by Danni Roan
“Sit down Sonny,” Cried another man. His wispy white hair sticking out from under a gray, sweat stained hat, as he grinned toothlessly, while wiping his hands on his apron. “Reckon you could use some grub. We’re about to go round two here now.” He added with a significant look at the other men still standing with plates in hand. The men quickly wolfed down their food, handed him their plates and with a nod stepped up to their ponies.
“Sit down boy,” Benjamin indicated, then picked up his plate as the old cook handed one to Will. The cook himself went to a metal triangle hanging from his wagon and clanged it with his ladle before turning back to the fire.
Will sat and started shoveling grub into his mouth as fast as he could. The beef and beans sure tasted good after his long trek and he wasn’t wasting time. He’d almost finished his first plate when the thunder of hooves caught his attention and the same palomino, he’d seen earlier came charging toward the chuck wagon; its golden coat shimmering in the sun and despite the dust its white mane and tail were brilliant. The rider, wore a bandana wrapped around the lower part of his mouth to ward off some of the dust of the round up but strangely had another wrapped around his head under a wide hat as well. Will watched the posture of the rider, and how he handled his horse; if perhaps a little recklessly, still well, as the little golden horse came skidding to a stop.
There was something strange here though. The rider, garbed as the other hands, in boots, trousers, chaps and flannel shirt was rather short and didn’t seem to sit his horse in the same way most cowboys did. The rider threw a leg over the saddle horn and slid off the horse on to small booted feet, pulling the bandana from their nose and down around their neck. Will jumped to his feet and stared in utter shock as the rider approached the fire. He blinked a few times, still unable to speak, from the shock. This rider was not a cowboy, this rider was a woman.
“Where’s the grub Cookie?” a lilting voice called as the woman walked to the cook fire, brushing dust off her shirt and chaps with each step. Her denim pants were baggie but still showed all too clearly the curve of her hips as they swung when she walked.
“Cookie?” The girl called again, now looking up from removing her gloves to see why the toothless old man hadn’t replied. She noted the eyes of the cook gazing across the fire, and began to turn.
“Uncle Benji, what in thunder is wrong with Cookie?” Her voice trailed off as she saw Will. “Oh.” She squeaked. “Excuse me. I didn’t realize we had a guest.” She turned her full gaze on Will and her ice green eyes, sent a shiver down his spine. “Um. Mr.” She said looking right at him. “You’re spilling your beans.”
With an effort Will pulled his eyes from her face to look down and sure enough his plate was dripping beans onto the fire. Suddenly a wild cackle broke out behind him and everyone turned to see the cook doubled over, holding his sides and laughing.
“You done, shoulda’ seen your face.” He cackled. “Looked like you been plumb poll axed.” Then he was off again, consumed by laughter.
Will shook himself with an effort then snatched his hat from his head.
“Ma’am.” He said still gazing at the girl across from him. She’d been wearing the bandana over her nose and mouth and he noticed she had the distinct look of a raccoon as the area around her eyes was dusty but her skin below was clean and smooth. She wore her hair in a long braid down her back and it shone like wild honey in sunlight; not quite red but not golden either.
She was the prettiest thing he’d seen in a long time and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Just then the sound of more approaching riders caught everyone’s attention, but he couldn’t drag his eyes away from the woman who was still smiling at him. Two more riders approached the fire and sidled up to the woman.
“Katie?” another female voice called out. Will whipped his head around just in time to see two more woman step up to the girl already there.
His mouth fell open further and he stood gaping like a fish. The cooks mad cackling snapped him out of his stupor.
“Ma’am-s” He greeted weakly.
“Katie, what on earth is going on here? I’m starved.” The second girl said.
“Apparently Pa hired a new foreman.” The girl called Katie replied. “Meg, Fi. Meet Mr.?” she paused “I’m afraid I don’t know your name.” She ended politely.
“Robertson ma’am. Wilson Robertson.”
