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Ryan let men go home earlier than usual and locked the construction site for the night. Cleo was waiting for him on the passenger seat in the truck. He was amazed how well behaved she was. All day, she sat quietly perched on a kitchen cabinet, asked to go outside when she needed, and waited without protest in Ryan’s truck for him to finish what he had to do.
She was a darling, sitting beside him in the truck, watching him with her expressive dark button eyes. He was sorry to let her go, but what could he do? He had a busy life and no time to take care of a dog. He decided to leave Cleo at his brother’s ranch. Mitch’s stepdaughter, Natalie was crazy about all animals and they were lucky to have plenty of space to house all the stray animals she wanted to adopt. Natalie would love Cleo, how could she not? Although Mitch had a huge border collie, a rough working dog, and Ryan was afraid Cleo was going to be scared of him. He had to mention this to Natalie.
From north to south Laramie, it was not a long drive, fifteen - twenty minutes. Ryan was stopped at a traffic light when he saw in the rearview mirror a truck approaching him at a high speed. It was an older model of a nondescript color that women like to call maroon and in reality it could be either brown or various shades of rust, even dirty black.
Ryan hoped the driver would see the red light and stop in time before hitting his bumper. It did, but barely.
The light changed to green and he sped away. Soon he was driving south admiring the wide open prairie and the barely visible mountains to the south-east in the distance. A cursory glance in the rear view mirror showed the truck behind him coming closer at high speed.
Ryan accelerated wondering if the crazy driver was indeed out there to get him or it was only Ryan’s imagination. However, this was the place he knew better than anyone. He was familiar with every turn in the road. He was close to home and the ranch where he was born.
Abruptly, Ryan took a turn on a country road. Grimly he saw the other truck hot on his heels. He turned again right, glad to see he was almost there. Tired of playing this cat and mouse game, he slowed down and moved closer to the right of the narrow road, to allow the other one to pass him. If not, he was determined to confront him, whoever he might be.
The other truck moved to the left of the road like intending to pass Ryan. In the last moment, he swerved fast and bumped hard into Ryan’s driver’s door.
It was so unexpected that, if Ryan held his truck steady driving forward, his vehicle would have been flipped over. Instead, he pulled right and his truck was only pushed off the road, past the shallow ditch and into the field where he braked. The truck stopped.
At the moment of the impact, he’d hit his head on the side window. It was a miracle that the glass was still intact after the hit had dented the driver’s door. Then he’d have been covered in thousands of glass shard. He closed his eyes and leaned his head on his arms on the wheel.
He heard Cleo whimpering, trying to reach him and climb in his lap.
“Poor Cleo, I’m all right,” he said holding her to him. She licked his chin.
A knock on the window made him raise his head. If the assailant was back to finish him off, Ryan was willing to oblige. First, to find out who he was, and then to beat the tar out of him. For scaring and endangering Cleo, if not for attacking him and damaging his truck.
Outside, a young cowboy was looking at him with concern. A newer SUV was stopped on the road. Not the mysterious assailant.
Ryan tried to lower the window. It wasn’t working. Of course, not. The door beneath it was dented in badly. He touched his temple. It wasn’t bleeding, but he had a goose egg there where he hit his head on the side window at the moment of the impact. With Cleo in his arms, he vaulted over the console in the middle onto the passenger’s seat and from there out of the truck.
“I’ve seen it all, mister. That driver hit you on purpose, then he turned around and sped back to town. Unfortunately, by the time I got in my car and drove down the hill, he was gone.” He was a friendly fellow, willing to help. “I’m Gideon, by the way. I work there, at Zack Monroe’s guest ranch,” he said pointing to a large lodge on top of the hill, to the left of the country road.
“Glad to meet you. I’m Ryan Calhoun.”
The cowboy’s eyes widened, and he smiled. “Really? Are you a relative of the Calhouns?”
Ryan laughed. “You’re new here, I can tell. I’m Mitch Calhoun’s brother and I grew up here, on the ranch,” he inclined his head to the right of the country road, where a few hundred feet farther to the right, the driveway lead to the Calhoun family ranch.
“Not so new. I’ve been here for two years or so,” the cowboy said. He turned his attention to Cleo. “Cute dog you have here.” He scratched her behind the ears and the little dog angled her head to give him better access.
“Meet Cleo. She’s an Egyptian princess.”
Gideon looked at him focusing on the goose egg at his temple. “Egyptian? I think I should drive you to the hospital. You might have a concussion.”
Ryan made a cutting motion with his hand. “No concussion, no hospital.”
Another vehicle was coming down the driveway from the Monroe guest ranch house to the country road.
