At the Rancher's Request. Sara Orwig

he relaxed. The hail receded, but the rain still came in pounding sheets over his truck, making driving hazardous.

      While Scotty played with the flashlight, Savannah turned back around.

      “Thanks,” Mike said.

      “Sure. Kids are fun.”

      “Do you have siblings?” Mike asked.

      “Oh, yes. There are four of us and I’m the youngest. I have four little nieces and nephews, too. I like babies and children.”

      Mike wanted to ask her more about herself, but he turned his attention back to his driving and they rode in silence while he concentrated on getting home.

      * * *

      It was almost another thirty minutes when Savannah saw a wide gate ahead with a high iron arch over the road and the letters MC in the center at the top. Rain still poured and the wipers were a constant swish. At a post near the gate Mike slowed to reach out to punch a code. When the gate swung open, he drove across a cattle guard, a silver grill of flat steel tubing with a slightly rougher surface than the road, and then the gate closed behind him.

      “Your son is asleep,” Savannah whispered.

      “I figured he would be. He’s had a busy day in town. And you don’t have to whisper, he’s out.”

      “I don’t want to wake him.”

      “It’s just as well he’s asleep because he’s a worrier and we have to cross a swollen creek. At the main entrance to my ranch, there’s a bridge, but it’s older, already underwater and less reliable. The bridge on this part of the creek is newer, higher and wider so we’ve always been able to get across.”

      “You better,” she whispered. “You promised him.”

      When Mike glanced at her, Savannah smiled.

      “Kids have great trust,” he said with his attention back on the road.

      “Not if it isn’t earned. You must have always come through for him.”

      “I hope I always can. He knows there are some things beyond me,” Mike said.

      “We’ll hope crossing this bridge tonight isn’t one of them.” Savannah was thankful to have found Mike and Scotty. Otherwise, she would have been on a deserted road in the storm for the rest of the night and maybe a lot longer and she wouldn’t have known where or when to get help. Thinking about it, she shivered and studied Mike’s profile. He had a wide-brimmed black hat squarely on his head. He was in a leather, fleece-lined parka with fur trim and wore jeans and boots. He looked as competent as he was proving to be. His son was an adorable miniature of his dad with black hair and dark brown eyes.

      After a time she wondered how big Mike’s ranch was because it seemed as if they had been driving a long time since going through the gate.

      “There it is,” Mike said as if he guessed her thoughts. She peered through the streaming rain and could see what looked like a river. Swollen with surging black water, it was bigger than any creek she had ever seen. Rushing water had spilled out of the banks earlier in the evening. Mike’s truck headlights revealed seven men in slickers getting out of two pickups on the other side of the raging creek.

      “I’ll be damned,” he said quietly, frowning as he peered through his windshield. “I’ve never seen the creek this high. Not ever.”

      Chilled again by apprehension, she looked as the rushing water spread out of creek banks and splashed across the bridge that was already underwater.

      “The bridge is covered by the creek,” she said, her apprehension mounting swiftly. “Can we cross?”

      “We’re going to,” Mike replied, stopping to phone his foreman. “Thanks for coming, Ray. I really appreciate all of you being here.” Mike paused to listen. “I think we’ll make it, but I’m glad you’re here. Thanks.” Mike put away his phone and she watched as the men turned lights on the raging creek.

      “They came earlier and strung ropes across the creek tied to trees on each side. If we go into the creek, I’ll get Scotty. You try to grab one of those ropes or anything else you can grab. Someone will come to help you. I don’t think that will happen, but if it does, we’ll have backup. If you go in, swim with the current, but try to angle toward the bank.”

      “I hate to think about someone risking his life to come into the creek to get me. The water looks fierce. I don’t think I can swim in that.”

      “It is fierce,” Mike said. “Just go with the current. The guys will get you. We can’t go back and we can’t stay out here all night. Thank heavens Scotty is asleep. Don’t worry until you have to because I expect the bridge to hold,” he said in a tone filled with so much confidence, her fear diminished. He lowered all the windows. “Sorry, but just in case we go in and the truck sinks, we can all get out easily. The pickup might just float because the current will carry it along.”

      “I don’t care to think about the possibilities,” she said, staring at the creek.

      Mike inched slowly across. Holding her breath and clutching the door handle until her knuckles were white, she watched waves splash over the bridge. They reached the other side and she let out her breath.

      “You did it!” she exclaimed, looking at Mike who raised all the windows except his own. The men waved and slapped hands in high fives. One tall man in a hooded parka came to the truck.

      “Thanks, Ray,” Mike said.

      “Glad you made it across. We’re supposed to get sleet and later snow. I’m glad you’re back.”

      “We’re thankful to be here. Ray, this is Ms. Grayson. She had car trouble and we left her car at Ed’s. She’ll stay here tonight.”

      “Howdy, Ms. Grayson,” he said, bending down to look at her.

      “Just call me Savannah, please.”

      “Savannah, this is Ray Farndale, my foreman.”

      “Thanks for waiting to help,” she said.

      “Glad our help wasn’t needed. Mike, we’ll see you in the morning. We all better head home before it gets worse. If it keeps up, that bridge will be far enough under water no one can cross.”

      “What about the animals? Do you guys need any help tonight?”

      “Thanks, no. You get Scotty and Ms. Grayson out of the storm. We’re fine, so far. I’ll call if we need you. If the temperature drops the way they say it will, then tomorrow will bring a different set of problems.”

      “I’ll join you in the morning because we’ll need every hand.” He raised his window as he drove past the other men and waved.

      “Scotty slept right through that,” she said. “I have to say, I’m supremely glad the bridge held. You were very calm. You must not rattle easily.”

      “It wouldn’t have helped for me to get worked up.” Mike smiled at her. “Let’s go home,” he said, the words wrapping around her with a reassurance that was comforting.

      In minutes the first lights could be seen through the rain-covered windshield. One truck turned off and headed away. “Where is that pickup going?” she asked.

      “Ray and a couple of guys are headed out to see about our livestock. The men all have phones and walkie-talkies so they can keep in touch.”

      “And you like this ranch life?” she asked.

      He smiled. “Yes, the good outweighs the bad. Everything has ups and downs. There is something new every day and constant challenges.”

      “And you like that?” she repeated, shaking her head. “Good thing you can keep calm. I’d hate to be headed out in the blizzard in the dark.” She wondered about his rugged life that was so different from everything she knew. She looked into the darkness and shivered, thankful to