This run to town, which Lorna made twice a week, usually took her to the bus station or along the highways in search of hitchhikers. Those lost souls were what Astrid called the “low-hanging fruit,” people down on their luck, looking for friendship and a way to get by. Lorna herself had come to Sky Ranch after hitching west to Denver from Chicago four years ago. But people arriving via the airport were a different breed, smarter and emotionally stronger, and they tended to have more access to cash than those coming to the ranch by other means. They were trickier to score, but worth it in the long run. Quality over quantity, Astrid said.
Lorna kept her vigil as passengers plucked their bags from the carousel. When the crowd began to thin, she zeroed in on a woman in her mid-thirties dressed in tight jeans, a blazer, and boots. Her straight auburn hair was cut short and tucked behind her ears, and she was without makeup. It was a no-nonsense look that said she couldn’t care less about styles of the day. She hefted a large blue duffle bag on her shoulder like it weighed nothing at all and marched toward the exit with a confident gait. Astrid was right—this kind of person was quality.
Careful not to arouse suspicions, Lorna hung back, watching through the window as her target waited on the curb. Again and again, the woman checked her watch, her growing impatience apparent. The Copper J Ranch shuttle bus was now thirty minutes late. The bus would not be coming at all, Lorna knew—because there was no Copper J Ranch. Heh.
Finally, the woman gave up her wait, pulling a few printed pages from her pocket as she trudged back inside the baggage claim area to a payphone.
Lorna smiled to herself as she noted the exasperated look. The number you are calling is not in service at this time.
After slamming the receiver down, the woman dropped her bag and stomped angrily over to the monitor that announced departing flights.
That was Lorna’s cue. She rose from her seat and approached the flustered traveler. “Excuse me, miss. Your name wouldn’t happen to be Hickman, would it?”
“No,” the woman answered gruffly, walking back to her bag.
“Sorry. I just thought for a minute you might be the woman I was supposed to meet. She signed up to spend a couple of weeks on our ranch. You looked—”
“Wait! Are you with the Copper J Ranch?”
“Oh, no! Not another one for the Copper J.” Lorna shook her head. “I thought the state had finally closed them down.”
“What do you mean?”
“I hate to be the one to tell you this, but they’re a scam. I bet you found them on the Internet, right?”
The woman nodded.
“Then I guess they’re still at it. Bet you paid by check, too.”
“Yeah ... and they already cashed it.” The woman scowled and glanced back at the monitor. “So they’re not even for real?”
“Afraid not.”
“Goddamnit! How could I have been so stupid?” The woman slapped the phony documents against her palm and spun around to check the monitor again. “And the flight back to San Francisco just left.”
Lorna let her fume for a few more seconds before extending her offer. “Look, if you’re still up for working on a ranch for a couple of weeks, it looks like this Hickman woman isn’t going to show. She already paid, and we’re short three hands this week. You can have her spot if you want it.”
The woman looked at her skeptically. “What kind of work you got?”
“Whatever you want. Range work ... corral ... mess hall. Do you ride?”
She shook her head. “Not much. But I’d be willing to give it a shot.”
“I think we can find you something, and we’ll be sure to get you some time in the saddle too.”
The woman sighed in resignation. “How much will it cost me? I already paid those assholes almost three thousand dollars.”
Lorna shook her head. “You’d be in Hickman’s spot, and like I said, she paid already. Besides, we sometimes have to pick up extras from town when we’re short of hands. We have to pay them a salary, so it works out for both of us if you want to just come along.”
“You sure it’s okay?”
Lorna held out her hand for a shake. “Anybody who’s willing to work is welcome at Sky Ranch. I’m Lorna Pierce.”
The woman took it with a firm grip. “Vonne Maglio.”
yx
Lorna stole another glance at her brooding passenger. They had been riding deeper into the canyons west of the flatirons for almost an hour and she had barely said a word. “You might as well get over it, Vonne. You were snookered, but at least you landed on your feet.”
