Long shadows stretched across the deck by the time Caleb and Michelle returned from their western-wear shopping trip. Under the expert eyes of Angie and Jessica, Pam practiced her runway walk in the beam of a studio lamp. Michelle dropped her boxes to the floor with a heavy thud. “I’m exhausted,” she complained. “I hate trying on clothes.”
“What all did you get?” asked Jessica.
“Oh, just some jeans, some snap-down plaid cowgirl shirts, and this awesome hat,” Michelle replied. She pulled the hat onto her head and whirled around for everyone to see.
Jessica grabbed a camera from their growing corporate stash and snapped a picture. “Well, let’s see it! We have the lighting set up. Go try it on and we’ll get some pictures!”
Michelle made a face and declined. “Have Pam model it,” she suggested. It will be good practice.
“That’s a great idea,” commented Angie.
“Better yet, have Jessie model it, and teach Pam how to run the video gear so I don’t have to do it anymore!”
Angie laughed, “Pam is a natural model, and you are a great photographer. Let’s not mess with the formula.”
Michelle grumbled something, and Caleb interjected, “Right now Michelle and I need to pack our gear for the trip. You girls have fun with the modeling.”
Michelle grinned widely and stuck her tongue out at Jessica, who returned the gesture.
Angie began sorting through Michelle’s new clothes and picked out a couple of outfits for Pam to model. “Go try these on and Jessie will film you walking down the runway.”
Caleb and Michelle disappeared into his camera closet to select equipment for the trip. Eventually, they emerged loaded down with two backpacks of gear and heavy duffel bags of clothing.
Angie was showing Jessica the model walk, and Caleb commented, “Looking good, Pam!”
Pam smiled, her eyes dancing with happiness. “Thank you Caleb. This is so much fun!”
Angie commented, “We’re going to turn Caleb into a model scout yet!”
Caleb laughed, “I think this was a one and done. Anyone want a glass of wine?”
Jessica chimed in, “I do!”
Angie added, “Yeah, I think we’ve accomplished enough for one day. And Michelle needs to pack her undercover outfits anyway.”
Caleb returned from the wine cellar with a bottle of California White Riesling, commenting, “I used to get this in a box really cheap out in San Jose.” He placed five wine glasses on the table and popped the cork. After filling each glass, he held his up and toasted, “To the future!”
Five glasses clinked together, and then Pam added her own toast: “To the best friends anyone could ask for.”
Jessie toasted, “To good friends.”
Caleb finished his drink and refilled the women’s glasses. He then commented, “I’m going to hit the sack. Michelle and I are taking off early in the morning.”
“Okay, Caleb. We probably won’t be up late tonight. We have a lot of work tomorrow, too.”
It was well after noon when the duo rolled into Steamboat Springs. “Can we stop for a burger or something at that cool old pub we went to in Old Town that one time?” asked Michelle.
“Sure, I like that place. Maybe we could even have a couple beers.”
“Sounds good,” replied Michelle. “Nothing like a cold beer on a hot day.”
As they strode in, Caleb asked, “Should we just sit at the bar?”
“Works for me.”
They each took a seat and were soon approached by the bartender. “Hi, I’m Dale. What can I get you today?”
“I think we’ll start out with a cold draft,” suggested Caleb.
“Do you have a dark German brew?” asked Michelle.
“We sure do,” replied Dale.
“Same for me,” added Caleb.
Caleb nudged Michelle and gestured toward a nearby table occupied by a small group of dirty-looking, heavily bearded men engaged in a heated conversation. “What are they saying?” he asked Michelle.
“They are talking about a wolf pack sighting. Apparently a new pack has been hanging around the Yampa lately. They seem really pissed off about it.”
“Keep listening, but don’t make it obvious.”
“Okay,” she replied. They are talking about the Libtards in Denver that voted for wolves... They want to go out and kill them.”
“Seriously? Are they just talking shit, or are they actually planning something?”
“I’m not sure, one of them is talking about his 270 with a scope.”
“Sounds like they are serious then.”
“Yeah... They are planning to meet at the Trout Creek confluence. Another guy has a 30.06. Says they are going to put an end to this shit. He says the dumb ass city people don’t understand the mountains. Says our forefathers knew what to do, when they exterminated wolves for good. Friday morning, they are meeting Friday morning.”
“Okay, lean back. I’m going to get a picture of them and forward it to John.”
“Did you get it?” she asked.
“I did... Let’s finish our beers and get out of here. I know a nice campground near Pinedale. You can hear the creek at night.”
“That sounds nice Caleb.”
We can be in Easton by noon tomorrow. John says he can meet us for lunch, before we start poking around for information.
By the time the pair rolled into the campground, the last vestiges of sunlight had disappeared below the horizon. Caleb found a level spot and parked the truck. “How about a few sips of our favorite camping beverage before we get some shut-eye?” Caleb asked.
“Ooohhh, I was hoping you brought the good stuff. Yes, let’s break some out and imbibe a bit!”
Tiny bottles of fine blended whiskey clinked together as Caleb unzipped his duffel bag. “I brought individual shot bottles this time. That way we won’t have to worry about an open bottle when we’re on the road tomorrow.”
