by JL Curtis
The old man replied, “Cut the binding twine, and break the bales up. We throw about half a bale in each stall, kinda spread it out.” He demonstrated and Toad got the hang of it quickly on the open stalls, but then asked how to do it with the horses in the stalls. The old man said, “I’ll take care of them. If you want to grab that bucket behind you, the feed bin is in that left corner. A pail of that in each box is what the horses normally get every day.” Toad filled all four stalls, whistling as he worked. Diablo cocked an ear and watched Toad, but didn’t react, so the old man didn’t say anything.
One of the stall’s doors was sagging a bit, and he looked at the door and cussed softly. It would have to be rehung, but that could be done later. Toad looked on curiously, and the old man finally said, “Okay, that’s enough for now. I didn’t ask y’all out here to work.”
Back inside, with a cup of coffee in his hand, he listened as Jesse and Aaron regaled him with the trip to town and people seeing Aaron driving Jesse’s car. They’d run into a few folks, and exchanged Christmas greetings, then stopped at the store on the way back. Jesse said they’d found a couple of great looking pecan pies, and they had burgers at the truck stop. The old man’s stomach grumbled at that, and Jesse said, “Oh damn, I forgot. Yours is in the oven, Papa.” She pulled out the Styrofoam container and sat it in front of him. “Sorry ‘bout that.”
He laughed along with Aaron, and dug into the burger. They continued to chat over coffee until Jesse got up and wondered aloud, “Where did Toad get off to?”
Aaron joked, “He’s probably washing his truck. He keeps that thing spotless. He’s probably been paranoid since we got here that it was too dirty.”
Everybody laughed at that as Jesse turned to the sink to wash the cups. She gasped, and said, “Oh shit. Papa, come here!”
The old man bolted to the window, along with Aaron, and stood dumbfounded. Toad was fixing the gate into the corral, and Diablo was standing right behind him. The old man started for the door but Jesse said, “Wait Papa, there’s something strange going on here. Diablo just nuzzled him!”
“What? That horse has tried to kill just about every man other than me or Toby!” The old man stepped back to the window, and sure enough Diablo was nuzzling Toad’s hair. Toad brushed his muzzle away, and continued working on a contraption of some kind as Diablo pushed him in the back. Toad turned around and looked at the horse and apparently said something, because Diablo raised his head. They were stunned to see Toad reach up try to push Diablo backward and Jesse and the old man laughed when Diablo actually backed up. Toad turned back around and started working on the gate. Diablo stepped right up behind him and nuzzled him again. Toad turned and made a shooing motion and Diablo backed up.
The old man grabbed a carrot and an apple out of the bin and went out the door, mumbling something about fools and luck.
When he got out to the corral, he asked Toad, “What are you doing and why is Diablo out?”
Toad said, “I was checking those other stalls, and I guess I didn’t fasten his back right. I’m fixing this gate. It’s sagging from its own weight. All I’m doing is setting a fulcrum that will span the weight better and make the gate easier to open.” Reaching up, he swatted at Diablo’s muzzle. “If I can get this damn horse to stop playing with my hair.”
The old man handed him a carrot. “Here, give him this and walk back toward the barn.”
Toad turned and held the carrot out and Diablo took it out of his hand as the old man winced. “Toad, don’t ever offer an animal anything that you’re gripping. They might mistake your fingers for part of the treat.”
Toad nodded and started walking back to the barn with Diablo following right behind him. The old man said, “Okay, walk into his stall and see if he follows you.”
Toad walked into the stall, and sure enough, Diablo followed him in. “Now step out of the stall and close the door.” Toad did so and Diablo stuck his head over the stall door. The old man handed him the apple and said, “This time put it in the palm of your hand and let him take it that way.” Toad took the apple and lay it in the palm of his hand then held his hand up. Diablo gently took the apple and happily crunched down on it.
The old man shook his head. “Okay, let’s get out of here. Billy should be here shortly.”
Toad walked out with the old man and said, “Gimme about five minutes to get this tensioned right. I only need a few more turns and it should be good to go.”
