Graham

by Katharine E Hamilton

  He darted to his truck to go check the other troughs. If this one was dry, he prayed the others still had enough water. The next water trough was low. The farthest trough was only half full and absolutely no water pressure at any of them.

  “This isn’t good,” he mumbled, as he realized no water pressure was coming up the line. He started tracing the line back to the 20,000 gallon stone pila. Maybe it was a clog at the pila. It was either that or the well was down that supplied the pila. Either way, the situation wasn’t good. Reaching the pila, Graham noticed its low water level and lost his temper towards his brother. This could only happen if Clint had neglected to check the troughs the last few days. They only had enough water for a day, and it was too hot for the cows not to have an ample supply of water. He checked the solar pump well by the pila. He glanced at his watch again and realized it was now four o’ clock. Didn’t look like he’d be making that bowling night out. He dialed Alice’s number.

  “You gettin’ spiffy yet?” she asked.

  “Not quite. Look, I’m not going to make it.”

  “What?”

  “Stumbled across a dry trough and I’m trying to figure out the problem.”

  Alice growled in frustration. “I’ll tell you the problem, Clint’s been going out and dilly-dallying instead of checking water levels.”

  “Exactly. But that’s the least of my problems right now. May be a few of us missing out on tonight if I can’t get this pump to working. I’m resetting the control box now to see if that does it.”

  “I pray it does. You call Cal?”

  “Not yet. Going to see if this works first.”

  “Alright. Well, just keep me posted.”

  “Will do.” He hung up, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

  Pump Overload Failure. The screen reported.

  “Great.” He fished out his phone again and dialed Calvin.

  “Hey bro.” Cal’s upbeat tone filled Graham with instant regret at interrupting what was to be one of their nights free of ranch responsibilities.

  “Need your help pulling a pump.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Nope.”

  “Clint,” Calvin muttered. “Fine. Where you at?”

  “North Pasture.”

  “Sanded up again? Or have you tried a reset?”

  “Sanded up. And yes. We’re going to have to pull the pump.”

  “Not exactly how I planned to spend the evening.”

  “I already called Alice,” Graham assured him.

  Sighing, Cal continued. “I’ll be out there in a bit with the rig.” He hung up and Graham rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

  “A bit,” was an hour and a half. Which, Graham conceded, was actually good timing on Cal’s part. After all, Graham was in the farthest pasture from the main hub. And it meant his brother dropped whatever it was he had been doing and came as quickly as he could. Cal was good that way.

  Cal stepped out and shut his truck door. “Well, are my hopes of you being wrong valid?”

  “Nope.”

  “I was afraid of that. Alright, let’s start pulling up pipe.” He moved his truck into position, the wench on the front to be used to hoist the pipes up. Cal climbed up the windmill to connect to the pulley, while Graham hooked up the pipe in the well below.

  The brothers worked in tandem and they successfully pulled the necessary 250 feet of pipe, removing the ten joints and setting the pipes aside. Graham’s phone buzzed, but his hands were covered in mud. A text could wait.

  “Um, Graham.” Cal’s dreaded tone had Graham walking over. “Got ourselves a frayed wire.”

  “You’re kidding me?”

  Cal shook his head.

  “You got anything to splice it?”

  “Not with me.” Cal rubbed a hand over his weary face.

  “Get Clint to bring what we need. It’s his mess any way.”

  Cal dialed his brother while Graham checked his own phone. Alice.

  A: “We opted for Sloppy’s for dinner again instead. Julia didn’t want to go bowling without you and Cal. If you guys wrap up the water situation, meet us there. Seven.”

  G: “Doubt we’ll make it. We’ve had to pull pipe. Calling Clint to come out now to bring us an electrical box.”

  A: “Clint’s here at the house. We’ve all been porch sitting.”

  That irked him. While he and Cal were wet and muddy the rest of his brothers were relaxing on a porch, drinking beers, entertaining Julia.

