Indian Summer

by Amy Elizabeth

  As if preparing the ranch for their guests wasn’t enough work, it was also calving season. Although they’d scaled back the cattle operation significantly over the past few years, the herd still averaged about two-hundred head. Nearly every day for the entire month, Alec and Tommy worked from sunup to sundown to assist the cows with their deliveries.

  Midway through the month, Alec, Rebecca, and Tommy headed into town for a preseason business meeting with their food and beverage manager. Ryan Fellini had worked for Alec since the Flying W’s inception as a guest ranch. He spent his winters at a ski resort in Jackson Hole, managing one of the village’s busiest restaurants. During the summer, he transitioned to the ranch to supervise Alec’s staff of cooks, servers, and housekeepers.

  Ryan was waiting outside the restaurant when the three of them pulled up to meet him. From the passenger’s seat, Rebecca let out a groan. “Why does he always do this to me?”

  Alec chuckled as he parked the truck. “Maybe he enjoys getting a rise out of you.”

  She shot him a glare. “I think you enjoy it more than anyone.”

  “Are you kidding? Of course I do.”

  A full-blooded Italian New Yorker, Ryan loved to flaunt apparel from his home state’s sports teams. Alec never thought anything of it until Rebecca came to the ranch. The first time she saw Ryan wearing his Yankees cap, she pulled it off his head and tossed it into the deep fryer. Later that week, he presented her with a framed poster of Bill Buckner’s infamous error that cost the Red Sox the ’86 World Series.

  The poster, too, went into the deep fryer, and the semi-friendly rivalry had continued ever since.

  Ryan swaggered towards them as they emerged from the truck. “Alec, my man,” he greeted, giving him a hearty slap on the back. “Good to see ya.”

  He gave Tommy a vigorous handshake, too, before he turned to Rebecca and opened his arms. She took a step back and folded her arms over her chest, clearly uninterested in returning the gesture.

  “Aw, what’s the matter, Bec? Are you cold?” Ryan shrugged off his jacket. “Why don’t you take my brand-new, special edition, Super Bowl champions New York Giants jacket?”

  She glared at him as he draped it around her shoulders. “You know, Ryan, just because it’s a special edition doesn’t mean it won’t end up battered and deep fried.”

  Ryan gave a little sigh as he leaned closer to her. “You know, Bec,” he echoed quietly, “just because you’re sleeping with the boss doesn’t mean you can get away with whatever you want.”

  “It doesn’t? Huh.” She thoughtfully scratched her chin. “I thought that’s exactly what it meant.”

  Alec cleared his throat. “Are you two done yet?”

  “No,” they replied in unison. Then Rebecca laughed as Ryan swept her up in his customary bear hug.

  The four of them entered the restaurant and snagged a high-top table in the lounge. Alec noticed a few heads turning as Rebecca walked past the bar, but he could hardly blame them. His wife looked stunning tonight in a simple black turtleneck and fitted jeans, with her auburn hair swept off her neck and just a touch of makeup to highlight the green in her eyes. She settled onto the stool beside him and sent him a warm smile, and he responded by affectionately squeezing her knee.

  Alec pulled out his notes for the meeting but set them aside, knowing they would get around to business eventually. He had a stellar management team. Just like he never had to worry about his father while Lucy was in the house, Alec never had to wonder if Tommy or Ryan were fulfilling their roles around the ranch. Rebecca didn’t have an official management title, but she didn’t need one. She simply stepped in and did whatever needed to be done, whether it was finishing the payroll, leading a trail ride, or working a banquet in the lodge.

  After a couple of appetizers and a bucket of longnecks, Alec finally retrieved his notes. “I figured we’d start with hiring, since that seems to be our biggest issue. Ryan, where are you at?”

  He scarfed down the last of the nachos before he pulled his own set of notes from his pocket. “We’re set in housekeeping. All four girls signed on again for this season. Back of the house looks good, too. We’re short a server and a bartender, but I’ve got two guys who worked for me this winter who are really interested in coming onboard. Should I send them your way for interviews?”

