Callie had done a good job of hiding her “dark side,” as he liked to call it, until after they got married. Even then, their relationship wasn’t like Billy and Renie’s. Bullet told himself he loved Callie, but being around the Pattersons made him question whether what he felt was really love.
“Got a minute?” Billy’s father asked Bullet.
“Go ahead, “ said Renie. “I’ll keep an eye on Grey. He and Willow can play.”
“You sure?” Bullet felt as though he was always imposing on someone to watch Grey. Once he figured out where he was going to be based, he’d have to look for a regular babysitter or day care.
When Renie waved him off, he followed Billy’s dad out the back door.
“I understand you’re going to be working here with me.”
“That’s up to you Mr. Patterson.”
“Call me Bill, young man. And my son isn’t giving me much choice.”
“As I told your son, this here is your land. If you don’t want to be involved with rough stock, you shouldn’t be.”
“Let’s say I changed my mind. How would you feel about working here?”
Bullet wasn’t sure what to say. As long as he had a job, he didn’t really care where he was working. Being in Black Forest was convenient because he and Grey could stay with Lyric. The drive would be less than half an hour.
He’d have to give the place up he’d just rented in Crested Butte, but that wouldn’t be hard to do. He hadn’t gotten around to moving much of anything of his into the furnished apartment. What had been there, he packed to bring himself and Grey here. That’s how transient his life was now; he could almost live out of two suitcases. He could make arrangements to give it up over the phone, and send the keys to the property management company.
“The job comes with that place over there.” said Bill, as though he was reading Bullet’s mind. He pointed east, toward a house that sat closer to the road.
“Who lives there now?”
“Nobody’s lived there on a regular basis for years. Dottie keeps it on the ready though. Just in case. It’s the house we lived in when we were first married.”
“My sister has a place in Palmer Lake. Grey and I can stay with her.”
“Nah. Workin’ here means livin’ here. You managed a ranch before?”
Managed? Hell no. How in the world could he manage a ranch, take care of Grey, and get on bulls?
“Son, I asked you a question.”
“No sir, I haven’t come close. I don’t know what Billy told you, but I’m a ranch hand for Flying R.”
“You think you could learn?”
“I know I could, but…”
“Go on, speak your mind.”
“I got my hands full Mr. Patterson. I still ain’t figured out how to take care of Grey and hold down a regular job, let alone manage a ranch. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“You’d begin by learnin’. You’d be workin’ with me, learnin’ the ropes. For the time bein’ you’ll only manage the rough stock portion of the ranch. I got a guy been with me a long time that manages the cattle operation.”
That was some relief. He understood rough stock. It was everything else that gave him pause.
“There’s somethin’ else isn’t there Bullet?”
“What’s that sir?”
“Bull ridin’. You’re lookin’ for trainer, aren’t you?”
“Yes, sir. I am.” Bullet took his hat off and rubbed his forehead. This conversation was giving him a headache.
“Let’s go back to the house. We’ll have a sit down with Dottie and Billy and see what we can figure out.”
“Yes, sir,” Bullet said again.
“My name’s Bill son, I told you that before. We’re gonna be spendin’ a hell of a lot of time together, and if you keep callin’ me sir, it’s gonna make me uncomfortable.”
“Yes, sir. I mean, Bill.”
***
There were three hundred photos waiting for Tristan to sort through. Her father had another pile of those he’d chosen. The one on top was of a bull rider Lost Cowboy sponsored. The photographer had captured him flying through the air, just as the bull bucked him off. The words, “It’s not how good you are…it’s how good you want to be,” were written on a sticky note on the back of the photo along with the digital image reference number.
Tristan opened the file, and adjusted the highlights and shadows of the photo in an image enhancement software program. Next she added a blend near the bottom of the image, and then superimposed the words her father wrote on top of the darkened area.
She repeated the same process with the rest of the photos her father had chosen. She dated each one and sent them to a local high school student who interned for Lost Cowboy. The images would be uploaded to social media on the dates Tristan indicated in the file name.
The only time the prearranged schedule varied was if something significant happened either with one of their riders, or in the world. In that case, no matter where Tristan was, her daddy would email her a photo along with his caption, and she’d prepare the image and upload it herself.
“Got some good ones the last couple weeks,” her dad said, and sat down in the chair by her desk.
“Really good ones Daddy. I especially like this one.” The image was a silhouette of a cowboy sitting on a fence, watching the sun set. The caption her father wrote was, “Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand. They listen with the intent to reply.”
It was one of life’s lessons she learned from her daddy. “A conversation is like a game of catch,” he’d say. “If you’re not payin’ attention, you’re gonna get hit with the ball.”
***
Bullet sat in the rocking chair, Grey was sound asleep on his lap and he didn’t have the heart to move him. Dottie and Bill were in the kitchen, cleaning up from dinner. Billy and Renie had gone back to their place, which was just up the road.
“What do you think?” he heard Dottie ask Bill.
“About what?”
Dottie must’ve swatted Bill with something, and the two of them laughed.
“He reminds me of someone.”
