Ill Wind (15 page)

Iris brushed a hand across her face to move the strands of
jet black
hair that had fallen across her eyes. “I think I can handle the massive task of picking up these crackers by myself.” Then, as if reconsidering, she gave a slight smile. “You could go get me another plate of food.”

Relieved to do something, and also to be away from further sarcasm, Todd made his way to the food table. He set down his half-empty bottle of Coors, picked up a paper plate, and started to grab potato chips, salami, dill pickles, olives. He suddenly stopped. Iris did not strike him as a potato-chip-and-salami type of person. In consternation, he looked at the food, trying to think of what she might prefer—he didn’t have a clue as to what Tofu looked like. Well, how about olives? No, probably too much salt. He settled for fresh carrots, celery, cauliflower, and broccoli; looking at the other selections, he picked a few crackers—those must be safe, they looked like whole wheat—a deviled egg, and an artichoke heart.

He took the plate back, but Iris was nowhere to be found. The thought crossed his mind that she might have ducked out, just to make a fool of him. Then the plate was snatched from his hand.

“I’d better take that before you spill it,” Iris said.

Before he could stop himself, Todd growled, “What did
I
do to put a chip on your shoulder? And where where you hiding?”

Iris recovered from her surprise with remarkable speed; a grin spread across her face. “Well, well. The cowboy can think for himself. But I believe you’re jumping to conclusions.” She held up a damp dishrag in her free hand. “I was just getting something to wipe up the mess on the carpet.”

As she bent down, Iris knocked over the white wine she had set on the gray-blue rug. “Oh, crap.” She picked up the clear plastic cup and dabbed at the seeping damp spot. Todd grabbed a handful of paper napkins and knelt to help her blot up the stain.

“You wouldn’t make much of a ballerina yourself,” he said.

She gave a low laugh. “
Touché
.”

When they had mopped up as much as they could, Todd straightened. Iris brushed back her hair and was silent for a moment before she finally said, “I’m going to get another glass of wine. Want a beer?” It seemed to take an effort. “Then you can help me eat some of these carrot sticks.”

Todd blinked. “Sure.”

They went to stand by the sliding glass doors to the patio. A panoramic view of the Marin hills spread out in the late afternoon. The horse corral took up most of Kramer’s back yard. A thicket of Ponderosa pine started fifty yards from the house and spread up the hills.

Iris spoke first. “You know, before this oil spill people would have lynched you for even suggesting the idea of spraying Prometheus microbes in a populated area.”

He shrugged. “You do what you have to do. In an emergency, you can’t just sit around and wait for committees to sort everything out.” He nodded toward her. “I appreciate your help.”

“I wasn’t there to help you. I was representing the state’s interests.”

“Right.” He sipped his beer and looked around. After a moment he said, “Know anybody else here?”

Iris shrugged. “I recognize a few of the scientists, but I don’t really pal around with oil company employees.”

The silence was awkward for some seconds before Todd spoke again. “So what do you people see in California? You don’t really like it here, do you?”

She seemed to think over her answer. “I enjoy my work.”

“I didn’t ask about that.”

She glanced up. “In my line of work, you go where the jobs are. We can’t all live in Texas, you know.”

“I’m from Wyoming, not Texas. But we wouldn’t want the crowds, anyway.”

They spent the rest of the hour talking. Although she attempted to come across as tough as nails, Iris opened up once Todd steered her away from talking about academia and her Stanford connections.

By the time he finished his third beer, many people began drifting away from the party to get home for dinner, as if at some secret signal. Todd didn’t want to leave, but he began to grow more self-conscious as he saw others departing, calling goodbyes to Alex until he and Iris were the only two left. Outside, the sunset flashed diffusing colors across the sky.

Alex stepped back through the glass patio doors, looking around as if checking to see whether it was safe. Todd and Iris both looked up at him. “Excuse me.” Kramer smiled sheepishly. “I’m not usually fond of cocktail parties, but my wife hosted them sometimes. She must have been better at it than I am—people never used to leave before midnight.”

