The Sage After Rain A love story

by Jaclyn Hawkes

  He laughed out loud. "Lancaster? The truck's name is Lancaster? Let me guess. You named it yourself and you think it's kind of catchy."

  "No. Everything but Horse came already named. I'm not sure why the truck is Lancaster. Don't look over here, I'm going to try to climb up into your Jeep and it may not be a pretty sight. It's actually taller than Lancaster ever dreamed of being." He looked anyway, and she was wrong. It was an incredible sight. She busted him watching and laughing at her. "You weren't supposed to be looking, Matt. And don't laugh. You have no appreciation for what women do."

  "Of course I do. Why else would I have watched? Pretty legs are one of the things I appreciate the very most. They're the real reason men drive four wheel drives. The view is absolutely worth the extra expense." He released the emergency brake and they headed out. "What do the sheep do when the sheep princess goes to town?"

  "They'll be fine for a few hours during the day with just the dogs. Days I typically only have to make sure that they have food and are safe from things like the highway. Its nights that they might need someone to come save them usually. The dogs are probably smarter than I'll ever be as far as watching over them. As long as I'm not gone long they'll be fine."

  "I heard the coyotes last night. I guess banker’s hours and vacation and sick days aren't part of the deal with sheep, huh?"

  "Only about as much as dairy cows from what I've heard, but the actual work is not all that demanding, so it’s okay. I don't worry too much about office gossip or nepotism or being politically correct. And the dress code is great."

  "Do you herd all year, or is there a season?"

  "There's a season. I'll be done here by late October. Joseph will take them back down to the home ranch and feed them hay all winter."

  "What does the sheep princess do in the off season?"

  She was pensive for a minute and then said, "I don't know for sure yet. Maybe they'll need sheepherders in South America. Or llama herders. Or are they alpacas? Maybe I'll go to the Pampas and herd alpacas. I could learn Spanish in two and a half months if I applied myself couldn't I?"

  "Easily. Probably in just two. It's learning to handle the counterclockwise cyclones you'd have to work on."

  "That's true. I was never any good with cyclones."

  "Are you always this much of a smart Alec?"

  "Mmm. Yeah, pretty much. Turn left when you reach the highway. Oh, but you know how to get to LaHonda, don't you?"

  "That's where I got your enchilada dinner the other night."

  "I didn't know there was Mexican food in LaHonda. It was very good. Thank you again. Did you cook everything else?"

  "Everything but the first day's breakfast. I brought that to you from my mom. She's a much better cook than I will ever dream of being."

  "It was very good. Does she live in Steamboat too?"

  "Near Steamboat. What about you? Where are your parents?"

  She hesitated and he looked over at her to see that her face was sad. "Actually, my parents and I don't keep in touch much these days. I assume they are living in Maryland." She changed the subject. "That's not a Colorado accent. Where did you grow up?"

  "South Texas until I was fifteen. Now I have a half southern, half western accent."

  "It's adorable. It exactly fits you. So, what kind of education do you have to have to do seismic petroleum exploration using geophysics?"

  "That depends on what part of it you're doing. To do what I usually do, you need a degree in geophysics."

  "That's like seventeen years more schooling than you need to herd sheep, which is why you probably make like seventeen times more money than a sheepherder."

  He thought about that and then said, "But, you know. I don't think you can find a much better lifestyle in a way. As long as you don't mind the lonely part. There's a lot to be said for the way you live here."

  "You're right. It's very nice most of the time."

  "What kind of church are we headed to this morning? I guess I should have asked that sooner. We are talking Christian here aren't we?"

  Taya laughed. "What, did you think I was Buddhist or something? Of course it's Christian."

  "Just checking. I've never been to a Buddhist service. It might be interesting."

  "It might. I went to a non-denominational one once that had a Hindu speaker. It was actually a bit strange, although I guess we should know a little about everything."

  "That’s true, but I always feel like I don't even know enough to truly understand Christianity, let alone studying something else."

  "What did you grow up? What are your parents?"

  "My dad is whatever my mother researches and tells him is good and she isn't necessarily any one thing. The couple of times that we moved, she kind of checked all the local churches out until she found a preacher she could agree with most of the time. I don't know that she's ever been a certain sect other than Christian. How did you grow up? What are your parents?"

  "My parents think that organized religion is a waste of a perfectly good Sunday. They weren't very thrilled about me studying religion at all."

  He could tell she wasn't happy when she talked about her parents, and he steered the conversation away from them again. "What's the elevation around here? How much snow do they get here in winter?"

  "I have no idea what the elevation is here, and there's not much snow, but only because it's dry. It gets plenty cold enough to have snow."

  "I wondered. The nights and mornings here are cooler than I expected, but then the days feel like they are over a hundred degrees."

  "You're right on both counts. Sometimes the difference between the daytime and nighttime temperatures here is like fifty five degrees. It surprises me at times. I've learned to be ready for anything."

  He thought about that, and about her, and decided that she probably was ready for anything. He turned the radio on low as they drove and they reached the little town within just a few more minutes. He was surprised when they turned into a church that seemed unduly large for such a small community. Not only that, but the parking lot was almost full.

