"You were right about the view, it's magnificent." Sara had no idea how to get the view over the national park on her photo. It was too big. She started to take photos from the left to the right, thinking of gluing them together for the panorama view later.
"It is. I mean there are better views when you go further in the park, all the famous ones but this one isn't too bad either. I haven't had a guest who ever complained about this." Sofia had left Kirundi, stepped to Caza and held her while Sara took photos. It had taken them a little bit over an hour to come from their lunch place to here. Most of the time they had spent in silence, watching the area, listening to birds and enjoying the time here. It was a pleasant silence, none of them had felt uncomfortable.
"You can't complain about this. It's wow." Sara got down, hugged Caza and gave her a piece of carrot she had in her pocket.
"Ready for another break?"
"Oh yes. There's no chance you can make me leave this place without taking a dozen photos. Of each direction."
"Didn't you do that already?"
"No." Sara grinned and took a photo of Sofia.
"Hey!"
"That's for the guys in Vegas. To show them what happens to you when you leave the city. You'll end up in the middle of nowhere, become a grandmother and can't afford a car anymore."
"Nature, family and horses, I'm sure there are some people having a worse life."
"The poor bastards who are your family?"
"You're mean again, Sara."
"Sorry." Sara chuckled and yelled when Sofia's index finger found is way back in her sides.
"Stop that!"
"You can't tell your horse to run away now." Sofia poked her again.
"Stop that!"
"No chance to run, no horse that will safe you. You need to fight for yourself."
"I told you to stop…" Sara put her camera aside and started to defense herself. She caught Sofia's hand and held on to them.
"Is that all you can offer?" The blonde teased.
"I don't have handcuffs but I can take the rein of a horse and tie you up with that."
"And you think I'll let you do that?"
"If I get your gun somehow…"
"Sara, I was a detective, I don't let anybody get my gun."
"Not anybody, a damn good CSI."
"A good CSI would never fight against a detective, they're on the same side."
"Not if the detective is a bad detective…ouch…are you biting me?"
"Yes."
"Detective Curtis, that's low."
"It worked." Sofia had her hands free again, got Sara's arms and pinned her to a tree. "You've the right to remain silent…"
"You bit me! Not the other way around."
"Self defense and I'm the detective."
"You were."
"There are still enough friends of me in the department I will get away with this."
"It's the name of your mother you use…ouch! You pinched me! Girl!"
"It's enough to fight like a girl when I have to fight you."
"Don't be too sure."
"I am."
"Bitch. I think I won't ask what I wanted to ask."
"What's that?"
"Not important anymore. A stupid idea as it shows now."
"Talk, suspect." Sofia got closer to Sara.
"Let go of my hands."
"Consider yourself as handcuffed." There was no doubt Sofia could hold on like this for a while. She wasn't working as a cop anymore but she still hand strong hands. It was something she needed here every day with the horses. If she wanted Sara to stand like this for another half an hour, there wasn't much Sara could do.
"Sofia."
"Detective."
"Please."
Immediately Sofia let go of Sara's hands. It wasn't the word 'please' that made her do that, it was the way Sara said it. She sounded scared, hurt, more like a child than a woman.
"I'm sorry, I…"
"It's alright. I just don't like it when I can't move my hands."
"Sara…" Sofia put her hand on Sara's shoulder.
"I'm really alright."
"I won't do that again."
"I won't give you the chance to do that again, detective. The next time you'll find yourself restrained."
"There won't be a next time." Sofia had no idea what she hit when she pinned Sara to the tree but she had hit something and she assumed it was a childhood experience that was related to the incident before.
"What do you want to ask?"
"I told you I won't ask it anymore."
"Do I have to tickle you to make you talk?"
"Did you do that with your suspects too?"
"You're not a suspect, Sara."
"Right I can't call for a lawyer."
"And I've no rights to hold you."
"You could leave me here and take both horses home."
"Even you know I would never do that."
"That sounds like I'm retarded."
"No just stubborn and always thinking I want to do something bad to you."
"I don't think that."
"Not?"
