Part one: The Cattle Drive
I slept right through the desert sunset. I remember closing my eyes as we drove right on past another small town, slanted sunlight setting the whole truck aglow. Seth said the setting sun on the mountains was amazing.
I believed him.
I think I woke when my head was repeatedly beat against the window of the truck, as we rattled down yet another cheaply paved road, the old pickup bouncing and clattering away.
"How are the horses?" my head felt heavy, like it was filled with water.
"Fine." Seth was short and sparing with words.
"We almost there?" I straightened in the seat, my legs and neck stiff.
"Pretty soon. The driveway should be along here somewhere." In the faint after light of the sun, it was hard to really see the expression on his face. Regardless of it being cast in half shadow, I probably wouldn't have broken through to him in anyway.
My hand came to rest on the pocket of my jeans, where a cheque for twenty thousand burned a hole in the denim.
Seth followed my eyes for a second, his jaw set hard.
"What we're doing isn't a mistake." I said again, still unsure myself.
With a sigh, Seth slowed, preoccupying himself by looking adamantly out the windshield in the dim fair. It would be like every other time, where he would insist that I was neither right nor wrong, that there would be no way to tell until it happened.
I was wrong. He kept his eyes on the road, not meeting mine, and said quietly, "You sure you're not guessing?"
I could be. But I wouldn't tell him that.
The truck, already moving at laggard pace, slowed to a crawl, and turned left. I would have never guessed what we were driving on was a driveway. It felt like wood that we were driving over, then looking out, I saw a river beneath.
A fluttering in my stomach erupted. This was it.
I could barely see the dark outline of the little house, then further back, the taller, sagging frame of the barn.
The truck rolled to a stop before the house. The horses shifted in the horse trailer. Everything was holding its breath.
Looking out into the falling night, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This was home.
XxXxXHorses in the corral (old and rusty as it was), hay from the back of the truck thrown in for them, our bags (holding the only things we had left from our past), sitting on the front step, two sleeping bags laid out on the front porch. Yes, this was our home.
Entering the dusty and sour smelling kitchen, I had refused to go even another room further, let alone sleep in there the whole night. It looked as though the place hadn't been lived in for years. This was worse than I had expected.
I couldn't even make eye contact with Seth. I just tried to make the best of it.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to do a killer cleaning job in there." I stretched myself out on my sleeping bag, looking out into the darkness, where only the crickets answered.
"Looked like there was some stuff we could can use in there." I played with the dangling watch in my hands.
"Most of it's probably rotted out." Seth muttered. My optimistic big brother.
"So? We take what we have and use it." There was that stubborn streak we both had.
"Whatever you think." He said, and that was probably the last he would say all night.
Maybe I was the only one who was enjoying sitting outside on this clear, spring night, the first time I had ever been in high desert country. I loved the sound of the river down by the road. I loved the open space.
The night air, the bright stars, the heat. I could not ask for more.
XxXxXIt would be untrue to say I despised this house. It would be an utter lie to say I liked it. But when you're surrounded by dust and mould sporrans, it's hard to say 'home sweet home' without being bitter.
I'd started to explore the house while Seth was in town. In the kitchen, old chairs and a table with no better use than firewood. I opened the cupboards to find old dishes and food, mostly flour and baking supplies.
The living room held the smelliest, in-worse-condition-than-I-have-ever-seen furniture. I didn't have the nerve to go downstairs: besides, it was probably just like a cold cellar and storage, dark, damp, with steep stairs and an old latch door. Not something I wanted to investigate, especially not alone. The upstairs still held old beds, the rooms musty and sour, and some still had bedside lamps or dressers. The tiny bathroom was rusty and grimy. Everything was covered in a layer of dust, and other…substances.
"Lots and lots and lots of work." I muttered, holding my arm to my mouth, the dust tickling my throat and nose.
Hopefully Seth would be home from town soon, loaded down with groceries, hay, grain, a water trough, and heavy duty cleaning supplies. And though this couldn't be exactly bought, he'd possibly have started a good neighbourly relationship with a local, as the situation we were in with this house wasn't exactly…stable.
Cowgirl up.
The same phrase I've been telling myself since everything. Since the car accident, since my life has been turned upside down, since everything close to me was lost.
Well, not everything. I had Seth. I had his horses, more like family members since the death of my parents. Jessie and Dalton. Rodeo horses, tougher than me and Seth put together.
"That's why I need to suck it up and just get this cleaning over with." I told them as I came to stand on the porch, hands over my eyes to shade them from the hot sun. Already the heat had kicked in, making the sierra coloured plains shimmer like magic. Well, I'll be the first to say magic never seemed so damn hot.
"Cowgirl up!" I muttered again, mentally kicking myself. Seth could hear a single complaint in my head from up to a mile away. "I like the heat." I strictly told myself.
