Riding the River Read online

  Sarah and Tess sat at one of the large tables with other guests. Everyone talked and laughed, while eating lunch. It seemed a happy group. Dale watched from the back to make sure all was well and to get another look at Sarah. She looked over and waved at him. He walked up to her table.

  “This casserole is great, Dale. I just wanted to let you know.” Dale beamed again.

  “Thank you, Sarah. Do you like to cook?”

  She blinked, looking in the face of this curly-haired man. No one had ever asked her that before.

  “I do,” she said finally. “But I don’t get much chance.”

  “Busy job?”

  “… Busy life…”

  “Sounds too busy.” Sarah nodded at that comment.

  “You’re right there.”

  He had an idea. “Well, if you have a mind to learn some cowboy cookin’, stop by the kitchen any time.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, I just might do that.”

  “If you sign up for the horse drive, I might put you to work. What do you think?”

  Tess was thinking that Sarah was nuts about now, as she happily ate her lunch. The last thing she wanted to do on this trip was work. But… she didn’t know Sarah all that well. Different strokes for different folks…

  “Okay, Dale. You’ve got yourself a deal. I am signing up for the drive and I’m sure I can spare some time to learn a recipe or two.” She looked at him and smiled. “Thank you for asking me.”

  Dale smiled back. “My pleasure, ma’am.” And he left her table thinking that if Matt didn’t snap her up, he’d find someone else for her. She was terrific… Any idiot could see that. Pretty blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes…

  He helped a bit more with getting food out to the buffet table and saw Matt come in with Richie. This should be interesting… Dale watched as Richie spied Sarah and Tess -- He walked over to say hi. What would Matt do? Matt stayed put in the food line and tried not to look over at Richie speaking with Sarah. Interesting… He tried to keep his eyes forward, but couldn’t help himself when he heard her laugh. She had a nice laugh… Then Matt full on gazed at her…

  And meanwhile, Sarah might have been speaking to Richie, but she was glancing at Matt across the room. She finally looked up at Richie as he said good-bye, but her eyes immediately went back to Matt. He broke off his stare to look down at the plate he’d picked up.

  “Who in the world is that?” said Tess, having just seen Matt.

  Sarah looked in her plate now. “He’s one of the cowboys who works here.”

  “My God… Doesn’t he look a lot like Gregory Peck from that Western movie… oh, what’s it called?”

  Sarah turned to her as her mouth dropped open. “Do you think so?”

  “Oh, my, yes. Look at all that black, wavy hair… Dark eyes… muscles…Trim build…” She sighed. “Altogether yummy…”

  Sarah blushed for some reason. “It’s ‘Big Country’.”

  “… What is?”

  “The movie title you’re thinking of… “Big Country’.”

  Tess flashed a smile at her. “Yes, that’s right. Oh, that’s a good one.”

  Sarah just smiled. You’ve no idea…

  Across the room, Matt and Richie were filling their plates. The smells were making Richie’s stomach growl. They searched to find seats just as Sarah and Tess rose with their empty plates.

  “Ladies, can we have these seats?” said Richie pleasantly.

  “Sure. They’re yours,” replied Tess who was openly admiring Matt.

  Richie nodded at Tess and then glanced at Sarah who was scraping some spot on the table -- Matt was looking out a window. He knit his brows and wondered what was happening here.

  “Thanks,” he said and sat down. Matt sat across from him as Tess and Sarah walked towards the door. Richie watched Matt steal a furtive look her way. They placed their hats under their chairs.

  Once they began eating, he started in.

  “… Okay, what was that?”

  “What was what?”

  “You know what I’m talking about…” Richie took a big bite of his casserole.

  “I haven’t got a clue,” replied Matt getting pissed now. “Let me eat in peace.” He began eating his salad.

  “First, you stare at her across a crowded room and then you won’t even say hi when we get close. What gives?” He took another forkful of casserole.

