Colorado Sunset (Peakview Series Book 1)

Home > Other > Colorado Sunset (Peakview Series Book 1) > Page 3
Colorado Sunset (Peakview Series Book 1) Page 3

by Jill Haymaker


  CHAPTER SIX

  Feeling like a wilted flower, June finally drove into the outskirts of Denver, Colorado. She wiggled her stiff shoulders. Her arms throbbed from holding the wheel. She looked around for a nice motel but instead the sign directing traffic for the turn to Fort Collins caught her eye. She was not a fan of big cities and remembering Fort Collins as a quaint little town and home to Colorado State University, she made an impulsive decision and turned to the north.

  “Let’s get off of I-70 for a while, shall we?” she said to Laddie, who wagged his tail as if in agreement.

  A few grueling miles later, June tried to smooth out her wrinkled shorts as she waited for some help at the front desk of the Fort Collins Hampton Inn. She sighed, biting into a fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie, as she browsed brochures of nearby attractions.

  “What brings you to Fort Collins?” the desk clerk asked.

  “Just passing through on my way to California.”

  “Room 205, left out the front door. Enjoy your stay. Our complimentary continental breakfast is from six to nine.”

  June walked outside and took a deep breath of fresh, dry mile high air. A small rain shower had passed and left an intense pine fragrance in its wake. She found a nearby walking trail and spent the next hour soaking in the late summer sunshine with Laddie by her side. “It’s a great day to be alive,” June said out loud, and she was sure that if he could talk, Laddie would agree.

  That night in her room, alone again with only her dog, her thoughts turned back to that rather annoying cowboy at the gas station. As her eyes drooped shut, she fantasized about meeting him under different circumstances—somewhere romantic—where his warm smile and sexy blue eyes swept her off her feet. The sound of several loud voices in the hallway popped her back to reality. This was ridiculous, since she hadn’t even liked the man. She needed to get a life.

  June studied her atlas. The thought of heading back to Denver and I-70 did nothing for her. It appeared that if she headed northwest out of town, up the scenic Poudre Canyon, she could explore the mountains on smaller roads. Surely she would eventually hit a cross road where she could wind her way southwest and back to the Interstate before it left Colorado.

  “Are you up for an adventure, Laddie?”

  How lost could she get? She had a trusty compass on her dashboard and there was always her GPS app on her phone. There was cell phone reception everywhere these days, wasn’t there? She fell asleep with a smile on her face, eagerly anticipating tomorrow’s adventure.

  Early the next morning, after enjoying a bagel and some tea at the free breakfast, June set out heading west on Highway 14 into the Rocky Mountains. What a good decision this had been. The canyon was spectacular. The narrow road wound up the mountain, with the rushing Poudre River flowing alongside. The hills were covered with pines and aspens and interesting outcroppings of rocks. She couldn’t resist stopping off at one of the many trailheads and sticking her feet into the cold, almost numbing water of the river. Laddie seemed to enjoy the taste of the cold mountain water. Sitting on a rock, she heard a rustling and saw two deer bound up the side of a nearby slope. This was the life. Continuing her drive, she soon crested Cameron Pass and marveled as she saw what she thought at first to be more deer, but turned out to be two moose. What majestic creatures. She slowed to snap a picture with her camera. The massive snow-covered peaks to the west were breathtaking. Wow, what a magnificent place this would be to live.

  A few miles beyond the pass, June was intrigued by a smaller—but still paved—road which curved off to the south. Why not? She turned. Let’s just see where this takes us. All roads lead to somewhere. As she started up the road, she noticed a small faded sign that read “Peakview 23 miles.” She glanced down at her watch which read 11:30. Peakview sounded like a nice place to have some lunch. She sang along to her favorite Garth Brooks CD as she drove, slowing for the numerous twists and curves. With her windows rolled down, she breathed in the fragrant smell of the pines. Aspen trees also lined the road and were beginning to turn a brilliant shade of yellow, signaling the arrival of autumn. After winding around for about ten miles, the pavement suddenly ended. All that was left was a dirt road. Great! Oh well, her car did have all-wheel drive and this was an adventure. She would just have to find a car wash to remove the dust at the first gas station back on the Interstate. She slowed down even more and watched the tiny stream that flowed by the road as she drove along. She could hear the slight rushing of the water and the breeze whistling in the aspen trees, uninterrupted by the sounds of cars and traffic. Yep, she had left the city behind. After a while, she marveled that she hadn’t passed more than two other cars since turning off of the highway. Laddie began to whine.

