Montana Summer Ch. 13

This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any real person is just a fluke. All characters are eighteen years and older.

Becky couldn't take it anymore, it felt like the world was closing in around her and she had to get away. The feeling of everyone's eyes boring through her was overwhelming. Escape! That's what she needed. She jumped from her chair and ran into the cabin, sobbing as she went. Suzanne looked at Jessi and motioned for her to follow her friend.

Jessi could see Ryan standing with his mouth gaping open. She was torn between wanting to go to him or following Becky into the cabin. In the end, she knew she had to go to Becky. She motioned for Ryan to move away from the campfire. None of the other women had spotted him yet. She whispered, "I'll look for you later."

Ryan was confused and not sure what to do. He had a hard time believing what he had just heard. Becky had told her mother that she was pregnant and that he was the father! Why? Why had she named him?

Perplexed, Ryan decided that the best thing for him to do right now was to head over to where the rest of the men were still looking over Rob's new camper, and avoid his aunt and Becky's mother.

Suzanne didn't know what to say to Janice. Somehow, she felt partially responsible for Becky becoming pregnant. There was an uncomfortable silence around the campfire now. The jovial mood had vanished and had given way to a nervous silence. Each of the women wanted to say something, but none of them could come up with the words they thought appropriate to break the icy hush

Janice's head hung down. It was the news she feared—her daughter was pregnant! It was the situation that she had dreaded almost since Becky was born. Over and over, she had promised herself that she would make sure that her daughter wouldn't make the same mistake that she had almost nineteen years ago. It had come as a bit of a shock when Becky had named Ryan as the father.

Jessi found Becky lying on the bed with her head buried in a pillow. Although Jessi couldn't hear her, she could tell from the way Becky's body was shaking that she was crying.

The anger that Jessi had felt on her way into the cabin evaporated. She sat down on the bed and put her hand on Becky's shoulder. Becky turned over on the bed and looked at Jessi with a look of desperation.

"Oh, Jessi, I'm so sorry." Becky sat up and looked down at the floor. "I didn't know what else to do."

"Why did you say it was Ryan?" Jessi needed to know the answer.

Becky shook her head. "I don't know..." She looked up at Jessi. "I felt trapped. My mind went blank. I didn't know what to do and I couldn't think of anything to say to Mom. Then I looked up and saw Ryan walking out of the shadows, and then I just blurted out his name. Oh, God, Jessi, I don't know what I'm going to do now."

Jessi put her arms around her friend. "I don't know either, Becky." She was being honest. "You just stay here and try to relax. I need to go talk to Ryan for a few minutes." Jessi had no idea what to do. She knew she had to see Ryan as soon as possible to let him know that she was trying to straighten the mess up.

Ryan walked around Rob's camper. The men were sitting inside talking. He decided against joining them. He needed time to think. He was still in a state of shock. The stars twinkled brightly overheard and Ryan searched for an answer in the sky. He felt a surge of elation when he heard Jessi call his name.

Jessi put her arms around Ryan and she held him in a tight grip. "I talked to Becky, she's a wreck!"

"She's a wreck? What about me?" Ryan replied with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"I know," Jessi replied in a sympathetic voice.

"Why did she say it was me?"

"She says that she couldn't think of anything to say, and then she saw you. Your name was the only one she could think of. There was no way that she could tell her mom that her own brother is the father of the baby." Jessi explained as best she could.

Ryan had been upset but Jessi's explanation calmed him down. "Yeah, I know what you mean. What about your mom? I imagine that she must think I'm the jack-ass of the year."

"Don't worry about mom. I'll talk to her and let her know that you aren't the father." Jessi did her best to reassure Ryan.

"Thanks." Ryan felt somewhat relieved.

"There is one thing I want to ask of you, and please don't say no." Jessi hoped Ryan would agree.

"What's that?" Ryan looked into Jessi's eyes.

"If you see Becky's mom, don't deny it, yet. I don't think she has told Becky's dad yet that Becky thinks she is pregnant. I need to get to her before she tells her husband." Jessi's mind raced.

The sound of the rest of the women saying goodnight interrupted Jessi and Ryan. Jessi kissed Ryan quickly on the lips. "Head over to your tent and go to bed. I have to talk to Becky's mom and then my mom."

