EROS OVER MONTANA

Eros over Montana

A new vet for the county

Zane Harris drove carefully over the rut-tracks , checking the wild country , seeing steer graze up on the top hills , among the Ponderosa pines and larches , he had the window down of his Chevvy SUV and could hear bird song , see squirrels gripping branches , ahead, the arc of mud left by his windscreen wipers made it all look like TV.

It was a cold February day , light snow here on the pasture land, up top, snow was heavier in the higher hills , some of it still clung to the Douglas firs.

Zane could see the others ahead, a horse had stumbled on a track and fell badly, throwing the rider off. The rancher's son wanted to save the horse , knowing it was no better than 50:50. He was ok, she had a thick , winter coat on, so when she fell , that helped absorb the fall.

It's 11.45 am , near noon and the high point of the sun , light would start to fade soon , Zane knew he didn't have much time . He also wondered how they would get the horse back, if he felt it could survive. He'd bought anaesthetic .

There was a group of seven. All in Stetsons, all in Wrangler jeans, all wearing plaid jackets , with white wool collars , a neckerchief , something thick under the jacket, a padded shirt or maybe a thinner shirt with thermal vest. They wore thermal long john pants under their jeans - well, you do, when temperatures are minus 2 daytime and minus 11 as the sun goes down and minus 14 on the drive home.

" Hey , you're the new vet right - thanks for gettin' here , you used sat nav obviously - thank you - kinda gave it our best . I'm Billy Swan , rancher's son , the others are either related or hire hands. The horse looks bad. We grateful for anythin' you can do. "

Zane drives closer , so that he's ten foot from the horse, the others shuffle around , Zane notices there's one lady in the group. She's pretty too .

" This my sister , Merle , Merle Swan - Merle, this is our new County vet, Zane , here . "

" I seen the pictures on the web site Billy. We all have . "

Zane nods to them both quickly and a quick hiya guys and he's down there checking the horse , which is breathing heavily. Steam rises from the horse, Zane knows this is a bad break - but he's rescued horses before , never gives up.

Zane is there , checking the leg . The horse settles some - funny how they know they have a caring person over them . Zane assesses - he thinks the horse can be saved . He knows ranchers hate shootin' their horses in the pasture nowadays , that used to be the old treatment - quick bill for dragging the animal off - unless the rancher did it.

Merle , aged nineteen , has dated some guys . Not many . She tells daddy she only pecks guys on the cheek, nothing too intimate . Her pa believes her too . Why, he only kissed ma when she was twenty-one , so Merle two years to go.

It is true , Merle thinks , this new vet is hot . Maybe a little serious but there's sure gonna be competition round these parts see who can catch him . Merle thinks maybe it aint a bad deal being just nineteen , some of the others here parts are pig-ugly and she aint ,so maybe he'll wait on down . Who knows. It's all in the hands of The Big One anyways. But man , his ass looks sweet , the way he bendin' round Starburst.

" I think we can save him - gotta name ? "

" Starburst "

" How old ? "

" He's two - be three coupla months. "

" Looks well fed, looked after good . I'm gonna have ta sedate him , I got the stick an the sleep agent but I will need help hoistin him on up "

" Got hydraulic there I see . "

" Yep, I'll drive closer , set it up , but I need help with the harness "

" Just so relieved ya aint gonna do a bullet right here . "

" Billy , we aint outa the woods yet , but I always take it far as I can - give the animal a chance . Maybe take four months to heal properly. "

Merle alongside Billy now . Looking at Zane Harris .

" Hi - ok , whose horse is this ? "

" Mine - and yep, I was careful 'kay. Starburst slipped on the ice , plenny horses slipped the ice but this rut went deeper and I was ahead. "

" Ok - accidents happen . You wanna ride with me back to town. He'll have to go to surgery first . "

Merle thinking - sure I can drive front seat with the sexiest vet in the West , wow look at him . Real rugged , manly face, tan , white teeth gleaming , long legs , tight curvy butt , broad shoulders, nice hands - nails trimmed good . His eyes a gray color - suits him , with his light brown hair , cut good - but not too good . Merle suspicious of guys who fuss their hair too much.