Her passenger snorted.
“Besides, I think you’re going to like Sky Ranch even better than you would have a place like the Copper J. We’re not like those other ranches.” The elaborate ruse was necessary, Astrid said, so the new hands would arrive without expectations ... and so no one on the outside would be able to track them, at least not easily.
“How so?”
“Most of the others cater to tourists. They let you sleep in while the real hands do all the hard work, and they have these big barbecue cookouts at the end of the day. It’s phony.”
“So now you’re telling me that there’s no barbecue? How bad does this get?”
Lorna laughed. “We’re a real working ranch, and everybody at Sky has to pull their own weight. Some people grumble about it at first, but when their time’s up, they feel good about it because they’ve worked so hard.”
“I can handle the work … but the barbecue would have been a nice touch.”
“Sorry. But I think you’ll like us anyway. You look like somebody that’s not afraid of a little work.” Sky Ranch could use more hands like Vonne Maglio, Lorna thought. “Some people like it so much they hire on for good. They don’t want to go back to wearing a tie or high heels, and sitting behind a desk all day.”
“They just stay there?”
“Some of them do. Of course, not everybody gets to stay—just those that work hard and contribute.”
“I’ll do my share, but you don’t have to worry about me wanting a job when my two weeks are up. I’m just here to get away from the city for a while … take some time to think about what I want to do with my life.”
“They all say that at first,” Lorna answered with a chuckle. “What kind of work do you do now?” She already knew this from the application form Vonne had filled out on the Internet for the fictitious Copper J Ranch. Astrid used the information to pick which ones she wanted. She looked for people who lived alone, who worked at dead-end jobs, and especially who had money to drop on a trip like this.
“I’m sort of between jobs right now. I got out of the navy not long ago.”
“Ready to have your feet on dry land, eh?”
“I’ll say.”
Lorna pointed to a turn up ahead, a narrow dirt road that disappeared into the trees. “This is where the ranch starts.” A few hundred yards down the road, they reached a gate plastered with warning signs about trespassing and the dangers of the electric fence. She fingered a remote hooked above her visor and the gate opened automatically, closing behind them once they drove through.
“Is that really an electric fence?”
“You want me to stop so you can go find out?” That was her standard answer, and she had yet to have any takers.
“I guess I’ll take your word for it.”
“We’ve had a little trouble with teenagers coming out here looking for places to drink and smoke dope.”
Vonne chuckled. “Looks like the perfect spot.”
“We don’t allow any illegal drugs on the property. That won’t be a problem, will it?”
Vonne backpedaled immediately. “No, of course not. I had my fill of all that in the navy ... drinking too. I was just thinking back to when I was a teenager. I would have been looking for a place like this too.”
“Yeah, I guess we all had those years. By the way, we don’t allow cell phones or laptops or things like that either. If you brought that
kind of stuff, we’ll check it for you and give it back when you leave.” The phony Copper J website had spelled out those restrictions as well.
“No, I came out here to get away from that shit.”
“I hear you.”
After another mile, they came to a pasture, where a few hundred head of cattle grazed as a half dozen hands milled around on horseback.
“How big is the herd?”
“Couple of thousand … pretty big for a ranch like this. It brings a good dollar out of the slaughterhouse, and we eat well. We also sell a lot of breeding stock.”
Vonne nodded as they drove past. The road ended at the mouth of a canyon, where several buildings were clustered beneath two towering walls of rock.
“This is beautiful,” Vonne said.
“The property runs way back into those canyons. We’ve got about forty working hands. Six of them are women on their own like you, but we have a few families too,” Lorna explained. “Right now, we’ve got four visitors, counting you, but one of them has already asked about staying on.” She parked the van beside the large barn and they both got out. “Let’s stow your gear and I’ll give you a quick tour.”
