Rena's Cowboy Read online

  Adela nodded. “I can’t imagine anyone else wearing those kinds of clothes.”

  “Yeah, I’m here to tell you, she’s one of those gals the church ladies call soiled doves.” Silas laughed again. “If she wakes up, I sure would like to do a little soiling myself.”

  Jake didn’t say anything, but in his heart, he knew they were wrong. He didn’t know who this woman was or where she came from, but he’d stake his life on the fact that she wasn’t from some saloon, even if the evidence led one to believe otherwise.

  Chapter 2

  Rena opened her eyes and looked around the small room. A huge wardrobe sat on one wall. The dresser, with a white pitcher on top, was in the corner. Beside the bed stood a small table with an oil lamp. On the other side of the bed was a rocking chair.

  Rena frowned and tried to rise up, but a pain shot through her head and she dropped back. The bed felt funny and she ran her hand over the mattress. It was stuffed with a straw-like material.

  “Where the hell am I?” Her voice sounded dry and rough to her own ears

  The last thing she remembered was looking around and finding that everyone in the cave was gone. She’d been alone in the big room with all the tunnels and passageways that led from it. She remembered panicking and forcing herself to take several deep breaths and head out the way she was sure the tour had taken.

  She hadn’t gone far when she knew she’d miscalculated. She reversed her direction and headed down another tunnel. She went for what seemed to her a long time and didn’t find the way out. She was soon surrounded by total darkness. Though terrified, she backtracked, or thought she had, but again she was in the wrong cavern. Once more she turned around and headed down a wider opening which seemed to have more light. Her arm caught on something and she felt her bracelet fall. She couldn’t find it and gave up trying.

  She went forward, but came up against a tight-fitting area, much like the rocks where the guide had them go single file. She rested a moment against the wall and heard a slight rumble. Thinking it might be thunder, she rushed forward and again made a miscalculation. She stepped into a void and couldn’t regain her footing. She plummeted over a ledge into nothingness, rocks and dirt falling behind her.

  But someone must have found me because I’m no longer in that damn cave. She looked around again. This place is old and outdated. Could it be some hunting cabin or something?

  Forcing herself to sit up, she turned toward the only window in the room. A man with a dark beard and long handlebar mustache looked back at her through the opening.

  Rena screamed.

  The door flew open. A pretty woman with raven hair parted in the middle and pulled back in a bun on the back of her head came into the room. She was dressed in an old western costume. “Are you all right?”

  Rena couldn’t help noticing the woman looked frightened. Rena shook her head and pointed to the window.

  A man came bursting into the room and yelled in a deep voice. “What happened?”

  Rena looked at him. He was over six feet tall and wore tight denims, a beige collarless shirt and a vest. She couldn’t help thinking, Now, that’s the way a cowboy should look. He’s like those heroes in the books I read, but he’s in the here and now. I must be in a western theater or something. He’s probably working here until some big part comes along in television or the movies. He’s sure handsome enough.

  “She screamed,” the woman explained.

  Rena found her voice. “There was a man looking in the window.”

  The cowboy moved to the window and looked out. “It’s Finn. You probably scared him more than he did you.” He turned to face her. He showed no friendliness. “He’s halfway to the barn by now. Don’t worry. He’s harmless”

  Before Rena could say anything, the woman asked, “How’re you feeling?”

  “I’m okay. How did I get here?”

  “Swift Eagle brought you.”

  Rena forgot about the handsome cowboy and stared at the woman. “Swift Eagle? Who in the world is he?”

  “Maybe we should take it from the beginning,” the good looking man said, but he still didn’t sound friendly. “I’m Jake Haywood and this is my sister-in-law, Adela. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Rena Dumont.” She looked into his dark eyes and her heart flipped a little. She ignored it. “I still want to know how I got here.”

  There was the sound of loud boots outside the door. Another good looking cowboy came in. He was dressed much like the first one and was even more unfriendly. “So she woke up.”

