The Rancher Meets His Match

by Pamela Ladner

  Sometime around 1:00, Hilary’s stomach had started to growl so she decided she better find a place to stop and get something to eat. She also knew that Bubba needed to relieve himself and they both needed to stretch their legs. When she came to an in and out diner, she pulled in. She made sure to park near the grass so that she could let Bubba do his business. Then she tied him into the back of the truck and poured him some water from a water bottle she’d brought with her and then she gave him some food. She shut the tailgate and told him to behave. Then she went inside to sit down and order something to eat. She was starving. By the time she got her food, she was glad she had parked near a tree so that Bubba would be in the shade. The service was terrible. She couldn’t even get them to refill her drink. She was definitely not going to leave a tip. After she had tried a couple of times to get the waitress attention about her empty glass, she finally gave up and got it herself. They all turned around and looked at her like she was crazy but she knew that they got the point.

  Ready to be on the road again, Hilary got up and paid her tab. She still had a few hours ahead of her. She unhooked Bubba who was not happy with being left outside, but Hilary didn’t want to chance him being run over. She opened the driver side door of her dually and Bubba hopped in. Hilary climbed in after him and they headed north. Once they got on the interstate, everything was smooth sailing. The interstate she could handle. It was the large towns with all the stop and go traffic she didn’t like. Finally, after several hours behind the wheel they pulled into the small country town where J.W. lived. They would soon be at their destination.

  J.W. saw the blue and tan dually coming up the drive. He watched as she slowly came down the rough dirt drive amongst all the cattle in the road. He knew she had experience with it. All too often, he had had to crawl up someone’s ass for flying down it and nearly hitting a calf. He usually never had to ask them twice. “Josey, come here honey. The new trainer is here. Be ready to greet her and get her settled in.” He called to his daughter. He had to get back to work. “Tell her to meet me in the barn after she’s settled in.” He told her before walking off. His daughter had been so excited to meet the trainer that she had heard so much about. A couple of her friends had told her stories about the horse’s she’d trained and Josey was in awe over it. Two or three of them were champion barrel horses. She couldn’t understand though why she wasn’t on the circuit herself. She was surely better than any of the ladies she’d watched at the rodeos.

  Hilary pulled up to the house and got out to a young girl about 14 or so running up to greet her, full of excitement. “I can’t believe you’re here. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to get started. I’ve been telling all of my friends that my daddy had hired the best barrel horse trainer in all of Mississippi. They didn’t believe me but they were wrong. Oh, I’m Josey, I’m supposed to show you to your room and then take you to the barn to talk with my daddy. Hilary hadn’t had a chance to speak and the news that she was the best barrel horse trainer in all of Mississippi surely had caused her to lose her tongue. She was shocked to say the least. She had never been called that before. And if it were true then she surely wasn’t charging enough. She couldn’t help but smile at the girls’ enthusiasm. “I’m Hilary, it’s nice to meet you. This here is Bubba.” At the sound of his name, Bubba stood up in the seat and looked around before jumping out to stand by Hilary and cock his head slightly at Josey.

  “Oh he’s so cute.” Josey said as she kneeled down in front of the dog. “Can I pet him?” She asked. That was a good sign that Josey knew dogs. She knew not to run up and start petting all over one. “Sure, you can. Bubba, shake hands.” She told the heeler as he lifted his left paw for Josey to shake. “How do you do Bubba, I’m Josey.” She was grinning from ear to ear with excitement. “He’s so smart.” She said. “Thank you.” Josey stood up. “Come on I’ll take you inside now. Would you like some tea?” She asked. “Only if it’s sweet,” Hilary said. “Oh it is that’s all we drink around here. Daddy don’t believe in drinking it like they do up north. Mama always tried to push it on him he says. She’s going to be an actress. She’s in Hollywood right now.” A look of sadness crossed the girl’s face. She was in pain and Hilary wondered why. “When’s your mama coming home?” Hilary asked. “Oh she and daddy got a divorce. But I think she’ll come back one day after she’s famous and all.” The pain was back in the girl’s eyes and she decided not to ask any more questions. As she stepped up on the porch, Bubba followed but before she walked through the door, she told him “Stay, Bubba. You can’t come in.” Bubba was not pleased and let out a whine but he did as he was told and lie down on the porch in front of the door.