  “All right boy. I’ll stop and let you out, as soon as I find a good spot.”

  Around the next curve, she spotted a small turnoff, with a couple old picnic tables by the stream. She pulled over and stopped the car. No one appeared to be around, so June let Laddie hop out without a leash. Excited, he quickly did his business and ran down to the stream for a long drink. She stretched her legs and enjoyed a granola bar and bottle of water as she wandered around looking at wildflowers and snapping pictures with her camera. While Laddie found a few chipmunks to chase and bark at ferociously, she found a large rock by the stream and sat down to absorb the warmth of the mountain sun.

  The peace of this spot seemed to engulf her. She could have sat there and relaxed all day long, but she had an agenda and her stomach was beginning to growl for something more substantial to eat.

  “Come on, Laddie. Let’s get back in the car and get on our way.” She loaded the dusty dog in the hatchback, jumped in, and turned the key. Nothing. Really?! She tried again and again with the same result. Dang, this was not good. She took a deep breath, remembering the name Peakview from the sign, and decided to pull up local repair shops on her phone and call for a tow. For the first time that day, she grabbed her cell phone out of her purse, and was shocked when it read NO SERVICE. Now what? She thought for a minute and got out and opened the hood of her car. Not that she had any idea what to look for, but at least if someone came along, maybe they would stop to help. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t think she had seen any cars pass since they had parked. She didn’t know anything about Peakview, but surely someone would be going there today, wouldn’t they? Hopefully, it would be a nice friendly person eager to help out a stranger in need and not a mass murderer.

  June opened the hatchback and sat down with Laddie to wait. She tried to push down the feeling of panic bubbling up inside of her. She had enough water, granola bars, and dog food to sustain them for several days—at least. Her best calculations had them about 10 miles from Peakview. While she didn’t relish making that long of a walk, she knew if someone didn’t come along in a reasonable amount of time, they could easily get there before dark. After sitting for what seemed like hours, but in fact was only about 15 minutes, she saw a cloud of dust heading their way.

  Well, here goes. She stood up and waved her arms, praying for the Good Samaritan as opposed to the murderer. June could see the headlines now, “Stupid woman and dog from Ohio head to California and are never found again! Last seen driving into the Colorado mountains.”

  Judging by the speed at which the red pickup was navigating the small mountain road, the driver knew this road well. Looking in her direction, he yanked his wheel to the right and skidded to a stop behind her car. After turning off the engine and the blaring country music, a tall, lean man in a cowboy hat jumped out of the truck. “What seems to be the trouble, ma’am? It looks like you’re a long way from home.”

  “I don’t know exactly. I stopped to let my dog out and when we got back in, the car wouldn’t start. How do you know I’m not from here?”

  “Well, ma’am, the Ohio license plate kind of gives it away.”

  June laughed and felt her body relax. This nice young man definitely didn’t appear to be the murderer type. In fact
, had she been 20 years younger (okay, more like thirty years younger) she would have found his light blue eyes and winning smile very attractive indeed. Something about him looked familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

  The stranger stuck out his hand, “I’m Luke Walker. I live a few miles up the road by Peakview. And you are?”

  “Oh, forgive my manners. I’m June Meyers from Hayville, Ohio, and this is Laddie.”

  “Glad to meet you, and you too, Laddie.” He bent down to scratch Laddie’s head.

  “What brings you to Peakview? Headed to the Peaktop Guest Ranch?”

  “No,” June said. “I’m headed to California to visit my son and his family.”

