Part 1
Settling back into her seat, Annette Jasper let her fingers lightly brush the keys on her NEO as she looked out her window at the clouds below her. When her index fingers found the small raised dots they were accustomed to rest on, she glanced down at the small screen with its blinking curser. She needed a story.
“Gone. Our town. Or at least the town that’s the closet to us and the airport. Actually its real name is Gone Ridin’, but everyone calls it Gone. It’s not very big.”
Part 2
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard the name of the town before. It sounds a bit strange.”
Savanna laughed. “Yep, but if you think that one’s amusing, what
will you say when we go to Boring, which is the largest town around. Or
to Cats Claw or Cattleton.”
“I suppose,” Annette began slowly, “if there are a lot of ranches
around, Cattleton would fit. But Cats Claw? And Boring?” Stopping in her
tracks, Annette turned slowly. “There really isn’t a town called
Boring, is there?” Disbelief filled her voice.
“Yep.”
“Let’s just get my luggage. I’ll try to process the names as I go. Boring? Is it really dull in that town?”
Tucking her thumb in the shoulder strap of her purse, Savanna shook
her head. “Nope. But I like Gone better. Here’s the luggage claim.”
It took only a few minutes for Annette to spot her luggage and haul
both suitcases off the conveyer. Thankful that the cases had wheels, the
girls pulled them along through the busy airport and out into the
bright sunlight of early afternoon.
Once settled in the car, Savanna pulled out her cell phone and
pressed a number. “Hi, Dad. I got her. . . . Yep. . . . We’re about to
head out now. We might stop in Gone . . .” She chuckled into the phone.
“Yes, that’s what I was thinking. Got to start right, you know.” There
was a moment of silence before she said, “All right. Thanks. See you
soon. Bye!”
Before long the two girls were driving down the highway chattering and laughing.
“So, what’s the population of these remarkably named towns?” questioned Annette.
“I can’t remember what Boring and Gone are. Cats Claw is
sixty-three, if I remember right, and Cattleton is–” Savannah wrinkled
her nose in thought though her eyes never left the highway. “I think
it’s around eighty, but we can ask Dad or Levi. They’d know. At least
Levi should, he drives there often enough.”
“Oh?”
“Uh huh. His girl lives there. Her name’s Jaina Forthright. I have a
feeling there’s going to be a purposal before very long. Maybe while
you’re here.”
Annette gave a little squeal of excitement. “I’d love that! I was
thinking of having two of my characters, I don’t don’t know who yet, get
engaged in my story, and it would be so much fun if there was one
happening in real life!”
“What’s your story about?”
“It’s a girl who goes to live with some friends for the summer while
her dad, he’s in the military, though I don’t know what branch, is
stationed overseas. Her mom is with him. There in some country like
Japan or something like that. Anyway,” Annette shifted a little in her
seat and tucked her right foot up under her left leg, “I’m sort of
basing what happens in it, off of what I do out here. Only I’m changing
the names, of course. But I don’t know if I’ll change the town names.
They are so unique.”
“Does that mean we’ll have to have lots of adventures?”
Annette laughed a little. “Well, I don’t want any house or barn
fires, I’m not fond of kidnapping, and I don’t really want to end up in
the hospital with a broken bone. Anything else, I might be up for.”
“Rattlesnakes? Stampedes? Cattle rustlers?” Savanna teased. “Which would you prefer?”
“None. Couldn’t we have something like getting lost for a little
while when we drive somewhere, or maybe finding an old house or cabin
somewhere that we could explore? Or maybe–” Annette let her sentence
remain unfinished as she stared ahead at the landscape with its towering
mountain peaks in the distance, the rolling hills before them dotted
here and there with cattle, the long stretch of road which rounded a
curve and disappeared; the trees, the flowers, the grandeur of it all
left her speechless.
Somehow Savanna sensed she was taking in the scene and after a minute said softly, “Paint it for me.”
Reaching behind the driver’s seat, but still keeping her eyes on the
beauty before her, Annette fumbled for a moment in her carry-on before
pulling out NEO. Hardly looking at her fingers as they settled on the
key pad, she began to write.
Letting out a sigh, Savanna spared a glance at her cousin. “Wow! Dad
has read your other books and says he’s looking forward to seeing how
you describe the great west.”
Turning her writing device off, Annette leaned back in her seat and relaxed. “I just write what I see.”
The girls fell into a comfortable silence. Finally Annette, who had
fallen into a doze, roused to hear Savanna say, “There’s the city limit
of Gone.”
After blinking a moment at the afternoon sun, Annette focused her
attention on a green sign coming closer. Sure enough there it was: Gone
Ridin.’ She shook her head. However did people come up with names for
their towns?
The town began to pop up on either side, first a house, then two, a
gas station, more houses, and before long they were driving down the
main street.