  Hilary followed Josey through a tour of the house. Upstairs on a loft that over looked the first floor of the house, Josey pointed to a room that was on one side by itself. It looked to be right over the kitchen. “This is Daddy’s room,” she said. There was a bathroom at the end of the loft between J.W.s room and the one across the hall. Taking Hilary into this one, she said. This one will be your room. I sleep in the one next door. I like to be as far away from Daddy as possible, so I can have some space.” She said. “Plus I can look out at the driveway and see whose coming.”

  While Hilary set her bags inside the room that would be hers Josey hurried downstairs to the kitchen to pour Hilary some sweet tea. Hilary was half way down the stairs when Josey met her with the tea. “Thanks.” She said to the sweet innocent face of Josey. She finished it in no time, and Josey said, “Dang, you were thirsty.” “Sure was, I’ve been driving for hours.” She handed the glass back to the girl and waited for her to put it in the sink. Then they walked out and headed to the barn with Bubba close on her heels.

  J.W. was in the barn giving orders to his ranch foreman when they walked in. The ranch foreman, Samuel Jenkins, turned to see Hilary walk in with Josey and his mouth dropped open mid sentence. J.W. scowled at the foreman who seemed to have forgotten what he was saying as soon as he saw the new trainer for the first time. Damn it all, why did she have to look so good? She was going to drive his men crazy. He was going to have to keep a closer eye on things. They’d be slacking off on their work for sure just to get around the pretty trainer. Shit, he must have been crazy to hire this woman, even if she had come with all the best recommendations of his friends.

  “You might want to close your mouth, Samuel, this is the new trainer, Miss Hilary Shaw.” J.W. made the introductions. “Well now, Miss Shaw, I’ll be real glad to show you around as soon as you’re settled in. I’m J.W.s foreman.” “Nice to meet you, Mr. Jenkins. I’m ready to get started if you can show me which horses, I’m to be working with.” J.W. scowled. “You’ll be answering to me Miss Shaw not my foreman. He’ll be too busy keeping the hands in line.” J.W. growled. He had originally planned to throw her off on his foreman. He couldn’t understand what made him change his mind so suddenly, maybe it was the way his foreman was looking at her. That’s just what he needed a woman to distract his men from their work. Damn! His foreman was still looking at her with his mouth open only now he looked confused probably by the way J.W. had taken over the job of dealing with the new trainer. There was a little bit of disappointment on his face too.

  “Come with me Miss Shaw, if you’re ready to get started. I’ll show you the horses.” He led her through the long barn to the last two stalls where his daughters’ barrel horses were stalled. “These are your two friends’ right here.” One was a big black gelding with a blaze face and two socks on his back feet. He was obviously kept stalled because his coat was just as black as night. It hadn’t been bleached by the sun a bit. The other was a bay mare. She had a star on her forehead and no white anywhere else on her body. Her black points were just that black. She wasn’t very tall but she was muscled everywhere it counted. She had a soft face, which was a trait that Hilary admired in a horse. “Tell me what you can about each of them. I prefer to know everything about them before I ever mount up.” “I already told you everything except which
horse is which.” He looked at the pretty little mare and reached his hand out to stroke her neck. “This is the new horse, she’s kind of small but she’s got a lot of heart and she’ll make a good barrel horse. The gelding is the one that’s rearing up on the last barrel. He’s a money earner and for the life of me I don’t know what happened to him.”

