Chapter 4

He was on his second glass of coffee when he got an email. There had been a mess up with his paperwork and would take another few days to fix. It said to enjoy the extra time off. He made a call to double check it. The confirmation had him in thought. He had not made any plans, thinking he would be otherwise occupied. A second email gave him an idea. He called the ranch. He verified he was still attending but wanted to know if it was possible to change the package to a longer stay. They said it wouldn’t be an issue and sent the confirmation as he was on the phone with them. He would need to make a few purchases, but it would add a couple more days at the ranch. He thought of changing the hotel reservation to open the room for the week when Ruby stopped at the table.

“Ruby,” he started, as the idea formed in his head. “I am not going to be around for the next five days or four nights. I have arranged to spend some time at a ranch outside the city.”

“Oh, that sounds fun. I’ll miss having you around. Nice to talk to someone other than my husband. Especially someone that doesn’t treat me as if I’m so fragile they walk on eggshells.”

“Well, my reservation with the hotel is still a few weeks after that so, you may not be rid of me that easy.” She laughed, already knowing he was a long-term stay. “Now I know it may be unusual and it’s not much, but I was thinking while I’m away maybe you and your husband would enjoy using the room. You can relax and use the facilities to watch whatever you like, even order room service for the two of you. It could be a miniature vacation for you. I’m sure they can spare you from here.”

She looked as if she was considering the offer. “That would be nice,” she started. “I don’t think that is allowed. You could get in trouble.”

Jason hefted the coffee glass. “I doubt as much as you can,” he said. He would tell the desk about what he did, anyway. He would pay whatever it would be to do it, and she didn’t need to know about that. “Even if you didn’t take time off, you could use it as a means of a shorter commute for a few days. That would be up to you.

“It’s very nice of you, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. Thank you for the idea,” she put his bill on the table. She waited as he slid his card into the folder. It was a generous and unheard of offer, but she felt uneasy about it. It was on her mind as she took off to tender the bill.

Jason met her halfway across the room on her return. He handed her the tip smiling as she scrunched her face at the two bills. “Thanks and I’ll see you in a few days,” he took his card and rushed out the door. He had to be at the ranch by noon and with the stops and his an unfamiliarity with the area, he wanted to get started.

The woman at the desk was different. She was older, about his age, maybe a few years more. She was a little heavy set, but she looked good for her age. He noticed a slight reaction when he told her what he did and that they could charge him for whatever was necessary.

The woman, Reese, according to her name tag, acted a little like Ruby. “That is a sweet thing to do, unusual, but sweet.” She looked around and then typed into the computer. “I’ve noted it, but since you are unsure if she will use it, I’m not adding any charges. You won’t be here anyway, so we can just leave it as if you were. I’ll keep an eye on the room and be sure things go well if she does.” Reese knew Ruby well. There was no if about it if she could help it. “I’ll make sure that housekeeping does a thorough cleaning both today and before you get back, just to be sure,” she told him.

Jason thanked her and headed out to his car. It took two stores to find what he was looking for, but only because the one store didn’t have it all in stock. It worked out to be cheaper, anyway. He had taken longer than he planned as he had a hard time picking from the Garmin Montana 680t Hiking GPS Navigator or the Garmin GPSMAP 64s Hiking GPS Navigator. A big difference in price but he dwelled on the features. He did pick up some miscellaneous items, too. He had various reasons, but mostly to add to what he already owned. He couldn’t resist. He also grabbed a couple of cases of water since he didn’t know about the supply at the ranch. Some water just tasted bad.

The road trip was long and dull, and he started wishing that Cleo or Patrice were around to go. The trip would have been more fun. He made it just before the introduction and safety luncheon. He had just enough time to check in and make it to the outdoor dining area. Someone would take his bags to the room he would be using.

Lunch was an all you can eat BBQ with all sorts of grilled and smoked food. There was no alcohol served except at dinner and the “mingle” cocktail hour that was held an hour after dinner at the ranch. For safety reasons, none would be served on the overnight camp out. They did suggest that guests forgo computers and their phones as much as possible, but did say that there was Wi-Fi and cell coverage was decent throughout the ranch. It was a little spottier on some of the trails. They advised not to leave the trails as well, unless with a staff leader. They answered questions and the staff then joined in and sat to talk and eat with the guests.

Jason was sitting off just enjoying some grilled chicken breast, ribs and grill baked potato with corn on the cob. He had heard that talk before. The area was different, but it was all the same. One thing he took note of was the size of the ranch. It was over one hundred and fifty acres. They also had full access to the state park with permissions to use another fifty acres for activates. There were others at the table, but they all talked as if they were together. One thing was noticeable. There were a lot of families and younger people. Had it not been for the parents, he might have felt outnumbered.

“Mind if we join you?” a female staffer asked. She was with a younger male staffer.

“Don’t mind a bit, though I was just about to get something more,” he told them as they sat. He didn’t want to seem rude.

“You might want to wait on that,” the young man laughed as he nodded off to the food tables. There was a huge line of kids.

“Wow, yeah might. Though with that herd, who knows what will be left?” he settled and started to drink some of the ice tea he had.

