I'd only been married a few months and we hadn't been able to get away long for a honeymoon, although the time we did have was quite interesting. So I was highly delighted to win a long weekend out on a dude ranch. Three days and two nights, all meals included.
John and I went and it was fun. We went riding and fishing, although I'd just have soon skipped the fishing. Worms, ugh. On the second evening they were having a barn dance, a real old fashioned square dance with a fiddler and dance caller and such.
All the women had to wear dresses. No jeans or shorts permitted. It was apparently a big local do, people from the nearby town and the various ranches fronting up.
I had a ball. The first dance was with John, naturally, as would be the last. Meanwhile men seemed to be lining up to dance and flirt with me. One cheeky sod offered to show me a good time outside but I waved my ring at him.
"I'm married and I don't fool around," I told him.
He just grinned, taking it in good part and the dance went on. Later on the same man was dancing with me in a particularly energetic romp and I was quite out of breath when the dance ended.
"Why not just step out for some fresh air?" the guy suggested, and then held up his hands defensively. "I know. You're married and you don't fool around. I'm not suggesting you do. Just a walk in the open air. We'll be in plain sight and it will give you a chance to get your breath before you return to the fray."
I looked around to see where John was. Maybe he'd take a walk with me, because the idea of a break was rather attractive.
"If you're looking for your husband he's over yonder," I was told, the man indicating. "He's having a drink with a couple of my mates."
I promptly spotted John at the bar, glass in hand yakking away with a couple of the locals. I shrugged and let him be.
"OK. A walk would be nice, but I expect you to be a gentleman."
A stroll outside wasn't going to hurt, especially if we stayed in easy sight of the barn. So we ambled around the yard in the moonlight, just chatting with a little bit of flirty innuendo. Not enough to cause problems but enough to keep us both amused.
While we were walking, Guy, his name really was Guy it turned out, suddenly lifted his head and held up a hand for silence. He seemed to be listening to something. I could hear a faint squealing coming from a nearby building.
"Ah, listen," Guy said. "It sounds as though one of the foals might be in trouble. I'll just run you back to the barn and then go and check."
"I didn't know you had foals here," I said.
"In the stables there," he said, indicating a nearby building. "Four of them. I'd better get you back while so I can check."
"Oh, don't waste your time taking me back," I protested. "I can get back by myself. Or maybe I could come and see the foals. I love horses."
He hesitated, then shrugged.
"OK. Come along. But don't try to pet them. They're a little young for that. You can pet the mares, though."
He opened the door to the stable and flicked on the lights. There were a couple of rows of stalls, four to a side. Guy walked briskly down the row between the stalls, checking each side as he went. I followed a lot more slowly, looking at the foals and sweet-talking them.
When I reached the end of the row Guy was standing next to an open stall, smiling.
"All the foals seem fine," he said. "That's a relief. Have you seen this stall?" He nodded to the open stall.
There was a sign above it saying Mare of the Day, but the stall was empty apart from a large amount of straw on the floor.
