“Barbed wire?” he asked, closing the barn door before mounting up.
Myra handed him back his coffee. “Gramps installed seven-foot woven wire. Holds in the cattle, keeps out deer and elk. Not a lot of barbed wire used around here. Some use low-voltage electric fences. They’re costlier but deter wildlife.”
“Do they all keep out wolves?”
She shrugged. “Wolves are clever. If they frighten the cows, the herd can trample a fence for them.”
They rode in silence, drinking their coffee as they watched the sun come up and spread peachy fingers of light over the land. With the snow mostly melted, much of the land looked green and pristine.
It took two hours to circle the largest of the ranch’s enclosed pastures.
“We rode all that long way and you put in only three staples and wired one broken strand together,” Zeke said on the journey home. “Is that usual?”
“I call it successful. It’s better not to find places where cows broke out, or predators got in. And we’re back in time to meet Hank. That’s his big truck rolling in,” Myra said, urging Cayenne into a canter.
She greeted the neighbor and introduced Zeke. “If you guys want to pop inside for a drink while you get acquainted, I’ll put the horses away.”
“I’m for that. I went out without breakfast, so I’m going to buy a microwave,” Zeke said, taking the coffee mug Myra handed him. “You want anything?” he asked her.
“No thanks. I’ll take water out to where we’ll start working with the heifers after Hank has the calves loaded.”
The men turned away, chatting. Myra suffered a moment’s pang at how quickly Zeke made friends with her neighbors.
They weren’t gone long. She’d unsaddled and run a brush over the horses, fed them grain and filled the sprayer, when she heard their voices. She’d packed a cooler with bottled water from the barn fridge and now wheeled it out to the far side of the weaning pen. Already Hank had backed up to the outer gate. He and Zeke were driving calves up the ramp.
Myra walked over with her clipboard.
“I counted sixteen already in,” Hank told her.
This was a chore she’d normally done with him, so he knew her routine. It was good when his tally matched the one she took at weaning. Today it did.
With doors and ramp secured, Hank shook hands with Zeke. “Nice to meet you, neighbor,” he said as he climbed into his truck. Before he pulled away, a battered red pickup drove in.
It stopped and three young men emerged. One hailed Myra, and he retrieved a carton from the pickup’s bed.
Myra recognized two of the three. “Eddie, this is Zeke Maxwell, new owner here.” She rushed over those words that still tasted bitter on her tongue. “Eddie Four Bear and Aaron Younger,” she told Zeke.
Eddie wore his black hair long and in one braid that hung to his waist. Aaron’s fell straight to his shoulders.
“Myra and Zeke, this is Luke Elkhorn. He’s my cousin,” Eddie said. “He worked with me and Aaron all spring and summer. He’s a good guy.”
“Welcome.” Myra shook hands with the dark-eyed kid. “We aren’t taking you out of school to do this job, are we?” He looked so young.
The boy smiled. “I’m nineteen.”
“Yeah, he’s got a baby face,” Aaron teased. And it went that way between the friends until they reached the chutes. For Zeke’s and Luke’s benefit, Myra went over the process. The other two had assisted her in prior years.
“We talked about who’d do what,” Eddie said. “Aaron and me will trade off pregnancy testing and spraying for mites. Luke will pull ʼem through the chute and into the open pen if you vaccinate, Myra. Unless Zeke’s doing that.” He jammed a worn cowboy hat on his head and quirked an eyebrow at Zeke, who held up both arms and backed away.
Myra jumped in. “Zeke is new to ranching. He’ll shove heifers into the chute to start. Maybe this afternoon he and Luke can trade off.”
Eddie seemed to want to comment but didn’t.
Myra motioned to Aaron. “I filled the sprayer. Will you bring it from the barn?”
He left and came back shortly, and Myra pronounced them ready. “Zeke, you’ve gotta keep heifers moving into the first chute. Cows who have gone through this before may be cantankerous. Twist their tail to make them move, but watch out you don’t get kicked.”
They each took their stations. She didn’t have a lot of time to explain things to Zeke. But it was a self-explanatory process. Zeke shoved a heifer in the chute. Myra vaccinated. It bellowed and the shock drove the cow into chute two, where Aaron doused her with pesticide. Eddie hand-examined the birth canal in chute three, gave Myra a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, then Luke wrestled the unhappy animal into the open pen.