At least I'd have to learn to.
Rolling down the road in the haze, loaded with hay, dirty and in its utmost senior years, came Seth's truck.
Pulling off my cowboy hat and wiping the sweat from my forehead, I set it beside me. There'd be no need to drag it into the awful house. I'd get the house cleaned up, and that'd be the end of that. Then I could finally move on to Part B, my favourite part of the plan.
But all plans were put on hold.
XxXxX"What do you mean a cattle drive?" I demanded, tossing bales of hay from the back of the truck down to Seth, who stacked them beside the corral. They'd have to stay there for now.
"Ran in to somebody, got talking, he asked if we'd help him on a cattle drive." Seth pulled off his work gloves.
"Why though? I mean, why are we going?" we had enough on our plates already.
He sighed, as though he was talking to a young child and needed patience, looking me straight in the eye. "Because, that way we get to know people. You never know when we'll need a favour from him." he gestured to the run-down property. "Plus, it's a couple nights of free food for us and the horses."
Wasn't it great the way he thought, all reassuring and such?
"Fine. Cattle drive." I hopped down from the truck. "Sounds like fun."
I opened the truck door. "Now where are my cleaning supplies?"
XxXxXSo far I loved Nevada. It was six in the morning, the faintest pink rising over the skies, the air crisp and for once, cool. Jessie and Dalton were loaded in the trailer, me and Seth in the truck, ready, (and at least for me) excited. There was no denying the freedom I felt in my heart. It was like the old days.
We passed the odd ranch house or two, though what I mostly could catch sight of was the vast ranch properties, cattle, and sometimes horses.
We were headed for Red Rock, where the cattle from the ranches River Bend and one called Gold Mine, I thought Seth said.
Once we finally reached the round up spot, I couldn't help but sneaking glances at Seth. If he was in a bad mood, I'd be stuck with the dirty end chores between the two of us. If he was in a good mood, he'd leave me alone when it came to criticising for the most part. The most part.
The sun had risen by now, lifting some of the morning chill, the soft colours of dawn flooding across the sky. It was very promising.
"We're supposed to find Wyatt Forster." Seth said as he parked the truck. He stepped out of it before I even had my seat belt undone.
"So I'm unloading the horses?" I don't know why I asked. Of course I was.
Seth nodded, already on his way to find this Wyatt.
I sighed and jumped out of the truck, grabbing the lead shanks from the floor at my feet. I lowered the ramp of the horse trailer to see the black and white patched rear of Dalton, and the dark brown of Jessie's. Returning to the front of the trailer and stepping in, which was eight times newer, and eight times nicer than the truck, I was greeted with a head butt from Jessie.
In no time I had Jessie backed off the trailer, him being as well behaved as always, curious yet relaxed. The big dark bay was always calm and steady.
I quickly pulled his lead through the tie loop on the side of the trailer, knowing he would be good and stay. Pulling tack from the back of the truck, I had Jessie tacked within minutes, as he had already been brushed before we loaded the horses up. All the while, Dalton stomped and shifted impatiently inside the trailer, making the whole thing sway.
Dalton wasn't so easy to deal with when he got off. His nostrils flared, head high, feet dancing about. I tied him tightly to the trailer, using the quick release knot Seth had showed me long ago.
Of course, out of the two horses, I would be riding the horse that swung around and called repeatedly to the horses rather than the horse that stood patiently ground tied. Jessie was Seth's rodeo star. Dalton was a back up.
Slipping on Dalton's bridle, I led both the horses around the trailer to find Seth.
Cowboys and trucks were clumped together, men on horseback and foot milling around the group of red cattle, who were calling nervously to each other, the bustling men and horse making them anxious.
Standing behind a tall man with his back to me, Seth raised a hand to wave me over. With Dalton straining against my firm hold on his reins, and Jessie following on a loose drape, I strode over, eager to impress Seth and the other watching cowboys.
"Mr. Forster, this is my sister, Darcy Marshall." I heard Seth as I drew nearer.
When Wyatt Forster turned around, the first thing I noted was that he looked like a true cowboy. His face was tanned, deep lines from the sun etched in it. A handsome man, he didn't smile; just nodded at me like a cowboy would, his stance wide and bow legged.
Swapping my reins to one hand, I stuck out the other. I saw Seth grimace. It may not be a cowgirl thing to do, but I didn't care, and I didn't want to be thought of as a soft and ignorant girl. I'd do things my way, like usual. I made sure my handshake was just as firm as his, slight surprise showing in his eyes. He'd learn soon enough by the just the fact that I had my way of doing my own thing was what a cowgirl was all about. That, and having good horsemanship skills.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Forster." My Texan accent certainly helped my case.
