Rancher's Girl

by Jeanne Harrell

  “Excuse me, miss, but you dropped this,” Colt smiled at her and then nodded at the older woman sitting with her. The woman didn’t seem too friendly, but when the girl took the napkin from him, their fingers touched momentarily. Colt felt a kind of shiver go through his hand and rubbed it against his leg.

  “Thank you very much,” she said shyly.

  “No problem at all. Have a nice lunch.” Colt started walking away reluctantly since he could think of nothing further to say that would prolong the conversation. The woman at the table with her didn’t seem welcoming, so he knew he had better leave.

  “Thank you. You too,” she smiled up at him.

  What a sweet voice…and that gorgeous auburn hair. She had it caught up in a long ponytail at present, but it looked like it could be wild if left on its own. Colt wondered what it would be like to run his fingers through that beautiful mane, like one of his horses back home. Was he just comparing her to a horse? Yikes, maybe that wasn’t the best comparison. After he sat down, the girl and woman got up, paid their bill, and started leaving the restaurant. Colt sighed. A great opportunity lost, he thought.

  He started to read his menu but suddenly glanced up. Right before she went through the door, that beautiful girl lingered and then turned around. She gave Colt one of the most meaningful looks he had ever experienced. Wow again. Who is she? She parted her lips in response to his broad smile and grinned back. Then she was gone.

  He blew out the breath he was holding… Colt, his mother’s son, knew he would see her again. He believed in fate and it had just given him a sneak preview of coming events. This was a teaser, as Grandma Jeanne would say, and that meant the movie had yet to start. Sonoma was going to be very interesting. Colt smiled again and decided to order the spiciest hamburger on the menu.

  * * *

  “Why were you smiling at that cowboy, Amanda? You’re too flirty for your own good,” said her mother. Amanda Evans was shifting into another gear, trying to coax the old car to keep going. She needed to pack a few more things.

  “Mom, just because you’ve had two horrible marriages, that doesn’t mean I’m going to. And it’s really none of your business who I smile at. You go your way and please let me go mine.” Amanda stuck out her chin in defiance and her mother backed down.

  “I just don’t want to see you hurt again. That miserable creep of a boyfriend you had last time was enough to make you swear off men. At least that’s what you said at the time.”

  Amanda let out an exasperated breath. “God, Mom, you are enough to drive someone to drink. This is my last weekend in town—could we please not have a fight over some guy in a restaurant whom I don’t know and will likely never see again? Please?” Her mother was needy, dependent and between husbands. “You need to get your own life, Mom. Not try to live mine.”

  “Okay, you’re right. Let’s not fight. I’ll save my energy to battle husband #2 for alimony.”

  If Amanda thought she was safe, she needed to think again.

  “And why are you moving up to that Soda Springs area by Donner Lake? It seems a million miles from me and Sacramento?” Her mother’s mother face contorted like she might cry, but Amanda didn’t buy it.

  “I’ve been hired at that children’s camp, Mom. I want to get out of this town and see more of the country. I’ll come back to visit sometime, if you don’t start nagging me. In the meantime, get a job, learn to knit, volunteer—do something.” Amanda gave her a stern look as she stopped the car. Her mother got out, shut the door and then bent down to speak through the window.

  “You’ll come say good-bye before leaving? And I have your cell phone number, right?” She looked anxious.

  Amanda sighed. “I promise, now go lie down for a while, before another headache comes on. I have to go pack.” Her mother nodded and then turned away.

  Amanda was exhausted just taking her out to lunch. She’d turn into a nervous wreck if she moved back home like her mother wanted her to do. Nope—I’m out of here. I need to find a better way of life for myself than what I’ve known here. Amanda pushed her wayward hair out of her face. She tucked a few loose wisps back behind her ears. She stopped at her apartment building, glanced out the windshield and was glad to be leaving it. Void of color and comfort, the place felt like a tomb. Getting out of the car, she stood straight, thinking about the man she had just seen at the restaurant.

