Riding the River (7 page)

“Mornin’,” said Richie tipping his hat at
them. Tyler did likewise.

“Good morning,” said Tess. “We’re ready for
our riding lesson, aren’t we, Sarah?” She winked at Sarah like she
was on to something…

Sarah smiled and nodded.

“Sarah and….”

“… Tess.”

“Nice to meet you. We’re Richie and Tyler.
Tyler’s too shy to speak with women, so I do all the talking.”

Tyler blushed. “Oh, ha, Richie…” They laughed
at Richie’s joke.

“Have either of you ridden before?”

“Not much…” They both replied.

“Okay, we’ll start you off easy.” He turned
to Tyler. “Can you go get the horses?” Tyler nodded and left for
the barn.

Richie turned back to Sarah and Tess. “If
you’ll excuse me a minute, I probably need to help him. We’ll be
right back.”

Tess immediately turned to Sarah. Looking
from side to side, she whispered conspiratorially, “Okay, which one
do you like? Personally, I like the quiet, blonde Tyler with the
neat mustache, but I’ll take the talkative Richie with the sexy
brown eyes, if you insist.”

Smiling, Sarah said, “Take your pick. I’m not
choosy.”

“Okay, then I get Tyler.”

“He’s all yours, Tess.”

“Good luck with Richie. I bet he never shuts
up…” Which made Sarah double up with laughter. Tess glanced toward
the barn. “Shhh,” she said. “They’re coming back…”

Sarah was now trying not to smile when the
cowboys had returned with two saddled horses. Richie smiled back,
thinking she was happy to see him.

He brought a Palomino out to Sarah, all
saddled and ready to go. Tyler brought a bay with white feet out to
Tess. Richie began the instruction.

“All right, ladies, take the reins in your
left hand and the back of the saddle with your right.” The cowboys
watched as Sarah and Tess did as instructed.

“Place your left food in the stirrup, pull
yourself up and swing your leg over the horse’s hindquarters.” When
they’d mounted their horses, Tyler took over instruction.

“Drop your right foot in the stirrup.” Richie
helped Sarah put her leg in the stirrup, while Tyler helped
Tess.

“Now,” said Richie, “pull up the reins.
They’re your steering wheel of the horse. To turn him left, pull
the reins lightly to the left… Same with the right… Okay, so
far?”

“Still up tall, ladies, so you don’t feel
like you’re falling one way or the other,” added Tyler.

“Now squeeze at the heels and communicate
with the horse to walk forward,” said Richie.

Sarah and Tess were walking their horses now.
After they looked comfortable with walking, Richie gave them new
instruction.

“Okay, now squeeze again with both heels to
get the horse to trot.” They tried that for a while and trotted
around the corral several times.

“Eyes and chins up, ladies…Posture’s
important,” smiled Richie. Up went their chins and eyes. Sarah
glanced over at Tess, who looked like she’d been born to ride.

“Press your outside heel only now and let’s
kick the trot up a notch.” Tyler looked over at Richie and gave him
a thumbs-up when both girls opened their horses to a fair gallop.
They went around several times and started to enjoy themselves.

“Great, ladies. Are you up for a ride out in
the open country now?”

Sarah spoke up. “Could I get a few things
before we head out?”

“Absolutely,” said Richie. “Go get a bottle
of water and whatever else. You can put things in the saddlebags.”
He caught Sarah’s horse and held it while she dismounted. Tyler
helped Tess dismount. They hurried out of the corral towards the
ranch house.

“Can you get the water, Tess? I’ll be right
back,” said Sarah breathlessly. She was in a hurry – This was fun
and when was the last time she’d had some fun… Matt watched her run
into the ranch house. He was by the barn saddling a horse for
another guest. Taking his time, he curiously watched her dash back
out in just a few minutes, almost bumping into the other gal
getting a lesson with her.

What in the world was she showing her? From
his vantage point, Matt thought it looked like a horseshoe.
Why
on God’s green earth would she have a horseshoe?
Dan… He
immediately thought of their driver… Dan gave out horseshoes on
very rare occasions when he really liked a guest, usually
female.

