Home on the Ranch--Colorado Rancher

by Patricia Potter

  Maybe she’d been wrong not to have ventured out sooner but then she’d not had much opportunity. Yet, Bob and other fellow pilots had invited her to parties and games. She’d always used Julie as an excuse to say no. She hadn’t felt that she should have fun when Dane was gone.

  The poker game had helped alleviate the sense of emptiness when she left Eagles’ Roost alone. The following day’s riding lesson had helped even more. The subsequent supper at the Mannings’ ranch produced one of the best steaks she’d ever had. It was a fun evening, one of the first since Dane’s death, and she fell in love with Josh’s former military dog. It made her even more determined to find one for Julie as soon as they settled somewhere permanently.

  But where would that be? She’d planned on San Antonio but the proximity to the air base would be a constant temptation to rejoin. She liked Colorado but where could she make a living? What was she trained for? Nothing but flying.

  Maybe she would go online and explore opportunities in the area. She refused to question why Colorado instead of Texas. After all, it was just an exercise, an exploration. Something to do.

  She refused to consider that a tall Colorado rancher might have something to do with it, even as he haunted her thoughts.

  * * *

  Wednesday morning was free. She had her second riding lesson at three. Problem was what to do this morning, and then what to do for the next three weeks. Except for the horseback riding, she was running short of things to do in Covenant Falls. Maybe she would check out the flying school she’d noticed on the drive to Covenant Falls.

  She’d promised her daughter she wouldn’t fly again. But that was military flying. A short flight on a small plane didn’t count.

  But then that was supposing that a plane was available. Besides, she really just wanted to talk flying. She drove to the sign she’d found days ago, turned and drove another mile until she came to a rickety sprawling building with a two-seater anchored outside. She parked next to an elderly Ford and knocked at the metal door of the building before trying it and finding it open. It reminded her of the time twenty-two years earlier when she’d visited another flyer in a similar building.

  A gray-haired man was working on a cargo plane. He turned. And studied her. “You that pilot that’s staying in Covenant Falls?”

  “Guilty,” she said. “How did you know?”

  “No secrets in this area.” He reached out his hand. “I’m Otis Davies, and you don’t look like you need lessons.”

  She was grateful he didn’t add “at your age.” “You’re air force?” he asked instead.

  “Was air force,” she said. “I had to resign when my daughter was injured.”

  “Can’t stay away from a plane, huh?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Going to be around here for a while?”

  He was obviously a man of few words. “At least three weeks,” she said, “and I’m not sure how long I’ll be in the area after that.”

  “Too bad,” he said. “I can use a pilot at times.”

  “Teaching?”

  He shook his head. “Some. But mostly freight. We get a lot of desperate calls from ranchers who need feed or other supplies in a hurry, particularly when there’s bad weather.”

  She shook her head, wondering why she had come here in the first place, why something inside propelled her here. “I’m afraid I won’t be here long enough. Our home is in San Antonio, but thanks for the offer.”

  And her home was in Texas, despite her curiosity about this area. Her friends were there. Julie’s friends were there. Heck, admit it, the base was there and all its temptation.

  He nodded, accepting the answer. He looked at the plane he was working on. “Doesn’t look like much, but it’s in good shape. I also have a two-seater outside I use for teaching.”

  “Were you in the service?” she asked.

  “Air force. End of ’Nam.”

  She saluted him and he returned it. “Anytime you want to go up, just let me know,” he said.

  “Thanks. I might take you up on that.”

  “Just give me a couple of hours’ notice. I’ll have her gassed up.”

  “The sign says flying lessons,” she pointed out.

  “Not much interest in learning from an old fossil,” he replied. “Now, if a hotshot air force fighter pilot was on the faculty, I would fill up pretty darn fast.”

  “I was taught by an old fossil,” she said with a grin. “He also went back to Vietnam era. Best pilot I ever knew. Knew more about flying, real flying, than a lot of people flying today. He got me into the Air Force Academy.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Hank Douglas.”

  “Hell, I knew him. One of the best air commanders in ’Nam.”

  “I figured as much. I didn’t know his rank, but I knew someone helped me get into the academy and I thought it might be him.”

  He eyed her with more interest. “I’m serious. There’s more freight business and flight training to be had if I had the help,” he added. “That’s an offer, young lady.”

  “I’ll remember that,” she said.

  The hunger to fly ate at her as she left and drove back to the inn. She’d wanted to sit in the cockpit even if it meant piloting a past-its-prime cargo plane or the two-seater training plane she saw. Her first experience in the sky was in a two-seater and she would never forget the awe she felt. She didn’t think she would ever lose it. She would dearly love to awaken that love in young people.

  She reached the inn in time to change for her riding lesson.

  “How is your daughter?” Luke asked when she walked up to him at the stable.

  “Excellent. I’m told she’s a natural. I need to catch up.”

  “You’re doing good, Mrs. MacInnes. Better than most.”

  “I want to be better than that,” she said.

  “That’s what I like to hear,” Luke replied.

  An hour later she was cantering around the ring with more sureness.