They stopped at one of the smaller buildings, designated as the women’s bunkhouse, and dropped off Vonne’s duffle bag and blazer. Despite the open windows and doors, the room felt stuffy. When they stepped back outside, Lorna then pointed out the larger bunkhouse for the men, and the shared bathhouse out back. Vonne excused herself for a quick trip to the women’s latrine, which was attached to the bathhouse but opened to the outside near the women’s bunkhouse. When she returned, they continued on past several smaller cabins set aside for the families on the ranch, and then around the main house, easily the largest building on the property.
“Back here is the mess hall,” Lorna said, indicating a side door. Inside the large room were five long tables with a dozen chairs each, and a pass-through to the kitchen. Several women ranging in age from late teens to fifties were working, tending ovens and stovetops. The smell of dinner already filled the air. “Most of the women on the ranch work here in the kitchen or in the main house.”
Vonne looked from one woman to another, smiling her greeting. “What do they do in the main house?”
“Laundry, teaching … taking care of the kids. I think one of them is Astrid’s housekeeper.”
“Who’s Astrid?”
“Astrid Becker. She owns the place. Sky Ranch has been in her family for generations, but she’s the last of the line. You’ll meet her tonight at dinner.”
Vonne nodded. Keeping her voice low, she said, “I don’t think I could stand working in the kitchen all day. You got any jobs outside?”
“Most of the range work means riding every day, but there’s a lot to do around the yard.”
They exited the mess hall on the other side, where a dusty courtyard led to the barn and an adjacent corral. A wiry woman a couple of inches shorter than Vonne was unloading feedbags from a pickup truck, stacking them neatly just inside the barn door.
“This is Liza. She works the yard.”
The woman looked up and nodded in their direction before turning back to her work. Like Vonne, she was dressed in tight jeans and boots. Her sleeveless denim shirt bore a sweat stain down the center of her back, and a tan Stetson hid most of her curly brown hair from the sun.
“She doesn’t talk much,” Lorna whispered as they walked past the woman into the barn. “There’s a lot to be done out here every day. Liza sees to the supplies for the whole ranch ... keeps the kitchen and the barn stocked ... runs lunch out to the range hands, that kind of stuff. She could sure use some help if you’re up for heavy lifting.” She looked back at the subject of their conversation. “Don’t know how she’d take to working with somebody, though. She seems to like being by herself.”
“I could do that kind of work, I guess. Better than peeling potatoes.”
“Or there’s always working in the barn.”
They stopped just past where Liza had stacked the supplies. Vonne’s eyes went immediately to a scruffy-looking man who emerged from a stall, his pants covered to his knees with horse manure. Tobacco spittle dribbled off his chin onto a western shirt that probably had been white at one time.
“That’s Clint. He handles the horses. He has a couple of helpers, but he’s about to lose one of them … Dominick is the one I told you about that wants to stay on, but only if he can get out of the barn and do some real ranch work.”
Lorna waited as though watching the wheels turn inside Vonne’s head. The new arrival looked first at Clint, then back over her shoulder at Liza, who had stopped working to watch them. The women’s eyes held for several seconds before Liza turned back toward the truck, stretching to pull a large burlap sack from the bed.
“I think I’ll take my chances with Liza.” Vonne said as she hurried back to the barn entrance. She reached alongside her into the truck, grasping the other end of the sack. Together, they carried it into the barn and heaved it onto the neat pile.
“Thanks,” Liza muttered.
“No problem.”
Pleased at Vonne’s choice, Lorna joined them. “Liza, this is Vonne. She’s going to be working with you for a couple of weeks. Think you can show her the ropes?”
Liza pushed the brim of her hat up to get a good look at the new hire. “Sure,” she answered, her voice flat but not unwelcoming.
“Vonne Maglio,” she said, holding out her hand.
Liza took it in a dusty grip. “Liza Wingate.”
Lorna smiled with satisfaction. “Don’t kill her on the first day, all right?”
yx
“You should have told me there were three more truckloads like this before I took this job.” Vonne stopped to massage her aching shoulder.
