Anniversary
Copyright© 2026 by Vonalt
Chapter 15: High Noon
I thought my hearing was playing tricks on me, and I imagined I heard Tina talking to me. That was improbable. She didn’t know about the ranch, and she definitely didn’t know about Cletus and Edna. I tried to rationalize it by telling myself I was still asleep and dreaming. Obviously, I was having some sort of breakdown in reaction to all the time I had spent out in the southern Utah desert. I wasn’t talking to Tina over the phone, and I hadn’t spent the last two weeks riding around the hot, dry desert on a mustang named Daisy. It had to be because of the time I went without water; my mind was still hallucinating.
Again I heard that voice that I associated with the California beach scene and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office. Something was terribly wrong somewhere, and I quickly needed to correct things or hang up and call again.
That was when I heard a very perturbed California deputy use her professional command and you will obey voice on me. “David Faeth, you answer me. I didn’t come all this way to listen dead air from your cell phone,” Tina Di Carlo said with a tinge of frustration in her voice.
In the background I head Cletus laughing and shouting from the background, “Boy, it’s never good to piss off a woman who carries a gun as part of her professional wardrobe.”
And of course this exchange was eating away at my minutes. If I didn’t end the call soon, I would be buying more minutes which weren’t cheap.
I finally remembered my voice and answered, “Tina what are you doing at the ranch? Shouldn’t you be back in California. How did you find out about the ranch anyway?”
“It’s amazing what you can discover watching TV,” he said. “I also made a few calls professionally and got in contact with a couple of federal screw-ups who were supposed to be offering you protection, but instead were doing their best to hand you over to Ramos. Don’t worry, David. They’ve been arrested and are now enjoying the hospitality of the L.A. County jail on both state and federal charges. That five-million-dollar bounty made them stupid.”
“They drove a Ford Crown Vic out into the desert looking for you, where a 4x4 shouldn’t even travel. Their vehicle was taken out by a homemade caltrop. It cost the agency an arm and a leg to have it towed back to Saint George for repairs. There’s a list a mile long detailing their stupidity. They’ll have to face a review board for putting you at risk, as well as possible prosecution.”
“Putting your profile on national TV is just the beginning. The FBI isn’t interested in you and never was; the entire effort to find you was initiated by those two at Ramos’s request. That guy wants you real bad. What did you ever do to him?”
“You mean I can come home? No one is out to get me?” I asked incredulously. “I’m all for that. I miss everyone there, especially a California deputy who is eight hours away from her normal patrol territory. It may take me a day to get back home, but I’ll get there. Don’t you worry about that.”
I didn’t want to waste any precious air minutes and hung up, but not before promising I would call again later that day.
After putting the phone away, I got back on Daisy and continued following the route. But before I left the immediate area of the water seep I had excavated, I marked on the map I had created where it was approximately, in reference to the other landmarks I had drawn on my map. Both Daisy and I were ready to continue. If we didn’t come to any obstacles or detours, I thought we could be at the ranch sometime by tomorrow at noon.
The rest of the morning, we plodded along, following a path west through the rock formations and into open desert country. Several times, we reached the edge of a mesa we couldn’t descend and had to detour until I found a way down that still kept us moving west. By late afternoon, we were entering more populated areas, and I skirted the communities to avoid contact with anyone.
By evening, we were within the boundaries of one of the state parks in this part of the state. One of its advantages was the large lake. It would be a good opportunity for Daisy to get plenty of water and forage. As for me, I could filter water and, if possible, take a dip to make myself more presentable when I saw Tina.
When we came upon the lake, I climbed down off the mare and slowly led her around the shore until I found a spot where we would be screened from the view of others, mainly those at the campground on the other side of the lake. While she nibbled at the grass, I grabbed my soap, stripped, and jumped into the lake for a quick scrub. I also took the time to wash my better clothes so I would have something nice to wear when I saw Tina. After getting clean and washing a set of clothes for the next day, I rolled out my bedroll and hung my washed clothes on the low-hanging branches to dry near where I planned to bed down.
The next morning, I was up before dawn, as had become my habit. After dressing, I finished off the last of the jerky and cheese crackers I had left. I saddled Daisy and once again headed west toward the familiar BLM land that had served as my hideout earlier. The landscape was familiar and felt safe, though I still scanned the sky and surrounding desert for telltale signs of vehicles out and about.
Mid-morning found me near the spot where Cletus had taught me to shoot the 1911. I stopped there to take a drink and look around. Others had been shooting there since Cletus and I had last visited. The area looked more like a dump than protected land set aside for the recreational use of the American people. Appliances, old computers, and microwaves had been left behind and used as targets, their shattered parts strewn across the desert where people had shot them to pieces and then failed to clean up after themselves. Cletus and I—and probably some of the ranch hands as well—should come out here and clean up this mess. At the same time, I found myself asking, “Why bother? They’ll just do it all over again.”
I realized there was nothing I could do to stop it for the moment, and I had Daisy continue in the direction of the ranch. My anticipation made me feel antsy the closer I got. I so wanted to see my adopted family and that certain extra-special person I was attracted to. I hoped I wasn’t reading more into her coming to the ranch than it actually meant. The Ginny fiasco came to mind as a reminder of what happens when you become more emotionally attached than the other person is.