  “Don’t get too confident,” Luke said. “That’s when you get in trouble.”

  “I won’t,” she replied. “That’s one thing we’re taught in flight school. Overconfidence kills.”

  “It’s a good thing to remember.”

  When they finished, she requested an appointment for Tuesday of next week. She would definitely stay in Covenant Falls for at least the next three weeks.

  * * *

  Her daughter called that evening when Lauren was in the bathtub, bathing off horse, and easing muscle pain with inn-supplied bath salts.

  “Hi, Mom,” Julie said with a lilt in her voice Lauren hadn’t heard in a year and a half.

  “Julie, I’m so glad you called. You sound great.” And she did. Her daughter’s voice was filled with an enthusiasm she hadn’t heard in way too long.

  “Well, I’m good. Snowflake and I cantered today,” she said, and Lauren heard the pride in her voice. “I love Snowflake,” Julie continued. “She likes me, too. She nuzzles my cheek when I go to her stall.”

  “Is that healthy?”

  “Mommmm...”

  Lauren had heard that plaintive sound before. It translated into a “how can you be so lame?” moan.

  She ignored it and, instead, asked, “What about the other kids?” hoping that Julie was making friends.

  “I like them, particularly Jenny. She’s shy but smart. She...lost her mother. We’ve been exchanging books.”

  “You have time to read books?”

  “Not much. We have exercise classes in the morning. A shrink, Dr. Evans, was here last night. He just talked, wanted us to know he’s available.”

  “What about your buddy, Robin?”

  “She’s kinda like the sister I always wanted,” Julie said. “She said I would really like the trip up into the mounta
ins during the last week.”

  “It sounds really good.”

  There was a silence, then Julie asked, “When are you coming back?”

  “Sunday,” Lauren said. “I understand there will be other moms and dads there, too.”

  A silence, then sadness entered her daughter’s voice. “I wish Dad could see me on Snowflake.”

  “I do, too, sweetie,” Lauren said. “He would be proud.”

  More silence. Pain shared. “I should go,” Julie said. “This is game night. We drew straws and I won so I get to choose it. Everyone has a week.”

  “What did you choose?”

  “Scrabble.”

  “I should have known. You can crush them.”

  “Is that any way for a mom to talk?” her daughter asked.

  Julie was sounding like the old Julie, the one before the accident. Lauren’s heart swelled. What had happened in the past few days? Some kind of magic, undoubtedly. Horse magic, maybe. “Sorry about that,” she said.

  “My foot is better,” Julie suddenly burst out. “I can move it a little.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that in the beginning?”

  “It’s just a little.”

  “A little is a big deal,” Lauren said. “It means the transplant worked. It will get better now. I’m so happy for you, love.”

  “I should go now,” Julie said.

  “Love you, kiddo.”

  “I love you, too,” her daughter said, and Lauren’s heart sang.

  Chapter 8

  Today was Sunday!

  Today she would return to Eagles’ Roost. That was the only thing on her mind when Lauren woke as the first glimmer of light crept into her room. She couldn’t still her eagerness to begin the day. She took a quick shower, dressed rapidly in running shorts and a green T-shirt and went for a short run before heading for the coffee and pastries in the inn’s lobby.

  The sky was overcast. Please don’t let it rain.

  She’d been waiting for today all week. Luke’s schedule had been filled Thursday through Friday, but she’d booked time for next Tuesday and Wednesday. She’d spent the rest of the week doing touristy things. She’d gone to lunch with Eve and Stephanie Phillips, the town veterinarian, whom she liked immensely.

  In truth, she liked everyone in Covenant Falls. Stephanie had given her some tips about dogs since Lauren definitely wanted one for Julie. It was first on her list when her daughter finished the program.

  “I know of several rescues that would make excellent house pets,” Stephanie had said. “Just let me know if you want to bring Julie over, and I’ll have them at the office.”

  “Reese Howard suggested—no, make that emphatically suggested—a rescue,” Lauren said. “And my daughter fell in love with his Leo.”

  Stephanie grinned. “He found Leo wandering on his ranch. Reese says the dog found the place he’d been looking for, just like the original Howard. I think it was love at first sight for both parties. Have you been on the Jeep trip yet?”

  “No, but it’s on my schedule for Saturday.”

  “Take a pillow. It’s bumpy but a lot of fun.”

  Lauren didn’t follow the advice and wished she had. It was definitely bumpy, but fun, and she planned to take Julie on it when she completed Junior Ranchers. Lauren had bounced all over the Jeep as their guide drove through rough terrain to see several broken-down shacks and some holes in the hills. But bearded Herman Mann was a storyteller of the first order and didn’t stop regaling her with tales of the Colorado gold rush.

  But as much as she’d enjoyed the past few days, she lived for Sunday at Eagles’ Roost. The parents were invited from Sunday noon until six but now that she was knowledgeable about rockslides, gasoline truck leaks and other possible obstructions, Lauren decided to leave early. She certainly didn’t want to be late again.

  The inn lobby was more crowded than usual as guests checked out. Her reservation ran out today. When the desk clerk had a moment, she approached to prolong her stay.

