Riding the River

by Jeanne Harrell

  I knew I’d find you in a day or two

  And it’s true…

  You came upon a quiet day

  You simply seemed to take your place.

  I knew that it would be that way

  The minute that I saw your face...

  And when we’ve had a few more days

  I wonder if I’ll get to say

  You didn’t have to be so nice

  I would have liked you anyway’…

  Sarah tried not to stare but it was hard. She was standing towards the back of a group of people who were slow dancing. Two men had asked her to dance, but she shook her head – She was listening to him… And he noticed every time she turned someone down.

  Those lyrics… Sure it was from an old group called the Lovin’ Spoonful, but he watched her as he sang. It hit her -- He was singing to her… Sarah sighed and understood the groupie mentality now. With his looks and voice, Matt could have been a rock star. The girls around him sighed and giggled… Sarah couldn’t tear her eyes away from his…

  When he finished singing, he received huge applause, especially from the giggling girls. Sarah was frozen to the spot… ‘You didn’t need to be so nice, I would have liked you anyway’… Those lyrics echoed in her head. Was that how he felt? It was only her third day in Nevada and she was falling for a cowboy. Sarah blinked rapidly and gulped in some fresh air. Was she completely nuts?

  She quickly looked around for Tess and saw her walking off hand-in-hand with Richie. Who knows where they were going… She felt the urgency to beat a hasty retreat. Matt was taking off his guitar and stepping away from the other musicians. He was looking around the crowd – for me? Oh, my… What am I doing? And she ran…

  Dale saw her go and he blew out an exasperated breath. He knew it was all going to be so much harder than he’d imagined. Then he watched Matt scan the crowd of people for her. When he didn’t see her, he ran a hand through his hair and looked away, towards the hills. Matt probably thought she was as skittish as a new colt and he was running out of time… Dale watched Matt pick up his hat and leave the dance area. Nope, nothing was happening tonight obviously.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “So where the heck did you go last night?” Tess asked Sarah at breakfast the next morning.

  “You want to know where I went? Where did you go? I saw you walking off with Richie.”

  Tess sighed. “I did… I really did…”

  “So?” Sarah raised an eyebrow at her. She popped a bite of muffin in her mouth.

  “So…” Tess raised an eyebrow back at her. “We went to his cabin and we…”

  “… I think I get the picture.”

  “Oh, my… I hope so. The picture is sooo good…” Tess bit into her toast.

  Sarah laughed at her. “At least your night sounds better than mine.”

  “What happened?”

  “… Nothing…”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I did it to myself.”

  “… Take it from the top… We left when Matt started singing. Wasn’t he good?”

  Sarah sighed. “… Too good… I started getting goofy thoughts about him.”

  “Goofy?”

  “… Mushy…”

  “Oh – mushy. That’s good, right?”

  “No, Tess. I’ve only been in Nevada for three days now and I’m not going to fall for a local cowboy.”

  Tess rolled her eyes. “Of course not. Just have a few nights pleasure. After the weekend, we’ll be gone and everyone will have had a nice time.”

  “Is that what you’re doing with Richie? Having a few nights pleasure?”

  “God, I hope so. The guy has an incredible bedside manner.” She winked at Sarah. “…If you catch my drift.”

  Sarah couldn’t help herself and laughed at her.

  “I just can’t do that, Tess.”

  “What?”

  “… Hop in the sack with some guy for fun. It’s…”

  “…It’s what?”

  “Too personal, too intimate.”

  Tess smirked. “I sure hope so…” She took another bite of her toast.

  “Don’t you want more than that?”

  “Sure, someday. But I didn’t think I’d look for a forever guy on a week’s vacation at a remote ranch in Nevada. I just want to have fun…”

  “Does Richie feel that way?”

  “Oh, yes… Definitely.” She thought a minute and looked at Sarah. “He spoke a little bit about Matt.” Sarah ate some of her eggs and mumbled something. “Want to hear what he said?”

  “… Okay…” Sarah swallowed and looked over at Tess.

