Ghost Town (7 page)

“Here at Buffalo Bill's we are fortunate to have two special people in our restaurant today,” Kyle spoke into the microphone at the end of the song.

For a split second Maeve thought Kyle was going to single her out for her dancing skills, but then the waiter gestured to Nik and Sam. Oops, Maeve thought with a blush.
Guess it'll be a couple years before people start recognizing Maeve Kaplan-Taylor in public
.

“Nik and Sam, the country singing sensations, will be performing at Big Sky Resort this week, and we've persuaded them to put on an impromptu performance this afternoon. Let's give Nik and Sam a warm Montana welcome!” Kyle clapped and the crowd joined in, yipping and yelling with the BSG leading the way.

Nik and Sam took their instruments and stepped on stage. They leaned their heads together and whispered for a few seconds, then nodded and faced the audience with bright smiles.

“This is for our new friends from Boston,” the twins said in unison before breaking into a soulful noise that immediately got every foot tapping in the house. “They say I'm a wild child . . .” the girls began.

“‘Old Enough!' My favorite song!” Avery called out.

By the time Nik and Sam got to the chorus, the BSG were belting out their favorite part: “I'm old enough!”

The song ended and the crowd erupted in ringing applause. Maeve led the BSG cheer, even though she was hoarse from singing with all her might.

“Thank you!” Nik and Sam waved to the audience. “And here's a new one we'd like to share with you,” Sam said. The girls slowed down the pace, strumming out a bluesy ballad. “It's just another Sunday morning,” the girls crooned.

Mr. Ramsey got up and offered a hand to Lissie, who took it and followed him to the dance floor.

“Hey, Charlotte, your dad is a pretty good dancer,” Avery observed. “My dad looks like he's trying to swat and stomp bugs when he dances,” she said. “It's definitely not pretty.”

“Where did your dad learn to two-step like that?” Katani asked.

“I have no idea,” Charlotte replied as she felt a strange knot in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure why she felt all shaky and weird inside. It wasn't fear or anger or embarrassment. She just felt uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, all the restaurant goers were exclaiming and trying to get a good look at the twins.

Maeve gave a little wave to some of the onlookers.
Maybe they were trying to catch a glimpse of the one and only Maeve Kaplan-Taylor too. Who knew?

Nik and Sam's dad stood up and announced that it was time to get going. They had to reach the resort in time for the twins to settle in and rehearse before it got too late.

The limo was waiting for them at the front door. Nik and Sam and their parents, along with Isabel and Katani, piled into the shimmering silver car. Katani was a little disappointed that she wouldn't be able to go shopping, but Isabel whispered that she was sure that the resort would have a cool gift shop.

Mr. Ramsey stuck his head through the open window to give the girls some instructions. “All right, girls. Be good, and we'll see you in a bit.”

Isabel and Katani nodded.

“When you arrive, tell the person at the front desk that you're part of the Ramsey group. If there is any problem, call my cell. We should only be a half hour to an hour behind you.”

Mr. Ramsey stepped away from the limo, and Katani, Isabel, Nik, and Sam waved good-bye to the rest of the group as the limo rolled away from the curb.

“Before we go back to the airport, why don't we check to see when the van will be ready?” Lissie recommended. “No point being stuck at the airport with nothing to do as long as there's a town to explore.”

Mr. Ramsey called the car rental place and found out it would be another hour before they could pick up the van.

“Okay, you girls can have a few minutes to shop,” Mr.
Ramsey said as he snapped his phone shut. “Do you all have watches?” he asked. “Everyone be back here in fifteen minutes, and stay on this block,” he admonished the girls.

The BSG headed down the street, determined to make the most of their fifteen minute speed shopping expedition.

Maeve, of course, had some very important things on her mind: clothes, boots, purses, and accessories. In one word, FASHION! She disappeared into the first trendy clothing shop she found, on the hunt for something totally fabulous.

Charlotte wanted to find the perfect postcard of the Wild Wild West to send to Sophie, her friend in Paris. “I'm heading in here!” Charlotte called as she hurried past Avery and into a drugstore.

