Black Hills Forever

by A. C. Wilson

  “You can stay in the truck and wait for us. If you want.” Matt said softly, facing the front and not looking at Garrett. For some reason they were all tiptoeing around him. He wasn’t sure what hurt worse. Reliving the ordeal or having others okay you for checking out. This was life—plain and simple. Everyone knew the risks and sooner or later, someone paid the price for working with less domesticated animals.

  “The sooner we get this done, the faster we can get warmed up.” Garrett said with bravado as he opened his truck door. The north wind cut right through him. It was getting worse. It was more than likely that they’d have snow tonight.

  “Glad you boys showed up. I was about to start cuddling with the horses.” Randy shouted above the whipping wind and Matt laughed out loud. Blake shook his head and Garrett acted unphased by the humor. Any other day he would have laughed.

  “Here we are. Where’s Bubba?” Garrett asked, looking around to any of the near knolls. It was likely that the bull was holed up somewhere out of the wind.

  “I scouted when we first got here. Bubba is hiding out in the copse of cottonwoods about half a mile over the west ridge.” Randy said, taking Goliath’s reins. There was another awkward moment where no one knew what to do with Garrett and it bothered him—more than a little. He wasn’t fine china that was going to break.

  “I’ll take Goliath and Randy can ride Chap. Matt, you and Blake set the trailers up so we can load that son-of-a-bitch.” Garrett took the reins from Randy and after checking the cinch, he stepped into the saddle. He adjusted his coat, pulling his collar up higher, and his hat down as far as it would go. Randy followed suit and nodded when he was ready to set out.

  No one else said a word as the horses took off at a gallop across the short grass prairie. It had been grazed down enough that the cattle needed to be moved as well as the fact that winter could be harsh. Fractions of herds were lost every year due to the wind chill and snowfall. It was a harsh place where even the best planning wasn’t always enough. Growing up on horseback, Garrett felt one with Goliath’s strong gait. He never wondered about the sorrel with the fearless fire within him. Truth be told, Garrett felt a kinship with the equine rebel.

  “He was over there.” Randy’s shout came in and out on the wind. Garrett looked to where his brother-in-law pointed and set Goliath’s course. They’d be there soon. The hoof beats sounded like thunder in Garrett’s ears and he watched as Goliath’s ears twitched forward. The cow horse had already located the wayward bull. Bubba was black against the ashy grey bases of the cottonwood trees. He was easy to see.

  “Let’s go.” Garrett hollered into the north wind and his eyes stung waiting to see Randy give a signal. They rounded the copse of trees and with a few whoops the cowboys had the bull moving to the east in the direction of the pen.

  The bull moved at a pretty good clip at least until he came up to the next rise. Garrett and Randy kept behind him and flanking his movements. When he went to break, Goliath was immediately making him change course. Bubba didn’t stand a chance against a seasoned cow horse. Garrett was a bit nervous about Chap having never used the gelding before. However the Sooty Buckskin was equal to the challenge and gave the crafty Angus bull a run for his money. After a couple short stops and turns, Bubba decided he had had enough. Clearly not built for running a great distance, the riders maneuvered the bull into the corral and Matt moved the gate closed as Garrett slid Goliath into the pen.

  It was going to be a battle of wills. Goliath shifted from side to side anticipating the bull’s moves. Blake stood on the outside of the paneling holding the trailer’s gate open. Matt and Randy watched from outside the pen. Garrett looked onto the bull’s rounded head with curly tufts of black hair in between his eyes to his ears. Those dark eyes watched warily as if the cowboy and horse were his enemies.

  Garrett took a deep breath.

  Maybe today they were.

  Maybe tomorrow they would be still.

  “Get up in there!” Garrett hollered as he moved Goliath forward and with a couple of loud sounds from Matt and Randy, Bubba decided the trailer wasn’t the worst place he could be. Garrett thought that if that bull hadn’t gotten into the trailer, he’d have delight roping him and pulling him all the way back to the ranch. As it was there was relief in seeing the bull locked in the back of the trailer.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Rayne watched Lacey sit beside her husband. It was painful to watch someone wait for something that they have no idea if or when it would come. Prayers and wishes had been sent up. Dreams were on hold, just waiting for Travis Johnson to wake up. Rayne didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until Lacey sat back against her straight backed chair and looked at her with a sad smile.

