I was in the kitchen when I heard the mailman’s truck stop out front, but I didn't pay him much notice. It was only when I heard the door open that I glanced up from the sink.
“That’s weird,” I muttered.
Usually the mailman knocked once to let me know he was dropping off the mail on the front porch.
“Oh my god! What kind of a crap hole is this?” Anne’s voice screeched through the quiet Wyoming air.
My mouth dropped open.
I bolted to the living room.
Sure as hell, it was my best friend standing there at the front door.
“Anne?” I exclaimed.
There was a look of utter disgust on her face as she glanced around at the trainwreck that was my home.
“You traded an almost paid-off condo in the city to live in a shack?” she asked with an incredulous look.
I still couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Anne? What are you doing here?”
“I came to visit you! To see if you were still alive.”
“How did you even get here?” I asked, running over and grabbing her in a tight hug.
I’d forgotten how much I missed her.
“I went back to that old town and told them I needed to go visit the crazy lady who thinks she’s a farmer. They knew exactly which crazy lady I meant. But look at you, you’re practically a country girl now,” Anne said, eying me up and down.
“You are too funny.” I laughed and rolled my eyes. “I’m not a farmer by the way. The word is rancher.”
“I don’t see any kind of ranch. For one thing, I don’t see any animals. All I see is a lot of dirt, and grass, and some scary looking mountains. What exactly is it that you ‘ranch’ here in this God-forsaken place?” Anne asked, looking over the tops of her designer sunglasses.
“So far, it’s just me and two horses,” I admitted, purposely keeping any mention of Mustang out of the conversation.
“It sounds positively lovely,” she said sarcastically.
“Come on in,” I said, taking her arm. “I’ll make us some coffee.”
I could see the look of disapproval vanish slightly when she saw how the inside of the main house was renovated. I’d added a gas stove, and a few other ‘luxury’ items, as Mustang so gallantly called it. To him a dry towel was a luxury item.
“I didn't expect it to look like this,” Anne said. “You’ve done good.”
“Do you like it?”
“I do, actually. It looks so much better on the inside.”
“Thanks. There is still a lot of work to do here, but I’ll get to it.”
I made us each a cup of coffee and we sat down at the kitchen table.
“Are you ready to come back to Seattle yet?” Anne asked.
She was never one for polite conversation.
“I’m not coming back. I’ve figured out what I’m going to do with this place.”
“Sell it? Burn it? Auction it off to anyone who will pay ten dollars?”
“No, don’t be silly.” I playfully slapped her arm. “I’m going to open this ranch up to people who need a chance to get away, kind of like that vacation you and I took, but for people who could never afford that kind of getaway. You know, city kids, addicts, people like that. A place where they can heal.”
Anne looked skeptical.
“That’s a real nice idea, but how do you plan to keep this place open if you let only poor people come stay out here? I mean, you’ve got plenty of money. For now. But it’s going to run out eventually if you just invite any old person out here to stay for free.”
“I’ve got a few plans in mind. I’ll worry about the details later.”
“Ahh…yes, those darn nasty details.”
“So how are things in the city?” I asked.
“God, you sound just like the country folk now.”
I laughed and looked at her.
“I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too. Seattle isn’t the same without my best friend. I hate this damn ranch because of that.”
After dinner, we sat in the rocking chairs on the front porch and caught up on what had been happening. We talked and laughed until long after dark when we pulled our chairs closer to the fire that I built up.
Anne looked around nervously every time a coyote howled.
“I don’t see how this doesn’t drive you crazy,” Anne said, a little more admiration in her tone than before. “When it’s not busy being too quiet, it’s busy being too loud. There’s some scary sounding stuff out here, that’s for sure.”
“It’s amazing how fast you get used to it. I wouldn’t know what to do with traffic noise now. I don’t even have a truck, let alone drive anywhere.”
“How do you plan to do anything around this place without a truck?” Anne demanded.
“I’m getting one eventually. I just haven’t gotten around to it. I’ve been working on the house and just found out that I have a couple of horses.”