“Ah, here comes George. You need your truck looked over and repaired,” Gideon said.
The sport red car was looking out of place here in the ranch country. A young woman got out of it and came toward them. She had curly brown hair with purple highlights. Unusual like her car, but in a way it suited her. “Hi, I’m George Monroe,” she said extending her hand.
“Ryan Calhoun.”
Her handshake was firm and strong and her palm callused in contrast with her rather average stature and feminine looks. “Georgiana is my name and I’m married to Zack Monroe. Welcome home, Ryan. Mitch told us you might come home to stay this time.” When she took notice of his truck, she didn’t wait for his answer. “Oh, Gideon was right. This will need a body work. Too bad. It is a rather new truck.”
“Brand new,” Ryan corrected her. “I bought it when I left Las Vegas.”
She patted the truck. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. You go with Gideon. He’ll drive you to the ranch.”
“George is the best auto mechanic in town,” Gideon explained. “She works for M&M Auto Service.”
“M&M,” Ryan repeated, confused by the fast pace things were evolving.
“Monroe and Monroe. My brother-in-law Adam owns the garage,” George explained.
“Right. I heard there are seven Monroe brothers.”
“Six, now,” she told him in a flat voice that invited no other questions. “Go with Gideon. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”
And so, he left his truck with her and climbed in Gideon’s SUV and they were off, the short distance to the Calhoun ranch.
“She’s a cool one, George,” Gideon said with obvious admiration and Ryan wondered if Gideon was not a little infatuated with his Boss’s wife.
“Do you live at the lodge?” he asked Gideon.
“No, I live down by the creek in a cabin. It’s nice and perfect for me, although two years ago it almost got flooded after a big storm,” Gideon explained.
“Do you like being a cowboy?”
Gideon hesitated before answering. “I’m from Alaska.”
Ryan looked at him surprised. “You’re a long way from home. How did you end up here in Wyoming?”
Gideon shook his head. “Alaska is not my home any longer. My house burned down and my grandma died in the fire. I came here with Zack Monroe. I helped him build the lodge from the ground up, in fact from the foundation.”
“Did you like the construction work?”
“I loved it. I felt I was doing things. I saw the progress with every step and when it was finally done... you can’t imagine how proud made me feel looking at it and knowing part of it was done by me, even if it was not mine, my property.”
“I know the feeling. I’m a builder myself. I know what satisfaction a builder experienced when he looks at a finished project,” Ryan said. “So, what are you doing now?”
Gideon sighed. “Now I’m guiding the guests and show them what it means to be a cowboy.”
“Why do I feel you don’t like it much?” Ryan mused.
“Because I don’t. Zack and Todd, his business partner, are happy that the business is growing. And I’m happy for them too. But I feel somewhat restless. Accompanying a bunch of city slickers who know no better than to scratch the cattle under the chin and call them Daisy is no fun. Grateful as I am to Zack, I think perhaps it’s time for me to look for the next step in my life.”
Ryan nodded. “Again, I know the feeling. Been there, done that.”
“What do you mean?” Gideon asked.
“How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-two. Why?”
“When I was about your age, me too I felt that life here at the ranch was not for me. I felt the same restlessness and eagerness to explore what else was in this large world.” Yes, in a strange way Gideon reminded Ryan of himself twelve years earlier.
“So what did you do?”
“In such case, some people do nothing, very much afraid of change and of the unknown.”
“Not me. I left Alaska when I was nineteen. There was nothing for me there, no person I left behind that I regret. I’m not afraid of change and I’m curious about the unknown,” Gideon assured him. “What about you?”
“I left Laramie and went to Las Vegas. I build from nothing a construction business, having quite a success. There are many builders out there, but very few truly know what they are doing and even less are reliable. First you build a reputation, then people come looking for you and your expertise. If you want a change, Gideon, come to town and look for me. I started work on a new development and I’m always in need of good workers.” He patted his pocket. “I don’t have new business cards. Let me give you my phone number.”
“No need, Ryan. As George said, I’ll find you. This is a small town.”
At this, the conversation stopped as they reached the ranch house. He got out of the truck, and Gideon said Good-bye and drove away leaving him there alone. Holding Cleo in his arms he looked at the old house waiting for the unpleasant memories of his teenage years to come back.
They didn’t. The door opened and Natalie ran to him shouting. “Uncle Ryan, you’re back. Daddy Mitch said you might come.”
After her, her mother Tess, followed by Mitch carrying a squirming infant, baby Patrick. What do you know? Despite his misgivings, the surprising truth was that his family was truly happy to see him back.