Whisperer

by Jeanne Harrell

“I’m beginning to feel more like a Mandy every day, especially being with you. I can feel you softening my edges and making me smoother. Does that make any sense?” He smiled at her.

  “As long as I’m not a ‘Daddy figure’ or something. That’s not how I see myself in your life.”

  “How do you see yourself, Colt?”

  “I’d like to show you and not tell you. Would that be all right?”

  What did he have in mind? Charades?? And then…

  Colt ran his fingers along her face and stopped at her chin. She gasped at his touch, then watched him lean in to kiss her. Oh, boy… it’s the kissing part of my romance novel. Am I ready for this? Oh, yes. I think so…

  Colt had only been imagining this moment for several weeks now. He was definitely ready for the next step – Was she? It was time to take a leap of faith. In the quiet mountains, under the fragrant pine trees, her breath came out like a sigh. That was a good sign and she didn’t push him away. His mind was muddled as he pulled her to his chest and kissed her. Hesitant at first – he wasn’t sure of her response. Then some kind of dam burst and a rush of emotion tumbled down on them. She was in his arms and kissing him back with heart-stomping kisses. He forgot his hesitancy and kissed her like he was ready to drag her off somewhere and have his way with her. Then they came up for air…

  Who knew this cowboy could kiss like that? Damn, she had never been kissed like that. Ever… So that’s what they mean in the romance novels when the mushy parts start. Mmm -- It all made sense now.

  She felt warm, tingling to the touch. Colt wanted more, much more, but knew he’d have to be patient… and he was a patient man. He smiled at her with their lips still touching.

  He felt good…. Incredibly good… Had she ever felt this way in a man’s arms? Don’t think so. He was toasty warm and the passion he felt washed over her like a waterfall. Feeling open and relaxed against him… she was…And now he was smiling. Smiling?

  “What?” she murmured against his lips.

  “I think we are deep into Act One. Jeanne would be so pleased.” She started to move away from his lips – he pulled her back.

  “Please don’t go yet.” Colt kissed her again…Sweet, sweet kisses that suddenly became more urgent. His ragged breath matched hers kiss for kiss. She lost a few fears that afternoon -- Fear of men, fear of getting lost in him. Getting lost in Colt was all she wanted to do now. What a wonderful man and fabulous kisser. She laughed against his chest.

  “Were those kisses funny?” He held her lovely face in his hands.

  “I think we could do this all day.”

  “How about all night?” Colt smiled and then laughed at the look on her face. She didn’t quite run for the hills, but it might have been a fleeting thought. He sighed.

  “Um…ah…” Amanda’s face turned crimson. “Ah…”

  “This was pretty good for today. You know what we do when we get stuck?” He pulled her to her feet and started picking up the picnic items.

  “Yes…” she shyly smiled. “We ride! And Colt…”

  “Yes, sweetheart.”

  She gulped – he called her ‘sweetheart’. She’d never been called that before and she loved it… Amanda blushed again and he knew why.

  They got on their horses and started to make their way through the tall trees. A breeze came up and blew Amanda’s hair in her eyes. Pushing it back she said in a sexy voice, “I love Act One…”

  Yep, patience, Colt thought. ‘Good things come to those who wait’ and if he was anything, by God he was a patient man…

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Over the next week, Kim began to pick up a few clues. Amanda was happy these days – too happy for a woman who refused to go to the bar in Truckee with her again. When Kim had remarked that she could meet a cute cowboy there, Amanda had just laughed at her. What?

  She would see her looking for someone around the camp or checking her cell phone for messages regularly. None of her clients could rile her up and she had even smiled during one of the incredibly boring staff meetings yesterday. Something was up… Then it clicked! The horse trainer…Kim had seen Amanda speaking with him several times. Yesterday she was leaving for the day and saw them ride out together with two of the camp mustangs he was training.

  Wow. That was it… She just had to ask her…

  Amanda was working with a new client in her office -- A ten-year-old boy who had once tried to take a bunch of sleeping pills. He told Amanda he just wanted to go to sleep for a long time, since he was so tired.