Soon the air filled with grunting, swearing and bawling. Spray churned up mud under everyone’s feet, along with plenty of poop mixed with urine. Myra marked her clipboard for each pregnant heifer between readying shots.
They slipped, slid and cursed through lunchtime. By midafternoon they were three-fourths finished. Myra straightened. “Time for another water break.”
Zeke left the corral and strode toward the house. Myra watched him as she drank her water.
They were ready to begin again, but Zeke hadn’t returned. Then he came out of the house dressed in clean cammo pants and a different shirt. He climbed in his pickup and roared off.
“Where do you s’pose he’s goinʼ?” Eddie asked.
“Was he carrying duffel bags?” Myra murmured.
The others shook their heads. Not having an explanation and shorthanded, they set back to work. Luke took over for Zeke. Aaron and Eddie switched jobs, so Aaron drove finished heifers into the pens. At the end of another hour, tempers were short and they were all hot and splattered with gunk, most of which smelled awful.
Myra’s cell rang. She was surprised to see Lila’s number. “Hi, Lila. Can I call you later? I’m in the middle of a dirty chore.”
“Sure, but I called to tell you we got a look at Zeke Maxwell. He bought a camera, a microwave and wandered around town. Then he bought three pair of boots, some shirts, a hat, a jacket and some paint. Now he’s at Cody’s Bar on his second beer. Jewell and I popped over. Outside of his looking grim, Jewell said you neglected to say the guy’s hotter than a firecracker.”
“He’s AWOL and left me to pick up the slack,” Myra said tartly. “Unless he’s leaving town—and it doesn’t sound like it if he bought new gear—I guarantee, hot or not, he’ll get an earful from me when he wanders back to the Flying Owl. Thanks for the heads-up. Later, Lila, okay?”
Chapter Six
Eddie, who only heard Myra’s side of the conversation, spoke flatly. “A couple of owners I worked for refused to get their hands dirty. Not any around Snowy Owl Crossing, but two dudes outside Sheridan, Wyoming.”
“Zeke has the option of hiring everything done,” Myra said, making a face. “I’ve deliberately given him scuzzy chores, hoping he’ll decide to toss the ranch back in my dad’s lap. Or at least sell it to me. When he took off I thought maybe my ploy had worked, but it doesn’t sound like it.”
“Tawana told us your dad gave away the ranch,” Aaron said. “I wish somebody would give me a place like this one. I’d gladly do all the dirty work by my lonesome.”
Eddie concurred.
“Yes, but you guys have done most of these type chores since you were kids. Zeke grew up in a city. To be honest, he’s not done badly until he skipped out today. And his military record is exemplary, according to my brother, whose life he saved.”
“Sounds to me like you can’t decide if you want to convince him to give up or not.” Eddie paused in his present task of spraying for parasites to point that out to Myra.
She shoved another heifer into the chute, barely avoiding being kicked for her effort. “Maybe I’m conflicted because he got injured carrying Eric out of harm’s way.”
That seemed to say it all to Myra’s helpers. They bent to their tasks and in another
hour had completed the unpleasant job.
“Seventy-four heifers are going to have another calf,” Myra said with satisfaction after she washed off with the hose and picked up her clipboard.
“That’s a prolific bull you have,” Aaron noted with a big grin.
Myra nodded. “Gramps chose well with that one. Maybe Zeke won’t need to rent a bull to help out. If all the young heifers I kept get with calf, the herd will grow. Hey, guys, you all did a great job. Let’s go to the barn and I’ll get your pay.” She grabbed the cooler handle after each of them took another water bottle.
“There will be growth unless you lose a lot in spring calving,” Eddie noted as he rolled the sprayer to the barn. “It could cost Zeke a lot to hire help to handle the calving.”
“I did say I’d stay on through spring.” Myra opened the barn door. “Of course, that could all change.”
“You mean if he flakes off again like he did this afternoon?” Aaron asked.
She shrugged and noticed that Luke hung back, listening but not talking.
Myra went into her office and unlocked her desk. “I need everyone’s social security number. Eddie, are you at the same hourly fee as last year?” she asked, taking out a calculator and checkbook.