  G: “Get him here. Now.”

  He knew Alice would convey his message on top of hearing Cal shouting into his phone. “It’s your fault, you have to help. Get moving.” Cal tossed his phone into his truck. “He’s coming. Not sure how long he’ll take.”

  “I’ve got Alice on his tail too.”

  “Good.” Cal shook his head. “This is ridiculous.” He spotted the bags of mineral in the back of Graham’s truck. “Let me guess, he hasn’t been putting that out either.”

  Graham groaned. He’d completely forgotten about the mineral in the midst of dealing with the troughs. “I started putting it out, but this distracted me.”

  “Sounds like it’d be a good job for Clint. Let’s move the trucks before he gets here so we can shine some light on all this before it completely goes dark on us.”

  They rotated their trucks and faced their headlights on their work area. They sat on Cal’s tailgate and waited. After an hour, Cal glanced at his watch. “Well, when do we just wash our hands of him and call someone else?”

  At his words, headlights appeared and made their way towards them. Clint hopped out of the truck. “You two look like you’ve been mud wrestling.”

  “No thanks to you. Did you bring the electrical box?”

  “Yep.” Clint retrieved the tools and supplies needed to splice, seal, and waterproof the wires, Cal yanking it all from his hands and storming over towards the pump.

  “Man, he’s in a bit of a fit.” Clint turned towards Graham and his eyes widened at the fury on his older brother’s face.

  “When’s the last time you checked troughs?”

  “A few days ago.”

  “When?” Graham challenged. Seeing how hard Clint had to think to remember told him everything he needed to know.

  “I thought so. Congratulations, tomorrow you get to haul water to all the troughs so the cows have something to drink until the pump and pila catch up.”

  “Hey, I didn’t—”

  “Before sunrise,” Graham continued. “For now, take the mineral bags out of my truck bed and put them in yours. I need you to finish putting out mineral tonight.”

  “I might as well do that in the morning when I’m checking troughs.”

  “I said do it now.” Graham pointed to his truck and Clint, realizing it was obey or possibly die, did as he was told.

  “Think I got it, Graham,” Cal called. “Let’s get this back down the hole.”

  Graham hurried over, tested the pump, and sighed in relief that it was working. “Alright, let’s finish it up.” He turned off the pump as they fitted the pipe back down the hole. An hour and a half later, Cal turned the pump on with a celebratory pump of his fist.

  Clint’s truck rolled back up and he rolled down the window. “Well?”

  “It’s working again. No thanks to you.” Cal rubbed a handkerchief over his face.

  “I’ll say what I always say,” Clint said. “This is why we need a redundant water source for each pasture.”

  Knowing the expense of such a request, he grinned at Graham.

  “Or you could just check the water more frequently, like you’re supposed to,” Graham ordered.

  “Yeah, enjoy your early morning.” Cal stalked away from Clint’s truck and began putting his tools away, Graham following close behind.

  ∾

  She saw the flick of Graham’s headlights as he pulled up to his house. Not that she’d been watching for him. Okay, she had been. Guiltily. Though she’d
had a fun evening with the other brothers, he and Cal were missed. She hoped he saw her note on his screen door and realized she had him a meal keeping warm in the oven. It was the least she could do after he’d worked all day and into the night. She’d done the same for Cal, once Hayes agreed to drop it off on his way home. Clint, however, was on his own. She held a small grudge against him for slacking and making his brothers pick up that extra work. He had felt absolutely no remorse when he’d received the call from Cal. Alice reamed him a good one as well, but nothing seemed to phase him.

  Tired, she set her book aside, not that she’d actually been reading it the last hour, but nonetheless, she sat it on her bedside table and turned off her lamp. In the morning she’d attend church with Alice and the Hastings, meeting Annie’s husband, Henry, and the rest of the people of Parks. It would seem, from what Seth told her, that almost everyone in the small town made an attempt to attend on Sundays. She tossed and turned for another hour until finally, sleep came for her.