  “Just a minute ago. Finn was at the window and scared her,” Adela explained. “Her name’s Rena.”

  “Well, Rena,” the man grinned at her, but it wasn’t a pleasant grin. “I want to know what saloon you work in. I never had a little one like you and I want to be the first in town to give you my business.”

  “Shut up, Silas,” Jake said. “We need to get to the bottom of this.”

  “That’s not the bottom I’m interested in.”

  Hurt crossed Adela’s eyes, but she turned to Rena. “Would you like some coffee or something?”

  “A Coke would be nice.”

  Jake frowned and Silas asked, “What the hell’s a Coke?”

  It was Rena’s turn to frown. “You don’t know what a Coca-Cola is?”

  “Never heard of it.” Silas looked at the other two. “Have you?”

  Both Jake and Adela shook their heads.

  “Oh, I see. You have to stay in character.” She looked at Adela. “How about lemonade or tea?”

  “I don’t have any lemons, but I think I have some tea.”

  “Thanks.”

  As Adela left the room, her long blue skirt swayed. Rena wondered how she could stand the outfit in this heat.

  “Rena,” Jake got her attention. “Where did you come from?”

  She frowned. “What do you mean? Where I was today or where I live or what?”

  “Start with the town you live in.” Silas glared at her.

  “If you must know, I live in Atlanta, Georgia. My friends and I are vacationing in the west.”

  “Then what the hell are you doing on our ranch?” Silas demanded.

  She met his fierce glare. She didn’t expect him to cater to her, but she wasn’t going to accept his rude behavior either. “Maybe you brought me here by force because I sure don’t think I came by choice.”

  Silas started to answer, but Jake interrupted. “Then tell me the last thing you remember.”

  “Other than waking up and finding a strange little man staring at me through the window?”

  “Yes.”

  “I was touring a cave with two girlfriends. I don’t like caves, but went with them.” She put her hand to her pounding head. “I got lost and I fell. I don’t remember anything else until I woke up here.”

  “Gray Feather said she came from a cave.” Jake looked at Silas.

  “How did you get to this cave?” Silas asked.

  “How do you think we got there? We drove.” She frowned at him. Were these people nuts?

  “Then where’s your wagon?” He stared at her.

  “I don’t have a wagon.” She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

  Jake raised an eyebrow. “If you didn’t have a wagon, did you ride a horse?

  “Of course not.”

  “Then how the hell did you get there?” Jake seemed to be getting exasperated.

  “I drove a car just like every civilized person does.”

  “How the hell could you drive a car? They’re all hooked together.” A flustered looking Silas butted in.

  “Hooked together?” It was Rena’s turn to get angry. “Are you crazy? Cars aren’t hooked together.”

  “The hell you say. I rode a train once and they’re all hooked up.”

  “I don’t think she’s talking about train cars, Silas.” Jake shot his brother a hard look, then turned back to Rena. “Let’s go to the kitchen and see if we can figure this out.”
r />   “I’d like to go to the bathroom first. Where is it?” Rena stood, but her head began to swim and she had to sit on the bed.

  “Are you all right?” Jake asked.

  “I think I got up too fast. My head will stop spinning in a minute.”

  “I like seeing her in her underwear, but I think she ought to put some clothes on to go to the kitchen, Jake.” Silas looked at her. “Adela’s in there and Finn might come back in.”

  She glared at him. “What do you mean put clothes on? I have clothes on.”

  “What you’ve got on isn’t decent.” Silas glared at her with cold dark eyes.

  “Well, it’s all I’ve got and I don’t care whether you like it or not, you’ll just have to deal with it.” She turned toward Jake. “Is he always this rude?”

  “Most of the time.” Jake’s eyes were just as dark, but she thought she saw a glimmer of amusement in them.

  “To hell with you.” Silas stalked out of the room.

  “What is his problem?”

  “He’ll be fine.” Jake looked at her. His eyes still weren’t friendly, but he did ask, “Do you need a hand to walk?”

