Whisperer (13 page)

When Mandy got
to Colt’s place, she looked worse than he did. Her mother had been
at her incessantly and she looked ready to burst. Colt made her a
cup of tea, which she let go cold. She couldn’t sit still and
started pacing.

“Miles left,”
said Colt.

“Yes, Mom left
too.”

“Good.”

She looked at
him and he knew what she was going to say.

“Don’t say it,
sweetheart.”

“Colt, I’m
getting out of here for a while. My mind’s a muddle and I don’t
want to think anymore. It’s getting me nowhere.”

“Your mother
has poisoned you, Mandy. Let’s talk it out.”

“Nope. Can’t do
it yet. Let me go, Colt.” She pleaded.

“Will you be
back?” he whispered.

“I just don’t
know.”

“Where are you
going?” He felt his voice constrict, as did his heart.

“Up to my
friend Stacy’s in Sacramento. I have to do a few things there
before I can even remotely get on with my life. Things I should
have done earlier, it seems.”

“What about
your job?”

“I’ve taken a
leave of absence for a few weeks.” Colt ran his fingers through his
hair. How had it all come to this?

She walked over
to him, the woman he loved, kissed him lightly on the lips and then
walked out his door. Was she walking out of his life? The action
seemed so final and Colt felt like he was in some sort of parallel
universe. What the hell had just happened? Why couldn’t they make
any sense of it and just talk it out?

He went into
the bedroom and laid down on the bed. Taking a deep breath, he
could still smell her on his pillow and sheets. Her scent was
everywhere, as were her clothes and cosmetics. He looked around and
saw her brush and some socks. The damn place was a living shrine to
her…Colt grabbed a few items, got in his car and took off for
Sonoma. He called the camp administrator on the way and told him to
terminate his contract. Personal business was the reason he
gave.

Meanwhile in
Sonoma, the phones had been burning up with calls going back and
forth from Sonoma to Naples. Miles had called Sam to see if he
could come there, but Sam told him to go home and learn some
manners. Jeanne had spoken briefly to Mandy, but couldn’t get her
to come see them -- Rest up a while. Jeanne had asked her not to do
anything in haste. Mandy had cried telling her that she and Colt
had just gotten engaged and then everything turned upside down.
Jeanne got teary too. Mandy promised to call when she could.

Then Colt
called and said he was on his way over.

Jeanne looked
at Sam and said, “Act Two is a bitch…”

“Got that
right, honey.”

And Colt was,
indeed, miserable. Jeanne and Sandy had both advised him to put
work on hold for a while and take a break to sort things out –
Clear his head. He had been working steadily and had a good bank
balance. The whole family knew what had happened with Mandy – the
crazy mother, Eddy, the ex-boyfriend and Miles’ interference -- And
then Mandy taking off for Sacramento. There was much concern for
him throughout the Cable-Johnson families. They all loved Mandy, so
this was rough on everyone…

At dinner one
night, Sam and Colt had been discussing the new horses that had
come in. Sam ran a brisk ranch horse business, buying a few,
retraining and selling them to local ranchers. Colt had been
helping Sam train his horses. He wanted to hire him full time, but
he knew Colt wanted a business of his own some day soon.

Sandy and Colt
had been talking about dedicating a permanent location for him at
the Johnson Ranch in Naples. Sandy and Lily wanted to give Colt and
Mandy fifty acres as a wedding gift. The wedding gift part was
uncertain right now, but having Colt’s business at the ranch was
still a go. He and Sandy had been discussing business plans and a
house was currently being built for his private residence. Sandy
and Lily were still hoping it would be a residence for both Colt
and
Mandy.

“So what did
you think about that gray mustang, son? Do you think you can make
that into a decent ranch horse?” Sam was having a second helping of
mashed potatoes and gravy.

“Sam, honey,
the doctor said you should watch your carbohydrate intake. You’re
putting on a little weight, chubby,” laughed Jeanne. Colt looked
over at her surprised.

“Jeez, Grandma,
that wasn’t very nice.”

“Don’t worry,
Colt. I can handle this,” began Sam.

“Jeanne,
darlin’, I haven’t gained any weight in the last ten years. I am in
good shape physically, my doctor also says, and I needn’t listen to
your nagging about my weight. No weight problem, just weight.” It
was a ‘so there’ to her.

