Mammoth Dawn Read Online Free Page A

to the educated Luddite—was that an oxymoron?—he tossed it into a desk drawer in disgust. He had better things to look forward to that evening.
    O O O
    Alex rode his strong black gelding uphill, stretching himself and enjoying the zest of at last getting away from the office, far away, with Helen and the young ranch hand Cassie Worth. Clement Valley was about as deep in the wilderness as he could go and still remain on his vast acreage.
    After the irksome arguments and corporate busyness of the afternoon, this was heaven. He had spurned the convenience of using a company jeep; taking the horses felt more natural, more real . As the dense alders and ponderosa pines closed around the narrowing four-wheel-drive road, they rapidly left the log-cabin lab buildings and the Pleistocene Hospital behind.
    Cassie, the spunky and at times incredibly earnest young ranch hand, urged her horse into a trot ahead, anxious to get to the high overlook into the next valley. The young woman’s long chestnut hair had been quickly woven into a thick practical braid that dangled beneath her white cowboy hat. Her face still retained a splash of youthful freckles, and her clear blue eyes held a fresh sense of wonder.
    With good reason , he thought, since she has seen miracles .
    But Alex and Helen did not hurry. Feeling anticipation build, they rode side by side, smelling the creaking saddles, the sweating horses, and the sweet sun-warmed pine sap. It had been a long time since they’d been so calm, though young Cassie’s presence would dampen any amorous impulses in the sleeping bags out by the campfire. No matter; it was good just to be together.
    While Helen watched approvingly, he had made a brave show of switching off his pager, but within half an hour the cloying weight of corporate responsibility forced him to turn it back on. When Helen wasn’t looking, of course …
    Horse Valley was more lush now than it had been for millennia. Using Helyx profits, Alex had started this ranch by channeling mountain streams into the headlands above, so that his experts could use the moisture to grow the sedges that normally flourished only in tundra. Reflections of aspen shimmered in mirror puddles of water as he headed up the slope, relishing the crisp air. Purple poets always talked about the “forest primeval” and Alex couldn’t get the phrase out of his mind. That’s how this is supposed to be.
    In low-lying swampy areas beside the path, giant ferns like horned and scaly monkeys’ tails curled up, flourishing next to fluted flat-leaved hyacinth—ancient plants that had not grown naturally since the last ice age. As they rode past, he sniffed the mulchy smell, wondering if the resurrected plants were edible, if there might be a high-end niche market for, say, Jurassic Salads.…
    “Majestica is looking ready to deliver,” Cassie called over her shoulder, slowing her mare so her two bosses could catch up. “I’ve gotten close enough three times in the last week to take readings, but Bullwinkle doesn’t like it.”
    Alex smiled. “They trust you, Cassie.” Forget the scientists and the so-called professional handlers; this young woman had a better knack with the big beasts than anyone else on the ranch.
    Helen drew a deep, satisfied breath. “It’ll be our first pureblood, after fifteen years.”
    “Think of it as an anniversary present,” he said. “Without your grandiose dreams I would have spent all my research money on a cure for flatulence.” The three horses splashed across a stream, climbing steadily now.
    Helen laughed. “I still think you deserve the Nobel Prize.”
    “Relieving the world’s diarrhea problems through genetic engineering makes one fabulously rich, but earns no professional respect whatsoever.”
    Behind them, the view was stunning, a full mile of untouched wilderness. It felt odd to know that he owned very nearly everything within view, even from the highest vantage. Only in Montana was there enough