Ryan hugged Jessi and then circled around to his tent. He wasn't sure what Jessi could do, but whatever it was, he hoped she could clear up the mess that Becky had started. He stopped, turned, and looked at Jessi. "Please tell Becky that I'm not mad at her."

"I'll tell her." She was glad Ryan had told her that. "Goodnight, my cowboy." She whispered as she watched him head over to his tent.

Jessi stepped out of the shadows and blocked Janice's path towards the camper. Janice looked at Jessi and her eyes glistened with tears in the moonlight. "Yes, Jessica? Is there something I can do for you?"

There was no doubt in Jessi's mind that Becky's mom was upset. The only time she called Jessi or Becky by their given names was when she was angry or displeased.

"I need to talk to you for a minute. It's about Becky?" Jessi hoped Janice would listen to her.

Janice didn't say anything, she stood there and waited for Jessi to speak.

"Becky thinks she is pregnant, but she doesn't know for sure." Jessi began. She was glad that Janice wasn't making a move to get past her. "I took Becky to the family planning center at the university just before we came back here. They said they will have the results in a few days. Probably about the time we get back to school."

Janice felt a small measure of relief. There was still a small chance that her daughter wasn't pregnant. "You have to promise me that you will call me and tell me what the results are."

"I will, I promise." Jessi nodded. "As soon as I know something I will let you know."

Janice squeezed Jessi's hand. "Thank you, Jessica, I appreciate that."

"There's one more thing." Jessi almost hesitated. At first she wasn't going to say anything more but, she felt that she had to. "I think I know who the possible father is, and I know that it is not Ryan."

"Well, who is it then?" Janice demanded. "Why did Rebecca say it was Ryan?"

"She was scared. She didn't know what to say and then she saw Ryan walking towards the campfire and his name was the only one she could come up with." Jessi explained.

"Then tell me who it is," Janice demanded once more.

Jessi shook her head. "I can't tell you. It is something Becky will have to tell you..." Jessi paused for a moment. "If the test comes back positive."

"Okay, I'm going to wait until you tell me what the results of the test are before I say anything to my husband."

"Thanks, I appreciate that." Jessi had accomplished what she had set out to do.

Janice managed a weak smile. "Thanks for talking to me. Becky is lucky to have a friend like you, and Jessi, please tell her that I love her and that I'm not angry with her."

"I will." Jessi nodded and then headed off to the cabin. There was still her mother to deal with. At first she was going to tell her mother about Stan but, at the last minute she decided against it. There was no point in taking any chances without Becky's permission.

It was quiet in the cabin when she walked in. Jessi checked the cabin's bedroom but there was no sign of her mother. She climbed the stairs to the loft and found her mother holding Becky in her arms.

Suzanne looked at her daughter and she had tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "It's okay. Becky has told me everything." She directed her attention back to Becky. "You get into bed, Jessi will be back up. I want to talk to her for a few minutes."

Becky nodded and began to get ready for bed while Jessi and Suzanne went back downstairs. She had felt a sense of relief when she told Suzanne the truth. Somewhere she had read, the truth will set you free, and she knew what it really meant now. She had held nothing back. Suzanne was like a second mother to her, there wasn't a time in her life that she could remember when Suzanne hadn't been a part of it. Becky could always trust that Suzanne wouldn't try to judge her but, just listen to her with patience.

"How long have you known?" Suzanne looked straight into her daughter's eyes.

"She told me just before we went to Missoula," Jessi answered. "Did she tell you that I made her go to the family planning clinic at the university?"

Suzanne shook her head. "No, she didn't tell me that."

Jessi nodded. "I made her have a pregnancy test done there. They said it would be a few days before they had the results. We should hear from them when we get back to Missoula."

Suzanne ran her fingers through her hair. "What a mess. Now Janice thinks Ryan is the father of Becky's child."

"No, she doesn't," Jessi stated. "I talked to her just before I came in here."

"You didn't tell her that..." Suzanne gripped Jessi's arm and there was a note of concern in her voice.

"Oh, God, no!" Jessi exclaimed. "I just told her that Ryan wasn't the father and that Becky would have to tell her, if she is pregnant."

Suzanne sighed. "You go to bed. We can talk more about this in the morning. They say things look better in the light of the morning. I somehow doubt this will look any better no matter what light we cast on it."

