Whisperer (9 page)

After all the
calves in the corrals had been branded, Sandy threw up his hands.
That was the signal for everyone to quit and leave the area. Mandy
was happy to finally leave. It had been a hard day, but pleasant
enough, being with his family.

When everyone
was outside the corrals, he yelled, “Good work, everybody! Thanks!
We’ll leave the others for tomorrow. Go clean up and then come back
to the ranch house. We promised to feed you.”

Lily said,
“Sandy, tell them about the party, okay?”

“Oh, yeah. One
more thing – my wife wants me to tell you it’s my birthday party.
So let’s rip it up tonight.” Everyone laughed and took off. Lily
and Meg took Mandy back to the ranch house to clean up. Jeanne and
Sam went back to their house, Jesse and Audrey headed back to his,
while Jason and his family went home. All the extra hands headed to
their bunkhouses, while everyone else also headed for the Johnson
ranch house to clean up before the birthday dinner.

Mandy was
changing clothes in one of the guest bedrooms when she checked her
phone for voice messages. She was pissed – two from her mother. Not
going there at all right now. She also had one from Stacy and one
from a number she didn’t recognize. What the…? She deleted the
messages from her mother, knowing what she would be saying anyway
and clicked on Stacy’s message.

“Hi Mandy. This
is Stacy. Hope you’re having a great time and don’t listen to this
message until you start home. Ah…bad news…Eddy’s trying to find
you. I put off calling about this for as long as I could, but he’s
been pretty insistent. I wanted to let you know that he might be
calling. So sorry…call me.” And she hung up. Oh,
great.
Just
what she didn’t need in her life right now was that asshole
ex-boyfriend calling and ruining her wonderful new life. Curious
now, she listened to the unidentified message. It was probably from
him.

“Hi Amanda.
Eddy here. I’ve wanted to apologize for the things I said to you. I
haven’t been able to reach you and Stacy said you’d left town. I
got this number from your mom and would like to come see you,
wherever you are. Call me back when you can.”

Mandy stood
stock-still and listened to herself. What did she feel? Anything?
Yeah… ‘not much’ would be a good description, right up there with
‘
who does he think he is’?
It was amazing how little she
cared if he was alive or dead. And that felt good… She deleted the
message, knowing full well that that wouldn’t delete Eddy from her
life. She would probably have something else to do to end things.
Should she mention it to Colt?

A pretty
lively scene
was going on
-- Steaks were grilling, music
was playing, and lots of laughter. Colt saw a game of horseshoes
being played and kids running everywhere. His sisters were helping
their mother with various dishes that needed to be heated and were
bringing out food to the tables set up outside. Colt had helped set
up the long tables, so groups of people could visit and eat. He
popped a beer from one of the many drink coolers, took a pull, and
looked around for Mandy. Where was she?

He knew Lily
and Meg had brought her up to the house to freshen up, but now he
couldn’t see her anywhere. Colt walked around. He waved at Jeanne
and Sam talking with Jason and Amy, he saw Jesse, with his arm
around Audrey, scowling at Miles about something, and brother Joey
looked kind of cozy with Jason’s daughter, Anna. When had that
happened? He heard Miles and Joey say they had tied with the
calf-branding bet, so neither would have to mend fences for a
week…

His dad was
grilling the steaks and he could see that Sam had brought several
bottles of his great Chardonnay that he made up in Sonoma. Colt
knew Mandy would like a glass, but where did she go? He went inside
the house and found Lily in the kitchen.

“Mom, where’s
Mandy? You brought her in, right?”

Lily looked
around. “She went into a bedroom to change and I haven’t seen her
since. I thought she was with you.” Oh – oh. She hoped there wasn’t
trouble in Paradise…

“I’ll look
around, thanks.” He started to go into the bedroom area, when he
glanced outside and saw her talking on her cell phone on the side
of the house. He went out to join her. She looked over at him and
tucked her phone away.

“Everything
okay?”

“Sure,
yeah…fine…” But she didn’t look fine. Maybe it was her crazy mother
again. He’d have to meet that woman sometime and wasn’t looking
forward to it.

Mandy shook it
off and then laughed. “I could really use a glass of Sam’s
Chardonnay. Did he bring any?”

