Firelight at Mustang Ridge

by Jesse Hayworth

  “If it wasn’t, it sure is now. Let’s go.” He took hold of the rope, but then turned back. “Oh, and by the way?”

  “Mm?”

  “When we get to that restaurant I was talking about? The one with the tablecloths? We’re going to toast your new venture with a bottle of wine that’s so ridiculously expensive that you won’t insist on flipping a coin for the bill.” He winked, then kicked away from the rock. And for a moment, he was weightless.

  15

  “Look!” Sara Fitch pointed to a wingspread shadow soaring beyond the main barn at Mustang Ridge. “It’s an eagle! I’m sure of it this time!”

  She had been sure the last four times, too, and those had turned out to be a pair of crows, a hawk, and a Boeing. It was the end of Raptor Day, though, so Danny obligingly squinted hard enough to blur the dark, gliding outline. “You know, you could be right!” Which wasn’t entirely a fib.

  “Woo!” The curvy blonde did a hip-hoppy victory dance and collected a high five from the guy behind her, which took her shimmy-shake up a notch. But then the guy—a handsome, perfectly muscled gym owner named J.D. whom Krista had dubbed the most likely to score and not follow up once the week was over—immediately turned back to Minn, the short, stacked brunette he’d been talking to for most of the hike.

  The two of them had barely taken enough of a break in their full-court eye contact to “ooh” and “aah” over the up-close-and-personals the group had gotten with a juvenile red-tail and a couple of woodpeckers, never mind the awesome waterfall where they had stopped for lunch. And now, as the group of eight dusty hikers piled into the parking lot where they had met up this morning, J.D. and Minn gave a couple of distracted waves, chorused “Thanks for the hike,” and made an unsubtle beeline for J.D.’s cabin.

  Ah, yes, Danny thought. Singles Week. Krista had warned her it would be an interesting time, and she had been braced for something like the high-octane romance on the rain forest set of Jungle Love. It hadn’t turned out to be quite that bad—probably because there weren’t any cameras or wannabe starlets involved—but there had still been plenty of Stetson-wearing drama lovers. Like when East Coast Dana caught “her” man slipping out behind the barn with West Coast Dana on day two. Or the time J.D. named himself the prize of a friendly game of horseshoes, and the competition had spiraled out of control, fast. It hadn’t quite come to hair pulling, but it had been close.

  Come to think of it, Danny had probably gotten off easy. It had been a quiet week for hiking and fishing, and most of the people who had joined her excursions had been coupled off and enjoying each other. With a few notable exceptions, of course.

  Now, Sara came up beside her and gave a big sigh. “Oh, well. I tried.”

  Danny nodded. “You did. And, bonus, you learned how to spot an eagle on the fly.” Sort of.

  The other woman brightened. “I did, didn’t I?” She made a face in the direction of J.D.’s cabin. “Who needs perfect teeth and pecs you can bounce a quarter off of? I’ve got—” She broke off, suddenly riveted on something beyond Danny. “Whoa, hang on. Who is that?”

  Danny turned, getting the distinct feeling she knew exactly who had caught Sara’s attention. Sure enough, Sam stood near his pickup, having paused to exchange a few words with Foster and Wyatt. It made for a whole lot of good-looking cowboys, with Sam standing a couple of inches taller and looking like he was in charge of whatever they were discussing. The upcoming rockhound trip, probably.

  The sight sent heat skimming through Danny’s veins—a mix of feminine pleasure and anticipation of the night to come. Any worries she might’ve had that he would pull back when she started thinking about staying in the area had been squashed over the past week, with the two of them spending most of their free time together at his place or hers, out with their friends, or hanging at Mustang Ridge. They had gone back out to Hyrule several times, digging out gorgeous, almost alien-looking crystal formations of aqua and iodolite. Tonight, several of them were going to be on display at a convention center in the city. And, girly though it might be, she was jazzed to be going to her first gem show with Sam.

  Who looked over at her and shot a wink that had Sara sucking in a breath. “Did you see that?” she practically squeaked. “He’s totally checking us out!”

