An Allegheny Homecoming

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JOSH HUNTER FINISHED securing the fence that had been pressed to the ground by a fallen tree. The cattle had already been moved into the lower pastures for the winter, but there could be a few strays still wandering the high mountains of the northern Montana ranch. It was hard, but satisfying work. Although he still wasn’t sure they actually needed a ranch hand here, or if his friend Matt hadn’t convinced his uncle to find a job for Josh.

Four months out of the military and Josh still didn’t know what he was doing next. But no matter. He had saved every penny of his army paycheck, so had enough money to get by for quite a while.

Giving a final pull to the fencing tool, he leaned back onto his heels and looked out over the plains. The mountains beyond were already covered with snow. He wondered if Bear Meadows had seen snow yet.

The last time he had gone home, over three years ago, his mother had made halupkis. Even now, thoughts of a roasting pan filled with the rolls of cabbage stuffed with hamburger and rice made his mouth water. She had cooked Easter dinner, like she always did. He thought everything had been fine. With his parents, that was.

But in his mind, every person he saw on the street seemed to know what he had done, albeit that was impossible. So he’d returned to base as soon as he could. Of course his guilty conscience probably had a lot to do with his paranoia.

A twig snapped, pulling him out of his daydreaming. Still crouched by the fence, he half turned and caught a glimpse of tawny eyes peering at him from behind a fir tree.

Josh’s breathing stilled. Pennsylvania born and raised, he had never been to Montana before. He knew all the critters in the eastern woods, but Montana was a different story. He reached for his rifle, then remembered he had left it in the truck, certain the wire fence would be a quick fix.

His knee dropped to the ground, the better to support the shift of his upper body. A big cat. A mountain lion. Rarely seen back east, but still plentiful in the west. The animal was beautiful. Long, sinewy body. A muted solid gold. The long tail brushed the ground.

“I’m just passing through, buddy.” Josh’s voice was low.

One tawny ear twitched. He couldn’t seem to look away from the unblinking amber eyes.

“Take it easy, fella.” Josh kept his breathing shallow, afraid of startling the animal. Being mauled by a mountain lion wouldn’t be the worst way to go. His last vision would be of the endless Montana sky. Yes, it could be worse. “You’re a beautiful animal. What do you want with me?”

The sound of hoofbeats reached his ears. The cat’s ears pricked. Josh’s gaze shifted right. When he looked back, the cat was gone.

“How you makin’ out, buddy?” Matt MacDougal trotted up on the other side of the fence and reined in his horse. A compact man, he looked right at home on the big ranch horse. He lifted off his cowboy hat and ran a hand over short-cropped red hair.

Josh stood. His right knee cracked. “I just saw a mountain lion.”

“No kidding? You have your rifle with you?”

“It’s in the truck.”

“Good place for it. You know a horse would’ve been able to carry you down that rocky slope, so you’d have your rifle handy. And Blue’s in the barn getting fat. He could use some exercise.”

“I told you the first day of boot camp I prefer my horses under the hood. Just because you can ride anything on four legs doesn’t mean the rest of us can.”

“If you say so, but the day is gonna come when the only way you can get somewhere is on one of these fellas. It’s not that hard. You just sit here and let the horse do all the work.” He ran a hand down the crown of the thick mane.

“You make it sound easy.”

“Riding is easy.” Matt grunted. “Aunt Steff wants you to come over to the main house for lasagna. She said tell him no arguments.”

His stomach grumbled. He had been eating food out of a can for weeks. “I’ll be there in a bit.”

“That’s what you said yesterday. You missed Sunday roast. You’re gonna lose your social skills if you stay up here in this cabin much longer.”

“What social skills?” Josh grinned and stared past his friend into the valley below. He could just make out the roof of the large barn.

“Got a point there, brother.” He leaned on the saddle horn and looked up at the screech of a hawk. His sweat-stained Stetson dangled from his fingers. “You know, we should cut the rest of these dead trees before they fall.”

Josh rubbed his right knee, which only bothered him when he put weight on it for extended periods of time. “I can do it.”

“Why don’t you wait until I can give you a hand? It’s a two-man job.” Matt fiddled with a rope hanging from the saddle horn. “You okay up here by yourself? You know, we have room at the house. Because there’s no signal up here. If you need a hand...”

“Thanks, but I love it here in the mountains.” Josh filled his lungs with a deep breath of the cool, crisp air and released it before answering. He gave his friend a confident stare. “I’ll be fine.”