  Hilary was amazed, by the way, he looked at his horses. She could see this man had a good heart. She could tell he treated his animals with a kind heart and a gentle hand. She also saw the bitterness when he looked at her. She wondered what could make him be so cold to her when he didn’t even know her. She figured it had something to do with his ex-wife. She also knew it was none of her business, and she wouldn’t be bringing it up to him. “Well, Miss, Shaw…..” “Please call me Hilary, I can’t stand to be called Miss Shaw.” “Well Hilary then I’ll show you where the tack is so you can get the appropriate bridal for each horse. Then you can choose the one you wish to start with and take it out in the arena.” Hilary decided she would start working the mare first to get a feel for her and then she would start her on the barrels. She brushed her first and spoke to her, then she placed the saddle pad on her and threw the saddle over her back. She pulled the girth through and cinched it up. The mare never even acted like she was there. She stood perfectly still, licking her lips. That was always a good sign. She found a lunge line and led her out to the arena. After she lunged her a few times in both directions, she removed the halter and replaced it with a bridal. She placed her left foot in the stirrup, took a couple hops and mounted up. Still nothing from the mare, so she nudged her just a little to start her into a walk. She walked her around the arena a few times changing direction every so often. She seemed to be fine so she increased the speed. She spurred her gently and the horse went into a trot. Then she nudged her again and she was cantering. The mare seemed to be doing just fine.

  Suddenly a tractor backfired and the mare jumped sideways twice then she threw her head down and started to buck. Hilary rode it out trying to pull the mares head up and around. It took some doing with every jarring movement, but she finally pulled the mares head up and pulled her nose around to her knee until she gave in to her. Then she started over. “Son of Bitch, you sure gave me a wild ride there for a minute, didn’t you girl. You almost had me.”

  Hilary didn’t notice the three men on the fence who ran to her assistance, and then stopped when they realized she had it under control. They watched as she worked with the little mare and were all a little surprised at just how good she handled her. The three men were supposed to be working and didn’t notice when J.W. walked up behind them. They were all too busy watching the pretty new trainer who was unknowingly distracting the men from their work. “Don’t you men want to keep your jobs? Cause if you do I expect you to take your lazy asses back to work.” J.W. said in a deep demanding voice that told them all they had better get in a hurry. “Yes sir, boss. We were just running to help. That little mare was shore bucking.” “Looks to me like, she can handle her don’t you think? That’s what I’m paying her for, so I suggest you let her do her job.”

  “Damn what was I thinking hiring a woman on this ranch? They ain’t good for nothing but distracting men.” He whispered it under his breath so the men wouldn’t hear him. He stood watching her a minute then cursed when he realized she had distracted him. He spit his dip on the ground and walked back to the barn. He had chores to do. He didn’t need to be standing around staring at that woman.

  Chapter Three

  Hilary galloped the little mare around the arena a couple of times then she slowed her up and started her on the barrels. She pointed the mare in the direction of the first barrel then when she was beside it tucked her inside leg in, kicked with her outside foot as she pulled her around with the reins, and headed for the other barrel. She repeated it several times mixing it up.

  The mare was doing well but she had worked her pretty hard. It was time to cool her down and take a break before she started with the other one. She walked her around a few times to cool her down and was unsaddling her when Josey came looking for her. It was somewhat flattering the way the girl took to her. She was a good kid. “Hilary, Hilary; guess what! My mama called she’s finally coming home. She called to see how I was doing and I told her that I missed her and I told her how you was here working with my horses, and how you were so pretty and all that. I told her how I want to be just like you someday. She said that it was great and that she couldn’t wait to meet you. She said she wants to come see me. Isn’t that great?” “Yeah, I guess so. Have you told your dad yet?” Hilary took the bridal off the mare and put her in her stall. “Do you think I can get another glass of tea before I start on the other one?” “Yeah, I’ll go get it for you.” Hilary wasn’t expecting the hug that came next. It surprised her. Most little girls didn’t take to her. She supposed it was because she wasn’t into wearing makeup and dressing up like most girls, but for some reason, Josey took to her right off.