Jessi nodded in agreement and gave her mother a hug.

"I've really made a mess out of things this time. Haven't I?" Becky's voice betrayed that she was still crying.

"No, I've talked to Ryan and your mom." Jessi whispered as she slipped into bed. "They both said to tell you that they love you. Your mom knows that it's not Ryan but that's all I told her."

"Thanks," Becky whispered back.

Jessi put her arm around her friend's shoulder and then closed her eyes.

---

Bill woke up. The sky was still grey-blue. He fought the urge to go to the bathroom. In a vain effort, he tried to close his eyes and fall back to sleep, but the need was too strong. There was a definite chill in the cabin and he didn't want to crawl from the warm comfort of his bed. His body's needs told him otherwise.

"Dammit, growing old is hell," he muttered as he pulled his boots on and then slipped his jacket over his pajamas.

There was an autumn mist in air this morning that made everything look soft and blurred. Bill looked over at Ryan's tent. "Boy, if you want to live up here, you're welcome to it. I'm too damned old to have to trot out here in the cold just to take a leak."

Bill rounded the corner of the cabin and the urge to urinate vanished. He froze where he stood, not believing what his eyes were seeing. He thought the pounding of his heart was sure to wake everyone up. At the edge of the clearing, not more than fifty yards away, he saw five riders, naked from the waist up, riding in single file. Their long braids hung down past their shoulders.

When the riders stopped, Bill held his breath. The rider in the lead turned and, for what seemed an eternity to Bill, their eyes locked. There was a feeling of power and strength in those eyes and there was a burning pride in them as well. The expression on the man's face never changed as he looked directly at Bill. He was never sure if they disappeared into the mist or into the trees.

There was no way that Bill could sleep now, so when he went back into the cabin, he lit a fire in the stove and prepared the morning coffee. As he waited for the coffee to brew, he sat at the table and stared out of the window. He had heard Ryan and Charlie talk about the Wanagi but, up until now, at least to Bill, they had been purely mythical, the stuff of legend. The feeling of the rider's eyes on him was something Bill wouldn't forget. It felt like the man was peering into the very core of his soul.

Bill's rustling around in the kitchen had finally woken Suzanne from her slumber. She could feel the warmth from the fire in the stove in the cabin. The smell of the coffee was too much of a temptation for her to resist. She slipped a heavy robe on and walked out to the kitchen.

She paused when she looked at her husband. Half joking, she commented, "Bill, you look like you've seen a ghost. You're as pale as a bed-sheet."

Bill looked up at his wife, his voice was as serious as she had ever heard it. "Yeah, I think I did."

Suzanne wasn't expecting the response she got from her husband. She poured a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. "Are you okay, Bill?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Then what's going on?" she asked.

Bill took a deep breath and then he looked Suzanne directly in the eye. "You've heard Ryan and Charlie talk about them ghost riders. I forget the Lakota word they use."

Suzanne nodded and listened to Bill as she sipped her coffee.

"Well, I got up to take a leak. I got to the corner of the cabin and I saw them at the edge of the trees."

"Are you sure you weren't still half asleep, still dreaming, or something like that?" Suzanne offered what she thought was a reasonable explanation.

Bill shook his head adamantly. "No. I was wide awake. As wide awake as I am now, there is no doubt in my mind. I saw them."

He had been pondering on the reason why they had chosen to let him see them, and to let him know they were real. The only answer he could come up with was that it was their way of confirming what Ryan had told him a few days ago was the truth. Even after they had saved Ryan's life, Bill still had a hard time accepting that ghosts of long dead Lakota warriors had intervened on behalf of his nephew. The talks with Charlie had helped somewhat but, up until this morning, he had still harbored seeds of doubt. He no longer had any doubts that Ryan and Jessi had seen them.

Suzanne was silent for a few minutes. "What exactly did you see?"

"I saw five riders, naked from the waist on up, with long braids and feathers in their hair. They weren't usin' any saddles from what I could see," Bill answered. "They were riding single file right at the edge of the trees. They stopped and the one in the lead looked straight at me." Bill shivered as he remembered what the stare felt like. "If felt like he could see right through to my soul."

