“Act One?”
“Act One, sweetie. That’s when boy meets girl and they fall for each other.
In Act Two, there are problems to sort out, but by Act Three, wedding bells are peeling. It’s in the stars, you know. Think of it like Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in ‘Affair to Remember’. Oh, that was a doozy.”
Colt looked confused. “I get as confused as Dad or Grandpa when you start your movie talk, Grandma.” He sighed. “Mother would understand though, right?”
“Absolutely. She’s a serious movie lover, like me, but she also believes in fate – as I know you do. That’s the stars part. You met this girl once, and you’ll meet her again. Trust me.” Jeanne put her hand on top of Colt’s.
“So then, I’m Cary Grant? Wasn’t he British? And the yet-to-be-discovered ingénue is Deborah Kerr? Don’t think I remember her.”
“Deborah Kerr had lovely red hair like this new girl. And you are as charming as Cary Grant any day of the week.”
Colt was amused. “A western Cary Grant…”
“My boy, you’re in for some wonderful times and difficult times, but it’s a really neat roller coaster. Buy a ticket.”
“I sure will, when I figure out what you just said.” Colt grabbed a cookie and kissed his grandmother on the cheek. “I’m off to bed. Thanks.”
Jeanne watched him walk to his bedroom. “ ‘Good night, sweet Prince. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.’ Hold onto your hats, everyone. This is going to be fun.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“No, Mom, I really don’t want you to come up here. It’s peaceful and I like it. I don’t need whatever problem you want to impose upon me.” Amanda listened a little more and then had had enough. “I have to go, Mom. I’ll be down to Sacramento when I can.” She hung up.
“Your mom is incessant, isn’t she?” asked Kim over lunch.
“She’s relentless. I’m exhausted from trying to fight her off.” Amanda took one more bite of her sandwich and then put it down. “Tell me something happy, Kim.”
“Well,” Kim’s eyes sparkled. “Have you seen the cowboy hired to train the new mustang? Tall, dark and handsome probably sums him up nicely. I watched him train yesterday and he’s got muscles in places I didn’t know a man had muscles.”
“I knew it would be about a guy. Haven’t I told you a thousand times that I’m not interested right now? I’ve had six months of peace from masculine problems and I don’t need to start any up.”
“Amanda, I’m getting worried about you,” Kim said. “Sex isn’t a bad thing. I think a little might smooth you out a bit.” She smiled and Amanda laughed.
“Sure, it might, but, I do declare, Miss Kim,” Amanda kidded her in a southern accent. “I have no room on my dance card at present. Please tell him to leave his card with my maid and I’ll get to him when I can.” Amanda pretended to fan herself. “Quick! Get me my vapors. This has been so excitin’ that I think I’m going to faint!” She slumped over in her chair.
“Oh, ha, ha, Miss Amanda. You just wait until you get a look at this guy and then come back to me. Y’all will owe me a right nice apology…” Kim laughed.
Her phone buzzed and a picture of her friend Stacy in Sacramento smiled up at her. “Hi Stace! How’s tricks? So good to hear your voice.” Amanda left the lunchroom, waving good-bye to Kim, to speak privately on her phone.
“Yes, I know she’s calling everyone about guy #3. Sorry she bothered you. Why are we always discussing her? How about the flood in Colorado or hungry goats in Burma --- anything but her…” Amanda started walking by the horse arena where lots of people had gathered to watch the trainer work on the new mustang. That was one wild horse and she couldn’t imagine anyone getting him under control. She glanced into the arena, did a double take and looked again. She gasped…
“Amanda, honey, what is it? Are you all right? Amanda?” Stacy started to panic, thinking Amanda had fallen down a manhole or something.
“Stacy? No, I’m all right, but my God! You will never believe who I just saw. Remember the guy I met in that restaurant in Old Town Sacramento?”
“You’re kidding! The gorgeous cowboy with ‘black wavy hair and eyes deep as the sea’?” She laughed. “I believe that was the description…”
Amanda gulped. “He’s here! He’s the new horse trainer. Incredible! This is one small world….”