“Same. Or if you prefer a daily flat fee, Myra, divide it three ways.”
“I’ve always paid hourly. And since we finished in record time and I didn’t provide lunch, I’ll add a small bonus for each of you.” Listing the numbers they gave her, she bent over the checkbook and began to write.
Aaron spoke. “The new owner lets you make that kind of decision?”
She frowned as she tore out the first check and passed it to Eddie. “The bonus is coming out of Zeke’s share of the cost.”
They laughed and continued to make jokes until Myra handed Luke the last check and the guys got ready to leave. “I like working close to home,” Eddie said, pausing as they trooped to the door. “You can give Zeke my phone number in case you take off and he’s in need of help.”
Aaron poked him in the ribs. “It’s because Eddie’s got a romance going with Lana Elkhorn. If he runs off to Wyoming next spring, she might find a new boyfriend.”
Myra smiled. She’d seen in the past how Aaron and Eddie loved to needle each other. “I’m making Zeke a schedule of ranch jobs and approximate dates. I’ll be sure to list all of your phone numbers if you care to leave them. Eddie, I have yours.”
Aaron and Luke turned back to the desk and wrote on a notepad Myra set out.
“Tell him about the bonus, too,” Luke said, shyly chiming in for the first time. “What I made today pays tuition for a quarter at an online college.”
That comment had his buddies ribbing him about being a nerd. Luke took it in stride, Myra noticed as they said goodbye.
Filthy-dirty and tired, she hurriedly put away the checkbook, locked the desk and crossed to the house, anxious to shower off the grime. She shed her boots at the door to be cleaned later. The clothes she had on would take two washings. She wondered what Zeke had done with his things. He had worked long enough to get plenty grungy.
Stepping into a hot shower, she almost purred with joy. Because she’d been splattered from head to toe, she washed her hair first then scrubbed every point on her body that had been exposed. When finished, she wrapped a towel around her head and cleaned the shower stall.
She changed into a sweat suit and heavy socks in case she had to go outside again for any reason, then ran a brush through her hair, electing to let it dry naturally while she started the washer.
Grabbing the net laundry bag, she’d barely stepped into the living room when the front door swung open and Zeke entered carrying some big plastic sacks and two, gallon-size paint cans. He dropped the sacks and shut the door before he noticed Myra.
She scowled at him. “I understand you had a fine time in town, taking photographs, shopping and slugging down two beers at Cody’s Bar.”
He set the paint down with a thump and aimlessly rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not used to everyone knowing and blabbing my private business.”
“Yes, well, welcome to a small town. Just so you know, ranchers don’t usually walk out in the middle of an all-important job. Especially if you’re paying help to get it done in one day.”
He slowly lifted his hand from his neck and without flinching from her stony gaze, said, “Myra, look—I apologize.” Closing his eyes, Zeke ran a thumb and finger over his eyebrows. “You won’t understand.”
“Try me.” She stood her ground.
“Fine! Bawling cows, slippery mud, the awful smell coupled with the noise from metal on metal as cows crashed against the chute—what I started to see wasn’t muddy cows, but men covered in blood, like I was back in Afghanistan on a mission going bad.”
Myra’s jaw dropped. “Heavens, Zeke. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“I never had a flashback before. I was afraid I was totally losing my grip,” he said, avoiding her eyes.
Myra moved forward and curled her fingers around his arm. “I would’ve understood. We all would have, even though there’s no way any of us can half imagine what it must have been like over there.”
“I just needed to get away,” he mumbled, covering her hand, then as quickly pulling away.
“Did I hurt your injured arm?” she asked, fully withdrawing her touch.
Zeke reconnected, catching both her hands. “No. No. Stay. So...uh...probably everybody in town thinks I’m a bum, huh? Come to think of it...how did anyone know who I was?”
Myra couldn’t help feeling guilty. “We don’t get many newcomers. When Dad said he’d given you the Flying Owl, I told all of my friends. I wasn’t happy, but I’d never deliberately hurt you, Zeke. In fact, have I thrown too much at you too fast? Are you feeling better? Will it happen again?” Feeling herself babble, she took a breath. “I can handle harvesting alfalfa alone if you need time off to see a VA doctor. I’m not sure where the nearest clinic is, but Eric will know.”