Zane Harris has soothed the horse , kinda like a horse-whisperer but he still uses the anaesthetic . He has to - wow , if the horse bolted up in the rear of the Chevvy , that would be dangerous.

The horse is asleep . They haul the tarpaulin to the side of him , roll it in a ball, so when the horse rolls they can kinda pull it under, then the long ties with loops can be fixed to the grip of the hydraulic.

It takes all of them - on a count of 1, 2 ,3 - go - to lift the horse just enough to get that hoist sheet under - they have to dig down a little to the left , digging into the hard soil , to get the loops under the horse. Zane is at the back of the Chevvy , activating the lift motor ,which whirrs slowly . This takes the tension off the hoist drape, then he clicks on incrementally , until the horse is beginning to rise.

" You know Merle , hope y'all watchin' this - how many times daddy told you not to ride ruts in ice- never know how deep they are , with water in'em . "

" You think I wanted this Billy "

And the way Merle looks over at the new vet Zane , the way her tongue runs over the inside of her top lip , in a studied, sensual draw, Billy thinks - maybe you did this set this up - but if Merle did, how sick is that - the horse may have been put down - a damned fine horse too, one she had since foal.

The horse is mid-air now , hovering over the flat bed of the Chevvy. Zane glad he put the optional sides on. It made the hoist work harder and pulled on the battery more, even with the engine on but it's a big horse , it was safer . Besides , he could hook a cover over the animal as wind -chill would be low as they drove along. He hadn't factored in Merle being a passenger .

Zane gently glides the horse onto the truck. He's put blankets down over a foam pad , to give the animal a softer ride . They hold the horses head gently and there - the beast is safely on the truck . Zane gets out a large horse blanket , then he ties the weatherproof cover down with loops all around the truck sides . Man , that horse tested that hydraulic near to the limit. The horse is covered to the neck , then he puts a thermal collar over it and a thermal set of blinkers . The horse is breathing calmly . It would take nearly an hour to get back . Zane reckoned he'd need to stop three times to make sure the horse was ok.

Merle was in the front seat . It was warm. The heater was good . She unbuttons her plaid jacket . Shapely , pretty , Merle was a good catch - rancher's eldest daughter , Billy, Merle , then Sondra , then little Tom. Tom Swan . Racquel , wife to Tom , hoped little Tom would wind up like his pa - big and strong - as name like Tom Swan, ya could get picked on.

Zane is just sorting out the hydraulic , Merle sees Billy talking to him , telling him they'd pay a deposit on care when they got back to ranch, they knew the expense of sorting a horse. Billy looked over at Merle when he said that , trying to make her feel guilty- and succeeding .

Zane shakes hands with Billy a second time , nods to the others , then here he is , ready to get in. He opens the driver door with cool confidence , Merle thought . While Zane was talking , Merle just lowered the zip on her top a little , mainly because it was warmer , wholly because she wanted to , you know, show herself a little to Zane . As she lowered the zipper, she saw momma tut-tutting - two years to go young lady - at least - live a life . Don't just give up early woman hood for a man.

Zane fires the engine . The Chevvy booms in immediately , so reassuring , when the time has moved on to 2.40 pm and light is starting to fade . The sky is gray too , it could snow again.

They head down the track carefully . Zane checks the rear view mirror, terrified the horse could bolt up , which was just wrong as the anaesthetic won't allow it .

" How long ya been a vet ? "

" Finished study, I worked Chicago - We hail from Chicago - but I always liked the country , so this is my second job - I worked a vet for eighteen months . "

" Chicago - mm - that's a tough town - your pa aint no gangster is he ? "

Well, funnily enough . Maybe he wasn't a mobster old style but his pa ran operations out there which needed an edge and he was always close to the law but never quite under the law. His pa had been shot , age twenty and didn't want that kind of life for Zane . He wanted Zane to start off fresh . So , new name , new job , out of the city .