  She woke up to the sound of a smoke alarm and bolted from the bed. Sprinting, she ran towards the kitchen and found Alice waving a dish towel beneath the alarm, a pan on the stove smoking and sizzling with burnt bacon.

  “Blasted bacon burns every time!”

  Julia ran to the windows and raised them up. “Why didn’t you bake it?”

  “Bake bacon?” Alice looked confused. “Didn’t know that was a thing.” She continued waving the towel as Julia pushed window after window and began fanning the front door. On her third swing, she almost slammed it right into Graham’s face. She squealed at his sudden presence and held a hand to her heart as she waved him inside. “Alice was getting creative.”

  The alarm quieted and Alice tossed the hand towel onto the counter. “Phew, that one is a doozie.”

  “You woke up the whole ranch,” Graham grumbled.

  “Tell me about it.” Julia shoved her tangled mass of hair over her shoulder and attempted to smooth her hands through it to look more presentable. She then realized she stood in a tank top and undies and nothing else. Gasping, she ran towards her bedroom to grab a pair of pants.

  Alice laughed. “Get an eyeful?” she asked Graham.

  “No.” His annoyance with the alarm had him storming inside and removing the pan from the stove top and setting it aside so the bacon would stop burning.

  “So, you and Cal get that pump fixed? I’m assuming since Clint set out about an hour ago that you did, considering he’s still alive.”

  “It was a pain.”

  “How’s the hand after all that?”

  “Sore, but nothing too bad.”

  “What brings you by this morning?” She rested her hands on her hips.

  “I came to make sure you weren’t burning down my house.”

  “Oh, right.” She grinned sheepishly.

  Julia returned wearing a pair of jeans and t-shirt, her hair tied into a messy bun on top of her head.

  “You planning on church?” Alice asked him.

  “I told Annie I’d be there.”

  “Good. We’ll ride with you. Knock when you’re ready for us.” She left him standing there and walked to her room to dress and get ready for the day.

  Julia looked him over. Weariness still clung to his face, but his eyes were sharp as they looked at her. “Thank you for the meal. You didn’t have to do that.”

  She shrugged. “Figured you might be hungry after a long day and the last thing you’d want to do is cook something.”

  “You were right. I’m sorry I missed out on a fun night.”

  “It wasn’t much different than the one the other day. But hey, we at least both got out of dancing and bowling.”

  He smirked. “True.”

  “Well, I better go clean myself up for church.” She motioned over her shoulder. “And then soak that pan.” She grimaced.

  “Right. Me too. Church, that is.” Graham ducked out the door. “If Alice wants breakfast, tell her we’ll just leave early and grab a donut or something. I’d rather she not touch the stove.”

  Julia chuckled. “Will do.” Shutting the door and resting her back against it, she sighed. Yes, after an evening surrounded by Hastings brothers, it was nice to see the one that occupied most of her thoughts. She jostled as the door behind her opened. Turning, she was surprised to see Graham had returned and blushing, hoped he hadn’t been reading her thoughts.

  “This evening I’d like to take you for another ride. If you’ll join me.”

  Her heart skipped as she noticed him wringing his hat in his hands. Was this Graham’s version of a date request? She hoped so. “I’d love to.”

  Slowly, a small smile washed over his face and she realized he’d been nervous she’d say no. Her heart warmed. Nodding, he backed off the porch and walked back towards his house. She realized then that his feet were bare and that he must have sprinted over when hearing the alarm. He’d grabbed his hat, which she thought was humorous, but he hadn’t thought about fighting a fire with shoes on. And that made her heart melt a bit more.

  ∾

  The church was a simple, white, wood-framed building with a steeple that reached up into the morning sky. It’d seen better days, weathered by the dust storms she knew blew through west Texas ever so often, but the overall building was charming and inviting. The people welcomed her with smiles and hugs, and as everyone loitered outside of the building, she, Alice, and Graham waited for the rest of the brothers. They arrived in various vehicles, all except Clint, who was sure to still be working. All of the Hastings brothers cleaned up nicely.