  “Why were you so tired, Jimmy?”

  “I don’t sleep well because my parents fight a lot. It keeps me awake.”

  Jimmy bit his nails and was jumpy.

  “How do you feel about their fighting?”

  “My stomach hurts and I get headaches sometimes. I miss a lot of school too.” He looked ready to jump out of his skin.

  “Your parents are getting a divorce, aren’t they?” Amanda knew she’d have to move with him any minute now.

  “Yeah.” Jimmy stood up.

  “Want to go for a walk?”

  “Yeah.”

  She and Jimmy started walking around the camp. The movement helped him to calm a bit, so Amanda continued her consultation. She felt they were making some progress, but she had seen all her work fall apart before. Sometimes the parents would call and undo all the precious steps that had been made towards their child’s recovery. Often, she had had to start over from step one. Amanda knew that Jimmy’s mother was coming to visit tomorrow and was calculating how long it would be before Jimmy acted out in some way. She decided to talk to the supervisor about what she feared might happen.

  After she took Jimmy back to his room, Amanda went outside to catch a breath of air. Looking around at the mountains and blue sky, she stretched and felt good. Taking a deep breath, she felt really peaceful. Amanda caught that breath before exhaling as she saw Colt watching her from inside the corrals where he had been working. He flashed her one his million-watt smiles before turning back to the horse he was training. She smiled back at him. What was it about this guy that set her heart going ninety miles an hour?

  And Kim saw it all. Smiling broadly, she called to Amanda, “Hey, want to get a coke?”

  Amanda stretched her back and walked over to Kim. “Sounds good.”

  “I’ve been working with Jimmy and took one of your suggestions about behavior modification. It seems to be helping.” They had walked over to the soda fountain in the lunchroom and had both gotten cold drinks. She took a swig of her soda. It tasted great. Everything tasted good these days. The sky was clear and the moon was yellow and…

  “Hello? Amanda? You space out on me a lot these days.” Kim gave her the once-over look, smiling like a Cheshire cat. “Okay, give.”

  “Give what?”

  “I’ve been watching you and I think you’ve got something going with Colt, the horse trainer. What’s up?” Kim’s eyes widened and she leaned forward.

  “Look, Kim….” Amanda began.

  “Yes, I know it’s no one’s business, but you can’t tell me that he isn’t a part of why you’re so happy all the time now. Hmmm?”

  Well, thought Amanda, why should it be a deep secret? She was falling for him and she knew it. Probably a few others had noticed too, if Kim had.

  “We are seeing each other.”

  Kim sat up straight. “I knew it! Can you spare any details for your poor sex-starved friend?”

  “Hold it there. We’ve been riding together and getting to know one another. Let’s not jump any guns, okay?”

  “Are you inviting him to the dance tomorrow night?”

  “I forgot about that, but yes, I will and you can see the stars in my eyes for yourself.”

  “Any stars in his eyes?” Kim asked.

  “I’ve noticed a few,” Amanda laughed at the envy written all over Kim’s face.

  “You are so lucky. Does he have a cute brother?”

  “You’re in luck, Kim.
He has three cute brothers.” She almost doubled over laughing when Kim gulped, taking in that information.

  “Oh, thank you, Lord,” said Kim. “I will need an introduction from you, if any of them show up here.”

  “Copy that and you bet. Gotta go, Kim. It’s quitting time --I have a horse to ride and a boyfriend to meet.” Amanda got up to leave. Boyfriend? Did she just say that? Yes, boyfriend…

  Kim sighed heavily, “You are so lucky…”

  In Sonoma, Jeanne was thinking about her grandson. She and Sam were out back by the corrals, watching the cowboys work with the new horses Sam just got. The BLM roundup in Nevada always brought him more work than he could use. There were so many feral mustangs in the open ranges of Nevada, that the Bureau of Land Management would round some up every year and sell them at auction. The ranges could only sustain a certain number of wild horses, so when there were too many, the BLM held a roundup.