  “That’s Sam Babcock. He’s sort of a neighbor,” Danny said, then couldn’t help the goofy grin that spread over her face as she added, “And he’s taken.”

  “Oh?” Sara glanced from him to her and back again, then said again, more knowingly, “Ohhh. Sorry. Then again, I guess you’ve got to be used to it. A guy like that is going to get his share of second looks.”

  Not sure what to say, Danny went with, “We’re headed out for the evening. Have a nice night, and I’ll catch you later. Oh, and Sara?”

  The other woman’s attention came back to her. “Yes?”

  “If you don’t mind a word of advice, maybe think of sitting next to Ben at dinner tonight and seeing if you can get him to talk to you. He’s really smart and funny when you get past the quiet.”

  Sara looked dubious. “I don’t know about that beard . . .”

  “I think there’s a really nice guy underneath it.” One who lived in the same state as Sara, even, and whose eyes had followed her across the dining hall more than once. Danny nudged the other woman. “Give him a chance. What have you got to lose?”

  “Some of the skin on my face?” But she didn’t sound too put off by the prospect, and she nudged Danny in return. “Thanks. For everything.”

  “Anytime,” Danny said, and meant it. “Catch you later.” Then, warming with anticipation, she headed to meet Sam, who was coming her way. “Hey there, handsome,” she said, taking his outstretched hand and spinning into him like they were back at the square dance. “Rumor has it you need some arm candy for some big shindig tonight.”

  He dipped her, then leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. “I thought it was the other way around.”

  “Mutual arm candy, then,” she declared, straightening to give him a proper kiss. “Just let me grab my bag and round up Whiz, and we can get out of here.” She hadn’t moved anything to his place despite the invitation, but she didn’t have any problem snagging his shower and parking her dog at Windfall, knowing they’d be coming back there for the night.

  “You look pleased with yourself.” He glanced at Sara’s retreating back. “Playing matchmaker?”

  “Maybe a little. It’s Singles Week, after all.”

  “Any love connections so far?”

  “We’ll see. Krista said they’ve had a bunch of Singles Week success stories come back for their honeymoons, and I guess a few of the couples that’ve made it have surprised her. Some folks just get lucky, I guess.” Not wanting him to think she was fishing, she added, “How about you whistle up Whiz and I’ll grab my stuff? I don’t want to be late for my first gem show!” They didn’t need to analyze what was going on between them, after all. They were just in it to have a good time.

  Make that a very good time.

  * * *

  Sam had never brought a date to a gem show before—that was too much mixing business with pleasure for him. With Danny, though, he hadn’t hesitated for a second—she had a real feel for gems, and his guys already treated her like she was part of the team. And, besides, he flat out wanted her there with him, wanted to see the show through her eyes.

  “Well?” he said as they came through the main doors into the ballroom. “What do you think?”

  The echoing space had been decked out with banners and trade show booths, with the Babcock Gems display taking up three stalls’ worth of prime real estate opposite the main entrance. The huge wilderness-style tent was made of dark green fabric and had the front roped open to show display tables and cabinets of strategically lit gems. Dark green signs were labeled with the company name and Web address in flowing silver script, and the
blue-diamond Babcock logo was big enough to be seen from the other side of the enormous space. Behind the showcase tent ran row after row of displays from other outfits, selling everything from rain gear to rock hammers. With bodies thronging the aisles, a snack bar in the back, and a hum of voices that drowned out the Muzak coming from the overhead speakers, the whole effect was one of activity, suppressed excitement, and glittering stones.

  “Ohmigosh!” Danny bounced on the balls of her feet, putting a little swish in the floaty blue shirt she was wearing with painted-on black pants and low heels. “This is amazing!” As the crowd eddied around them, she tugged on Sam’s arm. “Quick, show me everything!”

