Ava and Ray led the pack, as it were, on their steeds to the big oak tree on Cross Creek Ranch. The creek split off into two creeks thirty feet away from it. Dax, Tom, Ray, and Ava slowed their horses and dismounted. Ava had packed club sandwiches and macaroni salad for lunch. After they ate, the boys wanted to race each to here and there. Ray and Ava stayed behind, sitting on a blanket next to the oak tree. The sun shined bright in the cool sixty-five degree air. They were bundled up pretty good. Ray wore black jeans, black boots, and a buckskin jacket. Ava had on a dark brown Woodbury jacket with a hood. Her shoulder length hair was down around her shoulders. The horses, Whisper and Nicklaus, were grazing by the creek. “Ava,” Ray began softly. “You still seem a little . . . out of it. It’s not fatigue, is it?” Ava lightly exhaled. “No.” “What is it?” “I . . . I had a memory this morning before breakf
Later that day . . . Ray rode Nicklaus to the east end of the ranch. The boys were only a few miles away from the barracks. Ray could see them up ahead. He still couldn’t believe he had let his libido get away from him like that. Granted, Ava didn’t seem offended but still. Jesse waved at him as he continued to approach. The boys were checking on the herd. Two of them were expecting. Ray slowed his horse as Jesse and four ranch hands greeted. “Hey, guys,” Ray said as he dismounted. He patted Nicklaus on the side a few times and approached the group. “Come to help us out?” Jesse asked with a smile. He wore a sage colored Stetson and a dark green fleece jacket. “Actually, I’ve come to talk to you. Do you boys mind giving us some space?” Ray asked. The group of four nodded and walked away. “What’s up?” “I never thought I admit this in life to my baby brother but I need
Ava had called Redd, the Getter Done Truck driver who had picked her up on the side of the road over four months ago. She had tried calling him a few times before, but he had never picked up. This time he had. Redd had given her his cell number on the back of his business card.“I’m so glad you’re all right. I’ve thought about you on and off during the past few months. So, you figured out your name is Ava, huh?”“Yes, it was engraved on a bracelet in the one bag I was able to salvage.” Ava spent the next hour telling Redd what she had been through and what she had experienced.“Damn, it sounds like you’ve been on a roller coaster ride, all right,” Redd said. “But you should be fine at The Cross Creek Ranch. The Steele family are good folks.”“You know them?” Ava said with surprise.“Not directly. I know a few of the ranch hands,” Redd said in a relaxed tone. “I used to drive delivery for cattle auctions. I’ve delivered quite a few bulls and heifers out there before I got this job. Th
Monday . . . Ray had been avoiding Ava since yesterday late afternoon. He had Dax tell her they were eating dinner out last night and he hadn’t come to breakfast this morning. Matter of fact, Ray had Jesse pick up his lunch early this afternoon. Ava couldn’t put off getting to the bottom of this. She would have asked Jesse what had happened between Ray and Lillian but she wasn’t sure if he would tell her. If she couldn’t find out on her own, then she would go to him. “Ava, dear,” Mrs. Porter preened as she let Ava in the house. “So good to see you.” “It’s good to be seen,” Ava joked. Mrs. Porter chuckled. “Have you eaten? I was about to fix myself some lunch.” “No, and thank, God, I haven’t. You make the best lunches,” Ava said with a smile. “Thank you. Well, come into the kitchen. Let’s whip something up together like we used to.” They cooked cheeseburger sliders and broccoli salad. Mrs. P
Tuesday . . . Today was Ava’s regular appointment with Dr. Goolsby. She told the psychologist about her weekend and her horrendous memory of her mother’s betrayal. “Goodness,” Dr. Goolsby commented. “You did have a busy three days. I’m so sorry about what your mother had done.” “I am, too,” Ava said flatly. “For a minute there I thought I had a real family to return to when I got all my memories back. But . . . “But?” “I want nothing to do with them – and I don’t want to recover any more of my memories.” “I understand you’re hurt. Any daughter would be. But that’s no reason to throw away the work we’ve done so far or your other family members. You do have two sisters. They had nothing to do with what your mother did.” “Perhaps not but for all I know they took our mother’s side in things.” “What makes you assume that?” “They haven’t tried looking for me either. In the
