Captured

"You scared the shit out me!" she said over the intercom before she realized Emily was plugged in. "Sorry, honey. I meant stuffing. Your daddy scared the stuffing out of me."

"I heard my daddy say that word before one time. He was really mad about one of the horses."

"Do I want to know about that?" Autumn asked Reed.

"Nope. Hold on!" he said as he increased the power and added lift. Autumn shrieked again and Emily laughed as the rotary-powered craft soared up to an altitude of 500ft.

"All this land is yours?" she asked.

"We'll fly around the perimeter, but yes, everything inside the box is mine. Horses need a lot of room to run."

Just seconds later Autumn looked down and to her right and saw them. "Look! There are your horses!"

Reed angled right and brought the craft on a course parallel to the herd. "We don't want to get too close or we'll spook them."

"They're beautiful!" she said. "Do they stay out here all the time?"

"No!" Reed say stifling a laugh. "It gets bitterly cold here in the winter. I leave them out from May through mid-September then bring them into the barn for the long winter."

"That barn is bigger than your house. What's in there?"

"Stalls for the horses, a large area for hay and grain, tractors, plows, a couple of trucks, tools, some four-wheelers, miscellaneous equipment and a track."

"A track? Do you race them?" Autumn asked naively.

"It's just for exercise," he told her. "They'd go stir crazy in there for that long."

"How often do you ride them?"

"I try to grab a different horse every day. They come around at night for hay then spend the night near the barn. Sometime in the morning they head back out for grass and stay out here all day." He flew back to the perimeter and said, "In fact, we're going riding tomorrow after the morning chores are done."

"I can hardly wait," Autumn said facetiously. Her trepidation about riding a horse for the first time aside, she was completely unaware she'd been in what Reed had called a flow state since she got on the jet several hours ago. Everything was new and unfamiliar. It was also slow, calm, serene, and relaxing. Autumn could think of a lot of of places much worse to make a hundred grand for just being there.

Everyone had already had dinner but Reed warned Autumn it would be her turn to cook the day after tomorrow. "I'll make our meals tomorrow and then you're up. Everything you could possibly need is right here in the kitchen."

"I don't cook," Autumn said truthfully.

He looked down at Emily and said, "Guess we're hungry two days from now."

"We can call McDonalds, Daddy! They make food there and it's really yummy!"

The adults both looked at each other and tried not to laugh. "Okay, whatever you say, honey." He picked her up and said, "Know what time it is?"

"Ahhh! I don't want to go to bed, Daddy. I want to play with Autumn."

"Well, maybe if you ask real nice, she'll read you a bedtime story."

Emily turned to Autumn and asked, "Will you read me my stories?"

"Um...sure," she said pensively.

Emily let go of her dad's neck and nearly fell reaching for Autumn's as she grabbed the girl just in time. Clinging to her neck she said, "You're my best friend ever!"

Autumn couldn't remember the last time she'd held a child. She didn't have brothers or sisters and she'd never even babysat for anyone.

"Come on, I'll show you where her books are," Reed told her.

He led them to Emily's room and pointed to a stack of books two feet tall. Emily reached in and grabbed one as though she knew exactly what she wanted. "The Cat in the Hat!" she said proudly as she handed it to Autumn.

Thirty minutes later, after having read not one but five stories, Reed came in and said, "Okay, sweetie pie. We don't want to wear Miss Autumn out her first night."

Emily rolled off Autumn's lap and said, "You're staying for one whole week. My daddy told me!"

"Yes, I am," she said. Emily reached up with her little arms to give her a hug and as Autumn leaned down to hug her back, Emily kissed her. "I love you, Autumn," she said with complete sincerity.

"How about me?" Reed asked pretending to be sad.

"Don't cry, Daddy. I still love you, too."

He bent down over Autumn and got his hug and kiss and said, "Okay, get some sleep. We got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."

Reed and Autumn sat up talking until ten o'clock when Reed said, "I'm gonna turn in. Five a.m. comes very early."

Autumn's eyes opened wide as she said, "Five? Did you just say...five? As in five in the morning?"

Reed chuckled. "I did. The animals are hungry and need to be fed at 7am and again at 7pm. Since I'm cooking breakfast, you can sleep in 'til six if you want."

"Gee, thanks," she said. "I'm usually up until three or four in the morning and in bed until ten or so."

"Welcome to Wyoming," he said. Reed stood up and wished her goodnight. "If you need anything just let me know, okay?"