Outside the store, Avery discovered a mechanical bucking bronco. “Jackpot!” she shouted. A bucking bronco was much more entertaining than shopping could ever be. Avery jumped on and put two quarters in the slot. “Yee haaaaaawwww! Charlotte!” she called. “You have to get this on camera.”

Charlotte popped back out of the store and grabbed Avery's camera to take a few priceless snapshots. As Avery hooted and hollered and held on for dear life, some people paused to point or chuckle before continuing down the street. Avery didn't mind, though. She was used to people watching her athletic performance.

Charlotte spotted a bookstore across the street and ran over to check their postcard selection. Not only were there
some beautiful landscape postcards, but she also found a whole section of cowboy poetry. She was deep into a poem called “Stampede” when her father came through the door.

“Hi, Charlotte. I thought I might find you here,” he said. “I just got a call from the rental place, and they have a vehicle for us now. Where are the others?”

Charlotte bought the book of cowboy poetry, and met her father outside to look for Avery and Maeve.

“There's Avery,” Charlotte said, pointing across the street. Avery was still hooting and hollering on the bucking bronco. Just as the Ramseys were trying to get her attention, she jumped off and disappeared into a western-wear shop.

Charlotte noticed her dad's exasperated expression. “I think Maeve might be in the shoe shop on this side of the street. Let's get her first and then we'll get Avery.”

They found Maeve sitting on a bench inside the shoe shop with boxes and boxes of cowboy boots surrounding her. “So many boots! So little time!” Maeve moaned.

“You've got that right, Maeve. Our van is ready and Big Sky Resort is waiting. Please go pay for your boots and meet us outside.” Mr. Ramsey said, pointing at his watch. “Checkout counter . . . now!”

Maeve grabbed a pair of rose-colored cowboy boots, threw them back into the box, and hurried to make her first western purchase.

By the time they made it across the street to the other western shop, Avery was barreling out the door.

Mr. Ramsey caught Avery by the backpack before she
could take off again. “Great,” he breathed a sigh of relief. “I finally have you all together. Line up against the wall.”

“What?” Maeve asked incredulously.

“You heard me! Line up.” Mr. Ramsey looked pretty serious, so the three girls quickly scurried into a line and stood at attention.

“Okay. Left face. That means turn to your left. Your OTHER left, Charlotte. Now, MARCH!”

Mr. Ramsey marched the girls, giggling all the way, back to the front of the restaurant where Lissie was waiting with their luggage. And just in time, too. As Mr. Ramsey shouted “Halt!” to stop the marchers, a cab pulled up in front of the restaurant and they all piled in.

Well, it's certainly
not a limo,”
Maeve observed.

The group stood in the parking lot of the car rental place, staring curiously at the strange vehicle that had been assigned to them.

“What
is
it?” Avery asked. She'd never seen a car like this one!

“It's a Mountain Rover,” Charlotte said. “A version of the Land Rover. We used them all the time when we were in Africa. They're rugged, but they're not all that reliable, are they, Dad?”

Mr. Ramsey shook his head. “You're right, Charlotte, but the Rover should be just fine for our trip. We don't have too far to go.”

“I've never heard of a Mountain Rover.” Maeve shook her head, walking around the vehicle and examining it like an exhibit in a museum. “But whatever it is, it's the most disgusting shade of orange I've ever seen.”

“What's the matter, Maeve?” Avery asked. “Were you expecting a pink jeep to match your outfit?”

Maeve ignored Avery's joke. “So, it looks a little beat up. Does it run?”

“That's not a bad question.” Mr. Ramsey motioned one of the attendants over.

“We're concerned about the condition of our vehicle here,” Mr. Ramsey said. “Is it going to make it all the way to Big Sky Resort?”

“Ole Nelly here is an excellent vehicle
and
she has four-wheel drive, a must in these parts,” the attendant assured him. “Besides, this is the only vehicle big enough for five people and that mound of luggage. Nelly's been all fired up, and she's ready to go.” The man grinned a little too brightly. He looked like he was wishing with all his might that the group would just take off and leave him alone.

