The Pancake Club Anthology

by Jennifer Conner

  “Yeah, sure, but if you didn’t have a ride scheduled, I don’t want to take you away from your work.” What was the matter with him? Of course he wanted her to himself! Shut your mouth, Adams, he told himself.

  “No, that’s fine. We’re a little slow right now.”

  “Really? In the middle of summer? I thought this would be your busiest time.”

  Barb frowned. “Yeah, it usually is. We’ve had a lot of cancellations though because of the wildfires. Mr. Taylor doesn’t think we’ll have a problem with it, but people are spooked by what they hear on the news, I guess.” She shrugged, and then looked down at his feet. “Chad has a pair of boots just like those.”

  “What a coincidence. Which horse am I riding?”

  Later, as he swung up into the saddle, Dirk hoped he didn’t look like an amateur. Maybe he should have practiced a few more times on the Granger horses before today’s ride. Too late now.

  Molly, the black mare he rode, seemed gentle enough as she followed along behind the lead horse, but she kept grabbing at bushes along the way. Barb turned around and asked, “How are you two doing back there?”

  Dirk thought he heard a smirk in her voice, but she was too far ahead for him to see.

  “Fine. Great,” he replied casually with a smile. Just then Molly stopped abruptly to grab the greenery on a bush, and he almost tumbled forward over her neck. He quickly righted himself, but he could feel the heat creep up his cheeks. Darn horse made him look bad.

  “You shouldn’t let her do that.”

  “What?”

  “Eat along the ride. If you let her get away with it, she’ll try that with everybody. Keep a tighter rein on her,” Barb advised.

  He decided to laugh it off. “Yes, ma’am.” He saluted.

  Barb turned back around and they rode in silence. It really was beautiful countryside, despite the dry landscape, he decided. The hot sun, rhythmic clip-clopping of the horses’ hooves and mild rocking of the saddle lulled him into a kind of calming daze. He’d hiked other beautiful places near Mount Rainier, but horseback riding provided all of the pleasures of the great outdoors with none of the exertion—on his part. Poor Molly did all the work. And then of course the sore backside he’d have for days afterward.

  But enough of his musing, this afternoon wasn’t just about riding. He urged the mare forward when she tried to grab something from the salad bar again. She broke into a trot and they caught up to Barb and her horse.

  “Well hello. I wondered how long you’d lag behind,” she greeted him and stopped her horse. Are you ready for a little more speed, Cowboy? This is a good spot to let the horses run.”

  Dirk detected a challenge in her words. He hadn’t done much more than a walk and trot on his ride with Chad and Kristin. “Sure. Let’s do it.” He hoped that “natural athletic ability,” Chad claimed he possessed, kept him from falling off the horse.

  ****

  Barb felt a twinge of guilt. She suspected the vet wasn’t the experienced rider he claimed. She’d find out soon enough. She didn’t want him to get hurt. Nobody had gotten hurt in the years she’d been in charge, a record she felt proud of. But that wasn’t the only reason. She actually liked the man. She didn’t know why she’d felt the need to challenge him. Maybe because that’s what she always did. She lived in a man’s world. Her dad raised her to be tough. If she was being honest with herself, she guessed she wanted a man like her dad.

  All these thoughts flitted quickly through her mind before Barb turned in the saddle to check on Dirk. Surprisingly, he was still on the horse, though he flopped some from side to side as they slowed to a trot. She couldn’t help herself when she asked, “Wasn’t that great? Molly’s a pretty smooth ride, isn’t she?” Not. She had the roughest gait of any horse in their barn, but she was gentle and good with beginners. Dirk didn’t answer for a moment. Probably trying to catch his breath, Barb thought.

  “Yeah, great,” he finally answered.

  Suddenly, Barb felt overwhelming guilt wash over her. He’d been a good sport and she’d behaved like a jerk. She hung her head.

  “I need to apologize to you, Dirk,” she said quietly as their horses stood next to each other.

  He looked surprised. “Why?”

  “I shouldn’t have suggested we gallop the horses. You haven’t ridden much, have you?”

