Riding the River

by Jeanne Harrell

  Finally, the flight attendants shooed everyone to their seats, as the pilot announced that they would be landing at Reno-Tahoe International Airport soon.

  “Make sure your seatbelts are buckled and tray tables are in their upright position.”

  Michelle and Tom both looked over at Sarah.

  “Thanks. This has been one of the most enjoyable flights I’ve ever taken,” said Michelle.

  “Ditto,” smiled Tom. “Whatever you’re doing in Nevada, I hope you have the best time of your life.”

  Sarah blushed. “Thanks, you two. I may never see you again, but I’ll never forget you either.”

  And then the plane was landing in Nevada.

  ####

  Getting off the plane, Sarah said her goodbyes to various people she’d enjoyed talking with. Lots of passenger smiles, making the flight attendants happy too. Sarah collected her bags from the revolving turnstile in Baggage Claim and thought about her next step. She’d spoken with the staff at the guest ranch who advised her to spend the first night in Reno – The trip to Wells would take almost five hours by car.

  That was good advice… Sarah was tired. She got a shuttle to the Best Western Hotel at the airport, registered and straggled in to her room. She collapsed on the bed and fell asleep. It had been a long day.

  Sarah woke up with a crick in her neck and read the room clock. Dinnertime. Was she hungry? She was hungry as a…. horse? Might be the appropriate expression to use in the West… sort of. She rubbed her neck, trying to get the crick to go away or at least cooperate. If her neck wasn’t at a decent angle, eating would be difficult. Glancing in the bathroom mirror, Sarah redid her French twist and then changed her blouse to a fancier one. She smoothed her long skirt…

  The hostess in the hotel’s coffee shop sat her in a booth by a window, where she could look out on the street. Flying in, she’d already marveled at the mountains all around the city, some with snow still on higher elevations. She knew the city of Reno sat in a basin called the Truckee Meadows. The Truckee River snaked its way through Reno coming south through the mountains up by Lake Tahoe. Interesting city. She wanted to spend more time here someday.

  She’d just started on her soup course when she overheard the couple next to her arguing. Their voices grew louder until the hostess came over to ask them to lower their discussion. Sarah glanced to a side booth and saw a handsome man with dark, wavy hair glancing at her. His expression mirrored hers – what was going on with that couple?

  Suddenly, the man slapped the woman. Sarah blinked in complete surprise and froze. The dark-haired man came across the room faster than she could blink twice. He grabbed the man’s hand, stopping him from slapping the woman again. By this time, the cops had been called and the restaurant was in turmoil. The dark-haired man just backed away and watched the guy until the police showed up to take the couple somewhere else. His mere presence ensured that there would be no more violence… Wow…John Wayne couldn’t have done better.

  Sarah sat back abruptly. All the air whooshed out of her lungs. Stunned, but excited, she looked around for her napkin. The hostess profusely thanked the dark-haired man for his help and said his dinner would be complimentary. Clutching her napkin, Sarah watched him go back to his table, pick up his cowboy hat. He put it on and pulled it low on his forehead… And what a handsome face… He looked over at her. She blatantly stared as he gazed back for a full minute. She held her breath as he took in her blonde hair piled on top of her head and her Eastern clothes. His dark eyes searched her blue ones…for what? He nodded, touched a finger to the brim of his hat and left. She began breathing again. Was that a slight smile on his face? He looked so familiar… Oh, my…

  Life in the Old West was apparently still exciting…

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  A driver from the guest ranch picked her up promptly at nine the next morning. Sarah was excited to get on the road. He announced to her, as he helped her in the van, that he had a few other people to pick up on the way, but not for thirty minutes or so.

  Driving along for a while, neither of them was a chatterbox. Finally, he broke the ice.

  “I’m Dan, by the way.”

  “Sarah.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “… Baltimore?”

  He whistled. “Wow, you’ve come a long ways.”

  “Yes, I’m pretty excited to be here.”

  “What’s life like in Baltimore?” He slid his eyes over to her. She’d insisted on sitting in the front with him. He took in her slacks and hair in a bun. Pretty girl. Out of her element…

  “Well, where do I start? It’s a port city, right on the water.”

  “What water?”

  “…The Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay.”

  “Good seafood?”

  “The best…”

  A pause as they both thought of what else to say.

  “… What do you do at the ranch?”

  “I’m the driver for guests. Anyone needs to go anywhere, I’m their man.”

  “Sounds like it doesn’t get boring…”

  “No, ma’am. What do you do in Baltimore?”

  “I’m a computer consultant. I help new companies get up and running with their computer needs.”

  “That’s a mouthful.”

  “You bet.”

  “Looking forward to an Old West experience?”

  She sighed. “Oh, very much…”

  He looked at her and caught her meaning.

  “Trouble at your end?” She blushed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to get personal.”

  Sarah blew out a breath and rubbed her eyes. “That’s okay. Yes, I’ve had some trouble. That’s why I came out here.”

  “… To escape for a bit?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  They both thought about that.

  “Would you like a little friendly advice?”

  “Actually, I would. You know this area and I don’t.”

  He gave her a hard look. “Park your ego at the door.”