Besides wearing his ten gallon black hat, Hawk wore a white dress shirt and black slacks. His large cowboy boots clunk with each step on the wood floor. “Good afternoon, Miss Ava,” Hawk greeted as he approached the table. “Good afternoon, Mr. Calhoun. Thank you for paying for my lunch. But I must ask you. How do you know my name?” He chuckled a little. “Well, it doesn’t take long for news to spread around here among the ranching set and it’s a small town. I learned the other day who you were and that you work on The Cross Creek Ranch.” “I see.” “I want to apologize for what happened at the saloon on Saturday night,” he said humbly. “Actually, I feel like I owe you the apology. I was willing to dance with you when you had asked again while we were leaving but –” “Yeah,” he interrupted with a croaked smile. “Ray had other ideas. Don’t you fret about it. It wasn’t your fault. Me and Ray have a
Friday . . . Ray was still avoiding Ava like she had a deadly strain of COVID. Considering that, Ava knew he wasn’t going to pull himself together to go to Dax’s game in Columbus. It was a two hour drive from Townsend. Ava and Tom rode with Jesse in his green Jeep Cherokee. When they got to the school, all the usual suspects were there to watch Dax play - Gill, Jock, Lance, John, Gable, Joe, Bobby, and Kyle along with two extra hands, Matt and Josh. The game between Columbus Cougars and Broadwater Bulldogs began with a kick-off to the Cougars. The first two quarters were rough on the Bulldogs. The Cougars weren’t playing around with them. One of the linebackers on the Bulldog side got injured. EMTs carried him off the field on a stretcher. No one was sure what was wrong with him. When half-time came along, the score was 28 to 7, Cougars had a good lead on the Bulldogs. Ava was actually worried that the Bulldogs might lose their first gam
“It sure is taking a long time for the boys to come out here,” Ava commented. “They’ve been in the locker room for a little over an hour. It usually doesn’t take Dax that long to take a quick shower and change.” Jesse looked at his new Rolex. Then he looked around the paved parking lot. A lot of vehicles were sitting idle. Most of them he recognized. A lot of family members were still waiting for their son or nephew to come out so they could go home. “Shit. You’re right. And I know exactly what has happened.” “What?” “The fifth quarter,” Jesse answered as he quickly opened the driver side door. Before he could hop out to look for Dax, he saw a bunch of Bulldog jerseys running like hell to the parking lot. “Dax!” Jesse yelled. Damn. I had a feeling those sore losers still wanted a piece of those boys. I should have waited for Dax at the locker room doors and made him come with me. The last thing he nee
Two days later . . . After dinner, Ray was packing what he needed for his trip with Ava. They were leaving in the morning around nine. They had told the boys they were going on a short trip together and would be back sometime Sunday. Jesse was in attendance for dinner tonight. They seemed to be fine with it. Dax and Tom had wished them a good time. Jesse was milling around in Ray’s bedroom like he used to when he was a teen, looking over him as he packed and asking a bunch of annoying questions. “Did you buy new drawls?” Jesse asked as he paced by Ray for the tenth time. “No. Why do I need new drawls? What I got is fine.” “No holes in them?” “No!” “Skid marks the washing machine couldn’t get out?” “Shit no, Jesse!” Ray shouted. “Now, if that’s all, can you get the hell out of here!” “One more thing.” Jesse rounded around him as he reached in his pocket. He pulled som
Two days later . . . Ray was in the stables preparing Nicklaus for travel tomorrow. For the first time he was being put out to stud. Ray was going to send him to the man that liked Nicklaus more than Whisper, the Albano, he had originally wanted to put out to stud. “I’ve seen her, buddy,” Ray said as he packed up Nicklaus’s favorite feed in the corner for the boys to take when they backed up the truck. “You’ll love her. Trust me.” The horse snorted nastily. “Hey,” Ray eased out as he stood straight from bending over. “I wouldn’t lie to you.” Nicklaus blinked. He had a solid shiny, brown coat along with a long, brown mane and tail. “Are you nervous?” The horse turned his head a little. “There’s a first time for everyone, buddy. Just . . . take your time. Let her feel you out and you feel her out.” Nicklaus turned back to him. “I know you weren’t expecting
“Interception! Now, R.J. Morelli is bookin’ it down the field! The Bulldog fans are about to leap out of their boots!” the announcer shouted over the loud speaker. And he was right. Ava had literally jumped out of her boots. One was halfway off her foot. R.J. made it almost twenty yards before he was tackled by three big linebackers. “Damn! Now this is a football game!” one of the hands yelled on the third row. “I still can’t believe that guy didn’t go for a field goal!” Lance shouted. “I know. It’s like we’re watching an NFL game!” Shane said with excitement. No matter how things turned out tonight, Ray was damn proud of Dax – with his bad ass self. Scoring three touchdowns in one game. That was a bad ass if Ray ever saw one. Coach Willis called a time out. Everyone was on their feet on both sides of the field. He was talking to Hank, Dax, Billie and a few others Ray wasn’t familiar with.