  “Definitely,” Alec replied.

  “Did you find a replacement for Alli yet?”

  He shook his head. “It’s not just Alli, either. Kathleen got an internship in Denver, so she’s not coming back. And we just found out yesterday that Sarah broke her leg, so she’s out for the whole season, too.”

  Ryan frowned. “So who does that leave?”

  “It leaves no one,” Alec said, letting out a weary sigh. “We’re fresh out of female wranglers.”

  “You have me,” Rebecca reminded him. “My finals are over right before opening weekend. I have no problem filling in the gaps.”

  “I know. The problem is the number of gaps. I need at least two female wranglers on staff. Preferably three.”

  “Liz might have a lead for you,” Tommy put in. “One of her students who’s getting ready to graduate. Holly McKenzie.”

  “Oh, I know her!” Rebecca said. “She barrel races at the rodeos.”

  Alec felt a flutter of hope. “Do you want to follow up with her, then? See what type of availability she has?”

  She nodded. “Consider it done.”

  “Good. That definitely helps. But even if we hire her, it still leaves us short.”

  When he’d made the transition to a guest ranch, Alec never could have guessed the integral role that female wranglers would play. Over the years he’d noticed that no matter how friendly and approachable his male wranglers were, many of the guests would gravitate right to the girls instead. For that reason, he always had Tommy schedule at least one female wrangler for each equine activity.

  There was no way he could do that if they only had one girl on staff. And he certainly didn’t expect Rebecca to work seventy hours a week.

  “Well, in the meantime, you’ve got me, Ben, and Jake,” Tommy said, breaking his train of thought. “None of us mind pulling extra hours if you can’t get the girls lined up right away.”

  Their meeting lasted through dinner, dessert, and another bucket of beers. It was approaching midnight when they filed out into the crisp spring evening and said goodbye to Ryan, who would be joining them on property the following week. Exhaustion hit Alec like a brick as they approached his truck, so he wasn’t about to argue when Rebecca pulled her keys from her purse and climbed into the driver’s seat.

  He tipped his hat over his eyes and dozed on the ride home, but once they were back at the ranch, it was a whole different story.

  Rebecca curled up against him and fell asleep instantly, just like she always did. Alec lay awake a while longer, gazing out the window before he finally faded off to sleep. Sometime later, he was jolted awake by the image of a chasm and a revolver and the sound of a gentle voice whispering in his ear.

  That was the night his nightmares began.

  *

  Rebecca could feel the energy coiled up in her horse’s muscles. Beneath her, Star snorted and pranced in place, as if she couldn’t stand the suspense, either. Alec glanced at her sideways, and she gave the slightest nod to indicate that they were ready.

  He released the spring-loaded door, and the small black steer took off loping across the corral. Half a second later, he released the gates to the boxes where Rebecca and Tommy stood waiting. Star and Joaquin leapt into a gallop, sprinting in perfect unison after the steer. Not a dozen strides out of the gate, Tommy released his lasso and sent it sailing around the steer’s neck. Instantly he pulled his horse to the left, and Rebecca waited with learned patience until the rope went taut and spun the steer’s hindquarters in her direction.

  With precision timing, she tossed her own lasso and gave a triumphant shout when the loop caught the steer’s hind legs. Quickly she
pulled Star to a halt, wrapping the loose end of her rope around the saddle horn. Then they each backed their horses until the rope went taut, rendering the steer completely immobile.

  “Yes!” she cried, punching her fist in the air.

  Tommy shook his head as he dismounted. “Damn, Bec. I think you missed your calling in life.”

  “I think I just found it,” she replied, nowhere near ready to come down from her high. It was the fourth straight time she’d lassoed the steer’s heels.

  Tommy untied the ropes from the steer’s neck and legs before he turned to Alec, who was approaching them on foot. “Speaking of heelers, you weren’t too bad yourself back in the day.”

  Alec gave a rueful grin. “Back in the day being the key words,” he said, holding up the stopwatch in his hand. “Your best time yet. 8.8 seconds.”

