Uncle Plats

by Aqua Allsopp

  During the open dancing, Stephanie giggled at how smoothly Misty and Dusty glided across the dance floor. Seeing Jake and Allison enjoying the party made her heart nearly jump out of her chest. She suddenly felt like she could breathe again. Feeling a little overwhelmed by emotion, she stepped out to the veranda to catch some air.

  Standing in the shadows was Javier, quietly having a celebration beer, alone in the dark. Stephanie didn’t notice him there as she allowed the pent up emotions of the past four years release into the ether through a torrent of tears.

  “No llores mi amor (Don’t cry my love),” Javier said as he stepped out of the shadows and handed Stephanie a handkerchief. Startled, Stephanie accepted the handkerchief, recognizing Javier’s unmistakable voice coming from the shadows, but asked, “where did you come from?” Just the same.

  “I was standing just there,” pointing to the dark corner of the veranda, “having a cerveza (beer) to celebrate a good party tonight. My students, including you, made me very proud with their dancing.”

  Stephanie dabbed at her face and wiped her nose with Javier’s handkerchief. She could feel that it was soaked with his perspiration, and smell that it was laden with his cologne, having been used to wipe the sweat from his face and neck after his dance performance. The scent was pleasant and masculine. She remembered enjoying the smell of him as he held her close during the dance.

  She was proud of her performance too, having mastered the sultry Latin dance moves. Her silent thoughts were interrupted by Javier’s voice.

  “Why are you crying mi amor (my love)?” Javier asked, with a gentle hand at the small of her back. His voice was tender and concerned.

  “I’m being silly Javier. I was just…it’s just that…” Stephanie’s voice trailed off, not knowing how to explain what she was feeling. She found herself wanting to pour her heart out to Javier and tell him everything but thought better of it. Instead, she began by saying, “My children and I have been through a lot with my ex-husband and seeing how happy they look tonight, and with me accomplishing a goal by learning to dance, I just feel so happy and relieved.”

  “Relieved about what mi corazon (my heart)?”

  “I’m relieved that my children are going to be okay,” Stephanie said as she covered her face in shame and began to sob into her hands.

  Just then, the oh0so-suave and masculine Javier’s heart began to break at hearing Stephanie’s words. He stepped closer, drew her into his arms and whispered, “no llores mi amor (don’t cry my love), you are not alone, I am here.”

  Stephanie found herself nearly collapsing into Javier’s arms, where she remained, sobbing for several minutes. Catching herself, she suddenly backed away embarrassed and apologetic. “I’m so sorry to unload on you like this Javier, it was very unprofessional of me. It won’t happen again,” Stephanie stammered.

  “Tranquila muneca (calm down doll), it’s okay, we are friends, it’s okay. I’m no gossip, I will not tell your business all over the ranch, you have my word.”

  Stephanie hadn’t considered that he may talk about her meltdown, but she was now grateful to hear Javier promise to keep her confidence. “I should go find Jake and Allison,” Stephanie said as she returned to the party to take her children home to their little cabin.

  The children talked excitedly from their beds about the evening until Stephanie told them to quiet down and go to sleep. Later, in the stillness of the cabin, Stephanie found herself thinking about Javier’s words and felt a pang of warmth rising in her belly. She realized that she was developing feelings for Javier. Thinking herself silly, she remembered from Spanish class that Latinos often use words of endearment, and even I love you, more casually than she was used to. Convincing herself that Javier was just being dramatic and familiar, rather than sincere and romantic. Stephanie laughed at how silly she was being, before drifting off to sleep.

  *****

  Stephanie didn’t see Javier at breakfast the next day. She counted herself lucky for that, not knowing what to say to him about last night. Dusty, Stephanie, and the Little Wranglers headed out on an overnight ride to an old cowboy camp. It was an opportunity for the children and teens to feel like authentic cowboys and cowgirls, cooking their own dinner and sleeping in tents under the stars. Jake and Allison were unofficial staff on these trips now, sitting high in the saddle and supervising the safety and enjoyment of the other children.

