Riders of Different Sorts
Most of the family had missed the scene with Owen. When Annabelle turned up late in the evening, Maria and Savannah filled her in.
“Wow,” Annabelle said. “So do you think Owen was the one doing the sabotage?”
“I have no idea,” Maria said. “He certainly thinks Grandma Austin ought to sell the ranch. But he was very offended and pompous when she suggested he might have caused any damage.”
“Well, I do say, I think Grandma’s making the biggest financial mistake of her life,” Annabelle said.
“And it’s dangerous for the family, too.
Whoever wants us to sell is getting desperate.
If we don’t listen, somebody could get hurt.
Neil told me he’s worried for me, and he agrees that Grandma should just sell too.
” She sat on Maria’s low dresser. Maria would have objected, but since she and Savannah were both sitting on her bed, there wasn’t anywhere else to sit.
“Hmm.” Maria didn’t want to get in an argument with Annabelle. “I understand Neil wants to keep you safe. But I don’t think somebody should have to sell their ranch just because some unknown person is vandalizing it.”
“I guess not, but think how much more money we could all have if Grandma did decide to sell!” Annabelle said.
“Then we’d have to move,” Savannah pointed out. “And where would we keep the horses?”
“We could board our horses someplace,” Annabelle said. “There’d be plenty of money for that.”
Savannah made a face. “I don’t want to board the horses. I like having them here. But I wish there was more going on.” She propped her chin in her hands. “I can’t wait for the rodeo.”
Annabelle groaned. “Don’t remind me,” she said. “I’m gonna ride in the rodeo this time. I think it’ll help me get my nerves out before the Miss Rodeo Montana pageant.”
“Don’t you need to practice?” Savannah asked. “You don’t do much roping or barrel racing or stuff like that.”
Annabelle crossed her arms. “I’m gonna practice. Before, I was thinking Tim could help me with that. But now I think I’m gonna ask Neil. He’s been riding all his life—he’s got to have some pointers. Besides, I’m not that bad.”
“It’s definitely your weak spot.” Savannah kicked her heels against the side of Maria’s bed. “Who else is competing? Scarlett? She’s a good rider.”
“I’m a good rider,” Annabelle said. “Why does everybody in this family think I’m no good at riding? I’ve been doing it all my life, haven’t I? I’m a wrangler working on a ranch, aren’t I? I’ll bet there are girls who compete in the rodeo who don’t even live on ranches.”
“Yeah, but those girls aren’t the ones you have to worry about,” Savannah said.
They could go on about the rodeo all night.
Maria got up. “I think I’m gonna go down to the living room,” she said, “and see if anybody knows what to do about that sabotage business. We can’t let people go around taking down our fences and axing our signs!
The ranch could get torn apart before you guys even have the rodeo. ”
“Do you really think they’re going to get away with it?” Savannah asked. “Can’t the police do anything?”
“They don’t have any clues,” Maria said. “My dad’s a police officer, and he would tell you you can’t catch a crook that doesn’t leave any clues.”
“Can’t somebody catch them doing it?” Savannah asked. “How about the Montana Rider? Did you ask him about the sabotage?”
Annabelle jerked to attention. “The Montana Rider?” she asked. “I thought Savannah made that up.”
“Nope,” Maria said. “I saw him with my own eyes. And I talked to him.”
“Really?” Annabelle said. “Are you sure he’s not one of the ranch hands?”
“I asked Tim, and he said he’s talked to the guy,” Maria said. “He would have told me if it was just a prank, wouldn’t he?”
Annabelle frowned when Tim was mentioned, but she nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said. “Then we’ve got a stranger going around on the ranch. How do we know he’s not doing the sabotage?”
“I can’t believe that,” Maria said. “For one thing, Savannah says he was here a while ago. The sabotage just started recently. Besides, he doesn’t seem like somebody who’s out to break things. I’d stake my reputation on it.”
Why did she feel so confident about the mystery guy? She didn’t know. It was a gut feeling she couldn’t explain, even to herself.
§
It was late, and Maria had been lying in bed a long time trying to sleep.
Too much was going on in her head. She had met the Montana Rider last night.
Tim had asked her out this afternoon. The second sabotage had happened.
Owen had argued with Grandma. Try as she might, Maria couldn’t clear the swirling conflict and intrigue out of her head.
She’d said extra night prayers, but she still wasn’t dropping off.
Was that a shadow outside her window? It could be an owl, or maybe somebody outside. She looked out.
Savannah was going out to the barn. Why was she up late again, riding around on the ranch? Didn’t that girl need sleep? Well, she was probably the only person on the ranch without an early-morning job.
Still. What if she ran into whoever did the sabotage? Maria ought to do something. She didn’t want to rat on Savannah, but she did want to keep her safe. Maybe she should have scolded her yesterday about going down to Jessie and Rob’s house.
Maria might as well go after her. She couldn’t possibly fall asleep now.
Maria got up, put her daytime clothes back on, and snuck out as quietly as she could.
Outside, the moon was full, riding high, almost directly above Maria. That moon was huge. Probably another reason she couldn’t sleep.
Savannah was riding down on her ATV when Maria caught up with her.
“What are you doing here?” Savannah asked, low. “You’re not trying to make me come back inside, are you?”
Maria shook her head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go around by yourself at night,” she said. “What are you doing out here, anyway? You were out last night, hanging out with Jessie and Rob. You can’t hang out with them every night! They have to get up in the morning!”
“I wanted to see if I could meet the Montana Rider,” Savannah said. “I thought maybe he’d have some answers about the sabotage.”
If only! Maria would have loved to ask the Montana Rider some questions herself. “Do you know where he usually is?” she asked. “Is there a certain place you tend to run into him?”