  “You don’t have to keep me company, Rayne. I’m fine here by myself.” Lacey’s voice was thick and low.

  “No one should have to face something like this alone.” Rayne reassured with an equally low voice. It was like walking on eggshells. Lacey’s blue eyes seemed bluer now.

  “I am not alone, my dear and neither are you.” There was a calm certainty to Lacey’s words. A conviction that Rayne wished she had. It hadn’t occurred to her that her soon-to-be mother-in-law might have been told about her problem.

  “I feel like I am.” Rayne lifted her eyes to the ceiling, tears brimming quickly. It was a hurt she carried always.

  “We isolate ourselves in order to protect others we care about from such pain. We suffer in the quiet recesses of our souls and become slaves to the doubt.” Lacey sighed, her chest rising and falling. “It is a vicious cycle that can only chase its tail. Take pity on it and share your burden, my dear.”

  Rayne blinked rapidly, horrified and bewildered that she could be so transparent. She didn’t think she was an open book, but Garrett’s mother made her seem like she was. Tucking her shaking hands into her lap, Rayne studied the floor. The tan flecks in the white tile looked so straight forward and simple to the terrors that rose within her.

  “I don’t think I should marry Garrett.” Rayne’s thoughts were out before she had a second to think about what she would say and how tactfully she could say it. Lacey’s eyes widened a bit and then were swiftly covered by dark lashes.

  “Is December too soon for you?” Lacey’s question was valid, but it had nothing to do with the answer.

  “I don’t think I should marry Garrett at all.” Rayne’s emphasis on the last of the statement brought Lacey’s eyes back to hers. There was no malice or judgment between them. Simply an acknowledgement of sorts. Still it made Rayne’s nerves fray further.

  “Oh Rayne…have I told you the story of the first time Travis told me that he loved me?” Lacey shifted in her seat, turning her body to lean sideways in the chair. A soft smile curved her lips and Rayne could see the girl that Lacey had been once. A tender young woman completely in love with her young man.

  “I begged my mother to let me go to the spring picnic my senior year in high school.” Lacey’s story began and Rayne edged back from her tears. She was genuinely interested in something other than her own pain.

  “Well my parents had decided that I shouldn’t be able to date until I was eighteen and finished with school. Boys were a distraction, they said. I couldn’t believe it when they said I could go to the picnic. Unchaperoned.”

  Lacey unwound the hot rollers from her long blonde hair and watched the lengthy ringlets bounce. The vanity mirror in her bedroom was surprisingly kind today in stark contrast to every other day. A young woman isn’t often satisfied with her looks, but as she stared into the oval mirror, Lacey liked what she saw. The sweetheart neckline of her yellow sundress was a perfect foil to her pale complexion and brown hair.

  Taking careful, considerate time to pin up the lovely ringlets, Lacey felt her stomach tighten in anticipation. She was finally going to a gathering of friends. Her parents had made sure she knew that going to this dance also meant going alone…as in NO DATE. It did little to dampen her enthusiasm.

&
nbsp; As she smiled more internally to the thought that he would actually be there, Lacey prayed her good luck would hold. She didn’t mind risking her parents’ disappointment, but she also wanted to know that she risked it with the best odds possible of actually snagging some sort of prize. Travis Johnson was definitely a prize.

  Sliding on her sandals, Lacey let her thoughts touch on the boy she had been so desperately in love with since she could remember. It wasn’t like their town was large and their school filled to the brim with children. Naturally the pools of adolescent teenagers split and puddled with like-minded souls. It just so happened that Lacey circulated in a couple of different puddles. She was neither popular nor was she unpopular. She fit wherever she was and she knew friends of everyone.

