“Wow. These photos are gorgeous. You should be a photographer and not…a marketer, did you say?”
“Thank you, but I don’t think photography alone will pay the bills.”
“So what does the ranch hope you’ll do with this?”
“Bring more business to them. A side effect is more business for Chance. Maybe even the Laughing Fork.”
“If we get too busy because of your efforts, I may need you to wait tables.” Cathy stands with a smile. “It was nice meeting you, Ethan. I hope you find what you’re looking for here.”
She swishes away, and I slowly eat the rest of my pie while considering her words. Am I looking for something here?
Or is this just another pit stop on a road trip I’m tiring of?
Chapter 7
Colt
“Colt!” Gunner calls out as I close up the last stall door, securing the trail horses for the night.
“Hey, Gunner. What’s up?”
“Any plans with the media guy tomorrow?”
“No. I’m supposed to take him fly-fishing next, but he’s not come around for a few days.”
He slaps my shoulder. “Good. Come on a trail ride with me tomorrow morning. Whatever he’s doing, it’s working. We just got a call for a large group ride tomorrow, and I said yes, but I need help.”
“Absolutely. When are we heading out?”
“They passed on a sunrise ride, so 9 AM we pull out. Group of twelve, and it’s a mix of new riders and some experience. They’re passing through the area and said they saw the ranch on Instagram and called.”
“Oh, wow. That’s kind of cool.” Ethan really is making a difference to the ranch. “I’ll be here early and have the horses ready.”
Gunner leaves, and I do a last walk-through of the barn before leaving. My mind swirls with thoughts of Ethan as Isecure the barn door and walk to my truck. My hand slides into my pocket to grip my cell phone. It sits like it has since the day Ethan showed me how to take photos…quiet. It doesn’t vibrate with notifications and messages like Chris’s at the fly shop, but I have it in my pocket at least.
I’ve not even seen Ethan since the last ride, but his jeep has been in and out of the yard. I only know that because I’ve noticed it parked in different positions in front of the guesthouse most days. I thought about knocking on his door one night, but that didn’t feel right to me.
The bag from the fly shop still sits on my truck seat, and the longer it takes for Ethan to come to me, the more I second-guess the gift. Maybe it’s too much for only knowing him for a short time.
With a quiet laugh to myself, I pull away from the ranch toward home. I can gift to a perfect stranger without thinking twice about it, but giving Ethan something more than my time feels monumental. Maybe I should think more about why that is.
Or maybe I should just not think about it at all.
The flattened boxesin the hallway bring me a feeling of accomplishment. Unpacking tonight went very well. The hall closet fit all my fishing rods perfectly and even had a shelf for my tackle. I’m sure the shelf is probably for towels or whatnot, but I’m just one guy. The three towels I own fit in the bathroom just fine.
After propping my feet on the coffee table, I grab my charged cell and call Uncle Albert. Just wait until he hears I’m carrying a phone all the time.
“Hello?”
“Hi Uncle Albert!”
“Colt! How are you? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Just wanted to see how you are and have a chat.”
“I’m well. The home had a live music night yesterday. A fiddle player was here. Then, after I had a nap, I met a younger lady in the activity room to work on a puzzle. Her eyesight isn’t as good as mine, but she can feel the shapes, then I match the pictures, you see?”
My heart lurches, imagining him with his new friend and a puzzle. I used to help with those.