“He reminds me of someone too. And so do you.”
“Me? I thought we were talkin’ about Bullet.”
“Clancy. The way you talk to him Bill. It reminds me of the way Clancy used to talk to you.”
“That’s a right fine compliment sweetheart.”
Bullet could hear the emotion in Bill’s voice, even from the other room. Who was Clancy, and what did he have to do with Bill and him?
***
1965
The weather was better for their drive back to the ranch. Not that Bill was thinking much about weather. Clancy had been right. His mama told him that she and Mr. Snyder were getting married. She didn’t say a word about him coming to live with them, and he didn’t ask.
“She gave me hell about your schoolin’,” grimaced Clancy when they stopped for lunch.
She’d asked Bill if he was keeping up with his school work, and he muttered that he was. Nothing could be further from the truth. There wasn’t a school close to Double-P-Bar Ranch, and even if there was, as an employee of the ranch, he wouldn’t have time to go to school during the day.
He and Clancy talked about it. There were other workers at the ranch with children who were home schooled. Clancy was willing to let Bill give it a try by teaming up with one of the other families, but Bill hadn’t done anything to make it happen. He was thirteen. Lots of kids whose families made their living on a ranch quit school before then.
“Your mama made me promise to get you back to learnin’.”
“I already missed two years. Nothin’ but a waste of time.”
Clancy squinted his eyes and raised his index finger. “I promised her I’d do it, and we’re gonna. Even if it means I gotta school ya myself.”
“Oh yeah? You got somethin’ past a sixth grade education?”
The index finger came back up,
and Clancy reached across the table to poke him in the chest. “One thing you’re gonna learn is respect for your elders boy.”
Bill hated that he’d just disrespected Clancy. The man had been good to him. “I’m sorry sir. I know better than to talk to you like that. And I sure know you’re a smart man.”
“You’re damn straight I am. And if you wanna know the truth, I got a college degree to prove it. I’m ashamed of myself in lettin’ your education slide, but not anymore. We’re gettin’ you back on track young Flynn.”
Clancy hadn’t been kidding. Before they went back to the ranch, they stopped in Glenwood Springs, where Clancy ordered a bunch of books and other supplies from the bookstore.
“This is where the others get their materials. You’ll test at the school here too.” They stopped by the office and registered Bill for independent study. With as many ranches as there were in this part of Colorado, home schooling was common.
Each day Bill was expected to get up at dawn, and do his chores, which had been greatly reduced. When he finished, he was expected to work on his lessons. Clancy would come back to the house he’d built and they now both shared, have lunch, and review Bill’s work. If there was anything Bill didn’t understand, he had an hour of Clancy’s time to go over it. There was more school work to do in the early afternoon, and then Bill was expected to do his afternoon chores.
Around six in the evening, he’d meet Clancy and the rest of the cowboys at the dining hall for dinner. After dinner Bill had free time. He’d stopped writing a letter every night to his mama. Instead he used the time for reading, or getting ahead on his lessons. It wasn’t long before he’d made up the two years he’d missed, and was close to a full year ahead of his age level.
It had been embarrassing every time they’d asked him at the school what level testing he was there for. Now when they asked, he’d be able to hold his head high.
His grades were good too. He and Clancy had even started talking about colleges, although Bill didn’t see how it would be possible for him to go. It wasn’t just a question of how he’d be able to be away from the ranch, there was also the cost of it.
“You could get on a rodeo team,” one of the cowboys told him at dinner.
“What are you talkin’ about?”
“You aren’t good enough now, but if you’re willin’ to put the time in, Western State has a good team.”
“For what?”
“Junior Rodeo,” he answered, as though Bill was a complete dumbass.
Bill had been getting on some of the smaller bulls and broncs for a few months. At first it had been on a dare, but he took to it like a fish to water. He didn’t have the money to enter any rodeos, but he still practiced whenever they had time on the ranch.
To him there wasn’t anything like the thrill he felt when he heard the bell ring indicating he’d stayed on a bull the full eight seconds.
He was getting pretty good at bareback bronc riding, and had started practicing tie-down roping too. He wasn’t half bad at it. Usually to compete in the all-around competitions, a cowboy would focus on roping, either tie-down or team roping, and steer wrestling, but the requirement was to compete in at least two events. Bareback bronc riding and bull riding worked, and if he added the tie-down roping, he’d be well-qualified. Was it really something he could do in college? It didn’t seem possible.
“That’s right,” Sadie the cook said overhearing their conversation. “My niece goes to Western State, you remember Misty, don’t ya?”
Bill nodded that he did, although it wasn’t Misty he thought about from time to time, it was her sister, Dottie. And he thought about her more than from time to time.
Dottie and Misty came back to the ranch one more year. After that he’d heard Sadie say that the girls had gotten involved in so many activities at home, they didn’t have time to visit. Instead, she’d visit them in Gunnison, where her sister lived. Whenever she came back, she’d tell Bill that Dottie had asked after him.
“You should write her a letter,” Sadie told him. He would, but he wouldn’t know the first thing to say to her if he did.
“I think she’s considerin’ Western State too.”
