Time Canyon

By S.J. Bowen

Danny Williams goes through his daily routine of preparing for work. He knows this could be his last day on the job, he thinks about it every time he dresses for work. You see Danny is a Arizona Sheriff's Deputy. Danny would not be prepared for what was going to happen on this quiet night in the desert. On this night he falls asleep,waking up in 1880's Arizona of the old west. He meets a beautiful woman rancher and helps save her ranch. Danny tries to explain his modern equipment and at the same time tries to find a way back home. He befriends the local Indians and helps the town Marshal. He has an adventure that he knew he would never be able to explain to his fellow Deputies back home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: S.J. Bowen
• Release date: Jun 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311725868

S.J. Bowen

S.J. Bowen is a retired law enforcement officer with almost 30 years of service. Writing has helped him to cope with the pressures of the job. He has a Masters in Business management and has taught law enforcement classes at the local college. When he is not writing he is camping and fly fishing, now living in Idaho. He volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and loves wood working. Two more fictions are in the works and a behind the scenes look at the Justice System.

Book preview

TIME CANYON

by S. J. Bowen

Published by S.J. Bowen at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 S. J. Bowen

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Chapter I

As Danny Williams went about his routine of preparing for work, all he could think about was the gathering of his friends this coming weekend. Once every three or four months, Danny and his buddies from work would drive to a secluded part of the Arizona desert, set up camp and for two days, drink, tell stories and bond as men in their profession often do. It was a chance to shoot various guns; much different from their normal target practice at a sterile pistol range, because you could shoot anything and everything and Danny's friends had just about every kind of gun there was to shoot. This is important because, you see, they are all Sheriff Deputies, this was time to unwind and forget the stress of their jobs.

Danny's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden cold surge of water; he had been in the shower so long he had used every drop of hot water. Turning off the cold pounding stream of water, he stepped out through the fog-shrouded shower door and into a fog-shrouded bathroom. Wrapping a towel around his tan waist, he walked into his bachelor bedroom. He finished drying then dropped the towel on the floor, exposing his lean muscular body. He was almost 35 and still in good shape. Danny stood in front of the mirror for a moment and wondered if women would still find him attractive or was he getting too old. He pulled on a pair of navy-blue briefs, grabbed a pair of old blue jeans off the chair and slid them on. He walked to the almost bare closet and gazed at the three or four western dress shirts hanging there. Cops have a tendency to have limited wardrobes since a uniform dominates their daily wear. Except for the occasional coat and tie, the uniform almost eliminates the need for numerous selections and when off duty, comfortable casual clothes are the preference. After looking at the limited selection in the closet, Danny pulled open the top drawer of the dresser and retrieved a tee shirt with a faded silkscreen emblem of his favorite hockey team, then slipped it over his wet hair. A pair of white socks and Danny's favorite cowboy boots completed his dressing performance. As he looked with a defiant gaze in the mirror, he passed a brush through his sandy brown hair then made his way into the kitchen.

His kitchen was neat and well maintained for a bachelor. Danny opened the refrigerator door to find a typical bachelor board-a-fair, some cold pizza, a six-pack of beer, a bottle of Gator Aid, and a bottle of Champagne. Danny grabbed a slice of pizza and the bottle of Gator Aid then walked into the living room. He devoured the pizza in two bites and washed it down with a gulp of the green liquid. He picked up the mail on the coffee table and quickly thumbed through, seeing nothing of interest he let the letters fall back in the same spot. Danny moved back to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door and placed what was left of the Gator Aid on the shelf. Sliding his off-duty gun off the counter, he tucked it into his waistband and then retrieved a jacket from a hook on the back of the door. The afternoon sun shined through a small window in the door and filled the room as he swung it open. It was a beautiful spring day and Danny took a deep breath as he locked the back door then turned and walked toward the garage.

Danny had been divorced for five years. He often wondered if he had made the right decision to divorce without trying to make things work. They were both thirty when they were married and could not see through the passion-driven bliss of the time. Danny gazed at the bright sun squinting as he stopped at the garage door. He glanced down at a rose bush his wife Karen had planted just after they moved into the house and remembered the pain of the split-up. The house was the only thing he got from the divorce. As many divorces go, he just wanted out with little hurt. Karen got the car, all the furniture and anything else she wanted.

Karen was a beautiful young blond, with an equally complementing body. They fell in love the moment they met. She was attracted to Danny’s humble yet dominating demeanor. He was strong, sensitive, and handsome. Because of his job, their relationship became strained as the first three years passed. He worked long odd hours, as do most cops. Karen became impatient and demanding of his time. Danny was so absorbed in his job; he did not see the gap growing in their relationship. One day Danny came home late as he did often, but Karen was not home. There was a note on the bed; it said that she had gone home to her parents in California and that she would call after she had time to think. Danny could not understand why she would leave him; they had been so happy together.

After two weeks of separation, Karen called; she told him he would be getting the divorce papers soon. He was not ready to give up on their relationship. Danny flew to California and attempted to convince her to give their marriage a second chance. She refused to listen. After a week of talking, Danny gave up. He returned to their home and sunk into a separation depression. His friends at work tried to cheer him up and it began to work until he received a letter addressed to Karen. There was no return address with a California postmark. The letter had been mailed over three months prior; it had somehow been lost in the mail. Danny opened the letter to find a brief note from someone named Ken. The note went on to say how much fun he had with her and wanted to see her again. It went on to say, I look forward to seeing you here soon. The note was signed Love Ken.

