pickup, trying desperately to forget her father lying in the hospital. He’d probably survive this heart attack but then what? He’d go back to his life of bitterness and hatred.

  Annie couldn’t stand thinking about Lizabeth and her mother; the pain of knowing they hated her was too great. All the years she’d been away from the ranch she’d dreamed about her homecoming. It had never been this bad in her worst nightmare.

  David drove silently, his foot heavy on the gas. In a couple of minutes they’d turn north to the ranch. She had to think about what was ahead.

  David’s hand rested warmly on her knee, a constant pressure to remind her she wasn’t in this alone. The vaccine case sat between them on the seat.

  Annie sat up. “Okay, here’s the plan.”

  David seemed relieved she hadn’t fallen into catatonic despair.

  She put her hand on top of his. “They told us the plane would land at two o’clock this morning.”

  David nodded slightly. “Where is the pick up point?”

  Annie flipped open the glove box, looking for paper and pen. “A few miles to the north. The highway runs across a large, flat meadow. It’s about the only place a big plane could land and not run into hills.”

  David kept his eyes on the road. “How are we going to get the heifers there?”

  She found a fast food sack on the floor and ripped it open, smoothing it flat on the top of the vaccine case. She drew a diagram. “Here’s the barn and set of corrals where Dad’s got the heavy cattle locked up so he can keep an eye on them.” She drew some squares at the bottom of the page and a large circle on top of that. “This is the ranch yard, about fifty yards across, all dirt and gravel.” To the left
of the big circle she drew a big square and little square. “This is the new sale barn and Lizabeth’s house.” On the top of the large circle she added another square. “This is Mom and Dad’s house.” Between the main house and the barn, along the right side of the circle, she made a few small boxes. “And these are the chicken house and a few out buildings.”

  David glanced from the road to the diagram and nodded. Thank goodness for the flat, straight road that let them maintain their speed.

  Annie studied it a moment. “Okay, from Dad’s house down to the barn, there is a wire fence that separates the headquarters from the hay meadow. There’s a gate behind Dad’s house. We’ll cut the heavies out while it’s still light, run them through the chute in the barn and vaccinate them with the formula I brought. Then, when it’s late, we’ll sneak them across the headquarters here.” She indicated a line straight through the middle of the diagram. “And through the gate. From there, we take them across the meadow, over the hills and to the shipping pens.”

  David looked at her. “Why the shipping pens?”

  “We’ve got to have the cattle contained when the plane lands or they’ll panic and scatter. We’ll trail the cattle to the pens and load them in the trailer. Then drive to the plane.”

  “Why not load them in the trailer at the headquarters?”

  Her stomach clenched. “Melvin might be home by then. We can sneak six heifers across the yard by horseback. But a rattling trailer would wake anyone.”

  David turned off the highway and onto he gravel road. “So why not take them to the pens this afternoon?”

  “The shipping pens are along the road Melvin might use when he comes home. Six of Dad’s best heifers waiting around the shipping pen might make him suspicious.”

  “Won’t he see the trailer then?”

  “We’ll hide the trailer close by, behind a hill. He’d only see it if he were looking for it. And no, we can’t keep the heifers in the trailer in the sun all afternoon with no water or hay.”

  The cattle should move easily with three horseback riders following them.

  David raced across the cattle guard and slid to a stop in the ranch yard. Annie jumped out of the pickup.

  Moshe hurried over to them. “We need to get the cows.”

  She patted his back. “We’ve got a few more hours of daylight and then we’ll be waiting around for the plane.” Annie headed for the old barn. She pointed to a long aluminum trailer parked next to the sale barn. “You boys get the stock trailer hooked up to the pickup. I’ll saddle the horses.”

  Within half an hour, they’d hauled the horses to the shipping pens and unloaded them. Because they had to leave the trailer and pickup at the pens, they’d ride horses back to the ranch. She gave them a quick lesson on the rules of riding.

  Moshe took the reins, a twinkle in his eyes, despite the purple shiner he still had. “Howdy, ma’am.” His accent made Annie laugh.

  David looked miserable. “I can’t ride.”

  “And I can’t work for religious fanatics. So we’re both doing the impossible.” She helped him atop his horse, holding the reins to steady the nervous beast.

  David’s voice almost squeaked. “I’ve only been on a horse a couple of times, and that was when I was a kid.”

  She winked. “I hope this is a gentle one, then.”

  “God willing.”

  She looked up at him, knowing this wasn’t the time to joke, but feeling hysterical laughter threatening. “If you don’t relax, the horse will sense it and get riled.”

  David positioned himself in the saddle and grasped the horn as a drowning man might cling to a life preserver. “Riled. Is that a cowboy talk for ‘toss me from the saddle and trample me with razor-sharp hooves?’”

  She rolled her eyes. “Look at Moshe. He’s a regular John Wayne.”

  Moshe held a rein in each hand, arms extended from his body. The horse, not getting any direction from its rider, took tentative steps forward. Moshe’s mouth tipped in an amazed smile. “I never thought I would ride a horse.”

  Annie chuckled. “I’m not sure I’d call that riding but you are on top of a horse.”

  “Isn’t there another way to do this?” David asked.

