Whisperer Page 6

  “That’s a big yes. The whole family wants to meet you.” Looking at her surprised face, he laughed. “Yes, they all know. The Johnsons have their way with information. I think one of them must work for the NSA. Probably Janie, but don’t worry.” He leaned over to kiss her. “They’ll love you. I know I do.” He continued to look at her.

  “Um, what did you say? My hearing went out on me after the ‘family wants to meet you part.’ Say that again, please?”

  He took her hands and kissed each one lovingly. “I love and adore you. Please accompany me to the Johnson Ranch tomorrow, so I can show you off.”

  “Oh, Colt. I’ve loved you since we glimpsed each other in that restaurant in Old Town Sacramento. And it would be my honor to accompany you to meet your family. I’ve been wanting to for some time now.” She leaned in to kiss him.

  And they were later still getting to work…

  During one of her sessions that day, Mandy got a call from her distraught mother. She left a long voicemail. Apparently, all was not well with guy #3 and she needed to talk to her daughter. Mandy could see it all: the distance from the man, her mother’s headaches, her neediness, the desire to smother her daughter with her problems…. Yuck…Mandy started getting her own headache just from thinking about it. When she was out of her session, she called her friend Stacy in Sacramento.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought too. What should I do, Stacy? I’m so happy here with my job and Colt. I don’t want her within a hundred mile radius of me. I know nothing good will come of it.”

  “Got’cha. I know what you’re saying, but you won’t be able to put her off forever. Can you put her off until after you and Colt go to Naples?” Stacy was worried about her friend. Mandy’s mother could and would make a mess of things if she got half the chance.

  “I’m certainly going to try, but you know how determined she can get. Oh, Stacy. I’m so happy with Colt. Why can’t she let me be?”

  “Because she knows you’re happy with a man and she never has been. Maybe with your father for a while, but that’s all. You’re going to have to stand up to her sooner or later, sweetie. Let Colt help. By the way, when can I meet this god from Nevada?” She laughed.

  “We’ll try to get up your way soon. Maybe after the roundup.”

  Stacy laughed harder. “I can’t believe you actually said the word ‘roundup’ and now you’re going to participate in one. You’ve turned into a real cowgirl, Mandy.”

  “I love it, Stacy,” said Mandy.

  “I know you do, sweetie, and it is most becoming on you.” She smiled. “This guy I’ve got to meet. Does he have any brothers?”

  “Three.”

  “You so owe me for being a good friend. I want an introduction.”

  “You’ve got it. Love you, Stacy. Bye.”

  “Love you too. Bye, Bye. Have fun.”

  Stacy clicked off and sat there a minute, looking at her phone. She knew that just when life is going really well, there’s something that comes along and smacks you down. And she knew she should call Mandy back. Eddy had called, looking for her. Should she burst her happy bubble or give her a head’s up. Damn… Maybe she should wait until Amanda got back from Naples. She deserved some happiness before dealing with the unpleasantness that was sure to happen…

  Taking a break from the horse he was working with, Colt listened to his first message. “Colt, this is Jesse. Roundup is tomorrow with Dad’s birthday later that night. Better lasso that gal and come on down. Spotlight’s on you, pal.” He ended the message chuckling.

  The next message was from Lily, his mother. She practically purred into the phone. “Please come tomorrow, Colt. We haven’t seen you in ages and we’d love to meet Mandy. Please bring her. Dad’s birthday dinner will be after. No presents – he’s mildly depressed at hitting the big 5 – 0.” She laughed. “Take care, son. See you soon.”

  The last was from brother Miles. “Yeah, so, okay. Big do tomorrow with required attendance. I understand there’s a new cowgirl in the picture. All right, brother! See you tomorrow. Adios.”

  Colt shook his head. With Grandma Jeanne’s call, he got four invitations to the roundup and party. He was surprised his dad didn’t call too, but he knew Sandy figured Lily had called and that would be enough. He sighed and went back to the horse training. Training wild horses was sometimes easier than the Johnson family. Still he smiled….

