Tom wisecracked. “Ladies, I just noticed how much better you smell.”
Jackie tersely replied. “And you two smell like sweat, stale beer, and rotten potatoes. Go bathe, and we’ll burn your clothes.”
Brenda noticed how her brother looked at Jackie before he turned to leave. “Jackie, I believe you’ve smitten my brother. He can barely walk and talk when you’re around. I used to have that effect on men.”
Sam joined in but had a frown. “I wasn’t looking to hook up with another man after being able to ditch my boyfriend, but I think Jackie just scooped up the only available man.”
Jackie shook her head. “Tom will come around one day. He’s worth waiting on.”
Brenda looked at Sam, and Sam said, “Maybe we need to change our minds about letting some nice young men into our group. A girl could wither away around here.”
Brenda and Sam high-fived and then sat quietly, waiting on the men to finish bathing. Sam didn’t notice that Lucy wasn’t sitting with them when Sam heard the loud growl. “What was that? Where’s Lucy? Oh, my God! We have to find her.”
A crashing noise came from the lake and went on toward where the growl had originated. Sam took off running with Jackie and Brenda close behind. Jackie was the only one of them who’d taken her rifle. She closed the gap and then passed Sam just as they saw Lucy cowering against a tree.
Tom and Rick heard the ferocious growl just as they’d started getting dressed. Tom had his pants on and had just buckled his belt with his holster and hunting knife attached. He grabbed his rifle and ran through the woods barefooted and bare-chested. He broke through a stand of saplings and saw Lucy screaming at something across from her. Tom slowed to see what the danger was when he saw the young female cougar and her kittens. Tom ran toward Lucy at the same time the cat ran and sprang through the air. Tom lunged forward and hit the big cat in the side with his shoulder, knocking it to the ground. The cougar lashed out as it fell and raked Tom’s back. Tom rolled once and landed on his feet, staring at the cougar.
The dazed lion hissed and growled at the young girl before moving toward Tom. Tom faced the cougar with only his knife. “Lucy, get behind me and walk slowly back to your mother.”
Tom backed up a step with his blade in hand and eyes fixed on the cat. “That’s it, girl. Keep moving back away from the kittens. The momma just wants us to leave.”
He heard Sam gasp when she saw Lucy and the lion. Tom calmly called out as he continued to back away from the beast. “Sam, stay where you are. We’re backing away from momma cat. Lucy is scared but safe.”
Tom and Lucy were now twenty feet away, and the cougar and kittens ran into the woods and disappeared. Tom was relieved and picked Lucy up. He ran to Sam and placed her in Sam’s arms. Lucy cried but then said, “Tom saved me from that tiger."
Tom blushed. “That was a young momma cougar, and she was probably just as scared as we were. We’ll have to run her away when we get rid of the squatters. Cougars like to kill calves.”
Sam reached out and held Tom and her daughter. “Thanks for saving Lucy’s life. I owe you big time.”
“It was nothing. The momma cat just wanted to be left alone.”
Brenda saw the blood running down Tom’s back. “Tom, the cat’s claws cut your back. Sit down, so I can look at the cuts.”
Only one of the claws had cut deep, and Brenda pressed a clean T-shirt against the wound until the bleeding stopped.
Granny B heard the story and said, “You faced down a momma mountain lion with kittens. That’s the dumbest and bravest thing I’ve heard in a long time. Most folks would have shot the monster.”
“I didn’t want to shoot and give away our position.” Tom gulped and then wondered if he was as stupid as he thought he was after hearing Granny B.
“Granny B, you should have seen Tom back that killer cat down and then calm Lucy down so she could back away from the beast,” Sam said and then added, “He’s our hero.”
Granny applied anti-biotic salve to Tom’s scratches and the wound. “If you keep this crap up, we’ll need a pickup load of antibiotics.”
Tom, Jackie, and Rick went back down to their post above the ranch house just after dark to watch for anyone leaving before Jack and his crew. Several men sat on the front porch, smoking, and drinking until about eleven that night. They were loud, and Tom could make out most of what they said to each other. He looked at his sister. “I hope you didn’t hear what that jerk said.”
She snickered. “He thinks he’s God’s gift to women, but I think he’s overcompensating for other issues.”
Tom laughed. “Well, they’re all in the house, except the guard. We’ll wait for another couple of hours, and it’ll be show time. You two get some rest, and I’ll watch it until Jack comes out.”
Jackie looked at Tom’s back. “How’s your back doing?”
“It reminds me that a cougar clawed it every time I move my arm.”
The next two hours slowly passed while Tom watched the guard take more smoke breaks than guard the ranch. He wondered what the asshats would do when there weren’t any more cigarettes. Then his mind drifted to Sam and Lucy. He really liked them but also liked Brenda. Tom saw them as friends but not as someone to get involved with now. His grandfather had instilled in him a sense of urgency to stay focused on the task
