Right Out of Nowhere

by Laurie Salzler

  Then she came home from college one day to have Jeff and Beth reveal they were getting married. Roni had always known Beth was straight, but she just couldn’t deny the attraction to her. She’d never told Beth. Although disappointed that she couldn’t have her for her very own, she was happy that by marrying Jeff, her best friend would be around forever.

  After the fourth yawn she got to her feet, listening to her knees pop and crackle from years in the saddle. She recapped the flask and took a deep breath of frigid air. As she exhaled, her breath seemed to crystallize in the deepening cold.

  She neared the cabin and heard a lantern hiss as it flickered on the porch. She didn’t need it but appreciated the fact that Jeff had put it there for her. He really was a good brother, even if he had stolen the woman who owned her heart.

  Chapter Two

  AS RONI GRABBED the lamp and walked up the porch steps, the low tone of Jeff’s voice came through the door. He probably managed to get a hold of Mom and Dad, although he could be talking to anyone. His easy laughter and ability to make conversation with perfect strangers made him friends with anybody who crossed his path.

  She stepped through the door in time to hear him say, “Okay, Dad, I’ll tell her. She’s not going to like it, I’ll tell you that much. Right. Love to Mom. Over and out.”

  “What am I not going to like?” Roni unzipped her coat and hung it on the elk antler mounted next to the door.

  “Oh, hey, you just missed them. I tried to keep them on until you came back.”

  “Tell me what?” She tried again.

  “What took you so long? I thought you were going out to get something and coming right back.”

  His obvious dance around her questions pissed her off. “Jeff. Tell. Me. What am I not going to like?” Roni’s shoulders ached from the unconscious habit she had of raising and tightening them. Her lump pounded and a sharp pain pushed from inside her skull.

  Jeff’s gaze fell to the flask she still held in her hand. “You were out there drinking hooch? Is there any left?”

  His utter reluctance to spill the beans told her she was going to more than not like it. She stared at him, unspeaking, as she uncapped her flask, and took a long pull. Unfortunately, as she attempted to swallow, the force of the rising vapors made her cough. Tears ran in a stream down her face. She braced her hands on her knees and tried to stop the coughing. In between hacks and attempts to breathe, she heard Jeff howling with laughter.

  “I’m going to kill you,” Roni said in a rasping voice. “I’ll tell Mom and Dad you got lost and a bear ate you.” She watched through watery eyes as Jeff went from doubled over to collapsing on the floor. “You are such a pathetic drama queen.”

  Jeff wrapped his arms around himself and his irritating peals of laughter echoed in her ears. Puller, the little traitor, jumped from his bed and raced over to Jeff. He dodged in quickly to lick his face and jump around him.

  “Turncoat!” She crossed her arms, leaned her weight against the sink, and glared at her dog.

  Jeff rolled onto his back, breathing hard. “Oh my God, you so deserved that.”

  “You two floor dwellers can enjoy your laugh fest together. I’m going to bed.” Roni was tired from working on the trail, cranky from Sparky tossing her, and she didn’t want anything more to do with Jeff or Sparky tonight.

  “Don’t you want to know—?”

  “Nope.” Roni wasn’t about to let him finish. She didn’t look at him as she pushed away from the counter and stomped toward her bedroom.

  “We’re getting company.”

  She knew he was doing his best to bait her. “That’s nice. You can entertain him with your witless wit,” she said over her shoulder. She barely refrained from slamming the door behind her. Instead, she shoved the mess on the bed aside just to do something with her hands.

  “He’s a she and she’ll be here for the summer.”

  Roni raised her head in disbelief. She stormed into the main road and stood with her hands on her hips. If she had hackles, they’d be bristling. “What?” She had the distinct feeling she wasn’t going to like what she heard.

  Jeff took his time getting up and brushed off his jeans. Of what, who in the hell knew since she’d swept the floor a few hours ago.

  “Come on, Puller. You can sleep with me tonight. Your mom can wait until morning.” He started toward his room, but Roni stepped in front of him and blocked his progress. “Excuse me, your highness. I’m tired and we boys are going to bed,” Jeff said with an imperial air.