The cook still hadn’t stopped laughing but somehow managed to dish up two more plates and then brought tin cups full of coffee to each of them. The woman joined the men at the fire and sitting down just like all the other hands began to eat.
“Uncle Benji?” The first girl Katie asked. “Did you know about this?”
“Course I knew. I been your pa’s foreman for more’n twenty years. You don’t think he’d let me out a’ somethin’ like this do ya?”
Will sputtered and almost choked on his coffee. This girl, and by the looks of the other two were the daughters of the old, cantankerous cattlemen who’d hired him. Was this a complete mad house?
“Why do we need a new foreman?” the second woman, Meg, piped up in a sweet voice. She was about the same height as her sister but was leaner and more angular, with a wide set to her shoulders and a narrow waist. Her hair was a coppery red with hints of sunlight streaking it and she had eyes of aquamarine.
“I ain’t getting’ any younger you know, Meg.” The man called Benji replied. “We’ll need a younger man to see to the next drive. I’m thinking it’s time for me to start takin’ it a little easier around here.”
“Oh, Uncle Benji.” The oldest girl Katie scoffed. “You’ll be driving cows till they carry you away.”
She then turned her startling eyes on Will, who suddenly found it hard to swallow. He’d been studying each girl in turn and wondered how in the world he’d ended up sitting around a chuck wagon fire with three woman. It all just didn’t seem possible.
“Have you ever worked as a foreman before, Mr. Robertson?” She finally asked.
“Yes ma’am.” He stated flatly. “I’ve been driving cows up from Texas my whole life and did just about any job that needed doing on a ranch. I’ll do my best at whatever you need here.” He didn’t notices the two older men’s conspiratorial smiles.
“Did you come all the way from Texas for this job?” The youngest girl, Fi, finally spoke for the first time. She had darker hair than her sisters, a deep chestnut brown with hints of gold glinting in the sunlight. She, like her sisters wore it in a long tight braid down her back, but unlike them she wore no bandana under her hat.
“No ma’am,” he replied politely “I’m comin’ up from Kansas just now. I heard about the job there.”
“Oh!” Fi gasped “Did you meet our Uncle Jeremiah?”
Will smiled. “As a matter of fact, he’s the one who suggested the job to me.”
Just then another horse came trotting up to the fire and the old man from the ranch house swung his large frame down from a big buckskin horse.
“What ya all doing lollygagging’ around the fire. Don’t you have work to get on with?” he said tersely. The three girls giggled but the three men stood, slapped their hats back on their heads and turned toward their mounts.
“You’d best come with me son.” Benjamin said softly and pulled Will along with him.
The rest of the day was spent doing what usually happened during a round up. Branding, checking stock, and culling weak or sickly cows and calves from the herd. Will, despite the weariness of his long journey worked next to Benji putting in a full day’s work. Occasionally, he’d lift his head and spot that fast moving palomino horse charging off to chase down a stray, or dragging a reluctant calf to the branding fire and he couldn’t help shaking his head. What kind of crazy old man has his own daughter’s out herding cattle. He noticed that all of the girls, once he could spot them, were doing a man’s work and that the hands never once went to help them out any more than they did the other cowpokes.
As the sun started to reach the western
peaks in the far distance. A new group of cowboys came out to relieve those who’d worked all day. The new watch would get the cattle bedded down and look after them for the night while everyone else turned toward the ranch.
“Time to call it a day.” Benji sang out, “You just stick with me.”
So together they turned their tired mounts toward the east. Will noticed the girls riding together in the lead with their father while he, Benji, and the other men brought up the rear. He was sure gonna be glad for a meal and his bed roll tonight.
As they approached the ranch he watched the girls head straight to the ranch house. The bald man from the barn scurried over and took their horses with a grin and headed to the barn. Will and the other men all turned toward the corral and began to dismount, stripping the gear from their horses before turning them out. He noticed his roan horse nibbling hay contentedly with the other mounts and turned toward the bunk house.
“Where you goin’ son?” Benji’s voice pulled him up short.
“The bunk house.” He replied.
