Sunday
Mass was slow and reverent, with Latin interspersed in places. The priest, Father Benito, who addressed his congregation as “my dear family,” preached on anxiety—something Maria needed. Ranch hands Blaise and Danny, in cassock and surplice, served alongside a crew of smaller altar boys.
Maria had rode with Uncle Russell, Aunt Steph, Grandma Austin, and Savannah. However, after Mass, Grandma Austin got invited to lunch by a friend, and Uncle Russell said he and Aunt Steph would go with them. He suggested Maria and Savannah get a ride back with the twins.
“They’re about to pull out,” Savannah said, and sprinted across the parking lot in her flowered dress and heels to stop Elijah’s truck. Maria followed.
Elijah grumbled. “What if we hadn’t been planning on going back to the ranch? What would Mom and Dad expect us to do, go all the way there and drop you off?”
“But you are going back to the ranch,” Savannah said.
Maria swung into the back seat of the truck. “Hi, Annabelle, Elijah,” she said.
“Hi,” the twins said in chorus.
Elijah pulled out of the parking lot. “Let’s blow this pop stand,” he said. “I’ve got friends coming at one-thirty.”
Savannah sat up straighter. “Really? What friends?”
“A few of the guys,” Elijah said. “Matt, Josh, Ben. We’re gonna go down to the river.”
Savannah groaned. “Nobody ever takes me down to the river.”
“Well, you can’t tag along with the guys,” Elijah said. “Why don’t you hang out with Annabelle?”
“Me?” Annabelle said. “I’ve got plans too, in case you didn’t realize. I’m going over to Scarlett’s house as soon as I change. We’re going to look at dresses for the dance coming up.”
“Can I come?” asked Savannah without much hope.
“No.” Annabelle frowned. “She only invited me and a couple of the other girls. You’d better stay here and hang out with Maria.”
“All right,” Savannah said. “It’s better than nothing.”
Maria tried to stifle her feelings about being barely better than nothing. “We can do something fun. It’s kind of hot to be outside, but we could watch a movie or play games again.”
“Or we could take a picnic up to the woods, where it’s shaded,” Savannah said. “I’ve wanted to do that forever, and nobody would take me.”
“Sure,” Maria said. “That sounds fun. I’ll pack a picnic lunch. Maybe when Annabelle and Elijah get back to the ranch, we could all do something together?”
“Can’t do,” Elijah said. “I’ve got plans with the ranch hands.”
Annabelle shrugged. “I won’t get back from Scarlett’s until late. Maybe tomorrow?”
It was unbelievable how oblivious Annabelle and Elijah were about their little sister, and how rude they were to her and their cousin. Trying to connect with these two continued to be more of a battle than Maria had expected. Somebody needed to teach them a lesson, but who, Maria couldn’t imagine.
§
Back at the ranch, Maria changed into jeans and a T-shirt and packed a lunch—sandwiches, pickles and olives, strawberries, and chocolate chip cookies. She filled two thermoses with milk and put everything into a cooler. Hopefully Savannah didn’t plan to hike up any steep slopes.
Savannah appeared in the kitchen, now wearing athletic gear. “Are you ready? How are we going to lug that big cooler with us?”
“I thought we could take it in the back of an ATV,” Maria said.
“All right,” Savannah said. “I guess that saves walking.” She peered inside. “How are we gonna eat all that?”
“We can bring back whatever we don’t eat. There’s ice, so it’ll keep a while, if you don’t keep opening and closing it.”
Savannah hastily closed the cooler. “All right, let’s go.”
They were on their way to the ATV barn, carrying the cooler between them, when a voice called after them. “Wait!”
Maria turned, taking the cooler and Savannah with her. Annabelle was at the house door.
“Mind if I come along?” Annabelle shouted. “Scarlett canceled!”
Maria looked at Savannah. “It’s your picnic. What do you think?”
“Oh, she can come,” Savannah said. “Annabelle never wants to do anything with me! It’ll be fun.”
Probably Annabelle was just bored since her friend canceled. Maria wasn’t naive enough to think Annabelle really wanted to hang out with her and Savannah. Still, it was an opportunity for the cousins to get to know each other. And Savannah seemed thrilled.
“Come on then,” Maria called. “We’ve got plenty of food.”
“Can you wait a minute?” Annabelle yelled. “I’ve gotta get my boots.”
“All right,” Maria shouted. “We’ll be in the barn.”
They were putting the cooler in the ATV when Annabelle showed up wearing jeans, a tank top, and sensible work boots. Her blonde hair was pulled into a perfect ponytail with strands artfully framing her face.
“I’m glad you’re coming with us,” Maria said.
“I can’t believe Scarlett canceled,” Annabelle said. “I bet she got invited somewhere else and didn’t tell me. I hate being left out.”