  “I think I’m okay.” She stood without much trouble.

  He nodded and started for the door, leaving her to walk behind him.

  * * * *

  Adela was at the stove when they got to the kitchen. “The water will boil in a minute and I’ll finish the tea.”

  “Thank you.” Rena smiled at her. “Where’s the bathroom?”

  “What the hell is a bathroom?” Jake frowned at her.

  Before she could answer, Adela said, “We have a tub we fill and use when it’s too cold to use the creek, but we don’t bathe in any special room.”

  “Where do you go when nature calls?” Rena tried not to let the irritation she felt show in her voice.

  “Do you mean the privy?” Jake asked.

  “Boy, you’re determined to stay in character, aren’t you?”

  He frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Of course not.” She shook her head and looked at Adela. “Would you tell me where the bathroom is?”

  “If you mean the outhouse, I’ll show you.” Adela went toward the back door.

  Rena couldn’t believe it when Adela led her to a small outhouse about four hundred yards from the cabin. Because nature was pushing her, Rena didn’t say anything, but she knew she’d demand an explanation later. It was stupid to stay in some western character unless a show was happening.

  When Rena came out she looked around. The house was made of logs and sat in what looked like the middle of a desert. To the left of the house was a vegetable garden. Off to the right was a corral beside a barn. There were three horses within the fence. A little farther from the other side of the barn was a smaller building which she figured was where they kept their props, certain this was a place to entertain tourist with old west shows. The two things she didn’t see were bleachers and a parking lot. She wondered where the people left their cars. The lack of spectators made it obvious the show wasn’t happening any time soon.

  Back at the house Adela gave her a pan of water to wash her hands. “There’s some ham left from supper. Are you hungry?”

  Rena noticed the fear in the woman’s voice and wondered if Adela was afraid of her. She decided to be as pleasant as possible. “I am hungry.”

  Adela fixed a plate of ham, squash, beans and a biscuit, and set it on the table.

  Rena turned to Jake. “Now, please tell me where I am.”

  “You’re on the Flying H ranch. My brother and I own it.”

  She frowned and wished he wouldn’t look so hard at her with those dark mysterious eyes. “Is this ranch some kind of tourist attraction?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know what you mean, but it’s a simple ranch. We have cattle, horses and a few other animals. Adela has some chickens, a garden and a milk cow.”

  Rena shrugged. “Then you stay on your ranch, but let me use the telephone. I need to call my friends to pick me up.”

  “I don’t know what a telephone is, but there’s a telegraph office in Yellow Creek. Is that what you mean?”

  That gave Rena a start. Didn’t Cassie say something about a ghost town called Yellow Creek? Surely not. Or maybe he was still in character and this place was an addition to the ghost town. She shook her head. “Somebody around here must have a telephone. I had a cell in my backpack, but I guess I lost that in the cave. Don’t you keep yours handy?”

  Silas came back into the room, slamming the back door as he entered. “I see she did wear her underwear to the kitchen.” He glared at her. “Woman, have you no shame? I’d never let Adela…”

  “What is your problem?” Rena glared back at him. “I have on pants and a shirt. What more do you want me to wear in this kind of weather? An old western costume like Adela? I bet she changes as soon as she goes home. It’d take a crazy person to wear all those clothes this time of year.”

  The three of them stared at her without speaking.

  Finally she said, “Will one of you say something. I feel like I’ve fallen back in time.”

  “Maybe you did.” Jake’s eyes bored into hers, but his voice was quiet.

  She looked stunned. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Tell me something, Rena. What’s the date?”

  “Don’t you know?”

  “I want to know if you and I know the same date.” Jake eyes still penetrated hers.

  “That doesn’t make any sense.” When he kept looking at her she said, “It’s June twenty-fifth.”

  “She’s only off a couple of days,” Adela said.

  “It’s actually June twenty-seventh, but I want to know the year. What year is it, Rena?”