The old man watched as Toad tightened his contraption and he saw the bottom of the gate rise incrementally. Finally, Toad was satisfied, and picked up his tools and walked out of the corral. He swung the gate both ways and smiled as he fastened it shut. “There you go, Mr. Cronin. That should last at least a year or so, and if it doesn’t all you need to do is take a couple of more turns on the bar to bring it up more.” Dusting his hands, he walked over to his truck and replaced the tools in the toolbox.
***
The photocell at the front gate bonged and the dogs headed to the front door barking as the old man eased out of his chair.
Jesse, Aaron and Toad were in the kitchen playing cards and from the sound of it, the boys were losing, causing the old man to chuckle. He’d taught Jesse how to play poker, and her accountant’s mind had no problems figuring out the odds. He was pretty sure Jesse was cleaning their clocks. The photocell bonged again, then a third time before the old man got to the door. Now, he was wondering if something was wrong with it.
He opened the door to see three cars pulling up in front of the house, and he laughed. Not only Billy, but apparently Clay Boone and his wife, Ronni, had decided to drop by and the Guilfoiles, Eddie and Iris were riding with them. The third car was apparently Trey and Beverly, Jesse’s friends from college.
Yogi and Boo Boo were going nuts trying to greet everybody at once, running from one to the other and back again. Billy waved, and a young lady got out of his car. The old man remembered her. She was Cindy, one of Jesse’s friends from college who was also in the wedding.
Yelling back into the house he said, “Jesse, you’ve got company, and we need to break out seven more steaks!”
Christmas Celebrations
Everybody trooped up the steps and the greetings started as Jesse, Aaron and Toad came out of the house and the old man was glad to see they were both carrying their Glocks under their shirts. The old man had a conversation with both of them and Matt about his worry about another possible attempt on the ranch, and he wanted him armed at all times. Trey and Beverly were first, and Trey picked Jesse up and swung her around, “You’re looking good, girl! Lot better than the last time I saw you!”
Jesse laughed. “Put me down, you big oaf! Your wife is here.” But she kissed him on the cheek and said quietly, “Only because you never gave up on me when I was in the hospital.” And hugged him fiercely. He set her gently on her feet and she hugged Beverly saying, “I’m glad y’all could make it. I’m afraid there was no way for us to get to Dallas on this trip.”
Beverly hugged her. “No biggie, Jesse. I was worried about you, and I don’t mind getting away for a day. Besides, Trey had built up a lot of comp time at the hospital. They don’t want to pay nurses any overtime anymore.”
Clay Boone and his wife Ronni walked up the steps, and Clay said, “We just thought we’d drop by since we’re in the area, John. Hope you don’t mind, but it looks like we hit you at the wrong time. Eddie and I were up in San Antonio looking at some colts and the women were shopping. Now I can’t afford another horse!”
The old man stuck out his hand. “No such thing as the wrong time, Clay. Y’all are always welcome. Hope you like steak. Eddie, Iris, great to see y’all. Eddie, we need to talk about the colts.” Ronni accepted a peck on the cheek. “John Cronin, do not make me drop this pie.”
Eddie nodded and Iris blushed as she followed Ronni up the steps.
The old man stepped back and raised his hands. “Pie? Never Ronni!” Ronni smiled and reached to hug Jesse as Billy bo
unded up the steps. “Playing pied piper again, Billy?” The old man asked as he enveloped Billy in a bear hug.
“Cupid, maybe, but not pied piper on this trip,” Billy said softly motioning with his head to Cindy, now standing timidly at the bottom of the steps.
The old man said, “Cindy, come on up, you’re always welcome here. You don’t have to stand down there.”
Cindy came up the steps and replied, “Thank you, Mr. Cronin. I wasn’t sure.” But she was looking past him. The old man realized she was looking at Toad and he thought. Where in hell did that come from? They saw each other once, for maybe a half a day at the wedding. Well, this is either going to be real good or real bad.
As everyone trooped into the house, Billy hung back and said quietly to the old man, “She called me to tell me she wanted to intern at my law firm over the holidays. When she found out I was coming out here, asked if she could ride along. I didn’t know about this until a half hour out, when I asked her what she was so nervous about. Apparently, she and Toad have been writing back and forth since the wedding.”