  “Matt was married once before and has a little boy in Reno.”

  “He has a child?”

  “Yes…”

  “Did he say what happened to the marriage?”

  “Just that it didn’t work out…”

  Sarah sat back in her chair and pushed a few strands of hair out of her face. “I bet that’s what he was doing in Reno when I saw him at the hotel.”

  “Yeah. Maybe he’d just been visiting his boy…”

  “…Ah…”

  “Does that change the way you think about him, Sarah?”

  “Yes…”

  “How so?”

  She got a big grin on her face. “It makes me like him more. I bet he wants something more out of life too – like me. He may not be just a cowboy looking for a good time.”

  “Nope. Richie said Matt was way too serious about lots of things.”

  Sarah thought about that for a few minutes. Then she pushed back from the table. “Okay, breakfast is over. Let the horse drive begin. Let’s go…”

  Tess laughed as they headed back to their rooms to pick up duffel bags and bedrolls.

  “So where the heck did you go last night, Richie? I looked around after our set and you’d taken off.” Matt was finishing up his bacon and eggs.

  “Yeah, you were wowing the girls when Tess and I decided to go for a stroll.” He raised his eyebrows at Matt.

  “Did that stroll end up at your cabin?”

  Richie gave him a look of mock surprise. “Golly, gee… What do you know about that? It did, indeed.”

  Matt laughed at him. “Well… I’m glad someone had a good night.”

  “What happened? Nothing? I saw you making eyes at Sarah…”

  “… I apparently scared her off. When I finished my song, I couldn’t find her anywhere. She must have left… Unimpressed with me, probably.”

  “She didn’t stick around to talk to you?”

  “Nope…”

  Richie shrugged. “Too bad. She looked really cute last night.”

  Matt sighed. “Damn… Didn’t she? Dale told me, in a roundabout way, to try to get to know her. How can I when she takes off on me?”

  “Think she’s playing hard to get?”

  “… I don’t know, but I don’t think so. I think she’s scared… Of what, I have no clue.”

  “Well…” Matt looked over at Richie. He was about to take a big bite of bacon.

  “Well, what?”

  “… Um…”

  “Out with it…”

  “During a lull in the action, Tess said a couple of things about Sarah.”

  Matt perked up. “Like what?”

  “Desperate for information?”

  “Yes… tell me…”

  “… Well, you know she’s from Baltimore.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Apparently, she’s from a prominent family.”

  “How prominent?”

  “I guess Sarah didn’t say, but Tess got the feeling they were important.”

  “What else?”

  “She mentioned that Sarah had just broken up with some guy too.”

  “…Really? This is good… More…”

  “Well, she and Tess don’t know each other that well, but…”

  “But what?”

  “Tess got the feeling she was running away from something… or
someone…”

  “That doesn’t sound good.” Matt thought a minute. “But it might explain her hesitancy toward me, her skittishness.”

  Richie brightened. “Oh… You’ll like this.”

  “What is it?” Matt leaned toward him.

  “Sarah definitely thinks you’re cute.”

  “Cute?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s it?”

  “What do you want? A marriage proposal? Much has been done with less.”

  Matt nodded his head. “Yep, you’re right. Thanks for the information.”

  “You’re welcome.” Richie wiped off his mouth. “Ready to hit the trail?”

  “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The cowboys had some sixty horses rounded up and ready to go. Mr. Walker stood by the corral gate and looked out at the various mounted guests and cowboys. It was always one of the parts of the drive he liked best. Taking them out and bringing them in…

  Sarah sat back out a ways on Thunder with Tess beside her on Strawberry. She checked to make sure she had the horseshoe in her saddlebag, as they waited for him -- Everyone watched him expectantly.

  “Ready?” He yelled. Then he waved his cowboy hat in the air, while making a bunch of noises. Sarah thought she heard him say, “Hey, hut hut, git on...” Or something like that. All the cowboys waved their hats in the air, so the guests did as well.