“Good thing your bags went in the limo,” Avery quipped, tapping Maeve on the shoulder. “We wouldn't have been able to fit your bazillion suitcases in Ole Nelly.”

“Well, my bags are riding in
style
,” Maeve said. “And that's all that matters.” They packed their luggage and piled into Ole Nelly. Mr. Ramsey turned the key in the ignition and the bright orange Rover roared to life.

“Go, Ole Nelly,” Charlotte cheered as they pulled away from the rental lot and toward the airport exit. “It's fun having a car with a bit of personality!”

As they headed to the highway, the girls stared out the window and let the two adults in the front seat be their navigators.

“Uh, Richard? You missed the entrance to the interstate,” Lissie said. “It was right back there.”

Charlotte giggled and then tried to cover it up with a cough. That comment wouldn't get Lissie anywhere. Richard Ramsey was not an interstate driver—at least whenever he could help it. “Dad's more of a back roads type of guy,” Charlotte explained.

“
Back
roads,” Maeve grumbled. “That sounds like we're taking the long way. By the time we get there and check in, Nik and Sam will be there hours before we will!”

“This view will be worth it, Maeve,” Mr. Ramsey counseled her, glancing back in the rearview mirror. “For a while this road follows the Gallatin River, which is supposed to be very scenic. Then when we get to the resort, you'll see a single, huge mountain towering above the rest of the range, right over the resort. They call that Lone Mountain. It's pretty spectacular. And,” Mr. Ramsey added, “there's always the chance we could see wildlife on this drive too.”

“Wildlife?” Avery repeated, instantly perking up. “Now you're talking.”

“All sorts,” Mr. Ramsey told her. “Mountain goats, moose, black bears, marmots, mule deer . . . it's all out here.”

Maeve shook her head unhappily. “Mountains? Moose? Alpine tundra? And what's a marmot? How do these compare with real life music stars and a luxury resort?” she muttered to herself.

The road rolled out in front of the dude ranch–bound travelers like an endless ribbon of cement, heading west toward the majestic mountains. Occasionally a pickup truck rattled by in the other direction on its way to Bozeman. Charlotte dug her journal out of her backpack and began to write, just words at first, but words that might be later fashioned into a poem: “Hanging clouds looming white, rolling mountains all in sight . . .”

The beautiful scenery even coaxed Maeve out of her dejected mood. “No wonder they call this Big Sky Country,” she said, gawking at the scene before her eyes.

“The official nickname is actually the Treasure State,” Avery reported.

“Really? What kind of treasure?” Maeve asked.

“Gold and silver. They were discovered here in the eighteen hundreds,” Avery told her. “I know lots of stuff about Montana. I read one of my dad's old guide books before we left. Like did you know Montana has the
smallest river in the world? It's called the Roe River and it's only like two hundred feet long,” Avery rattled off.

“Really? There's actually a river that's only two hundred feet long?” Lissie asked. “That's so tiny.”

“Yeah. It's even in the
Guinness Book of World Records
,” Avery said.

“Wow, Ave. You're chock-full of Montana trivia. What else have you got?” Charlotte challenged.

“Let's see, the capital of Montana is Helena. And Billings is the largest city in the state, and Yellowstone County is the most populated area in the state.”

“Hey, what's Massachusetts' nickname?” Maeve wondered aloud.

“The Bay State,” Charlotte piped in. “And Indiana is the Hoosier State.”

“Hey! I know a bunch of nicknames too,” Avery announced, not wanting to be outdone. “Illinois is the Land of Lincoln.”

“Missouri is the Show Me State,” Charlotte said.

“Show me what?” Maeve asked.

“Show me how many nicknames you know,” Avery responded, cracking up.

“New York City is the Big Apple,” Maeve said triumphantly, with a toss of her hair.

“Tanzania is the Cradle of Humankind,” Lissie noted.

Charlotte caught her father's eye in the rearview mirror. One of his travel books was about Tanzania. Did Lissie already know this? Most people, unless they lived there or were geography buffs, didn't even know where Tanzania was.

“Well, technically that's the nickname for the Olduvai Gorge,” Charlotte clarified.

“The what?” Maeve asked.