  Just before dusk, as the Little Wranglers were making camp, three adult riders slowly road into view. Stephanie recognized the horses with the Triangle X’s numbering, and the faces of two Wranglers that she knew. They asked Dusty if the third man, a guest by the name of Bill, who had fallen off his horse and whacked his head, could ride back to the ranch with him in the morning. The guest was feeling nauseous and too weak to continue riding tonight they said. Dusty agree and helped the gentlemen to get settled down in the tent that he would be sharing with Dusty for the night.

  Stephanie supervised the children making dinner on the campfire while Allison and Jake helped to set up tents. As Dusty and the stranger, Bill, walked past the fire Stephanie’s stomach fell down to her ankles. Her palms began to sweat, she could taste nervous bile at the back of her throat, and her head was clear but racing. Stephanie realized that guest’s name wasn’t Bill, it was Daryl. He was about 20-pounds thinner and had a head full of curly, brown hair, but that was Daryl alright.

  Daryl walked unusually upright because of an old back injury, and he had very broad shoulders, she wouldn’t mistake that gate and side profile anywhere, and his voice—the way that her flesh crawled when she heard him chatting up Dusty, she knew it was Daryl.

  The ranch had a Family Service Radio (FSR) system—Motorola’s Talkabout. The FSR is an unlicensed, simplex only, personal radio service used in North America. She needed to radio the ranch for help, but sitting at the edge of the Grand Teton National Park, the sound of a radio squawking to life would travel a good mile, tipping off Daryl, and placing Dusty and the children at risk.

  Stephanie felt trapped until she noticed how 11-year old Jake was taking charge of the other Little Wranglers then she had an idea.

  Pulling Jake away from the other kids, she calmly explained what she needed him to do. Unafraid, Jake quietly walked his horse away while Stephanie distracted the other children’s attention from his direction. When he was a five-minute walk away from the camp, he jumped on his horse and road for another five minutes, as fast as he could, before calling the ranch on the Talkabout. Doing his best to have an adult sounding voice, he told the dispatcher that he needed to get a message to Misty ASAP. The message was, “We have three Little Wranglers feeling homesick and I don’t have the situation under control.” When the dispatcher asked for a name Jake returned to radio silence just like his mom told him to.

  Fearing the repercussions of not getting a message to Misty in a timely fashion, the dispatcher set out immediately to find Misty, who was in her office. Misty felt the blood drain from her face when the dispatcher delivered the message. She jumped up from her desk and headed to the bunkhouse. Finding Javier, Misty told him all about Stephanie and how she and the children had been found by Daryl and were in trouble.

  “Misty, I’ll take Stephanie and the children to the Little Medicine Wheel and wait until you send a rescue,” Javier said as he ran out of the bunkhouse. Javier road off into the night to find Stephanie, whispering, “don’t worry mi Amor, your papi (Poppy or man) is coming to save you.”

  When Jake was about 50-feet away from camp he saw a rope tied between two bushes and heard “Suzy,” when he brought his horse to a stop.

  Reacting to his sister Allison’s challenge, Jake responded with “Q”. Allison ran out from behind some bushes and hugged her brother around the waist. After a brief reunion, they found a place to hide and waited as instructed.

  A frantic Stephanie had no way of knowing if Jake reached the ranch, or if cloud cover, or technology gremlins blocked the radio signal, or even how long it wou
ld be before Misty received the message with their pre-arranged panic phrase.

  Misty knew if she ever heard those words, it meant that Daryl had found Stephanie and the children and that they were all in danger. Stephanie focused on getting all of the children settled in for the night as she prayed that Jake found his way back to camp, and that little Allison wouldn’t be too afraid sitting alone in the dark waiting for her brother’s safe return.

  The FBI dispatched agents, rangers, and state troopers to the Grand Teton National Park and the Triangle X Ranch. They wanted Stephanie and the children’s safe return, but they also didn’t want a dangerous man to elude them again, so they were taking all precautions with Daryl.

