Oh, hes gentle as a lamb, the former owner assured her. Great bloodlines, good breeder, youll get along just fine with him!
Sure, she thought when she put him in the chicken yard and his first act was to jump on her foreman, old Ben Harrison, when he started to gather eggs.
Better get rid of him now, Ben had warned as she doctored the cuts on his arms the rooster had made even through the fabric.
Hell settle down, hes just excited about being in a new place, Maddie assured him.
Looking back at that conversation now, she laughed. Ben had been right. She should have sent the rooster back to the vendor in a shoebox. But shed gotten attached to the feathered assassin. Sadly, Cort Brannt hadnt.
Cort Matthew Brannt was every womans dream of the perfect man. He was
tall, muscular without making it obvious, cultured, and he could play a guitar like a professional. He had jet-black hair with a slight wave, large dark brown eyes and a sensuous mouth that Maddie often dreamed of kissing.
The problem was that Cort was in love with their other neighbor, Odalie Everett. Odalie was the daughter of big-time rancher Cole Everett and his wife, Heather, who was a former singer and songwriter. She had two brothers, John and Tanner. John still lived at home, but Tanner lived in Europe. Nobody talked about him.
Odalie loved grand opera. She had her mothers clear, beautiful voice and she wanted to be a professional soprano. That meant specialized training.
Cort wanted to marry Odalie, who couldnt see him for dust. Shed gone off to Italy to study with some famous voice trainer. Cort was distraught and it didnt help that Maddies rooster kept showing up in his yard and attacking him without warning.
I cant understand why he wants to go all the way over there to attack Cort, Maddie said aloud. I mean, weve got cowboys here!
Cort threw a rake at him the last time he came over here to look at one of your yearling bulls, Sadie reminded her.
I throw things at him all the time, Maddie pointed out.
Yes, but Cort chased him around the yard, picked him up by his feet, and carried him out to the hen yard to show him to the hens. Hurt his pride, Sadie continued. Hes getting even.
You think so?
Roosters are unpredictable. That particular one, she added with a bite in her voice that was very out of character, should have been chicken soup!
Great-Aunt Sadie!
Just telling you the way it is, Sadie huffed. My brotheryour granddaddywould have killed him the first time he spurred you.
Maddie smiled. I guess he would. I dont like killing things. Not even mean roosters.
Cort would kill him for You if he could shoot straight, Sadie said with veiled contempt. You load that .28 gauge shotgun in the closet for me, and Ill do it.
Great-Aunt Sadie!
She made a face. Stupid thing. I wanted to pet the hens and he ran me all the way into the house. Pitiful, when a chicken can terrorize a whole ranch. You go ask Ben how he feels about that red rooster. I dare you. If youd let him, hed run a truck over it!
Maddie sighed. I guess Pumpkin is a terror. Well, maybe Cort will deal with him once and for all and I can go get us a nice rooster.
In my experience, no such thing, the older woman said. And about Cort dealing with him She nodded toward the highway.
Maddie grimaced. A big black ranch truck turned off the highway and came careening down the road toward the house. It was obviously being driven by a maniac.
The truck screeched to a stop at the front porch, sending chickens running for cover in the hen yard because of the noise.
Great, Maddie muttered. Now theyll stop laying for two days because hes terrified them!
Better worry about yourself, Great-Aunt Sadie said. Hello, Cort! Nice to see you, she added with a wave and ran back into the house, almost at a run.
Maddie bit off what she was going to say about traitors. She braced herself as a tall, lean, furious cowboy in jeans, boots, a chambray shirt and a black Stetson cocked over one eye came straight toward her. She knew what the set of that hat meant. He was out for blood.
Im sorry! she said at once, raising her hands, palms out. Ill do something about him, I promise!
Andy landed in a cow patty, he raged in his deep voice. Thats nothing compared to what happened to the others while we were chasing him. I went headfirst into the dipping tray!
She wouldnt laugh, she wouldnt laugh, she wouldnt
Oh, hell, stop that! he raged while she bent over double at the mental image of big, handsome Cort lying facedown in the stinky stuff they dipped cattle in to prevent disease.
Im sorry. Really! She forced herself to stop laughing. She wiped her wet eyes and tried to look serious. Go ahead, keep yelling at me. Really. Its okay.
Your stupid rooster is going to feed my ranch hands if you dont keep him at home! he said angrily.
Oh, my, chance would be a fine thing, wouldnt it? she asked wistfully. I mean, I guess I could hire an off-duty army unit to come out here and spend the next week trying to run him down. She gave him a droll look. If you and your men cant catch him, how do you expect me to catch him?