“Good idea. Hey, let’s pull our sleeping bags out onto the ground so we can look up at the Milky Way.”
“I haven’t seen stars like this in a while,” commented Caleb.
“I know right? Probably the last time we were camping.”
We have a pretty good view from Franktown, but not like this.”
“True... I believe this would be considered certified dark sky, if anyone ever came out here to certify it.”
Caleb chuckled. “This would probably be classified as ,certified BFE, if there was such a thing.”
“What’s BFE?”
“It’s a military thing. You can look it up online,” Caleb said with a chuckle.
“Well, be that way then,” she retorted as she scooched close to Caleb. “I need to borrow some of your body heat.”
“It is damn cold out here at night, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I don’t think Gardiner was even this cold in the summer.”
“Maybe we are higher here.”
“Yeah, maybe. Do you think we will really find anything out tomorrow?”
“I don’t know, but I imagine they will still be bragging about it. These rednecks really think they are smart when they get a chance to hurt the wildlife-people.”
“Wow! I could fall asleep right here under the stars,” commented Michelle.
“Me too,” replied Caleb as he leaned back against his pack.
The creek gurgled past on its endless journey eastward, as a cold mist spilled over its banks. Caleb wrapped his arms around Michelle and pulled her in close, her breath turning to vapor in the icy mountain air.
Sunrise found them in the same position, as both stirred to consciousness. “I can’t feel my legs,” commented Caleb.
“My feet feel like blocks of ice,” she replied.
“Let’s get up and move around.”
Both campers struggled to their feet and stomped the cold off their limbs. “Damn, let’s get the heat going,” Michelle said, shivering.
“Let’s just throw our stuff in the back and hit the road.”
“Good plan.”
Caleb and Michelle rolled into Easton later that afternoon.
“Should we go straight to the bar, or should we find a place to stay?” asked Michelle.
“Let’s get a place first. We need to get our cowboy tourist outfits on, and I need to shave my beard and moustache. Plus John won’t be there until tonight anyway.”
“Oh, right. I forgot about that.”
Later that evening, outfitted in their new western getups, Caleb and Michelle were ready for the saloon. “Is it okay if we walk?” Caleb asked. “I don’t want them to see what we are driving.”
“Sure, but I feel silly in this outfit,” commented Michelle.”
“Me too,” agreed Caleb. But I don’t think they will recognize me. That’s the important part.”
After a short walk to the saloon, the pair sauntered inside. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, Caleb was able to recognize John sitting at the bar.
Michelle signed, “Damn, we should have warned him about our outfits.”
John burst into laughter when Caleb sat down beside him.
“Hey, don’t knock it. We are undercover,” Caleb said with a chuckle.
“Well, I think it’s going to work. You look like a tourist straight in from the rodeo in Cheyenne.”
“Have you found out anything?” asked Caleb.
“See that table back in the corner?”
“Yup…”
“The more the drink the louder they get. They were all involved in destroying the camp, from what I can tell.”
“Got any names?”
John punched a few names into his phone and sent them to Caleb.
“Cool,” commented Caleb. “Did you get my message about Friday?”
“I did.”
“What are we going to do about it?”
“We aren’t going to do anything. Ghost is going to handle it.”
Michelle replied, “Oh, I really wanted to get those guys on film.”
“Ghost is the best there is,” John said.
“What is he going to do?” asked Michelle.
“He does what he does. That’s all you need to know.”
Michelle cast John a long sideways glance before finally turning away to take a gulp of her beer.
Caleb never looked up. He knew exactly what Ghost and his team were capable of.
John paid his tab and slipped away without another word.
“Where ya’ll from?” asked the bartender.”
“We’re from Cheyenne, on our way out to see Yellowstone,” Caleb replied.
The bartender leaned over the counter, wiping it down with a rag. “You know that guy?”
“Nope, never seen him before.”
“You seemed pretty friendly.”
“We thought he might be a local… We were just asking if he knew of anything to do locally.”
“Well, what did you find out?”
“Nothing. He’s just a war veteran passing through on his way out to California.”
The bartender looked skeptical but eventually walked away after a long unnerving stare.
Eventually, the group of cowboys in the corner got up to leave, and Caleb asked for the bill. He turned to Michelle and whispered, “Act like you are going to use the restroom and see if you can see what they are driving.”
“Okay.”
Caleb paid the bill and met her at the front door.
“The ring leader,” she said, pointing. “I think he’s passed out in that pickup truck. He got in, leaned his head back, and hasn’t moved since.”
Caleb scanned the area for security cameras and pocketed a nail from the ground. “Walk in front of the truck and keep going. If he’s awake, he’ll have his eyes on you.”
Once sure the man was out cold, he found a good-sized rock and drove the spike into the inside sidewall of the tire before catching up to his friend.
“What did you do?” Michelle asked.
“I put a nail through his sidewall and let the air out of his spare. His tire won’t go flat for a while. If we’re lucky, he’ll be so far out in the country he won’t even have a cell signal.”
Michelle chuckled and sent Caleb a text. “I typed in a few license plates. We should be able to get names for our article.
“Good job!”
Episode Eleven <««« »»»> Episode Thirteen
