Juan glanced at his dad, who smiled again and nodded encouragingly. The look on his face was innocent, though. Juan realized he couldn’t possibly know about the woman in their cabin.
“No, you weren’t on a leisurely ride,” Juan continued. “The zig-zag pattern of the horse prints were purposeful, like, like you were searching the ground.”
He paused to think. He must choose his next words carefully.
“You were searching for…you were trying to find…me.”
Juan stopped talking and took a long drink of water. He observed Dr. Zell winking at Judd again, and him frowning back.
“Yes, Juan, well, that’s more like it!” exclaimed Dr. Zell, smiling at Juan. “You’re absolutely right, we were looking for you, and we thought we were following you and your dog. But we lost your boot prints when we crossed the river and tried following Max’s paw prints up the river, until we lost him as well.”
“That wasn’t Max; it was a coyote that went up the north side of the river,” revealed Juan.
Carl lost control and guffawed heartily. Then he said, “Isn’t this perfect! Judd, I think you’ve met your match in the out of doors. Extremely well done, Juan - young man. Yes, perfection!”
“Yes, well done, Juan,” grumbled Judd, without smiling. Then he gave the doctor a nod, a signal she seemed to be expecting.
“Hank,” Dr. Zell addressed Juan’s father. “We’d like Juan’s help on an urgent matter we have at one of my other…um, properties. Could he join us for a few days? We’ll need to fly out this evening, soon after dinner, if that’s okay with you.”
Hank scowled. “You know, I have to say I’m not excited about that. Is it where you took Maya five years ago?”
“Hank, you know I’m very sorry about what happened to Maya. It was a freak accident, and I miss her still. But no, this is a different place.”
Suddenly Juan noticed Judd watching him intently. Their eyes met. Juan was startled by what looked like a signal from Judd. What did it mean?
Hank spoke, “I see. And thank you, Dr. Zell. Well, you know, Juan does have school tomorrow and many chores here on the ranch,” he demurred.
“Can’t you get someone to cover Juan’s chores? How many cowboys work here now?” interrupted Dr. Zell.
“Well, yes…of course, doctor.”
Hank gave Juan a concerned look and asked, “What do you think?”
Juan was thinking fast. He didn’t want to leave, he was still angry about the dinner conversation tonight, and he wanted to find out more about the mystery girl anyway. He was considering how he might avoid getting involved.
“I just want to go home and go to bed. I’ve had a long, hard day. Doctor, and Mr. Judd, sir, I was hoping to finish school and graduate early so I could start guiding our fly fishing guests daily, not just on weekends. I wanted to get a few more trips this summer before I leave for college. I’ll need the money. And if I take this week off from school, it will take another week or more to catch up. Is this matter so important?”
Judd, Carl, and the doctor exchanged glances. Judd nodded his head and cleared his throat as if to speak, but Dr. Zell spoke first.
“Yes, Juan. It is critical that you help us. You see, there is a woman in need,” she paused and looked at Carl. “A woman,” she repeated, “and she’s…she’s lost, or perhaps delirious and runaway. She’s very ill and confused, and she needs our help. And, as I’m sure you have guessed, we lost her trail in the wilderness. We need your help to find her. Won’t you help us rescue her?”
Juan pushed his plate back and laid his head on the table. He was so tired he thought he was going to cry.
“I don’t want to go!” he moaned.
“Come on, son, pull yourself together,” said Hank.
“Yes, Juan. Get it together. We need you. You’ll be a hero. You’re gifted for a reason,” said Judd.
Juan lifted his head and looked at Judd. Again, he thought Judd was giving a signal. Was that a slight nod?
Juan looked at Dr. Zell, who was looking at Judd. She shifted her focus to Juan, but he thought he sensed she was seething with anger. He remained silent.
“Juan, I won’t force you, it’s your choice,” said Dr. Zell.