Chapter Two: The Preparations

"Hoot? Hoot Peterson?"

The last thing Hoot wanted to do before he left Pagosa was attract any undo attention. As he scanned the boulevard for his questioner, however, his eyes rested on the attractive figure of Dorothy Jones dragging two small boys behind her. Slender and athletic, Dorothy wasn't a woman to be ignored. Hoot could see why Kay was so often distracted up at the camp.

"Mrs. Jones," he said with a courteous tip of his Stetson.

"I thought that might be you, Hoot. What are you up to? Getting supplies for the camp?" Dorothy's green eyes bore deep into Hoot. Unlike his father, and despite the fact he yearned to be an actor, Hoot didn't have much of a poker face.

"Yep, I'm gonna take it all up this evening," he lied.

Dorothy didn't believe him for a second. "Boys," she began as she kneeled down and directed her boys to the pharmacy, "why don't you see if Doc Redd has any new candy. Hoot and I are going to have a little chat."

The boys anxiously shuffled off to ooh and ahh at the bright colored hard candies displayed in the front window of the pharmacy. Dorothy watched them leave then stood and placed her hands firmly on her hips.

"So, Hoot...you're really going to do it?" she asked already assuming the answer.

Hoot looked mortified. "Do what?" he cried, certain Kay hadn't had time to betray his trust and wondering if Dorothy really knew.

"I see," she gently nodded. "You haven't told your pa just yet."

In a last ditch effort to avoid any further discussion, Hoot decided to play dumb. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Jones. I'm afraid I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

Dorothy chuckled and assessed the gangly young man with the frightened gaze and the thick, curly blond hair. She admired him. She had often dreamed of a different life; a life without children and responsibilities. She loved her husband and her boys, and she had no regrets about them, but she'd wanted to go to Santa Fe when she was younger and become an artist. It wasn't a reality she could imagine, but still she had thought about it. She looked squarely into Hoot's soft blue eyes. She saw so much potential. So much raw energy.

"Its okay, Hoot, I didn't tell a soul. I promise."

The tense wrinkles on Hoot's face dissolved immediately upon hearing Dorothy's words. His shoulders relaxed and he took a big relaxed breath. Dorothy's warm smile invited an explanation and Hoot, although he was embarrassed by his deception, felt like sharing.

"How'd you find out?" he finally asked.

"Oh, I have my sources, Hoot. You forget Kay and I moved here from Blanding. It's been floating around there for awhile."

"Really?" Hoot seemed surprised.

"It isn't often a daredevil visits those parts." Dorothy's eyes narrowed and her thin lips pursed into a slight frown. "So, why all the secrecy?"

"It's just that I'm so nervous, Mrs. Jones. I ain't never done nothing like this, you know?"

Dorothy again nodded. "I know."

"And I was gonna tell him. Really I was, but you know how he gets. I just didn't want to upset him is all." Hoot's voice started to tremble as he thought about his father's reaction to the news.

"So, how do you think he's going to find out?"

"Your husband and the big Indian, Joe, was gonna tell him this afternoon sometime."

"Oh, my husband's going to tell him, is he?" Dorothy's voice suddenly became less playful and a bit more business-like. "What else is my husband up to besides breaking your pa's heart?"

Hoot could feel a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. Somehow the whole conversation had gotten away from him. "Nothing that I know of, Mrs. Jones. He's always talking about you and the boys, least as far as I can tell."

"Now, Hoot, you know as well as I do that Kay isn't much of a talker."

Hoot nodded in a form of defeat. "Like I said, least as far as I can tell."

"It's okay, I know he's been busy, what with the early frost and all. It's just that I miss him, Hoot. That's all."

Hoot stood quietly for a few moments not knowing what he should say, so he didn't. Dorothy took the hint and let him off the hook.

"So when are you headed out?" she asked, returning to her playful demeanor.

Hoot shifted his weight back and forth like an anxious father at a hospital. "That's just it, ma'am. I want to leave right now, but I have to collect on a few debts, and they won't be ready 'til tomorrow. I just know my pa's going to find me if I don't go, but I can't."

Just then, Dorothy's boys returned from the pharmacy and began to tug at her dress. Dorothy reluctantly picked the youngest one up and with a fierceness Hoot hadn't expected, she looked him square in the eyes. "Just follow your dreams, Hoot. Just follow them."

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