Iris drew herself up. “Well, I’ve got quite a drive back to Stanford. Thank you for inviting me, Dr. Kramer. Glad we had a chance to talk, Todd.”

“Me too.” He was quiet for a moment. “Uh, look. How about grabbing some supper? All I’ve eaten is rabbit food tonight: celery, carrots—”

“I’ve really got to get back to the lab before heading home.” She hesitated. “Some other time?”

“Right.” Todd tried not to let his disappointment show, but at least she hadn’t blown him completely off. He didn’t know any of the restaurants out here anyway—and if he found one, they probably served only California cuisine, where a plate of diced eggplant and bean curd next to a boiled new potato and a sprig of steamed broccoli passed as a meal. He’d like to show Iris a good steak house, but then she probably didn’t eat meat.

Todd wasn’t sure why he felt drawn to her. She was at least fifteen years younger than he, shorter by over a foot, and had a sharp tongue—nothing like the women he was used to dating,
who
were impressed by rough-and-tumble oilmen. He stared at her as she gathered a black sweater and waved briefly at him. Todd watched her open the door, and debated following her. He knew he was bad at picking up on signals. Maybe if he asked again—no, she would probably just turn him down. She closed the door behind her, leaving Todd feeling awkwardly alone.

Alex looked at him,
then
glanced away. He struck Todd as a lonely old man. “Come on outside, Todd,” Alex said, “and I’ll show you the stable.” He drained his wine glass and struggled to his feet from the sofa. The sound of horses came through the open patio doors. Everything seemed serene and peaceful out here. It reminded him of his parents’ ranch.

Todd thought about the horses, but not wanting to invite himself, he controlled the eagerness in his voice. “Well, haven’t I overstayed my welcome? I ought to get back to my condo—”

“Nonsense,” said Alex. “It’s not like there’s anybody around here for you to bother.” He brushed his hand over his neat iron-gray beard and gave a weak smile. “You helped me a lot today, so stay a while. Let’s go check the horses.”

“Are you going to ride?”

Alex thought for a long moment. “Why not? It’ll be dark before long, but they know their way around here. It’ll only take a minute to saddle them up.”

Todd followed him out of the house to the corral. Dry grass crunched beneath their feet. Alex held open the gate, but as he tried to yank it shut, he hung his head as if he had just felt a wave of sadness. Todd pulled the gate shut
himself
. “You okay, Alex? You don’t look so hot.”

“I’m fine.” Alex shuffled to the stable, as if embarrassed that Todd had noticed his momentary lapse.

Wiping his hands on his jeans, Todd approached the two horses. Who would have thought the scholarly introvert kept horses? “How long have you had them?”

It took a moment for Alex to answer. “My daughter Erin was wild about horses. Got her a pony on her eighth birthday, and when she was fourteen I gave her that chocolate
quarter-horse
over there, Stimpy. I guess it’s been four years, now. We used to take them out a couple times a week.”

“I didn’t think of you as the riding type.”

Alex fumbled in his pocket for a sugar cube and approached the nearest horse, the palomino; he held a bit and bridle in his other hand. “This used to be a large part of my life, but I haven’t had much time lately. The horses probably need the exercise as much as I do.” The palomino nuzzled Alex’s hand, and the sugar cube disappeared. Alex quickly bridled the horse and held the reins out to Todd. “This is Ren, my horse. Go ahead.”

“Do your kids still ride much? I think I saw their pictures in one of the rooms.”

Alex froze,
then
answered in a hollow, curt voice. “Both Erin and Jay are dead.”

Todd squirmed, feeling as if he had shoved his cowboy boot into his mouth all the way up to the heel. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s all right. I’m over it now,” Alex said in a controlled tone that contradicted his words. “I’m just glad you’re here to help exercise the horses.”

They saddled the two mounts in an awkward silence,
then
Todd swung up onto the palomino. Alex seemed protective of his daughter’s mount.

