Chapter Three     For once Carly waited until the coast was completely clear before speaking. “Hmm, big sister is making some good time!” ”Carly,” I said in the sternest voice I could manage. She laughed and together we worked to saddle the horses. That was my sister; the one who always spoke whatever was on her mind. It wasn’t a bad thing really, but there were times when she tended to speak without thinking, and someone, usually me, ended up with bright red cheeks! “I know you need to go check on the riders, so I’ll finish with the last two,” Carly offered fifteen minutes later. “Thanks sis. Are you going into the clinic this afternoon?” I asked. “Yeah, I have a couple of appointments scheduled for after lunch, but I should be back by dinner,” she answered. I nodded and then moved out of the dim barn and into the bright sunlight, crossing the yard and entering the house from the backdoor. “The guests are waiting in the sitting room,” Frieda announced. I thanked her and walked through to the sitting room.    “Hello,” I called to the five guests waiting for me. There was Kevin, Nick and Brian and Mr. & Mrs. Stiles, our resident newlyweds. “If you all will go through the kitchen, Frieda will give you your lunches. Go on out to the barn and Carly will assist you with mounting.” Kevin met my eyes and smiled. “They’re outside by the pool,” he said as he walked past me. I couldn’t help myself, I just had to smile.    Sure enough moments later, I found the two men I was looking for sitting on lounge chairs by the pool. “Hello Howie, AJ.” “Hi Cassie, aren’t you guiding the ride?” Howie asked. “I am. As a matter of fact, that’s what I want to talk to you two about. I was wondering if you two would care to join us this morning. It really wouldn’t be any trouble to whip up two more lunches and saddle two more horses,” I offered. AJ snorted. “Kevin put you up to this didn’t he?” he asked. “No he didn’t. I just wanted to see if you’d like to go with us,” I replied with a small smile. “Oh what the heck! Let’s go Howie,” AJ said as he stood. Howie eyed AJ and wondered at his change of opinion. He had just finished saying he was glad he wasn’t going and now he was doing an about face and agreeing to go. Howie shrugged and followed AJ and Cassie out to the barn. “Carly, do me a favor. Ask these two gentlemen what they’d like for lunch and then go get Frieda to fix it for us. I’ll pick them up on our way out,” I asked. “Sure sis,” she answered and then walked quickly across the yard. “Just sit tight everyone. It’ll take me a couple of minutes to saddle up two more horses,” I called as I disappeared into the barn. “Let me help,” Kevin said from outside of Aladdin’s stall. “Thanks, his tack is there on that wall,” I said pointing behind him. In moments we had both horses tacked and saddled and we were leading them out to the waiting group. I helped the new arrivals mount up, went over a few basic instructions and then led the group towards the house, where Carly was waiting with Howie’s and AJ’s lunches. “See ya later,” Carly said as I pointed my horse in the right direction and headed for the hills.   Conversation was light as we made our way up the trail into the hills. Large pine trees, sagebrush and saguaro cactus dotted the landscape and nearby we could hear the bubbling of the stream. As we rode, I explained the terrain and cautioned everyone to be careful of the indigenous wildlife that populated the area. “There are rattlesnakes and scorpions around here?” Sandy Stiles asked fearfully. “Don’t worry Sandy. I’ll protect you,” her husband, Greg, murmured soothingly. I smiled at that thought. No doubt if we actually stumbled across a rattler, Greg would be the first to bolt. Wisely, I kept my thoughts to myself.   “Is that why you have a shotgun,” Nick asked as he eyed it warily. “Yes,” I answered as I watched his reaction. He stared at it a moment longer and then nodded his head in acceptance.    An hour and a half later, we arrived at the stream and I instructed everyone to tie their horses to low hanging branches. After supervising the tying of the horses, we picked out our picnic spot and began eating our lunches.   “This is really a beautiful spot,” Kevin stated. “Yeah, kind of reminds me of home,” Brian agreed.    The conversation flowed, and I learned that Brian and Kevin were originally from Kentucky and that Nick, Howie and AJ were from Florida.   “You all are free to explore the immediate area, but stay within shouting distance,” I warned. “Or you can join me in a swim,” I offered as I stood and removed my shirt, boots and jeans before plunging head first into the cool water.   From the bank, they stared in disbelief as I surfaced. “Come on in! The water’s great,” I called as I sent a huge splash toward the shore, sending the seven people scattering amid much laughter.    “Here I come,” Kevin yelled moments later as he emerged from behind a tree, dressed in a pair of blue swim trunks. He ran to the edge of the shore and dove in. He came up just a few feet from me. Pretty soon, we were all in the water, swimming, splashing and using an old rope swing that I had used as a child.    Later we laid on the bank, letting the sun dry our bodies before heading back to the ranch. As we approached the barn, Dalton met us and took over the grooming, while the guests made their way inside to clean up. “Go on boss, I can take this from here,” Dalton said. “Thanks, but I’ll stay and help,” I said.    Thirty minutes later, the horses were unsaddled, brushed, fed and turned out into the pasture. Dalton filled me in on the happenings of the ranch and then I turned towards the house so I could clean up. I showered quickly and then made my way into my office to goover the books. I spent the rest of the afternoon balancing books, taking reservations, and making confirmation calls.   Callie stuck her head in the office and announced dinner. I promised I’d be right there, just as soon as I finished.                                                                                     Chapter Four