  “Not until you tell me.” She held onto the belt loops of her jeans. If she were to let go, her hands would find their way around his neck and throttle him.

  “Oh, so now you want to know?”

  “Yes.” Roni clenched her jaws so tight her teeth hurt. “God, brother, you try my patience!”

  Jeff sighed and made a production of rolling his eyes.

  Roni loosened her grasp on her jeans. He had no idea how close he was to getting his neck wrung like a chicken. “You’re going to get a headache if you keep rolling your eyes up into your head. Cut the crap and tell me what in the hell is going on.” She stared hard into his eyes. Her fatigue and the whiskey were making it hard to keep her eyes open wider than half-mast.

  Jeff gave in first and blinked. “I don’t know much. Dad told me Mike called him yesterday and asked if it was okay to send somebody up here.”

  “Why on earth would he do that?”

  Jeff shrugged. “I guess he figured you’d need backup.”

  Roni was having a hard time comprehending. Maybe it was her skull lump. Maybe it was the whiskey. Hell, it was likely both. She might have a concussion and the whiskey was pickling her brain as they stood there. “Backup for what?”

  “When Beth is due to have the baby, I’m planning on going down to be with her for a couple of weeks.” Jeff shoved his hands deep into his pockets and looked away from her. “Mike knew you’d be up here alone then, so he made arrangements to have someone cover for me.”

  “I don’t need backup. I can manage on my own.” But, somewhere in Roni’s alcohol-soaked brain she knew it was futile to argue. It was out of her hands. She plopped down into one of the chairs. Puller launched himself onto her lap, whipping his tail back and forth. She gathered him into her arms and lowered her face to his muzzle. “We’d do just fine on our own, wouldn’t we, mister?” Puller responded by vigorously licking her face.

  “Uh-huh. You know that’s not true. You told me a long time ago about the buddy system you wanted to keep up here.” Jeff sank down into the chair next to her.

  “That’s when it was just the three of us. Family. It was just an excuse to have the three of us up here together for the summer.” Roni shook her head, recalling something Jeff had said earlier. “She has to stay all summer?”

  “That’s what Dad said, but you’re supposed to call Mike and work out the details. I’m beat. Can I go to bed now?” Jeff stood up without waiting for her to answer. He squeezed her shoulder. “Who knows, sis, you might like her.”

  Roni slapped his hand away and mumbled, “Don’t count on it.” She sat there for a little while longer and nursed her black mood. Deciding it was futile to dwell on it tonight, she let Puller out to pee and headed to bed.

  Sleep didn’t come easily. She lay awake for a long time, with her arms crossed behind her head. She wasn’t sure what to make of this turn of events. A perfect stranger. Living here for the summer. “Just great. My idea of a buddy system came around to bite me in the ass.” She growled through a frown.

  She flipped onto her side. She’d only suggested it to ensure Beth would spend the summer up here with Jeff and her. Their threesome had managed quite well in the past, and there was no doubt that they would continue to do so. The addition of her impending niece or nephew would only increase their camaraderie. “Our visitor can just stay in one of the little cabins.” Still restless, she rolled onto her other side and curled around Puller. “She doesn’t even know t
his area. Least Mike could do is find somebody we know.”

  She was nowhere close to falling asleep, and her thoughts inadvertently returned to Beth. Roni hadn’t seen her since she’d come to the ranch to say goodbye almost a week ago. Beth had walked into the horse barn with windblown hair and her huge protruding belly. She’d had plenty to bitch about: her weight, missing the summer fun in the mountains, Jeff, not ever wanting to have sex again, and of course, Jeff.

  Smiling against her pillow, Roni recalled the laughter they had shared during her brief visit. A quick hug goodbye and she was gone. Her smile disappeared as she sighed and let the alcohol finally get the best of her.

  Chapter Three

  THE LOW, STEELY gray light of morning greeted Roni as she woke the next day. She wasn’t surprised to see her breath even in the dimness. She vaguely remembered slipping out of bed in the middle of the night when Puller woke her up, shivering. After stoking the fire again, she’d donned thermals and thick socks, draped a heavy alpaca blanket over the two of them, and gone back to sleep.