“Of course and
he wants compliments galore. “ He lightly kissed her. “Let’s go
find you a glass.” But she didn’t move and wouldn’t let go of
him.

“Are you sure
you’re okay?” She looked up at him. Her eyes locked with his and he
held his breath.

“ ‘I need to
believe that something extraordinary is possible.’ ” He smiled at
her.

“It’s already
happened. We found each other and fell in love. What’s more
extraordinary than that?” They kissed a lingering kiss.

Colt grabbed
her hand and started leading her to the patio area and all the
noise. He looked back at her, stopped and smiled. “By the way, I
know that line is from ‘
A Beautiful Mind’
. Nice try, though.
Remember, I have a movie-toting grandmother…”

She laughed.
“Darn…I thought I would have you with that one. It’s a little
obscure and…”

“Obscure? It’s
the best line of the movie when Jennifer Connelly puts her hand on
Russell Crowe’s heart. It’s a
wow
line. A real
tear-jerker…”

She looked
deeply into his eyes. “You are easily one of the most sentimental
men in the universe. Where did you come from?”

“Well, if you
talk to my dad – he’d say I came from the barn one stormy night.
However, Mom would say I came from a night in sunny San Francisco.
Take your pick.”

“I do love you,
Colt.”

“I so adore
you, Mandy. Maybe later you can tell me why you’re upset.”

He looked at
her and she just nodded.

“Later.”

“Okay.”

And the good
times were rolling…People had started dancing off to one side and
others were eating. The steaks smelled divine.

“What’s your
pleasure, sweetheart? Food, drink or dance?”

“Drink first,
then food, lastly dance.”

“Let’s do
it.”

They joined
Jesse and Audrey who were talking to Jason. The noise level had
cranked up a notch with the music. Lily had surprised Sandy with a
local cowboy band determined to keep things hopping.

Jeanne, who had
seen Colt and Mandy’s serious discussion by the house, whispered to
Sam, “I think we’re in Act Two now, Sam.”

“What makes you
say that, honey?” He looked over at the couple.

“I know movies
and this has all the feel of going from ‘All’s well’, to ‘maybe
something’s up’.

“How do you
know?”

“I just know,
that’s all. ‘
Philadelphia Story’
? Not, that’s not right.
‘
Footloose
’? Possibly, when the creepy ex-boyfriend comes
back to bother Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer.”

“You’re saying
there’s an ex-boyfriend in the picture? How in Heaven’s name could
you know something like that?” He turned to stare at her.

“Darling, when
you look as good as that girl, there’s ALWAYS an ex-boyfriend.”

Sam laughed.
“Colt can take him.”

Several bottles
of Chardonnay later, or beer, take your pick, the party guests were
having a great time. Dinner was excellent, with the birthday boy as
chief chef, and lots of old family stories were told. Jeanne had
brought her famous red velvet cake for Sandy’s birthday and too
many candles were now being lit.

“Seriously,
Dad,” said Miles, “the house is going to burn down with all that
fire.”

“You said that
last year, bro,” laughed Janie. “Think of new material. You’re the
author…” Everyone roared and Miles looked sheepish.

“We need a
toast, someone,” said Lily. “Colt, how about it? Want to toast your
father? That almost sounds like a Freudian slip. And I mean toast
and not roast.” Laughter all around.

“Sure, Mom.” He
paused and looked over at his dad. “I’d like to give a toast to
Sandy Johnson. A unique man who put me in my first pair of cowboy
boots and taught me about life. Raise your glasses, here’s to my
incredible father.” A few tears in the audience and then, “To
Sandy…” Everyone applauded and Sandy went over to hug Colt. Mandy
got tears in her eyes too. This family really loved each other --
it was obvious to see. She was very happy to be a part of it.

After blowing
out birthday candles and sharing pieces of cake with everyone,
Sandy was ready for something else.

“Okay, let the
entertainment begin,” he announced. “Who’ll start us off?” He
looked around the room. “Any takers?”

Mandy whispered
to Colt, “What’s up?”

“After an event
like this, we all do a little something for fun. It can take any
form.”