"Call me Wyatt." He said, and with at quick glance at Seth's annoyed and surprised face, I knew Wyatt hadn't said that to him.
Passing the young bronc rider his mount's reins, I gave him a private smirk, as I headed on my way. I could keep up with Seth's game.
But when it was time to mount up, I was humbled. Dalton refused to stand, much as I had anticipated. After multiple failed attempts that left a heavy blush in my cheeks from the stares of the mounted cowboys, I gave up and simply hoisted myself onto his back whilst he was moving.
Dalton may have been able to pull some stunts on the ground, but when I was on his back, I was in charge.
Pushing him into a slow jog, I set his head into a working frame, but instead of lying it flat and keeping his back supple and lifted, he held his neck arched, head nearly vertical as he chewed at the bit and holding his whole body stiff.
"The backward 'F' is Forster's brand." As Seth rode up beside me, I was apparently forgiven. "The double 'S' is Slocum's."
"Slocum?" I hadn't heard that name before.
"Linc Slocum. He owns Gold Dust."
Gold Mine, Gold Dust, it was close enough.
Before I could ask my riding position in the herd, Seth was off, Jessie relaxed and working nicely, the typical dream-team pair.
I smiled a little, until I felt the eyes of a cowboy on me. I turned to face them, Dalton prancing on the spot. He wasn't what I expected. First off, his hair was chilli pepper bright. Second, he was young, only a year or so older than me. Thirdley, he quickly looked away the moment our eyes met.
I couldn't help thinking he was cute.
And on that fabulous note, the drive began.
Dust raised by cattle's' feet and horses that rushed past swallowed me whole. A tall figure amidst the dust came towards me, their horse's head bent to avoid inhaling the pale powder. As they neared, I recognized the figure to be Wyatt Forster.
"You'll be riding drag with my daughter." He said as he pulled up beside me. "Your brother told me you was good rider."
"I only hope he'll think that much of me when we're finished this drive." I said jokingly, but inside I was beaming that Seth thought I was a good rider. Other people had told me before that I was, but the amount Seth expected of me, I felt I rarely rose to meet his expectations. Wyatt stuck around just long enough to see my blush of pleasure burn nearly crimson.
Riding drag would mean I'd be riding at the back, meaning I'd be in this dust for quite a while, as men on horseback found their place in the herd as things settled into full swing.
Dalton wanted to lunge ahead, to be with the other horses, though I wouldn't doubt it as his cow sense kicking in.
Trying to stare through the thick dust, I couldn't catch a glimpse of Seth or the red headed cowboy. There were a few just riding past, though they didn't stand out. Even by the time the dust would have settled, Seth would be too far ahead to recognise clearly.
I'd forgotten I was riding with Wyatt Forster's daughter until I heard her horse snort.
I literally had to look down at her. The bay she rode was probably two hands smaller than Dalton. The girl was a perfect match for the horse, skinny and wiry.
"Hi." She started to smile, but the horses ripped at the bit, trying to pull the reins from her hands. They both looked uncomfortable.
"Hey." Dalton turned his head to the other horses, a soft nicker rumbling in his rib cage. The little bay veered towards him.
I guided Dalton's head away. He may have wanted to make friends now, but after sniffing noses, me might to decide to jump upon the fiery little beast.
"Do you work for Slocum?" the girl's out of the blue question surprised me.
"Slocum?" I turned to her, my concentration on handling Dalton broken.
She blushed. "Mr. Slocum." With lively eyes and short reddish brown hair, she looked a little younger than me.
"No, I'm not." How much younger she was than me, I wasn't sure.
"Oh." She paused.
"I'm not from your ranch either." I stopped a second to guide Dalton back into place as he leapt the cows, eager to chase them for fun. "You're dad invited my brother and I to join the drive."
"Oh." She was confused again, and her horse fought against her tight grip. "I guess you know my dad then." She blushed again at her question, though I wouldn't know why.
"Actually, I just met him today." I gave a little laugh.
"Huh?"
"I've –We've, I mean, have only been living here –" I counted on my fingers, " –three days. Moved here from Texas. Yesterday I think my brother and your dad met in town, and we were invited to come help. Said he needed all the hands he could."
"Ahh." She smiled at me, though her words were more directed at herself. "That makes sense."
" I guess your dad didn't tell you. But then, if he's anything like my brother, he wouldn't have." I once again put the big paint in his place, as he danced around like a jackrabbit. I was only slightly unsettled. "Seth just told me to get ready, we were going."
"I was told to not bother unpacking." She nodded.
It was my turn to be confused. "Not bother…"
"I just got back from San Francisco."
After a second when it sunk in on both of us the strangeness of each other's situation, we burst out laughing together.
The girl smiled sheepishly at me. "I had no idea who you were."