  Lacey hadn’t always felt easy with that social position. If she sided against anyone, they saw her as a traitor and tended to turn away. It served her better to stay out of the limelight. So she skirted the background. It wasn’t exactly how to meet one of the most popular and dare she say gorgeous boys ever to grace her school. Then he had taken up with Abigail Phails and that seemed to be the end of Lacey’s dream romance with Travis Johnson.

  Abbi was a beauty and a girl who knows she is beautiful can be a dangerous adversary. All the boys, including Travis were drawn to her. There was little doubt that Abbi and Travis would get married. After a year it seemed the logical step, but then their relationship looked to combust. They were together and then they weren’t. Travis had been out of school for two years. He wasn’t exactly frequenting the same puddles Lacey did.

  Still she took care with her looks hoping that maybe today she would see him at the picnic. She had heard from her friend Janell that his friend, Rip was going. Rip’s attendance would almost ensure Travis’s as well. Lacey closed her eyes and sent up a little prayer. Today would be the day. It had to be the day.

  “It sounds like you really wanted to catch his attention.” Rayne said from her chair as she watched Travis lying there in his hospital bed. This bit of history she had heard. A few months ago, Blake’s presence had brought the story of Abigail Phails out of the closet and into the family purview.

  “If I had had the nerve to run naked through that picnic to catch his attention, I would have.” Lacey chuckled even as she blushed. “I had no concrete confirmation that he would actually be there.”

  “Listening to you tell the story makes me nervous for you and I know how the story turns out!” Rayne laughed and settled her chin back into her hand as she waited for more from Lacey. She felt the same butterflies the first time she met Garrett. It was reliving those feelings that made you know their honesty and worth.

  She slid the keys from the ignition of her mother’s Buick and unfastened her seatbelt. Lacey’s heart was racing in her chest as she sat parked in front of the community center. The spring picnic was something that the younger generation loved as it relaxed the parental hold for an afternoon. Of course there were chaperons to keep it all very proper, but that didn’t deny the adventure seekers their moments of self-discovery. Hedges, retaining walls and trees offered enough cover to sneak touches and kisses.

  Lacey felt her cheeks flame at the very thought of sneaking away with Travis Johnson. She was such a silly goose and she chided her own folly. Of course Travis wouldn’t do any such thing with her, especially when he hadn’t said two words to her in almost as many years. Still it was a sweet daydream that often infiltrated her sleeping hours.

  Large buffet tables were lined with everything from ham, turkey, cheeses, breads, and desserts. It was enough to make her stomach growl in anticipation. As foreseen the mass of young people were clustered here and there in the warm sunshine. Lacey checked the length and hem of her skirt. Nervously she smoothed out the imaginary wrinkles in the fitted bodice and took a deep breath. One sideways glance told her that Janell had been correct and Travis was indeed here.

  He looked so handsome in his dark wash blue jeans and his blue and white plaid button-up shirt. His long sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows and his white straw hat covered his dark brown hair. His skin was already tanned, even in the springtime. His arms were thickly corded with muscles that knew the cadence of work and the constant movement of a ranch hand. Lacey watched Travis talking to Rip, his best friend. The two guys never went anywhere without each other or at least, it seemed they were never separated for long. Her own friend, Janell had had a small crush on Rip Covington almost as long as Lacey had on Travis. Lacey often thought it would be a fun pairing of people if they all ever got together.

  The incessant fluttering of butterflies in her stomach continued through the queue as they filed along the rows of tables containing food. Janell was in front of Lacey as they chose what they wanted to eat. Lacey selected what she wanted and tried not to think about Travis Johnson. It was an odd sensation not being able to separate one’s thoughts from the physical whereabouts of another person. It was almost as if at any point in the room, Lacey knew where Travis was and so it went as they filed through the community center’s large rooms.

  “Are you even going to talk to him?” Janell asked from in front as they rounded the corner of the dessert table. Lacey squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head quickly. Panic was about all she could feel right now.