“And getting smaller. What are you going to do?” Stacy smiled. She knew just what her good friend Amanda would do.
“I’m going to get on my horse and ride,” Amanda declared. “Not interested.”
Stacy laughed. “Yep, that’s what I thought you’d say. Not a fatalist, huh? This is fate, honey, staring you straight in the face.”
“Nope, not a believer. Gotta go. I’ll call you, Stacy.” She hung up quickly before she heard Stacy laugh again.
But she couldn’t help herself. Amanda was dragged over by some kind of invisible tracker beam to the horse arena, and still tried not to look. One of her young clients took her hand and brought her closer to see.
“Look, Amanda, he’s taming that wild horse.” And indeed that seemed to be what was happening. It took some time, but as she watched, he coaxed the mustang from its wild, aggressive posture to one of complacency and trust. She was mesmerized at his gentleness and kept worrying he would be hurt, stomped on, or kicked by the horse. Why did she care? She looked at faces of people around her – unbelievable looks of hope, love, gratitude. Some left being nicer to one another. Jeez, he changed the people as well as the horse. Who is this guy? Houdini? A discipline?
Amanda hurried out of there. She needed to get on her horse as soon as possible and lose herself in the hills around her home. She took in several deep breaths of fresh mountain air. Then she took a few more. Her pulse finally calmed down. What’s the matter with me?
A few days later, Amanda was riding around the Soda Springs area trying out a new horse in the camp stable. It was a lovely Palomino with white markings on its nose. The air was crisp -- just a hint of fall with coloring leaves and lower temperatures. She was thinking about that new novel waiting for her when she got home tonight. It was a romance novel about a cowboy and a beautiful girl. It was the juicy part—they had shared a kiss and he was running his fingers along her….
Another horse came around the trees and the rider was – holy shit…the cowboy trainer…the restaurant guy….Her mouth dropped open as did his. Nowhere to run… His black hair fell into his eyes—he pushed it back. Neither of them could speak for a full minute and then—
“Hello,” he called out. “Don’t I know you?” Nice voice.
She blanked out at that and then stammered, “Ah…um…”
“Got it!” he said excitedly. “Sacramento, right?”
She still couldn’t quite get it together, “Well…”
His face became calm. “Oh, yeah. I’m Cary Grant and you’re Deborah Kerr.” Then he laughed. “Something my grandmother said.”
Amanda came out of her stupor. She smiled. “ ‘An Affair to Remember.’ I know that one. Your grandmother?”
He got down off his horse and held his hand out to her. “Let’s do this right. My name is Colt Johnson. How do you do?” Lovely smile. Charming manners…
She took his hand and got down off her horse. “Amanda Evans.” Pause. “We can do this all day long if you like.” He held her hand and they smiled at each other.
Jeez, what beautiful eyes and hair. If I could just run my fingers through that hair, I could die a happy man.
Kim’s description was right on—tall, dark and incredibly handsome. Wow.
Flustered, Amanda let go of his hand and tried to look anywhere, but into his eyes. She was getting lost in them. Sinking down and fast…And what was the electric current shooting through her hand when she held his. It felt like it had the last time, in Sacramento. Good grief—was she taking leave of her senses?
“You look like you need to sit down. Here’s a flat rock over here—please.”
&n
bsp; Colt steered her to a place to sit. His heart was beating a lot faster than it should be—was he having a stroke? His hand felt like he had stuck it in an electrical outlet. He shook it and tried to give it CPR by sticking a finger in his mouth. No, that wasn’t helpful.
“I don’t mean to tip my hand, but our first meeting plays in my head sometimes.”
“Mine too.” She winced at her honesty. Don’t give anything away—then you don’t have to ask for it back.
“I saw you working with one of your clients the other day out in the commons area. A little girl looked spooked at whatever she was saying to you. But you were remarkably calm—peaceful, content even. I’d say your job agrees with you.” He smiled at her and put one of loose wisps of hair behind an ear. An intimate thing to do…
“I saw you working too. – That wild mustang no one could do anything with. You had her eating out of your hand in no time. You looked happy too. How do you do what you do with horses? It must be a gift.” Amanda looked him shyly.
