Free Whisperer by Jeanne Harrell

after work.
That’s where I met Colt again.” She stopped. “Did you know that we
first saw each other in Old Town Sacramento, but we introduced
ourselves up in the hills?”
    Lily smiled. “I
had heard that. My spies told me. Was it love at first sight?”
    Mandy smiled
broadly back at her, “Pretty much. Colt is so special.”
    “That he is.
Were you from Sacramento originally?”
    “Yes, born and
bred, but I needed to leave. I found the job up in Soda Springs and
the rest, as they say, is history.”
    “How do I ask
questions without you feeling like I am being the Grand
Inquisitor?”
    “Just ask. I
would do the same thing if I were in your shoes, and we need to get
to know each other.” They stopped and looked at each other.
    “Very astute.
We do, indeed, since we both love Colt. We could even take turns –
would you like that, Mandy?”
    “Yes, ma’am.
I’d like that very much. You first…” She smiled.
    “Okay…why did
you need to leave Sacramento?”
    “Well…it was
like this…” And they continued walking around the corrals.
    Meanwhile, Colt
had been riding herd with his father and Jesse. He had yelled “hey”
at Meg, Miles, Joey and Jason, but had remained riding with Sandy.
His dad looked over at him and smiled. Good to see him again… Colt
was glad to be home…
    Jesse grinned,
“Cute gal. What’s her name again?”
    “Mandy Evans.
She’s a counselor at that children’s camp in Soda Springs where I
was hired to train a few mustangs.”
    “And you
brought her home,” said his father.
    “Yes, sir. My
mama raised me right.” He laughed and they smiled at each
other.
    “Your mother is
interrogating her, as we speak, you know.”
    “Yeah, but
Mandy expected it. She’ll be okay – we talked about how this would
play out. So far, it’s predictable.”
    “I take it the
business is working out for you. Grandma has kept us posted about
your whereabouts and jobs. Is she keeping books for you too?”
    “Yeah, so far,
so good. I’ve had a lot of work in the Elko and Winnemucca area, as
well as northern California. I stopped in to see Aunt Sarah and
Uncle Rob while I was in Winnemucca.”
    “They called
us. Apparently, they went out to see you work a few times. I think
their contacts led to more work for you,” said Sandy. “My sister
was impressed with what you did. Oh…Be right back. I have to tell
Jason something.” Sandy turned his horse and rode to the back of
the herd.
    A few cows
started to stray, so Colt rode over and drove them back. The dust
cloud settled on him and he brushed off what he could. Jesse had
ridden off after some other strays. Meg rode up by Colt.
    “Hi ya,
stranger. New in these parts?” Sitting a beautiful Palomino, she
smiled at him.
    “Hi yourself,
cutie. How are you?” He smiled at his pretty sister. She had cut
her long blonde hair into a perky bob that attractively framed her
face.
    “New
hairdo?”
    “Yep.”
    Jesse rode up
by Meg, reached over and lightly tugged at Meg’s hair. “Can’t pull
it like I used to. Grow it back, Meggie…” He laughed.
    “Okay, what
gives with you two? I leave for a little while, come back and you
have women with you. Stories, please?”
    Jesse leaned
back in his saddle and wiped his hands on his jeans.
    “Nothing to
tell. You’ve known Audrey all your life.”
    “For Pete’s
sake, Jesse, ever gonna marry her?” When he shrugged, Meg let out
an exasperated breath, leaned over and punched his arm. “She’s not
going to wait forever… And what about you, Colt?”
    “What about
me?”
    “All I know is
her name: Mandy Evans. Anything else I should know?”
    “Right.
Interrogation time. Well, she’s pretty, smart, funny and sexy. Oh
and she loves movies. Jeanne will have a field day with that.” He
laughed. Meg rolled her eyes.
    They rode the
herd to the corrals and started rounding them in. Little by little,
they drove out the mature cattle into other pens, leaving the
calves.
    Mandy noticed
that Colt