“Myra, stop. It’s okay.” Zeke brought her close against him. “The feeling passed before I got to town. I figured since I was there I should make the most of having bailed on you. I bought a microwave and paint for the kitchen. Later, I’ll get a new sink and countertops.”
“The kitchen?” Myra found it impossible to jump from concern for his well-being to talk of painting the kitchen. Especially when the lazy way he rubbed his thumbs over the backs of her hands sent tingles up her arms—and made her want to hug him. So she did. She slid her arms around his waist. Her head fit snugly under his chin. With an ear pressed to his chest, she was calmed by the steady beat of his heart. Until suddenly it sped, thumping louder. He must be uncomfortable.
Guilt filled her again. “Sorry.” She leaned back. “I...uh...hugged Eric every chance I got after he returned. But you’re not Eric.”
“No,” Zeke murmured. “But hugs are fine.” He lifted a hand to stroke her damp strands. “Your hair’s wet. It still smells like apples. I noticed that before.”
“My shampoo.” Myra let go. “What did you say about painting the kitchen?” Fully disengaged, she stepped away and rubbed her arms.
Zeke quickly picked up the bags he’d dropped. “I’ll go put these new clothes away, then I’ll start painting while you work on your dollhouses.”
“I’ve got to put my clothes from today into the wash now. Yours have to be yucky, too. Get them and I’ll toss them all in.” She couldn’t believe she’d gone so swiftly from being wrapped in his arms and feeling almost giddy to talking about mundane things like laundry. What a day.
* * *
“I PLANNED TO THROW what I wore today away. It’s disgusting to think of the mess they can make in a washer.”
“Raising cattle for profit is disgusting work. You can’t always be throwing away clothes, Zeke. Gramps installed a commercial-grade washer and dryer for Gram. They do a bang-up job of getting clothes clean.”
“I asked you to help
me learn ranching, not be my housekeeper.” He left her and the paint cans and headed for his room.
“For Pete’s sake, we both live here. Chores overlap. Stop being stubborn.”
Zeke paused outside his bedroom. He knew exactly why he was being stubborn. It’d felt all too good touching her and having her arms around him. It’d be way too easy to take things further. He hadn’t had a woman in his life for some time. But he wasn’t immune, and Myra fit a lot of things on his list of likes. Considering all he owed her folks, taking advantage of their forced proximity was no way to pay back the family’s generosity. He’d do well to remember that. “I’ll get the clothes if you quit being bossy.”
Myra pitched the net bag toward him. “Stuff your things in there while I go feed Orion.”
Turning, Zeke watched her stomp into the kitchen, and he felt like a hound dog. Or should that be horndog? That was really what drove him to act like a jerk. Maybe he should tell her to leave. How costly would it be to hire Eddie or Aaron on a monthly basis? They’d sounded as if they hired out. On the other hand, they’d acted on Myra’s directions. Maybe they’d be good workers, but not effective managers. Crap!
Striding back, he yanked up the net bag and almost gagged at the smell. He hurried into his room and found his pants and shirt on the floor of his bathroom, where he’d stripped them off earlier. “Ugh.” They made the whole room stink. Doing his best to hold his breath, he opened the bag and dumped his stuff inside. He left the room again and encountered Myra holding Orion in her arms.
Zeke couldn’t say how it happened, but suddenly he imagined Myra holding a baby instead. His baby. A knot formed in his stomach. He let the bag fall, spun on his heel and retreated to his room, accidentally letting his door slam. Then even as he set to work ripping tags off his new shirts and pants, he couldn’t shake the image of Myra as a mother. A wife and mother. Maybe he did need to see a VA doctor.
He was in the process of arranging his new boots in the bottom of his closet when he heard the washer start. Two pairs had short heels—better for working, the salesman had informed him. One dressier pair made of black snakeskin had higher, slant heels. That was an impulse purchase, as was a black felt Resistol hat. Looking at it here in his bedroom, it seemed like overkill. Yet when he’d faced a whole wall of hats, some handmade, others duded up with feathers or beaded bands, he’d picked a simple one that felt good on his head. Now he questioned whether people would rib him for playing at being a cowboy. Would he feel awkward wearing all this garb out in public? He grimaced and set the hat on his closet shelf.
His Ranch or Hers Page 9