  “Well...No,” he admitted.

  “I didn’t think so.

  “It shows, huh?”

  “Yup. I’ve been around a lot of riders. I can tell.”

  “Yeah.”

  “But you know, for an inexperienced rider, you did a great job just now.” She smiled.

  “Thanks. I suppose we should head back.” He looked at his watch. “I’m sure you have other things to do.”

  “Not really. I told you things are slow right now. Sure, there are things I could do, but...honestly, I’d rather ride with you.” There, she’d said it.

  “You would?” He looked at her and a slow smile spread across his face. “I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather ride with.”

  As the time passed by, Barb realized it was the best trail ride she’d ever taken. Dirk was easy to talk to and funny. They joked back and forth, and then talked about their lives growing up. When she told him how much she loved to dance, she caught a look of surprise on his face, and he asked her where she danced.

  “Well, around here, it’s mostly square-dancing. I doubt if anyone our age does that in Seattle.”

  “You’re right, but we did do some as part of a dance class when I was in middle school. Actually, I did pretty well at it. Might be fun to try it again.” He looked pointedly at her.

  It took her a minute to realize why. “Oh. Would you want to go with me sometime?”

  “Yeah, I’d like that.” He grinned. “What else do you do around here for fun?”

  “There’s the rodeo and ’course there’s the fair. And Chad, Dolan and Jennifer and I meet for breakfast a couple times a week at the Memories Diner.”

  “Chad mentioned that.”

  “Did he? He’s mentioned you a few times lately too. Sounds like you and him are buddies now, huh.”

  “Guess so.”

  “Hmm. Come to think of it, when Kristin comes with him, she talks about you too,”

  “Well, I am the newbie in town. Seems like you don’t get a lot of newcomers here.”

  “True.” She played along with the game. “But we’ve had a few lately, like you and Kristin. And then a couple have returned—Tessa and Mike Harrison.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard about that. Seems like there have been a lot of recent engagements too—Nolan and Tessa, Chad and Kristin, Jennifer and Mike, right?”

  “Uh-huh. Well, look at the time. Sorry to say, we’d best get headed back to the Saddle Up.” She glanced up at the sky and frowned. It looked much darker than it should for that time of day.

  “You see it too?” He looked up at the sky.

  “Yes. Maybe we’d better hurry. Are you okay with another gallop?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  Barb put her mount into a lope and then, after she checked to be sure Dirk looked okay on Molly, she urged the gelding into a gallop. She hated to admit it, but she thought Mr. Taylor might be wrong. Those wildfires looked awfully close.

  Chapter Eight

  When they returned to the dude ranch, Barb felt surprised to see Chad and Kristin standing next to a pickup truck hitched to a stock trailer. It looked as though the trailer was full of horses.

  “What’s going on?” she asked them and looked across the parking area to see what looked like a caravan of trucks and trailers come up the drive.

  “Haven’t you heard?” Chad asked. “They’re telling us to evacuate and Mr. Taylor said ranchers could bring their livestock here. Where do you want us to put them?”

  Barb looked around at all the commotion. Horses neighed and stomped inside their trailers. Where was Jack? Mr. Taylor stood by the lodge, pointing the way to the parki
ng lot for the trucks coming in, but she didn’t see the wrangler.

  “Barb? What can I do to help?” Dirk asked. He’d dismounted and held Molly’s reins.

  She handed him her horse’s reins as well. “Could you take them over to that corral and take their gear off? Then find a brush and give ’em a quick go-over? They’ll probably roll afterwards, but it will help get some of the sweat off and make ’em feel better. Also, don’t let them have a drink until they’ve cooled down a little.” She said it all quickly and hoped he understood. When he nodded and turned to lead the horses away, she put a hand out to stop him.

  “Thanks Dirk,” she said softly. When he nodded again, she turned back to Chad and pointed to some more corrals. “You can put your horses in those pens, Chad. When the other ranchers see where you take them, maybe they’ll follow with their horses.” She didn’t wait for an answer, but headed over to the lodge.