  Philip emerged from a group of people a few feet away. “Nice to see you two have survived life on the ranch.” He hugged Alice and Julia in welcome.

  “That we have.”

  “No varmints?” he asked Julia.

  “Not a one.” She smiled up at him.

  “Good to hear. Or maybe I spoke too soon?” He nodded in the direction of his brothers walking up. Julia noticed every woman under the age of fifty watch the Hastings show. They didn’t do anything to warrant such attention. They simply walked towards the church. But, if she admitted it, that was all they had to do. They looked handsome in their pressed jeans and starched shirts. All had shaved or trimmed their mangy beards over the last few days and looked somewhat recognizable. They wore clean cowboy hats and polished boots, and each had their charming smiles on their faces as they walked up to greet her and Alice.

  “That’s a pretty dress.” Lawrence tipped his hat towards Julia and she smiled in thanks. “You clean up pretty well.”

  He flushed and Alice laughed. “Maybe I need to invite more pretty friends around so you guys will continue to put forth some effort.”

  “Give it up, Al,” Cal’s voice cut through as he walked up. “You know we always look this good.”

  Alice rolled her eyes. “You may look good, but I’ve yet to have one of you offer to escort me inside the building this morning.”

  “As they should.” Annie’s voice carried over as she extended her arms to her boys. “My, my, my, look at those faces.” She grabbed Hayes’ chin and surveyed his shaving job. “Smooth as a baby’s bottom and as handsome as John Wayne.” She kissed him on the cheek and did the same to the other brothers. She reached her hands out to Julia and squeezed them. “You look beautiful, sweetie. I love that dress. White with turquoise is one of my favorite color combinations. You just look so pretty, doesn’t she, Graham? Like a postcard.” Annie winked at her as she turned around and yelled. “Henry! Come meet Julia!” She stepped to Julia’s side as a stocky man of short height, thick glasses, and jolly disposition stomped forward, shaking Hastings hands as he went. He removed his cowboy hat, and the gush of aftershave that seemed to envelope him tickled Julia’s nose. He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Julia. Annie’s told me a lot about you.”

  “Nice to meet you too.”

  “You know, I just love Santa Fe.” He extended his arm to her, and though she knew that suffocating smell would
no doubt cling to her, she couldn’t turn down the kind man’s offer. Draping her arm through his, she allowed him to escort her inside the church while he spoke of vacationing in Santa Fe thirty years prior. She glanced over her shoulder and her eyes met Graham’s.

  “I think that is your summons,” Annie whispered to him with a small elbow nudge to his side. “Go save her from Henry. And sit by her.”

  He walked towards the church and Annie slid into step beside Alice. “He always was the first to obey.”

  Giggling amongst themselves as they entered, Julia and Henry waited to the side of the door. Graham took off his hat and placed it along a wooden shelf that lined the entry hall. Cowboy hats of all shapes, sizes, and colors rested there. Removing their hat inside the building was a small token of respect, but overly charming to see that every man did indeed remove his hat upon entering the building.

  “I’ve never seen that before,” Julia muttered to Alice.

  “Yeah, I’m surprised it can actually hold the weight of all those big heads.”

  “Not what I meant,” Julia whispered. She silenced when Graham walked up and tilted a nod towards the sanctuary. Her feet, unbeknownst to her brain, immediately stepped to his side and followed him.

  At the sound of the church bells, the after-church socializing congregants began to drift to their respected vehicles and head for home. Annie hustled after the Hastings brothers and made sure they remembered she’d put a pot roast on for everyone.

  “I think I’m going to ride with Annie and Henry,” Alice said.

  Graham motioned for her to hurry to catch up with them. “We’ll be along as soon as I can pry Betty Langley away from Julia.”