What a beautiful morning for a ride! John and Julia climbed upon the horses that had been tied to the fence. At first the mare acted skittish when she climbed on her but then settled down.
They wanted to take a leisurely ride and see every inch of this ranch. Kelly had told them that he had water rights that made this place much more valuable than most. She could see why now. This land was lush and beautiful in the fall, especially with Superstition Mountain as a backdrop. Its rugged cliffs were magnificent. The green and yellow desert flora in the distance and the gigantic saguaro were outstanding. What a site! One of the beauties of this area was the bright yellow brittlebush but it wasn’t blooming this time of year.
As she rode, she tried not to worry about Kelly but it seemed impossible. He was so dear to her and it was natural to worry about her brother.
After riding for a while, John realized that Julia had been uncharacteristically quiet. She usually chattered away, but not today. “A dollar for your thoughts.”
“A dollar?” She gave a weak smile. “The price of thoughts has gone up since I was kid.”
“Inflation!” John said with a grin.
“Sorry. It’s not worth a dollar.”
“Okay, a penny, then?” When she didn’t laugh at his sense of humor, he asked, “What’s wrong, Julia?”
“Nothing.”
John rode up next to her and looked into her face and then smiled. “Ha! You can’t fool me. You don’t think I know you?”
She looked at him and then toward the mountain and sighed. “I’m not very diplomatic, am I?”
“What do you mean?”
“Tony. He acted so hurt when I asked him about the wire cutters.”
John laughed. “I wouldn’t worry about it. What else could you have done? They were in your hands. We both knew what you were thinking.”
“But…”
“There’s no buts, Julia. It’s done and over with. Don’t worry about it. If he’s really innocent, then he knows you have to ask questions. You’ve been asking questions of all the ranch hands, so why not Tony.” When John was about to ask her how much land Kelly owned, he saw her looking off in the distance with curiosity. He turned in the direction she was looking and asked, “What are you looking at?”
“That!” Julia said as she pointed toward a sign near a boarded up area.
“What is it?”
“I’m not sure.”
In the distance, it looked like a huge wooden box about ten feet in diameter. As they rode closer, they were able to make out the sign: “Danger! Keep out. Sinkholes in this region.”
“Sink holes?” asked Julia. “I didn’t know there were sinkholes here.”
“Oh, yes.” John nodded. “I’ve done some reading on sinkholes and most of them are from underground caves, but many sinkholes are still a mystery and no one knows much about them. I once read about a sinkhole in Florida that sucked up a few cars and whole buildings. Near Houston, a sinkhole swallowed some power poles and a tanker.”
“A tanker?” Julia’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“You bet.”
“But here in Arizona?”
“Yup, even here. In fact, two huge sinkholes just appeared one day on a major street in Tucson. No one knows why. They can’t figure it out. There are active sinkholes near Meteor Crater in northern Arizona, too.”
“That’s right. I remember hearing about that.” Julia turned toward her husband and said, “I guess Kelly must have boarded it up so no one would get hurt.”
“That’s a good idea. Even cattle could slip and fall in. It’s been done before.” John looked off in the distance at Superstition Mountain and chuckled. “If I was really superstitious, then I would assume that the Thunder God was up to no good.”
“You? Superstitious?” asked Julia with laughter in her voice.
“Yup. The cattle dying, a mysterious warning burned on his barn, an arrow stuck in the side of his house, and now we have a natural disaster. A sinkhole!” He grinned. “You know, it’s like the mysterious Thunder God was causing it all.”
Julia listened but didn’t say a word.
John rode his horse a little closer, sidling up to hers. Then he leaned over in his saddle and took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Everything’s going to be okay, M’darlin’.”
She nodded without conviction and her eyes were full of concern. John cleared his throat, realizing that he needed to cheer her up. She was so protective when it came to family members.
He touched her cheek and said softly, “Do you know how much I love you?”
Julia nodded.
“Hmmm,” he said as he hopped off his horse and extended his hand out to her.
She slid from her saddle and asked, “What’s up?”