  CHAPTER TEN

  Everyone, even Meg in San Francisco, had driven down the night before the roundup. At the family ranch that night, much laughing, eating and drinking was done. There was also much guessing about Colt’s girlfriend. Meg and Jesse, of course, thought she would be great. Miles thought she would be a tenderfoot who could barely sit a horse, while Joey and Janie thought she would be a fine horsewoman. Horse person? What was the politically correct term, anyway? A few beers and glasses of wine and no one really cared. Everyone was anxious to meet her, but no one more so than Sandy and Lily.

  “I’ve spoken to her on the phone and she sounds so much like Deborah Kerr in ‘An Affair to Remember’, said Jeanne, ever the optimist.

  “But aren’t they still in Act One, Jeanne?” asked Sam.

  “Sure, but…”

  “What happens in Act Two,” asked Janie. She wasn’t new to movie talk, but couldn’t remember the various acts.

  “In Act Two,” began Miles, the author, “things start to go wrong. The guy gets cold feet and can’t commit, or the girl’s drunk father shows up and pisses everyone off. Something always happens that throws a cloud in the sunny sky.” He seemed impressed with himself. “You know, boy meets girl, boy loses girl.”

  “Miles, that’s a terrible thing to say,” began his mother. Lily was like Jeanne, the eternal optimist. “I hope nothing goes wrong for Colt and Mandy.”

  “Dad?” asked Miles.

  Sandy cleared his throat. Lily looked at him sharply. “In a rare moment of agreement with Miles, I think he may be correct. Remember, Lily, what happened to us?”

  Sam and Jeanne both winced at that remark. “Okay, let me field that one,” said Sam. “I will forever be sorry that I caused a problem with your parents, Miles. I felt what I felt, but I was wrong.” Jeanne took his hand.

  “Dad, what exactly happened?” asked Janie sweetly. She hadn’t heard this story before. Meg, who knew, looked over at Jesse.

  “Let me,” said Jeanne. “Sam and I were in love in high school, but his family inherited the ranch in Sonoma and he left. Distance is hard to maintain with relationships and we fell out of touch. Your grandfather, Miles Johnson, was there all along and picked up the pieces. We fell in love and were married. Sam married Margaret, Lily’s mom, up in Sonoma. We got on with our lives.”

  Sam continued, “Yes, but we never forgot each other. Years later, when Sandy came up with Lily and wanted to ask for her hand, I retreated within myself and couldn’t give it. My behavior caused a real problem for your folks for a while.”

  Lily picked up the story. “I took off for San Francisco to play and work out my feelings, while your dad got Grandma and Grandpa together to figure out what went wrong. That was our Act Two.“

  Then Sandy, “We eventually worked it out, which made for a great Act Three – a beautiful wedding and Colt being born. Act Threes are really great…” He took Lily’s hand. “Never forget the power of a great Act Three.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The scene was all too familiar. Cattle were moving along the road towards the corrals, dust was flying up everywhere, cowboys and their horses moved from side to side, keeping the cattle moving. Dogs ran by the horses and dashed in to nip a cow’s ankle if they got out of line and started straying from the rest of the herd. Bellowing and snorting of the cattle could be heard long before they could see them. The dust cloud would overwhelm and then suddenly settle, before blowing up again when more cattle moved by.

  Colt and Mandy were saddled up, riding toward the herd. He could see his father, Sandy, Jason, a few of his brothers and
sisters, and a couple of hands driving the herd forward. There were a lot of cattle and he knew they had been at it for some time now. By the corrals, everyone else waited for the cattle to be herded inside.

  “Have you done this before?” he asked her.

  “Nope, should I wait by the corrals?”

  “I think that would be best. Let me introduce you around,” he smiled. “It’s okay.” He noticed she looked nervous.

  They rode up to the corrals by Lily, Jeanne and Janie. Jason’s wife, Amy, and their girls, Audrey and Anna, were on the other side and started walking toward them.

  Colt rode up to his mother and got down off his horse. Lily ran up to him and gave him a big hug. “We’ve missed you, son. How are you?”

  “Great, Mom. It’s wonderful to see you too.” He gave her another hug, as Jeanne and Janie crowded them.

  “My turn for a hug, Lily. How’s one of my favorite grandsons?” Jeanne winked at him.

  “Oh, I thought I was your #1 favorite.” Jeanne laughed

  “How are you, Janie. You look great,” he said to her as they hugged as well.