  “Do I have to play this stupid game?”

  “You’re damn right you do. What year do you think it is?” Jake demanded.

  “I don’t think. I know. It’s 2011 of course.”

  Adela had handed Silas a cup of coffee and he stopped with it halfway to his mouth. “That’s the craziest damn thing I’ve ever heard. Ain’t no way she came from 2011.”

  Jake found his voice and almost whispered. “Rena, it’s 1876.”

  She stared at him. “Are you insane?”

  “No, I’m not insane, but according to an Indian Medicine man there has been some terrible freak accident. You somehow fell back through time and you’re in Arizona Territory in the year 1876.”

  “That’s the craziest damn thing I’ve ever heard,” she repeated what Silas had said.

  “Do you think we want to believe you fell into our world? We’re simple ranchers. We’re not equipped to deal with a woman from the future.”

  “I’m not from the future. It’s 2011. It has to be.”

  Adela looked scared and Jake continued to study her.

  Silas recovered from his shock. “If it’s 2011, tell us if Arizona territory ever becomes one of the states in this country of ours.”

  “Arizona became the forty-eighth state in February, 1912. New Mexico beat it into statehood by one month. It became a state in January.” Rena was proud of the fact that history was one of her hobbies. She watched the History channel and it had had a special on the formation of the United States only a few weeks ago. She was glad she remembered that Arizona and New Mexico were the last two in the lower forty-eight.

  Not to be outdone, Silas asked, “How about Colorado. I bet they didn’t beat Arizona.”

  “Oh yes. Colorado became a state in the eighteen seventies. I can’t remember the exact date. Why are you asking me all these history questions? If you didn’t learn them in school why don’t you look them up?”

  “How?” Silas’ voice grew louder with each question.

  “I’d use a computer, but maybe you should try a book.” Her voice was agitated.

  “What in hell is a computer?”

  Rena looked around at their faces. Were they crazy or was she? Maybe she was dreaming. Sometimes a h
it on the head make people have crazy dreams.

  Instinct told her that maybe there had been some freak accident and she’d somehow slipped into the old west. She shook her head. That was impossible. She had to be dreaming. There was no way to travel to a time which had long passed. If they’d lived in 1876, these people should all be dead, but they weren’t. Therefore there had to be some logical reason why they were acting this way. On the other hand, if they were right…

  Her heart lurched and she began to tremble. “It can’t be!” Their faces didn’t change and she dropped her fork. She put her hands on her aching head. “I don’t know why you’re telling me these lies, but it can’t be 1876. There’s no way. It’s 2011. I’m on vacation with my two girlfriends and we were touring a cave. I got separated from the group and there was a cave in. I fell and hurt my head and I’m having a nightmare.” Her voice quivered.

  “Rena, try to stay calm,” Jake said. “We’re as confused as you are. The last thing we expected was to find some strange woman in our house wearing those strange clothes and using words we don’t understand.”

  “Maybe the bank sent her so we’d be so caught up seeing her in her skimpy clothes that we’d never raise the money to pay the mortgage,” Silas suggested.

  “I don’t think so, Silas.” Jake turned back to Rena. “Tell us about yourself, Rena.” When she raised her head and only stared at him, he went on. “Where you were born and when. That sort of thing.”

  These people didn’t have a right to question her. She was the one who’d been lost in the cave. Who did they think they were, trying to make her think she was crazy? She glared at Jake’s eyes, but they told her nothing. They were still looking at her as if she was some museum exhibit. She started to tell them all to go to hell, but thought better of it. After all, they were her only chance to get back to her friends.

  She took a deep breath. “I was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1985. I moved to Chapel Hill in 2000 where I attended University of North Carolina. I have a degree in criminal justice. After graduation I went to the police academy. I’ve been on the police force in Atlanta for four years.”

  “I never heard as much malarkey from a drunk cowboy. She can’t be these things. Ain’t no way.” Silas set his cup down so hard it was a wonder it didn’t break.