  He had lost count of the number of these things he’d been to—heck, he’d probably attended his first with his father, strapped in a baby backpack or hooked to a toddler leash or something. Over the years, he’d hit everything from informal get-togethers consisting of a couple of folding tables in the back of a Grange hall, where he could sometimes find amazing gems for a song, all the way to black-tie affairs where he could make good money selling shiny clusters to well-heeled collectors. The Pioneer Trail Gem Show fell between the two extremes, mostly aimed at the more experienced prospectors. The organizers had taken the theme and run with it, marking the corners of each aisle with wooden barrels and bales of straw, dressing the event staffers like they were part of a wagon train, and decking out the snack bar like an old-timey chuck wagon.

  And he had a feeling Danny was going to dig every kitschy second of it.

  Slipping an arm around her waist, he said, “How about we start with the home team, so I can check in with the guys?”

  “You’re on. I want to get a look at the clusters we pulled out of Hyrule. I haven’t seen them since you cleaned them up.”

  He didn’t know which he liked better—how quickly she had taken to his world, or the sway of her backside as she led the way to the display tent. Good news was, he didn’t have to choose. They came together in the same curly-haired package, along with a quick wit and an active mind that always seemed to be a couple of steps ahead of his.

  “Boss.” Murph nodded in their direction when they came through the flap into the well-lit space. Wearing all black, with discreet silver accenting his piercings and his hair slicked back, he looked ready to take on the world. Or at least sell some stones. His expression lighted at the sight of her, and he said, “Hiya, Danny. You want to see what we did with the aqua from Hyrule?”

  “Absolutely!” She hunkered close to the display case he indicated, where three of the best clusters were spotlighted on the top shelf, the blue and purple crystals bursting from the rocky substrate like the spray from a gemstone breaker crashing into a rocky beach. The glass case reflected her eyes as they went wide and bright. “Oh!” she said, catching Sam’s hand and squeezing tight. “They look amazing. What did you guys do to them?”

  Before Sam could answer, Murph said, “First we touched up the facets on a few of the shafts and got rid of some small flaws. Then we polished the surfaces. Here, let me open this up, and you can feel how smooth they are now.”

  As the geologist popped open the display and handed over one of the clusters, going on about the different grits he had used to polish the two types of stone, Sam stepped back and took a look around the tent, pleased to see Midas going over the controls of one of the new scanners with Trudy Snow, whose family had a good-size claim north of Three Ridges and a wide network of contacts. Some good word of mouth from the Snow family could help them sell out the new production run in no time flat.

  “Not worried about protecting your territory?” Axyl said, stepping up beside Sam as Murph puffed out his chest and did a charades version of the polishing process.

  Sam snorted. “He’d better put in as much effort with the actual customers, or he’s going to be in trouble.” Murph and Midas had a standing bet over which one raked in the most sales at each event. “Any idea what the stakes are tonight?”

  “Loser has to buy a round over at the Rope Burn on karaoke night.”

  “That’s not bad.”

  “Then get up and sing ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight.’”

  “Ha. Count me in.”

  “For the bet?”

  “No, for karaoke night.” Sam grinned as Trudy patted the scanner and Midas pulled up an order form on his computer tablet. “Looks like Murph has some ground to make up.”

  “So stop distracting him, and go buy your girlfriend something sparkly.” Axyl said it with a sidelong look that said he knew darn well Sam had never given a woman a cut gemstone, and didn’t often use the g-word. Girlfriend.

  “I doubt she’d let me,” Sam said, refusing to take the bait with her standing a few feet away. “Darned woman insists on paying every other date.”

  The old prospector chuckled. “She knows you’re rich, right?”

  “I don’t think she cares.”

  “Good for her. Now go on. Get out of here before she figures out that Midas is halfway in love with her. We’ll hold the fort while you make the rounds of the booths. Keep a close eye on her, though. You know how some of these guys can get.”

  It took another couple of minutes—and a threat to make a video of karaoke night and post it on YouTube—for Sam to liberate Danny from the Babcock Gems tent. Finally, though, they made it back out into the flow of human traffic. “Let’s take a look around,” he suggested. “I’d like to get a sense of what some of the other crews have found so far this season.”