  “Mr. Taylor, where’s Jack? I don’t see him.”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since we got the call for evacuation. The rest of the guests hightailed it out of here in a hurry. Then the sheriff called and asked if the ranchers could bring their livestock here, and I’ve been so busy, I didn’t notice where Jack went. Have you checked the barns, or his trailer?”

  “No, I’ll do that.” The older man looked so stressed, she didn’t want to put any more of a strain on him. “Anything else I can do for you?”

  “Yes, if you could figure out a place to put the hay we told the ranchers to bring for their animals...” his voice trailed off and he looked toward the clouds of dust caused by the constant stream of vehicles coming up the drive. Between that and the thick haze of smoke that filled the air, Barb wasn’t surprised when he began to cough.

  “Maybe you should go inside...get a drink of water or something. In fact, maybe you could you ask Mrs. Taylor to have a pitcher or so of water for these drivers?” She didn’t like the look of him. She hoped he wouldn’t have another stroke.

  “Good idea. I’ll do that.” He walked off.

  ****

  Dirk found Barb, walking through the barns, calling out for Jack. She turned when he walked up. “I can’t find him anywhere. I was just about to check the trailer he stays in. Want to go with me?”

  “Sure.”

  “Did you have any problem with the horses?” she asked though it seemed to him her mind was on other things.

  He chuckled. “No. They rolled after I brushed them, just like you said.”

  When they reached the trailer, Barb rapped sharply on the aluminum door. “Jack! Are you in there?” She rapped harder on the door. “Jack!” No answer. “Guess we’d better go in,” she said and looked at Dirk.

  “Do you want me to go first, in case he’s, you know, au naturel?” he asked

  “You mean naked as a jaybird?” She laughed, but without much humor. “Okay, that’s probably a good idea.”

  But when they looked inside, Jack wasn’t there and the evidence showed he’d probably left for good.

  “Good riddance,” Dirk heard Barb mutter as they walked away from the trailer.

  When they reached the barns again, he saw that the corrals were filled with horses and several trailers, unhitched from their trucks, sat in the parking lot. He looked around but didn’t see Chad’s truck and other than the munching of horses and some cattle eating their hay, the ranch seemed eerily quiet after the earlier commotion.

  “I wonder where everyone went?” he commented to Barb.

  “Maybe back to get more livestock, although I don’t know how much more we can take in, unless I put them in stalls.” She looked around.

  “Barb!” Mr. Taylor called, so they headed over to the lodge. “They’ve closed the main road to the ranch.” He looked at Dirk. “I’m sorry, Doctor Adams. It looks as though you’re stuck here for awhile. You can’t get back to town.”

  “That’s okay, Mr. Taylor. No one’s waiting for me at home.”

  “I don’t know how long it will be,” the older man continued. “Did you find Jack?” he asked Barb.

  “No, he’s gone and though I could be mistaken, it looks like for good.”

  “Oh dear,” Mrs. Taylor said. Dirk didn’t realize she stood behind her husband until she spoke. “Who will take care of all these animals? You can’t do it all, Barb.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll help her,” Dirk spoke up.

  “Oh, we can’t ask you to do that, Doctor Adams.”

  “I’d be happy to help. I won’t be able to go out on calls. Folks will have to call the vets in the nearby towns if they need one.”

  “All right. I’ll get supper ready then. You two just come in any time you can and it will be ready for you.” She walked back into the lodge.

  “I need to call Ma and see how she’s doing.”

  “Go right ahead. Use the office phone.” Mr. Taylor stood aside and Barb walked in. Mr. Taylor didn’t seem inclined for small talk, so Dirk just stood there and waited for her to come back outside. He heard squeals from horses who probably didn’t like other unfamiliar equines in the corrals next to them. He hoped the Taylors wouldn’t need his services as a vet while he was there, but he’d help out in any way he could.

  “Ma says she’s doing fine. She can handle everything there for awhile. I told her I’d probably have to spend the nights here until we can hire some more help. Well, you ready to get started?”

  “Lead me to it,” he replied.