  Stephanie waited until she didn’t hear anything but snoring coming from the campsite before untying two horses and then walking out of the camp. “Suzy!”

  A relieved Stephanie responded with “Q”. The children saw her coming and were already mounted on their horses, prepared to ride back to the ranch, through the night.

  Stephanie placed her left foot into the stirrup on the right side of the horse and out of the dark heard, “Well ain’t that a precious picture right there Sheridan, a nice little family vacation. All of us at a dude ranch, together!”

  Stephanie froze for a moment, allowing her brain to process what was happening, when she had, she yelled, “Ride!” Like a shot, Allison and Jake took off, with Stephanie only a stride or two behind them. Daryl was about a minute behind Stephanie. Having much more riding time and experience, Stephanie, Allison, and Jake were able to widen the gap between them and Daryl by 10-15-minutes.

  In the dark, they road right past Javier, who was riding toward them. He stopped and whistled to them in the dark. The trio brought their horses around and caught up to Javier. When they were all four together, Stephanie and the children followed Javier into the night.

  It was dusk when they arrived at the Little Medicine Wheel that someone built to resemble the Medicine Wheel Landmark of Big Horn National Park. There was a cave with a ledge that you had to climb up to reach, adjacent to the Little Medicine Wheel. It seemed like a great place to hide. They tied up their horses and walked to the cave.

  Stephanie began to hoist Allison up when Javier said, “Not up, go down, there, behind that boulder, go down.”

  Handing Stephanie, a lantern and an armful of the supplies from their horses, Javier lead the way into an aquifer. The ledge inside the aquifer was so small that one careless move could send them plunging into the frigid water of unknown depth. Javier helped them to snake their way to a wider plateau where they could rest.

  Every hour Javier would peek around the above ground boulder to see if help had arrived. Stephanie knew that Daryl would be able to find them easily, if not in the dark then certainly some time after sunrise, because of his military training and ability to track both man and animal. Stephanie prayed that the authorities would arrive first.

  The FBI and other agencies were using the GPS signal from the devices sewn into every Triangle X saddle, to help locate any guest or staff who may be lost or injured. However, out on the range, there are a lot of spaces where technology can’t reach. Misty knew that Little Medicine wheel was one of those places. When she saw Javier’s red blip reach the other three red dots on her computer screen, which she knew to be Stephanie and the children, she was elated. When she saw them go offline she knew they were in or close to the Little Medicine Wheel area. Just over an hour later, she saw the red dot with a code assigned to Daryl, masquerading as Bill, and Misty realized that they were running out of time to make a rescue.

  “Javier, you’ve crawled through that tunnel two-dozen times, let me go look to see if help has come.”

  “No, I’ll look mi amor.” As Javier’s head came up out of the hole he was punched in the temple, causing great disorientation.

  Daryl pulled Javier out of the tunnel and began pummeling him with blow after blow. “You must be the lover-boy,” Daryl growled. He had been a secret guest at the Triangle X ranch for more than a week before he had the chance to get Sheridan and the children in a vulnerable position—out on the range. Daryl’s ego and jealousy caused him to enjoy beating Javier, instead of striking a lethal blow. This allowed Javier to regain his wits and to begin to effectively fight back.

  Stephanie heard the ruckus from inside the hollow cave and came out to help Javier. She managed to get out of the hole, grab a large rock, and raise it to strike Daryl. Seeing her shadow in the morning sun, Daryl turned and struck Stephanie in the face. Before she knew it, she was falling, until suddenly whack—she stopped.

  The shock of seeing Stephanie fall and laying unmoving at the bottom of at least a 20-foot drop caused Daryl and Javier both to miss the familiar whirling sound of the State Trooper’s helicopter. Members of the FBI fast-roped out of the sky and arrested Daryl before he could run to his horse and attempt an escape.

  After leading agents to Sheridan’s body, Javier helped the agents to locate the children and to get everyone aboard the helicopter and back to the Triangle X.

