Chapter Two
I dusted my jeans off and adjusted my hat, trying to shield my eyes from the sun. I didn't have many hangover symptoms, but that Texas summer sun was getting to me for sure as I helped my father on the ranch. I had made it a habit to work with him at least three days a week to prove to him that I could do it. I knew I was a tiny girl, and I hadn't always seemed that serious, but I had a work ethic. I especially had one when it came to do what I loved which was feeding animals and working the land. I could repair fences and help a cow give birth as good if not better than any other guy that worked on a ranch.
"You've been doing a good job lately," my father praised, nodding over to me as he wiped the beads of sweat pooling above his wrinkled brow. Up close in the sun it was easy to tell that my father was aging. He was still a very handsome man with salt and pepper hair, and he was in great shape. But his face looked like it had seen many years. He had sun spots too, running up and down his neck. Would I look like that in 20 years?
"Thank you, that means the world to me. I don't want you to think I'm just trying to be a burden for you guys. I really love it here," I told him, picking up my jug of water and letting some run down the back of my neck.
"What made you think we felt that way, Star?" he asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.
"It's just everyone else is getting married and getting careers and their own places, and here I am coming in at three in the morning and still living with you guys rent free. It's not because I don't want to do anything."
"Oh, Star, I didn’t think it was. We love having you here, and I wouldn't call all this sweating rent free. But I do worry that you might want to do something else but you feel obligated to stay here and take on the family business. I mean maybe you might like to move to a bigger city and find a husband or a new career. You should be exploring at this age." Star shook her head, wondering what she was doing that made it unclear what she wanted.
"I know I could have all those things, and at some point I'm sure I'll want a family and to see other places. But I love small town living, and I like working with my hands and being with the animals. I don't feel jipped. I feel whole." I looked around me finding it hard to imagine another way of life in a place where people didn't work with their hands and didn’t have ranches; where they had bosses and sat in front of computers all day.
"I can understand that, but I am bit surprised. I didn’t realize you were so passionate about this. We can talk more about it if we go riding. Would you like to?"
I nodded. He knew how much I enjoyed riding horses. I'd started very young, insisting on it even though I kept falling off. I quickly became a natural and even trained a couple of them for competitions.
We went into the stables and picked out our horses. I chose a white one with black spots. She was young and loved to run. My father picked his trusty old red horse. He was regal and muscular and had been in the family for the last seven years.
We trotted out of the stables as I tried to control my horse's urge to run. "So, what is it you're wanting to do or accomplish?" he asked, looking at me seriously. It was nice to be able to connect like that with my father. I knew so many people who didn’t have any kind of relationship with their father. Not that he and I had always been close. I spent my teenage years disagreeing with him and getting closer to my mother, but it was just a phase. My father was my hero now that I knew all the hard work he put in every day to make sure that our family could live the way we did. He was the hardest worker I knew.
“Well, I’d like to work on a ranch, possibly run one someday. To be honest, I was hoping eventually I could take over this one or be your partner or something when you guys get older and can’t do as much. I am just not sure what to do while I’m waiting. I really love it here, Dad, and I don’t want to leave. But I do want to be my own person and pay the bills and all of that, you know?”
My father chuckled and patted me on the back. “I can understand that completely. You know I was the middle child in my family, but my younger sister of course didn’t want anything to do with the ranch. Then, my brother who I assumed would get it flunked out of college and fell out with my father. I was only 16 when I saw that opening and went for it. I got my GED and started to work on this place immediately. It’s what I always wanted. And you are clearly my daughter. And I think what you want is reasonable. There are plenty of ranches to get experience on around here including mine. You should think about that and look into it. Then, we can go from there.”
I nodded, feeling suddenly really good about myself. I really didn’t know for sure if they wanted me to work on the ranch or take over one day, but it seemed like my father was going to take me seriously. “Thanks, Dad,” I said as we rounded a corner. It seemed we had only been out there a couple minutes, but as we headed back towards the stables, I realized it had been much longer.
“There was actually something I wanted to ask you about,” my father said as we got closer to the stables and climbed off of the horses.
“Okay, what is it, Dad?” I asked, feeling a little curious.
“Your mother and I have our wedding anniversary coming up in a few days, and I’d really like to do something special for her. I can’t remember the last time we took a trip together, so I wanted to take her to Galveston for a little bit and maybe see that pier they put up and just relax together, you know? But I’ll need someone who can take care of the ranch while we’re gone. I was hoping that maybe you’d be alright with doing that.” He looked up at me almost guiltily, like he thought it would be a burden to ask such a thing. But my parents had been married for 30 years almost, and they deserved some time away. And I was happy to give it to them.
“Dad, I don’t know why you seem to feel so guilty about asking. Even if I didn’t want to work on the ranch I would do this for you guys. I think it’s great that you want to take Mom out for your anniversary. You deserve a break; you both do. Plus, it sets a good example for me one day just in case I ever decide I want to be with somebody. You guys are still so love with each other. Don’t lose that. It’s why you two are the perfect parents.” I reached over and wrapped my arms around my father’s neck, standing on my tip toes. He was a rather tall man. I got my blonde hair from him but my small stature from my mother.
As I pulled away, I thought I heard him sniffle like he had been holding back tears. “Thank you so much, Star. Your mother is going to be so excited. Plus, this can be a good trial run to see how you do. I’ll go tell your mother so she can start packing. I’d love to take her tomorrow night if I can. Is that alright with you,” he added the last part like an afterthought. He was so excited; it seemed he couldn’t hold it in.
“You go tell Mom, and you guys take as long as you need. I’ll make sure our horses get up.” I laughed as he practically ran towards the house. It was nice to see a couple that was still so happy about spending time together after so many years. I hoped one day if I met someone we could have that same success.
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