Maria and Savannah shot a glance at each other. “Well, you’re not left out of this,” Maria told Annabelle. “You’d better get an ATV. Savannah and I are taking this one with the cooler.”
“I should have brought my horse,” Annabelle said. “Oh well. Let’s go.”
The upper reaches of the ranch, north of the ranch house, were wooded, and one of the two creeks that crossed the property came down that way. Somebody had cleared paths into the woods.
“We used to come up here all the time in the summer,” Savannah said. “Now everybody’s always off doing something else.”
“That’s because we’ve been up here a million times,” Annabelle said. “You know, we could invite some of the guys to come with us. Maybe Tim’s around.”
Was it too boring for Annabelle to hang out with her sister and cousin without inviting a guy along? Maria might have known. After Tim’s comment dismissing Maria in one breath, she wasn’t particularly keen on hanging out with him. But Annabelle did what Annabelle wanted.
“Tim’s gone off somewhere,” Savannah said. “I didn’t see him hanging around after Mass.”
“Neither did I,” Annabelle said. “I guess I could call him.”
“There’s no phone reception once you get past that big rock back there,” Savannah said, pointing. “You’ll have to go back.”
“Do we have enough food for four people?” Maria asked.
“I’ll tell Tim to bring food if he wants to share ours.” Annabelle turned her ATV around. Maria and Savannah waited.
Annabelle must have gotten hold of Tim, because Maria could see her talking. After a short moment, Annabelle hung up and drove her ATV back toward them.
“He must have said no,” Savannah said.
Annabelle’s attitude was droopy. “He’s busy,” she said. “Too bad.”
“Well, we can have a nice girls’ picnic anyway,” Maria said.
“I guess.” Annabelle shrugged.
Annabelle’s interest in Tim continued to be evident. Maria still couldn’t tell whether Tim wasn’t interested, or whether they just had bad communication. Well, it wasn’t her business.
They found a spot near the top of a rise, under shady trees, where the creek dashed over rocks in eddies of foam. “This is perfect,” Savannah said. “Come on, let’s put out the cooler. Did you bring something to sit on?”
Maria hadn’t thought of that, but there were large rocks near the stream that worked for seats. After saying grace, Maria opened the cooler and distributed sandwiches and other delicacies.
“These are really good sandwiches,” Annabelle said. “How did you make them?”
“The secret is the sauce.” Maria winked. “I’ll give you the recipe if you want.”
“Thanks,” Annabelle said. “I don’t do a lot of cooking, but I’d love to have these again.”
“What is it you do on the ranch, anyway?” Maria asked. “Are you one of the wranglers?”
“Technically.” Annabelle pulled a face. “This time of year, I’m usually stuck taking a bunch of stuffy guests on trail rides.
Somebody’s got to entertain them, and Mom got the idea I would be a great hostess.
So I get to deal with a bunch of people who don’t know the front end of a horse from the back. ”
Maria laughed. “I don’t know the front end of a horse from the back either,” she said. “Elijah said he would teach me.”
“That was multiple days ago,” Savannah said. “He’s probably forgotten all about it. Maybe I should teach you how to ride.”
“You?” Annabelle said. “You can’t teach anybody.”
“I’ve been riding since I was little,” Savannah shot back. “Besides, you’re not the world’s best rider. The guys at the bunkhouse say your arms are too stiff and you grip with your knees.” She took a large bite out of a strawberry.
“I was out of practice when a lot of those guys got here,” Annabelle said. “I broke my collarbone and couldn’t ride, remember? It takes a while to get the hang of things again.”
“How did you break your collarbone?” Maria asked.
Annabelle swatted at a fly that dared approach her. “Horse threw me, and I landed wrong,” she said. “It could happen to anybody. The horse shied. My riding is fine.” She took off her boots and socks, putting her feet in the water. “Oh, that feels good.”
Annabelle seemed so sure of herself normally, it was surprising she acted defensive about her riding. It made her feel a little more human.
“I just think it would be fun to learn how to ride, a little, while I’m here,” Maria said. “I’ll have to ask Elijah when’s the next time he and I are both free.”
“You don’t have to wait for him,” Annabelle said. “I can teach you. We can do it this afternoon if you want.”
That was a surprise. Annabelle didn’t have to do that. Was Maria’s cousin being friendly? Hopefully she wasn’t just thinking of it as an opportunity to prove her own riding skills.
“Won’t Elijah feel bad, since he offered to teach me first?” Maria asked.
“Like Savannah said, he’s probably forgotten,” Annabelle said. “He won’t care. I’m just as good at teaching riding as he is. Better, because I spend all that time going on trail rides with guests. What do people think this is anyway, a dude ranch?”
“Mom says the guests bring in a lot of revenue,” Savannah said. “Grandma hates it, but we’ve gotta keep the ranch running.”
Maria hadn’t heard that. “They couldn’t keep the ranch running with just the cattle operation?”