  Rebecca spun Star around and reached out to slap high-fives with Tommy. “We’re so ready for the rodeo!”

  “It won’t even be a contest,” he agreed.

  Every summer, the town of Jackson hosted a rodeo series at the fairgrounds. Rebecca tried her hand at barrel racing a few times last year and was thrilled to come away with a collection of ribbons. Star was lightning fast and seemed to have a knack for the tight, high-speed maneuvers that the sport required.

  Tommy grew up riding in rodeos–everything from steer wrestling to bucking broncs–and it was his idea for the two of them to compete in team roping. Rebecca spent countless hours last fall perfecting her skills with the lasso, and she was glad to see that she hadn’t lost her touch over the long winter. Now their competitive debut was only a month away, at the Memorial Day rodeo.

  Rebecca’s thoughts were interrupted when she noticed a red pick-up truck coming up the driveway. “What time is it?” she asked.

  Alec glanced at his watch. “Almost ten.”

  “Already?” Instantly she swung to the ground. “That’s Holly, then. We have her interview this morning.”

  “Go ahead and meet her,” Alec replied, taking the reins from her hand. “I’ll take care of Star.”

  She thanked him with a quick kiss before she climbed the corral fence and started towards the parking lot. A pretty teen with blond spiral curls hopped from the driver’s seat and gave a friendly wave. Rebecca met her at the rodeo last year and liked her then; she was ninety-nine percent certain that she was already hired.

  “Hi, Holly,” she called.

  “Hi, Rebecca.” She closed the door to her truck and gazed wide-eyed at her surroundings. “Wow. This place is amazing. It could be in a travel magazine.”

  Rebecca laughed. “Maybe someday. Did you have any trouble finding it?”

  “No, your directions were great.”

  “Good.” She gestured towards the staff barn. “Let me give you a little tour.”

  As she’d expected, it took her about fifteen seconds to decide to hire Holly. She had the perfect bubbly disposition and also plenty of practical experience–her uncle owned a ranch in Pinedale and she’d been riding since before she could walk.

  While they conversed, Tommy and Joaquin appeared at the end of the aisle. “Hey, Tommy,” Rebecca called, “come meet our newest wrangler.”

  Holly’s eyes bugged out of her head. “I got the job?”

  “You got the job,” she assured her. “Can you be ready to move out here on Saturday?”

  “For sure.”

  “Good.” She smiled at Tommy as he approached them. “Tommy’s in charge. He’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

  Chapter 7

  Later that afternoon, as Rebecca was loading her suitcase into the truck, she spotted Alec down in the round pen with Shadow. Figuring she could spare a few minutes before she got on the road, she strolled down the hill and approached the pen, moving slowly so as not to disturb them.

  Alec had the colt trotting in a circle around him, wearing no halter or bridle. He made a subtle motion with his hand, and the beautiful colt stopped on a dime, staring back at his trainer with intelligent eyes. Then Alec made another small gesture, and the horse tossed his head and spun on his haunches, obediently trotting in the opposite direction.

  Wow, Rebecca mused. Since the colt was born, Alec had used Walter’s natural horsemanship techniques in his training. The results were outstanding. Shadow was almost at the point where he could anticipate Alec’s cues before he gave them.

  At last Alec spotted Rebecca standing by the gate. She didn’t even see the signal he gave to the horse. Shadow simply came to a stop, as if he could sense his trainer’s attention was diverted. The colt ambled over to Alec and dropped his head in his arms, and Alec patted his neck before he met Rebecca’s gaze.

  “Thanks for letting us finish.”

  She smiled and slid between the fence posts to join them. “I didn’t know if you saw me.”

  “I saw you.”

  Rebecca melted into him as he drew her close and pressed his lips to hers. “That was amazing,” she whispered.

  “Shadow or the kiss?”

  “Both.”

  Alec mirrored her grin. “You on your way out?”