John grinned as he pulled her into his arms and gave her a delectable kiss. It didn’t take long for John to come up with a brilliant idea. He could tell that she was feeling stressed. Perhaps just a little time together was all she needed.
He leaned back and gazed into her eyes as he said tenderly, “I have an idea.”
“You do? What?”
John grinned as he spied a humongous oak tree off in the distance with its limbs spread out wide, making perfect shade to sit beneath. It was the largest tree he had ever seen. It was perfect for what he had planned. He had tied a blanket on the back of his saddle for such an occasion like this, and that shady spot looked quite inviting.
John turned to his wife and pointed. “See that tree?”
“Yes. What about it?”
“Julia, how about if we spread a blanket under it and relax. Just you and me!”
Julia laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows in a flirtatious manner. “Relax? Are you sure that’s all you have in mind?”
“Yup. I’ll even give you a good back massage.”
“Really?” The excitement in her voice was evident. “Okay!”
Then giving a mischievous grin, he said with a hint of challenge, “You once told me that you were an excellent rider. Is that true?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
“Okay. Prove it! Race me to that oak tree.”
“Race you?”
“Yup. That’s what I said.”
Then John climbed upon his horse and grinned, waiting for her to meet his challenge.
She smiled. “Okay. You’re on!”
As she climbed upon the saddle, her mare acted a little skittish but then settled down. This puzzled Julia because the last time she rode her, she never acted this way.
“Tell me when you’re ready,” said Julia.
“Ready!” John yelled as he gave a kick to his horse and went galloping off.
Julia laughed and then yelled, “Cheater! You didn’t even say ready, set, go. That’s not fair.”
He pulled his horse to a stop and trotted back with a wide grin. “Haven’t I taught you to be ready at all times?”
She pursed her lips and didn’t answer his ridiculous question.
“Okay,” he laughed. “I’ll give you to the count of three.”
“Count of three? Why are you counting?”
“I’m giving you three seconds before I take off.”
“Don’t do me any favors. I can beat you with my eyes blindfolded.”
“Ha! Just because you outran that Thunder God doesn’t mean you can outrun me, sweetheart.”
When John burst into laughter, Julia was ready for his challenge as she yelled, “Ready…Set…Go!”
Then she gave a kick to her mare and it let out a screech and leapt in the air as if in excruciating pain. The mare acted wild and tried to buck her off, and then took off with great speed.
John gasped as he watched the mare speed away in the distance. Something was wrong. Definitely wrong! He gave a kick to his horse and raced after his wife. He started to gain on her but the mare was so upset that it instantly changed directions without warning.
Julia held on for dear life as the horse galloped off, leaping over each mound and rock. Every now and then, the mare would stop and buck a few times and then take off once again. The last jolting about did her in and she finally lost her grip and started sliding from the saddle. When Julia realized she was falling and was about to be trampled upon, she screamed just as John grabbed the reins of the mare and pulled it to a stop. At that instant, Julia lost her balance and fell to the ground with a thud, landing on her back and taking all the breath from her lungs. When her head jerked back, it landed on a stone and she became dazed and gradually passed out.
John quickly jumped off his horse and ran to his wife. Kneeling down on the ground, he looked at her limp body. She had a cut on her skull and blood was seeping through her hair and onto the ground. His heart was pounding like it had never done before. He didn’t know much about head injuries or concussions so he didn’t know if it were safe to pick her up or not.
John took a deep breath and then grabbed a canteen from his saddlebags, poured some water on his handkerchief and dabbed her face.
As he tried to revive her, he kept saying, “Please be okay, my love. Please! Please!”
Feeling helpless, he grabbed his cell phone from his belt and began dialing. He needed help. He was such a dolt. Why did he ask her to race? This whole thing was his fault.
As tears stung his eyes, Julia gradually regained consciousness with a groan, just enough to say, “Kelly said the mare was gentle.”
John smiled and gently touched her face. “Just lay still, my love.” Then he turned to the phone and said, “Kelly! Julia’s been hurt. Bring the truck. We need help.” After telling him where they were, he put his phone away and took Julia’s hand. “Are you all right, M’darlin’?”
Julia blinked, shook her head, and passed out once again.