by Rose, Amelia
They headed out from the house just after breakfast, the time when the pre-dawn chores were finished and the morning work just beginning, the time when the kids—Miranda’s and Casey’s kids included, along with the giant herd of Carson grandkids his sons and their wives had given him over the years—were trundled off to school elsewhere on the ranch. It was usually just the two of them, although they sometimes had company. More often than not, their only company was the prairie dogs and other rodents who scampered out of the way of their horses’ hooves, often at the insistence of one of the ranch dogs who started out with them.
“I don’t know how you’re all going to manage without me,” Bernard said after a lengthy silence. Miranda whipped her head around in alarm, wondering what he could mean by that. He saw the terrified look on her face and laughed before correcting himself. “No no, honey, I don’t mean it like that! Not at all! I’m sorry!”
Miranda let go of the breath she’d been holding, but continued to wait in silence for her father-in-law to continue.
“I meant the cattle drive,” he said, still chuckling over his slip up. “I haven’t missed a drive yet, not even when Sarah was big with the boys. I had a job to do and a group to lead, and she understood that, so long as I promised to come home in one piece and bring a little bribe gift when I returned. But I made up my mind months ago—well, that old doctor made up my mind for me—that I’d stay out of this one.”
Bernard had been in failing health off and on for these past few years, and the physical decline was hard to watch, even though he was nothing short of a miracle where his mental state was concerned. He was every bit as sharp as he’d ever been, but knowing that his body just couldn’t take the endless miles of open road was tugging at his heart.
“Well, it sure won’t be the same without you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she began softly. “You’re such an important part of the drive that I just can’t picture it without you leading things. But if anyone has deserved his rest around here, it’s you. I mean, look at what you built.” Miranda pointed out to the hills in the distance and swept her arm around the twelve hundred square miles of property that encompassed Carson Hill.
“Oh, Miranda. I didn’t build this. I just had the good sense not to run it into the ground, that’s all. I can’t even remember how many generations of Carsons have owned this ranch, even since the days of the great homesteading.”
“But you made it what it is today. You’re the one who decided to return this ranch to the old ways, to the ways of doing things that put the animals and the land first. If it weren’t for you, this would be nothing more than a giant factory that spit out cow meat. Because of you, this is some of the best cattle stock alive. They’re healthy, they’re happy, and they’re certainly in high demand. And the cattle drive is one piece of that puzzle you put together. It just won’t be the same without you.”
Bernard sat up taller in the saddle and looked out with a semblance of pride in his heart. “My boys will do a great job. They’ve been a part of it almost as long as I have. I just hate having to push all of the responsibility onto their shoulders. If this cursed body of mine wasn’t getting so feeble…”
“Feeble?” Miranda demanded with a hearty laugh. “You’re out for your daily ride around your property, and you think you’re feeble?”
“Well, I guess not, not when you put it that way. But I know I won’t sleep a wink the whole time you all are gone.”
Miranda was the one to turn weepy and introspective. If Bernard wouldn’t sleep at night for worrying about his family and his crews, it was she who wouldn’t get any sleep for worrying about him, an old man, possibly dying alone in his bed while they were gone.
Chapter Five
“Wow. This is what we’ve got to work with?” Seamus whispered in his wife Gracie’s ear, keeping his voice down so the crop of visitors didn’t hear him. She would have loved to have swatted him on the arm and told him to behave himself, but she was too busy being dumbstruck by the appearance of the most mismatched group of travelers she’d ever seen. Besides the two practically matching sets of identical families of four—their children’s genders and ages being swapped was the only difference between them—and an overflowing handful of senior citizens, there was a trio of former cheerleaders that was sure to make for a massive distraction, at least where the ranch hands where concerned. There was one heavily tattooed and downright scary-looking man that had Gracie ready to reach for her revolver, just to feel the steel of it beneath her fingers and tell herself she would be okay.
Suddenly, a shout broke out from behind the house and one of Carson Hill’s cowboys broke into a dead run, charging headfirst towards the group. “Axel! You made it!” Mason shouted while the other guests looked around, somewhat alarmed by both the noise and the one they knew as Axel.
“That’s Axel? That’s the brother who’s pre-med at some fancy college?” Seamus asked, practically forgetting to keep his voice down. “I didn’t know they had a pre-med program in prison.”
This time Gracie did manage to nudge Seamus with her shoulder just enough to remind him to lower his voice. He quickly looked at the toe of his boot, watching it make scuff lines in the dirt. She watched Mason and Axel closely to see what kind of relationship they had, but it looked to her as though they were as close as any of the six Carson brothers. They hugged each other tightly and clapped each other on the back. Anyone who didn’t know better and who hadn’t had to listen to Mason talk about his brother nonstop for the past three weeks would have thought they hadn’t seen each other in years.
“Ax, this is my girlfriend, Rose,” Mason said, holding out his hand to the girl behind him. Ax smiled and made a gesture that somehow resembled a slight bow, but not in a corny or forced way. Rose got the impression this was a move he made often. “Rose, this is Axel Carn… better known as the ugly brother, as most people call him.”