“You have a gift too working with troubled children. It’s not so different from what I do with troubled horses.” He smiled at her. What a pretty woman…
What a handsome man… “I think it’s a lot different. Your clients weigh hundreds of pounds, while mine rarely weigh over fifty.” He laughed. She had made him laugh…
“Okay, you’ve got me there.” Pause…
“Where have I got you?” She tried to bite the words back, but they had slipped out before she could stop them.
“Jeez, Mandy, where do you want me?” He looked at her so seriously that she knew he wasn’t kidding.
“Ah…well…” she started and then it hit her -- he had called her Mandy. Her lovely, long dead father had always called her that. It was like coming home when she was little and there he was with his arms outstretched. She got tears in her eyes and started searching her jacket pockets for a tissue.
Colt was caught by surprise. “Oh boy, I guess I said the wrong thing somehow. I apologize for whatever I said.” He was flustered and didn’t know what to say.
This should scare him off for sure, she thought. He’ll run for the hills – she’s a weeper…Where was that stupid tissue?
But Colt had been raised by a wonderfully, sensitive mother and two sisters. He had watched his father for years and knew this was not the time to run. Not if he was interested in her. And he was. There’s something special here -- he could feel it.
“Ah…”
“You just hit a nerve, Colt, that no one has hit in probably fifteen years. Absolutely no one.” She wiped her face. “I’m being silly, please forgive me.”
He took her hand and then cupped her face. “Tell me.”
“You know, I’m supposed to be the counselor here, not you,” she smiled at him. It was nice holding hands with him. “And I don’t know you well enough to tell you all my secrets—yet.”
“I like the sound of that ‘yet’. Will you tell me eventually?” He still cupped her face.
She looked deeply into his beautiful brown eyes and thought she would spill her guts about anything to him— what she put into her carrot cake, the secrets of King Tut, who’s buried in Grant’s tomb… He leaned in dangerously close.
“Colt,” she began.
“I love how you say my name.”
“Ah…”
“Yes?” he practically purred.
She pulled back, away from his too-close lips and hands. “This is too soon for me. I’m a notoriously slow mover.”
“You’re in here with the champion of slow movers. I haven’t dated in a few years.” He looked at her so earnestly, she believed him.
“Really? Well, I just got out of an ugly situation last year and won’t duplicate it. If your name had been Eddy, I would have been gone like a shot.” She smiled.
“I don’t blame you. Eddy’s a crappy name.”
“And that fits the person too.”
He took her hand again. She didn’t move it away from him. “So what shall we do now, Mandy Evans? I’ve never known a Mandy, so you’re my first. Will you be my last?” He laughed when he saw the frozen expression on her face. “Come on.” He brought her to her feet. “Enough talk. Let’s ride.”
He helped her up on the horse and handed her the reins. When he looked up at her, it was like he was handing her the reins of this new relationship. A kind of understanding like with Kate and Leo in ‘Titanic’… I’ll try, she thought.
CHAPTER SIX
Riding in the hills around the camp every day after work, gave Colt and Amanda time. Time to talk, time to look, time to share. Since they had both rented cabins in the Donner Lake area, they were able to keep their relationship low-key and off everyone’s radar. Not even Kim knew they were riding together every day.
Amanda looked forward to their rides more than she would consciously acknowledge. Without meaning to, she looked for him everywhere at the camp—what was he doing? Where would he be going with the mustangs? Several more horses had been donated to the camp, so Colt had a few more weeks of work. That gave them the time together they needed and soon wanted.
Walking their horses along a back trail one day, he told her of his grandmother’s recent phone call. “So she asked me if I had met Deborah Kerr yet.”
Amanda laughed. “I like your grandmother. She’s interested without the nosy factor. What did you tell her?”
“I told her, ‘Yes’. It’s not nice to lie to your grandmother. Besides, she would have found out anyway. She’s good at this.” He laughed.