She was? That changed everything.
“What’s so interestin’ to you about college all of a sudden?” Clancy asked.
“Just wanna better myself is all.”
The phone rang and Clancy stood to answer it. There was only one phone in the ranch house, and it was in the kitchen. Bill was in earshot, and he didn’t like the tone in Clancy’s voice.
Chapter 8
“I can’t wait either, it seems as though it’s been months since I’ve been to Crested Butte. Does that sound crazy? It’s only been three weeks.”
“I know. I’ve been pestering Ben incessantly about getting you back out here.”
Tristan had spoken to Liv a couple times a week since she left Colorado. The last few days, it had been every day. The two talked a lot about barrel racing, so much so that Tristan was beginning to miss it.
For the longest time barrel racing reminded her of things, and people, she’d as soon forget. She talked about the sport with Liv, not the lifestyle. They also talked about many promising young competitors.
Tristan had been working on new clothing designs that would serve as Lost Cowboy’s first true women’s collection. She hadn’t shown her sketches to her father yet, she wanted to get feedback from other women in the industry first. She hadn’t told Liv about them either. She wanted her friend’s initial reaction to be authentic, not based on anything Tristan told her beforehand.
“How’s the Black Forest operation going? Have you heard?”
“From what I understand it’s going quite well. Renie told me Billy’s nose was out of joint at how well his dad and Bullet are getting on already.”
“Really? How interesting.”
“I told her to tell him to be careful what he wished for,” Liv paused. “I use that expression a lot. But it’s so true. What we ask of the universe sometimes comes back to us more quickly than we anticipate.”
Sound thinking, and very true words. Tristan began jotting down things Liv said while she was in Crested Butte the last time. Things Ben said too. In fact, she took notes on many expressions she’d heard from the Rice and Patterson families. She planned to work them into Lost Cowboy’s upcoming social media posts.
“They’ll all be here next week.”
“Who all?”
“Billy and Renie, Bullet, even Bill and Dottie are coming. I can’t wait to see them…”
Liv was talking about Bill and Dottie, something about how much she missed them. But all Tristan could think about was Bullet. He’d be in Crested Butte next week. She was hoping he would be, but wouldn’t dare have asked.
***
“You’re done for today,” Bill told Bullet.
“What do you mean? Why?”
“Your head isn’t in it. You’re not paying attention to me or the two-thousand pound animal you’re tryin’ to ride. You’ll get yourself killed that way.”
Bullet couldn’t argue. They were leaving tomorrow for Crested Butte, and that’s where his head was instead of on the practice bull.
“I’m sorry Bill.”
“Don’t apologize to me. You wanna quit training, just say the word. All I’m doin’ is sittin’ on the fence watchin’. You’re the one who’s got the work to do.”
Bill might be sitting on the fence, but the bull hands weren’t. And if he wasn’t taking it seriously, he was wasting their time too.
“Ride the buck, not the bull,” Bill had been shouting at him. “Think less, feel more. Quit tryin’ to wrangle him. Ride the pattern.”
Bullet knew all this. He heard Bill’s voice in his head when he was in the chute mounting on. It was the time in between that got him today. Once he eased his toes down the bull’s side, careful not to touch him with his spurs, he stopped hearing Bill’s voice, and heard Tristan’s instead.
“It’
s irresponsible for him to even try riding bulls. He has a child to raise.” Those weren’t the exact words he’d overheard her say, but they were close enough.
Once the chute opened he didn’t have time to think about much other than staying alive, if only to prove her wrong. And Bill was right, that would get him killed.
They were going to Flying R Rough Stock headquarters for a sponsored rider meeting. The cowboys and cowgirls who were already on the team would be there, along with new recruits being considered for sponsorship.
Bullet was on the Flying R team, both as an employee, and as a rider. It was the Lost Cowboy team he was vying for. It didn’t matter that Flying R was the bigger fish. If he was wearing the LC brand, it would mean he’d won Tristan over.
“We’re leavin’ at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. Get some rest tonight.” Bill climbed down the fence and walked in the direction of the barn. “Oh, and Dottie wanted me to tell you she left dinner on the back stoop.”
“Thank her for me,” Bullet shouted back.
Bill waved and went into the barn.
Bullet looked at his phone. He had another hour before he had to pick Grey up from the babysitter. He could stick around and pull gates for the other guys.
Miss Dottie made dinner for him and Grey almost every night. He’d thank her, and then tell her she didn’t have to, only to have her shush him every time.
“No sense letting good food go to waste,” she’d say. Bullet didn’t dare suggest she not make as much.
***
Liv insisted she’d pick Tristan up at the airfield in Gunnison. She didn’t have Caden with her this time, so she suggested they take the opportunity to have a quieter “girls’ lunch”.
Tristan brought her portfolio in with her. “Would you mind giving me your opinion on some new designs?”
Liv clapped her hands. “I’d love to. Oh, I’m so excited.”
“It isn’t anything that special, just a few sketches for a new line.”
And Then You Dare (Crested Butte Cowboys Series Book 5) Page 7