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I have this friend. She and I talk every night. I have a hard time sleeping if I don’t hear her voice.
Maybe you should call her.
I smiled when his call came through a few seconds later. “Hi,” I answered.
“Hi.”
“So, Buck, are you saying the sound of my voice puts you to sleep?”
He laughed. “That isn’t what I’m saying at all.”
“What are you saying?”
“You soothe me, Stella.”
“You soothe me too.” I took a deep breath. “Can I ask you something?”
“Always.”
“Why was it so important to you that I say I believed you weren’t on my detail before?”
“I needed to make sure you know I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“I do. So. Colorado?”
“Yeah. Ever been?”
“Never. What’s it like?”
“Depends on where you go. Denver is like any other big city, just more spread out. Out east is just like bein’ in Kansas.”
I laughed. “What does that mean?”
“Flat as far as the eye can see.”
“And to the west?”
“The Rocky Mountains, darlin’.”
“Which part are we going to?”
“Heart of the Rockies, to a place called Crested Butte.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It was a great place to grow up—most of the time. Gets damn cold there in the winter, though, and if you live or work on a ranch like I did, it doesn’t matter if it’s thirty below zero; you still gotta get the chores done.”
“What was good about it?”
“Everything else. Best skiing in the world as far as I’m concerned. A main thoroughfare that’s straight out of the Old West with bars that have been there longer than there have been roads. Wide-open spaces with endless trails you can hike. Streams and rivers for fishing. Some of the best hunting in the state. The largest Aspen grove in the world sits on top of Kebler Pass. It’s also where the Roaring Fork River begins. The headwaters are on our family’s ranch and are what it’s named for.”
“The only thing you said I could identify with are the bars.”
“You’ll like the rest just as much, I promise.”
“Hiking? Hunting? You really don’t know me at all, do you?”
“You may surprise yourself. Somewhere inside, I bet there’s a mountain girl just dying to get out and explore a place like Crested Butte.”