“Oh, don’t worry, they put out a big spread. There is plenty and then some. I’m Inna Tempest, a ranger for the park and occasional staffer here.” She held out her hand and giggled when he had to wipe his hands before taking hers.

“Jason Myer.”

“This is junior ranger Anthony Traxon,” she said as she gave the young man a pat on the cheek. “He is supposed to be learning to take over before I leave in a few months.”

“Supposed to?” Jason inquired.

That took her by surprise. People normally asked where she was going when she said that. “Yes. He does well when we patrol and on the learning material, but when we come here, he tends to spend more time flirting than learning. However, he won’t get to do much of that this time. He has to leave after lunch. This is a weekend where he has to do some work with other rangers.”

Jason looked around and then back at Inna. “Too bad there are plenty of pretty women around,” that got a groan from Anthony and a blush from Inna.

They sat and talked and Jason nursed the little he had left on his plate and in his drink. By the time the kids were done, both rangers were ready to go for another round with him. It worked out well for Anthony as a woman and her daughter walked up. He looked at Inna like a puppy begging for table scraps.

“Fine go. Just remember that you have only an hour. Ranger Quint isn’t going to take you being late for his class again.” Jason didn’t think anyone could be happier. “Make sure you talk business first,” she said, giving him a shove.

Anthony grinned and stepped over to where the ladies were. Jason wondered which the young man was interested in. Inna led the way to the meat station. She started talking about the upcoming events and things to do. “I have a group going horseback riding tomorrow, if you are interested.”

Jason waved his free hand as the woman serving loaded his plate with two hamburgers and two more chicken breasts. “Thanks, but no. Never been on a horse, so wouldn’t know a thing about riding one.”

“That is perfect. It is for beginners or little experience riders. Come on it will be fun I promise. We go out after breakfast and we are back before lunch. We will see a lot of the local flora and fauna if you are a picture taker,” she kept going as they moved to the various tables.

He had a nice camera he had bought. “I wasn’t planning on it to be honest,” he told her truthfully.

“What? Afraid to learn something new?” she asked, stopping.

Jason moved around the things on his plate to make the room for some baked beans. “I’m afraid of a few things in this world, but learning is not one of them.”

“Good, then it is settled. I’ll put you on the list,” she laughed as he groaned. “Don’t worry Jason. I have the perfect horse for you. You will be fine.”

She offered her apologies, but said she should mingle a little more with the other guests and see if she could get more to go on the trail ride. She did say she was staying at the ranch and would see him at dinner.

She was good. She made her way to another table and started talking to everyone there. Jason just found an empty spot to eat. He was finished when he saw her leading Anthony away. He ate far too much and grabbed two more bottles of tea before going for a walk around the ranch to check things out.

Jason made his way around. He was impressed that they had as much to do as they did. They had archery range and a gun range. They even had an entire play area set for younger kids. He did stop to watch a couple of guys that were gearing for a game of horseshoes. Somehow, he was talked into the game, which got one of the women to join in as well. She thanked him, as she didn’t want to feel like the third wheel in the game. Her name was Linda. It wasn’t until they were a little past halfway through the game when he understood that. One of the guys hit a double ringer and won the game at twenty-four points. The two of them kissed, and the winner grabbed the others ass.

“You two need to get a room,” Linda yelled as she bent for the horseshoe.

“We have one, right next to yours,” one laughed as they broke the kiss but started again.

“Yeah, don’t remind me,” she shot back. “You two promised to keep the PDAs limited with all the kids around.”

“Such a buzz kill. Are you sure you are related?” one asked the other. “No kids around,” he added. They did break it up.

“I’m sorry for their display. My brother and his boyfriend are recently engaged and tend to get caught up in the moment.”

Jason reached for the last of the horseshoes. “To each their own, they should enjoy if that like.”

“Oh, I agree, I’m all for bi sex or same sex,” she offered quickly and turned a little red for it. “I just don’t think we want any kids traumatized by it or needing to explain it to any of them. They can do whatever in the room. Odds are they will fuck like rabbits.”

“Well, if you would stop being so choosy, you would be able to find someone to do the same with,” the one that had the others hands on his ass spoke. “Sorry, I’m Steve. Linda’s brother. My fiancé is Mark.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jason. Congratulations on the engagement,” Jason was not surprised when neither offered a handshake. “Well, thanks for the game. It was a bit of fun. Think I’m going to go check the gun range and the climbing walls to work off lunch before dinner hits.”

Steve got wide eyes as Jason mentioned the range. “Mark and I are not into all that stuff, but Linda here has been talking nonstop about it. Maybe she can join you and leave us alone about it.”

Jason kind of felt like it was a little bit of a setup. Linda was about his height and had really long brown hair to the mid of her back. She was maybe his age, give or take a few years. She was, in a word, average looking but not bad looking. She could be better with a little change of wardrobe and a different hairstyle. She looked comfortable in her frumpiness.

“Well, it’s all included in the ranch experience, so where she goes is her business. If I happen to be there at the same time, so be it.”

“Good. Maybe Mark and I can enjoy a couple of hours of it as well, without momma Linda around to spoil things,” Steve said, the grin said it was in jest.

“I have a feeling Jason will be much better company than you two anyway,” she stuck her tongue out and grabbed Jason by the arm, pulling him toward the gun range.