The old man shrugged. “Well, this should be interesting. Even more so as I now have to figure out where to put everybody. Do you mind staying in the old house?”
Billy chuckled. “Fine by me.”
The old man saw Jesse and Cindy disappear down the hallway and figured there was going to be girl talk and something else. He rounded up everybody in the kitchen and made a new pot of coffee, in addition to wrapping more potatoes for the oven. Beverly disappeared down the hall and Ronni was looking for a place to put the pie, so the old man took it and put it in the cabinet saying, “If the dogs can get it there, we’re all in trouble.”
Ronni laughed. “That’s true, but I swear animals can get into the damnest places. Dusty got his head caught in the fence trying to eat my beans last month.”
Clay, Billy and Eddie were off in one corner chatting and Aaron had walked Toad to the back door talking pretty insistently to him. Toad seemed to be standing up for himself, and quietly told Aaron to butt out. The old man chuckled. Yep, it’s going to be one of those nights. Looking at his watch, he fired up the oven and went to the back door, motioning to Aaron and Toad. “Okay, guys, I’m not sure what’s going on here. But I don’t want or need any arguments. Cool it. Aaron, I need the grill pulled up if you would.”
Aaron nodded. “No problem, sir. We’re done. Come on, Toad, let’s get the grill up here. You do want the big one, right Mister C?”
The old man said, “For this many steaks, yeah the big one. And one bag of briquettes should be right there with it. Move it right beside the back door, if you would.”
They both nodded and as the old man turned back, the girls came into the kitchen, and Cindy seemed much relieved. Beverly sat down next to Trey and whispered in his ear, and Trey grinned. The coffee pot burbled and spat, and the old man reached up and started pulling cups out of the cabinet. “Okay, who wants coffee?”
Billy, always the smart ass said, “I’ve got to trade in a cup, then I’ll be ready,” prompting a laugh from everyone. Jesse dug in the fridge and pulled out the milk, and brought the sugar over to the island, setting them next to the coffee cups.
Conversations swirled through the house as everyone drank coffee and the women prepared the salad and veggies to go with the steaks and baked potatoes, Clay and Billy were telling stories, with Trey throwing in the occasional funny medical story from the hospital, and prompting yet other stories. Cindy sat near Toad, and they occasionally exchanged quiet words, until Billy asked Toad if anything interesting had happened to him. Toad looked up, rather startled, and said, “Nothing much, just running guns for the folks at Pendleton. And I did finish my masters this month.”
Billy did a double take and asked, “A masters? In what?”
Toad replied, “Well, one in Physics from UCSD, with a second masters in Metallurgical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. I got interested in the mechanical properties of metals in rifles and rifle barrels. And it kinda took off from there.”
Trey looked at Beverly, who smiled and Trey just shook his head. “Man, you are the last guy I’d have ever figured for a bookish type. You’re a Marine for God’s sake.”
Jesse piped up. “Says the black man mountain football player whose knuckles drag the ground, and became a nurse.”
That broke everyone up, as Trey assumed an injured expression, until Beverly poked him in the ribs and he burst out laughing, too. “Touché, Jesse, touché. Obviously, Toad has kept his light as well hidden as I did!”
This prompted another round of laughter. The old man decided it was time to put the steaks on, so he took the orders and headed out the door with steaks in hand, making Yogi stay in the house, much to the pup’s dismay. Jesse asked Aaron to take the dogs out front, and he did as Jesse and the girls finished the salad and veggies and put the bread in the oven.
Eddie slipped out the door with the old man and said, “Mr. Cronin, I wanted to check with you about the colts. Another couple of months we need to think about starting training them. I guess the question is do you want me to do it up here, or take ‘em down to my place?”
The old man thought for a minute and finally said, “Well, you tell me, Eddie. We’ve always trained them here, but you being a half hour, forty-five minutes away is an issue. Maybe start the training here, then once they’re a little more stable, trailer them down to your place? And make sure any time you’re up here you’re armed.”
