by Rose, Amelia
“Mm-hmm. Just thinking I could stay right here forever,” she said with a sigh.
“I know what you mean. This is just about as perfect as life can get. ‘Course, having you here makes it even better. Heavenly, I’d have to say.” He gave her shoulder a tight squeeze and kissed the top of her head, waiting for her breathing to become steady, the telltale sign that she’d fallen asleep in his arms again. He smiled to himself, wrapping his arms more tightly around her.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, the crews and riders were up before the sun as always, only this time the guests were up, too. They stood in their groups, looking around nervously at the flurry of activity, the hustle of getting fifty riders and the entire herd ready to travel across country. Everywhere they turned, orders were shouted out, supply packs were thrown to waiting hands, and the few vehicles accompanying the trek were being loaded with rations and materials.
“This is nuts!” Oren cried out appreciatively, his face lighting up with anticipation. “I can’t believe we’re finally going!”
“We’ve been ‘finally going’ since four days ago, dude,” Laney muttered in her sleep deprived state before she could help herself. It was simply too early for that much excitement, even if she was working on turning over a new leaf.
A guide with a clipboard came by and began rounding up the various out of towners and breaking them up into their groups for the trip. The purpose of this kind of journey was to try new things and experience a new way of life, and the best way to do that was to break out of a few comfort zones. The guide immediately started by assigning everyone to different groups than the ones they came with. Oren and Laney were still together because of their ages, but thankfully they weren’t with Jimmy and his weird sister. Their parents were spread across two other groups, which didn’t sit well with either of them, Laney could tell.
“Now, don’t go worryin’ about the groups,” the guide said with a twang, making Laney wonder if his accent was part of the whole “cattle drive experience” they’d paid for. Despite the location and their occupations, she’d already noticed that everyone sounded pretty normal. “We’ll have you guys swapping out every few days, and that’ll give you a chance to play catch up. But the purpose of the trip is to branch out and meet new people, and to help you rely less on each other and more on yourselves. We’ve kept the younger kids with their siblings since it just worked out that way, so nobody’s left out. We’ll all be lookin’ out for each other on the drive, I promise you that much.”
She watched expectantly while her parents wrestled with leaving her little brother in a different group, and she was surprised at how relieved she felt when they smoothed out their worried frowns and hugged them both before moving off towards their groups.
They’re really doing it, she thought, shocked. They’re finally letting him grow up a little bit! Wow!
Laney turned back to her group just in time to see Axel make eye contact with her, look her up and down as though examining a rancid piece of leftover meat, then turn on his heel and walk off. She was confused until she saw him talking to his brother and pointing in their group’s direction. The two guys shook their heads as they talked, then finally Axel walked away, following Mason. The next time she could see them through the group of people finishing the preparations, they were speaking to another clipboard guide who nodded and scribbled something on his list.
What a jerk! He changed groups to avoid being in my group! What is this, third grade? Laney fumed for a minute before her newfound resolve kicked in. I will not be bothered by this. If he wants to act that way when he doesn’t even know me, he’s not worth knowing.
She nudged Oren with her shoulder as she walked past him towards her own horse and began securing her bedroll, supply pack, and canteen to her saddle the way they’d been taught. She paid extra attention to the leather straps that secured everything in place, just in case anyone got the idea that she was spoiled and needed someone to come handle her mess. She even looked over from time to time to see how her brother was getting on with his own gear, just to make sure he had it under control.
Let that jerk think what he wants to. He doesn’t even know me. And if I have to prove I’m a good person, there are only three people on this godforsaken trip I can to prove it to, and Axel is NOT one of them!
+++
“You still think we forgot something, don’t you?” Carey asked as the two rode side by side. They would lead the drive out across the open land that cut the corner off their ranch before joining a larger road. Once they reached the danger of open roadways where cars were free to travel, they would need to split up and maintain different positions stationed along the line of cattle. This may very well be the last calm conversation they had until they reached the market and got the herd sold.
“I don’t even know. I just can’t shake this crazy feeling that something isn’t right. I don’t know what it is. We’ve gone over every checklist a hundred times, but it’s screaming at me too loud to ignore.”
Carey looked over at his twin nervously. Casey wasn’t the most poetic, expressive person, and this kind of talk was nothing like his confident, take-charge way. It was enough to make Carey question his own confidence. After all, as long as the two of them had been doing this, if something had Casey spooked, it might be something big after all.
“You don’t mean with any of the hired riders, do you? ‘Cause we checked ‘em all out. We had those problems a few years ago with some of the riders and we’ve been really careful about their references and their background checks and all.”
“No, that’s not it.” Casey kept his eyes forward, scouting the waving grasses in front of them.
“The city people, then? You think one of them’s up to something?” Carey was starting to scare himself with all this talk.
“No. They all seem to check out, too. And besides, this is their vacation. Who’d want to pull anything crazy on their vacation?”
Carey didn’t bother pointing out that they all had to be just a little bit crazy to consider this kind of thing a vacation in the first place, but he held his tongue. The last thing his brother needed was more to worry about.