Part 3
“This is such a cute place!” Annette craned her neck trying to see everything at once.
“We’ll come another time or two while you’re here, don’t worry. But I
thought we might stop for some ice cream.” Flipping on her blinker
Savanna expertly pulled into an angled parking place and shut off the
engine. “Aunt May’s is the best ice cream parlor around! And I’m not
kidding. It’s an old fashioned place, and a few times a year they hold
dress-up days where anyone dressed in whatever sort of costume Aunt May
has decided on, gets ice cream for half-price. And, if they really like
your outfit, you get it free. The most common dress-up day is the old
west. But they have done WWII day and oh, you should have seen the
costumes! I spent most of the day there just watching people coming in
and out.”
“Oh!” That one word spoke volumes, and Annette gazed at the store front almost with awe.
“Come on,” Savanna said, unbuckling and reaching for the door handle. “Let’s go get something.”
Fascinated by the striped awning, the old-fashioned half curtains on
the windows and the name on the door, Annette would have stood on the
sidewalk until dark if Savanna’s words hadn’t roused her.
“Oh, Uncle Art and the sheriff are inside. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
“Why?”
“Because Uncle Art is a deputy, and they should both know who you
are in case any of those adventures you were wanting require their
assistance.” The laugh in Savanna’s voice showed she was teasing.
Annette blushed as she felt herself being hustled inside the cool,
dim shop. It was as quaint inside as it was out. But her cousin gave her
no chance to linger looking about.
“Hi, Uncle Art, Sheriff. I’d like you to meet my cousin, Annette.”
She looked at her uncle. “She’s Aunt Marie’s daughter, you know.”
Both men rose from the table where they had been sitting and held
out their hands. “Welcome to Gone, Annette,” Uncle Art said, smiling
from a bronzed face. “I haven’t seen you since you were a little girl in
pigtails.” He pulled her into a hug.
“Are you here for a visit or are you planning on settling down?” questioned the sheriff.
“I’m just visiting for a few weeks.”
“Well, we’re might happy to have you.”
Annette nodded, noticing the hats on the table, the holstered guns
strapped to the men’s sides, the shiny badges on their shirts and the
cowboy boots on their feet. Her quick eyes had already taken in the
mustache the sheriff wore. It was dark, and he looked just like she
imagined a sheriff in an old western town would look. No police in the
city back east looked like these men.
“Savanna, tell your mom we should be able to make it to supper on Friday,” Uncle Art said.
“Good. I’ll tell her. Come on, Annette, let’s get some ice cream.”
Before long Annette was perched on a high stool before the counter
staring at the giant scoop of black walnut ice cream before her. “How do
you expect me to eat all this?” she demanded.
Savanna laughed and shrugged. “It’ll tide you over until supper.”
“It may fill me up until breakfast tomorrow,” Annette retorted, tasting her cold treat. “Yum!”
In between bites, the two cousins sat and chatted. Savanna seemed to
know everyone who came in, and Annette found herself introduced to so
many people that she lost count. She had been hungry when she had
arrived, but by the time her last bite was taken, all she wanted was a
nap.
“Ready to hit the road again?”
Annette nodded. “Sure. But I need to take a walk soon if I’m going to stay awake.”
“We could walk around town for a little while if you want.”
The girls had stepped outside and blinked in the bright sunshine.
After the cool air of the parlor, the warmth felt good and Annette
rolled her shoulders in enjoyment. “That’s okay, I think I’d rather just
get all the way there. But I will want to come back sometime.” She
looked up and down the street, noticing all the shops and cafes, and a
little barbershop complete with a red and white striped pole.
“Then let’s get going. Levi and Vic will probably be out with the
cattle, Dad’s probably working on the article that has to be sent in
next week, and who knows what the others are doing. Ava is probably
driving Mom nuts waiting for us.”
With a sigh, Annette settled into her seat, clicked her seat belt
and leaned back. “Boy, I’m tired,” she yawned. “I still don’t know how
long it’ll be before I’ll get settled into the two hour time
difference.”
Laughing, Savanna started the car and backed out of the parking
space. “It might also have to do with how early you had to get up.”
“And my late nights this past week helping get Mom and Dad off and stuff like that.”
“Maybe,” Savanna laughed again. “I don’t know if you’ll get a nap at
the house or not. I know the younger ones are excited that you are
coming, though Devon probably won’t say much, and you’ll most likely
want to see the house and stuff. But if you want, I can be quiet and you
can try to nap on the way. We have about a thirty minute drive.”
Annette didn’t reply, but yawned again and settled herself back in
the seat. She tried closing her eyes, for she figured a short nap would
be better than none, but her eyes refused to stay shut. She wanted to
see every bit of detail of this new country she was traveling through.
When Savanna turned the car into a long gravel driveway, Annette sat up and looked about her. “Wow!”
Glancing over, Savannah grinned. “Bigger than you thought or smaller?”