Ren felt poised beneath Todd’s legs, ready to respond. The feel of the horse beneath him awakened memories. He had spent much of his younger years riding, comfortable with his own horse, working hard on the ranch. He had forgotten how much he missed it, how little time he had to do what he liked while he ran around the world fixing Oilstar’s emergencies.

He let Alex take the lead. The two rode across the sprawling
back fields
and along a path into the trees. With the approaching dusk, everything shone with a soft glow. The air carried a heady, damp smell of grass and pine. The horse made soothing noises as it breathed, rustling through the grass.

“This is nice, Todd,” Alex said. “I haven’t gone out for a ride since this
Zoroaster
mess started.”

The horses were familiar with the terrain,
slowing
as the grade got steeper. It took twenty minutes to reach the top of the hill behind Alex’s ranch; from the crest Todd could see lights dotting the valley, houses separated by acres of land instead of the endless crowding of San Francisco.

Todd broke the silence. “I could almost settle down here. You can’t tell we’re so close to the city.”

Alex’s expression was unreadable in the failing light. “If you’d like, Todd, you can come up and ride the horses whenever you want. You’d take better care of them than I do.”

Todd sat upright in the saddle, and for a moment the words clogged in his throat before he finally said, “Really? That would be great!” His voice sounded high-pitched with excitement. He felt a big grin spreading across his face.

“Only if you promise to treat the horses right, though. I’m no good at it anymore.”

“That’s an easy promise to keep!”

Alex’s shadowy face wore a lost smile. “Erin and I spent afternoons riding after I got home from work, then we used to race back to the house, even at night. She loved playing the daredevil.” His words faltered.

Todd waited for Alex to continue, but when Alex spoke again, he changed the subject. “I was in grad school in the sixties before I ever got close to a horse. Marcia, my wife, talked me into taking her on a riding picnic.” He laughed for the first time all night. “I was a real greenhorn, and the horses knew it. As soon as we were out of sight of the stable, my horse halted and started eating grass. Wouldn’t move no matter what I did.”

Todd let Alex talk, beginning to see the man in another light. He wondered how much time Alex spent moping around the house feeling sorry for himself and what had happened to his family.

Todd remembered times in his life when he had dwelled on things he couldn’t change. When his high-school sweetheart Kelly had dumped him for some guy joining the Navy, he had spent months frustrated and hurt, constantly reminded of happier days, the emotional landmines found in scrapbooks and old junk drawers. But Todd also knew bad times could be wrapped up and put away, for a little while at least. He had let loose, riding off and doing stunts on his horse at his parents’ ranch, until his dad had threatened to ground him. Alex needed to let loose too.

Shaking the reins and kicking his mount with his heels, Todd caused Ren to rear up suddenly. A stupid idea with a strange horse, he knew, but just being on horseback again exhilarated him. He felt the power in the horse’s muscles, and a flash of delight surged through him. He held on and felt the joy of life tingle from his head down to the heels of his boots.

Alex looked over his shoulder, startled at the commotion, and his horse backed away.

Todd pulled back on the reins. “Come on, Alex. Race you back!” He didn’t wait for an answer. Todd slapped Ren’s side with an encouraging yell. “Yeeee-hah!” The palomino took off, as if remembering an old game.

Todd could hear only the sound of his horse crashing through the brush, galloping through the tall dry grass. His eyes had grown used to the evening light. Todd clucked at Ren, but he had left Alex behind. The older man must be in no mood to be reminded of the past.

The grade leveled, and Todd slowed his horse. Immediately, the sound of another horse galloping came from behind him.

Todd urged Ren into motion again, but Stimpy bore down to overtake Todd’s horse. Alex crouched low over the saddle, urging the
quarter-horse
to greater speed. Todd saw a focused expression on the man’s face.

The two of them rode faster through the clearing, charging toward the stables in the home stretch. Both horses ran full out, filled with exuberance. By the time they crossed the clearing and reached the corral,
Alex
was
three lengths ahead of Todd
.