  When they got inside she seemed to know just where she was going even though he had gotten the impression that she hadn't been to this particular church before. They didn't go straight into the main chapel room at first, and even when they got to the room she was apparently going to go into, she hesitated outside the door for a second. She turned to him and whispered, "Let's stay out here for a second until the lesson has started so we won't have to tell anyone who we are."

  Matt thought that was slightly paranoid until he heard the teacher inside ask if there were any visitors and a woman near the front stood and introduced her son-in-law. Matt looked at Taya who gave him a half hearted smile and then slipped in and took seats at the back. It was about a forty minute class on the part of the bible that included the woman caught in adultery and in some ways it made Matt want to squirm, but in other ways it was incredibly comforting to be reminded that the Savior was that forgiving.

  After that class, they went into the main sanctuary of the church and sat right at the back again and Matt was surprised to find that there wasn't a preacher of sorts. Instead they had some kind of special ceremony in remembrance of the last supper and several different speakers that ranged in age from two teenagers to a soft spoken, gray haired, grandfather type.

  They spoke on a variety of subjects that all seemed geared toward helping each other do a little better in their everyday lives and he thought about what his mother had said about church being a place where imperfect people got together to encourage each other. She had been right. That's just what this meeting felt like. As they began to sing the closing song, Taya leaned into him and whispered, "Let's go now."

  He followed her out and they were all the way into the parking lot before the meeting officially ended, and she explained, "We needed to leave early because I didn't want to have to tell everyone who we are. And actually, we missed the first meeting where they separate the men and the
women, because they truly would have tried to welcome us there. I hope you don't mind."

  He shrugged. "Whatever is fine. Are they really all that nosy?"

  "Not nosy. Friendly. I just don't care to be all that included right now. I hope I didn't offend you."

  "Actually, no one had a coronary on seeing the rebel Matt Maylon show up in church and no one stood and called me to come down and confess my sins and come to repentance, so I thought it was great! Flying under the radar is fine with me."

  She laughed. "I don't believe you're all that much of a rebel for a minute, Matt, so give it up. You could never convince me you're all that much of a sinner. You have too nice of a spirit about you. Do you have plans for Sunday dinner?"

  "No, and I'm almost out of groceries so I have no idea what I even have. Do you have plans?"

  "Yesterday, I had decided I'd break the Sabbath today and shop while I was in town and ship some things, but I forgot the post office isn't open on Sunday, so I have to come back tomorrow anyway, so I'm in the same boat. Maybe we could throw in together and make ‘Whatchagot stew’.”

  "We could do that. It might be awful, but it would be both of our faults. You read Louis L'Amour and Patrick McMannis? Somehow, I can't picture that."

  "His stuff came with the trailer."

  "I guess that makes sense then. Did you feel stupid when you laughed when you were by yourself? That always makes me feel stupid when I read McMannis."

  "Yes, but still it's not as bad as when I laugh when I'm with someone and they have no idea what's going on. I once read an article by Jeff Foxworthy in the doctor's office. I felt like an idiot."

  He looked at her, surprised. "I can't truly picture you identifying with Jeff Foxworthy either."

  She laughed. "Are you kidding me? Have you seen my shower? I could be in the ‘You might be a redneck’ hall of fame!"

  Matt looked across the Jeep at her in her beautiful suit with matching purse and shoes and shook his head and laughed. Redneck? Yeah right! Not in a million years.

  Their Whatchagot stew was actually surprisingly good and he had a great time making it on her little table beside her. She was one surprise after another and was a ton of fun to be with. He was almost disappointed to go back to his camp to nap and take care of his own things. His tent was too hot to nap in, so he took his bed and threw it in what little shade he could find and crashed until an ant woke him up crawling on his face in late afternoon. Later when he got his computer work done, he built a small fire and played his guitar for a while wishing he could have been with her again.

  ****

  In the middle of the night, he heard her scream and sat straight up in bed, wondering if the two men from the other night had returned. His jeans were on and he was in search of his Tivas when he heard her outside his tent whispering as loud as she dared, "Matt. Matt."

  He unzipped his tent and poked his head out. "What's wrong? What's going on?" She was wearing a pair of exercise pants and the matching tank top to it and a pair of hiking boots. Her hair was tousled and wild and she looked so good there in the moonlight that he almost forgot she was having a crisis.

  "I'm so sorry to wake you up, but can you come help me for just a couple of minutes? There's a mouse in my trailer!"

  She made it sound like she was dealing with a Bengal tiger and he looked hard at her to see if she was kidding. He didn't think she was and as he followed her to the offending rodent, he had to work to contain his smile. Was this the same woman who had gone out alone in the dark with a gun to protect her herd of sheep just last night? Apparently she didn't see the incongruity of the situation, because she was chattering about how a mouse had gotten into her trailer one other time and she had stayed outside for most of two days until she had been able to trap it. He looked at her and asked, "How did you empty the trap?"

  "Oh, I didn't empty it. I just threw the whole thing as far out into the sage flat as I could. I know it was littering, but it's the only time I've done it I promise."