“I don’t know. But it’s just . . . just beautiful!”
Part 4
“I think so, but I didn’t know if you would or not. I can’t describe
things as you can. Dad said he wants you to paint a word picture of the
house and barn as seen from the gate.”
“Why doesn’t he do it?” Annette was puzzled because her uncle was a
writer like she was. Surely he could do just as well if not better than
she could at describing his own place.
“He likes the way you describe scenes. He said, well, I won’t tell you what he said or you may not write a scene again.”
Unbuckling as Savanna stopped before the house and turned off the
car, Annette laughed. She couldn’t imagine anything stopping her from
writing. Writing was just a part of who she was. She had to write like
some people seemed to have to text all the time.
A large dog ran around the house barking a warm greeting. “That’s John Wayne; he’ll like you once I introduce you.”
It took only a minute for the dog, which Savanna said was an
Australian German Shepherd mix, to make friends with Annette. The front
door of the house swung open and a young girl, a boy a little older, and
someone Annette knew had to be her aunt hurried out to the porch
followed a few minutes later by a man who looked much like her own dad.
“Annette!” Aunt Yvonne exclaimed, hurrying down the porch steps with her arms out. “You finally made it!”
Annette found herself in a warm embrace. “I’m so glad you let me come!”
“Of course we’d let you come,” laughed Uncle Cleveland, pulling her
into hug. “I’m tired of being the lone writer in the place. It’ll be
nice to exchange ideas with someone who doesn’t look at me as though I
were crazy.”
Returning the hug, Annette laughed also. “I’d never think you were crazy, but I’m afraid you’ll think I’m a bit of a nut.”
Uncle Cleveland chuckled and held her off at arm’s length. “You look
just like your mom. She wasn’t much of a nut, so I don’t expect you’ll
be too bad.” He winked and everyone laughed.
“Oh, you can talk writing another time,” Savanna interrupted,
pulling Annette back. “This is Devon and Ava,” she said, introducing the
children. “Ava is seven and Devon just turned eleven. I expect Levi and
Vic are out on the range somewhere.”
It was all a bit of a whirlwind for Annette as the little girl
hugged her, Devon shook hands looking slightly shy, and then grabbed
part of her luggage while Uncle Cleveland asked questions, the dog
barked, and Savanna and Aunt Yvonne talked. In no time at all she found
herself inside, following Savanna who kept up a constant chatter about
the house as they climbed the stairs and turned down a hall. Finally
they stopped before a door which was half way closed. “Here’s your
room.”
Pushing it open, Annette surveyed the room with a smile of complete
satisfaction. The room was a comfortable size, not too large, yet not
small either. A desk stood beside one wall just waiting for her laptop.
The bed was a double bed and covered with a denim and red rag quilt.
Three windows let plenty of light into the room, and Annette lost no
time in hurrying to look out of one of them. From it she could see the
barn and corrals. And the mountains. Oh, those mountains!
To her right, when she finally pulled herself away from the view,
was a walk-in closet large enough for every piece of clothing she owned!
“You have a bathroom all to yourself,” Savanna informed her,
motioning to a door on the other side of the room. “We know writers keep
strange hours at times, so we thought it would be easier for you not to
have to try and bunk with anyone. Besides, if we shared a room, we’d
talk all the time and you’d never get anything written. Now, we’ll let
you settle in. Come on, Devon, Ava.” Turning back to her cousin, she
added, “You can unpack now or later. But you might want to change into
something a little more practical for a tour of the ranch. Something
like boots on your feet would be good for a start.”
Annette looked down at her comfortable shoes. They were low and
light colored. “All right, but I don’t have any cowboy boots. We didn’t
have time to go shopping for any.”
“No problem. I’ve got an extra pair. You can wear them for now. Come down when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Savanna.”
Left alone in her room, Annette looked about her once more. The desk
was no doubt put there for her use. She wondered if she’d write better
at the desk or in front of the window. “I guess I’ll have to try writing
in both places,” she decided, setting her carry-on down on the desk’s
smooth surface.
It didn’t take Annette long to unpack and get settled. She quickly
changed into her most comfortable denim skirt and a t-shirt. It took a
few second to brush her hair back into a fresh ponytail and then she
hurried from her room. The glimpses of the house she had seen on her way
upstairs made her long to explore, but she knew Savanna would be
waiting for her. And she did want to see the rest of the ranch. After
making two wrong turns, she discovered the kitchen and found everyone
waiting for her. Or at least they were standing around not seeming to be
busy about anything.
“Here,” Savanna said, pointing to a pair of western boots on the floor. “See if these fit you.”
Sliding her feet in, Annette strode about the house. “I feel ten
feet tall and able to lick my weight in wildcats,” she joked, grinning.
“They fit.”
“Can me and Devon go out with you?” Ava begged.