"Okay," she told him. She sat there in the expansive great room with a picture window that had to be close to a hundred feet long and fifty feet high. The view out to the open range was spectacular as the moonlight reflected off the grass and trees. Autumn was suddenly aware that the huge non-palace house was utterly silent except for the sound of grandfather clock ticking in the background.

She turned on the TV for a while but kept it on mute as she sat there and relaxed. The quiet was interrupted a several howls, one after the other. She tried not be afraid, but they kept coming and seemed to grow louder. She tiptoed down the long hallway and tapped on Reed's door. No answer. She knocked louder and heard, "You okay?"

"There are wolves outside the house. I'm scared."

She heard covers rustle. He came to the door, peeked through the opening and said, "Those are coyotes. They're harmless. We do have wolves in Yellowstone Park now, but they've never come around here."

"Oh, I had no idea. Sorry. I feel kind of silly," she confessed.

"Anything else?" he asked.

She tried not to stare, but she couldn't help but notice his body was rock hard. She'd seen a home gym in one of the rooms and Reed obviously spent time there. He was wearing a pair of shorts and some white socks but was otherwise naked. She could tell even when he was dressed he was well built but from the large traps on his shoulders to the six-pack abs on his stomach, he was cut and ripped from head to toe.

"No. I'll be okay. Sorry to bother you. Good-night, Reed."

"Good night, Autumn. Sweet dreams."

As she walked away she recalled how her own father had always said that to her when she was a little girl. "Sweet dreams, Princess," he told her every night before kissing her on the cheek and tucking her in.

She went to her room and took a shower before laying down hoping the hot water would help her relax. As she sat up in bed trying to read a book, she realized she felt very different. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but for the first time in many years, she felt something old and once-familiar. She felt...content. Not happy as in 'yay, I'm so excited.' It reminded her of her dad again and a song he used to listen to. "I've got a peaceful, easy feeling..." And that's exactly how she felt as she closed the book and somehow fell asleep almost immediately.

"Are you awake?"

Autumn opened one eye and saw Emily face in front of hers. "Oh, hi there, kiddo.What time is it?"

"Daddy says it's time to eat. He made pancakes and his are the best in the whole world! Come on! Let's go, Autumn!"

"Um...can I get up and go to the bathroom first?"

"Okay! I'll wait for you," Emily said happily.

Autumn grabbed her robe, went in to pee and wash up and brush her hair and her teeth. When she came out, Emily was in the same spot waiting for her. As Autumn walked over to her, she smiled wide and grabbed her hand and said, "Come on!"

"Morning, ladies," Reed said with a big smile. "Coffee?" he asked Autumn.

"Please! And just black."

"My kinda girl," he said as he poured her a large mug.

"We've got pancakes, French toast, and Belgium waffles. What'll it be?"

"I want a waffle!" Emily said.

"You don't want daddy's best-in-the-world pancakes?"

"I do," she said, "but I want a waffle the most 'cuz they're even better than my daddy's pancakes."

"Whipped cream on top?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"Uh-huh!" she said bobbing her head up and down.

"Wanna share my waffle, Autumn?" she asked.

Autumn wasn't hungry at all, but she couldn't say no. "Sure." She picked up a fork, cut off a small piece, and took a bite. As she chewed she said, "Oh, my God! That's the best thing I've ever eaten."

"Told you!" Emily said stuffing a big piece in her mouth.

"Not so big next time, okay?" her father said politely but in a way that let her know he meant it.

"Can I cut it up for us?" Autumn asked. Emily nodded as she chewed her too-big bite and Autumn dissected it into very small pieces before taking another bite.

After breakfast, Reed and Autumn cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. "Better go get dressed. We got a lot to do," he told her.

"Can I get another cup of coffee to go?" she asked holding out her mug.

Autumn pulled her hair back into a ponytail and wore a light-blue shirt over a dark-blue tee-shirt with a pair of shorts and her pink work boots and Reed noticed immediately. "Wow. You might be the only woman I know who looks better in work clothes than in evening wear."

"You look pretty good yourself, cowboy," she told him. He was wearing a loose-fitting dark-red tee shirt, jeans, and some older cowboy boots and he did indeed look pretty good. Very good, in fact.

Emily came bounding in wearing shorts and tee-shirt of her own with some old tennis shoes. "I'm ready!" she announced.

They spent the next few hours feeding the large assortment of animals around the barn, then mucked out stalls and laid down fresh straw. Reed kept two of the horses before the others headed out to feed.