“Rose, it’s great to meet you. First things first, don’t listen to anything this guy tells you, he’s always been called ‘the ugly one’,” he warned her, shoving his younger brother jokingly. “And second, make sure you sit by me at dinner, I can tell you all the best stories about him!”
Rose laughed along with them, instantly at ease with Ax despite her nervousness earlier at meeting anyone in Mason’s family. He seemed every bit as relaxed and happy to be alive as his younger brother, and it was a trait that instantly endeared him to her in a friendly way.
She told them goodbye and watched as the two brothers walked off, joking and talking as though they were picking up some conversation they’d been having years before, only they’d left off in the middle and were just now jumping right back in where they’d last spoken. She shook her head before making her way over to Gracie and Seamus.
“See anyone you like for roping?” she asked, aiming her question at Gracie who was arguably the better cattle roper of the two. Seamus would probably have denied it if someone had asked, but he knew it too; instead of turning every work day into a competition, he owned up to the fact that his wife was one of the best ranch hands on the property, and definitely one of the best in the family.
“Oh yeah, sure,” Gracie said sarcastically as she tried to figure out which of their guests should be taught to rope a wayward cow. “My choices seem to be the electric scooter brigade, the saline implant team, or four children who are probably already looking around for outlets to plug their phone chargers into!”
It was Seamus’ turn to tell his wife to quiet down, but he was too busy trying to keep a straight face. “Well, I’ve already picked my recruits. I’m gonna take your implant team and teach them to ride. Don’t wait up for us!”
He started to walk away with exaggerated steps, crying out in mock dismay when Gracie lunged and grabbed him by the back of the collar, pulling him backwards until his shirt threatened to come off over his head. She shook her head at him and pointed to the elderly couples and the two families.
“Nice try, buddy, but yo
u’re happily married, remember?” she demanded, gritting her teeth on the word happily. “I think you’ll have better luck with those two families. You’re always good with kids and you won’t have to sleep with one eye open!” She planted a rather possessive kiss on his cheek for the benefit of the overdone cheerleaders and walked off to round up some of the visitors to show them to their rooms.
Seamus took the hint. He winked at Rose, letting her know it was all in good fun, then approached the two families and introduced himself. He made a mental note of their names and interests, also noting that one of the four kids was obviously less than enthused to be there. He looked over at the girl and had trouble figuring out her exact age. She certainly looked older than the other kids, but the sullen look on her face and the too-bored-for-words way she was standing projected her complete lack of interest in anything Seamus was saying. He made himself a promise that he would win that one over to all things cattle ranching before the end of their trip.
“If you all will follow me, I’ll get you guys settled in our cabins and then take you on a quick tour. And you might want to put on your comfortable clothes and sturdy shoes…the quick version of the tour takes about three hours!” Seamus heard the unmistakable sound of a seething groan under the chorus of excitement that answered him, and he laughed to himself.
There was always one in every bunch, but just like with a wild horse or a stubborn cow, you had to show that one who was boss while still giving him or her plenty of lead line with which to figure out what to do. It seemed like every drive they’d ever taken had had that one person who was determined not to enjoy the experience, but no one had ever gone away from Carson Hill without vowing to return someday and do it all again.
The groups assembled outside their two cabins, waiting for Seamus in the shade of their low front porch overhangs. It was only mid-morning and it was already hot, made worse by the exhaustion of flying in late the night before and riding out to the ranch since breakfast time. When he finally appeared, though, their expressions brightened when they saw that he was leading two horses, followed up by a ranch hand with another two horses.
“I thought we’d let the ladies go first,” he announced gleefully. “Might as well start this adventure off right by putting the men folk in their place!”
“Are you gonna talk like that the whole time?” the other family’s older child, a boy with thick-rimmed glasses and hair that flopped down in front of his eyes, demanded. “I’m the one who had to call and see if you got our deposit since my dad was too busy to get around to it. I happen to know that you guys around here don’t actually talk like that.”
“Well, son, there’s two things at play here. One, it’s all part of the cowboy experience,” he said, stepping close to the teenager and leaning close as he spoke.
“Oh yeah? What’s the other thing?” the kid asked, some of the attitude and bravado melting from his tone as he saw just how large a human being Seamus really was.
“Did I say there were two things? Huh, must have slipped my mind. Maybe there’s really only one thing…oh wait, no, I remember it now: shut up and hold the reins for your mom.”
The kid, Jimmy, blanched slightly, his already pale skin contrasting with his dyed black hair, making him look deathly afraid. He nodded his head and took the ends of the leather straps that Seamus shoved against his chest before walking off, his smile plastered firmly in place once again.
Seamus supervised the impromptu riding lesson, having first the ladies ride slowly in wide circles while the ranch hand walked among them, ready to grab the horses’ bridles if anything went wrong. They rotated turns every ten minutes or so, making sure that everyone had a chance to not only ride, but to ride each of the different horses.