Ray wasn’t sure what Coach Willis had said to the boys during half-time but it worked. The game was now 35 to 14. The Bulldogs – Dax had scored a touchdown right out the gate of the third quarter. All the boys huddled down on the field. They all watched intently as they all collided. The Falcons’ hefty looking quarterback whirled around the chaos, carrying the ball. Two line backers tried to stop him but he whirled around them with ease. “Uh, oh, here comes, Calhoun!’ the announcer yelled over the loudspeaker above. “Can he stop him?” Hank was the last line of defense to block the end zone. Hank was running hard, directly at the quarterback. He’s going to dodge, boy, stay light on your feet. Before Ray knew it, Hank jumped. If he didn’t know any better, he would say the boy was flying. Hank tackled the quarterback so hard to the ground it was a wonder there wasn’t a dent there. The Bulldog fans cheered
Ray didn’t leave the study until he knew the house was empty. He knew when Tom, Ava, and Jesse left because Ava had knocked on the study door and shouted at it that they were leaving. Ray had suspected she waited there for a minute to see if he was going to come out or say anything. He hadn’t. Ray carried the wedding album into the living room. He sat down on the stool in front of the fire place. There was a small fire still burning in it. Ray opened the album and looked through it for the tenth time. He had looked through it on and off all day. His heart clenched as he looked at a few of the pictures. Ray stared at the picture of his father with Jesse. They had all worn bolo ties that day. Ray pulled the picture out and set it to the side. All the pictures that had him, Jesse, and their father in it he had pulled out of the album and set aside. Then he pulled out a single photo of Lillian. She smiled that million dollar smile of hers. Her blonde ha
A week later . . . Late afternoon, before the big game at Broadwater High School. Ava knocked on Ray’s study door. He had been in there all morning and this afternoon. He hadn’t even joined them for breakfast. Ava assumed he had gotten up before anyone else and fixed himself something to eat. “Yeah,” Ray answered. Ava opened the door. “Hey.” “Hey.” Ray was sitting in his office chair at his desk. He was wearing a wool turtleneck, charcoal sweater and denim pants. “Ray, I’m not going to mince words. Are you coming with us to the game tonight?” “I . . . don’t know.” “Ray, I think Dax is hoping you be there tonight.” “Did he say that?” “Not directly but he did hinted that . . . he needed the support of his family tonight.” Ray blew out as he glanced down. “Ray, I understand your pain and I definitely understand how memories can rush back in your
Uncle Jesse pulled up a few feet away from Lana’s door. He had dropped Rhonda off ten minutes ago. She seemed to have had a good time. Before Dax and Lana could get out of the Cherokee, the front porch light came on along with the lights that lined the walkway. The front door swung open. Mr. Anderson stepped out on the porch – with a gun holstered on his hip. “Oh, good grief,” Lana moaned as she placed her hand over her face. “Do you think it’s loaded?” Dax heard his voice crack. “Don’t worry, nephew. I got your back,” Uncle Jesse said as he leaned over and opened the glove compartment. He pulled out a hand gun. “Ever since that away game you had with the Columbus Cougars, I’ve started keeping this close.” “Oh my god,” Lana said nervously. “Please don’t shoot my dad. He just . . . overreacts sometimes.” “Honey, I won’t shoot him as long as he doesn’t shoot at us,” Uncle Jesse said. “Come on, let’s go.”
Ava had snacks ready for Dax and Lana when Jesse had brought them to the ranch – with a date of his own surprisingly. Ava had served homemade Chex mix, homemade pizza bites, and cookies she had baked that morning. The teens – and Jesse and his date, Rhonda, gobbled it up like they hadn’t eaten in days. Now, they were ready to ride. Ava and Ray were going to accompany Dax and Lana on their little ride. Thankfully, Ray had gotten back from Radersburg in time to go with them. Jesse and Rhonda decided to tag along. Lana had a black vest in her bag. She put it on under her coat before they walked out the door.They all rode in Jesse’s Cherokee to the stables. Ray was already there and he had already saddled the horses. Ava was on Whisper like she was last time. She and the horse had developed a relationship. During the times she rode with Dax in the old Ford, practicing for his driver’s test in a couple of weeks, they had stopped by the stables. While there Ava had
The next day . . . The day after Thanksgiving, Dax’s first date. He had never been that interested in girls –until Lana Anderson came along. It was ten o’clock when Ray went to Dax’s room to check on him. Dax was playing it cool but the pile of clothes on his bed said he was everything but cool. “What’s with the clothes? Surely, they’re not all dirty,” Ray said. “Um, no. I was just . . . going through things. You know. What I still where and what I don’t where anymore,” Dax said. Ray couldn’t help but snort with amusement. “Couldn’t figure out what to where, huh?” “Nah,” Dax said taken aback. “That’s something girls go through. Not guys.” Ray chuckled. “When a guy goes out on his first date with a girl he is crazy about, we do.” He sat down on the edge of the bed. “Can’t get anything by you these days,” Dax mumbled as he turned to look in the mirror that was attached to the short dresser.