It wasn’t long after that when I came to the spot where Cletus had dropped that homemade caltrop in the tall grass. I had to laugh. There were bits of shredded tire scattered around the area, as well as what looked like dual tire tracks from a vehicle positioning itself to tow another. I hoped my least favorite team of ex-federal agents were the ones who had suffered the embarrassment of being towed.
The ranch was now only a couple of miles away, and if I came in from the normal approach, I would be spotted from far off. Instead, I decided to swing wide and approach the ranch from behind the stable. No one ever used that route, so I doubted it would be watched.
I wasn’t yet on ranch land when I saw riders being escorted by wranglers. They must have been beginners, as they were being taken along one of the easiest and shortest horseback trails we offered. Most of our beginner riders were kids and older folks who had recently retired and wanted a Western ranch experience they could talk about back home. Our guests were getting their money’s worth, if I knew our wranglers.
The last part of this trail was called the “Vomit Comet.” The final mile or so wound up and down a series of switchbacks, and the horses would trot, knowing the trail and eager to get back to their feed and comfortable stalls. Often, older riders would get motion sickness and lose their breakfasts. The current record was four senior riders who had decorated the side of the trail on the same ride.
I waited until the ranch’s riders were back at the stables before going any closer. Daisy was getting antsy as she realized where we were. She wanted to get back to her regular feed and stall—she’d had enough of this desert. I couldn’t say I blamed her, but until I knew it was safe, this was as close as we were going to get.
At dusk, there was a scheduled activity at the fire ring down by the guest cottages. It would be a program of singing, ghost stories and tall tales of the old west. This would be followed by smores, popcorn popped over an open fire and either hot chocolate or apple cider.
When I heard the singing start, I tethered Daisy securely, making sure she couldn’t undo the knot I used to tie the reins. I put on my shoulder holster with my 9mm pistol, ensuring there was a round in the chamber and the safety was on. Lastly, I put on my jean jacket to cover the pistol and pulled my hat down low so my face wouldn’t be visible.
Staying to the shadows, I went from building to building, watching for anything unusual. The only thing I saw that didn’t look like it belonged there was an older Honda Civic with California plates. Again staying in the shadows, I went around the house and came up to the outside door that gave access to the ranch office.
I tried the door. It was unlocked, and I quietly slipped in. It felt odd to be in the office, a place I hadn’t been in for several weeks. Looking around, I didn’t see anything out of place; much of what I was looking at was illuminated by the hall light. Stacks of bills, applications for employment, and the ranch’s checkbook were on the desk. A coffee cup sat on the corner of the desk. That was new. Edna would never have allowed it. I was beginning to wonder if I had been replaced.
Then I noticed that on top of the two-drawer file cabinet behind the desk was a portable CD player and a stack of CDs. The titles I saw were what I’d call California beach music—definitely not something Cletus and Edna would listen to.
I panicked for a moment, thinking I had been replaced. My position as manager—and perhaps even as an adopted son—suddenly felt uncertain. I wasn’t as special as I had believed, and that realization sent a wave of panic through me. I had come to care for Cletus and Edna as the parents I had never had, and I felt a momentary surge of jealousy toward whoever they had brought in to replace me. For a brief, sorrowful moment, I thought my days there were numbered.
I must have been more tired than I realized; it was affecting my thinking. I felt sheepish when I realized who the CD player and CDs belonged to. They were Tina’s, of course—who else would listen to that kind of music on a dude ranch in the middle of Utah? At least, I hoped so. She was probably helping out, and with me gone, Cletus and Edna were teaching her the ropes of how a ranch works.
They were going through all the basics with her. Then a thought came to mind that nearly made me laugh out loud. I pictured Cletus taking her to the barber and her returning with a high-and-tight haircut, her long, beautiful black hair gone. It was a ridiculous image, and despite how tired I was, I still found it funny.
I heard a conversation coming from the kitchen and carefully moved to the interior office door, opening it to listen better. I strained to make out what was being said. Cletus was the easiest to follow, his voice carrying the most.
““Are you sure about this? You barely know David,” I heard Cletus say. “Utah isn’t California. We do things differently here.”
“Yes, dear,” Edna said. “Life here can be hard, like it was in the old days. Look at poor David. You couldn’t find a better man, and look how life has turned out for him. Those two FBI agents are trying to collect that five-million-dollar bounty, and don’t forget that bad man Ramos is looking for him too.”
“How else am I supposed to get to know him better if I’m not around him?” Tina said. “If the transfer goes through, I can join Sheriff Young’s department. He was practically drooling at the thought of having an experienced female deputy. Besides, if it doesn’t work out, I can always go back to where I worked before. They love me there.”
I carefully slipped into the room and stood behind Tina. “That’s not what I was told. I distinctly heard you say you got chewed out by everyone in charge, all the way up to the chief deputy sheriff, and were put on desk duty,” I said, laughing.
Tina and Cletus jumped at my sudden appearance, and I think Edna nearly had an accident when I startled them.
“Warn us next time you plan on sneaking up on us like that,” Cletus said, giving me a look that made it clear he didn’t appreciate the humor.
Edna shot me a death stare and quickly left the room. I was certain that, once we were alone, she would let me know exactly how much I had embarrassed her by causing her little accident.
I thought Tina would be all over me, hugging me and telling me she was glad I was back. Instead, I got a lecture about how sneaking up on an armed individual could have had tragic results.
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