  Matt chewed and swallowed. “Nothing gives…”

  “I’ve known you a lot of years, Matt, something gives… with that girl.”

  “I’m not interested in any girl, Richie. Cut it out.”

  Richie had seen Matt in various states of sad, mad and glad, but he’d never seen him not interested in women. He looked at him as his mouth dropped.

  “Are you going to sit there and tell me you’re not interested in Sarah?”

  “Yes…”

  “Why not for Heaven’s sake?”

  “… Aren’t you interested in her?” Matt looked over at him as Richie started to smile.

  “I’ve been with her all morning. Trust me when I tell you, I might have been interested in her, but she sure as shootin’ is not interested in me. Not even a little bit…”

  “Okay, then. This conversation is over.”

  “… Not even… You like her, Matt. Admit it… I saw you dancing with her last night.”

  Matt looked sharply at him. “So? I’ve danced with women before.”

  Richie started laughing. “Not from ninety miles away. I thought she might have cooties until I saw you caress her ponytail and smile at her.”

  “Caress? That’s a fancy word… And you’re way off the mark.” Matt lowered his head and ate faster.

  “Well, you know what ‘caress’ means, right? To lovingly embrace.”

  “Am I going to get a vocabulary lesson with my lunch?” growled Matt. Then he looked away and mumbled, “Besides, she’s only here for a week and that’s not enough time to...”

  “To what? Fall for someone?” He laughed. “It’s plenty of time…”

  “Richie, it just complicates things… She’s going back to Baltimore…”

  “… Maybe…”

  “There’s no maybe here…”

  “What if there was?” Richie let that thought dangle out there.

  Matt frowned. “…Um…”

  Richie laughed and ate another big mouthful. After he swallowed, he chuckled. “You can fight it all you want, but she’s under your skin already… Isn’t she?”

  “…Ah…”

  “And… I think she likes you too. When we came in and I was talking to her, she was looking past me. She was looking at you, wasn’t she?”

  Richie’s smiled widened and Matt was ready to leave.

  “Richie, knock it off or I’m going to get the hell out of here.”

  “Are you fighting this because of what happened in your past?”

  “That could be a damn fine reason, don’t you agree?”

  “… No, I don’t. Just because Betsy burned you, it doesn’t mean someone else will. She was just the wrong girl for you…”

  Matt looked up at him astonished. “I thought we’d agreed not to say that name out loud.”

  “You’ve got to get past this, man…” Matt gave him a look. “Okay, okay, I’m shutting up. But you’re making a mistake if you let Sarah go by without even trying. She’s seems really nice.”

  Matt sighed. “I know. That’s what I’m afraid of…”

  ####

  After lunch, Sarah and Tess headed down to the gun range on the side of the property to learn gun safety. Sarah figured she might as well learn how to handle a pistol or rifle while she was in the West. Why not?

  Cowboys, Frank and Aaron, were instructing this time. Targets had been set up some thirty yards away. They were starting off with rifles – How to hold them, how to load and use the sights. It was more complicated than Sarah thought, but that was all right. She was there to learn and she took it seriously. She couldn’t eve
n imagine what her father would think of her out on a shooting range. She glanced at Tess sizing up yet another cowboy and grinned.

  There were ten guests who had signed up for a lesson and Frank had them all spaced out. He and Aaron went down the line working individually with each guest on holding the rifle, the proper stance and how to fire. It was interesting stuff and when they were allowed to shoot, Sarah started hitting the target pretty regularly. They would each fire ten rounds and then the cowboys would come along to give each some advice. Frank was becoming impressed with Sarah’s shooting. She seemed to have natural ability and wasn’t afraid to try anything. They changed to different targets and she could hit those too. Many women guests didn’t even sign up for gun safety and here was a woman who could be Annie Oakley with a little practice. Well, maybe not Annie Oakley, but close.

  Matt had ridden by with a couple of guests, showing them the range as he was giving a riding lesson. He set his Appaloosa as comfortably as if it were the easy chair in his living room. The horse was a natural extension.

