thirty-four:
wednesday evening

“Turn around,” said Allison.

They had gone a half mile, her tired body clinging to Colin as she sat behind him on Merlin.

“What?” said Colin. He turned to face her as much as he could. She had her arms around his waist. Her chest pressed against his back. He used an old-fashioned western saddle with a low cantle so doubling wasn’t too uncomfortable.

“Let’s go back,” she said.

Colin’s look was to see if she was serious. “You’re soaked,” he said.

“We’ll build a quick fire, dry these things out.”

“That’ll take an hour or two, it’s almost dark already.”

“The better to sneak up on them.”

“It’s four miles back. You need a shower, real food,” said Colin. “And a beer.”

“The voice of reason,” said Allison. “I’m fine. Now that you’re here. Feeling better.”

“What are you going to see?”

Colin sighed, turned back to face forward. Light was on its last legs. A broad meadow around them slipped toward darkness.

Allison thought the answer was obvious but said it anyway: “If I knew, I wouldn’t need to go.”

“And what are you going to do?”

Colin’s tone was conversational. They could have been discussing a supply list for the hardware store.

“It depends,” said Allison. She tried to match his quiet approach.

“Depends on what?”

“On what’s happening when we get there,” said Allison.

“Probably a whole lot of grown men hanging out and, if anything else, hanging out some more. It’s already dark in case you hadn’t noticed and it’s at least two hours back, maybe more since we’re doubling up here and can’t exactly push Merlin too hard.”

“Okay, then, modified plan is we go most of the way back, find a place to settle in for the night and we’ll be there first thing in the morning, when it’s light.”

Colin didn’t say anything, which was its own form of response.

“I’ve got one blanket,” said Colin.

“All we need,” said Allison.

“I’ve got about five or six of Trudy’s granola bars.” Her version included cranberries, dates, and apricots. Nutrition bullets.

“I know a pond back off the trail,” said Allison, noting the talk had moved to a how to make this work mode.

“Build a fire, dry your clothes, boil some water so we can drink it later. You’d be nekkid for a while.” Pronounced it like a hillbilly.

“You could keep me warm,” said Allison. “But only until the clothes are dry.”

The plan was a jolt to her spirits. Going back to mess with the campfire jerks pleased her to the core. A chance for rest, food, and a fire put the situation in an even sweeter spot.

“What about Trudy—or Jesse. Can we call?”

Colin dug into a jacket pocket. “Pulled your phone out of Sunny Boy’s saddlebags,” he said.

“You are even smarter than you look,” she said.

Allison flipped open the phone. Low battery, no signal. They were down in a broad, flat-bottomed valley. Ridges and obstacles stood between them and civilization’s mysterious cell grid.

“Jesse knows you’re out looking?” said Allison.

“And I told him not to worry until about this time tomorrow,” said Colin.

Which meant that Jesse wouldn’t really start to worry for two or three days. He was as stoic and carefree as your average rock and one of the hardest workers she’d ever met.

“The Oklahoma group called again today,” said Colin. “They were out buying supplies and made up some excuse to call. The guy made a crack about whether they should plan on buying an extra freezer for all the meat they would need to store.”

“Another blood-thirsty realist,” said Allison. “My favorite.”

Time was an issue. Allison’s only positive thought was her standards for cleanliness and organization were so much higher than the average outfitter that she was ahead of the game based on her own baseline. Few clients would notice an off year. The new clients would think she was average. But wandering into an elk herd and filling a tag or three would make any hunter overlook whether her ship was tidy.

They found a flat spot on the north side of the pond, guarded on two sides by trees. The other two sides appeared open, though it was solely an impression. They picked a spot to sleep with the aid of a flashlight. Colin found a place to lead Merlin to the water and the horse slurped noisily.

“I’m going back,” said Colin.

Allison gave him a look, but he couldn’t see it.

“Two hours each way,” said Colin. “Back by 1 or 2, maybe a little later. We need another horse.”

The plan made sense, much as Allison wanted to dispute it. “I’ll go with you.”

“You rest up. You need it.” The idea of stretching out, putting her head down, sounded delicious. “I’ll leave you everything I’ve got. Flashlight, matches, blanket.”

It wouldn’t be like her to complain about being alone. Going so quickly back to being alone, if only for a few hours, felt too abrupt. But Colin was right.

“Got any fire starter?” said Allison.

“Fresh out,” said Colin. “But you know all the tricks.”

Allison liked to think she could start a bonfire in a driving rainstorm, but every bit of the terrain was dripping wet. They were setting up camp on a soaked sponge.

“Don’t need any merit badges,” said Allison. She’d been a Brownie once but after graduating to Girl Scouts had only lasted a year. Something about ranks and mottos and preparing herself through prescribed tasks was unappealing. The checklist approach to conquering the home, the outdoors, and personal improvements didn’t sit well. Neither did selling cookies.

“I’m not awarding any today anyway,” said Colin. “No such authority has been vested in this particular cowboy. However, if you complete your task I do have a different sort of reward, depending on your point of view.”

Colin rummaged around in Merlin’s saddle bags. Like a magician plucking a fat gold coin from behind a stranger’s ear, held up a pint of tequila. He blasted the bottle with the flashlight. Hornitos.

“Okay,” she said. “Now get.”

Allison cracked the bottle and took a swig, passed it back to Colin.

“One for the road,” he said. “Though I shouldn’t drink and drive.”

She kissed him hard, touched tequila tongues, and then for a moment let her head rest on his shoulder. Releasing her weight into his grasp was as good as an hour-long massage by a pro.

“Hurry back,” she said. Kissed him again.

Colin climbed up and headed off without another word. He wasn’t born to linger.

If all went well, she’d have a fire hot enough to dry clothes within twenty or thirty minutes. Another forty minutes to an hour for the clothes to dry, or close. First thing she’d need was a downed dead aspen. Right under their bark, the wood would stay dry in a hurricane. She followed her flashlight beam back toward the woods, counted steps as she went. Tipped her head back to the sky, rolled her neck around. One faint star winked hello.