  Luke laughed. “We don’t get many people heading to California through Peakview. In addition to being stranded, are you lost?”

  “No, nothing like that. Laddie and I wanted to see some of the mountains. I was tired of driving down the Interstate, so we decided to forge our own path. It was going great until the stupid car decided to cause trouble.”

  “Well, I can understand wanting to get off the Interstate. I’m not much for highways myself. Let me take a look.”

  The young cowboy looked under the hood and wiggled some wires, but didn’t really seem to know a lot more than she did. “Sorry, ma’am. I’m not much of a mechanic, but I can sure give you a lift into town.”

  “Please, call me June.” No matter how old she got, she could never get used to being called ma’am. It made her think of her mother.

  “Okay, June. As I was saying, I’m not a mechanic but we have a mechanic, Howard Crandall, in Peakview. He’s not always at work this time of year, but hopefully we can hunt him down and get your car towed into his garage.”

  Not feeling that she had much of a choice—who knew when the next human being would happen along—June agreed to his kind offer.

  “You and Laddie hop on up into the truck,” Luke said. “On second thought, you better grab your suitcase and whatever else you need to get you through the next couple of days, in case we can’t find Howard or get his tow truck right out here.”

  Boy, she sure had picked a wonderful place to get stranded. Peakview must not be much of a town. A couple of days? It was only 1 p.m.; surely there was time to get her car towed today. She did not want to be rude, so she got her stuff and locked her car and climbed up into the big truck. Laddie sat in the middle and seemed excited for his very first pickup ride.

  “Just how big is Peakview?”

  “Well, that kinda depends on the time of year. Right now with all of the summer vacation rentals in use, probably around 400, but in the off season, probably more like 200. Not sure anyone has really ever counted.”

  Wonderful. She was quite possibly about to get stuck in a town even smaller than Hayville. How fun! This would teach her to be adventurous.

  “If we can’t get my car running today, is there a motel?”

  “No I’m afraid not, ma’am. Like I said, there are vacation rentals, but at this time of year they’re all full up. Big rush by city folks to get in some last minute hiking and fishing before the school year starts. However, I’m good friends with Jim and Molly Peyton over at Peaktop Dude Ranch. If need be, I bet they can squeeze you in somewhere for a night or two.”

  “This mechanic, Howard? Does he not work full time?”

  “It’s hard to say. He works when someone needs repairs. Not enough people in Peakview to always keep him busy. He does love to fish, so if the weather is nice, he’s been known to take some time off without notice.”

  The pickup bumped and thumped along over the winding dirt road. “So Luke, what is it that you do in Peakview?”

  “My dad, Jeff Walker, and I own Walker Ranch, about five miles out of town. We raise cattle, horses, and some hay. Its hard work, but I can’t imagine doing anything else. Lived here my entire life. Peakview is home.”

  “Just you and your dad? What about your mom? Any siblings?”

  Luke’s smile disappeared briefly from his handsome, suntanned face. June noticed a distinct sadness flicker across his youthful eyes. “Mom died of breast cancer—eight years ago. I only have one brother, Matt. He left for college in Denver and never moved back. He’s a CPA—desk job—wasn’t ever into ranching like Dad and me.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry about your mom.” There she went being too nosey. She hadn’t meant to bring up a painful subject. Poor young man, he didn’t need to be cross examined by an old lady. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for him to lose his mother at such an early age. She lapsed back into silence concentrating on the beautiful scenery by the side of the road. She occasionally glanced at the cowboy on the seat beside her. He was slim and trim, sandy brown hair that looked slightly out of control, those baby blue eyes, and a gorgeous tanned face. She could only imagine Alexis’s reaction if she were here. In fact, if she herself were only younger, she would be falling in love, or at least lust, right now!

  As they rounded a bend she saw a small, faded wooden sign with Peakview etched into it in fading red letters. Below the name—Elev. 9265 ft. Not much of a sign; for what looked to be not much of a town. Down the hill and into the “town,” a sparse number of buildings stretched out about the length of two city blocks. None of them looked to have been built in the last several decades. There were only a couple of people out on the street and a few vehicles parked here and there. Still, June couldn’t help but smile. Peakview looked—what was the word she wanted? Homey—yep, it looked like the kind of place people called home while the hustle and bustle of the rest of the world passed them by.