  She went back to her room and studied her limited wardrobe. She didn’t want to be overdressed or underdressed. In the end she told herself she was being ridiculous and put on one of the new pairs of jeans she’d bought at the Covenant Falls General Store, along with a pullover shirt and her new pair of riding boots.

  She took her time on the road, stopping several times at scenic spots where she took photos. Despite her dawdling, she arrived a little after ten-thirty. No rockslides or gas on the road.

  When Lauren drove into the parking area, she saw her daughter in the riding ring along with Jenny. Julie was riding Snowflake. A woman in her thirties stood in the middle of the ring directing the girls.

  Lauren parked and stepped out of the car. Not wanting to disturb the riders, she stood next to the car and watched as each rider went through an apparent routine: a walk, a trot, then a canter. Having been on horseback earlier that week, she recognized how smoothly the two handled their horses.

  She was impressed. And proud. Her daughter sat straight and yet looked comfortable. Julie was intent on the instructor. Robin and two young teenage boys sat on the fence watching.

  Then she saw Reese Howard and his foreman emerge from the stables, Leo by their sides. Reese said something to the foreman and they separated. He walked over to her. Leo reached her first and offered his paw even as his tail frantically wagged.

  “I think he remembers you,” Reese said.

  “I think he does that to everyone,” she said.

  “Maybe, but not with as much enthusiasm.” He studied her for a moment. “You’re early,” he noted with a smile.

  “I thought it might be a positive change,” she replied as a ripple of reaction ran through her. Had she imagined it or did he look even more appealing today? “And,” she added, “it looked like rain in Covenant Falls. I didn’t want to be late again.”

  His smile widened. “I’m glad you came early. The weather forecast here predicts rain tonight.”

  “Julie looks wonderful,” she said. “She called the other night. I haven’t heard that excitement in her voice since the accident.”

  “You said she was a natural athlete. You were right.”

  “She looks intent on what she’s doing,” she said. “Just as she used to be before a race. Who’s the instructor?”

  “Mary Abbot. She’s an exceptional instructor. She’s made training videos.”

  “You’ve made them, too, according to Patti,” she said.

  He shrugged. “The same company uses both of us, Mary for beginning riders and myself for training mustangs. We’re just a few among many other horsemen.”

  “Can I find it?”

  “Probably, if you look hard enough.”

  He obviously wasn’t going to help. “Patti’s proud of you.”

  “It goes two ways. She worked here several summers to earn money for school. I wanted to help, but she wants to do it on her own, and she’s damned stubborn about it.”

  “What about your nephew?”

  “He’s also a good horseman. Sally brought him here when he was two. I put him on a horse when he was four, a year younger than when I started, but he wanted it. He kept wandering out to see the horses and I thought, hoped, he wanted the ranch in his future. But as much as he likes our horses, he likes music more, and he’s damn good. Plays at clubs in this area, even did a stint in Denver.”

  “And you approve?”

  “It’s not up to me to approve or disapprove. He’s seventeen and if I tried to force him into anything, he’d hate it.”

  Something in his tone told her there was experience in those words. As if he suddenly realized it, he shrugged. “He might change his mind. Sometimes reality hits. But he should have his chance.”

  “Did you have a choice?” she asked. “Patti said you had to take over when you wer
e twenty.”

  His gaze bored into her. “Yes, I had a choice,” he said bluntly. “I could have walked away. I chose not to.”

  But he couldn’t walk away. She knew instinctively he was not a man to run away from responsibility even at a young age. “Have you ever regretted it?”

  “Doesn’t everyone have a moment of doubt about choices they made?” he asked.

  There was a quiet intensity in the words that fascinated her. She’d heard it before when he talked about his mustangs, then again when he talked about his kids.

  “No,” she said. “I always wanted to fly.”

  “You had a hard decision when you left the air force,” he said. “Do you regret that?” Their glances met. Held steady. Challenging.

  “When you have a child, choices narrow,” she said simply. “Julie’s the most important person in my life, the most important everything.”

  He turned away, his attention going back to the riders in the ring, but not before she saw pain in his eyes.

  “She really is good,” Lauren said.

  “Yes, she is,” Reese said. “She knows it. Look at her expression. It’s that athleticism you mentioned. She needed to exercise it.”

  The other girl, Jenny—a blonde a little heavier than Julie’s slim form—was riding smoothly but not with Julie’s grace. Jenny stopped at the direction of the woman in the center of the ring. She adjusted Jenny’s hands on the reins and then the stirrups.

  Julie turned then and saw Lauren and waved. Her face was alive again, her eyes shining. In one week she had her old daughter back, at least for today. Lauren knew it was only a beginning. Her daughter still had a long way to go. But there was spirit in that face again.

  “She looks happy,” she said. “It’s the first time since the accident.”

  “That smile started a few days ago. Robin told me about it. I think it was the day she found her seat and trotted around the ring.” He looked as proud of Julie as if she were his own daughter, and she thought he felt the same about the other three.

  “When will they meet their mustangs?” she asked.

  “Monday. They’ll spend two hours a day with them twice a day, sometimes longer.”