  Annie handed him the reins and laughed when he took his hand from the horn to clutch at them, then took hold of the horn again. She whirled around and planted her foot in the stirrup of her old saddle and lifted herself onto the strawberry roan. “He isn’t a man-eating dragon. Give him a little more rein and let him follow behind me. You’ll be all right.”

  Suspecting she’d never be back, she wanted to savor every second of her ride back to the ranch, the smell of the sweaty horse, the call of the blackbirds, the way the grass rippled in the breeze.

  The glory of the Sandhills filled her. The wind blowing her braid, the sun on her face, the smell of the prairie—all of it combined with childhood memories into one clear image she wanted branded on her soul.

  Annie topped the last hill before descending to the ranch headquarters and saw a blue car parked in front of her father’s house. Fear shot through her and she jerked the reins to the left, spinning her horse around, almost colliding with David’s horse.

  His horse startled and jumped to the side. David hunkered into the saddle, gripping the saddlehorn with white knuckles. The look on his face might have been funny if Annie hadn’t felt close to panic herself.

  Moshe, who had seemed to be enjoying the ride, pulled the reins to stop his horse.

  She motioned toward the ranch house. “Someone is there.”

  The lack of surprise on Moshe’s face showed he probably expected it. “How many?”

  She hadn’t bothered to get details. “I don’t know.”

  David narrowed his eyes. “It’s the Silim.”

  Annie looked at him in disbelief. “That’s ridiculous. How would they know we were here?”

  “They sent Hassan to watch you,” David said. “They know about this place.”

  Moshe gingerly pulled his leg over the saddle and landed on the ground. He handed his reins to Annie. “Stay here. I’ll go look.”

  David dismounted and tossed the reins at Annie, hurrying after Moshe. They made their way to the top of the hill, then crouched down and inched forward.

  This meant she had to rethink her plan. The heifers were in the corral on the opposite side of the headquarters. They wouldn’t be able to sneak the cattle across the yard under the Silim’s nose.

  David scooted backward, then got to his feet and trotted to Annie. “There’re three of them ” He looked up. “How long until dark?”

  Moshe joined them.

  Prairie darkness, uninterrupted by streetlights, would help. “Not long. Maybe an hour.” He nodded.

  Annie handed them their reins. “We’ll take the long way around these hills and tie the horses in the pasture on the far side of the corrals. Unless they’re out checking the cows, they won’t see the horses.”

  David struggled atop his prancing horse. “Then what?”

  Annie shrugged and turned her horse. “Then I’ll think of something.”

  An hour after sundown, Annie, David and Moshe crouched in the fenceline behind the corral of pregnant heifers. Fortunately, the heifers had been in the pen for several days, with her father or Melvin checking them frequently, so the presence of humans didn’t make them nervous.

  Annie whispered to David. “That guy’s been leaning on the car since we’ve been watching.” She pointed at a tall man with dark hair and skin. He wore navy blue slacks and a golf shirt.

  David nodded.

  Two other men waited inside the car. They didn’t look like Middle East terrorists. They looked more like New York bankers. They wore dark suits, white shirts, and ties. Their hair was cut short and neat and their skin was a much lighter shade than Hassan’s. No one you’d look at twice. Which is probably what a spy should look like.

  The two Wall Street guys went in and out of the houses and buildings. Right after
the sun went down, one of the men checked behind the barn, but he didn’t venture too far into the corral, probably afraid to get manure on his wingtips.

  Her stomach clenched with worry. “Do you suppose they suspect we’re around? Or are they waiting for us to show up?”

  David shook his head, squinting in the darkness to see them. “If they thought we were here, they’d be tearing the place apart. Those two in the car haven’t moved in a while. I think they went to sleep.”

  Annie slipped under the fence. The sand on her belly felt cool, but sweat trickled down her back.

  Moshe’s whisper sounded alarmed. “What are you doing?”

  Annie stood slowly, dusting sand from her jeans. She crouched close to the ground and started moving toward the herd. “If the henchmen are sleeping, now’s the time to pick out our heifers.”

  He looked uncertain but didn’t argue. She pointed down the fenceline. “Go unhook the gate and hold it closed. Let the heifers I cut out into the pen.”

  Annie waited to see that they did as she instructed, then she moved through the cattle. She didn’t want to get them stirred up, so every movement had to be excruciatingly slow. She studied the back ends of each, trying to estimate the due date. She wanted heifers due to calve as soon as possible. It wasn’t an exact science. An ultrasound would make it easier and help her better identify the sex of each fetus, but they didn’t have that luxury tonight.

  Annie found one she wanted and stepped behind it. “Sstt. Sstt.” She whispered to the heifer and waved her arm.

  The heifer let out a low moo and turned from Annie, making her way across the corral toward the gate. Annie followed until it was close to the gate and David swung it open. The heifer walked through like a Homecoming queen escorted by the quarterback.

  Annie studied the man leaning against the car, who she thought of as Golf Shirt Guy. Unless the cattle stirred, he’d have no reason to suspect anything unusual in the corral. And with the yard light shining from a thirty-foot pole outside the barn, anything in the darkness beyond its glow would be difficult to see.