Part 5
“Of course,” Savanna agreed. “But we’d better get going before it’s time to set the table.”
The tour was quick, and Annette thought it would take her a little
while to get the full lay of the land fixed in her mind. She was shown
the hay barn, the stables, the corrals, and some of the other
outbuildings. She was going to like living out west for a few weeks.
Supper was full of talk. Annette’s two other cousins, Levi, who was
twenty-two, and fourteen-year-old Vic had returned in time to wash up
before the food was brought to the table. As everyone ate, Annette
observed them all with her writer’s mind. Each cousin was catalogued and
little quirks noted, from Levi’s fiddling with anything his hands could
touch, to Ava’s giggle, to Savanna’s pushing back a stray piece of hair
from her face.
Uncle Cleveland caught her silently observing and sent a wink in her
direction before asking, “So, Annette, what story are you writing now?”
“I’m not quite sure. I just started it on the way here. I’m writing
about an author who goes to spend the summer with a friend she met at a
conference.”
“Is this a boy friend?” Aunt Yvonne asked.
“No, a girl. But she has a fairly large family. And there are
cousins who live near by. I thought of having her have the same sort of
things happen to her as I experience.”
“Oh, like what?” Uncle Cleveland grinned.
“Like learning to ride a horse.”
“Haven't’ you ever ridden a horse?” demanded Devon staring at her over his empty plate.
“Nope.” Annette shook her head. “I did sit on a pony once at a fair
and was led around in circles when I was four, but that doesn’t count. I
want to ride a real horse.”
“Levi can teach you,” Savanna said. “He’s good at that.”
“Will you?” Annette asked, turning to her older cousin.
Levi nodded, his mouth full of steak.
“What else do you want to do?” Savanna asked. “Well, besides having
those adventures you mentioned,” and she grinned mischievously.
With a shake of her head, Annette gave a soft snort. Before she
answered, she thought for a moment and her eyes drifted to the window
where the mountains could be seen. Her face took on a dreamy look as she
gazed at the rugged splendor. “I want to hike the mountains.”
Levi raised his eyebrows. “Have you ever gone hiking in mountains before?”
“Yes. Dad and I used to hike the Appalachian Trail all the time back
home. Once some friends joined Dad and me and we took a five day
back-packing trip along the trail. But I want to experience the Rockies.
I want to look down from their lofty heights and see the valleys. I
want to watch the sun rise from a vantage point up in the mountains.
I’ve seen it rise over the ocean, from the Smokey Mountains, and even
from a hot air balloon, but never from as far west as the Rockies. I
want to hear nature come to life as the sun rises, to watch the light
filter through the trees urging the tiny insects to life and telling the
night animals to return to their beds for slumber.” She gave a long
sigh and sat motionless, her eyes still on the distant mountains. Lost
in thoughts and dreams, she didn’t hear the questions asked her or
notice the amused glances exchanged.
Someone nudged her foot, and she brought her gaze back to the room
with a start. A quick glance around the table told her she had missed
something. “What?”
“Oh, nothing,” Aunt Yvonne assured her with a smile. “We were just making note of how much you and your uncle are alike.”
“Getting lost even when everyone is around,” Vic said, grinning from across the table. “Seems to be a habit of writers.”
“Sorry, I don’t usually lose myself in daydreams when I’m around others, but sometimes I just can’t seem to help myself.”
Putting his napkin on the table, Uncle Cleveland leaned back with a
chuckle. “Not to worry, Annette, everyone is entitled to a bit of
eccentricity. Even the dog.”
Annette’s ears perked up at that though she didn’t say a word.
“Yep,” Uncle Cleveland went on, “John Wayne has a habit of liking
rabbits. He won’t chase them from the garden, but he’ll take on other
dogs, coyotes, bobcats, even snakes if he doesn’t like them. But not
rabbits. No siree! Rabbits are safe from him on this ranch.”
By the time Annette had crawled into bed that night, she was
exhausted. The time difference and the late nights getting ready to
come, all combined to weigh her eyelids down and she knew no more from
the time her head touched the pillow until the sun was well up in the
sky.
The first full day at the ranch left no time for Annette to even
pull out NEO and try to write. She visited all the horses with Savanna
and Levi, and they chose a gray one named Mouse for her to ride. Uncle
Cleveland took her to his study and the room which opened from it which
was called the library. He showed her his working space and told her to
help herself to any books in his office or in the library. She would
have loved to settled right down and start skimming books, but Ava
pulled her away and gave her a tour of the house, eagerly telling her
bits of information in her cute seven-year-old manner.
In the afternoon Annette helped Aunt Yvonne prepare supper. Only Vic
and Devon seemed to be a little unsure of their cousin and kept their
distance. They would talk if others were around or if she asked them a
question, but they didn’t volunteer to show her things. Savanna quietly
said they were the shy and quiet ones of the family.
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