  Misty was both sad and elated to see both parties, one lead by a bruised Dusty, and the other by a banged up Javier, yet she was nearly inconsolable over what happened to Sheridan. She felt an emptiness to see the children drive away to the airport, then on to a reunion in North Carolina.

  “Bailey, Justin, I know that you’re very sad about your mom, but I want you to know that I loved her from the very first time that we danced together, and because of my love for her I will always be here for you.” Javier said as he held their little hands at the airport. Bailey hugged Javier’s legs in silence while Justin continued to hold on to his hand.

  *****

  Allison was still crying when Javier opened her car door. Jake jumped out and rang our doorbell, and they all waited in the cold night for someone to answer the door.

  “Is that the doorbell”? “It’s near 11:00 pm, who the devil could that be? OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, Charlie, Charlie come quick!"

  “Martha what is it? Dear God!” Charlie said in a whisper. My Jake, Bailey, and a very bruised and swollen Sheridan were at the front door, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Our family is alive.

  The FBI and local police never told us that they had been found alive and well. It was Sheridan’s wish. She didn’t want to return home amid news cameras and gawkers. She asked to be able to quietly return to the people that she loved. The children were animated in their retelling of how they each played a role in their own rescue, and how Javier taught them to dance, and then saved them from their dad. A weak and exhausted Sheridan tried to apologize for worrying her dad and me.

  It turned out that Daryl’s friend alerted him that Sheridan was in Wyoming, when through his government work, he learned that Sheridan’s real name and social security number came up in a background check. It took Daryl almost two years to find her after that, but he eventually tracked her down to the Triangle X ranch.

  “Well, it was very nice to meet you Mister and Misses Anderson, but I should be going so that Sheridan can rest. Good night mi amor,” Javier said to Sheridan as he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. Sheridan lifted her head and kissed Javier on the lips.

  “Sheridan,” Javier said with a hint of shock in his voice, “you are stealing kisses, and in front of your parents? Nina mala (bad girl).”

  The entire family laughed, but not Sheridan. She looked at Javier with the seriousness of a judge and said, “Javier, please don’t go!”

  Javier smiled, kissed Sheridan’s hand and said, “I’ll never leave your side again!”

  THE END

  Another bonus story is on the next page.

  Bonus Story 3 of 15

  Game of Love

  Description

  Isaac and Katie are two young adults from the Amish community settled in Ohio, USA. They have been friends since childhood and are expected to marry and settle down as a happy couple. However, Isaac has slightly different interests.


  He is an avid football fan, owing allegiance to the Cleveland Browns. When an opportunity presents itself, he signs up for the NFL sports camp in Cleveland and runs away from home when he gets accepted. Nobody in the family knows anything except for Katie, who eventually has to spill the beans upon being questioned.

  Five years later, Isaac appears in the headlines as the first-ever Amish player to make it through to the NFL team of the Cleveland Browns. Katie is at the stadium to see her beloved friend in action. But what will be the reaction of the elders in the community? Will they be able to look beyond their short-sightedness and acknowledge Isaac for his achievements or will he be another casualty of spiritual high-handedness?

  *****

  “Isaac, ISAAC!” a sweet female voice called out in the middle of his dream. Isaac Miller turned around in his sleep, wondering who the owner of that sweet voice was. All of a sudden something came battering down on his head and all his dreams went flying through the window.

  “Uh, what…what happened?” he asked, sitting up weary-eyed in bed.

  “Wake up, you are late! Don’t you want to attend classes for the day?” the female voice said. Isaac looked up to her. Katie Fischer looked prettier than ever, though he could not point out what it was that seemed to be making all the difference.

  “Hmm, class…right,” he mumbled as he slowly dragged himself out of bed. “Wait outside, let me change and get ready.”

  Katie loitered on the lawn outside as Isaac got dressed and readied himself for school. Soon, he came jumping along.

  “Alright then let’s go!” he called. The two of them walked along the road on their way to school. It was not a far way off from their home and did not take them more than fifteen minutes to reach the Amish Education Society School. This was how the two of them commuted to and from the place, since cars and motored vehicles were something largely shunned by the community.