She smiled
slyly. “So it’s a good thing that I made vanilla ice cream to go
with the strawberries I just picked. Wouldn’t want you out of your
great physical shape.”

“And I need
that great physical shape to keep you in line.”

Jeanne kept on
smiling at him. “You know,” she teased, “you’re still the spittin’
image of Sam Elliott.”

“That cute
western actor with the mustache and huge hat? And you’re still the
spittin’ image of Myrna Loy.”

Who’s Myrna
Loy
, thought Colt.

“Thank you,
sweetie. I needed that.” Jeanne leaned over to kiss her husband.
Sam kissed her back.

They were so
dear to him and loved each other so much. Isn’t that what it’s all
about? Love and lots of it? It made Colt think of Mandy – she was
never far from his thoughts anyway. Sitting in companionable
silence with his loving grandparents, made him miss her even more.
Anything made him miss her. He could be watching horses in the
corral and think of her…

Jeanne looked
over at Colt. “Enough meat loaf, sweetie?” She could tell where his
thoughts went.

“You know I’m
not a huge meat loaf lover.”

“Yes, but
you’re not eating enough period. Sam’s putting on weight and you’re
losing it.”

“Now hold on a
minute…” started Sam.

Just then Colt
got a phone call and looked to see who was calling. “I need to take
this,” he said while stepping outside.

“What was the
ringtone, Sam?” asked Jeanne.

“Don’t
know.”

“Um…what is it?
... I got it -- that’s ‘If Ever I Would Leave You’. You know, from
‘
Camelot’.
I bet that’s Mandy. What a sweet guy…” Jeanne
sighed.

Sam looked over
at her. “Whoever it is, don’t grill him when he comes back. This
whole thing with Mandy has played out on the public square. He must
be embarrassed.”

“No, Sam, it’s
worse than that. He’s devastated. Don’t you guys talk at all when
you’re out riding?”

“Not much about
that. I figured he was talking it out with Sandy and Lily. I don’t
want to get in the way. We talk about the horse business
mostly.”

“Next time
you’re out with him, listen harder. He may want to talk, but hasn’t
found the right moment.”

“Yes, dear, I
promise.” They looked at each other and smiled.

Outside on the
patio, Colt listened. “Hello? Mandy?” He could hear her breathing,
but she hadn’t said anything. “Are you all right?”

“Hi…” she
finally said.

“Hi,
sweetheart…I miss you.”

He heard her
throat catch as she responded. “I miss you so much, I can’t breathe
right.”

“So why are you
there and I’m here? Doesn’t seem right.”

“I’ve got
things to sort out. It’s okay here with Stacy.”

“Couldn’t we
sort it out together?”

“No, I need to
do this myself.”

“Have you seen
your mother?”

“Not yet. She’s
first on the agenda.”

“Can I come up
there?”

He could see
her debating the question, wanting to say yes, but needing to say
no… At least for now.

“No…I’ll let
you know. I’ve got to go, Colt. I love you.” And she clicked
off.

Colt stood
there, stunned, looking at his phone. He wanted to throw it across
the yard. He wanted to talk to Jeanne or maybe Meg about it, but
not yet. He wanted a lot of things, Mandy most of all. But he
settled for a ride. Colt went into Sam’s barn, saddled his usual
horse and took off at a gallop through the back meadow. Riding
through the vineyard and up into the hills, he could breathe a bit
better. And he would be up there until dark.

In Sacramento,
Mandy started crying – again. Stacy was home, got her to sit on the
couch and drink some water.

“You’re not
eating, Mandy, you’re losing weight. You’ve got to pull yourself
together and get things settled -- and
soon
before you waste
away before my very eyes.” Stacy was worried. They had had several
in-depth talks, but no action from Mandy yet.

“I know... I
know…” she cried.

“Your mother is
coming between you and Colt. Quit letting her run your life – she
can’t even run her own properly.”

Mandy sat up
straight and dried her tears. “You’re so right. I just felt that I
had to get away from Donner with all the crap that had happened. It
wasn’t fair to Colt, I know.
What am I doing?”

“Trust me,”
Stacy smiled, “he’ll forgive you. Now…what are you going to
do?”