“You first,
Sandy. It’s your birthday… Give us a poem,” said Sam. “What do you
think, everybody?” The audience applauded raucously. Lots of
whistles and catcalls. A few raspberries…

Colt explained
to Mandy. “Dad’s a cowboy poet and has participated in many cowboy
poetry gatherings around Nevada. His poetry is well-known in
several western states.”

The audience
fell quiet. Sandy stood up and began speaking. He spoke eloquently
of his love for his family and the land in which he was born. As
usual, he closed his eyes. He passionately spoke of those big
Nevada skies and the pine and pinion-covered landscapes. Rhythm,
rhyme, image, meter – it was all there. Mandy had closed her eyes
too and could hear the thunder and visualize the lightening. She
could hear the wind in the aspens and see hawks flying above.

When he
finished, the audience actually hooted and hollered. The Old West
is still alive and kicking, she thought and smiled. He was
good
…

Miles got up
next and had brought a copy of his latest book,
Tales of
Nevada.
It was a collection of short stories, he explained, and
proceeded to read one of them. The story was bittersweet about the
plight of the Paiute Indian tribe – what had happened to them over
the years. His story posed no activist position. It was a mere
reflection of actions that occurred and were still occurring. The
audience applauded when he sat down.

“Be careful,”
Meg called. “People will begin to think you can be thoughtful,
Miles.”

“That’s not
nice, Meg,” said Lily. “That was terrific, Miles, thank you.” Lily
gave Meg a stern look that she just laughed off.

“How about you,
Lily?” said her husband. “Got a poem for us?”

“Okay, if you
insist.” She stood up and took out a piece of paper from her
pocket.

“Crib notes?”
called Sam.

“Nope, just
wanted to be prepared this time. Last time I forgot my poem. Oh,
but this time it’s not mine.”

She started
reading with dramatic flair,

“ ‘
On the
shores of Gitchee Gumee,’ ”
A few people laughed, until she
continued seriously,

“ ‘
Of the shining
Big-Sea-Water,
Stood Nokomis, the old woman,
Pointing with her finger westward,
To the purple clouds of sunset.’ ”

She stopped and looked
at Colt who rose and continued,

“ ‘
As unto the bow
the cord is,
So unto the man is woman,
Though she bends him, she obeys him,
Though she draws him, yet she follows,
Useless each without the other.’ ”

Lily smiled
and went on…

“ ‘
Much perplexed
by various feelings,
Listless, longing, hoping, fearing,
Dreaming still of Minnehaha,
Of the lovely Laughing Water,
In the land of the Dacotahs.’ ”

Colt and Lily
had the group spellbound. They left out a collective breath that
had been held and started applauding.

“And that’s
from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, another appreciator of the
American West,” said Lily. “Colt and I used to recite verses back
and forth, when he was a little guy.” He walked over to her and
kissed her on the cheek.

“Good job,
Mom,” he said. Mandy’s mouth had dropped open during their
recitation.
Unbelievable!
They were a family of artists…

Meg offered to
whip up a San Francisco breakfast for everyone the next morning --
Lots of applause and ‘we’ll take you up on that’ from people.

Joey and Anna
got up to sing. “When did this happen?” Colt whispered to
Jesse.

“You’ve been
gone six or seven months. If you’ve going to be gone so long, you
might miss a few dramas.”

Joey was the
artist, but also played the guitar beautifully. Anna had a nice
singing voice. They harmonized on ‘Tumbling Tumble Weeds’.

“You’re
kidding,” whispered Mandy to Colt. “These are Stepford people.
They’re not real, right?” Colt just laughed.

“How about
Janie?” yelled Jeanne.

“Yeah, Janie
can arrest someone,” laughed Miles. Everyone turned to look at her.
Being in the Sheriff’s program, they knew she was no pushover.

“Oh, yeah? I
can do better than that,” she said looking purposefully at her

obnoxious
brother. Everyone turned to look at Miles. The gauntlet,
apparently, had been thrown down. Sandy looked at Lily and grinned.
Miles was going to get his ass kicked.

“What’ cha got,
little sis? Bring it on…” Miles dared her.

“Come over
here,” she pointed to an area that was clear of people and anything
breakable.

He walked up to
her and in two minutes, she had him flat on his back with her foot
at his throat. People blinked and then started hollering, “All
right, Janie!”