Zane Harris , remembering he'd been born Salvador- Sonny - Braga .

It amused him , the young girl by his side, when he recalled the city-wise girls back in Windy City . It was cute .

" No - dad worked trucking - worked hard - still there - he wanted me to, you know, get a more professional job. He retired last year. Had to . He was hit by another truck , middle the night, the guy wasn't paying attention - maybe on his phone . "

Which was the cover story he'd created . Trying to paint a picture of poor old dad, forced to give work up a little early . In fact , dad was doing very well thank you, living Florida , just outside Fort Lauderdale.

Zane hated this part , the cover-up . He wasn't good at lying- well, it wasn't lying , it was just protecting himself and protecting his parents , least that's the way he sees it .

" Dad kinda gets by , he's ok , but it slowed him up. I call him three times a week , he's good with that. Don forget I get home late some nights - animals sick 24/7 - gotta be flexible . "

Merle simply lowered her zipper a notch more . Man , he is so handsome , a real dish. She did it unconsciously , then as the zipper was where it was, she remembered where she was and put it back up to where it was . Damn, gotta be careful . Don't really know this guy , we still out in country . Merle checks the side mirror , she can't see other vehicles , she can't see any lights .

" Mister we missed a turn . I thought you knew - the others headed that way - "

" Damn- better put the sat nav on - jee - I was drivin' thinkin' I could remember it - well , fact, this is the way I came with the sat nav "

" Yeah , sometimes it pushes you on a longer route . "

" Guessin' ya live in the apartment over the vet surgery , it's just off Main, right ? "

Main ? wow - seven stores .

" For now , yup. it's cosy enough . "

" Ok- well , we been drivin' twenny minutes , just let me check the horse. "

Zane slows pulls in , there are no other vehicles , he gets out quickly, it is chill now , past dusk , getting dark . The horse is breathing regularly , he feels around the splint he'd put on . It was a modern one , a compression splint , which helped keep the bone straight. It worked off an inbuilt battery motor . He checked to make sure swelling hadn't made the press too tight , it felt kinda tight, so he reduces pressure a little . Better . He can't shift the horse obviously but still checks and the padded base is still in position and all the loops are tied down good . He looks up at the sky - thick , dark gray . It will snow soon .

" Hows' Starby ? "

" Good - just need to get back quick - forty minutes I reckon.We need it to stay like this , I got snow chains but I hope I don't have to use 'em . "

" Me neither. Wouldn't wanna get stuck this Chevvy all night in snow , strange guy I hardly know - like , you could be some Hannibal Lecter - mm fava beans, chianti kinda guy ha ! "

" Shit - got found out ha ! "

They both laugh .

" How about you , you at College ? "

Wow - what a put down. He thinks I'm some young kid . Damn- maybe I drop that zipper back again.

" Sure , just got a year to go - I went up early, kinda did good at High School - "

" So - you're past High School - "

" Yeah ! Caint ya tell ? "

Merle turns to fully look at Zane

" Guess you aint that old - maybe twenty five, six. "

" Twenny-five "

" You got a lady in tow ? "

" You got a guy ? "

" Well, few guys chase , but nothin' too serious. "

And Merle says this with her fingers crossed. Stanford Harte,has dated her over six months.

Zane sure she'd be seeing somebody at her age, very pretty face. Perfect shape , nose maybe a little long but nothing nasty , beautiful blue eyes, the color of sea in sunlight , nice smile and she smiled a lot, lovely teeth , nice shape , those jeans looked a good fit , not too tight, her riding boots made her look slim. Her coat unbuttoned, yeah shapely.

