Paths Crossing Ep. Two: Henry & Amelia

Chapter 1

Amelia Banks

~

Deer Lodge, Montana

Late March

"It's still a quarter-mile until we turn, Ty. Keep going all the way down this road," I said, feeling my sister slowing down as she was driving. I was staring at the map on my phone and could see that it wasn't time to turn yet. "We're still far from the address. Wait, why are you turning here?"

"Because there was literally a sign that said that ranch guests should go this way," Ty said. "It was right back there. We're ranch guests, so I'm following the sign. You can turn that off since we're here."

My sister sounded assured even though, according to the address on my map, we should have gone straight for another 900 yards.

"I'm serious, you can turn it off, we're fine. This whole place is the ranch. We're here."

I hadn't seen the sign she was talking about, but she seemed so confident that I believed her and set down my phone.

"Oh, yeah, whoa," I said, leaning to peer out of the front window and seeing a large wooden sign coming up on our right.

It was parallel to the road we were on, so it took me a second to make it out.

As we approached it, I could see that it connected two fenced pasture areas and stretched across a dirt road.

My sister didn't hesitate to turn and drive under the sign.

The words Sutter Farms Cattle Ranch were etched in large lettering and a bold font.

The sign itself was a solid log of wood that must've weighed a ton.

"What have you gotten me into?" Ty said as we drove under it.

"I bought the Rancher for the Weekend package.

I don't know exactly what we're doing. I know they have chickens and horses, and a tallow business.

I don't know what you do on a ranch, honestly.

I saw the place where we'll be staying, and it's nice inside, like a hotel.

This looks pretty ranch-y so far, though," I said, looking out at the barns and fenced pastures.

"Like Hidden Valley," Ty said, making me smile and shake my head.

There was a home in the distance and a few other finished structures that were a little closer to us. We drove toward them.

"Why did you choose that package?" she asked, with disappointment in her tone. "I don't want to be a rancher."

"It's their best package," I said. "It comes with meals, and I got an upgrade."

"To slop?" Ty asked. "From porridge to oatmeal?"

"No. It looked good in the pictures. It looked like home-cooked meals with mashed potatoes and fried chicken."

"Still, I don't want to come here to be a worker. There were some perfectly nice hotels in Missoula. I liked it there. We could stay there and have a regular hotel experience and then come here and take a tour of the place. We could become acquainted with it from a distance."

"That's not how you get acquainted with something. We have to do research for our roles, Ty. We're going to be out here filming later this summer, and we're not professional actresses."

"Exactly, which is why we're not being held to that standard. Alex knows what he's getting with us. And besides, I know we'll do great. We've known Alex since we were kids. He knows us. He knows what we can do. He wouldn't have asked us if he didn't think we could do it."

"Yeah, but even if all that's true, we still need to work at it and try hard, Trinity."

"Okay, Mom."

"Why? Because I used your full name?"

"No, because you're being so serious about all this.

I need to be at home. I have homework, and Eddie's birthday party is this weekend.

Jacob's freaking out about me not being there.

I'm the party girl. That's my element. We don't need to come over here and get treated like farmhands to be able to do our job for Alex. He said he'll help us through it."

Jacob was Ty's boyfriend, and Eddie was Jacob's best friend.

Ty had a more interesting social life than I did, and she kept me updated about all of these people.

I knew it was Eddie's birthday this weekend.

She had already mentioned missing it several times since I planned this trip.

I had begged her to come so that I could see what my surroundings would be in a couple of months when we began filming.

I breathed a sigh. "Well, we're here now," I said plainly. "I have things I left back home, too. I don't want to be apart from PJ this long. I really think we're going to grow from this and do better at our roles because of it."

"You're just nervous about doing the series."

"So?" I said, not caring that she was right.

"So, I didn't have to be in on this. I have a lot this weekend. I don't have time to come to Montana and milk a cow."

"Ty, who else would come with me? We're the main actresses in a series. Alex is serious about it and wants it to come out good."

"I want it to come out good too. I'm the one who committed five months of my life to doing this. I'm already learning lines and getting into it. I think about it more than you know. I don't need to milk a cow to show how serious I am."