  What was it about him? Jeez, he was so something. Good-looking, yes… Polite, definitely. But touching his hand was electrifying… That had never happened before to her with any man she had ever known. What was it about? Did that mean anything? She remembered looking back to get one last look at him. Looking down, he was angelic-looking. Looking up at her, her heart kicked into overdrive. She knew her face flushed and the room suddenly seemed too small. They looked deeply into each other’s eyes. Some kind of pool of energy stared back at her. When he smiled at her, she felt the sun rise. Wow again. She knew she’d see him again. That was a certainty…

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Oh, would you look at our handsome grandson, Sam? He looks just like Sandy with Lily’s wavy black hair. Maybe a little bit of Montgomery Clift without the angst. Or maybe Johnny Depp, Sam? Mmm…some young filly is going to want to make him the co-star of her film.” Jeanne, Colt’s grandmother, was a cookies-and-milk kind of grandmother, although a real movie addict. She tended to sum up situations in movie-ese.

  Sam laughed. “I thought you said Sandy looked like Robert Redford.”

  “Well, he does, but with black hair, that changes things.”

  “Okay, if you say so…” He tried not to laugh, but it slipped out anyway.

  Colt smiled. He knew his grandmother had said something funny, probably about movies.

  “Colt! Great to see you, son. How was your drive?”

  Colt walked up to give them both hugs.

  “Good. No problems. I stopped in Old Town Sac for lunch.” Colt studied them for a moment. They didn’t seem to change—all concern for him and the family. Jeanne still had a trim figure and Sam looked a bit like the fictional Marlboro Man, a rugged individual. Their obvious affection for him flowed over him like a warm river. He felt wanted. Loved. Nice feelings…

  “Well, come on in and tell us what’s going on with the family,” said Sam as they walked into the house. “Want some iced tea?” He didn’t wait for an answer, got out a glass and started pouring.

  “Now Sam, you just spoke to Lily yesterday.”

  “Sure, but now I want Colt’s point of view. Sometimes, just sometimes, it’s not the same as his parents’.” Sam laughed.

  Sam and Jeanne’s ranch just outside of Sonoma was not only a working ranch, where Sam trained horses, but was also a small winery. Sam Cable produced a nice Chardonnay and a few barrels that he sold to local restaurants. He was always experimenting with his wines. It was well known in the Cable-Johnson family that Sam was a perfectionist. Walking inside their spacious home, Colt experienced many pleasant memories swirling around his head like butterflies. They were so numerous, that he couldn’t flick them away if he wanted to.

  The kitchen had some good aromas emanating from the oven. “That smells wonderful, Grandma. Is it banana bread?” The rich scent of banana filled his nostrils.

  “You bet. Sit, sit, sit, and tell us everything,” Jeanne laughed. She took the bread out of the oven to cool. Colt’s senses were flooded. They all sat down at the kitchen table, where, naturally, all good discussions take place…

  “Okay, where to start? Well, we just celebrated Dad and Mom’s 24th wedding anniversary, but you know that. Remember you were down for the event.”

  “Yes, sweetie,” said Jeanne, “We are not so riddled with dementia that we forgot the drive down and the whole celebration. My God, I think the entire town turned out for it!”

  Colt took a sip of his iced tea. “You probably know more about sister
Meg than I do. She landed that assistant chef job at a chic restaurant in San Francisco. She wrote Mother that she loved the job and the City. And you know how Mom feels about San Francisco.”

  ”Indeed. It’s her favorite city and has been for a long time. Meggie will do well. But no boyfriend yet?” She sighed. “How about Jesse? He and Audrey haven’t set a date?”

  “No, and Mother’s getting impatient with him. They like Audrey very much—jeez, she and Jesse grew up together, but he’s taking his sweet time.” Colt smiled at the thought of his older brother with children. That – would be interesting…

  Sam chuckled. “How about the boys? What kind of trouble have they been up to?”