Sarah smiled at Tess while talking and
turning the horseshoe with its ends up. Dan had probably told her
that it would bring her good luck. Matt smiled… She must be a
sweetie for Dan to be so attentive. It was, indeed, a good sign. He
decided to check with Richie when they came back for his take on
Sarah…

Then he shook his head…
What for?
It’s
not like he was interested in her or anything. Matt turned back to
the guest he was helping and thought no more about it.

The cowboys and their guests had been riding
out in the beautiful countryside for more than an hour. They
weren’t that far from the ranch house property and everyone was
doing fine. The valley they were in gave rise to sloping hills and
mountains beyond. After recent rains, the cattle they passed were
happily munching the sweet grass. Sarah looked over in a direction
Richie pointed to see wildflowers blooming far across the land.
They soon were riding in huge patches of yellow and white flowers.
She’d never seen anything like it…

She shielded her eyes to look up in the
blazing sky as a hawk flew overhead silently stalking some prey.
She’d read about sage grouse and was eager to see that beautiful
bird somewhere around the sagebrush. Sarah thought she might ask
Richie about it later.

In the midst of the meadow, Tyler pointed out
a stream where they could stop and rest their horses – Let them
drink… Richie dismounted and helped Sarah down, while Tyler helped
Tess.

“You ladies ought to sign up for the horse
drive coming up,” said Richie.

He plopped down by the stream to get a
sip.

Sarah got her bottle of water out of her
saddlebag, touching the horseshoe as she did so. “What exactly is a
horse drive?” Tess sat down by Richie to hear this as well.

“Well, we drive a herd through open range to
their seasonal pastures. It’s fun…” Richie smiled at them.

“How many days is it?” asked Tess taking a
sip of her water.

“… Three days and nights,” added Tyler. “So
if you’re here for a week, there’s two days up front and two days
when we get back. Works out well.” He nodded at them.

Tess looked at Sarah. “What do you
think?”

“I’m game if you are,” laughed Sarah. “Didn’t
we come out here for a Western experience?”

“A horse or cattle drive is about as Western
as you can get,” said Richie.

“You’ll love it…”

They sat and chatted companionably for a
while and then Richie looked up in the sky.

“It’s getting close to lunch. We should head
back. Dale will be upset with us if you miss lunch.” Richie got on
his feet and helped Sarah up, while Tyler helped Tess.

“…Dale?” asked Tess.

“He’s our cook and a damn good one.”

“What sorts of things does he make?” asked
Sarah.

“Nope,” said Richie helping her mount her
horse. “Let it be a surprise.”

Sarah raised an eyebrow.

Tyler continued, “He’s really great and all
the way out here from the big city…”

“Okay, I’m starved,” said Tess. “Let’s go get
some chow.”

“There you go,” said Richie. “Now you’re
talkin’ Western…”

They rode back to the ranch house, back to
the big corral. After dismounting, Tyler and Richie tipped their
hats at Sarah and Tess, who smiled back, and took the horses into
the barn. It had been a terrific morning.

But where’s the chow line? They were starving
and ready to see what feast Dale was serving up for lunch.

CHAPTER TEN

After freshening up, Sarah and Tess trooped
into the big dining hall with windblown cheeks, rosy from the
exercise. Their faces shone and their sunny smiles spoke volumes of
how much they had enjoyed their morning. They got into a line
heading up to the buffet. People were chatting about their
activities. Sarah almost salivated with the aromas drifting her
way.

Dale was in the back of the room and saw them
come in. He was curious to find out more about Sarah, in
particular, after her dance with Matt last night. He started slowly
working his way toward her. Matt was nowhere in sight… Good. Then
he was close enough to talk to her.

“Good day, ladies. Have a good morning?”
Dale’s smile beamed.

“… You bet,” smiled Tess. “We had a riding
lesson.”

He looked at Sarah. “Did you enjoy it,
miss?”

“Sarah… Please call me Sarah.”

“Did you have fun, Sarah?”

“It was terrific. I haven’t ridden much
before, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I want to ride every day that
I’m here.”

Dale smiled. Enthusiasm. He liked that…

“Good for you. Oh, and by the way, try my
Humdinger Casserole. Let me know what you think of it…” And he
passed by them to speak with another guest.

“Wow,” said Tess. “Everyone is so friendly
here.”

“I know… It’s wonderful. I can get used to
this…”

Then they were at the front of the line, got
their plates and began loading them up.

