With this segment of Chapter Twelve of Repairing the Legacy, we continue the serialization of Repairing the Legacy. This is a rough draft work in progress and may not reflect the final form. Time period: set after the ending of The Martiniere Legacy main trilogy. I’m breaking longer chapters into sections for readability. This is the fourth part of Chapter Twelve. There will be four parts to this chapter.

New to the series? Chapter order:

Chapter One, Section One

Return of the Prodigal Son (2 parts)

Conversations and a Dinner (2 parts)

Dancing into Change (2 parts)

Sisterly Compromises (3 parts)

Conspiracies at the Rodeo (3 parts)

Passing the Baton (4 parts)

Research Complications (3 parts)

Chasing After Shadows (3 parts)

Fifth Anniversary Present (3 parts)

Mariah (5 parts)

Shadows, Redux (3 parts)

PART OF….

COMING SOON!!!

March, 2068

GABE

Dr. Sheri discharged Gabe the next day, with additional medication and a stern order to get more rest and I don’t want to see you back visiting Ruby until tomorrow.

As Gabe waited for his ride home—at least Brandon had dropped off some clothes that weren’t bloody and still wet from the creek—he lingered with Ruby, carefully leaning on her bed so that he could kiss her forehead, kiss her cheek, her lips, fret over his hurting darling.

“Damn it, use the self-admin button for the painkiller,” he said once. “That’s why they give it to you. Don’t make yourself suffer.”

“Don’t want to get hooked,” she muttered. “Not like my parents. Daughter of addicts. More susceptible.”

“That’s not true and Dr. Sheri told you that just this morning,” he insisted. “It’s legit, Ruby.”

She finally yielded. Gabe sat on his bed, holding her hand.

It was taking a while for someone to pick him up. On the one hand, he appreciated having more time with Ruby.

On the other—he wondered what was going wrong now.

Justine finally appeared. Ruby blinked awake as his sister entered the room.

“Hi Justine,” she said feebly.

“Hey Ruby,” Justine said, her voice softening as she eyed the traction apparatus fastened to Ruby. “God, that looks horrible.”

“It feels horrible,” Ruby tried to laugh and coughed instead.

Justine patted Ruby’s hand. “Well, I’m taking this man back home.”

“Wish I were coming along.”

“You will, soon enough.” Gabe bent to kiss her. “And I’ll be back tomorrow. Unless you’ll bring me in tonight?” he asked Justine, hoping.

His sister shook her head. “Dr. Sheri’s already cornered me, Gabie. I have my orders. Ruby, I’ll be back to see you in a bit. Get away from the testosterone circus at the ranch.”

“Testosterone circus?” Gabe asked.

Now what?

“Fish and Wildlife showed up this morning,” Justine said. “Hunting down the mountain lion that started this whole mess. Apparently, it’s a chipped animal, with a history. So all the boys—” she stressed that word. “—on the ranch had to march out on a hunting expedition. Including Donald. Ruby, I’ll be back. Come on, Gabriel.”

Gabe sighed. He kissed Ruby one last time. “I’ll miss you. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t. Love you.”

“Love you.” She was already drowsing off again. He lingered, worried because she hadn’t snarked back about don’t do anything I wouldn’t—which was so not normal for Ruby—until Justine pulled at his sleeve and nearly dragged him out of the room.

“Who all is off on this hunting expedition?” he asked Justine once they were settled in the farm truck. Maybe he might be able to sneak along if they got back to the ranch in time.

Justine rolled her eyes. “Brandon. Mike. Charlie. Donald. Serg. The lady from Fish and Wildlife—Mari, is her name, I think she’s a former high school classmate of Brandon’s.”

“Must be Mari Petersen. She was one of Bran’s girlfriends but they never really hit it off. Ruby would know more.”

“Sounds right. They took off with crawlers before I left, so no, Gabriel, you aren’t joining them. I made sure they were gone before I came to get you.”

“Tine, damn it—” Sometimes his little sister could be so damn bossy.

“How many incidents does this make since you retired from being the Martiniere?”

“Only the third. First heart attack. The rest have been angina.”

Justine nodded, her lips tightening. “Your sixty-sixth birthday is next week. I want you to live to see that one and many more, damn it. With Ruby down, you need someone nagging you.”

“Tine—”

She interrupted him again. “Mike needs you. Ruby needs you. The rest of us need you, and you have to take care of yourself.”

“Being up to my waist in an ice-cold creek so that I can free my injured wife from a wire tangle and pull her out of that same damn creek is not an everyday event,” he said. “Tine, we’re talking major stress.”

“True.” His sister sighed, then gave him a half-smile. “And since Donald won’t let me nag him about his health, you get it all.”

“Harrumph.” He still didn’t understand his sister’s relationship with her ex-husband. Justine and Donald were close enough that he had thought they would follow his and Ruby’s lead and remarry. But they hadn’t. Perhaps this was a clue as to why.

As they pulled into the farmyard, Gabe spotted several crawlers parked by one of the equipment sheds.

“Looks like they’re back already,” he said.

“Mari had a GPS tracker on the cat’s chip. She didn’t think it would take very long.” Justine drove up to the shed. “I suppose you’ll want to hang out with the boys, right?”

“Absolutely.” Gabe slid out of the truck, wincing as his bad leg twinged at him. He hobbled over to join the others while Justine parked the truck.