  “We are not leaving here today without you speaking to him. Something. Anything.” Janell was a bit of a dramatic friend. Her sense of humor was always on cue and Lacey loved her for it, but it also scared her that Janell was almost dead set of putting the two of them together. No doubt it bettered Janell’s chances with Rip if Travis and Lacey were together.

  “What am I going to say? Hi, my name is Lacey and I’m so sorry to hear you broke up with your long-time girlfriend who didn’t deserve you?” Lacey felt like a tacky lunatic as she loudly whispered to Janell’s back.

  “Why not? It would be true.” Janell’s grin made Lacey feel like crawling under the table. Something was going to happen and it was the moment of clarity that made the next seconds tick by so slowly. Janell stopped abruptly in front of Lacey and it set a chaotic chain of events off. Lacey slightly bumped her friend and without warning, her back also collided with a tall, well-built frame. It doesn’t take too much imagination to guess who it was. Yep. Travis Johnson and much to her own surprise, Rip was right behind him.

  “Oh my goodness! Did Janell do that on purpose?” Rayne asks, her mouth opening and closing like a shocked fish. Lacey couldn’t help but laugh. The story was a good one.

  “She swears she didn’t, but I can’t believe that. The only thing that would have made it more perfect was if Rip had fallen all over her.” Lacey smiled brilliantly, seeing in her mind’s eye the mess they had created. Everyone’s plates had been dashed to the floor and the food contents had scattered. Sadly Lacey’s very favorite dessert of cherry cheesecake had landed squarely on her shoe. The ivory shoes carried the stain up until she tossed them.

  “Was Travis mortified? I know I would be if that would have happened to me.” Rayne asked, her golden eyes wide with wonder and total absorption into the story. Lacey nodded.

  “He felt bad alright. Even the never-serious Rip was speechless. Travis’s shirt was ruined, but he was more concerned for Janell and me.”

  “I am such a klutz. I’m so sorry.” Travis rushed on, handing napkins to Lacey and Janell. “I feel so bad.”

  “No, it was my fault really. I shouldn’t have stopped short.” Lacey looked at his no-longer clean shirt. It had looked so perfect on him too. It was definitely a sad loss.

  “Well aren’t you a sight?” Rip chuckled as he came around the group. He looked relatively unscathed as far as food decoration went. Rip’s lips twitched as he surveyed Travis.

  “Hell, I bet I am.” Travis looked down at his shirt and grinned. He wasn’t mad. Lacey was pleasantly surprised by his good humor. His blue eyes twinkled.

  “Oh no, your shirt…” Lacey moaned, taking a napkin to the mass of mustard, Jell-O salad, and pudding. He let
her dab away at it as he was looking at her flushed cheeks. The moment she raised her eyes to glance at his face, those blue eyes held her still. Her hand was poised in the air.

  “A noble sacrifice in order to meet you.” His pretty words were complemented by his lowered voice as if they were meant for only her ears. She felt a tremor of excitement across her skin.

  “If it makes you feel any better, I got cheesecake on my shoe.” Lacey’s attempt at flirting caused Travis’s face to crack into a deep grin. His eyes danced with humor. He had the most amazing eyes she had ever seen. Deep, clear pools of blue.

  “I love you.” Travis’s expression seemed almost dreamy. “I mean, cheesecake. I love cheesecake.” Her handsome cowboy did blush and she smiled brilliantly at him. Her laughter floated around them with everyone watching.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “I can’t believe that’s really how you and Travis started dating.” Rayne smiled and shook her head. Lacey nodded, raising her dark brows and patting Travis’s hand. “What happened after that?”

  “It all happened rather quickly after that disaster.” Lacey grinned, her blue eyes twinkling with memories. “He asked for my phone number and he called several times over the next few days. We had to wait a couple of months before I graduated high school and turned eighteen, but my mother was completely won over by that time. My father knew Travis’s family and the connection between ranch families helped.”

  “Did you talk about that day at the picnic after that?” Rayne wondered, thinking about talking about the snowstorm with Garrett. He hadn’t mentioned it much after it had happened. She wasn’t sure he remembered it at all. Maybe women made more of those moments than men did.