  “Colt, we’ve missed you,” Janie said, getting a little teary. She loved her big brother.

  Mandy had ridden up with him, but waited patiently and enviously as he greeted his family. They seemed so nice…

  Then he helped Mandy off her horse and quickly tied it up.

  “And this is Mandy Evans, everyone.” He started with his mother and moved down the line. “Mom, please meet Mandy.”

  Lily came up to her, “So pleased to meet you, Mandy. We’ve heard many good things about you. It’s wonderful to have you here with us.” She gave her a big hug.

  “Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Johnson. I love your ranch.”

  Lily smiled at her. “Please call me Lily.”

  “Grandma, meet Mandy.”

  Jeanne moved toward her and said, “Please call me Jeanne. Happy to have you here. I feel like I know you already, my dear…We’ll talk…” She winked at her and gave her a hug. Mandy smiled.

  Colt repeated his introductions to Janie, Amy, Audrey and Anna. He was exhausted just repeating himself…

  “Mandy, I need to help Dad and Jesse. Will you be okay here?” He smiled and got back on his horse.

  “I’ll be fine, thanks.”

  “Go on, Colt, we’re good here,” said Lily.

  With that, Colt tipped his cowboy hat at the group, “Ladies,” winked at Mandy, and galloped toward the herd.

  “Gotta love these cowboys,” said Jeanne.

  Amy and her girls headed for the ranch. “We need to get some supplies for tonight,” she said. “Be back later, Lily.”

  “Thanks, Amy,” she called after her.

  “We’re going to get some water for everyone, Lily. Be right back,” said Jeanne, taking Janie with her. She knew Lily would want a few words with Mandy alone.

  Lily took Mandy by the arm, “So you ride…” They started walking around the corrals.

  “Yes, indeed. I hadn’t for a long time, but I started back up once I got to Donner. I love it.” She smiled at Lily.

  “Riding gives me a lot of pleasure as well. What do you like about it?”

  Mandy thought a minute. Lily watched the pretty young woman that her son had brought to meet her. She had beautiful eyes and lovely auburn hair. Mandy seemed thoughtful, deliberate. She could see why Colt would be attracted to her.

  “I can shake off the dust of the day and just enjoy being alive. I take deep breaths… enjoy nature… I ride up in the hills every day after work. That’s where I met Colt again.” She stopped. “Did you know that we first saw each other in Old Town Sacramento, but we introduced ourselves up in the hills?”

  Lily smiled. “I had heard that. My spies told me. Was it love at first sight?”

  Mandy smiled broadly back at her, “Pretty much. Colt is so special.”

  “That he is. Were you from Sacramento originally?”

  “Yes, born and bred, but I needed to leave. I found the job up in Soda Springs and the rest, as they say, is history.”

  “How do I ask questions without you feeling like I am being the Grand Inquisitor?”

  “Just ask. I would do the same thing if I were in your shoes, and we need to get to know each other.” They stopped and looked at each other.

  “Very astute. We do, indeed, since we both love Colt. We could even take turns – would you like that, Mandy?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’d like that very much. You first…” She smiled.

  “Okay…why did you need to leave Sacramento?”

  “Well…it was like this…” And they continued walking around the corrals.

  Meanwhile, Colt had been riding herd with his father and Jesse. He had yelled “hey” at Meg, Miles, Joey and Jason, but had remained riding with Sandy. His dad looked over at him and smiled. Good to see him again… Colt was glad to be home…

  Jesse grinned, “Cute gal. What’s her name again?”

  “Mandy Evans. She’s a counselor at that children’s camp in Soda Springs where I was hired to train a few mustangs.”

  “And you brought her home,” said his father.

  “Yes, sir. My mama raised me right.” He laughed and they smiled at each other.

  “Your mother is interrogating her, as we speak, you know.”

  “Yeah, but Mandy expected it. She’ll be okay – we talked about how this would play out. So far, it’s predictable.”

  “I take it the business is working out for you. Grandma has kept us posted about your whereabouts and jobs. Is she keeping books for you too?”

  “Yeah, so far, so good. I’ve had a lot of work in the Elko and Winnemucca area, as well as northern California. I stopped in to see Aunt Sarah and Uncle Rob while I was in Winnemucca.”