"It doesn't hurt, though, right? I mean, it can only help. We are here now. Regretting it is not going to help anything. We may as well enjoy the next two days."

"There's an arrow. Do I pull all the way into this garage?" she asked, starting to drive into it before I had the chance to answer.

"It seems like they want us to," I said, reading a sign on the inside that was personalized to greet us. It was painted on poster board in neutral tones and neatly designed lettering. I knew my sister would like it, and I glanced at her for her reaction.

"I mean, I already knew I was going to make the most of it now that I'm here," Ty said, shaking her head as she turned off the ignition.

It was a two-car garage, and she gestured to the off-road cart type vehicle that was in the space next to our rented car.

"This is cool," she said with a smile. "Is that how we're supposed to be getting around while we're here? "

I knew she would want access to that. Our parents had a golf cart, and Ty drove it around their neighborhood all the time.

Growing up, we had friends in the neighborhood, including Alex, and she started taking the golf cart to their houses when she was ten years old.

She asked to drive it even before I did.

I preferred to ride with her. I got my driver's license before she did, but only by a few months.

She was eighteen months younger than me, and I knew I'd never live it down if she got her license before me, so I bit the bullet and went to driver's ed even though I didn't have much interest in driving at the time.

My sister definitely liked driving more than I did, which was why she was the one getting out of the driver's seat currently.

She especially liked ATV's and had already mentioned that she hoped this place had a four-wheeler.

"Your dreams are coming true by the minute," I said, climbing out of the car. "Oh, look how sweet. There's a whole note. Look at this. It's so nice."

There was a note for us on a piece of paper that had been printed and laminated. Our names were at the top.

Amelia and Trinity,

Welcome to Sutter Farms! We look forward to meeting you!

Please use the code provided in your email to open the lock box.

The keys to the Gator are inside the apartment, along with a few other things in a welcome package on the bar.

I included a map of our ranch along with information about areas where it's safe to explore on your own.

We have a nice creek on the north side of the property that you can reach by foot or on the Gator.

Dinner will be served tonight at 6:30. I'll be available to answer any questions you might have and fill you in on what to expect for the next two days.

You may call any time before that. You have my cell phone number, but there is also a landline in the apartment.

In the welcome package, you'll find my contact information, along with local grocery and dining options.

Welcome to Montana! We hope you feel at home here!

It is my number one goal for you to be comfortable and enjoy your stay at our ranch.

You'll see the map when you go inside, but our home is two minutes from you by ATV or 5-10 minutes by foot.

Unless I hear otherwise, I'll see you at 6:30 for dinner!

Best,

Jen Sutter

Jen had left another note in the apartment.

This one was next to the map, and it explained about areas we could explore by ourselves.

There were some snacks on the bar, along with juice and soda.

All of it was part of the package I had paid for, but I didn't say that to my sister when she complimented how nice they were for leaving it all.

"I'm going to the creek since we have a couple of hours before dinner," I told her as I put the drinks into the fridge.

"I'm not. I have about twenty emails to answer—especially if we're going to be busy tomorrow."

"Yeah, the whole thing is to unplug for the weekend."

She sighed. "Yeah, well, I'll plug back in at night, that's for sure. And I have to do some things now. I have emails about that event we're putting on next month. I've got several things coming up."

I knew my sister was busy. She was finishing her sophomore year of college, and it had been one for the books.

She had a leadership role in her sorority and had been documenting her college life on a YouTube channel which now had hundreds of thousands of subscribers and made real money.

She had also put on a couple of events recently.

She had a lot going on in her life, and I respected that.

But I knew she was taking this acting role seriously and would ultimately be glad we had this experience once the time came for us to start filming.

We both knew it. Ty liked to give me a hard time, but she knew this trip would be productive for us. She had already admitted it.

"I'm taking this map. I'm going exploring," I said.

"Go. I'll get enough of that tomorrow," she said. "I'm taking care of calls and emails. And I'm showering before we go over there for dinner."

"All right. I'll probably be back at around six to wash up."