“How long are you planning to stay?” he asked.
“That’s a good question,” she said with a dry laugh. “Probably until I wear out my welcome. What about you? What are you doing now? Are you still gathering mustangs?”
“No. I’m not going to do it anymore. I finished my last roundup yesterday.”
“Oh. And now you’re headed to L.A.” Had he changed his mind about Bibi’s offer? Her stomach knotted at the thought.
“I was headed to L.A.,” he corrected, “but it seems I’ve just lost my whole reason for going there.”
“I don’t understand. Weren’t you going to see Bibi?”
“Why would you think that?” he asked.
“I don’t know. When you mentioned L.A., I assumed you’d had a change of heart regarding her offer.”
He made a scoffing sound. “You thought wrong…at least about the job offer. As for the change of heart…maybe you got that part right.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“My change of heart… I was going there to see you, Aiwattsi.”
Her throat felt suddenly thick. She swallowed hard, willing herself not to attach too much meaning to his words. “You were going to drive all the way to L.A. just to see me?”
“Yeah. I was. But not now that you’re in Montana.”
“Oh.” She tried to suppress the wave of disappointment.
“It’s not that I don’t want to see you,” he continued. “I do, but I have to go to Fallon, Nevada, to pick up some horses. As it turns out, one of them is mine.”
“Yours?” she asked. “Did you buy another one?”
“No. It’s the same stallion from the prison. I released him right after I bought him, but then they caught him again. If I don’t pick him up soon, I’m afraid he’ll end up with the kill buyer.”
“You released him? Why would you do that?”
“Because he’ll never be adoptable and doesn’t belong in a holding facility. I set him loose in the place where they caught him.”
At first the news shocked her, but then it made perfect sense why he’d done it. She was glad he had. “So where are you right now?” she asked.
“Outside Park City, Utah.”
“When will you be back?”
“I’ll be in Rock Springs, Wyoming, tomorrow with the horses, then I’m planning to go home for a while. I need somewhere to put the horse. I’d originally thought to make a gift of him, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
“So you’re taking him to your family’s place?”
“Yeah. The ranch is on the reservation outside Riverton.”
“I know how important this must be to you,” she said. She hoped it would go well when he finally returned to his family. He seemed so strong and self-reliant, but at the same time lonely and drifting, as if he were lost at sea, and in desperate need of an anchor. Ironically, she was in similar straits.
“You and me both.” He sounded a humorless laugh. A brief silence followed. He broke it just as she was tempted to fill it with another trite remark. “It’s good to hear your voice, Aiwattsi.”
Was that a note of wistfulness in his tone? Was he as disappointed as she was? “It’s good to hear yours too,” she remarked softly. “Thank you for calling me, Keith. I’m really glad you did.”
“Me too,” he said, adding more tersely, “we’ll talk again soon.”
When? She wanted to ask but bit back the question. “I’ll look forward to it,” she said instead.
“Good-bye, Aiwattsi.”
“Bye, Keith.” Miranda disconnected the call, hugging her phone to her chest, feeling as if she’d just ridden a roller coaster. She couldn’t believe he’d called, but didn’t dare think too much about what that might mean. Since her arrival in Montana, her thoughts had pinged incessantly back and forth between the ranch, the horses, and Keith. His call had both encouraged and confused her. Was he looking to pick things up? She already knew he wasn’t the commitment type. His lifestyle said as much. He’d traveled from place to place for years without any lasting relationships. Why would this be any different? Still, she couldn’t help hoping—for exactly what, she didn’t even know.
*
“Coffee?” Jo-Jo asked as Miranda padded into the kitchen.
“Please,” Miranda almost groaned. “What’s that other wonderful smell?”
“Blueberry muffins. They’re almost ready to come out of the oven. How did you sleep?”
“Pretty well, all things considered.”
A big lie. In truth, she hadn’t slept a wink. Her mind was far too unsettled. She hoped her grandmother had come to a decision about the ranch, but was almost afraid to ask.
“All things considered?” Jo-Jo prompted.
“The future, I guess,” Miranda replied on a sigh. “For years I thought I had it all mapped out, but something’s changed. I don’t understand how it happened, but suddenly I don’t want to do what I always thought I wanted to do.”
“So you’re still thinking about this horse sanctuary?” Jo-Jo said.