"No. If I would think so I wouldn't ask you if I can stay a little bit longer than the two weeks I've booked. Is there a chance to extend my stay or is my place taken by somebody else?"
"You're not living in a bungalow, Sara."
"I know maybe you have plans for the room."
"We don't rent the room, we have sometimes helper sleeping in there."
"I can help you. You said there's a lot of work and it's hard to find people who are willing to help. If you take somebody who can't ride, has not really any ideas about horses, doesn't like being surrounded by many people and is weird, I can be the one you're looking for."
"You're on a sick leave, you can't work. Ecklie will give you the trouble of your life."
"I so don't care what Ecklie says and thinks. He's in Vegas, he'll never know."
"What's about France?"
"Huh?"
"You said you might fly to France in ten days."
"Grissom hasn't returned one of my calls, he has obviously no time and before I sit in France the whole time, alone and bored, I prefer to be here. I think I can spend a lot of time improving my riding skills."
"He's your husband."
"And I'm his wife. Maybe he'll remember that one day. Until he does I think I prefer to do something I enjoy. Sitting in Paris and staring out of the window isn't a thing I enjoy. Too many people, too many buildings. This is much better.
What do you say? If you don't want a helper, do you want a guest for another…let's say six weeks. That gives me one more week to go back to Vegas until I'm allowed to work again."
"We're fully booked with guests until the middle of September."
"Oh." Sara was disappointed. Of course they were booked, summer was coming up, this, was a great place and the space was very limited.
"But we can use some help." Sofia smiled. "As I said you can't work because you're on a sick leave but you can help. Do you know woofing?"
"No."
"It's exchanging work for accommodation and food. You work three to five hours a day, depends on where you are and what you do and get your room and your food for free. No taxes, no real work. It's common in other countries, a lot of young people do it to have cheaper holidays. You do that for two weeks, you don't have to spend money on food and a bed, the most expensive things. So yeah if you want you can be our woofer."
"Sounds like an experience to me. What do you want me to do?"
"First of all you've another week as a guest and I think we'll find something for you. You did a good job on the meadow, you can take care of the kids, help Jamie in the kitchen and with the rooms, there'll be plenty of work after we're full."
"I can work for my riding lessons too?"
"Without a problem. You want me to be your instructor?"
"Will you be as mean as you are as a guide?"
"I'm not mean."
"Some cultures might consider being pinned to a tree as a funny thing, in America it isn't something you enjoy."
"I'm sure there are a few guys out who would love to be pinned to a tree by me."
"Depends on what you promise them to do while they stand there and can't move."
"That depends on how nice they were to me. I might just take the gun and shoot them."
"I doubt that's a fantasy of them."
"Life is full of disappointments."
"And surprises. I'm very surprised that there's no guy in your life. Are they blind in town?"
"No but I'll take you to town one evening and you will see what guys in our age are available and you'll understand why I prefer to be single."
"That bad?"
"There's a really good reason why they're free. It's a small town, every half decent guy is married, if a guy is available that means he can't keep his pants on or he is as smart as…not the kind of guy you want to spend your time with. And when their eyes are more below my eyes than meeting my eyes I'm not interested."
"They don't look you in your eyes? Stupid guys, they're lovely blue."
"Apparently this lovely blue isn't as nice as the chance to look into my shirt."
"I saw you half naked, shall I talk to the guys? Tell them they don't miss anything?"
Sofia narrowed her eyes.
"Not?"
"Careful, Sidle."
"What? You're a grandmother, you…ouch! Stop pinching me!"
"When you stop being mean I'll stop pinching you."
"It will be six very painful weeks of being a woofer. Poor me."
"Be nice and you'll have no pain."
"I might consider that but a little bit of pain can be fun."
Later in her bed Sara thought about the day. Twelve hours with Sofia out in the national park, twelve hours and Sara had been through all feelings. Happiness when she felt the freedom riding towards the park, leaving everything her. Fear and exciting when Caza took her up the mountain and gave Sara her first gallop. What a strange feeling. She felt the freedom even more, she felt the power of the horse and she felt the fear that she might fall. Sadness when she was reminded of her past, together with anxiety when she lost herself in memories of her past, of her father.