“I guess you’re right. Maybe I’m just on edge because this is the first time Dad isn’t going on the drive. He’s done with pneumonia, a broken leg, and while recovering from a heart attack. He’s not here this time, so it’s probably just got me going nuts.”
“Is that all that’s got you acting so crazy? Casey, we’re grown men… middle aged, even! We don’t need our dad to hold our hands while we do this. We’ve been going on the drive twice a year for the past thirty-some years!”
“I know! You don’t have to remind me. I’m just wracking my brain trying to figure out what’s eating at me, and all I’ve come up with so far is leaving Dad behind. I can’t believe I didn’t think of having somebody stay back at the ranch with him… you know, just in case.”
“He’s got plenty of people staying home with him, if that’s what you mean. But you’d better not let him hear you talk like that! Amy’s staying back since she’s got to work, and the only time she won’t be home at night is if one of her deputies can’t cover his shift. For that matter, Deputy Pesh’s wife is staying out at the ranch to fill in for Emily in the kitchen. She’ll just be cooking for the handful of people left out there, so I’m sure she’ll have lots of time to visit with Dad. And she’s got her baby, so I’m sure Dad’ll spend this whole time bouncing that little guy on his knee and swinging him on the porch swing. Just watch… Dad’s gonna enjoy having all of us out from underfoot and finally getting something that passes for peace and quiet at the house!”
Casey grumbled his half-hearted agreement, hoping that his brother was right. He let himself envision his dad chastising him for worrying, then realized his dad would have worried just as much in Casey’s position. Bernard Carson had led the drive for decades; in fact, he’d been the one to bring the whole concept back into use after generatio
ns of Carsons had switched to modern-day farming. It had been Bernard who declared Carson Hill would do things the way the old cowboys had done them, and his quality of beef had shot through the roof. Their grass-fed cattle were prized throughout the country, but that didn’t mean Bernard had ever gotten “too” comfortable in the saddle. He’d always maintained a watchful eye over every aspect of the ranch, and Casey knew he was simply acting the way his father would have if he’d been leading the drive.
“You’re right. It’s just nerves at knowing that all of this is one me—well, on both of us—if something goes wrong. I guess we finally have to admit that Dad’s slowing down, huh?”
“Like I said… don’t let him hear you say that!” Carey shouted as he veered around to his right and circled back to check on the others in line.
Chapter Ten
The sun had risen above the treetops and began to light up the countryside by the time the line of riders and their herd reached the first turn. The Sandstone Mountains in the distance began to glow with the sun-kissed tint of deep red that ringed the view in every direction, seemingly enclosing them in the arms of the hills. With the first hour’s ride behind them, the group met up with the highway that would lead them out of Hale and onto the rest of their journey. They were officially leaving Carson Hill property behind, and wouldn’t return for over a month.
The new riders were accustomed to the saddle by then, and the edge of nervousness had worn off somewhat. They knew their roles as watchers over the 30,000 members of the herd, but the jittery feeling crept up on them all over again as they left the grassland of the ranch behind and were now faced with keeping their animals in line as they rambled through civilization.
A few people in Hale had turned out to watch the semi-annual event, mostly young children who stood in awe of the giant moving column, watching wide-eyed as the jet black cows ambled past. Some of the youngsters waved and called to the group, especially those who recognized a rider or two from his business in town.
“Where y’all going, Joseph?” one little boy with a shock of close cropped and nearly white hair called out. Joseph smiled down at him without taking his eyes off his cows.
“You know where we’re going. You’ve asked me about it every time I’ve seen you for the past six months! We’re taking ‘em to market in Missouri, remember?”
“I know! You done told me!” the boy called out, causing his mother to laugh and Joseph to make a face at him. “When can I go with y’all?”
“I told you, you gotta be this high and have a note from your mama saying it’s okay for you to go,” he answered the child, pressing the edge of his hand to the top of his shoulder as a unit of measurement. “First you gotta learn to ride a horse though!”
“I can ride!” the boy called after him, running alongside the edge of the road to keep up with his favorite rider. “My granddaddy has a mule and he lets me ride him!”
“Well, then it sounds like all you gotta work on now is growing! Get in there and make sure you eat everything your mama tells you to, and you’ll be on the drive in no time!”
The boy’s mother caught up with him and held him back to keep him from running all the way to Missouri. He waved happily from her arms until Joseph was out of sight, keeping a close eye on all the animals in the line.
The line extended over two miles, with each section of the herd broken up into groups and assigned a veteran rider, a few regular ranch staff, and a handful of newcomers. Between them, their job was to keep a close eye on the cattle to watch out for any stragglers. Even worse, they were to be on the watch for the ones who suddenly bolted from the group, taking off in a different direction for reasons that only a cow could fathom. Those were the dangerous ones that were to be left up to the old ranch hands, no matter how much practice a city rider had had with a rope since coming to Carson Hill.