  “They called us. Apparently, they went out to see you work a few times. I think their contacts led to more work for you,” said Sandy. “My sister was impressed with what you did. Oh…Be right back. I have to tell Jason something.” Sandy turned his horse and rode to the back of the herd.

  A few cows started to stray, so Colt rode over and drove them back. The dust cloud settled on him and he brushed off what he could. Jesse had ridden off after some other strays. Meg rode up by Colt.

  “Hi ya, stranger. New in these parts?” Sitting a beautiful Palomino, she smiled at him.

  “Hi yourself, cutie. How are you?” He smiled at his pretty sister. She had cut her long blonde hair into a perky bob that attractively framed her face.

  “New hairdo?”

  “Yep.”

  Jesse rode up by Meg, reached over and lightly tugged at Meg’s hair. “Can’t pull it like I used to. Grow it back, Meggie…” He laughed.

  “Okay, what gives with you two? I leave for a little while, come back and you have women with you. Stories, please?”

  Jesse leaned back in his saddle and wiped his hands on his jeans.

  “Nothing to tell. You’ve known Audrey all your life.”

  “For Pete’s sake, Jesse, ever gonna marry her?” When he shrugged, Meg let out an exasperated breath, leaned over and punched his arm. “She’s not going to wait forever… And what about you, Colt?”

  “What about me?”

  “All I know is her name: Mandy Evans. Anything else I should know?”

  “Right. Interrogation time. Well, she’s pretty, smart, funny and sexy. Oh and she loves movies. Jeanne will have a field day with that.” He laughed. Meg rolled her eyes.

  They rode the herd to the corrals and started rounding them in. Little by little, they drove out the mature cattle into other pens, leaving the calves.

  Mandy noticed that Colt and Jesse were particularly adept at this, having done it all their lives. The riders and horses worked as one, separating the calf, working it into the corral, leaving and getting another one. She couldn’t imagine how they did it, but over and over, they did, until all the calves were separated from the mature cattle.

  And then everythi
ng started happening at once. Many hands appeared. Colt lassoed a calf and Jesse jumped down to inoculate it. Meg had already dismounted and moved around Jesse to brand the calf. In another corral, Sandy lassoed a calf and Jason inoculated it. A hired hand ran over to brand it. Over and over the process went. Inoculation and branding… In yet another corral, Sam lassoed a calf that was running, trying to escape, and pulled his rope tight, so Joey could grab it to inoculate. Miles stepped up to brand the calf. Everyone had a turn at lassoing, inoculating and branding. There was plenty of work to go around.

  “Want to give it a try, Mandy?” smiled Lily. “Nothing to it, when you’ve done it a few million times.”

  Mandy laughed. “Absolutely. Show me.”

  Lily steered her into a corral. Colt lassoed a calf and Lily showed Mandy how to hold the big inoculation needle and then give the calf the shot. She picked up the process fast and started helping. Pretty soon, everyone was nodding their heads at what a fast learner Mandy was and what a natural she seemed to be at it. And it wasn’t easy – the calves did their utmost to escape the needles and the branding irons. They bellowed and snorted and tried their hardest to get out of the corrals. It was definitely hard work, and, after a few rugged hours, Mandy was breathing deeply and nursing sore muscles. Lily and Sandy were impressed. She was no lightweight -- that was for sure.

  After all the calves in the corrals had been branded, Sandy threw up his hands. That was the signal for everyone to quit and leave the area. Mandy was happy to finally leave. It had been a hard day, but pleasant enough, being with his family.

  When everyone was outside the corrals, he yelled, “Good work, everybody! Thanks! We’ll leave the others for tomorrow. Go clean up and then come back to the ranch house. We promised to feed you.”

  Lily said, “Sandy, tell them about the party, okay?”

  “Oh, yeah. One more thing – my wife wants me to tell you it’s my birthday party. So let’s rip it up tonight.” Everyone laughed and took off. Lily and Meg took Mandy back to the ranch house to clean up. Jeanne and Sam went back to their house, Jesse and Audrey headed back to his, while Jason and his family went home. All the extra hands headed to their bunkhouses, while everyone else also headed for the Johnson ranch house to clean up before the birthday dinner.