She had almost open up to Sofia. Had no other choice. The blonde got her out of a flashback twice. She must have been wondering what was happening to Sara, what pictures were running in her mind. If Sofia thought Sara was nuts? Shacking out of the blue without any obvious reason. Freaking out because she held her when they were playing. A game Sara had started.
Somehow Sofia didn't ask. She had offered to listen. She had helped Sara to get out of her memories, to leave these nightmares. If she knew what happened to Sara? Did Sofia see the same things with Jamie? Could you count the obvious together and knew what Sara's father did to her? Would she talk to Sara about that? Or would she leave it, leave Sara in peace and not give her the pain of talking about it, remembering it.
Sara had talked about her past, she had seen this counselor and it hadn't helped her. She never felt like her counselor had understood what she had been through. She had to go to him, she had to talk to him otherwise she had lost her job.
Sofia had the chance to talk to Sara. She had hours to ask questions and she didn't. She accepted the request not to ask, not to talk about it. Damn it, maybe Sara would tell her one day. She would stay here a few more weeks.
Crazy. First she didn't want to go and now she had asked to stay longer, had offered her help and replaced her trip to France with the ranch. She had replaced Grissom, her husband, with Sofia and Sofia's family. What did that tell her about herself? Her relationship to Grissom? Her marriage? Was she giving up on it? Was she about to move on without her husband? Was she about to do something she would regret?
Fact was, Grissom hadn't called when she was in hospital. He hadn't called when she left it and drove up here. She had called him three times, had left voice messages, he hadn't called her back, hadn't left a message. Was his job more important to him? Was staying here her revenge? To show him that she had something else she could spend her time with. Look, I don't need you and France, I can stay here and have fun without you. I don't need you to be happy.
And she was happy. No doubt about it. For the first time in a long time she had felt happy when she was on Caza and the horse brought her to all these nice places. With each day she learnt more and more how to lead the horse, how to control it without forcing it into something she felt happier. What did Sofia say? About the happiness and the horse? The greatest happiness on earth is sitting in the saddle of a horse. Sara wasn't sure if it was the greatest happiness but it made her happy. She hoped she could keep Caza for these next six weeks.
Next to her horse were the kids. Especially Kieran. After he was that shy when they first met, he had become attached to her. And she enjoyed the time with him. Patrick was very focused on Sofia, as soon as his mother was around he forgot everybody else. Kieran was focused on Sara. He had to show her every little place on the ranch he had seen, had to tell her the names of all cats, dogs and horses, needed to know why she didn't have any pets and why she didn't come to Wyoming when his grandmother moved here.
Was being this close to Kieran a sign? Was her subconscious telling her she wanted a baby? If that the case somebody should tell her subconscious she needed to go to France, her husband was there. She needed a man for a child.
Grissom and her as a family? She couldn't see that. He had never been interested in children, neither had she. Children reminded her too often of her own childhood, all the things that had happened to her. She wasn't good with children. At least she had thought that all the time. It looked like Kieran didn't think so otherwise he wouldn't spend all this time with her.
Could she imagine to become a mother? Taking care of a baby, not going to work for a few months. Being a housewife, changing dirty diapers instead of investigating crime scenes? Or would Grissom stay at home and take care of the child? Unlikely, he didn't leave his job for five minutes to call his wife, why should he give up the work and stay at home with their child?
No, there was not such a thing like a whole family with Grissom. At the moment there was not even a real marriage with him. One more year, that was what he had told her the last time. Until the next summer, then his contract ended. They would offer him a new one, they couldn't get a better one than him. He would take the offer because it was his chance to teach, to work as a scientist and he didn't have to worry about paper work. All they wanted from him was doing research and making experiments. Everything he ever dreamed of.
Note of author: and if Bayern Munich wins the CL tomorrow I'll post an extra story after the match :-) Not an extra chapter, an new, extra story...no, I'm not obsessed with soccer/football *lol*
