Written for Steemit: A love story occurs during a time anomaly. A woman from today somehow steps into an anomaly and meets a cowboy asleep on his ranch, in his bed, in the 1850's. ©Jeff Kubitz 2016 - All Rights Reserved.
Song of Angels - Chapter 9
Mindy Woczlewski courtesy of Nastya Muratokova
Please read and vote for the previous chapters:
Song of Angels - Chapter 1
Song of Angels - Chapter 2
Song of Angels - Chapter 3
Song of Angels - Chapter 4
Song of Angels - Chapter 5
Song of Angels - Chapter 6
Song of Angels - Chapter 7
Song of Angels - Chapter 8
“Oh yes, that is something to seriously consider and act upon as soon as is possible.” Cyrus said. He paused and looked at Mindy a little strangely and then he asked her, "You came all alone, with no gun, knife, or even heavy clothes, weren't you afraid you might die or worse could happen to you?"
“I was not afraid at all, Cyrus.” Mindy replied and looked at Cyrus a little strangely but continued, “My clothes are up in Salt Lake City, in the hotel. I don’t bring much when I am making sales calls, since I only expect to be gone for the day and then return to the hotel.”
“Come here and return to the hotel? In one day from Salt Lake City?” Cyrus asked with amazement.
Mindy looked at Cyrus very strangely but answered, “Why yes, I mean all I had to do was call on the cement plant, maybe make a couple of other stops in the county, if I found anything and then head back to the hotel. Tomorrow, well when I returned, I planned to head into Nevada.”
“I have to see this jeep of yours, Mindy there is no cement plant around here. Someone gave you bad directions. There isn’t much of anything other than a few homestead ranches for at least fifty miles in all directions. Most towns don’t have more than a trading post, although I heard they are running the rail line down from Salt Lake City to Milford and expect to be there in a couple of years.”
“Cyrus, quit joking with me, I called them on the phone before I came out here. We have sold pipe to them before in very large quantities.”
“Phone?” Cyrus looked at Mindy as odd, “What is a phone?”
“Here I’ll show it to you haven’t you ever seen a phone?” Mindy went to her purse and searched it, while Cyrus answered,
“Not only have I not seen a phone, I have never heard of a phone. What is it used for?”
Mindy found the phone in her purse, turned it on and showed Cyrus the phone. “See, Cyrus.”
“How does it light up like that? What is it used for?” Cyrus looked amazed.
“What?” Mindy asked.
“I have never heard of anything like that what’s in your hand, ever.”
“Doesn’t someone around here at one of the other ranches have a wired phone?”
“No. No one has a phone in any of the towns at all either. There is the wireless in Fillmore but that is the territory capital. No place else has a telegraph at all.”
“Wireless? This phone is wireless and as far as a telegraph? I have not heard of anyone using a telegraph in a very long time. Look, there is still no bars.”
“No bars?”
“There is no signal so the phone can’t be used.” Mindy turned it off. “I have to save the batteries.”
“Batteries?”
“The batteries provide the power for the phone.” Mindy answered, and then said, “Cyrus, I noticed you have nothing modern and you look and act like someone from the old west.”
“Nothing modern, my pistol and rifle are modern as they get and the black smith in Fillmore made me this Bowie knife. They are real popular around here.”
“I don’t know much about guns but I have heard of the Bowie knife. That is a famous knife but modern?” Mindy stated and waited for Cyrus to answer.
“Well the Bowie became famous about twenty years ago, at a place called the Alamo and twenty years to spread out to places like this is pretty quick.”
“Pretty quick to spread out in twenty years?”
“Well, for the design to spread that fast from Texas is a miracle.”
“Cyrus, what year do you think it is?”
“What year do I think it is, Mindy? I know it is 1856.”
“1856?” Mindy stood in shock and started to shake. Fear came on her face, “1856? You are joking right? I think I will faint.”
Cyrus grabbed Mindy before she could fall and set her in the chair. He took her phone and put it in her purse, then chaffed her wrists then took his hat and waved it in front of her nose to give here air. “Mindy, Mindy don’t leave me now, please don’t leave me.”
Mindy started to come around, “Huh? What?” Mindy regained some composure.
“Breathe deep and slow dear.” Cyrus said. “Breathe evenly. That’s it”
“I am fine, you scared me that is all. I can see that you are very concerned for me Cyrus. It is okay, you do not need to wave the hat by my face.”
“Oh, good, I was afraid you’d go like Claire, all of a sudden.” Cyrus stopped waving the hat and chaffing Mindy’s wrists. Mindy did not really hear Cyrus mention the name Claire.
“You think it is 1856?” Mindy asked.
“Yes, what year do you think it is Mindy?”
“Why it is 2012.”
“2012?” Cyrus looked stunned. But used to a life of survival where seconds counted and meant the difference between life and death, he quickly recovered, then said, “When I first saw you, I knew this had to be some kind of a dream. Especially in the night, when, we cuddled, it had to be a dream. Then the storm came, the fence broke, the cattle broke out of the pasture. I knew that you are no dream because I began to get very wet working in all that snow. My boots, my pants’ legs were soaked after awhile and then I had to get the cattle back into the pasture. I was cold as cold but used to such things and here you were when I came back, asleep in the chair.”
“This is no dream Cyrus. I do not understand it either. But I drove out here January 16th, 2012. When I thought I was lost, I turned off the jeep. Then it would not restart. I thought to walk back the way I came, and the road changed.”
“The road changed?”
“I drove on a well maintained dirt or gravel road and then all of a sudden, I was on something that wasn’t really much more than a wide path.”