“Call Mom and
have it out once and for all. Thanks, Stacy, for being such a great
friend.”

“Just invite me
to the wedding. I’m dying to meet the whole clan…” She laughed and
that made Mandy smile.

Meg was at work
when the call came in.
Hmmm…
.both brothers are coming to see
me?
What’s going on
? Meg Johnson had finished two years at
the Culinary Institute in Napa Valley and had immediately been
hired as a chef poissonier (chef for fish dishes) at the chic
Boulevard Restaurant in the Embarcadero area of San Francisco. It
was located between Fisherman’s Wharf and the Financial District –
an upscale restaurant and pretty good for her first job. Meg had
been thrilled to get it.

Glancing
quickly at a mirror on the kitchen wall nearby, she saw some loose
blonde hairs that needed tucking up into her cap. Her bright blue
eyes sparkled – she loved her job.

Various smells
of spices filled her nostrils as she worked a piece of striped bass
caught fresh that morning in the San Francisco Bay. She was working
on a layered dish that the sous chef had requested for an excellent
customer who loved bass. Meg had just finished the dish to the
chef’s satisfaction when her good friend, Lainey, the hostess, came
running back to the kitchen. She flung open the door.

“Meg, Meg…” she
panted.

“Catch your
breath, Lainey, and spit it out. I actually have time between
dishes right now.”

She took a deep
breath. “Two off-the-Richter-scale-handsome cowboys just came into
the restaurant. I asked them to wait a minute, because I’m pretty
sure they’re your brothers. Look, look,
they’re dreamy.”
She
sighed heavily.

Meg looked
through the window in the kitchen door and laughed. “Yes, those are
my dreamy brothers all right. I’ll tell them you said that.”

“Don’t do that!
Just please tell me they’re single and available.” Lainey finally
caught her breath.

“One is, one
isn’t – or maybe neither is, I’m not sure right now. It changes…”
Meg laughed again. “Seat them in a nice section. I’m going to take
off my jacket and go out to talk to them.”

Meg left the
kitchen after changing and walked smiling toward her brothers. She
could see women all over the restaurant craning their necks to get
a better look at them. They are pretty cute, she decided – for
brothers.

Both Jesse and
Colt wore jeans, colorful western shirts, printed scarves knotted
neatly at the neck with stylish western jackets and boots. Jesse
carried his black cowboy hat, and Colt had his cream-colored one.
While they stood at least six feet tall, Jesse had blonde hair like
hers that he was always pushing back – Colt had wavy black hair
that seemed to mind, some of the time. Both men stood out big-time
in a sea of business suits and ties. Not only women were staring,
but men too. They were quite the picture of western masculinity.
Lainey had seated them in her best section. She was all smiles and
‘what can I do for you, gentlemen’. Catching sight of Meg walking
over to them, they smiled broadly at her. As soon as was possible,
she got huge hugs from both brothers. Jesse pulled out her chair
for her and then they put their cowboy hats under their chairs
before sitting down.

“My, such
manners,” she laughed. “Your mama raised you right.”

“Meggie, you
look terrific,” Jesse said smiling. “Mom is dying to know how
things are going for you up here.”

“And she
probably means men-wise,” laughed Colt.

“It’s wonderful
to see you both. Miles threatened to come to town too, but Sam told
him to go home and learn some manners. Not sure what that was
about.”

“Yeah, still
too big for his Nevada britches…” said Jesse glancing at Colt. Colt
frowned at the mention of Miles’ name. Meg noticed and changed the
subject.

“Can you stay
for dinner? I’ll make you both fabulous fish dishes, as I am a chef
poissonier, merci beaucoup.” She laughed at their blank faces. “I
do fish only, okay?”

“Sure, we’d
love to eat. Dad said you got terrific grades at that cooking
school and you’re a better cook now than Mom. But then you always
were in the kitchen with her.”

“Yeah, when I
wasn’t stealing hubcaps with you two thugs.” They laughed at
that.

Colt continued,
“Mind if we bunk at your place for a few nights? We have some
things to talk about with you, Meggie, if you’re available. We both
need a little family advice.”

“What – you
didn’t ask Mom or Dad?” They shook their heads no. “Jeanne or Sam?”
Again, no… “Well, I am feeling very special indeed. Dinner, my dear
brothers, is on me.”