“I’m going to gain weight on this trip,
Sarah.”

“…Ditto… Now where’s that casserole the cook
mentioned?” Sarah found it and spooned some on her plate. A cowboy
behind her said to break up a cheese slice and mush it down in the
mixture. Sarah took a slice of cheese to do just that.

Sarah and Tess sat at one of the large tables
with other guests. Everyone talked and laughed, while eating lunch.
It seemed a happy group. Dale watched from the back to make sure
all was well and to get another look at Sarah. She looked over and
waved at him. He walked up to her table.

“This casserole is great, Dale. I just wanted
to let you know.” Dale beamed again.

“Thank you, Sarah. Do you like to cook?”

She blinked, looking in the face of this
curly-haired man. No one had ever asked her that before.

“I do,” she said finally. “But I don’t get
much chance.”

“Busy job?”

“… Busy life…”

“Sounds too busy.” Sarah nodded at that
comment.

“You’re right there.”

He had an idea. “Well, if you have a mind to
learn some cowboy cookin’, stop by the kitchen any time.”

She smiled. “Thanks, I just might do
that.”

“If you sign up for the horse drive, I might
put you to work. What do you think?”

Tess was thinking that Sarah was nuts about
now, as she happily ate her lunch. The last thing she wanted to do
on this trip was work. But… she didn’t know Sarah all that well.
Different strokes for different folks…

“Okay, Dale. You’ve got yourself a deal. I
am
signing up for the drive and I’m sure I can spare some
time to learn a recipe or two.” She looked at him and smiled.
“Thank you for asking me.”

Dale smiled back. “My pleasure, ma’am.” And
he left her table thinking that if Matt didn’t snap her up, he’d
find someone else for her. She was terrific… Any idiot could see
that. Pretty blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes…

He helped a bit more with getting food out to
the buffet table and saw Matt come in with Richie. This should be
interesting… Dale watched as Richie spied Sarah and Tess -- He
walked over to say hi.
What would Matt do?
Matt stayed put
in the food line and tried not to look over at Richie speaking with
Sarah. Interesting… He tried to keep his eyes forward, but couldn’t
help himself when he heard her laugh. She had a nice laugh… Then
Matt full on gazed at her…

And meanwhile, Sarah might have been speaking
to Richie, but she was glancing at Matt across the room. She
finally looked up at Richie as he said good-bye, but her eyes
immediately went back to Matt. He broke off his stare to look down
at the plate he’d picked up.

“Who in the world is that?” said Tess, having
just seen Matt.

Sarah looked in her plate now. “He’s one of
the cowboys who works here.”

“My God… Doesn’t he look a lot like Gregory
Peck from that Western movie… oh, what’s it called?”

Sarah turned to her as her mouth dropped
open. “Do you think so?”

“Oh, my, yes. Look at all that black, wavy
hair… Dark eyes… muscles…Trim build…” She sighed. “Altogether
yummy…”

Sarah blushed for some reason. “It’s ‘
Big
Country’.”

“… What is?”

“The movie title you’re thinking of… “
Big
Country’
.”

Tess flashed a smile at her. “Yes, that’s
right. Oh, that’s a good one.”

Sarah just smiled.
You’ve no idea…

Across the room, Matt and Richie were filling
their plates. The smells were making Richie’s stomach growl. They
searched to find seats just as Sarah and Tess rose with their empty
plates.

“Ladies, can we have these seats?” said
Richie pleasantly.

“Sure. They’re yours,” replied Tess who was
openly admiring Matt.

Richie nodded at Tess and then glanced at
Sarah who was scraping some spot on the table -- Matt was looking
out a window. He knit his brows and wondered what was happening
here.

“Thanks,” he said and sat down. Matt sat
across from him as Tess and Sarah walked towards the door. Richie
watched Matt steal a furtive look her way. They placed their hats
under their chairs.

Once they began eating, he started in.

“… Okay, what was that?”

“What was what?”

“You know what I’m talking about…” Richie
took a big bite of his casserole.

“I haven’t got a clue,” replied Matt getting
pissed now. “Let me eat in peace.” He began eating his salad.

“First, you stare at her across a crowded
room and then you won’t even say hi when we get close. What gives?”
He took another forkful of casserole.