  “What’d he say?” asked Tess.

  “I don’t know. I was kind of expecting the Yee haw scene from ‘Red River’.

  Mr. Walker opened the corral and the horses started walking out. Cooper, the trail boss, took over and the cowboys began pushing the herd of horses up towards the northern part of the property.

  “Good luck, you guys…” called out Mr. Walker as cowboys and guests started riding with the herd.

  Dale had already gone ahead to meet the herd at a pre-arranged stopping place for the night. He drove a truck with a small trailer filled with food and kitchen things for the drive. He’d asked Sarah to drive with him, but she wanted to ride a horse instead. He’d given all the guests a container of food for their lunches. They’d have a cold lunch, but hot dinner.

  So the horses were moving north with cowboys and guests following alongside and behind. Occasionally, Sarah would flick the reins on her legs to get the horses moving.

  They rode for a while moving the herd along a flat area between hills and the riding wasn’t hard. Sarah watched as the cowboys yelled, “Whoop, whoop” and moved their arms up and down to keep the herd moving. It was quite a picture – Riding through the grassy area between hills towards low mountains on the horizon, tiny white clouds up in the blue, forever sky. After an hour or so, they started to climb up a more mountainous area where the going was tougher. Frank and Aaron got off their horses to shoo some of the strays back toward the bulk of the herd. It was hard riding for a while, but the views into the valley were breathtaking. They rode down on the other side towards a low-level pasture area. It had been several hours riding when Cooper called lunch.

  Sarah dismounted, already feeling some creeping stiffness in her legs.

  “You okay?” yelled Tess. She looked like her legs were stiffening up too.

  “Yeah… You?” Sarah smiled when Tess gave her a thumbs-up.

  Looking around, Sarah thought they were in Heaven, all right. Tall pine trees reaching up in the sky, each vying for their bit of sun. The horses, in varying shades of brown and black, rested on the grass, eating and flicking their tails… Colts and fillies trying to find their mothers… She took off her hat and reached into her saddlebag for her water bottle. Richie rode by to see how they were doing.

  “Hey, ladies. How’s it going?”

  “Great,” smiled Tess. She pushed back a few strands of hair that fell in her face.

  “…Good,” added Sarah. “We’re staying on and rounding up a few strays.”

  “That’s the job… See you later.” Richie winked at Tess and tipped his hat at both women.

  “He’s pretty cute, Tess,” began Sarah. “Sure you only want an afternoon delight with him?”

  Tess sighed. “…Afternoon, evening, morning, any time…”

  That got Sarah laughing. Cooper rode up to them.

  “…Ladies… Doing all right?”

  “Indeed, Cooper. Thanks, we’re fine.”

  “Well, look lively. After the lunch break, we have a few more hours to go until we reach Dale and the campsite.”

  “Then I go to work,” said Sarah.

  “How about you try a little fishing first?” He raised his eyebrows at her.

  “… Fishing?”

  “Yup. Later…” And he galloped off.

  The relaxing break lasted about thirty minutes, and then Cooper got them all up and riding again. The next part of the ride was easier with flat valleys and flowing creeks. Sarah and Tess yelled, “Eh, eh” and “Yup, yup” and the like to keep the horses moving forward. The other guests seemed to be getting into the swing of things as well, enjoying the experience.

  Matt watched as Sarah moved in and out of the herd with her horse. She seemed fearless, sometimes chasing a few strays back in. The outdoors brought out her smile and her rosy cheeks. Her cowboy hat had fallen on her back, its string around her neck. Her ponytail flicked around like a horse’s tail and a windblown look on her was exceptionally good… He smiled. Matt now expected that she could handle any Western experience that came her way. Whatever had happened in Baltimore was a dim memory… She was confident and it showed. He wished this drive could last forever…

  By late afternoon, they made it to the campsite where they’d spend the night. There were picnic tables available in the area with a stream flowing close to the tall trees nearby. The cowboys took care of all their horses, so the guests were free to wander around and explore the woods and campsite. Some put up their tents. Birch trees mixed with aspens, sagebrush dotted the landscape. The horse herd was in a close pasture eating and chewing, settling in for the night.