"You ever saddle a horse before?" he asked.

She showed him her expensively manicured nails—one of which she'd already broken, smiled and said, "Any other questions?"

Reed smiled and said, "Okay, pay attention," as she showed her how to put on a bridle, set the bit, adjust the saddle and cinch it down.

"Your turn," he said nodding to Charcoal.

Autumn did pretty well until it came to throwing the heavy saddle over the gelding's back. Reed tossed it over and watched her finish up then checked to make sure everything was in place.

"Great. Let's go grab our picnic lunch and get ready to head out."

"Picnic? Lunch? Are you serious?" Autumn asked.

Before he could answer, Emily shouted, "Yay for picnics! I want peanut butter and jelly!"

"Already made it for you, sweet pea," he told her. "And a grape soda to drink."

"That's my favorite!' she squealed. "It's gonna be SO fun!"

Reed loaded everything into his horse's saddle bags then helped Autumn get on Charcoal. As she sat up, she looked down and said, "Whoa! This is scary."

Reed handed her the reigns and said, "Walk him around." He explained how to control the horse by gently moving the reigns to one side or the other or very gently pulling back to slow him down. "Never jerk on the reigns, okay? Charcoal knows exactly what you want with the slightest little touch. Easy does it."

Autumn walked him in a circle in front of the barn. Reed saw her smiling as she came back and said, "Not bad for your first time. Stay right there. We've got a present for you."

"Can I give it to her, Daddy?" Emily pleaded.

"Sure, honey. Let's go grab it out of Daddy's truck." He held his daughter's hand as they walked across the barn and opened the door to the cab. Reed reached in and handed a Stetson to Emily who tried putting on her tiny head before realizing she couldn't see.

"Here! This is for you, Autumn!" she said handing up to her via her father.

"Put it on, cowgirl," he said with a smile.

It fit perfectly and it looked great. "Wow! You look like you were born to ride. Horses, that is. Not Harleys."

Autumn laughed and said, "I need a mirror."

Reed pulled out his iPhone and took a picture and showed her. "Oh...my...goodness. This is insane!" she said. "I do look like a cowgirl."

"A right pretty one at that," Reed said tipping his hat to her again. "You ready?" he asked Emily. He sat her up in the saddle then got on right behind her. "You wanna drive today?"

"Yes!" she said. She picked up the reigns, dropped them and said, "Hah!" The horse immediately responded and began slowly walking toward a trail that led somewhere into the 10,000 acres of grassland.

They plodded along for over an hour before Reed said, "We'll take this smaller side trail and head down to the river."

"River?" Autumn said. "What's next? Fishing?"

"Funny you should mention that," he said with a big old grin.

"Daddy! I see the river!" Emily called out.

Autumn pulled Charcoal up alongside them and saw it for the first time. "It's beautiful," she said quietly as she watched the water gently flowing from north to south. The rode closer and as they got up to the bank Autumn was able to see all the way to the bottom of the riverbed. "It's crystal clear."

"And crystal clean," he said. He got off, lowered Emily and walked over to the edge of the river. He reached down for a handful of water and took a drink out of his palm.

Autumn got off her horse and did the same thing. "That's amazing," she said. "It tastes better than the most expensive bottled water."

"Nature does everything better, Autumn," he told her. He turned to Emily and said, "Hey, Bug. You wanna help me set up the picnic stuff?"

"Sure!" she said.

Reed started pulling things out of the saddle bags and handed the red and black checkered blanket to Emily. It was all she could do to carry it a few steps before dropping it. "This is a good place, right Daddy?" she said as she began spreading it out.

"It's perfect, Em," he told her.

Autumn helped her with it and then helped Reed pass out sandwiches and drinks. From where they sat they could see both sides of the river and in the background were the peaks of the Rocky Mountains.

"This is the real Rocky Mountain high," Reed told her. "It's not about getting high on chemicals like John Denver sang. It's about peace and quiet and just enjoying nature."

They all sat quietly, almost reverently, as they ate and watched the flow of the river. "I really did bring fishing poles," Reed told Autumn.

"Where?" she asked not seeing any.

He went back to the horses and pulled out three small, foldable poles. "Ever seen these before?" he asked.

"I've never ever fished before so...no," Autumn told him.

"I want the blue one!" Emily said putting down her half-eaten PB&J sandwich. She took a big gulp of grape soda and asked for her fishing rod.