  Trouble seemed to follow Colt’s younger brothers, but he always assumed they brought most of it on themselves. “Miles is at home right now and has a new book out. Mom is pleased to see him, of course, but you know Dad is always wary. After Miles spooked his best horse when he was goofing around last time, Dad watches him out of the corner of his eye.” Jeanne and Sam nodded and laughed.

  “I hope one of his books gets made into a movie. That would be so exciting, wouldn’t it, Sam? We could go to a premiere in Hollywood or New York.” Sam gave her a sour look and turned his attention back to Colt.

  “Sure. But what about Joey and Janie? Janie especially seems to get forgotten about with all the excitement that the twins cause.”

  “Very true,” said Colt. “Joey’s home too, painting in Nevada for a while. He had a small exhibition in New Mexico a few months back. Can’t believe Mom didn’t tell you about that. He’s a gifted artist.”

  “And Janie…”

  “Yes,” he admitted, “My youngest sibling, but certainly not least. You know she attended the University of Nevada, Reno for a year in the teacher education program, but then she bailed on it.”

  “I know your mother was upset she didn’t continue. Since Lily had been a teacher, she was hoping one of her children would be one as well,” said Jeanne.

  “She just didn’t like it that much. Now she’s following Sheriff Bud Moody around town in some kind of job shadow program. I guess she wants to be a deputy sheriff. That will mean a college law enforcement program.”

  “Wow, and to think she was named after Jane Austen, your mother’s favorite author. That’s the least likely profession we ever would have picked for her.” Sam looked at Jeanne quizzically.

  “Bud’s retiring soon and laughed when Dad called him about it. He recounted some story about Mother fainting in his office, when she and Dad were a new couple. When she was new in Naples? Ever hear that one? It’s a great story.”

  “Yes, dear, we’ve heard that one. Evidently, Lily thought she was being stalked by someone in town and went in to the Sheriff’s office to talk to Bud about it. Bud apparently pooh-poohed the whole idea, so she jumped up, hit her head on a low-hanging shelf and knocked herself out cold. Thank God she wasn’t hurt, but your mother has a thing for physical comedy which Sandy dearly loves.”

  “Let the boy eat, Jeanne dear. We don’t get him up here nearly enough and I have grapes and horses to show him. Pack it in, son, and let’s do a tour.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Donner Summit was breathtaking. There were no other words for it, thought Amanda as she looked all around her. Elevation was over 7,000 feet, which alone was incredible. She stood at the scenic lookout on old Donner Pass Road looking down at sparkling Donner Lake. It sat in a bowl surrounded by tall pines, juniper and mountains with a steep approach from the east and a gradual approach from the west. People said the lake glimmered from the gold flakes and mica in it. Shimmering, cold mountain lake…

  She had visited the State Park Museum and learned more about the doomed Donner party who had tried to get over the mountains before the winter snows, but were too late. As a counselor, she could empathize with those who lost loved ones, but she could only wonder what last hours were like for those who perished. What extraordinary measures some took to stay alive… Amanda shuddered. Frightening thoughts…

  Climbing onto a rocky shelf to get a different perspective, she caught sight of people on horseback and knew she had to get back up on a horse. She had been hollowed out in Sacramento. What was that expression? She was as far from herself as a hawk from the moon. That seemed appropriate. Too much city life, maybe… Too much smothering from a clingy mother and too little attention from an ungrateful boyfriend. She took a deep breath. Maybe she could figure a few things out up here. It was a good place to start.

  Amanda took several shots of Donner Lake and its surroundings before climbing down and getting back into her car. She had been out exploring her new environs before the new job started on Monday. Being a counselor at a camp for troubled kids would certainly bring challenges, so she found a small wooden cabin on the west end of Donner Lake. It was only about five miles from her job, but would give her the much-needed distance to get away from it too. The cabin fit her—a small, one bedroom log cabin with an A-frame roof, stone fireplace and bits and pieces of furniture. Amanda wasn’t that picky about furniture anyway. As long as the place was clean and had a decent bed, it would be fine. The front window was almost as high as the roofline and had a window seat by it. She envisioned snowy nights by the fire, reading a good book. She sighed and pulled her car up beside it. Tomorrow she would find a place to rent a horse. Amanda needed to get back in the saddle and was ready to do just that.