  “Boy, I wish I had Colt here with me. He’s the best there is at taming these wild, crazy mustangs. I’m not sure it’s even worth it to bring them over here from Nevada without him here. Sure could use him.” Sam leaned in to give one of the cowboys further instructions.

  When he was finished, Jeanne smiled. “I think there’s more than horses keeping him in Soda Springs.” He looked at her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Sam Cable, what do you think I mean? Remember when I told you about that girl he met in Old Town Sacramento and then he met her again in Soda Springs? And remember, I told you that confidentially. I hope you didn’t mention anything to Lily when you spoke to her this morning.”

  “Was it top secret?” Sam started picking up a couple of halters he found on the ground and hung them where they belonged.

  “Well, yeah. He asked me not to say anything, but I thought I was safe with you.” She looked at him. “Did you say anything?”

  Sam looked uncomfortable and started scraping his shoe against the corral post. “Who would I say anything to?”

  “You did! You told Lily! And I told you it was a secret. Colt asked that it not get around the family – yet.” She glared at him.

  “All right, so I screwed up. Lily just asked if we had seen Colt and I mentioned we had.”

  “And…”

  “It just sort of tumbled out that he had met this girl in Sac and then again at the camp in Soda where he was training a few horses.”

  “And…”

  “Well, Lily was pretty excited and...”

  “Sam Cable, that’s the last time you get any top secret information from me. Now that I know for a fact that you can’t keep a secret.”

  “Okay, so I can’t keep a secret. Can we get back to Colt?”

  “You know he and this girl are in the throes of Act One, don’t you? A very touching and romantic time in a movie and not one to be interfered with… Remember Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in ‘An Affair to Remember’?”

  “Yes, Jeanne honey. We just watched that last night – obviously in preparation for today’s discussion. Continue.” Sam blew out a breath. He was used to this.

  “Well, they’re in the courting stage. Cary and Deborah were aboard ship and ducking around trying to meet without other people knowing.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Because, dear, in the early stages, you’re not sure of anything when it comes to your potential love. Everything is new, possibly confusing, unknown. Cary practically tiptoes around Deborah trying to please her. Of course, she’s wily and…”

  “Please tell me what this has to do with Colt. And does ‘this girl’ actually have a name?” Sam was losing patience with the story.

  “Yes, her name is Amanda Evans and she’s from Sacramento. That’s about all I know about her, except Colt is in deep.” She gazed out towards the back meadow with all its colorful wildflowers. “Deep…”

  “Jeanne, you with me?”

  “Deep…” She sighed, turned and went back into the house.

  Sam watched her go and shrugged his shoulders. Then he smiled. “God, I love that woman…” And he went back to his mustangs.

  In Naples, Lily hung up the phone and yelled for her husband.

  “Sandy, where are you? You’ve got to hear this.”

  She had called Jesse and Meg, but had not gotten confirmation of what her father, Sam, had told her earlier. She wanted confirmation…

  Sandy was in his office, working on some financial papers that he and his brother Bill would need for their trip to Las Vegas. They went several times a year to meet with their lawyers about dealings with the Johnson Family Trust. The ranch had gotten to be very prosperous in the cattle trade business, and Sandy stayed on top of things. He was bringing Jesse in on many aspects of the business, since he and Colt would inherit some day.

  “Back here, sweetheart.”

  She walked down the long hallway filled with numerous pictures of the family hanging on its walls. Walking barefoot on the thick carpet, she got to his office so quickly that she startled him.

  “Oh, there you are. What’s up?” He glanced up at her, stopped -- and really looked. She was still as lovely as the day he met her in Jesse’s first grade classroom. Sandy began to ruminate about that when…

  “Sandy, are you listening to me? Did you hear what I said?”

  “I guess I zoned out.”

  She smiled at him. “That’s what I love about you. You do focus in on me, don’t you?”

  He grinned back at her. “Yep. We cowboys are good at concentrating….”

  “Anyway – back to the subject at hand.”

  “What is the subject at hand?”

  “Your son, Colt.”