  Luke pulled up in front of a small, dilapidated service garage with two outdated gas pumps out front. The place appeared to be closed up tight. “Darn,” Luke said, more to himself than to June. “That’s what I was afraid of. Howard doesn’t seem to be around today. Let’s stop over at Violet’s and see what she knows of his whereabouts. Any information you want in this town, Violet’s is the place to get it. She doesn’t miss much.” Steering the truck up a few feet further, he parked in front of Violet’s Café. “Let’s go on in.” Luke said. “Will Laddie be okay if we leave him for a few minutes?”

  “Sure, I leave him in my car often. Could you roll the windows down a little?”

  June knew Laddie would be fine. At this altitude, the air in Peakview was nice and cool even in August. As soon as the window opened, June was overwhelmed again by the fresh scent of pine. They walked through the door of the café immediately greeted by a chorus of “Hey, Luke” from the handful of patrons inside. June smiled to herself. It reminded her of that old TV show Cheers. A few steps further and her senses were also assaulted by the delicious aroma of homemade food. Her stomach growled as she remembered she hadn’t eaten anything but a granola bar since that bagel at the Fort Collins motel at 6 a.m.

  Luke directed June to a couple of empty, vinyl stools as a smiling, gray-haired lady in an apron walked up behind the counter. “Hi Luke. Who’s your friend?”

  “Violet, this is June Meyers, from Ohio. June, this is Violet, the best cook in town. I found June down by Apple Creek; her car had broken down so I gave her a lift into town. She needs a tow and a mechanic. Any idea where Howard is today?”

  “Let me think… he said something this morning about going fishing with his nephew. You know his sister’s family is here from Pennsylvania staying out in one of his rental cabins. I’m sure he’ll wander in about dinner time—usually does, unless they catch a lot of fish and decide to fry them down by the river. Ohio, huh? You’re a long way from home. What brings you to Peakview, June?”

  “I’m heading to California.”

  Violet looked at her quizzically.

  “Long story. I haven’t eaten since 6 a.m. and something smells absolutely delicious. What’s good today?”

  “The special is a roast beef sandwich and potato salad made fresh this morning.”

  “Sounds wonderful, I’ll have that.” June licked her lips. “Could I bother
you for a bowl of some water for my dog, Laddie? He’s out in Luke’s truck.”

  “Sure thing. I love dogs. If it weren’t for health department regulations, I’d let them come right in and eat with everyone else. What kind of dog is he?”

  “Thanks. He’s a Collie and my best friend.”

  “Animals are good at that. Ever since my husband passed, my cat Lucky has been my best companion. I don’t know what we would do without them,” Violet said as she handed her the water.

  After seeing to Laddie’s needs, June returned to a heaping plate of food, which she finished off in no time. She had been so worried about her car that she had ignored just how hungry she was. Must be the mountain air.

  When they had finished their meal, Violet returned with a check. Luke quickly snatched it up and taking out his wallet laid a twenty on the counter.

  “Oh no, please let me buy your lunch. I’m not sure what I would have done if you hadn’t come along.”

  “No, I insist. Just consider it part of our western hospitality. My dad would never forgive me if I let a lady buy me lunch. It’s on me.”

  Violet handed Luke his change and turned to June. “The Walker men have always been gentlemen. It’s one of the things I like about this town, there’s a lot of that going around. When I see Howard, I’ll tell him you’re looking for him, Luke.

  June turned to the older lady with a smile. “Thanks, Violet. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  “You too, June. You have a nice day. Don’t be in too big of a hurry to get on your way. Enjoy our little piece of heaven while you have the chance.”

  Back outside, June climbed into the truck to an excited Laddie, who licked her face as she sat down. Luke started the engine and offered to drive her up to Peaktop Ranch.

 

‹ Prev