The Ranch

“I'll be out in five minutes,” he told the boy, and went back inside to talk to Tanya, He locked his door again, so no one could burst in, and he told her as quickly as he could what had happened. “They'll move you to another ranch,” he explained. “If you call your driver, he can come out and get you. I've got to get the horses. We've got two hundred head to get out as fast as we can,” he said, moving quickly, and then he stopped for an instant and kissed her. “I love you, Texas girl, don't worry about us, we're going to make this thing work, even if I have to go to Hollywood to do it.” He knew she was worried, and he was concerned too, but he was determined to do it. But now he had to turn his mind to other things. “Get dressed,” he told her before he left. “Just stay off the road, go alongside it in the tail grass and no one will see you. They're too busy to worry about you right now. Go back to your cabin. I'll see you later.”

“Can we do anything to help?” She felt stupid just getting on her bus and moving to another ranch, when there were people and animals in danger.

“That's my job,” he smiled, jamming his hat on his head, and grabbing an old denim jacket. “See ya,” he said, and was gone with a last look over his shoulder. She felt like the little woman as she stood there. And she quickly put on her clothes and did as he told her. And as he drove his truck down the road, he smiled when he saw a rustle in the tall grass moving toward the cabins. He knew exactly what it was, and he mentally put his arms around her and kissed her.

But as soon as he got to the corral, his work was cut out for him. They had to get all the horses out of their stalls, into the main corral, and they were going to herd them across the valley. The trick was seeing that none of them got hurt or lost, or stampeded. He rounded up ten good men and four women to do it. They needed all the help they could get, and they had already called ahead to the next ranch. They were emptying their pens and making room for them. And if the fire traveled that far, they would all be in terrible trouble. But for the moment, the winds had shifted in the opposite direction.

Gordon was shouting directions at all of them, and riding an old paint mare that he knew would be good for the job, just as Tanya walked into the cabin.

“My God, where were you?” Mary Stuart was looking unnerved, and Zoe was putting her clothes on. They had just been called, and they knew exactly where Tanya was, but they didn't know how to find her. “They called to say we have to evacuate, and I didn't want to tell them you were in the wranglers’ cabins,” Mary Stuart said, still looking nervous.

“Thanks for that,” Tanya smiled, and dialed Tom. She asked him to come to the ranch, and told him what had happened. She was going to offer the bus to transport as many people as they wanted. There were nearly a hundred guests at the ranch at the moment.

“Do you think the ranch will burn down?” Mary Stuart asked anxiously, just as Zoe walked into the room in a heavy sweater and jeans, carrying her doctor's bag. It was chilly, and there was a stiff wind out.

“No, I don't think the ranch will burn down. Gordon says this happens from time to time, and they always control it. What are you doing?” she asked, as she turned to Zoe.

“I'm going to offer them a hand. They've got firefighters going up there.”

“Are they asking for volunteers?” Tanya looked surprised. Gordon hadn't given her the impression that the guests would be helping, and at that exact moment Hartley arrived, and said they were wanted in the main building as fast as they could get there. Everyone looked slightly tousled and very concerned, in an assortment of rough clothes and peculiar outfits, as they hurried up the hill to the main hall. Mary Stuart chatted with Hartley, and seemed calmer when she got there. She was holding his hand, and he was carrying a briefcase, he'd been working on a manuscript off and on since he got there. The other guests were carrying an odd assortment of things they didn't want to lose, from briefcases, to fishing equipment, to handbags.