“Oh, goodie. More horses. Those things hate me, I tell you,” Anne joked. “Remember when I couldn’t even get the horse to walk in a straight line? All it had to do was follow the other horses and it couldn’t even do that. How did you not know about the horses?”
“I’ve had a few other things going on to keep me occupied.”
I decided not to elaborate about Mustang. Anne would be all over that in a heartbeat.
“What?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve been getting frisky here in the countryside?”
I shrugged, not saying a word and she laughed.
“Damn. It’s true what they say then.”
“What’s that?”
“The fresh air does do a person good.”
She chuckled, and we burst out in a fit of combined laughter.
As expected, Mustang suddenly appeared in the yard. When Anne caught sight of him, she almost jumped out of her chair.
“Holy fuck!” she yelled. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“Anne, this is Mustang. He’s the caretaker,” I explained in an even voice.
Anne nodded, trying to find her voice after being scared half to death and said, “Hey. I’m Anne. Leah’s best friend from Seattle.”
“Hello,” he said politely.
He looked over at me with a questioning look.
“Anne popped in for a surprise visit,” I said, smiling back at him.
“Welcome to the ranch. I hope you enjoy your stay,” he said.
“Is he always this formal?” she whispered to me.
Mustang looked abnormally tense. Her unexpected visit must be freaking him out.
“Is everything okay, Mustang?”
“I heard a bit of shrieking and thought you were being attacked by raccoons or something,” he answered simply.
Anne’s eyes grew bigger.
“No, I’m fine. Thank you for your concern though.”
“Okay,” he said, looking uncomfortable. “You ladies have a good night. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Sure,” I said and watched as he headed toward the barn.
Anne looked at me with a suggestive smile and wiggled her eyebrows.
“What are you staring at?” I asked.
“What do you mean, what? Damn, that man is fine! I never pegged you as going for a tattooed guy, though. What would your mama say?”
Anne began laughing as she called me out.
“It doesn’t matter right now,” I began, trying my best to keep a straight face but knowing that I was busted.
Anne knew me too well to keep secrets from her. I finally broke out into fits of laughter, still refusing to acknowledge Anne’s insinuation.
“I guess he just makes me happy, and even Mama knows I could use some of that.”
“I know what else you could use, and I hope you’re getting that, too,” Anne mumbled, smiling slyly at me.
I slid my fingers across my mouth in a locked-up-tight gesture and looked away, sending Anne into even bigger fits of laughter.
“Where did he disappear to, anyway?” Anne asked. “I turned around to say something to him and he was already gone.”
“That’s what he does. It works the other way too. He just magically appears out of nowhere.”
“He sounds a bit scary if you ask me,” Anne said.
“It was at first, but then it didn't bother me anymore. Now it just makes me feel safe.”
“I can imagine. A man with big old biceps like that is sure to make you feel safe, and many other things as well.”
“Oh, stop. He’s not only muscles and tattoos.”
Anne raised her eyebrows at me.
“Like what?”
“You should see his abs. Oh my god. They’re perfect.”
“I am so jealous of you right now. I can’t find one good man in a big city like Seattle and you find one in the middle of Wyoming.”
“You should be jealous. My man can fix roofs and ride a horse.”
“Among other things.”
After the fire died down enough and we had gone inside to bed, Anne spoke up from the darkness.
“I’m really happy for you, Leah,” she said softly. “You deserve every bit of happiness you can grab. I’m proud of you for taking a chance on doing something different in life.”
“Thank you, Anne. You’re my oldest friend, and that means a lot to me,” I answered sleepily. “You know, when you get tired of city life, you can come out here. You could build a house beside me and find a good-looking cowboy to keep you warm during the winters.”
“You must be high or something. Do you think for a minute I’m going to use that outhouse of yours any more than I absolutely have to?”
My laughter mixed with Anne’s until we wore ourselves out.
“Don’t worry. By the next time you come out to visit, I hope to have a real bathroom installed inside.”
“Dream on,” she said with a laugh.