Danny became enraged and realized that Karen’s move to California was not just to get away from their relationship, but also to be closer to Ken. Danny’s fingers could not dial her phone number fast enough. Her voice came on the line. He just listened then hung up. It would do no good to get in a fight over this he thought, as he looked at the phone. It was better that he just let go, so he did. He still thinks about what could have been and what was. It has been five years and he has had no meaningful relationship. Will I ever find the right woman he thought? I am tired of dating, but I don’t like being alone. I want someone to share my life with and grow old. He had come to the realization that his situation might be hopeless. He recently dated a girl from work. It’s not a love relationship, but she is company, they have fun together. Danny had immersed himself in his work. It helped to take his mind off his problems. The sun was now directly in his face and snapped him out of his deep thought. He turned the knob on the garage door and reached for the button to open the roll-up door.

Inside the garage was Danny’s pride and joy, a two-year-old Land Cruiser. It was rugged enough to impress the guys at work yet was sophisticated enough appeal to the women he dated. He had it loaded with his camping equipment and guns the night before, so he was ready for the shoot-out in the desert that next morning after he got off work. Danny walked around the metal beast, wiping the dust off with a rag he kept handy just for that purpose. Hopping into the driver’s seat, he started the engine and backed out his driveway. He stopped, as he did every day, half way down the drive to pick up the late edition newspaper from his front porch then jumped back into his soft leather seat.

Danny pulled into a parking spot in the secured area behind the station where he knew his equipment would be safe, then walked toward a door at the back of the station marked Briefing Room. As he walked into the room, some of the men from the prior shift just leaving the station greeted him.

Hi Danny, how’s it going, got a big date this weekend?

No, we're going shooting, you ought to come, he replied as he made his way through the maze of tables and chairs.

Nah, us married guys got honey-do's you know, the little woman doesn't like it when I go on those overnight trips with the guys, replied one of the exiting deputies.

Well at least you have someone to come home to, Danny said with a smile, showing the lack of meaning in his life.

Danny walked through the station as he did almost every day; checking the wanted board and exchanging small talk with people he met in the halls. Danny made his way to the locker room pushing the door open to see his friend Will Matthews.

Well, are you ready for tomorrow? said Will Matthews, a recently divorced portly red head, as Danny stepped into the room.

You bet. My Cruiser is loaded and ready. Danny said as he reached to open the lock on his locker.

You know it's nice to be single sometimes, like now, you don't have to get permission to go away for the weekend, Will quipped with a smirk. I'm going to find a girl who understands these things next time.

Will was bitter about his divorce and could not talk about anything else. Every conversation seemed to involve something about his past marital problems. Danny opened his locker and began to slip out of his jeans and into his uniform.

Will turned to Danny as he was struggling to fasten his Sam Brown belt around his bulging belly. You will never have a hard time finding a girl who will do the things you want. You’re a girl magnet. Women swoon when you walk into a room.

Yeah, right. How come I haven’t had a date for two months, if I am such a magnet?

Will finally forced the Sam Brown together around his waist. You need to hit a few of the hot spots around town. There are many beautiful women to be found, you could have your pick. You and I could go down to the dance club and cruise the floor. Maybe if I am with you, I might even get lucky.

Danny poked Will’s belly. You know I don’t like going to those bars. I just find women who are looking for a sugar daddy. They don’t want a thirty-five-year-old divorced cop. I gave up on that scene over a year ago. I figure I will stay a bachelor for a while and maybe the right woman will come along.

Will turned to walk out, You better change your attitude, or you will never find a woman.

Will tried to round the corner quickly as he saw Danny preparing to throw an old sock at him, but as usual Danny was too quick, the sock hit him in the back of the head.

There seems to be cycles of divorces and marriages in the police business. They must be in the divorce cycle, Danny thought to himself. There must be four or five of his friends who are recently divorced, hanging around the local nightclubs looking for company. In a year or so, there will be a marriage cycle. All those rebound marriages. You know most of them will not last and we will go through a divorce cycle again. There is also an incestuous nature to all of this. The guys seem to marry each other’s ex-wives. There must be three or four men in his watch who married someone else’s ex-wife. I guess we just don’t learn. Like the song says, we are looking for love in all the wrong places.

The briefing room was dim and smelled of stale coffee as the graveyard shift mustered for the shift assignments.

Jennings! shouted Sergeant Scott. You’re on Duce watch, Ramirez called in sick. Williams, you’re south end tonight. We have been getting complaints about campers in Smoke Canyon, check it out.

The Sergeant continued to bark out assignments and it seemed as if no one was paying attention. Danny would normally not care for this assignment because it was way out on the south end of the patrol area and nothing ever happened there. Nevertheless, tonight it was okay because he thought he might be able to catch a couple hours of sleep in the canyon. It also meant he would be assigned the four-wheel drive jeep which he enjoyed driving.

The briefing ended after everyone received their printouts of stolen cars and beat assignments. Will met up with Danny as they went to the door. I suppose you are going to try to get some sleep tonight? Will asked with a smirk.

I'm going to try, Danny whispered, "You just stay off the radio and leave me alone. If you hear them calling me and I don’t answer, call me on the phone. I’ll keep it on even though