A Man Conquered

Subject: Your love life. Date: Monday, June 12, 6:46:36 PMFrom: Rita "DeLorenzo" To: Message: Jassie, darling, it's time you had an adventure! You take love too seriously. It doesn't have to end happily ever after. It can be fun! After what that scoundrel Murdock did to you, you deserve to have a little fun for a change. So, while you're out West, do yourself a favor and have an adventure. There are lots of handsome fellows in Montana, I hear! Go for it! Love, Rita.  Jassie McQuilty having an affair? Impossible! Jassie looked up from her friend Rita's email for the twentieth time and sighed.
An affair was the last thing on her mind right now. She looked out the window and sighed again. Miles and miles of open space around her. A big sky. Really big. Rocky mountains rose above the wide valley, tinged with golden fields that seemed to be watching the arrival of intruders. Sure enough, that was how Jassie felt. This wasn't her place. She felt like a settler on a train. Completely out of place.
Vulnerable. Who knew what awaited them in the hills?However, she wasn't one of the settlers, nor was she on a train, but on a bus, headed toward a ranch. It wasn't exactly a dude ranch she was headed to, though she couldn't exactly call the vehicle she was in a bus either. However, as she'd discovered when she'd flown to Montana, public transportation was considered a modern convenience in eastern cities."A bus? To Bear Claw? No, ma'am.
A train?" A burst of laughter accompanied those words. "No, ma'am. A taxi? Yes, ma'am, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg. Rent a car? Yes, of course, but not today. Today, all the cars are rented. If you'd like, ma'am, you could ask Don Klein if he could take you to Bear Claw. He runs a shuttle service to some of the dude ranches."Don, a cheerful, gnome-like little man, was happy to take her to Bear Claw.
For eight dollars and fifty. So here she was, crammed into that ancient bus, packed to the brim with about twenty ranch-goers, loaded with spurs, fishing poles, and children. Jassie's clothes, bought in New York, and her laptop were completely out of place. Jassie looked down at the email again. Having an affair? She'd never had an affair in her entire life! However, she was very good at breaking hearts.
She'd done it twice already. Maybe Rita was right. Maybe she took love too seriously. She looked out the window and closed the computer. Finally, they were approaching a town. A sign read: "Welcome to Bear Claw, Montana. Population: 800." Jassie blinked. Only 800 people?lived there? The sign was placed on the claws of a huge bear carved from wood. The bus pulled off the road, and Jassie looked back with half-hearted enthusiasm at her new home.
It looked like a town straight out of an old Western. She liked that kind of movie. I mean, watching them on TV with a big bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine. Not living in one. There was only one main street, perfect for carts, something Jassie lacked. However, the street was lined with parked cars. Cars? Well, vans, to be exact. And shops. Good. Jassie liked shops. Every woman needs a hobby , and hers was shopping.
Those stores were rustic, western-style, with old-fashioned shop windows made of fake wooden logs. These logs were engraved with bears and elk and adorned with wagon parts. And deer antlers. Lots of deer antlers. Many of the stores had signs advertising their wares. Jassie read one. "The best fishing flies in all of Montana. Specially discounted prices." They sold flies there? Jassie shivered. She killed them with a sprayer, and her new neighbors apparently bought them.
Flies at a bargain price. Great.