" What do you want to do - career . I guess it's all about the ranch, right ? "

" I'm doing sports physiotherapy . Plenny work around here , as you can see ha ! "

As they drive on through the wonderful countryside, with snow covering the edges of the road, the snaps of it catching in the headlamps. A few elks have run off, as they heard the Chevvy approach. The trees near the road bow with a snow load. In fact, the first few flurries are starting to fall now.

" Snow - I love it , right. But I'm new to this country . "

" I know where we are . I've driven one these before - so you know ,want me ta take over , thats' ok . "

Zane just nods a thanks - wow , he hopes the snow doesn't fill the road ahead, as he checks the rear view mirror, it seems to be falling thickly behind- maybe too thick .

" I'll have to pull over , five minutes , check your horse "

They drive along and the snow starts to thicken. Ahead , it looks like a tree has fallen across the black top , not right over but Zane will have to slow and work around it. The headlights catch the tree in it's fullness . There's a huge wad of earth to the side of it .

" Wow - looks like a truck hit it "

Zane looks over at Merle , thinking , wow , we're getting along good . Maybe three , four years younger but she's not a dope , she can stick up for herself .

" Watch the roadside edge - listen , I'll get out , make sure you don't get in mud - slow up , just a little .. "

Zane thinking - yes miss bossy ha ! But he keeps quiet , slows the truck, checks that the rear of the truck is still lined up, thinking maybe he'll have to put another horse blanket on.

With Zane right on the fallen tree , he can see what Merle means , the soil is soft , even though it's starting to freeze , there must be a stream or a run down.

" See , it's soft - right- deceptive - it's got a kinda micro-climate round here . "

Who'd have thought.

Zane turns the Chevvy wheel slowly, great power steering , it's easy to do - he doesn't want to delay, that anaesthetic is wearing off by the minute - but he doesn't want to rush either .

" Here - hey , you drive ok, those branches need pullin back some "

Ok Mr Bossy she thinks . Man , this is the talk people talk when they clickin' on , is what Merle thinks .

Merle gets into the driver seat , adjusts the seat forward and down so she can touch the pedals - she's five nine but Zane has to be over six foot . She waits , while he pulls at a branch, at an angle to the road - he's hauling at it . It still needs maybe two foot to go . Merle decides to get out and help him push .

Zane doesn't realise at first - he's got his head in among the tree parts . Then he feels an extra kick , which forces him to look up quickly- as he does , he has all sorts of flashbacks back to Chicago - which zoooooom - through his head - then gone.

" Hey, thanks , just needs a bit more . "

They push hard. This tree is a dead weight obviously . Wait -

Merle walks over to the side of the road, there's a branch out there , quite thick , quite long . She runs to it, drags it back -

" If we lever this under the top quarter , that should swivel the tree over - lets' try anyways . "

Hey, Zane thinks . Good thought .

Maybe a combination of the leverage and maybe more ice , helped shunt the tree across just to give them the extra they need .

They jump in the truck quickly . They lost ten minutes there.

" Don wanna give the horse a second shot if I have to - you know , it's risky. "

Zane moves the truck foward carefully , keeping on the road , passing the tree and by now , the snow is thickening , he has to put the wipers on , it's sticking to the road though .

" Maybe best put snow chains on. "

He pulls over again , after just a mile driving . They're still twenty miles from town.

" Ok - I'll help . "

Before , Zane would have thought ,sure what can you do- but Merle has impressed him . Zane hauls the chains from the side panel line of the truck, the horse is close , so he's glad the door -panels slide up and doesn't fall forward.

He pulls the first set of chains and applies them to the left rear wheel, then the second set is already pulled out for him, the right rear , then the front .

" Hey, good team , good job - thanks . Ya like a tot whisky, there's some Jack in the compartment behind. "

" Sure . "

Merle reaches down . She wonders what else will be in there .

