Riding the River by Jeanne Harrell Read Free Book Online

Beautiful…
    Dan pulled up the van to a front parking
area, stopped and stepped out to unload baggage. Sarah and her
fellow travelers got out, stretched and began just looking all
around them. There was much to see…
    She was gawking at the countryside and the
ranch house when Dan came up behind and nudged her.
    “Sorry, ma’am. Did I bump into you?” he
drawled.
    “Yes, sir. You did…” smiled Sarah.
    “Let me take your bags in for you.”
    “Thanks, Dan. I can do it…” He wouldn’t give
up the bags.
    “No, I’ve got it. Follow me.”
    After registering inside, Dan showed her a
few rooms. The bar and sitting area had a huge stone fireplace and
antler chandeliers. She walked on wooden
    floors throughout that shined with new
varnish. The dining room had windows all along one wall with huge
wooden tables and sideboards filled with drinks. They were
preparing for the evening meal, and Sarah could smell
mouth-watering aromas. Her stomach made hungry noises…
    Dan finally showed her to her room. It had a
beautiful, double bed with a bay window that looked out to the
surrounding mountains. The décor was Western, of course, with horse
paintings and a pine four-poster bed. The night table on one side
of her bed had a little lamp with a metal horse on it. Dan put her
bags down and Sarah tried to tip him.
    “Oh, no. Thank you, ma’am, but no.”
    “Dan, you’ve been a wonderful driver and
therapist,” she smiled at him. “The least I can do for you is give
you a nice tip.”
    He smiled at her then. “Would you like to
know what you can do for me?”
    “Yes, please…”
    “…Just enjoy yourself. Let go and find
yourself here. Many people do…”
    Sarah gasped. “Why would you think that I
need to find myself?”
    “No particular reason. I’ll go now. Freshen
up and dinner’s in an hour. Nice to meet you, miss.” He tipped his
hat and left.
    Sarah wasn’t too sure if she should have
called him Yoda or Obi Wan Kenobi. Crap… That’s ‘ Star Wars’ ,
isn’t it? Abby would be proud. And speaking of Abby, she tried to
send her a text. Unfortunately, cell phone or Internet service
wasn’t as good as it might be and her text just hung there – in
Cyberspace, or wherever it went. The same for her father… Then
Sarah smiled. They can’t reach me… Oh, boy and I can’t reach
them…
    She exhaled a deep breath. It was getting
easier to do just that. They can’t reach me… She thought it again.
It was a truly delicious feeling and one she let flow over her for
a minute or two. Then she dug jeans and a casual shirt out of one
suitcase, put them on and went into the bathroom to freshen up.
Sarah took down her French twist and brushed her hair back into a
ponytail. Taking another quick look at her wonderful room, she left
to see the rest of the ranch house. Sarah was happy and feeling
playful – Probably for the first time in years…
     
    Talk about new … Absolutely everywhere
she looked was a new experience. The ranch house, the people, the
food, the country… She was so out of her element that she felt she
might be on Mars. But everyone was so nice and friendly. They were
happy to see her and it showed. She found the owner of the ranch
house and went up to him.
    “Mr. Walker, thank you so much for accepting
my reservation on such short notice.”
    “Well, miss, we’re very pleased to have you.
Don’t worry about a thing.” Don’t worry about a thing? When was the last time anyone had said that to her…
    “You’re really too kind…”
    “No, no… Head on over to the community room…
We’re going to introduce ourselves to all you new guests in a few
minutes. Then we’ve got a great welcome dinner starting soon.”
    Sarah wandered into the huge gathering room
and spoke to some of the people she’d met in the van on the way
here. She missed Dan, but he apparently had other duties to perform
tonight. Mr. Walker came in and started welcoming the guests.
    “Hi, everyone. Thanks so much