"You need your life jacket first, sweetie," Reed told her. He'd even stuffed the tiny, inflatable, yellow device in one of the saddle bags. He put it around her and cinched it up and said, "Okay, you're all set. I'll bring the bait over in a minute."

Emily walked right up the edge of the river on a large, flat rocky area where they'd obviously been before doing this very thing.

"Come on, I'll show you how to bait a hook and cast a line," Reed told Autumn as he helped her stand up.

They were face to face for a moment and she said, "Thank you for this."

"You're welcome. Is it working?"

"If working means forgetting about my life in Seattle, then yes, this is working. It's so peaceful and relaxing."

"I'm glad," was all he said. He let go of her hand and could tell she didn't want him to any more than him. "Are you afraid of worms?" he asked.

"Worms? Eeew!" Autumn said. "Get out of here."

He sat the bait down beside Emily and she reached right in and grabbed one then managed to get her hook through it. "Nice job, honey!" Reed said.

"Can you throw the line for me?" she asked.

Reed grabbed her pole and cast it out into the middle of the gently-flowing water. Before he could get Autumn's pole set up, Emily squealed. "I got a fish!" Her rod was bent and Emily was pulling as hard as she could to hold on. Reed grabbed the pole from behind her and held it while she struggled to reel it. Seconds later, a large trout was dangling from the end of Emily's pole. "You caught a big one!" Reed told her.

"I know. I'm a good fisher," she said proudly.

He carefully pulled it off the hook and let it go back into the river. "Catch and release," he told Autumn.

Within minutes she had her own first fish on and like Emily, she squealed with delight. "Autumn's a good fisher too, huh, Daddy?" Emily said as she saw another big fish in front of them.

"Unhook it," Reed said taking her pole.

"I'm not touching that!" Autumn said. "It's all slimy and nasty. No way I'm touching it."

"I'll get it," Emily said reaching out for the large, flip-flopping fish. "It's too slippery," she said after trying to hold it still.

Reed handed the rod back to Autumn and unhooked the trout and let it slip back into the clear, deep water. He rinsed his hands of and said, "Good as new."

On her third catch, Autumn decided she'd give it a try. She reached out to grab the fish then pulled back. "Be brave," Reed said trying to encourage her.

She looked over at him then briefly stuck her tongue out at him. Emily saw it and laughed. "Autumn stuck her tongue out at you, Daddy!" Then she turned and stuck hers out.

"Why, how dare you?" he said feigning indignation. He waited for both of them to look then stuck his out at Autumn and then Emily. Within seconds everyone was giving each other a raspberry and Autumn was laughing so hard she nearly fell in. She sat up, reached out for the fish and finally touched it.

"Eeew. That is disgusting!" she said. She waited for a moment then tried again. This time she held it still, found the hook, carefully dislodged it, then lowered it back into the water. "I did it!" she screamed.

Emily reached up for a big hug and Reed offered her a high five. "Nice!" he told her as their palms met.

They fished another half hour before Reed suggested they pack up and head back to the ranch. Everyone helped picked up their things making sure nothing got left behind before mounting up and heading for home.

As they plodded along, Autumn said to Reed without looking over, "That may have been the most fun I've had in...ever."

"I'm glad," he told her. "That's what this is all about."

"Fishing?" she asked.

Reed laughed and said, "No, not fishing. Letting go. Letting go of all the..." He put his hands over Emily's ears and said, "Shit." He let go and said, "Half the battle is letting go of all that negative...stuff and the other half is embracing a better way."

Autumn didn't answer for a few moments but eventually looked over and said, "If you'd told me last week that riding a horse and catching fish was a better way than going to law school or..." Reed smiled indicating he knew exactly what she had in mind. "I'd have said you were stark-raving mad."

"And now?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I'm still not sure, but I can at least say this way isn't all that bad."

"Okay, that's fair. And I still have some time to try and win you over."

"Win me over? What exactly do you mean by 'winning me over'?"

Reed smiled but didn't answer. "You ready to go fast, sweet pea?"

"Yes!" she said grabbing the horn and holding it tight.

"Hold on!" he said as he kicked the horse's sides. It took off like a shot and Reed hollered back at Autumn, "Race you to the house!"

"It is so on!" she called as she dug her heels into Charcoal who also broke into a full run. Autumn nearly fell off not expecting the surge to be so powerful. She shrieked with laughter as her hat blew off and Charcoal started gaining on Reed's horse.