Eddie said, “I always have my ‘hawk, and I’ll throw the .22 in the truck. I’ll put together a training plan for you.”
The old man replied, “Good. Go ahead and put costs on there too, Eddie. How is Iris doing?”
Eddie ducked his head. “She’s doing okay. She still cries sometimes about losing Junior, but she’s getting better. And Ronni is helping her a lot too. I think she likes that I’m home most of the time training horses too. It seems to comfort her.”
The old man clapped Eddie on the shoulder. “Eddie, we’re all proud of how you’ve turned your life around. It would destroy Iris if she lost you again.”
Dinner was quiet as everybody dug into the large New York Strips and all the trimmings. After dinner was cleaned up and more coffee poured, the old man, Billy and Jesse adjourned to the office. Billy said, “Okay, I’ve updated both your wills.” Reaching in his ever present briefcase he pulled out four sealed envelopes, handing two to the old man and two to Jesse. “Duplicate copies, I hold the originals. Put these in a safe place, and don’t lose them.”
Billy continued, “I talked to Bucky before I left today, and he said nothing has changed since your last chat. But having said that, he was hearing there was going to be a major push over the holidays. John, you might want to pass that unofficially to Clay. Jesse, you need to get Aaron to do a will and get me a copy, since I’m now representing him too.”
Jesse nodded. “Okay, I’ll talk to him before he goes back. He has one, and I think Matt is his executor.”
“Good, but get me a copy. Now I think I have room for some pie!”
Laughing, the old man led them back to the kitchen. “Anybody up for some pie?” There were groans around, but not a single person demurred. Ronni cut the pie and the old man helped dish it out, and had two plates left over. Aaron stepped over and said quietly, “Toad and Cindy are outside talking. I’d save a piece for them.”
The old man said, “Okay, can do.” More loudly he asked, “Anybody want Blue Bell?”
“Papa,” Jesse said. “There is only one answer to that. Yes!”
Clay, Ronni, Eddie and Iris were getting ready to leave when the photocell bonged again, prompting the old man to motion Ronni and Iris to step away from the door. Clay stepped to the other side, and Aaron and Toad stepped up behind the old man. A small car pulled into the front yard. Yogi and Boo Boo were barking but not frantically, so he let them out and pulled the door completely open. It was Matt, and Clay laughed as Matt extracted himself from the sma
ll car.
Matt came up with the dogs in tow and shook Clay’s hand, then Eddie’s and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Boone, Mister and Mrs. Guilfoile, it’s nice to see y’all.” Looking at the old man, he continued, “Angelina loaned me her car, rather than drive me back out here, and the damn front seats are almost more cramped than the back seats! I swear she did it just to laugh at me!”
Ronni said, “Matt, you don’t fit in anything much smaller than a big truck. But I’d look at it as a test, rather than just laughing at you.” With that, she grinned and kissed the old man on the cheek saying, “Thank you for dinner, John. Merry Christmas, come see us some time.”
Clay shook his hand and said, “Same here, don’t be a stranger, John. I’m sure Jose will let you out of the county once in a while. And hopefully we won’t get interrupted like last time.”
“Mr. Cronin,” Eddie added. “I’ll get that plan to you.” Iris murmured a Merry Christmas as they went down the steps.
The old man nodded. “Merry Christmas to y’all, too! And Clay, I can do without interruptions like that. From Bucky, unofficially expect a push by the cartels during the holidays.”
Clay said, “Yeah, I expect one every damn year now. I’ll be careful, trust me. Oh yeah, ajor Wilson finally heard back from Austin, they’re giving us commendations for what we did.” With that he headed after Ronni and the Guilfoiles, and they waved as the pulled out of the drive.
Matt stood in the kitchen mystified by Toad and Cindy sitting on the couch, oblivious to the others in the room. As the old man came in he asked, “Did I miss something?”
The old man laughed. “You, me and everybody else, apparently. I don’t know the whole story, but it apparently started at the wedding.”
Matt said, “I’ll be damned. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen Toad with a nice girl.”
The old man grinned. “Apparently, she sees something in him that none of us do. So what time are you going back over to Angelina’s in the morning?”