“That wide path is the road all right.” Cyrus said. “The road isn’t anything more than that out here.”
“Then I was out of the jeep looking around, and I heard strange singing off to the west, a choir of people singing in the strangest voices and so I went that way for help and ended up here.”
“I know what you are talking about.” Cyrus answered. “I have heard that song only a few times, always different, it is the angels singing.”
“You think it is the angels singing?”
“I know it isn’t people. The first couple of times I heard it I went out on Cutter to find their camp. I thought maybe a wagon train was about and the settlers were holding a service, though it was the best singing I ever heard.” Cyrus stated matter of fact.
“It was so beautiful, their voices, that I thought there must be a concert close by and so I walked toward the sound of it. When I saw Cutter the singing stopped.” Mindy retold her journey. Then said, “Did you hear them this time, Cyrus?”
“I did not. I was a sleep all day, which is unusual for me, but the two previous days, I had to keep an eye on a band of Paiutes until they moved south. No use allowing trouble to happen.”
“What is a Paiute?”
“Injun.”
“Native American Indians?”
“I guess so. They are usually mannerly in a tribe but this was a band of about five young bucks and I needed no coup on me.”
“Coup?”
“They’ll steal or wreak havoc for honor if they aren’t with the tribe when they are that young. Boys having fun but who needs the expense.”
“Oh. No Cyrus. This is no dream. I have never been loved before and I can tell I have been loved.”
“You all right Mindy?”
“Oh I am fine now, Cyrus. A little shocked at myself as to how easy I fell for you but…”
“Dear, you need explain nothing to me, I understand and I must apologize, you looked so strange, so exotic, like a dream. I misbehaved and thought I was in a dream.”
“No. No dream. I do not understand it. But I need to get back to the jeep and Salt Lake City as soon as possible because I am paying for the hotel.”
“Mindy, the snow is far too deep for you to leave yet, unless you are expert at riding a horse in the snow?”
“No I have never ridden a horse except around the dairy farm and that is all flat and - could not ride through this snow, no.”
“Perhaps you need to eat?” Cyrus asked with concern, “I know I could eat a steer.”
“Yes, that must be it, hunger.” Mindy said weakly. “Cyrus, you really cannot be, this cannot be 1856 Utah?”
“Mindy, this is certainly not 2012 Utah. I have to see that jeep but looking at your phone. Well, I don’t know, anymore other than I thank God and all above you showed up here.”
“This is certainly not Utah in 2012, either but it is wonderful, beautiful. I am frightened by what has happened and do nt understand it or have ever heard of anything like it. Ever!”
“Eat.” Cyrus said.
“Eat.” Mindy answered, “This is no dream at all I am hungry, hungry, hungry.”
“I’ll jump to it.” Cyrus stood up. Turned, fetched a Dutch oven and put some water in the pot, set the steak in it and put the lid on.
He went over to the stove. Opened the burner lid and set it aside with a little pot iron tool for just the purpose. Then he moved it to the floor. He dropped some wood down the hole. He looked to see if it caught. It did. Then he set the Dutch oven over the burner.
“It’ll be about an hour Mindy.”
“I don’t know if I can wait that long.”
“I have some jerky.”
“Yes, I’ll take a piece of jerky, please, Cyrus.”
Cyrus handed her the jerky, which she took gratefully.
“Umm…this is good where did you get this?”
“I make it Mindy.”
“You make your own jerky?”
“Yes, of course. I do everything around here.”
“I really am in 1856 aren’t I Cyrus, you aren’t joking with me?”
“You really are in 1856 Mindy.”
“Well, at least the jerky and the man is great!” Mindy said smiling.
“The women from 2012 are really something and I just can’t wait to go to see that jeep. Tomorrow if, the snow is not still too deep.”
“Are we having just meat?”
“I have some beans and onions to go with it if you would like?”
“Yes, anything you can put in there will be wonderful. I thought maybe people in 1856 only ate meat and biscuits.”
“No, we eat a lot more than that and I set these bean to soaking before I left this morning and they should be good and soft. Cook fast.” Cyrus said.
“Oh good.” Mindy said between sucking on her jerky. “How long is fast?”
“Hour or so.” Cyrus said quietly. Then he asked, “Mindy, if you could, all of a sudden like, be back in 2012 Utah, would you want to go?”
“I would have to go,” Mindy said, “Or men would show up and take the jeep back.”
“Oh,” Cyrus said dejectedly.
“But that is not what you are asking me is it?” Mindy said, “You want to know if I will move out here and stay with you?”
“That is what I want to know Mindy, yes.”
“Well,” Mindy watched Cyrus add the onions, beans, dried peppers, and other dried vegetables to the Dutch oven then put the lid on, “As they said at the dairy, the milk has been spilt. And we have an hour before dinner is ready.”
“What?” Cyrus asked. Mindy swallowed the last of the beef jerky.
“Dear Cyrus, would you like me to answer your question?”
“Why yes Mindy, I would.”
Then Mindy gave Cyrus a huge beaming smile, rose from the chair, and walked to the bedroom. In the open doorway she said to a stunned Cyrus, “If I ever do get out of 1856, will you come show me a real good reason why I should get back as quick as possible before dinner is ready?”
Cyrus smiled. “Yes, Mindy, I will and he followed her into the bedroom.
They kissed and stripped of each others’ clothes.
“I am not used to this cold.”
“Let’s get under the blankets quick.”
They were off and loving just like they did it in the old days, just to keep warm.
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