  She went to find J.W. She had to ask him a few questions, and she wanted to discuss the mare with him. She didn’t have far to look. He was in a stall at the other end of the barn spreading shavings. But before she could speak to him one of the hands came running in “Boss, there’s a couple of dead heifers out by the gully, and the fence is down I think we’re gonna find some missing cattle boss. Looks like an eighteen wheeler drove right in there, and loaded up.” “Damn it all to hell, tell all the men to saddle up except cook. I want him here with Josey.” He looked at Hilary and asked, “Do you know anything about rounding up cattle and herding them? We got to get them closer to home and I need as many good hands as I can get.” “Yes Sir. I do and my dog Bubba will be good to bring along. He’s well trained, and he’ll be a lot of help.” Alright, get him and saddle up that buckskin gelding in the stall behind you. We got work to do. Hilary almost ran over Josey on her way to get Bubba. “Here’s your tea. Where, are you going?” Thanks girl, we’re rounding up cattle. Have you seen Bubba? I need him.” “Oh, he was laying under your truck. Can I go?” “I think your daddy wants you to stay here with cook.” Hilary gulped down the tea and handed the glass back to a sour faced Josey. “I’ll get Bubba for you.” “Thanks Josey. I’ve got to saddle up.” She put a hand on the girls shoulder to comfort her in all her disappointment. Josey turned and ran to get Bubba while Hilary went to saddle the buckskin she was assigned to.

  She was saddled up and waiting on the rest of the men when Josey came running back with Bubba. Hilary gave the girl a smile and called the dog to her. “Bubba, time to go to work.” The dog came and stood beside her ready to go. The rest of the men saddled up and they all rode out. It had taken her less time to pack up all her gear than half of the men. She had her bedroll, lasso, gun, knife, jerky and all her other supplies ready before most of the men could even find theirs. J.W. took note of how prepared she was. He hadn’t really expected her to bring all of that with her when she came, but he definitely approved. “Well, everybody ready, let’s ride!” They all took off toward the gully, Bubba followed close beside Hilary awaiting any commands she gave.

  Hilary was glad to have on chaps when they went through some briars that wanted to cling to anything in its path. But it didn’t stop it from ripping her shirtsleeve and drawing blood. She didn’t stop though. There was no time. She wasn’t one to worry about little cuts and tears in her shirt. She heard a couple of the younger men behind her complaining about the damn briars but she never opened her mouth.

  J.W. noticed she seemed to be tougher than most women, and a few of his men. She was definitely gaining his respect. He didn’t much care for women, but this one was different. He figured she would be a good role model for his daughter. He only hoped that Josey’s mom never came back to make problems for the girl. She’d have her primping, dieting, and whining in no time. He didn’t want his little girl to be anything like her mother. She was everything to him, and he didn’t want to see her throw her life away like her mother did.


  It seemed like they had been in the saddle for hours before they came upon the gully. “Alright, everybody fan out and start looking for my cattle. James, I want you to ride down the highway and see if you see any sign of any. Jeremy, you ride the other direction. Looks like these tracks are fresh. Probably last night, they’re probably already halfway to across the country with my cattle by now. J.W. pulled a cell phone from his saddlebag and called the sheriff.

  Hilary and the rest of the men were busy gathering up cattle. They would fan out, find a few and drive em back to one spot where a couple of the men were staying keeping them all together. Bubba was hard at work with a mama cow, when a shout rang out. “Boss, Watch out!” Hilary turned to see a bull charging at J.W., knocking his horse to the ground. Bubba was there before she even gave the command. He was in between the bull and J.W. keeping the bull from him. The bull snorted and pawed then went about his business. The little dog trotted over to J.W. and licked his hand a couple times as if to say, “I got your back.” Then he went back to work on the mama cow as soon as he knew J.W. was alright.

  “I’ll be damned.” J.W. stared at the dog as he went back to work, like nothing had just happened. That dog had just saved his life and thought nothing of it. He looked at the dog’s owner who was staring at him with concern and then she turned and smiled at her brave little dog that had just saved his life. She was aching with pride and it was all over her face. She loved that dog and was as proud as a mama could be. She assisted the dog in getting the mama cow out of the brush and into the now growing herd.