  He and his guests were a ways back, so as not to spook the horses. But he could see Sarah just fine from where they stood. At first, he wasn’t sure who it was – Then she turned to lift her protective earmuffs to speak to Frank and he recognized her. He couldn’t believe it as she started firing. She hit the target consistently again and again around the center for all ten shots that he watched. He was stunned… She was an unbelievably good shot… Maybe she had practiced in Baltimore…

  He thought again – That seemed unlikely. Dan had mentioned to him, although he hadn’t asked, that she was a computer consultant, whatever that meant. It probably didn’t have much to do with shooting a gun, however. Matt grudgingly rode away with his guest, but continued thinking about Sarah. He was thinking of her far too much, for his liking.

  Sarah and Tess congratulated themselves on the way back to the ranch house for the good scores they posted on the gun range. Tess wasn’t half bad either. She kidded Sarah about starting a new profession – gunslinger…

  It was a few hours before dinner. Tess wanted to go find Tyler, and Sarah wanted to ride alone for a while. She went back to the barn to see if she could get a horse. She bumped into the trail boss, looking over the horses and checking how many there were.

  “Hello…”

  “Hi. I hope I’m not bothering you.”

  “… Not even close. Just checking the horses for the drive, day after tomorrow. You a guest here?”

  “…Sarah…” She extended her hand, which he shook.

  “Cooper…”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “Same here.”

  “Did you sign up for the horse drive?”

  “… I did.”

  “Good. I think you’ll enjoy it.” She tilted her head at him.

  “What exactly is a horse drive, Mr. Cooper?” He laughed.

  “... No, just Cooper.”

  “Sorry.”

  “… Anyway, we drive a herd of fifty or so horses from one seasonal pasture to another.”

  “What does that mean?” Sarah knit her brows.

  “We’ll move the herd from a pasture west of here to one farther north. There’s better grass for grazing up near the Jarbidge Wilderness and so we’ll put them up there for a few months. It’ll take two days to drive them up and get them settled, but only a day to return. It’s quicker without the herd.” He winked at her and she smiled.

  “And you don’t mind taking us city slickers along with you?”

  “Absolutely not. You’re quite welcome.” He looked at her. She was stroking a horse’s flank and seemed easy around horses. She noticed that he was looking at her and raised an eyebrow.

  “…um…”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. You just look so much like my daughter. How old are you? Twenty-four? Twenty-five?”

  “Wow…asking a woman her age. You’re pretty brave and yes, I’m twenty-five.”

  “Okay, sorry again… Why did you come in the barn? Do you need a horse saddled?”

  “I do indeed. I wanted to get in a quick ride before dinner.”

  He began saddling a horse for her.

  “How’s your day been?”

  “Great.” Sarah’s eyes lit up. She was pretty. “I had a riding lesson this morning and a shooting lesson after lunch.”

  “Wow… You’re taking in the Old West for all its worth, aren’t you?”

  She smiled. “I plan to fill every minute with learning something new. It’s all been extraordinary so far.”

  “Really? Well, good for you. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” He walked the horse up to her. “You’ve had just one lesson. Are you all right on your own?”

  “I don’t plan to lose sight of the ranch house. I just want to practice some more.”

  “All right. I’ll watch you for a while and then I’ve got to get busy.”

  “Don’t worry about me.”

  Cooper held the horse for her to mount. “Now this is Thunder.” Her eyes widened hearing the horse’s name. Cooper laughed. “Don’t worry. The only thing tough about this horse is his name. He’s a real sweetie.”

  Sarah let out a breath. “Thanks, Cooper.” And she took off walking her horse until she went past the corrals. Then she let him go and Thunder galloped up towards the hills. Cooper watched for a bit and decided she’d do just fine on the horse drive. She was definitely comfortable in the saddle.