  She stayed in bed for a while longer in hopes that Jeff would get up soon and rekindle the fire. Puller was nestled deep under the blankets but, probably sensing she was awake, crawled up onto her bladder and made the decision for her. She flung the blankets back. “If I have to get up, so do you.” Puller shivered once, turned around, and burrowed back under the covers. “Wimp.” She gave the lump an affectionate pat.

  She pulled a turtleneck and jeans over her thermals and slipped her Timberlands on over her thick socks. She tried to peer out the blurred window, but a thin film of condensation covered the panes and frost coated the edges. She wiped the window with her sleeve and discovered that a large animal had disturbed the heavy frost as it wandered by the cabin in the middle of the night. It was probably one of the resident mule deer she’d seen fade in and out of the meadow at dusk.

  Snoring resonated from Jeff’s room. There was no chance of him getting up soon. Married life sure made him complacent. She wondered what it would be like to wake up next to the same person day after day. She shook her head to keep thoughts of Beth out of that castle in the sky. She didn’t believe for one minute she would ever have to worry about it as she rubbed her cold hands together and padded into the bathroom.

  A few minutes later she walked out and checked the fire. She stirred the contents and managed to find a few live coals under the ashes. It wasn’t long before a hot fire heated the cabin and a kettle of water for coffee. Puller came out a few minutes later and snuggled deep into a sheepskin next to the stove. When the coffee was ready, Roni filled a mug, put on her coat, and stood in the doorway. The sun had just started to peek over the tree line. Its finger-like rays transformed the woods and meadow into millions of sparkling diamonds. She never tired of these glimpses of beauty.

  The horses were huddled together under the trees on the far side. Frost blanketed their backs like everything else. As soon as the sun breached the trees completely, they’d take full advantage of the warmth it dribbled out. Chenoa saw Roni on the steps and nickered a greeting. In the still air, she heard him as plainly as if he were standing next to her. Sparky stood unmoving beside him with his ears perked in her direction.

  Roni sat down, leaned against the upper step, and sipped her coffee. Strong and bitter going down, it warmed her all the way through. Her eyes watered from the cold, and her vision blurred until she blinked the tears away. Despite the chill, the dawn stilled the restlessness in her, but only temporarily.

  Ever since she’d graduated from college with her forestry degree, Roni recognized that she always seemed to be searching for something. She didn’t know for what or even if it was a “what.” She got to her feet and paced in front of the cabin. She hated it when she got so frustrated trying to reason with the stream of unending ponderings. It just clogged up her brain, and the only way to alleviate some of the anxiety was to keep busy.

  She took another mouthful of coffee, closed her eyes, and savored the bitterness and warmth as it streamed down her throat. She opened her eyes and stared at the herd. At the ranch, training horses from sunup to sundown ensured she’d fall into bed exhausted and sleep the entire night through just to get up and do it all over again.

  With a heavy sigh, she returned to sitting on the porch. “But when I’m up here, it’s solely a waiting game for somebody to get themselves into trouble.” That gave her mind a lot of time to play games.

  It occurred to her that Jeff was going to bug the crap out of her until she called Mike. “He can’t if I’m not here when he gets up.” She gulped down the rest of her coffee and went into the cabin. She didn’t worry about making noise; Jeff slept like the dead. Even the howling of a fierce blizzard wouldn’t wake him up.

  A few years ago, a rebel spring storm had come barreling through the mountains. She and Beth played cards for most of that night because the intensity of the wind kept them both wide awake. Roni smiled at the memory. When dawn brought a stillness signaling the end of the storm, she and Beth slept together in Roni’s bed while Jeff slumbered on. She had purposely wedged Puller between the two of them for fear of inadvertently spooning Beth.

  Roni laced her boots, put on a modified game vest, zipped on chaps, and set her Stetson on her head. From the wall, she took the 30.06 caliber rifle that Jeff had brought up with him, hesitating briefly to make sure it was loaded. She slapped her thigh for Puller to follow, and they headed out the door.