  “… My ego?”

  “Yep. Don’t be afraid to try anything that comes your way.”

  “Okay…”

  “And I mean anything. You’ll have plenty of choices in activities. Try them all. You just don’t know what can help you.”

  “You wouldn’t be a shrink, would you?”

  They both laughed and he scratched his chin.

  “No, ma’am, but I’ve seen others come out here and still act like they’re back home.”

  “Do anything, huh?”

  “Yes, ma’am… Riding, roping, branding, drives, whatever.”

  “… Think that’ll cure what ails me?” She smiled.

  “Nice turn of phrase and yes, I believe it will.”

  He looked over at her again. She looked at the hands in her lap. Needs a bit of confidence, this one…

  “…Um…”

  “Listen, Sarah. Open up that glove box there in the dash, would you?”

  “Sure…” She opened it. “What am I doing?”

  “Fish around for a metal object and pick it up.”

  Sarah groped around in the mess of paper, receipts, books, and what felt like something metallic.

  “This is metal.”

  “Yup, that’s it.”

  “What should I do with it?” She held it up for them both to see.

  “It’s yours…”

  “… Ah… You’re giving me a… horseshoe?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Whatever for?”

  Dan smiled at her. “For luck, of course.”

  “For luck…”

  “Yup.”

  “Is it going to be that tough an experience at the guest ranch that you need to wish me luck?”

  “I think…” he turned to look at her, “that you really need some luck in your life right now.”

  “You think?” smiled Sarah. She glanced at his sandy be
ard and twinkling eyes.

  “Anytime you start to fret, you pick up that horseshoe… It’ll help.”

  “… A horseshoe?”

  “It’s a talisman for good luck. Make sure you hold it with the ends pointing upward?”

  “Upward?”

  “Yup…”

  “Who are you really?”

  “Just a driver, ma’am,” he laughed. “…Just a driver.”

  “I sincerely doubt that.”

  And then he pulled over to another hotel to pick up a few more people. Their personal conversation came to an end, but she remembered to thank him once they arrived at the guest ranch. It would mean more to her than he could have imagined.

  Sarah relaxed, watching the countryside go by her window as Dan drove along Highway 80 out of Reno. She smiled. It was almost like the big country in her Gregory Peck movie. Mountains and hills in the distance with the highway pointing off into the far horizon… The sky, jam-packed with massive clouds covered most of her view. She’d never seen a sky that big…

  The scenery was huge and expansive with few towns to see. Dan announced after a few hours that he would stop for gas in Winnemucca, so they could stretch their legs and have some lunch. It was reminiscent of stopping to change the horses… When she stepped out of the van, she looked around at the old Western town in front of her. She felt much like Gregory Peck probably had as he stepped from the stagecoach – She too was from Baltimore and wearing strange Eastern clothes.

  Sarah looked down at her tailored slacks and Italian blouse, and swore she’d put on something more appropriate as soon as possible. Dan had stopped at a nice café in the downtown area… Several townspeople gawked at her as she smoothed the pleats in her slacks – Or she thought they gawked at her… Maybe she was overthinking the whole scene. Too many Western movies…

  Over lunch, Dan discussed what they’d see next on their journey. Sarah felt like she was crossing a new threshold in her life. Her eyes shone and she couldn’t wait…

  “There are only two more towns before we get to Wells: Battle Mountain and Elko,” said Dan.

  “Strange name, Battle Mountain. What’s that about?” asked a man who had been sitting behind Sarah in the van.

  “Battle Mountain has a long, distinguished history,” said Dan. “First it was a waypoint west for pioneers on the Emigrant Trail, and then a railroad town to help with the mining activity.”

  “What was mined here?” asked Sarah.

  “Copper and gold. Just gold now…”

  “What’s with the name?”

  Dan laughed. “No one really knows. The town sits on the valley floor and there’s been no battle nearby.” Everyone laughed at that.

  He paused while they all ate more of their lunches. He continued when Sarah looked over at him.

  “And Elko?”

  “Another strange name,” said the same man.

  “That one is better explained,” began Dan. “Elko is a Shoshoni Indian word for ‘rocks piled on one another’.” He laughed. “Look around. You’ll probably still see evidence of that name.”

  “Was it also along some pioneer trail?” asked a woman who’d been sitting in the back of the van.

  “Yes, ma’am. It lies along the route of the California Trail, later becoming a railroad town. It’s big on ranching, gold mining and rail freight.”

  Sarah thought about that while munching her salad. Something was nagging her, some partially remembered thought. What was it?

  “Dan,” began Sarah. She wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Isn’t there a story about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid being here in Winnemucca? Some bank robbery, maybe?”

  Dan laughed. “Right you are, Sarah.” Everyone leaned in to hear this one. “The Hole in the Wall Gang, including Butch and Sundance share one of the most exciting moments in Winnemucca history… The Gang came here to rob the local bank. The story goes that Butch put a knife to the bank president’s throat and ordered him to open the safe.”

  “How much did they get?” asked the lady by Sarah.

  “$2,000 in gold coin.” Someone whistled.

  “That was a lot of money back then.”