  Over the next hour or so, they cruised from booth to booth, checking out some nice clusters of beryl and yellow amethyst, chatting with fellow prospectors and trying a couple of hammers on for size. Over Danny’s laughing protests, Sam bought her a T-shirt that read I DIG ROCKS, a baseball cap that proclaimed her an official pebble pup, and a soft pretzel slathered with spicy mustard. And darned if he didn’t find himself looking at a hammered silver bracelet set with a good-size teardrop-shaped aquamarine.

  Looking wasn’t the same as buying, though, and he had plenty of gem-grade aqua at home.

  “Who do you think is going to win the bet?” she asked as they circled back around to the Babcock Gems tent.

  “Historically, Midas and Murph are about even,” Sam said, “but when the wager involves public humiliation, Midas usually finds a way to come out on top. So I’m betting on him today.”

  “Maybe I should bet on Murph, then. How about a side bet, just between us? Loser has to sing backup on karaoke night.”

  “Sam!” A voice called from behind them, saving him from having to figure out how to get out of a bet that involved inflicting his so-called singing voice on the public.

  Pivoting them both, Sam grinned with real pleasure at the sight of a wiry, hunched old guy with a walrus moustache and a thin fringe of white hair. “Chucky T. How the heck are you?”

  “Still breathing, boy. Still breathing.” The old rockhound’s faded eyes shifted, brightened. “And now I’m breathing faster. Who is this pretty lady?”

  Tightening his arm around her waist, Sam said, “This is Danny. Danny, this is Chuck. He’s a buddy of my father’s from way back.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Chuck.” Danny gave the older man’s arthritis-gnarled hand a gentle shake.

  “And you, my dear.” He patted her hand, then shifted his attention back to Sam. “And Danny is . . .” He trailed off, turning it into a question.

  Sam hesitated for a beat, flipping through and discarding the options. Then, knowing it was Axyl’s fault for putting it in his head, but surprised how good it felt, he said, “She’s my girlfriend.”

  Chucky T’s face brightened. “Well, then, that’s a fine thing, isn’t it, boy?”

  “I think so.” Though Danny was looking up at him with an expression he couldn’t quite read, making him wonder if he had overstepped. Before the other man could make things worse by asking
if it was serious, Sam said, “So what have you been up to? You still working that Colorado claim?” They chatted for a minute about places and people they used to have in common. It brought a twinge, talking about the old days, but Sam was used to that by now. Whenever he went to a show, it seemed he was bound to run into someone who knew him before. Tonight, though, he was equally aware of the woman beside him, shooting him sidelong looks that said she was wondering what he was up to, what he had meant by the g-word.

  Thing was, he wasn’t even really sure himself. But he didn’t wish it back, either.

  “How is Axyl doing?” Chucky T asked. “Is he still riding around on that bike of his?”

  “You know it. In fact, he’s here tonight, over by the big green tent.” Sam pointed to the back of the Babcock Gems setup. “I know he’d get a kick out of seeing you.”

  “I’ll head over there right now so me and old Axyl can swap some lies about fast cars and pretty girls like the one you’ve got here.” Chucky winked at Danny, then added, “Take care of her, boy. It’s good to see you happy.”

  “Thanks, Chuck. It’s good to be happy.” Which wasn’t something he’d really thought much about before. He considered himself a pretty upbeat guy in general, but, yeah, he was a different sort of happy these days. He only hoped he hadn’t made things weird just now or set himself up for a fall. Because history said that once he and a girlfriend got to the serious-discussion stage, it was the beginning of the end.

  Danny was different, though. She understood him, wasn’t looking to change him.

  He hoped.

  * * *

  The walls weren’t exactly closing in—the room was huge, after all, even with all the tables and people—but as the older man moved off, Danny couldn’t quite catch her breath as the word girlfriend ricocheted around inside her head. Sam’s expression was wary, but he had been the one to bring it up, and she had to say something, darn it. “Sooo . . .” she said, drawing it out and doing her best to keep things light. “Does that make you my boyfriend?”