  When they got to her trailer, she switched on her flashlight and began to quietly open the door with him standing right behind her. They leaned around the edge of the door and she shone the light inside and flitted it around on the floor for a second until it illuminated a small gray field mouse cowering in the corner.

  As the light hit it, the mouse panicked and zipped across the floor of the trailer and out of the beam of the light. Taya screamed like she was being chased by an ax murderer and turned to flee and plowed face first into his chest. She almost knocked both of them flat, and Matt had to grab both of her arms to steady them. As soon as she had her balance, she dove around behind him and hid her head behind his shoulder. He was glad she couldn't see his face because there was no way he could have hidden his smile. It was all he could do not to laugh out loud. What, did she think because she couldn't see it that she was safe from its large fangs?

  "Taya. Give me the light for a second and prop the door open, and then stand back, because it's going to come out fast." She handed him the light and then went and climbed up on the hood of her battered truck and pulled her legs up to hug them around the knees. She buried her head again and he chuckled as quietly as he could as he stepped into her little home on wheels.

  He shone the light all around on the floor and couldn't see the mouse anywhere. He looked again and then heard a small sound and shone the light toward it and found the mouse crouched beside a mug sitting on the little table. He picked up one of the cardboard tubes he had seen her carrying the other day and went to brain the mouse with it, but it scooted across the table and jumped off and indeed went out the door of the trailer going ninety. Matt returned the tube to the stack where he had found it and shut off the light and went back out to tell her he had saved her from the man eating beast.

  "You can come down now. It's gone and won't be coming back anytime soon. I think we scared the need to be anywhere in the county right out of him."

  She looked all around the truck into the dark. "Are you sure?" Zeus, who had watched all of this with a bland expression stood below her next to the truck as if to tell her it was okay to trust him.

  “I'm sure."

  "How did it get in there in the first place?"

  "I have no idea, but I don't think it will do it again. It was too traumatic." He didn't say that hearing her scream was what had traumatized the little creature, but he thought it. She was such a kick with this mouse that if he ever needed entertainment in the dead of night again he'd put one in himself, except she truly was afraid enough that he would never do something like that. Still, she'd been incredibly funny. He went over to the hood of her truck to give her a hand as she climbed down.

  "Thank you, Matt. I'm so sorry I woke you up. You have no idea how much you just saved my life. I so owe you one. I know it's stupid to be afraid of something that little, but they're just so fast! They're horrible! Now, I'll probably have bad dreams for the rest of the night."

  "You're welcome. Anytime." He reached up to help her down. "Try to focus on other thoughts and you'll be fine. 'Night."

  He headed back to his camp, shaking his head. This girl was indeed entertaining.

  ****

  Taya didn't end up having bad dreams after all. The mouse actually didn't cross her mind all that much. She was far too preoccupied with remembering how good Matt had looked in just his jeans in the moonlight. He did not look like any computer geek she had ever known!

  Chapter 12

  The next morning when he came back into camp just before noon to head in to his appointment about renegotiating the contract, he found a note and a box of Cracker Jacks on his table weighed down by a rock. It said, "Matt, thank you for saving me. Sorry again for waking you. I just wanted to wish you success at your appointment. Remember that being hard working, and honest, and easy to get along with are rare and valuable traits in the business world today. If I was a contract guy, I'd be thrilled to get you! I'll be praying for you today. Good Luck, Taya"

  He
r note and inference meant more to him than she could know, and he changed and got into the Jeep feeling much more confident than he'd been all morning. Thinking about it, she was right. He did have some things going for him that would be valuable to this guy. It wasn't everyone who would put their heart and soul into someone else's deal. If there was any way possible, he was going to talk this guy into extending the time frame so he could at least make something for the time he'd put in so far.

  When he arrived at the office, he'd hardly gotten in the door when they got right down to business. The man who had given Hyatt the contract, Jim Horrocks, had no more than let him come in and sit down before he said, "Thank you for taking the time to come and meet with me. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

  Matt put his cards right on the table and explained about Hyatt and being behind and ended with, "I'd like to see if you are open to working with me in order to both get your contract completed and see that I get paid. So far money has not been forthcoming from Hyatt."

  Jim's answer took him by surprise. "This contract has been keeping me up nights. My company is expecting to have the results of your research in their hands within weeks and honestly I've been worried to death about what I was going to do about it. I've known from talking to Hyatt that he was dropping the ball, and I've quit sending any of the payments until I can get it back on track. I'm past the point of believing Hyatt is going to get with it, so I was thrilled when I talked to Mac, the pilot, the other day. I knew someone had been staying on task out there, because I was still receiving your data, but I didn't know much about you until Mac. Now, I know you're typically not the field guy, but I'm willing to more than make it worth your while if I could talk you into taking this contract over in its entirety."

  Matt was confused at first. "What do you mean, take it over?"

  "I mean that I'd be thrilled if you'd be willing to sign a new contract that you would take over instead of Hyatt and see this thing through to the end. I'd be willing to offer you the three-hundred-seventy-seven thousand dollar balance of the original contract, plus another ten percent to make up for the hassle of taking over someone else's mess and the critical time constraints. In addition, I'll provide all materials and pay for the helicopter and accommodations for you and whoever you end up hiring to help you."