“Well, I usually don’t go super far from the house,” Savannah said. “If Mom and Dad find out where I’ve gone, they wouldn’t even care, I’m sure. I usually only go as far as the lower buildings.”
“Well, that’s good to know,” Maria said. “Where were you going tonight?”
“Just riding around,” Savannah said. “I’m gonna go down to the bunkhouse and see if anybody’s doing anything interesting.”
At midnight? Surely not. But Maria was up already. A ride in the fresh air would clear her head. “I’ll come with you.”
“Don’t you have work in the morning?” Savannah asked.
“Yeah, but I couldn’t sleep,” Maria said. “If I stay up a while, maybe I’ll be able to fall asleep when I get back.”
“All right,” Savannah said. “You wanna ride in my ATV?”
They went down to the lower buildings. As Maria had suspected, the buildings were dark. The cowboys must be asleep or out watching the cattle. Probably some guys were out watching for more sabotage, too.
“There’s nothing going on.” Savannah yawned. “I guess I don’t care anymore. I haven’t seen the Montana Rider. I’d rather just go back to bed.”
“You sound tired,” Maria said. “Want me to drive?”
Savannah leaned against her shoulder as they went back to the house. She seemed half-asleep when Maria stopped in front of the barn.
“Why don’t you go inside?” Maria said. “I’ll put away the ATV. Why you ride around at night instead of in the daytime, I’ll never understand.”
“The Montana Rider only goes around at night,” Savannah said, and staggered off toward the house.
She was probably right. The night seemed to fit with the Montana Rider—dark clothes and mystery. Maria couldn’t imagine him riding around in broad daylight.
She had put away the ATV and was on her way back to the house when she heard a horse coming. Maria turned.
It was the Montana Rider, tall in the moonlight. He touched his hat, continuing past.
“Wait,” Maria said. “I have a question for you.”
He stopped, turning in the saddle. “What’s that?”
“Do you have any idea who’s vandalizing the ranch and leaving notes?”
He rubbed his neck. “There were three guys here a couple days ago, acting suspicious,” he said, “but they wore masks, so I couldn’t tell who they were.”
“Three men in masks!” This was an organized effort, then—scary! “Does anybody else on the ranch know?”
“Tim knows,” the Rider said. “He told your grandmother.”
“Wow.” Nobody told Maria anything. Although the Rider seemed willing to talk, which was a change. “Do you think they’re the same ones who took down the fence?”
“I don’t know, but I reckon they might be. If you see a guy with a cow skull tattoo on the back of his hand, let somebody know.” He shifted in his saddle. “I’m doing my rounds, checking to see if any of those scoundrels are back.”
Scoundrels? He sounded like somebody out of the Wild West in the 1800s.
“What will you do if you find them?” Maria asked.
“I guess we’ll see,” he said, the ghost of a smile crossing his face. “I’ll do my best.”
“I bet you will.” Maria clasped her hands. This was so exciting. She was actually holding a conversation with the Montana Rider.
“Now, I want you to do something for me,” the Rider said.
“Absolutely,” Maria said, not even waiting to see what it was. “What is it?”
“Tell Savannah to stop coming out here at night,” he said. “It’s too dangerous for young ladies to go around the ranch right now. You, too.”
Rats. She shouldn’t have agreed so quickly. If she didn’t come out at night, when would she ever see him again? He only ever appeared at night!
“I’ll tell Savannah,” Maria said, “but I do know how to take care of myself. My dad’s a policeman.”
“I think your dad would agree with me,” the Rider said. “Besides, don’t you work in the kitchen? Don’t you have to get up early?”
“How did you know I worked in the kitchen?” Maria asked. “Who are you, anyway? I mean, what’s your name?”
He sat straighter. “I need to be anonymous to do my work. But I know the ranch pretty well.”
He was turning again, as though to leave.
“Wait,” Maria said.
The Rider waited. Oh, no. She didn’t have anything specific to say to him. She’d just been hoping he would talk to her a little longer.
Maria wanted to ask if she could look for bad guys with him, but she shut that thought down. Women didn’t gallivant around ranches with strange men, even ones that Tim thought were harmless.
“When will I see you again?” Maria blurted, not coming up with anything else that didn’t sound insane.
He shrugged. “Maybe you won’t. It doesn’t matter. Even if you don’t see me, I’ll be out there trying to protect the ranch and keep you all safe.” He touched his hat. “Goodnight, Maria. Remember what I said.”
He was gone, and Maria stared after him, a dull sensation in her chest. He hadn’t seemed to care whether he saw her again.
The man of mystery was just focused on keeping the people of the ranch safe, with no idea he affected Maria so deeply.
Now if she came out after dark, he’d be mad at her.
And he wasn’t around in the daytime. In ten seconds, he had crushed the romantic daydreams that had started when she first heard of him.
Maria went into the house, blindly groping for walls and stair handrails, trying not to wake anybody up. She found her way back to her room and sat against her bed, her knees against her chest.
Whoever heard of a strange, romantic vigilante who didn’t have a special girl?
Clearly, the Montana Rider’s special girl wasn’t Maria.
He didn’t care if he never saw her again.
Well, she needed to stop thinking about him.
She wouldn’t go outside after dark, she’d try to keep Savannah in the house, and she’d definitely stop daydreaming about men.
That had been her plan when she first came here, anyway.
She wasn’t ready to jump into a relationship after the fiasco with Seth.
She’d keep exploring the ranch on her own in the daytime. And she would ask Annabelle to show her more riding when she had time and wasn’t practicing for the rodeo herself. Things would be all right.
A tear slowly rolled down Maria’s cheek. She wiped it on her sleeve. The fallen tear felt as though it had taken all Maria’s dreams with it.