  * * *

  The first week in Sonoma, Colt helped with the eternal grape harvest. He just had to smile remembering how many harvests he and his family had helped with over the years. Fun times with a big, loving family. Miles and Joey would, of course, throw the grapes they picked at each other. Dad would be trying to get them to behave. Mother, sisters Meg and Janie were all good grape-pickers, but Janie would get a stomach ache from eating as many as she picked. Colt wasn’t that old at twenty-four, but he recognized the speedy passage of time with his memories. He also realized what a stable foundation he had with the Johnson family and felt grateful.

  The next few weeks were taken up with horse training. Sam had acquired a few feral mustangs, the ones that are wild on the range and asked Colt to see what he could do with them. Communicating with horses was the equestrian gift Colt had and people would come around to watch him work. His process didn’t vary too much. Today Sam brought in a new mustang that was acting aggressively. It had been caught in a Bureau of Land Management roundup in Nevada and someone in town had bought it. A few cowboys stood by the corral to watch and to protect Colt, if needed.

  Colt walked into the corral and just looked the horse over. The horse was skittish if he got too close and ran around the corral looking for a way out. Colt stood in the middle of the corral and let the horse run. Crouching down in a submissive position allowed Colt to check the horse for physical problems. Finding nothing obvious, he straightened up.

  “Throw me that rope,” said Colt quietly to one of the cowboys. He coiled the rope and then threw up his arms to get the horse to stop running. Time and patience were the keys. Colt could wait any horse out. When the horse finally stopped to stare at him, Colt reached out to pat his head. If the horse reared up or again acted aggressively, he would start all over getting the horse used to him. Sometimes this would take a day or two—depending on the horse. Today the horse let him get close. Colt was able to get a rope on and lead him to the gate in the corral. Another horse was saddled for Colt, so he opened the gate, mounted the new horse and led the mustang out into the meadow out back on Sam’s ranch. He and the mustang rode around and around. They just continued walking and trotting in circles, as the mustang came to trust him more. When the horse began chewing, Colt knew he was getting where he wanted the horse to go. The next few days he would try to saddle and ride him.

  Sam and some other men watched Colt work and marveled at his technique. Not many cowboys could do this k
ind of horse training and Sam was beginning to get a lot of calls for Colt’s expertise. Jeanne volunteered to be his manager.

  After an hour or so, Colt brought the mustang back into the corral and took the rope off. The mustang was much calmer than before and could be led to another area with other horses. Colt was walking back to the house when Jeanne came up with his cell phone.

  “It’s your mother, sweetie.”

  “Mom. How are you?” Colt wiped the sweat off his forehead with his bandanna.

  “We miss you. How’s the horse training going?”

  “I’ve only been here a few weeks, but Grandma is fielding calls for me to go around the state working with horses. I’m thinking about it. Is Dad there?”

  “Sure, he’s waiting to talk to you.” Colt heard her pass the phone to Sandy.

  “Son, how are things? Got any good horses?”

  Colt smiled. “Dad, I may have a business brewing. I’ve got several appointments around California and Nevada to work with problem horses. I’m going to travel for a while and see how it goes. What do you think?” His father’s opinion was important to him for lots of reasons. Mostly, his father was an astute businessman, as well as rancher.

  “Do it, son. Get all the experience you can. When you’re ready, we can talk about giving you some acreage to start your own business here at our ranch. When you’re tired of traveling, people can bring their horses to you.”

  “Wow. Thanks—I hadn’t thought of that angle, but it sounds great.” Colt spoke to his mother again and promised to visit them as soon as he could. He knew it would be a while, though, before he could get back. Finishing the call, he stuck the phone in a pocket and looked over at his grandfather.