  Sarah stood still for a moment with her eyes closed, listening to the new sounds around her. She thought she heard an owl, but wasn’t sure. Unfamiliar birdcalls filled the air, as did a breeze whispering through the trees. She breathed in smells of pine and sage. It was unfamiliar perhaps, but comfortable… Easy. She felt at home. Matt had come up quietly behind her. He was surprised at her comfort level and shook his head… Why should he be surprised? She was born here in another life, maybe…

  She opened her eyes and turned to see him standing about six feet away from her, holding two fishing rods, a net and some other gear. Sarah blinked…

  “No, I’m not stalking you again.” She smiled this time. “Cooper asked me to take you fishing, if you’d like…” He looked away for a minute and when he looked back, his dark eyes were darker. “Would you like to – fish, that is?”

  Sarah looked around for Tess. “Where’s Tess?”

  “… with Richie.” She watched him for a moment.

  “Okay. I’d love to learn how to fish.”

  “You’ve never fished before?”

  “… Absolutely everything on this trip has been a first for me.” Sarah laughed. “Fishing is no exception.”

  Matt smiled. “I’m amazed that you’re willing to try so many new things.”

  “It’s one of the reasons I came on this trip.”

  “What was another reason, Sarah?” She looked hesitant again. “Sorry. None of my business.” Then he brightened. “Ready to go?”

  “Sure…”

  Guests were milling around, sitting at the tables, playing a game of horseshoes or taking walks. Not too many were down by the stream, so Matt took her down a short path. He found a good spot for them to fish from and set up their gear. When he started fixing the fly rod for her, she stopped him.

  “No, show me,” said Sarah.

  Matt smiled. Of course, she’d want to know. After he’d shown her how to set up the rod, she did her own. They
were standing on the bank of the stream when he starting a casting lesson.

  “We’re going to start with the overhead cast. It’s a rhythmic motion. Look, bend and stop, bend and stop. Do that twice…” He threw the line out and flicked it. Sarah watched as the line flew way out to the middle of the stream. He demonstrated the technique again.

  She was holding her rod and tried flicking it a few times, like Matt had shown her. She wasn’t too successful and the line didn’t fly out very far.

  “Try to keep the tip of your rod straight,” he suggested.

  She tried again and couldn’t get it right. “Could you show me again?”

  He nodded shyly… Matt came up behind Sarah and placed his hand lightly on hers, on the fishing rod. His other hand settled possessively at her waist to hold her steady. He guided her hand to cast this time…She drew in a breath…

  “Okay, straight back, bend and stop. Again bend and stop…” He spoke softly in her ear. This time her line flew straight, way out in the stream. She laughed, delighted at what they’d done. Her face seemed lit from within… Smiling, Sarah turned to him and his face was close now. Matt’s dark eyes slowly traveled up her face until they reached her startled blue ones. He waited a beat, while their eyes stayed locked. Neither of them could speak for a moment… He reluctantly took a step back.

  “I…I think I’ve got it now.” Sarah stood still, trying to calm her breathing.

  “Good…” Matt’s eyes stayed on hers. “I’ll join you.” He reached for his rod.

  She smiled. “Shouldn’t we bait the hooks with something?”

  Matt blushed. “Oh, yeah… sorry. Bring your rod back.” He bent down into the tackle box he’d brought and pulled out two exotic fishing flies. They were colorful with feathers and he wrapped them on both their rods quickly. “Here, try it again.”

  This time Sarah flicked her line out with no trouble. “I guess you’re a pretty good teacher.”

  “Thanks.” Matt cast his line as well. “Come on. Sit down here and let’s just fish for a while.”

  She sat down on the bank of the stream by him and held onto her rod. They didn’t say anything for several minutes – It was comfortable just being there, calming and relaxing. The line floating in the water… Finally, Sarah spoke up.