“You can always go back and work in the horseshit.” Liza had loosened up practically the minute Lorna disappeared.
“I’d feel better if you didn’t act like you enjoyed my misery so much.”
“Too bad. That sympathy train left the station—along with your ride back to town.”
Vonne snorted. “And I distinctly remember Lorna telling you not to kill me on my first day.”
“I won’t. But all bets are off tomorrow.”
Vonne shook her head and grabbed another sack. After just a few hours, she realized she was in for an interesting two weeks. From only their brief conversations, it was obvious Liza was well-spoken and smart, and she had a wicked—if not downright evil—sense of humor. They had already fallen into a playful rapport, surprising since Lorna had described her as a loner.
As they were hauling the last of their load into the barn, Vonne looked up to see a column of men on horseback emerging from the woods behind the main house. Clint and a man Liza said was Dominick met them to lead the horses into the barn. “That’s a big job, taking care of all those horses.”
“Yeah, Lorna’s trying to hire some more help. I think she was hoping you would do it.” She looked at Vonne with a smirk. “One more load of dry goods to the kitchen and we’re done for the day. Then you can west your poor wittle muscles.”
“Lorna told me you were the quiet type.”
Liza huffed. “That’s because I don’t talk to her.”
Vonne wanted to ask why, but figured it would be a pretty nosy question coming from someone who had been there all of four hours. “I’ll have to ask her how she got you to do that.”
Rest couldn’t come soon enough for Vonne, and after their last load they finally headed back to the bunkhouse. Liza pointed out the top bunk next to the window.
“You’ll thank me tonight.”
Vonne reached into her duffle bag and pulled out shorts and a T-shirt. “What’s the shower schedule?”
“The men have it before dinner, we get it after. But the toilets on the right side are ours all the time.”
“Yeah, I found those earlier.” Vonne spread out a blanket and crawled up onto her bed, relishing the chance to finally rela
x.
“Don’t get too comfortable. Dinner’s in about ten minutes.”
For an instant, Vonne entertained the idea of skipping dinner and getting some rest. But she wanted to meet this Astrid Becker, the owner of Sky Ranch.
yx
“That one’s Astrid—the woman in the gold shirt.”
Vonne would have known that anyway, even without Liza pointing it out. Astrid Becker was a handsome woman, tall and muscular, with graying curls held back on both sides with barrettes. She easily commanded the room with a manner that was almost regal. And if that weren’t evidence enough, everyone in the room came to their feet until she was seated at the center of the head table.
“Wow! Do people always stand up when she comes in?”
“Just at dinner,” Liza explained. “She doesn’t require it or anything. I think it’s just to show respect for her.”
The buffet dinner—pot roast, stewed vegetables, and bread—was filling, but a poor substitute for barbecue, Vonne thought. She ate heartily, though, knowing the next day’s work would require all the energy she could muster.
“Where’s our new hand?”
Vonne looked up to see Astrid standing and scanning the room.
“Right here.” Vonne stood slowly and smiled. “Vonne Maglio.”
“Welcome to Sky Ranch, Vonne. I hope you enjoy your time here. Lorna says you were looking for a working vacation, and I have a hunch you’ve found it.”
Vonne chuckled along with everyone else.
“If there’s anything we can do to make your stay more uncomfortable ...”
They laughed again, louder this time.
“But for tonight, why don’t you sit back down and relax. We always finish dinner with a lively discussion, just to make sure our brains get a workout too.”
Vonne sat mesmerized for the next thirty minutes as Astrid tossed out philosophical questions to generate mild debate and discussion among the hands as they all finished their meal. It was clear she was held in high regard—perhaps even reverence—by the men and women of Sky Ranch. As the evening progressed, Vonne began to see why they found her so gripping. She obviously was very intelligent, and she had a way with people that seemed to make them strive to please her.
Undercover Tales Page 22