  Chapter Nine

  Though the work was hard, hot, dirty and a little dangerous at times with so many unknown horses thrown together, Barb felt she couldn’t have had a better helper than Dirk.

  “You’re a much better hand than that Jack will ever be. Need a job?” she asked and laughed as she watched him expertly rip open another bale of hay. He’d had a lot of practice that day.

  “Well if I don’t say so myself, I’ve become rather skilled at this, I think.” He broke it down into the four-inch wide leaves of hay and tossed them into mangers. “But no, I have a job, remember? ’Course, I could be persuaded to help you out now and then.” He grinned.

  They’d bantered back and forth while they fed and dragged bales of hay and cleaned stalls and refilled water troughs. It helped to pass the time, Barb found. Not since she was a teenager, and worked summers at the ranch with other horse-crazy teenagers, did she have so much fun with barn chores. Then Dirk threw hay at her and the war began. She couldn’t remember which one of them was the first to play dirty, tossing dried up clods of manure at the other.

  “What’s that in your hair?” Dirk asked and reached over to pluck something caught in her braid—she thought. When she realized he hadn’t removed it, but rather put something in her hair, for the first time since she could remember, she shrieked. She’d never shrieked. That was for girly-girls.

  “Watch out, buster. I’ll get you now.” She reached out to grab him.

  “No you won’t,” he growled, and grabbed her instead with both hands.

  Barb heard a loud clanging sound. She stopped her struggles and said, “Dinner. Saved by the bell, huh?” She laughed but then she saw the look on his face. He looked...serious.

  He pulled her close to him, so their faces were only inches apart.

  She felt herself tremble and her heart beat faster.

  He seemed to hesitate, then lowered his head and kissed her.

  Surprised at herself, she kissed him back.

  At the sound of the bell clanging again, and then Mrs. Taylor’s voice calling them, Barb stepped back, startled. She’d forgotten where they were. For that moment, while they kissed, it seemed as though they were alone in another world.

  “I suppose we’d better go eat,” she said.

  “I suppose,” Dirk word’s echoed hers, although he didn’t sound any more eager than she did. Barb wondered if he’d lost his appetite too.

  Slowly, they walked to the lodge, side by side. Their hands occasionally touched, they walked so close together, until the
last time, Dirk grabbed her left hand in his right and they walked the rest of the way holding hands. Barb didn’t even care what the Taylors might think.

  Two days later, they got word that the area was out of danger from wildfires. Apparently, firefighters got a handle on them before they reached the town, though some of the neighboring communities were not so fortunate. Barb continued to stay at the lodge until all the animals’ owners came to the dude ranch and retrieved them, but when the road reopened, Dirk needed to get back to work. He stopped to check on Bobbie Jo on his way, and helped her with some of the chores Barb normally handled. Barb heard all about it from her mother afterward.

  “He’s such a nice young man,” her mother gushed over the phone. “And Barb, he really thinks the world of you. I can tell.”

  “How can you tell, Ma?” Barb asked.

  “A mother knows. Besides, he asked me if you two could go dancing next time with me and Bob.”

  Barb felt her heartbeat speed up again. But she wouldn’t let on to her mother. This wasn’t a part of her life she wanted to share yet. “Really?” she asked nonchalantly.

  Barb felt relieved at the sight of rainclouds a week or so after the evacuation. Though she’d feared it could mean lightning might strike and cause more fires, thankfully it didn’t happen and they’d had glorious rain instead. For once, Barb didn’t even mind the mud it created in the horse paddocks.

  Today, two months later, however, she’d finally got up the nerve to admit to her friends and the world, that she and Dirk were an “item,” as her mother called it. Any minute he’d join her and the rest of the Pancake Club for breakfast at the Memories Diner. Of course, Chad and Kristin already knew, since the four of them spent so much time together. Why did she feel so nervous? she wondered. She looked down and rubbed her sweaty hands on her jeans under the table.

  “Hi babe,” she heard suddenly, and then Dirk bent down and kissed her. She felt her cheeks flame and she looked self-consciously across the table. Jennifer looked at her with raised brows.