Mason rode out with his team, made up of a handful of cowboys he’d ridden with for years and the group of senior citizens. His brother Ax was there as well, and it had taken a little string pulling and convincing to make sure that the two of them got to ride together for the duration of the drive. The whole point of swapping it up was to build teamwork throughout the groups, but also just to keep the riders from getting too complacent or worn out from each other’s company.
That could never happen with Axel. And Ax had been all too happy to join Mason’s group. He looked over to where his older brother rode, almost directly across the herd from him, and nodded his head. It may have been a few years since Ax had ditched the country life for college in New England, but Mason could tell it was still in his blood.
“Young man!” a creaky voice called out. Mason turned around immediately and slowed his horse, letting a kindly old lady come up next to him. The cows weren’t the only responsibility the ranch hands had on the drive; they were also charged with making sure the city people were safe and had fun.
“Yes ma’am? What can I do for you?” he asked politely, trying to avoid cringing since he was certain she wanted to know when they’d be stopping. He mentally rehearsed his polite answer, calculating how many hours it would be until lunch time.
Instead, she surprised him by asking for a brief history lesson on the terrain, asking about some of the mountain outcroppings that stood up like walls around the highway up ahead. He pointed to different sections of the far-off hills that had been Native American homesteads more than two hundred years before, and was secretly pleased by the excited, enthralled look on her face.
“That is absolutely fascinating! Do you think we’ll be able to climb up there and explore?” she asked, causing Mason’s mouth to drop open.
“Um, no ma’am,” he answered, catching himself and recovering at least some of his manners. “It’s actually a lot farther off than it looks, and there’s no road up there. It’s a straight climb, the kind that requires ropes and pins.” He half expected her to tell him she had gear stashed in her bag, as eager as she sounded to see it.
“But there are a few day trips along the drive, remember? We have to let the herd bed down every few days so they don’t lose too much weight from all the walking, and y’all will get to see some really interesting sites. Historic things, too. I promise!”
She seemed pleased with the news and turned her horse around, taking it at a trot as she returned to a cluster of her senior citizens’ group members to share what she’d found out. Mason just looked after her, impressed.
He turned back around too late to have not caught the notice of the heavily made up triplets, three identically bleached blonde and artificially tanned women. They most likely weren’t related, but that didn’t stop them from trying to come off as a trio in their very nearly matching outfits of too-tight tank tops paired with shorts so short that they almost disappeared when the girls sat in the saddle. Their cowboy boots weren’t too out of place considering most guests chose to wear something close to authentic footwear, but these particular boots were sparkling from all of the gemstones and rhinestones stuck to them.
It looked like they went shopping in the children’s department of a feed store, Mason thought to himself, wondering once again what some men saw in girls’ like that. His own girlfriend was probably downright plain looking compared to the light show that those three were putting on, and he wouldn’t have her any other way. There was a natural quality to Rose, and it didn’t just come from the fact that it was over an hour’s drive by truck to the nearest cosmetics department. She had that scrubbed-clean look about her all the time, but she also wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty if the work of the ranch called for it. She was absolutely perfect.
“Hey cowboy,” one of the trio called out in a husky, suggestive tone as they rode up close to him. “Are you gonna be in our group?” The others giggled—actually giggled like middle school girls—when their friend spoke up, despite having to be at least in their thirties.
There was something about the way she spoke that told Mason she probably wasn’t referring to the
just the work crews. There was something about the way all three of them looked at him, in fact, that reminded him of a rattlesnake about to strike its prey. The resemblance was so uncanny that it unsettled him. He immediately looked around for Rose, hoping she could get him out of this situation with something close to tact. She was nowhere to be seen, at least not that he could tell.
Instead, Rose was bringing up the rear and gut-wrenchingly aware of the way Mason talked with and responded to his admirers. There was still a part of her mind—and her heart, if she was honest about it—that held onto lingering doubts that she truly wished would stop plaguing her. They’d been dating since she’d come to Carson Hill over a year ago, but a lifetime of being bounced around to different foster homes and having her heart crushed by relatives who didn’t want her had done nothing to help her own sense of self-worth.
Of course Mason would want those girls, especially considering the way they looked and the way they threw themselves at him. He was surrounded by beautiful girls who looked at him adoringly, who laughed at everything he said. Was that one actually putting her hand on his arm? Rose seethed inside, but outwardly she struggled to keep her mask of indifference in place. After all, she was a Carson too, and she had a job to do.
“Just look at those hussies, throwing themselves on some hapless man,” one of the old women hissed next to Rose. “Women like that are after one thing.”
“Really? I’ve never heard it put that way. Isn’t it usually the man who’s accused of having one goal in mind?” She tried to smile at the small talk, but her heart just wasn’t in it.
“Oh, they’re not after that, but they’ll use that to get what they really want.” The woman shook her head, shooting daggers at the plastic-looking girls with her eyes.
“Then I don’t get it. What are they after?”
“A high-limit credit card and a new car every three years! They need shiny new things to go with their shiny new faces, and they’ll use those shiny faces to latch onto a man who can give them those things. If he happens to be good lookin’ like that cowboy right there, then all the better, but it’s not usually a requirement.”
