With curled biceps Sally dug into her heels and drug Rusty from the base of the rock in which he had fallen. The windswept foothills near the Windrush River were now covered from snow flurries and temperatures were plummeting. There was no time to delay or the two-track trail back to the Gold Rope Ranch would soon be impassable.

Her arms ached from burning muscles and she collapsed halfway up the incline of the embankment.  A fine fishing line between love and bait connected Sally Squatsnfishes and Rusty Flathers at this moment. She would not be beaten by the likes of Mother Nature or refuse help to the man that meant the most to her world.

Departing exhaustion, she momentarily left Rusty’s unconscious ghost and scaled the balance of the hillside to the Ranger ATV. Placing the winch in reverse she descended the slope of the river, met his torso by wrapping the cable under his arms and clamping the clevis firmly around his chest.

The heavy snowfall was a blessing in that it allowed a smoother transition from halfway up the bank to the top of the foothill where she could then place him into the rear passenger seat. With remote control in hand Sally began reeling the winch while guiding Rusting upward and cradling his head for safety.

Reaching the crest of the hill was a small victory compared to the next step of loading the non-responsive body. Sincerity, a sorrel-colored quarter horse with a light copper mane, most often used at the Gold Rope Ranch for trail riding, stood ready at the reins.

Taking the lariat from the horse’s saddle, Sally used the noose end of the rope to run through the backseat of the ATV and then wrapped it around Rusty’s upper torso. In this moment love would prevail.

Holding his limp body, she could find no commanding word to make Sincerity back up and assist in towing the 190lb frame. But Sally would not be denied.

Now… Crying uncontrollably… She experienced a rush of adrenaline that sent shockwaves throughout her mass. The boost of physical strength was enough to provide a quick solution, as she solely hoisted Rusty from the ground with a fireman’s carry and planted him in the rear seat of the rig.

Then… Tying off Sincerity to the nearest tree limb… She hopped in the driver’s seat, engaged the ATV and raced toward the ranch. With Rusty still unconscious in the rear seat there was no need for hesitation. The foot feed to the throttle was held to the floor and if it wasn’t tied down it was now flying about inside the cab.

The two-track through the foothills provided ample moguls to dodge… Enough so that Sally felt as though she was driving a boat across a three-foot chop on “Lake I’m Gonna Jar Your Teeth Loose.”

Rusty wasn’t fairing much better in the back seat… But the ticking clock with an unconscious passenger kept the Ranger humming and bouncing like a ping pong ball. Peering at the rear-view mirror Sally glimpsed long enough to confirm her freight was secure, and then mouthed the words “Hold on Rusty Flathers, I love you.”

The ranch was bustling with mid-morning activity when she steered into the yard, locked up the tires on the rig and jumped out hollering, “Someone get a doctor! Someone get a doctor!”

Instantly a crowd surrounded them and four men assessing the situation followed orders and carried Rusty to the reception area of the main lodge where they placed him on a sofa in the lobby. Simultaneously, an individual referred to as “Doc” was on his way down the steps of the second-floor hallway to greet them.

“How bad is he Doc?” asked Ron Heimburg who had joined the crowd along with partner Geoff Loonsuckle.

     “Bad enough I think we need to load him into your chopper and get him to an ER. It’s not so much the bump on his head… It doesn’t appear as though there was much more than a scratch worth of bleeding… But for unknown reasons he’s still unresponsive, even though his vitals are good.”

     “Alright, we’ll get the chopper warmed up. Has anyone seen my son Jackie? It might be good if we sent him along with the pilot. Sally, I assume you will go along as well,” voiced Geoff.

With the helicopter lifting off… Ron turned to his partner and stated, “We were lucky to have a doctor among our crowd of guests. I feel as though it eased the tension of this emergency a fair amount.”

“I would agree,” returned Geoff. “Albeit, unbeknownst to our crowd, our guest Doc White is actually an optometrist.”

“Ah… Close enough…” replied Ron as the chopper disappeared beyond the range of the foothills.

Jackie Loonsuckle was nowhere to be seen that morning at the Gold Rope Ranch. Instead, Ellie Waylayer rode shotgun with the pilot and accompanied Sally and Rusty on the short flight to Missoula.

With Rusty’s head resting in her lap… Sally brushed the brown curly bangs from his forehead, then turned her vision to the mountain studded horizon outside the window. “These adventures are dangerous for you,” she thought to herself. “I know you don’t know it, but I’ll be leaving soon. And even though I love you… Maybe it’s for the best.”

The pilot voiced over the intercom, “prepare for turbulence as we approach this pass.” And no later than the words were spoken the aircraft fell twenty feet from the sky! Sally let out a scream… Then Ellie sounded off… As did one groggy and peyote induced casualty Mr. Rusty Flathers!

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Where are we?!” he bellowed, bolting upright and burying his fingers into the leather bench seat of the helicopter.

Sally was awestruck and fired back, “Rusty you were comatose… I found you this morning lying at the base of a rock near the Windrush River… There was a bump on your head… Blood in the snow… We are air lifting you to the ER in Missoula!”

Rusty tilted back on the headrest and began to belly-laugh uncontrollably.

“Sally, there’s a fine fishing line between love and bait, and you’re most likely going to hate me for this… But… The bump on my head? That’s from a couple days ago when I went on that wild bison ride. And the blood in the snow near the base of the rock? Most likely it was from the three mallard drakes that I had harvested at first light. The only coma I’ve been in was self-induced.

“What are you talking about! I saw you lying there! I saw you totally out of it!” She fought.

“Yes, you did,” he replied, “and it was the wildest trip I’ve ever been on.”

     “And thanks to the green dragon… I now know the truth… You and I are going to be OK!”

– THE END SEASON TWO –

What’s in the very near future for Rusty? Stay tuned next week for the start of SEASON NUMBER THREE!

More piscatorial tales, along with other more humorous adventures!