10. Travis

"Mia, you're home! How was school?" I love it when I can greet her getting off the bus.

"It was school. Are the ladies here yet?"

"Yes. They arrived early, just before lunch."

"What! I told you I should have stayed home to help."

"No, no. We handled it. But I want to talk to you about something before we get to the house…"

"Ok, what is it?"

"Well, you know I don't condone lying, right?"

"Yes…?"

"Well, these ladies are kind of…aggressive. So I may have told a little lie."

"Aggressive? What do you mean? And YOU lied?!"

"Yeah, I mean flirty. They're aggressively flirty. Some more than others."

"Ok, so what's the lie you told?"

"If I'm being honest, Ava told the lie. I'm just going along with it, and I hope you will, too."

"Dad, what is it?"

"Ava is going to pretend to be my girlfriend to get the ladies to back off."

"Oh, cool. I can get down with that!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, well, if seeing us together makes you uncomfortable, just let me know."

"What do you mean together?"

"Like if I put my arm around her or…hold her hand." Why am I so uncomfortable talking about this? It must be because I've never asked my daughter to be complicit in a lie before.

"Sure, that's no big deal."

"Are you sure? I don't want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable."

"Yeah, Dad, I'm sure." Mia rolls her eyes. "But I don't know how believable it is."

"How believable what is?"

"That Ava would go for a cranky old man like you!"

"Ouch!" I scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder. "Would an old man be able to do this?"

"Dad! Put me down!" She laughs.

"I may be an old dad, but I'm still a good catch! Say it!"

"You're still a good catch. Now put me down." I set her down on the ground. "For an old man." She laughs and runs toward the house.

"Hey!" I chase after her. I catch up to her in a few big strides, but she's getting fast. "You're going to be able to outrun me soon! But not today!" I laugh.

"I wasn't going my fastest. I'm famished."

"Roberta has your afternoon snack ready. Go on in and refuel. The ladies need more riding lessons before they're ready to take the horses out on a trail, so instead, we'll go for a little hike before dinner."

"Oh, great! I'll come!"

"Do you have homework?"

"Yes, but not that much. I can easily do it after dinner."

"I don't know..maybe you should stay in and do it."

"Da–aad. Exercise and fresh air are important, too! I've been sitting inside the school, breathing stale air all day."

"You're right. Plus, I could use your help wrangling these ladies…making sure no one gets lost." I pull her in for a side hug. "Go grab a snack and meet us on the porch in half an hour."

"Ok." Mia bounces inside and calls out for Roberta.

I look around. So much to do, so little time. I still haven't had a chance to look at the water problem at Pony Cottage. Ava will just have to sleep in the main house tonight. I go inside to look for Roberta but run into Trina instead. "Hey, can you make up another room for Ava? Pony Cottage is out of commission."

"Sorry, but there are no more rooms. The ladies have filled them all."

"Really? I thought they only booked six rooms?"

"Yes, but when they showed up, they needed seven."

"Ok. Thanks, Trina." I guess I'll let her have my room, and I'll sleep on the couch.

"Why, hello there, Mr. Cowboy." Barbara approaches me from behind.

"Hey, Barb. How's it going?" I turn to face her. I want to keep her hands where I can see them.

"Not bad. Not a bad view here." She looks me up and down.

"Are you going on the hike?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

"Great. I've got a few things to do before then. Everyone will meet on the porch in about 15 minutes.

"Is Ava coming?"

"I believe so, and my daughter, Mia. She was at school when you ladies arrived."

"Wonderful. I"ll be available if you ever decide to upgrade to something more seasoned and experienced. I'll even let you have a test drive." She winks at me.

"There you are!" Ava comes out of nowhere, like my knight in shining armor.

"Hey, babe." I put my arm around her shoulder. "Join me in the office? We have a few things to look over before we go on our hike."

"Sure."

We head through the kitchen and into my office. A shiver runs down my spine. "That lady really lays it on thick. I will have to make sure I'm never alone with her. She was propositioning me again!"

"No way! Even after she knows we're together?"

"Yeah. She offered her services in case I wanted to trade you in."

"Wow. Who talks like that?"

"Knock, knock. Am I interrupting you two lovebirds?" Roberta peeks her head in.

"Not at all, and you can stop calling us that."

"I"m just trying to keep it realistic! Anyway, I'm planning dinner for 6:30. I just want to make sure you'll be back in time."

"Yes, of course. Thanks."

"Well, we'd better get on with it then." I head out to the porch to start gathering the ladies. After about 5 minutes of small talk, everyone is here.

"Ladies, can I have your attention for a few? Is everyone here who wants to come?"

"Yes, we're all here!" One of the ladies shouts.

"Great. Just a few ground rules. We're going on a hike, not too far and not strenuous–but there is wildlife that you'll have to be aware of. You're going to want to make sure you stay on the path. Don't veer off into grassy areas. Let's stay close together. If you want to see wildlife, be as quiet as you can. If you don't want to see wildlife, be loud. Lastly, does everyone have our number programmed into their phones? I'm going to hand out some whistles, too. This is just in case we get separated or you get into trouble or something. Two quick blows mean to look for you; three quick blows are for an emergency. Got it?" Ava and Mia take the whistles from me and hand them out to the ladies.

"Got it!"

"If I get lost, will you rescue me?" Barb asks in a sultry voice.

"We'll stay together, so we'll all be looking for you!" Ava jumps in, trying to shut her down. "Alright, let's go!"

I lead them to the trailhead nearest the house. The trail is pretty easy and only about a mile and a half, perfect for the first hike. The ladies chatter away until we get a little further into the wooded area. Even though botany isn"t my strongest suit, I point out interesting plants and trees along the way.

Once we got going, I let Mia take the lead and let myself fall back. I've learned that having someone at the back of the group is important to prevent stragglers from getting lost. Ava is in the middle of the group, engrossed in conversation with one of the ladies. It doesn't take long for Barb to fall back with me.

I feel a sense of dread and hope that Ava will think to check on me soon. Then I hear it. Mia's piercing scream. "Dad! There's a snake! It"s a rattlesnake!"

"It's okay, honey. Just stay still and calm," I say as I make my way to the front of the group where Mia is. "Everyone stay still and calm." I step in front of Mia and slowly push her behind me. I feel much more confident once she's out of harm's way.

"Is it, Dad? Is it a rattlesnake?" Mia asks.

"Yep, sure is. But don't worry. She's probably more scared of us than we are of her. Just wait a minute to see if she'll be on her way." Of course, the snake doesn't move. I slowly stomp my feet, trying to scare her away without startling her. She rattles her tail, and the women behind me all scream. "Shh–" The snake lurches forward at me.