“Well, you ever need to talk you know where to find me.”

Josh met his gaze and nodded before glancing away. “Thanks.” If he talked to anyone it would be to Matt, a man he trusted with his life. But Josh had managed to stay quiet for eight years; no sense dragging up the past at this late date.

Matt slapped his hat back on and tilted his head. “You know, you’re starting to look like a crazy mountain man. You ever gonna shave? I can hardly recognize you.” Matt’s grin dissipated the tension in the air.

Josh propped an elbow on a fence post and ran a hand over the dark, bushy beard. Four months with no rules and regulations to follow with regard to shaving. For the first time in eight years, his hair touched his collar. “Maybe I don’t want to be recognized.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. You had some mail at the house.” Matt pulled an envelope from inside the heavy duster and waved it in the air. “You keepin’ secrets from me, bro? You got a girlfriend back home?”

“Nope.” A shiver ran down his spine at Matt’s timely question. He wished his secrets were as innocent as a girl back home. Taking the piece of mail from Matt’s outstretched hand, he stuck the envelope in the back pocket of his jeans, wondering who he knew who would write a letter in this day of texts and emails. “Thanks.”

“So we’ll see you for dinner?” Matt leaned forward on the saddle horn and waited.

Josh had promised twice already this month to come for dinner and had apologized by saying he had fallen asleep. He nodded. “I’ll be there.”

“Sounds good.” Matt pulled on the reins, and his horse whirled around on his hind legs. The clatter of the hooves on the rocky hillside faded into the distance.

Josh clambered up the bank to the old ranch truck, a forty-year-old mechanical miracle. A sturdy wooden bed had replaced the original, which had probably rusted away years ago. His own truck was parked in the garage at the main house. After years of owning a vehicle for a year at the most, selling and then moving on, he had purchased a new dark green truck with an extended cab to store his things, and a short bed for anything else he might have to carry.

The job here at the MacDougal Ranch, as much as he appreciated working in the outdoors, was temporary. He just hadn’t decided on his next step.

He looked around. The big cat had disappeared. He maneuvered the truck up the hill, washed in the stream, changed his shirt and jeans for the only clean pair he had and settled down by the empty fireplace to read his mail.

He ripped open the envelope. A news clipping and a piece of pink notepaper fell out. The pink paper was decorated with a picture of scissors, the Hair Today logo and Megan Martin’s name.

Hi Josh, I thought you would want to see this. Text or call if you want to talk. Megan.

Josh smiled, thinking of the woman with the curly ponytail who could argue sports statistics with him all day. Neither had a romantic interest in the other, but when they had worked together backstage on the senior class play, they had discovered a common interest in sports of all kinds. He unfolded the newspaper clipping. A group of people stood in front of a business. Why would Megan think he cared about this?

He brought the paper closer and peered at the faces. He still didn’t recognize anyone. He had been gone from home too long. He read the caption: Local Businesses Plan Holiday Party. Holly McAndrews, proprietor of The Wildflower. Now he remembered. She had been a few years ahead of him in school. Three years in a row she and her bay quarter horse had won the barrel racing contest at the county fair. He grinned at the sight of the pregnant belly. Didn’t look like she was doing any barrel racing these days.

Next to Holly was Megan. And next to Megan...he did a double take, before reading the caption beneath. Suzanna Campbell, proprietor of The Cookie Jar. He almost didn’t recognize his own mother. Her formerly bright yellow hair was more of a platinum blond, and she must have lost at least forty pounds. And she was using her maiden name. What was going on?

He took a deep breath and stared into the ashes of the old stone fireplace. He had stayed away, focusing on his own demons. Eight years as a medic, patching up his fellow soldiers, had done little to assuage his guilt about what had happened in Bear Meadows. He’d even finally gotten out of the military, hoping to find the answers elsewhere.

But the picture indicated something else was wrong. Was his mother sick? The weight loss... The white hair...

He was only half joking when he told Matt he didn’t want to be recognized. He had no desire to return to Bear Meadows, especially after his last visit. He had burned that bridge. What he wanted was to be left alone to sort out his thoughts. How did the last eight years figure into the direction of the rest of his life? How would he move on from the incident that kept him away from his hometown?

But something had happened at home. Maybe he wasn’t the only one having trouble figuring out what to do next. His parents had been married twenty-five years. Didn’t they know by now?