Benji’s chuckle surprised him. “Not yet you don’t. We take our meals at the big house.”
Will pulled his hat off of his matted hair, then looking at his sweat and dust encrusted clothes and gulped.
“Don’t worry you can clean up with the rest of us.” Benji said chuckling as he began to amble in the direction of the ranch house with Will on his heels. Will thought they’d walk up the stairs onto the wide front porch but instead they started around the right side of the house where they found the rest of the day shift, stripped to their trousers and washing in a big basin of warm water. Some were even going as far as to dunk their heads straight into the trough before stepping to the side and pulling down a sheet of toweling to dry off with. They then shook out their shirts, put them back on and headed around to the back of the house.
When it came his turn, Will shucked off his shirt grabbed the soap and plunged his head in the water. He scrubbed his face, neck and hands as best he could, then dried himself on a towel combing his dark brown hair out of his eyes with his fingers.
“You clean up alright boy.” Benji said. “Can’t wait to see what you look like after Saturday’s bath.”
And again he and the other cowboys burst into laughter, slapping the younger man on the shoulder and heading for the back of the ranch house.
“No, you go bring, coffee!” A woman’s low voice drew Will the rest of the way around the house, and he wondered if he were going to meet the mother of the three girls from earlier.
As he made the turn around the corner of the house, he could see two long tables had been placed down the length of the house and were quickly filing up with ranch hands. A short plump woman with salt and pepper hair stood by the door holding a long wooden spoon in her hand, shouting into the interior of the house, and a muffled reply could be hear coming back to her. She was dressed in a deep gray dress with a high collar trimmed in white lace and her brown eyes sparkled. She smiled as he and Benji took their hats off and ascended the stairs.
“Oh!” She squealed seeing them. “Look! Look! We have a new one. And so handsome too.” She waved them to a table with her spoon and turned back to yell into the kitchen again. “Hurry up! Hurry up!”
“I'm, coming, I'm coming.” A high male voice with a strange accent called back. The voice was accompanied by a small wiry Chinese man carrying a large coffee pot. “You too bossy.” He said glaring at the woman who simply rolled her eyes and gestured with her spoon.
Benji, smiling the whole time, led Will to where Mr. James sat at the head of a long trestle table that could easily seat twelve. Benji walked around to the bench where four old cowhands sat and indicated for Will to take the seat next to him while he took the one to the left of his boss. The bench on the other side of the table still sat empty, Will noticed.
The noise and clatter of dishes and utensils, along with the banter between the house matron and the Chinese man, who seemed to be trying to outdo each other in grumbling, created such a cacophony of noise that Will almost missed it when Mr. James asked to say grace. But Benji heard, and bowed his head, then one by one all of the cowboys bowed their heads as well. A sudden hush fell over the back porch and the old man lifted his voice.
“Lord for this food which we are about to receive may we truly be thankful. Bless us with your bounty and bless the hands that prepared it. Amen.”
He then lifted his head and grabbed for a piece of fried chicken on a plate in front of him before passing it to Benji. Just as the men had started piling food on their plates, the wide screen door screeched open on its hinges and not three but six girls marched out one by one as all of the men stood.
The first one was Katie, now dressed in a green day dress with a softly rounded white collar, followed by Meg, then Fi. These three he had met at the chuck wagon but then behind them came two more girls who were obviously identical twins. They had dark brown hair and bright hazel eyes, and tittered to each other as they marched around the table to sit with the men. The last to arrive was a petite girl with jet black hair and a small heart shaped face. Her dark eyes were full and wide but with a turned up shape like a cats. Each girl walked up to Mr. James, gave him a peck on the cheek and then sat in order of age along the far side of the table, directly across from Will and the other men. All the old punchers sat back down while Will just stood gaping.
“You gonna stand there all day sonny, or are you gonna eat.” Mr. James groused.