  She gave a reluctant nod and reached out to stroke the colt’s face. “You should bring your father down here one day. Let him see the work you’re doing. He would be so proud of you.”

  As always, he shrugged off the compliment. “I’m just playing around with a few hand signals. It’s nothing compared to what he can do.”

  “Have you tried to do what he can do?”

  His expression fell. “Do we have to do this right before you leave?”

  Immediately Rebecca regretted her question. After two years of marriage, she’d learned that there were several topics of conversation that always led to an argument. This was one of them.

  “No,” she conceded, resting her head against his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” He kissed her forehead and released a quiet sigh. “Call me when you get to the hotel?”

  “I will.”

  *

  By the grace of some higher power, Rebecca’s four final exams were scheduled on four separate days. She felt confident when she arrived in Laramie, but that didn’t stop her from staying awake for the better part of those four days, cramming every detail into her head about cognitive development, intellectual disability, and criminal psychopathology. By the time she entered the lecture hall on Thursday morning to sit her last exam, she was certain that her brain could not absorb another ounce of information.

  She opened the exam booklet and let out a silent sigh of relief when she saw that the essay topic was based on the Asch conformity experiments. It was a subject she found fascinating, so she’d studied it at length. With renewed energy, she pressed her pen to the paper and began writing.

  Barely an hour later, she was the first one to walk to the front of the auditorium and hand her essay to her professor. Then she exited the building in a daze, giving her eyes a moment to adjust to the midday sunshine.

  I did it, she thought in disbelief. The realization was so overwhelming that she had to sit on the nearest bench.

  Aside from Jeff, she was the only person in her family to attend college, and the only one to go to the graduate school. It was a goal she’d always aspired to but never thought she’d achieve. Her hometown of South Boston was hardly a breeding ground for overachievers. Most of the kids she’d grown up with were still there, trapped in the vicious Southie lifestyle of substance abuse and dishonest gain. Some were sitting in prison; some were going through their umpteenth round of rehab; some were even dead.

  She shuddered to think of how close she’d gotten to getting wrapped up in that way of life herself.

  Rebecca was so lost in thought that she screeched when someone tackled her from behind. It wasn’t until the unknown person scooped her up and gave a devilish laugh that she realized who it was.

  “Geez, Jake! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

  Jake Stratham chuckled as he set her down. �
�When did you get into town?”

  “Sunday.”

  “Sunday? You’ve been here all week, and you didn’t call me?”

  “Some of us actually need to study, you know,” she said with a laugh. “And it’s not like I’m not going to see you every day this summer.”

  She’d met Jake on-campus three years earlier. She was sitting outside, talking to Alec on her cell phone about their shortage of wranglers for the upcoming summer. Jake overheard the conversation and approached her afterwards to ask about the job. He was a perfect fit for the position, so Rebecca hired him on the spot.

  Two weeks later he showed up in Jackson ready to work, and he’d been working for them every summer since.

  “When’s your last final?” he asked.

  Rebecca beamed. “I just finished it.”

  “Seriously? Why are we standing here, then? We need to celebrate!”

  She laughed at his enthusiasm. He was definitely the most outgoing of their wranglers–outgoing being an understatement–but his arrival on the ranch always brought a welcome wave of energy.

  “It’s eleven in the morning,” she said. “The only thing I’m celebrating with is a cup of coffee.”

  Jake gave a debonair smile. “So…I can buy you a drink, then?”

  Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Save your lines for the single girls, Jake. I’m a happily married woman.”

  “As you love to remind me,” he replied with a sigh. “Seriously, though, you just finished your final final, Bec. I’m buying you a cup of coffee, whether you like it or not.”

  “Well, it doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice, now, does it?” she said, following his lead across campus. “When’s your last final?”

  “Tomorrow morning.”

  “You nervous?”

  He shrugged like he wasn’t, but she knew that beneath his happy-go-lucky exterior was a serious student. He needed to be. Jake was about to complete his undergraduate degree in the school of veterinary science.

  After four years, he wasn’t even halfway finished yet.