She studied her husband as he gazed out the window, and she wondered if what he had seen was real, or if it was a product of his imagination. There was no doubt in her mind that he believed he had seen something. She knew from twenty years of marriage to Bill that he wasn't given to making things up—well, there had been times that Bill had stretched the truth, but those times were few and far between, and done only in jest.

Bill welcomed his wife's silence while he sat and thought about what happened. What struck him most was remembering the story that he had told Ryan about the song, 'Ghost Riders in the Sky', and that how at this moment, he knew how the old cowpoke in the song must have felt.

Suzanne finished her first cup of coffee and looked at her husband. "Well, I suppose I could get breakfast started."

Bill looked away from the window and at his wife. "That sounds good. What's on the menu for this morning?"

"Oh, I was thinking of ham and eggs with some hash browns. How does that sound to you?"

Bill grinned and got up from his chair. "Sounds good to me. Let me give you a hand."

Even though he busied himself with dicing potatoes, onions, and red and green peppers his mind was still consumed with his brief encounter with the phantoms of the mountains.

---

Ryan had been awake for some time but, with the morning chill and with what had happened the previous night, he was in no rush to get out of bed. The dawn had been a welcome sight. It meant that he no longer had to fight to try to sleep. He hoped that Jessi had talked to her mother and let her know the truth of the situation.

It wasn't only Ryan that hadn't slept well. Becky had tossed and turned most of the night. She lay in the bed trying to think of what she was going to say to Ryan today, and she only hoped that she would be able to find the courage to face him. Then there was her mother. What was she going to say to her? It felt like her life was falling apart and that she had no control over it.

Suzanne climbed the stairs to wake the girls up. Breakfast would soon be ready and she would need some help. She saw Becky's eyes begin to tear up as soon as their eyes met.

Careful not to disturb her daughter, Suzanne sat on the edge of the bed and put her arms around Becky. "Everything is going to be alright. Tears aren't going to change anything."

Becky sniffed, "I'm such an idiot. I really screwed things up last night."

"Well, Jessi talked to your mom and to Ryan last night before she came in. She said that she set everything straight with the both of them." Suzanne continued to comfort Becky.

"Oh, God! She didn't tell mom about..." Becky assumed the worst.

"No," Suzanne reassured Becky. "She didn't tell your mom anything. She said that it was up to you to tell your mom."

"I need to apologize to Ryan." Becky did her best to pull herself together.

"You get dressed and go out to Ryan's tent and tell him that breakfast is almost ready. It will give you a couple of minutes to talk to him."

Becky was nervous as she walked towards the tent. Several times she stopped and thought about turning around and head back to the cabin. Each time she would take a deep breath and continue on.

"Where's Becky?" Jessi asked her mother as she came down from the loft.

"I sent her to wake up Ryan," Suzanne replied.

Jessi shot her mother a puzzled look and then Suzanne whispered in Jessi's ear, "She wanted to apologize to Ryan for what happened last night. I thought it would be best if she could do it in private."

Jessi nodded and asked her mother, "What do you need help with?"

Becky knelt down in front of the tent and paused for a moment. "Ryan, can I talk to you for a minute."

He was surprised to hear Becky's voice coming from outside of the tent, and he sat up and replied, "Yes, come on in."

Becky opened the tent door and slipped inside. She knelt and looked at Ryan for a moment and then looked down at the ground. "I want to apologize for what I did last night. I am so sorry..." She stopped, the tears burning in her eyes.

Ryan reached over and put his finger on her chin and raised her head so that he could see into her eyes. His voice was soft. "It's okay, Becky. Jessi talked to me last night."

"I just didn't know what to say! I couldn't tell my mother the truth and my mind went blank. Then I looked up and saw you, and your name was the only name that I could think of." Becky could feel the tears streaming down her face as she talked to Ryan.

Ryan put his arms around Becky and hugged her.

"I'm sorry, Ryan. I just hope that you will be able to forgive me." Becky buried her head into Ryan's shoulder.

As Ryan stroked her hair his voice was calm and reassuring, "You know that I already have."

"Thanks, Ryan. That makes me feel a lot better." Becky felt a wave of relief wash over her.

"Good, I'm glad that you feel better." Ryan smiled.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I was supposed to tell you that breakfast is just about ready." Becky turned and reminded Ryan as she was leaving the tent.