“Now, a true cowboy would never consider cheating on his horse by taking off on another animal, but seeing as how you are all only here for a short time, we thought we’d introduce you to everybody. After lunch, we’ll take a trail ride and you’ll each ride a different horse, and we’ll change it up a little bit at each stage of the ride. That way, you kind of get a feel for each of the animals you’ll be spending the next month with. Any questions?”
Jimmy’s hand went up slowly, a bored expression on his face that was more there for Laney’s benefit than anyone else’s. But a quick flash of Seamus’ angry eyes made the kid drop his hand, looking around slightly to see if anyone had noticed. “Anyone but Jimmy, that is?”
Seamus answered a few questions about the length of each day’s ride, how they would care for their horses, what they would do if their horses didn’t listen to them, and more, then declared it was time for lunch. As his ranch hand headed to the barn with the horses and the family members turned to go into their cabins, Seamus let out a wolf whistle that could have caused a stampede.
“Uh, sorry folks, but rule number of being a cowboy: you don’t eat ‘til your horse has eaten. Let’s go, everybody to the barn. We’ve got some scrubbing, feeding, and watering to do! Then we can eat.”
Chapter Six
Laney waded through the mounds of horse manure with a disgusted look on her face, her earlier anger bubbling back up to the surface the more she dodged the smelly piles. This wasn’t like having to go to Nantucket when you had your heart set on going to the beach, she told herself. That would be a minor disappointment compared to this. This was absolutely torture, and even worse, she had to smile through it all. She wasn’t putting on a good face for Oren even though she’d realized there was a tiny grain of truth in what her mother had said. There was someone else she was outwardly hoping to impress, even if she didn’t know why.
Now that she knew this mysterious guy’s name was Axel and that he wasn’t just some surly, brooding tag-along, he’d become even more intriguing than ever before. She hadn’t seen him with their group ever since they’d stepped out of the van, and his disappearance had her intrigued. Was he part of the ranch, then? Some long-gone relative who’d just caught the ride from the airport with the vacationers? And either way, where had he disappeared to since then?
The ugly boots they’d been issued for their trek in the barn hadn’t improved her mood, either. At least she wasn’t having to ruin her expensive new boots her mom had bought her when they’d shopped for their gear for the trip. They were far too cute to destroy by actually wearing them in a place like this, even if they were designer cowboy boots.
Laney returned her bucket to the row of them lined up on the low wall outside the barn and waited in line to hose off her hands and shoes. She wanted to pull off the large rubber boots, but noticed that everyone else had kept theirs on.
Oh goodie, more disgusting fun ahead of us? She mused sourly, struggling to put a pleasant expression on her face in case Axel happened to pop up nearby. After all, he was the only person in this cattle show who looked good, and after their work and his absence, he was sure to be the only one who smelled good, too.
+++
Laney had been struggling for the past forty-five minutes to clean up after her horse. It was even more aggravating because the rest of her group—her parents, her brother, and that other annoying family with the weird grunge rock kid—had already cleaned up and gone out to the courtyard near their cabins to rest up before dinner.
The whole trail ride had been one giant pain in the rear end after another, literally and figuratively. It had been four hours of trying to get her stupid horse to listen to her commands while watching other completely inept people try to get their horses to listen, too. Of course, her little brother had to be such a natural at the whole concept of sitting on top of a dumb animal that he got to go riding off with one of the ranch hands and a few of the guests who didn’t need remedial horseback riding. That had only irritated her more.
Now she was stuck in the narrow hallways that led to the stall doors, carrying an armload of disgusting tools and pieces of tack. She couldn’t believe she’d had to touch something that had been in that horse’s mouth, and at one point almost considered
just refusing to do it. This was not what she’d signed up for.
Another one of her mother’s warning looks had made her pick up her brush and get to work flinging the sweat off the horse’s sides, dodging the microscopic droplets that flew off the brush’s bristles with every stroke.
“Careful, you’re about to…” a voice said nearby, jolting her from her thoughts and making Laney drop the bucket of grimy water she’d used to clean the horse’s bridle and bit the way they were shown. The ice-cold brown water and layer of old soap scum sloshed all over her rubber boots, more than enough of it managing to slip up over the tops of the black rubber and slide down her bare legs inside of them. She felt her skin crawl as she fought the urge to throw the bucket, the boots, and probably the horse.
“What are you doing sneaking up behind me like that?” she shrieked, her temper flaring until she turned around and saw Axel. Her mouth hung open when she realized she’d just yelled at him, proving to him once again what an immature brat she was. She blinked in surprise before speaking again. “What I meant was…”
“Oh no, it’s okay. Really. I got your meaning the first time. No need to explain it again.” He sidestepped around her. She moved to follow and apologize, the words caught in her throat, but she stopped moving when her foot very nearly slid out from under her, carried along by the already familiar feeling of stepping in a good sized pile of horse droppings. “And yeah, that’s what I was trying to warn you about. Before you stepped in it, that is. You might wanna go hose off that boot.”