Will plopped back down on his seat, feeling a deep blush cover his face. Benji elbowed him and grinned but turned back to the food. Finally over his shock, Will filled his plate and began to eat his well-earned dinner while his eyes kept straying to the row of woman seated across from him. Unlike his earlier encounter where three of the girls were working cattle dressed as men, now all of them wore simple day dresses and had put their hair up instead of leaving it in a long braid. All but the youngest anyway whose inky tresses hung loose down her back. They were all as pretty as a picture.
“I know you met my three eldest earlier today.” Mr. James stated brusquely “But let me introduce you properly. You’ve met Katrion, my oldest: then there’s Muiread, and finally Fiona. Next to her are Isabella, and Alexandria”
Here the twins interrupted “but call us Issy and Lexi.” They said hastily, while there father raised an eye brow in reply and carried on.
“And last but not least is little Mae Lynn.” After each girl was introduced they nodded politely then began filling their plates.
“So how did you find your first day?” Katie asked looking across the table at Will.
“It was alright, seems everyone knows how to work around here.” He replied with a smile. The younger girls giggled.
“Now Katie, leave the man alone. He’s tryin’ to eat.” Her father said.
“We heard you came all the way from Texas.” One of the twins chimed in.
“Did you?” The other asked.
“Um, no ma’am. I came from Kansas City.”
“Girls.” Their father’s stern voice warned again. Just then the lady of the house approached with a big plate of biscuits and Will started to rise again.
“Oh, none of that now boy.” The woman chided and placed the biscuits on the table.
“Bianca, have you met our Mr. Robertson yet?” Mr. James asked “Bianca here’s my mother-in-law, Mr. Robertson.” He added as the woman shooed him away again.
“Joshua James, you’re gonna scare this boy away with all this talk. He’s hardly eaten a thing so far and you know how confusing it can be around this place for strangers. Now let him concentrate on eatin’ his dinner and he can get us all sorted out later.”
“Bianca,” a wiry little man at the other end of the table called. His once black hair was now dusted with gray, but his dark brown eyes still held a twinkle. “Don’t you go nosing into Joshua’s business? Come here and sit down like a good wife and leave the men to their eating.”
“That’s
Isadoro, Bia’s husband. They’re from Italy.” Benji whispered “but don’t try too hard to keep track, you’ll get used to it.”
The rest of dinner was a melee of conversations, questions, and quips from the men at the table. Will decided that unless someone spoke to him directly he’d be better off just watching and taking in the lay of the land, but as the meal wore on, the only thing he was sure of was that Mr. James had six daughters, and that Isadore and Bianca were Joshua’s in laws.
The conversations were so jumbled and confusing, he wasn’t even sure of the rest of the hands names by the time he’d cleaned his plate. Finally the meal ended with a large chocolate cake and coffee before the men excused themselves, wished the woman a good night and headed to the bunk house.
Chapter 3
Will’s head was still spinning as he walked with the other hands to the bunk house. He found his saddle bags and bedroll already there on one of the bunks and without even thinking he plunked himself down on the cot, still dazed. Benji came over and sat down next to him.
“You alright son?” He asked gently, a half hidden smile on his face.
“I’ve just never been anywhere like this before.” Will replied. “Is every place in Wyoming like it?”
“I doubt you’ll ever find a place quite like the Broken J, anywhere.” Was Benji’s easy answer.
Will shook his head then looked around the bunk house. It was a low squat building with thick log walls, and from where he sat Will could see that the building had two main rooms. The one he was in had bunks lined up along all four walls except near the door and looking through the open door to the other he suspected it was a mirror image of this one.
A large table with a selection of battered chairs and a potbellied stove was situated in the middle of the rectangular space. Against the wall near the door was a tall cupboard with a set of cups and a tin of coffee on its bare plank shelves. Above each bunk was a small shelf with a few pegs stuck in the wall beneath it and he could see that the men had placed some of their own personal items there. He also noticed that most of the beds were made up and the majority of them had a large square wooden trunk or box underneath them. Over all it was a snug place with enough space to allow men a bit of privacy but without being so big it couldn’t be kept warm in the winter.