The mountain lion carcass hung from the usual skinning hook. Mike, garbed in a mask and protective gear, carefully skinned it under Brandon’s supervision while Donald, Serg, and Mari watched. Charlie must have gone back to work, Gabe decided.

“So this is the culprit?” he asked Mari.

“Yeah. Third strike. She killed a colt over at Reed’s and several calves at Chandler’s. GPS in her chip placed her near where you found Ruby and Boomer, at the same probable time that they were attacked,” Mari said. “Vet gave me samples from that claw mark on Boomer’s butt; matches her DNA. Couldn’t get permission from the higher-ups to do anything about her until it was confirmed that she had attacked a horse and rider. Believe me, I expedited the process.” She shook her head. “Brandon was ready to call down the full force of the Martiniere on my bosses, but I talked him out of it. Better political move. As it were, he did get their attention.”

“Pregnant? Cubs?”

“Neither. Just old, and we suspect illness, either that or got into the habit of looking for easy prey. I’m taking the carcass to check, make sure she doesn’t have rabies or something like that.”

“Surprised you’re letting Mike do the skinning.”

“Mike was the one who shot her, and both he and Brandon made a good argument for turning the skin into a rug or blanket for Ruby, if it’s clear from any nasties.” She shrugged.

“Thanks for responding so quickly, Mari.”

She pursed her lips. “Bran asked, and I owe Ruby.” A hesitation. “Plus, my bosses pay attention when the Martiniere makes a request.”

“Way of the world,” Gabe said, sighing.

A few years ago, he would have cringed at the thought that Martiniere privilege bought them better service. But damn it, that animal had been the cause of Ruby’s injuries. Besides, from the sounds of it, she was becoming a problem.

“In any case, she’s done her part for the species,” Mari added. “Raised several litters of cubs, and her descendants are out where they’re supposed to be. She’s only become a problem in the last six months, which makes me think she had a health issue. Not a young cat. Not fat and well-fed. Her teeth are worn, so that could be it.”

“Yeah.”

Before Gabe could say more, another crawler roared up. Charlie and his assistant Terri climbed out.

“Looks like Ruby and Boomer stumbled into a stack of posts and wires, scattered it all to hell and back, dragged a big chunk into the creek,” Charlie said to Gabe. “Terri and I scoped it out. She’s assigning several interns to haul it away.”

“How long has that mess been there?” Surprising that Ruby hadn’t cleared it out by now. Then again, she had other things to focus upon, and if this was a project her grandfather Ron had started and not finished—well, there were other priorities on the Double R.

Charlie shrugged. “Overgrown enough that I suspect it could be thirty, forty years.”

Most likely something Ron Ryder couldn’t complete due to his health, then.

“How’s the colt?” he asked Charlie. He didn’t want to interrupt Mike’s focus to ask him.

“Hurting but on all fours,” Charlie said. “I’m surprised he didn’t break a leg, after seeing the mess.”

Gabe scowled. “I’d better look at him. Ruby will want to know.”

They went to the barn. Boomer was in one of the smaller stalls, an extra partition added to keep him from moving around too much. His legs were bandaged, his dark red coat was speckled with white where medicated cream had been applied, and he stood with head lowered. He raised it, ears flicking forward, as Charlie and Gabe looked through the bars of the top half of the stall.

Boomer’s nostrils fluttered and he nickered softly, extending his nose and making eye contact with Gabe. He licked his lips.

“I’ll get him a couple of treats,” Gabe said. “At least he feels good enough to beg for them.” He grabbed a handful from the feed room, then slipped into the stall. Boomer moved stiffly toward him. Charlie stood in the doorway as Gabe assessed the blood bay colt.

As Mike had said, too early to tell. Cuts over his body, not just the claw marks but where the wire had dug into him. Gabe scratched Boomer’s neck and fed him cookies, crooning softly to the colt. At last he sighed, patted Boomer, and left the stall.

Justine met them coming out of the barn. “You need to rest,” she insisted.

“Soon enough, Tine, soon enough.” He headed back to the others, just as Mike finished the skinning job. Mari and Brandon bagged the mountain lion, then carried it to the Fish and Wildlife truck.

Mike packed away the hide. He looked up and startled. “Gabe.”

“Sounds like you did good, son,” Gabe said. “I’m proud of you. What’s your plan for the hide?”

Mike flushed. “I need to hear back from Ms. Petersen before I do anything with it,” he said. He carefully started stripping off his protective gear and dropping it into a bucket that Serg produced. “Just in case. But—I don’t know, I was thinking a lap robe or something for Ruby, but it’s not really shaped right.”

“I know some folks on the Reservation that might come up with something,” Gabe said. “It’ll make a nice gift for her.”

He waited until Serg sprayed Mike down with decontam spray before ruffling his hair.

“Why don’t we go to the house? You can clean up and tell me about the hunt,” Gabe said.

Mike smiled shyly. “Sure.”

Before they walked off, Gabe turned to Justine. “Tell Ruby that Boomer felt good enough to beg a couple of treats from me, all right?”

“All right, Gabie,” Justine said.

Then Gabe walked to the house with Mike. Brandon fell in on his other side.

Warm pride flowed through Gabe.

Here I am, with my sons.

Mike was unexpected, unlooked for, a happy accident.

And while Mike was Philip’s clone, he was Gabe’s son, as surely as if Gabe had sired him. Just like Gabe had been Saul’s son, even though Philip had sired him.

Mike was a fortunate accident, indeed.

Unlike what had happened to Ruby.

Not all accidents were bad, and he needed to remember that.

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