Chapter 2

Bob was soaking in the whirlpool tub when Crystal opened the door and walked in like she belonged there. She went to the stero and pushed pause. Blue Oyster Cult suddenly went silent.

“I told Rowdy I needed to see you as soon as you got back!” she said, almost stamping one foot. She had a clipboard in the crook of one arm.

“I’m taking a bath, here, Crystal,” Bob commented dryly.

“I can see that,” she said. “I’m not blind.”

Crystal was twenty-five, the same age as Dannie, but the two women looked completely different. While Dannie had been a slim brunette, Crystal’s body was lush, and her head of wild, luxuriant blond hair went with the body. Crystal had been a guest, about three or four years back, and she and her husband had come to the ranch in a last ditch effort to patch up an ailing marriage. She had a five year old boy. Bob had seen right away that the husband - he couldn’t even remember the guy’s name now - had been an alcoholic. He’d been rough on the staff, rough on the horses, and rough on Crystal. Before they left, Bob offered her a job as a maid, in case things didn’t work out. She’d showed up with the boy two weeks later, one eye vividly blackened, and had been at the ranch ever since. She was a woman driven to succeed as a single mother, and had a quick mind that was wasted as a maid. Dannie had drafted and trained her to take over the books of the operation, freeing Dannie from that responsibility, and had later made her a more or less official assistant for bookings. She had been a natural pick to take over when Dannie was gone.

Phillip, her son, was an honorary horse hostler, since he had a way with the big animals. At nine, he was going through a growth spurt, and was the king of the stable. Crystal probably knew he was back because Phillip had been in the stable, and had taken charge of rubbing Ranger down and putting him away. He’d also told Bob that supper was probably waiting.

“I know you’re not blind, Crystal,” said Bob. “And I’m naked, here. Don’t you think that’s a little inappropriate?”

“Do you see me trying to get a peek of your precious manhood?” she growled.

“No, but it’s still inappropriate,” he said, smiling for the first time in months.

“What’s inappropriate is for you to go off like that, without a care in the world for the rest of us, who miss her just as much as you do!”

She bit her lip, and apologized instantly.

“I’m sorry, Bob. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just been so hectic around here.”

“I never did anything with the bookings anyway,” said Bob, relaxing. “And you’re just as good at handling things as Dannie was.”

She slumped. “Thank you. But I never knew how much Dannie did with things. I just helped out, and this is really different ... doing it all myself, I mean.”

“You need me to hire you an assistant?” he asked. He reached for the soap.

“No, you don’t have to do that. If I can just get your attention now and then ... you know ... to ask questions, and see what you think about things ... I think it would be okay then.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “Put the Johnsons with Dusty and Billy. Don’t give them three hands, or there’ll be one for each girl. Those two will behave themselves. Put Kaye on a tractor, cutting the first season’s hay. That will keep her out of everybody’s hair except Frank, who’ll have to supervise her. He’s probably too old for her tastes. Rufus will take care of himself, like he always does.”

Crystal looked surprised. “I wasn’t worried about them! As far as I’m concerned, those tarts can all go home with bellies that will swell up. It would serve them right. But I’ve got a situation here that I’ve never run up against, and I’m going to need advice on that.”

“What kind of situation?” he asked, soaping his chest and arms.

“Have you ever heard of the “Last Wish Foundation”?

“Can’t say as I have,” he said. “I’m going to stand up in a minute here, to wash the rest of me,” he warned.

She ignored the warning.

“They work with people who are going to die, sick people, and such, and make one of their dreams come true before that happens. I got a call from them, and they want to send a cancer patient out here to live the life of a cowgirl for a week before she’s too sick to stay out of bed.”

“Cowgirl?” Bob stood up. He’d warned her.

Crystal stared, blushed and then turned to look at the sink.

“Yes, she’s sixteen, or maybe seventeen, I can’t remember. She’s got a brain tumor and they can’t do anything about it. It sounds like she wants to do what you’ve basically been doing for the last two months. You know, live off the land, camp out, look for strays ... that kind of thing.”

“We can’t send somebody out with her for a whole week,” said Bob, frowning. “That would cost a bundle.”

“Price, apparently, is no object,” said Crystal, her eyes darting sideways, and then back to the sink.

“But she’s sick!” objected Bob. “She can’t take the rigors of the trail ... not for a week.”

“That’s the problem. They say that as long as we can get her here within the next two weeks, she’ll be fine. They want us to squeeze her in, and we don’t have any openings.”

“I’ll call them in the morning,” said Bob. “I can’t see this being a good idea.”

She stood there, shifting from foot to foot.

“Is that all?”

“I guess so,” she said.

“Then you can leave ... right?” He smiled, standing in front of her with a soapy, naked body.

“You’ve been out by yourself for two months,” she said. “Don’t you at least want to talk to a real live person?”

“I thought you hated men,” he said.

“I do, but not all men,” she said, as if it made perfect sense. “You’re different. You’re a nice man.”

“I’m a nice, naked man, Crystal,” he reminded her.

“I’m not talking about that!“ she said, turning to put her back to him. “I don’t think about you that way. I couldn’t do that to Dannie anyway.”