  “A lot now…” someone added.

  Dan continued. “It’s a great story, but we’re not sure that it’s all true.”

  “Why is that, Dan?” asked Sarah.

  “The Pinkerton Detective Agency found a picture of the Gang in a photographer’s display window in Ft. Worth, Texas. They sent it to the banker to see if he could identify who robbed him. He wasn’t able to ID Butch Cassidy as one of the men who robbed him.”

  Everyone leaned back and smiled.

  “I love these Old West stories,” said the man next to Dan. “They’re so colorful and interesting…”

  “Anyway,” continued Dan, “that was good enough for the town and they’ve always claimed that Butch did indeed rob the bank here, back in 1900.”

  “Great story,” smiled Sarah. Dan winked at her.

  After traveling through Battle Mountain and Elko, it was another hour to Wells and then a bit more out to the ranch. Bouncing along the gravel road, Sarah knew her point of no return was when she saw the sign -- Walker Ranch. It was on a huge metal gate, stretching across the road with a wagon wheel emblem. She was a very long ways from Baltimore and her destination in the big country had come at last…

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Traveling up that gravel road, Sarah continued to marvel at the landscape around her. The big sky was overcast now with dark clouds slowly pushing out the white ones. Rain was coming… She rolled down her window to breathe in the air. It actually smelled damp.

  Cattle loitered on one side of the road, up a ways on a low hill. Maybe forty head of brown mixed with black cows chewed and swallowed, as they looked around lazily and at one another. A cowboy on a gray and white spotted horse trotted towards them to encourage movement. After a while, they paid some attention to him and the lead cattle began to move up and over the hill. The rest began to follow… Sarah rested her chin on one hand and smiled in reverence at the pastoral sight.

  The ranch house came into view. It looked massive, especially since it was the only building around for miles. The house backed up against a low hill that probably looked lovely with snow on it. Sarah saw a decorative, wooden fence on the front perimeter. As Dan drove closer, she could see that it was built of a light kind of wood – cedar maybe -- with a dark green roof. Beautiful…

  Dan pulled up the van to a front parking area, stopped and stepped out to unload baggage. Sarah and her fellow travelers got out, stretched and began just looking all around them. There was much to see…

  She was gawking at the countryside and the ranch house when Dan came up behind and nudged her.

  “Sorry, ma’am. Did I bump into you?” he drawled.

  “Yes, sir. You did…” smiled Sarah.

  “Let me take your bags in for you.”

  “Thanks, Dan. I can do it…” He wouldn’t give up the bags.

  “No, I’ve got it. Follow me.”

  After registering inside, Dan showed her a few rooms. The bar and sitting area had a huge stone fireplace and antler chandeliers. She walked on wooden

  floors throughout that shined with new varnish. The dining room had windows all along one wall with huge wooden tables and sideboards filled with drinks. They were preparing for the evening meal, and Sarah could smell mouth-watering aromas. Her stomach made hungry noises…

  Dan finally showed her to her room. It had a beautiful, double bed with a bay window that looked out to the surrounding mountains. The décor was Western, of course, with horse paintings and a pine four-poster bed. The night table on one side of her bed had a little lamp with a metal horse on it. Dan put her bags down and Sarah tried to tip him.

  “Oh, no. Thank you, ma’am, but no.”

  “Dan, you’ve been a wonderful driver and therapist,” she smiled at him. “The least I can do for you is give you a nice tip.”

  He smi
led at her then. “Would you like to know what you can do for me?”

  “Yes, please…”

  “…Just enjoy yourself. Let go and find yourself here. Many people do…”

  Sarah gasped. “Why would you think that I need to find myself?”

  “No particular reason. I’ll go now. Freshen up and dinner’s in an hour. Nice to meet you, miss.” He tipped his hat and left.

  Sarah wasn’t too sure if she should have called him Yoda or Obi Wan Kenobi. Crap… That’s ‘Star Wars’, isn’t it? Abby would be proud. And speaking of Abby, she tried to send her a text. Unfortunately, cell phone or Internet service wasn’t as good as it might be and her text just hung there – in Cyberspace, or wherever it went. The same for her father… Then Sarah smiled. They can’t reach me… Oh, boy and I can’t reach them…

  She exhaled a deep breath. It was getting easier to do just that. They can’t reach me… She thought it again. It was a truly delicious feeling and one she let flow over her for a minute or two. Then she dug jeans and a casual shirt out of one suitcase, put them on and went into the bathroom to freshen up. Sarah took down her French twist and brushed her hair back into a ponytail. Taking another quick look at her wonderful room, she left to see the rest of the ranch house. Sarah was happy and feeling playful – Probably for the first time in years…

  Talk about new… Absolutely everywhere she looked was a new experience. The ranch house, the people, the food, the country… She was so out of her element that she felt she might be on Mars. But everyone was so nice and friendly. They were happy to see her and it showed. She found the owner of the ranch house and went up to him.

  “Mr. Walker, thank you so much for accepting my reservation on such short notice.”

  “Well, miss, we’re very pleased to have you. Don’t worry about a thing.” Don’t worry about a thing? When was the last time anyone had said that to her…