  The sun was high enough to warm the cabin porch so she took off her coat and laid it down for Puller. “You stay here. I’ll be right back to get you.” Puller made quick work of snuggling into the warm fleece.

  Chenoa, the only horse not requiring hobbles because he never wandered, trotted to her when she whistled. Roni hugged his neck and inhaled the sweet scent of him. “Hey, pretty boy, want to go for a ride?” The brown-and-white paint followed her to the pole barn. While he ate a handful of grain, Roni brushed his coat smooth and rubbed the frost from his back. After securing her saddlebags and tying a scabbard onto the saddle for the rifle, she tacked him up and led him toward the cabin.

  Puller heard her coming, stood up, and blurred his tail with his frantic wagging. He barked in anticipation as Roni drew closer.

  “Shhh, you’ll wake up your uncle.” She sat down on the porch, opened one of the enlarged pockets of her vest and signaled for Puller. Familiar with the maneuver, he squirmed his way in. With his head poking out the opposite side, Roni felt his tail wiggling against her belly. She put her coat on and mounted Chenoa.

  She directed the horse to the opposite side of the meadow. The remaining horses stood alert and watched their departure. Keeping Chenoa close to the tree line to leave as little trail as possible, she wanted to make detection difficult when Jeff woke and went looking for her. Once into the woods, she urged Chenoa into a long-strided trot. The silence of the pines accentuated the sound of the creaking saddle.

  Within the hour, as it got a little lighter, birdsong would fill the trees. Puller’s nose moved side to side as he sniffed the air. The warmth from his little body, in addition to the movement of riding, kept her cozy.

  As she rode out of the evergreens, the chill forced her to zip her coat closed. It was that time of day when the sun’s heat high above forced the cold air down the mountain. She heard the stream before she saw it. The continuous babbling of the water over rocks and around the glacier-formed boulders created a melodious backdrop to the scenery. By the time she halted the horse next to the bank, she heard nothing else.

  She searched the trees for the poplar scarred by an elk’s antlers. The long vertical wounds could easily be mistaken for shadows. There. Smiling to herself, she urged Chenoa down into the water and walked him downstream for maybe twenty yards. She turned him around and headed back upstream to a large slab of rock where she guided him into a small tributary. Satisfied she’d hidden her tracks, she urged the horse up the solid bank and continued on.

  She wended Chenoa throug
h the thick alders and broke through to a dense area of cottonwood trees. The smell of horse sweat and leather cleared her mind.

  She stopped and let Chenoa graze on the lush grass for a few minutes while she watched a flock of tundra swans pass high overhead. She could hear their distinct call as they migrated north to their arctic nesting grounds. The sun’s angle was so perfect she could see the reflection of white off the undersides of their wings and bodies.

  She couldn’t help noticing that the most incredibly beautiful birds were not rarities at all, but were in fact some of the most common species. Regrettably, the average person didn’t know such birds existed at all.

  The trees around her slowly came to life with birds and a few brave insects buzzed around her head. It was still too early for black flies, but in a few warm days the mosquitoes would be voracious.

  She nudged Chenoa forward with her heels and soon located her next landmark. The stream she’d been following for the past two hours forked to the south. Roni rode through the shallows and headed east. A hundred shades of green surrounded her as she kept to the lowlands. A dense stand of ferns, interspersed with mayapple, grew under the red cedar trees. Chenoa’s hooves made quiet thuds as he calmly plodded along.

  When the vegetation thinned to short grasses, Roni stopped and lowered Puller to the ground. Her destination was close, and she was tired of his impatient squirming.

  “You better keep up, mister.”

  Puller ran a few yards ahead of the horse, and by darting back and forth, took care to stay out of the way of hooves. He kept his nose to the ground as he trotted along. Every few minutes, he stopped dead in his tracks to inhale some mysterious scent.

  The trees grew sparse and eventually emptied out into a meadow. Ahead, she saw plumes of steam reaching toward the impossibly blue sky. A series of thermal pools, each varying in size and temperature, lay before her. For centuries, even before the white man’s arrival, the Nez Perce Indians considered the hot springs medicinal. Roni self medicated whenever she had the opportunity to sneak away to this treasured area.