“Well, thanks for that,” he said. His voice was neutral.

She turned to face him, her eyes blazing. “You’re a good man, Bob, a decent man, probably the most decent man I know, and you deserve to have happiness in your life. You deserve a good woman, and I know I’m not that woman. I’m not ready for that, and neither are you anyway. But some day the hurt will lessen enough that you can be happy again, Bob, and I just want you to ... to...” She slumped. “You helped me when I needed it. I just want you to be ready to help yourself when the time comes. That’s all.”

Bob stared at her. He didn’t know what to say.

“I know that sounds like some kind of come-on,” she said, her voice intense. “But it’s not. I like you, but not that way ... not the way that sounded. I’ve moved on, and I know what that feels like. The memories never go away completely, but life can be good again. I learned that here. I just want you to understand that. We all miss Dannie, but you can’t make that the center of your life. I’m babbling, and I can’t say what I mean...”

“Thank you,” Bob said. It was amazing to him that this woman could be so heartfelt about a man who was just her boss. Then again, the whole ranch was like a big family in many ways. People came and went, but not often. Most people, once they settled in, liked the life, despite the long, hard hours. “I’ll try to remember that.”

“If you don’t, I’ll remind you,” she said, turning away again. “Dannie had good taste in men, and I’ll be hanged if I see that going to waste.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Bob said, a tired smile coming to his face.

“All right then,” said the woman, straightening her shoulders. She looked over one shoulder, boldly staring right at him. “And next time, I expect you to be decent when you call me in for a conference.”

She grinned and left before he could manage a reply.

The next morning Bob called the Foundation, and explained that his operation probably wasn’t going to be appropriate for a cancer-ridden young girl. He expected that to be the end of it, but within an hour there was a phone call for him.

“Mr. Nivens? Brad Jeffers, here. You don’t know me, but I’m the one who wanted to book a trip to the ranch for one of out clients. I’m with the Last Wish Foundation. I got the message you gave our receptionist, and wanted to talk to you a little more about this. I’d really like for you to reconsider.”

Bob sighed, and repeated his concern that a sick young girl probably wouldn’t do well on a working ranch.

“Mr. Nivens,” said Brad, “I’ve been over your brochure, and talked to one of your former customers. She’s convinced that this would work, and she’s familiar with the kinds of clients we have. We think the girl, in this case, could handle it. All she really wants is an extended trail ride, with maybe a little light work thrown in.

“You’ve seen our brochure?” asked Bob. “Who’s the customer?”

“Her name is Tammy Hodgkins. She’s the sister of one of the women I work with at the Foundation.”

Bob remembered Tammy, who had come to the ranch on a free trip she’d won in a radio station giveaway that Dannie had thought might generate some business. She’d brought her husband with her. She was about five feet-one, and nobody had thought she’d be able to hack it. She’d proved them all wrong, while her big, bad husband had turned out to be a mamma’s boy. If Tammy knew something about this girl, and thought she could do something at the ranch, there was a fair chance she was right.

Bob wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing, but he said: “I think a week is a little long. Maybe we could put together a three day ride. All she’d have to be able to do is stay on a horse, for the most part.”

“Thank you so much! said Brad. We’d like to book this as quickly as possible, while she’s still healthy.”

“Well, that’s one of the problems we have,” said Bob. “We’re booked solid for the next whole year. All my regular guides are tied up.”

“Isn’t there anybody who could take her out riding?” asked Brad. “That’s primarily what she wants to do. She wants a long ride, over something other than just a walking path.”

“That won’t be a problem,” said Bob. “We don’t have anything approaching a walking path on the whole place.” With more misgivings, he went on. “I guess I could take her myself. I’ve just gotten back from an inspection trip, and I know a couple of places I could take her to see things the average guest doesn’t get to see.”

“That would be perfect!!” Brad’s voice came excitedly over the phone. “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate this, Mr. Nivens. This is going to mean so much to Brenda, before...” His sudden stop reminded Bob that this would likely be the last time this girl got to do anything with a horse ... or anything else, for that matter.

“Give us a call and tell us when she’ll be arriving,” said Bob. “Will anybody be coming with her?”

“I don’t think she has any special needs at this point. Her parents will probably come, of course, but they didn’t say anything about going out with her. I’ll check on that.” said Dave. “I hope that’s all right.”

“I have no idea where we’ll put them,” said Bob.

“Maybe a hotel in town?” asked Brad. “We can take care of making the reservations and all that.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” said Bob. “The fact is that ‘town’, as you put it, is about forty miles away, and I wouldn’t ask my worst enemy to stay in the motel there. We’ll come up with something.”

After he hung up, Bob stared at the phone. He had no experience with teenagers, other than having been one ten or fifteen years back. And his upbringing wasn’t anything like that of other kids his age. His aging father had been a cattleman, who would never have gone into the guest business, even to save the ranch. The idea of having a bunch of greenhorns traipsing around the ranch who didn’t know one end of a cow from the other would have horrified him. Bob had grown up working the ranch. His only girlfriend had been Dannie, and she’d told him, when they were juniors in high school that she was going to marry him.

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The Last Wish Blues

Lubrican

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