  “Why? What did he do?” Sandy put his papers into a folder and leaned back in his chair to listen to her.

  Lily sat down in the chair by his desk. “Dad told me he’s met someone – someone special.”

  “Why isn’t Colt telling us this, instead of Sam?”

  “You know how close Colt is to Jeanne. He told her, she told Sam and Sam told me.” She looked at him excitedly.

  “So this information is what? Third-hand? Doesn’t that make it more rumor than fact?” He was grinning at her.

  She started to say something and he took her hands. “Listen, sweetheart. When Colt has something to tell us, he will, in his own good time. You know him. ‘Nothing in haste…’” Sandy laughed.

  “He’s never really been serious about a woman before, Sandy. Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

  “I am incredibly curious, but I’d just like it to come from my son and not the rumor mill. What do Meg and Jesse say?” He knew she had already called them.

  “They don’t know anything about it.”

  “Okay, so there you are.”

  “There I am – where?”

  “There you are waiting breathlessly for your beloved son to give you the name of his sweetheart. You know he hasn’t called you, because he’s making sure first.” Sandy smiled. “He loves you and will call when the time is right. Wait for him.”

  Lily sat there with disappointment on her face. “I guess you’re right.”

  Then she brightened, stood up and headed for the door. She turned around and said to him, “I’ll give him to the weekend…” She heard Sandy laughing as she went to kitchen. Time to make some fudge.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The Fall Festival Dance was going to be tonight … Amanda was excited at the thought of seeing if Colt could dance and if he even would dance. Sometimes cowboys do and some don’t. She wasn’t sure if he was the dancing kind. Colt, the dancing cowboy – nope… Didn’t fit him. After Kim badgered her about it, she had called him and asked if he would go with her to the dance.

  He had replied that he had picked up the phone to call and ask her! She guessed that meant, yes—she had a date. They both lived by Donner Lake, so he could easily pick her up at seven.

  Amanda dashed around the house, picking up the clothes she had dropped here and there. Oh –
who cares? Instead of mundane house chores, she ran into the bathroom to take a hot bath. She knew she had to calm down. Why was she so excited? Settling into the bubbles, Amanda got the first inkling. It would be their introduction into the camp society as a couple. How did she feel about that? Sinking deeper into the bubbles, she sunk into thought as well. How did she really feel about him?

  Wow. He was kind, considerate, fun, funny, smart and sexy. The sexy part she would get back to in a minute. Colt knew she needed time to figure out how she felt about him, so he put no pressure on her. But those kisses… another wow. They were insistent kisses, and urgent kisses and once they started, it sure was hard to stop. But stop they eventually would, because Colt was waiting for her. She knew he would wait as long as she needed and she loved that about him. Sitting up quickly in the tub, did I just say ‘love’? Yikes! Am I losing my mind or making up my mind?

  Getting back to the ‘sexy part’, she was thinking that maybe, maybe – she would invite him back here after the dance. Was she ready for the next step? The dance could be a deciding factor. We’ll see…Amanda smiled and splashed around in the tub. She felt playful and happy.

  Colt was wondering just what he would wear to the dance. Was a jacket too much? A vest not enough? He wanted to spruce up a bit, so he shaved, splashed on a subtle aftershave and decided the vest was too much -- But the jacket would be fine. Never had this much trouble putting on clothes before…what was the matter with him? He pulled on his boots, grabbed his cowboy hat and went out the door. Then he quickly dashed back in, having forgotten his wallet and truck keys. Jeez… where’s my head tonight? It’s only a dance…but Colt knew it wasn’t only a dance. He would have his beautiful Mandy in his arms all night and that kicked his heart into overdrive. He couldn’t wait!

  Colt picked Mandy up exactly at seven. He wasn’t sure if he should be fashionably late or early. Dating made him sweat…It was so much easier just to ride horses, which is what they usually did. He was so ready to take her camping under the stars and riding out for a few days out at his folks’ ranch. Wait – was that as in ‘taking her home to meet the folks’? Yikes…