" No lads mags right "

" Ha - no I knew you were coming so I threw em out . "

" Bad boy . "

" Not yet .. "

Merle sees the Jack Daniels , hey some snickers bars too

" Snicker bar - want one - "

Then- just as Zane was about to answer -

Two elks run across the road , barely five yards ahead of them - Zane sees their large brown eyes , surrounded by huge whites - a look of terror . Zane lowers the window - hoping he doesn't hear gunshot and hunters .

It's silent . Thanks for that.

" Oh - what you say - sorry , they startled me - "

" Hey , you did good - missed them , didn't skid and my horse is still quiet- bless him "

Wow , the horse , driving this speed it will touch and go if they reach town in time - or , if they do, the horse will be coming to when they need to lower him out.

Merle's phone goes - it's Billy .

" Hey Billy . "

" Where are we - we're on the low road , he used sat nav , the longer route - we should be in town maybe twenny minutes . Just missed elks an' we had to get by fallen tree. "

Billy is telling her , her boyfriend is asking after her . He told him that you were out with dad - not the vet and you'd be back soon .

Merle thinking - but can't say- wow , that big brother of mine actually used discretion - he musta had two bowls of Cornflakes today .

But even Billy can see that Zane is a really head-on kinda guy for women . He loves women - it's not , you know . But guy like Zane is something special. He guesses he's already had a few fake calls - he suggests Merle ask him . Check him out .

" You er ...been busy since you got here . Wild calls ? "

" Wild ? "

" You know - people being over protective maybe ? "

To be fair , Zane aint vain - ha , he thought that would make a great T logo - but , it's true . Sure he takes care of his appearance but he doesn't stress over it . Which drives women nuts even more .

" Well , I had Miss Taylor call me in about her cat , you know what she said ? "

" Oh man , I can guess , and that is soooo corny . "

" Well, 50 , lonely - but her cat did have a genuine problem ."

" What "

" Pregnant ! ha- litter of five . "

" Ha - she would be shocked - don' think she's ever - "

" she was nice- genuine call - she asked if she could take a photo - I thought - no harm there , we did a quick shot . "

And Merle knows that Jennie Taylor added that pic into The Wottsapp group for the ladies of the county - the pic headed :

Look what the cat dragged in !

She got 87 thumbs up , some bed icons - a few other emojis.

" Then - I was over Liz Schwartz's place - you know her ? "

Liz - well, Liz has a man-eater reputation . She's the one married guys try to steer away from . It only leads to their wives giving them a hard time . Merle knows . Mom chewed up her pa for two days after he went up there as her stop cock was stuck, she needed to turn the water supply off to do something with a radiator .

" Hope it was only that stop cock she turned , not yours ! "

What ?

Merle recalling that daddy had to spend a bit more time than usual in the shed outside . That was the treatment .

Honestly - Carl Schwarz thinking - man , in future ,maybe it'll be easier to go sick and pass helpin' Queen Bee.

" Anyway - there was nothing wrong with Mrs Schwarz's tortoise , you know why - he'd only gone and crawled off - ha ! "

" Hey ! he looked so siiiick this morning , honey , oops , sorry , forgot I only have my robe on - sorry din' mean to embarrass ya .Ooops look- it fell open . "

Well. All Zane could think of - Mrs Schwarz was a real looker and no he wouldn't but yes he could .

" Then , Mrs Dolly Burnside called me out . Man , now that lady- well, no guess better be careful - no, nothin' happened - she married ? "

" Yeah , her hubby works aways a lot . She has a reputation too. "

" Hey , don't judge me down ha ! - I only responded to calls - "

" What did Dolly want ya for ? "

" she said - please , check my dog , with me . "

" You are kiddin me- why her old dog, Sandie , he got run over a year ago . "

Zane laughs aloud .

" Ya got it - she took me over to the pet semetary , asked me if we did deals on grave mindin' as it was run by our practice . "

" Obviously I didn't know we didn't - we might have done . "

" She's a real manipulator , what did she do ? "

" Er ... better not say . "

" You guys - "

" Hey , I din' know "

Dolly Burnside had shown Zane some photos . They didn't look like her .