  She galloped out past the ranch house up into the low hills. Sarah had purchased a cowboy hat – And with jeans and a Western shirt, she fit right into the landscape. The wind picked up the hat and blew it off her head, so it hung down her back. Sarah smiled… Just a cowgirl out for a ride… It was a delicious thought.

  She rode through the hills and onto the back part of the property where Richie had taken them this morning. Seeing the wildflower meadow and stream, she headed right for that area. Sarah breathed in the moist air from the cold stream, stopped Thunder and dismounted. She let him drink while she looked around at the gorgeous meadow. Sitting down in the yellow, blue and white wildflowers, she picked a few and then lay back to look at that big, blue sky. She laid her cowboy hat on the ground beside her. The flowers were soft on her back as was the ground by the stream.

  Lying there, she watched the puffy clouds roll lazily by. She had never seen a sky that immense… It seemed to go on and on and on… Thinking about the difference of life here in Nevada with the hustle and bustle of life in Baltimore… There was just no comparison. It was ‘Big Country’ come to life and

  she loved it. Sure, there were a few problems – communication being one and distance between towns being another. Somehow, that didn’t faze her. She got up and took a bottle of water out of her saddlebag, thought again and got out the horseshoe too. Sarah took a swig of her water and lay down again in the wildflowers looking at her horseshoe. Life doesn’t get any better, does it?

  Thunder was happily munching some grass. Sarah picked up her cowboy hat and put it over her face. She’d decided to snooze out here in the meadow, nestled in the wildflowers. Listening to a few birds. The gurgling stream… Eyes that drooped lower and lower until she was asleep.

  In a little while, around the hill came Matt riding with another guest. He saw a rider down in the meadow and told the guest to head back to the barn. He needed to check on something. Concerned, Matt rode up to the stream, checked the horse and looked at the downed rider, expecting some kind of trouble. Instead, he saw a girl lying in the flowers with her cowboy hat over her face, arms comfortably at her sides. He started to smile as he heard soft, snoring sounds. When he glanced at the horseshoe on the ground beside her, he knew who it was.

  He debated what to do – Matt could ride his horse quietly away and let her sleep, which he was very tempted to do. He’d made kind of a half vow or something to stay away from her. And he really didn’t want to bother her… But it wasn’t long until dinner, and Mr. Walker probably didn’t want a guest out
here by herself. So he dismounted, let his horse get a drink and sat down to wait until she woke up. He was impressed she could fall asleep out here in the open so easily. She was obviously comfortable in her new surroundings. An unexpected pleasure…

  As he watched and listened, she made funny little noises in her sleep – bubbles and pops. A purring sound… It was hard not to laugh. Suddenly, she reached under her hat to scratch her nose, and the hat fell off her face. Matt held his breath, thinking she’d wake up. He didn’t want to scare her, but he didn’t want to leave either. He glanced at her pretty face, so calm in sleep, smiled at her light snoring and wished he could remember the color of her eyes. Blue? Gray? With the blonde hair in a spray around her head, it resembled a halo. Her pale blue Western shirt fit her well and her jeans hugged in the right places. It wasn’t an altogether unpleasant job, just sitting and gazing at her. She’d picked up cowboy boots too. The city gal he’d seen at the hotel was gone and a country gal had taken her place. It set well with him…

  Finally, an eye opened --- Blue, they were deep blue… He’d thought so. Another eye opened and she looked up at the sky. She must have seen him sitting there, but didn’t comment at first.

  “Pretty, isn’t it?” she said at last. Matt thought her voice, just roused from sleep, was as nice as the rest of her.

  “Very…”

  “How long have you been sitting there?” Her eyes slid over to focus on his smiling ones.

  “Long enough…”

  “How long is that?” she insisted.

  “… You make cute little noises in your sleep, you know.”

  She scrunched her eyebrows. “No, I didn’t know.”

  “Your boyfriend’s never told you?” He was still smiling at her.

  “Whether or not I have a boyfriend is no concern of yours.” She sat up and grabbed her hat.

  Matt laughed. “Well, there’s no need to get upset. I was just…”