“Let’s go over there, under those trees. It was my turn to bring dinner.”
Dinner had become a fun and looked-forward-to event as they shared whatever they brought to eat.
Finding a nice open space, they tied up their horses and scouted the terrain for critters. No one wants to share chicken with a territorial squirrel. Walking under a tree, she tripped over a rock and smacked her head on a low-hanging branch. BAM… and started to fall over backwards. Colt was right there to grab her before she hit the ground.
“Are you all right, Mandy? You really hit your head.” He helped her up and then started picking up the food she had brought. It was now scattered all around their picnic area. The critters were beginning to notice.
“I think of myself as relatively graceful, until I ride with you. Then I do klutzy things like Lucille Ball—remember her from that old TV show called ‘I Love Lucy’?” Amanda rubbed her head and then stepped right on a cupcake. “Oh, for Pete’s sake!”
Colt started laughing. “I believe cupcakes are for eating and not for shoe decoration. But I could be wrong… Were you unhappy with the way that one turned out? It wasn’t your best effort, so let’s get rid of the evidence?” He doubled over laughing.
“Now you sound like Perry Mason. Oh boy, I’m beginning to sound like your grandmother again with all these TV references.” She started scraping the cupcake off her shoe.
They smoothed out an area and put down a blanket to sit on. Still smiling, Colt placed the sandwiches, drinks and one lone cupcake out of the way, just in case. “Looks like we’re sharing the last cupcake. Unless, of course, you want to decorate your other shoe.”
“Oh, ha ha, Mr. Johnson. You’re a regular riot, aren’t you?”
“And how’s your head? Too bad the ice you brought went everywhere – you could have used some for that lump that’s forming.”
Frowning at him, she rubbed her head. “Wait a minute. Let’s go back to your grandmother. Why did she bring up Deborah Kerr again? There’s more to that story, isn’t there?” She looked up at him shyly through her thick lashes. Who could resist that look? Certainly not Colt…
“Okay, I will tell you this mildly embarrassing piece of information, if you will do the same. I know next to nothing about you, Mandy. Please tell me something.”
“You first.” She picked up a water bottle and took a sip.
“Jeanne told me weeks ago that we were in Act One of the movie.”
“What movie and what happens in Act One?”
“Apparently it started like Cary and Deborah, but it has evolved into the Mandy and Colt Story. Act One is when boy meets girl, they date and fall in love.” Colt looked at her. What would her response be? Would she be pissed or interested?
“Hmmm….that sounds reasonable. Except for the fact we’ve never even kissed. And you call riding horses all the time dating?” The subject was making Amanda feel warm just looking at Colt. She knew he was ready for the next step, whatever that might be and was waiting for her to catch up.
“Yes, I do,” he continued to look into her eyes. It made her breathless and nervous, so she quickly changed the subject.
“But I need to give you a piece of information now, right? What would you like to know?”
Colt thought a moment. Who knew when he’d get another chance like this one. “Why did it make you cry when I first called you ‘Mandy’? … Take your time.”
Amanda looked at him and realized she trusted Colt. He was honest, forthright and truthful. He was a good listener and was as patient with her as he was with his horses.
“Yes, you should know this.” She sat up straight and her fingers went through her hair. She licked her suddenly dry lips and then took his hand. “My father died when I was seven years old. We were living in Sacramento and my mother just went to pieces. She wasn’t the greatest mother before, but now she farmed me out to relatives a lot of the time. It was probably for the best, but it didn’t seem so at the time.” She took another sip of water and swallowed hard. He kissed her hand.
“My dear father had always called me Mandy. I associate the name with everything good and wonderful, like he was. My mother always called me Amanda. There was no sweetness to the sound when she said it and still isn’t. It’s my work name and the one I use to keep people at arm’s length.” She looked at him tenderly. “But I don’t want you at arm’s length. You surprised me and blew a few of my defenses down calling me by that special name. Immediately. You still do… It’s interesting.”
“What is?”
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