No-one knew it was her. But it was .

" She showed me her , you know , photos. "

" I got me some photos . "

" Kay. "

Zane thinking , she wouldn't show him , not yet , surely .

But Merle is opening photos in her smart phone . She flicks through a few, remembers she made an album , opens that .

" Know you're drivin' n all - but here ya go . "

They were Merle at a clothed fashion shoot .

" Went to LA - me, three other girls . We you know - wanted ta give it a try . "

Zane kept quiet about Dolly Burnside's photos . They definitely were not fashion shots .

" Check the horse again - last time , we gettin close , right ? "

They had about five miles to go .

The snow was thicker . But the ice wasn't an issue , it was soft snow , they drove over it easily and the snow chains gave them good traction .

" Ok - there's a tight bend about a mile ahead , just be ready for it. "

Zane checks the horse. He could see the anaesthesia was losing it's grip . They had five miles to go and maybe fifteen minutes to get there . He thanked her for the heads up about the road .

" Ok- lets' go - got fifteen minutes - he'll come to then "

" Jeez . "

They drove on steadily , Zane raising speed a little , Merle could see that and offered him some Jack , to calm his nerves

" You can read my mind . "

" Aint bad , after just an hour knowing each other . I can see some thoughts ..mm . "

" You mean ? "

Zane liking her now . He thought she's be a pain and moan a lot on the drive back but she's been cool and helpful - a big surprise to him .

The phone burrs again , for Merle .

" Yep Bill, you're at the vets - ok , good , we're coming up to Breezy Hill ya right on it , drop your speed Zane , it cambers - ok wait . - Zane slow to 25 hon, the road is real bumpy - "

Did she say hon ?

" Sure - sure , we got three miles now - can see some lights off of Barber's ranch , we're that close "

Zane is sure he can hear the horse - and panics - but it's ok , it's true , the road here is real bumpy .

Zane has slowed and is careful . Better to be careful . The snow has stopped here, he notices .

On a straight now , Zane powers on to the town. He sees a few more lights ahead .

He just hopes all good at the vet . He still has to save the horse yet. All he's done is put it to sleep . He has to wake it and that could be dangerous . He's seen horses with broken legs panic , then they try to run- next thing , a more serious fracture, then game over for the horse. A badly broken leg can never be fixed. The horse has to be put down . He's fought hard for this horse too.

He's close now , driving into Main , grateful to have made it. The others are waiting .

" Hey , listen - take that ! "

and Merle kisses him so gently on the cheek

" Best do that now , they'll only make life hell they see me and ya know it'll only be a hand shake up ahead , right ? "

Zane quickly looks across at the pretty Merle , sharp , sassy , shapely , not intimidated by his looks as so many are , who act kinda weird with him . Yeah, he'd see her again. But - she must have a guy surely . "

And sure enough , her boyfriend had checked out with a buddy and he knew that Merle was with the new vet and had been for some time . Too much time for his liking . And whoa , here he is now , just walking up in the dark , from the opposite way, so they wouldn't see him.

Stanford Harte , the son of the most powerful ranch owner in the County sure has a lot of questions to fire at Merle . Question is , should he be some Sir Galahad and try to help with the horse -or be a major pain and show them all who's boss .

Stanford Harte kinda flipped a coin in his head . He wasn't too sure , maybe he had just two minutes to come to a conclusion . He was thinking about this , when the Chevvy pulled into the yard. He sees them begin to winch .

There's enough of them for her goddam horse - thinks Stanford. If it was me I'd 'a used an iron up on them fields- get it over with . Bein' too soft with animals was dumb big city stuff and from what he's found out - why , he could and maybe will make it a bit tricky for Mr Handsome Zane Harris - my ass . That aint his real name an good ol daddy paid a private dick real good ta find out . Give him tonight maybe . Give him tonight . Stanford turns and walks back to his motor .