I returned her grin. "I didn't know why you had no idea what was going on."
"I'm Sam by the way."
"Darcy Marshall."
I let us drift into our own silence, as I kept my attention on the cattle. Though this wasn't my first cattle drive, I was in new territory, and Seth would strangle me dead if I made any mistakes. It was kind of degrading that sixteen years of my life had gone by, and still Seth had never showed trust or faith in me. I seldom heard compliments from him, rarely been a time when he was impressed with me rather than mad.
He'd been especially like this since our parents died. But it wasn't something I wanted to think about, and certainly wasn't suitable for this time and place.
Time to just focus on not letting Seth down.
Like gravity, my hand settled around my pocket. That's because I had the cheque tucked safely away there. I had nowhere else to put it. It was safe with me. A shiver ran down my spine. The horses I could buy here in Nevada with twenty thousand…of course, I couldn't spend all of it on horses. Twenty thousand dollars were the only immediately accessible money given to me from the death of my parents.
I shook my head, driving the thoughts away like pesky flies.
Not the time or place. I told myself again.
By what I assumed was noon, Dalton had almost settled down. It could have been the heat. We were used to scorching temperatures in Texas, but regardless, hot was still hot. Though I had almost enjoyed Dalton's little show off, a break from it now was well needed, and I wanted a break from it long enough to take a drink out of the water bottle in my saddle bag.
Just as I raised the bottle to my lips, Dalton jumped straight up. I didn't spill hardly any water, but I barely was able to stop my chokes from swallowing the water the wrong way.
I tugged the reins and he swung his hindquarters around, sidestepping. I then saw his reason for this. On the other side of Sam, was who I could only describe as an Indian cowboy. His hair was shiny back, tied black like how I would picture a Native American. He had dark skin, and form what I could tell from his position in the saddle, was tall.
I adjusted my cowboy hat and pretended I didn't see him, just as he was doing to me.
I heard his words over the soft lowing of the cattle.
"We're no stopping for lunch. I have some jerky in my saddle bags though, if you're hungry."
I did too, though I would rather go without anything in my stomach than eat the salty preserved meat.
"I'm fine." Sam answered. Like me, she was probably used to skipping meals for working outside.
I then heard Sam ask something about the calves, and I didn't focus on his answer.
Dalton was fighting me, the faintest resistance in each step as he turned his attention to the big black horse the Indian cowboy rode.
I was aware of a mother cow stopping to wash the face of her little baby, dropping behind the rest of the herd. Dalton didn't see them, which was really his loss, but Sam's pony sized mount did, taking a lunge at them. Sam gave a start, and pulled him up, though I couldn't understand why. It was her and her horse's job to keep the cattle in place.
I turned Dalton to the pair, who pricked his ears and let out a deep nicker. I kept him steady until the mama saw him and hurried on, calf at her side. There was no need to release the full force of the over-playful gelding on them if they agreed to 'giddy up'.
"You need to keep loose reins on a cow horse. Remember?" though the cowboy's voice was low and quiet, it drifted through the still heat to me.
Ahh. So that's why her horse had been misbehaving and frustrated with her all day. She was fighting against him.
"Everytime I loosen up, he goes his own way."
I was sure she didn't mean to sound whiney as the horse jolted ahead into a bumpy jog, but she did. To be polite, I kept my eyes ahead, but I could see her from the corner of my line of vision.
Her horse turned again, and she stopped him, pulling the reins even tighter. Consciously, I checked my reins and loosened them a tiny bit, regardless of the slight drape in them. I'd just challenge myself to ride with more of my legs and seat. Besides, Dalton was responsive enough to that.
"What?" I heard her snap. Now she sounded whiney.
"Nothing." I could barely hear his answer as they trailed behind. With one glance, I identified that they were stopped. I also noticed that he was about my age too. Seth wouldn't like where that was going.
"It's not nothing. Didn't you outgrow that?"
This time I had to smile. So they must have been old friends. That's why she was so stubborn with him. I knew I could be the same way with Seth, though it wasn't something I liked to admit, for pride's sake.
"Ace is testing you, that's all. Hang in there." I could see him behind me, half the herd across, before drawing even, then pulling ahead. The black horse of his was built solid and pretty, moving at a working jog, the two reminding me of how Jessie and Seth looked together.
After a moment, Sam and Ace were beside us again.
"You're horse much of a cow horse?" she asked suddenly.
As Dalton swooped, I kept my eyes ahead. "No. Why?"
"It's just that he seems to want to go after the cattle." When I turned to her, she looked awkward.
"Dalton?" I laughed. "He just wants to jump on them and play with them."
"Oh."
"He's a trained roping horse, so he's used to running hard after a single cow. All this walking and simply following is driving him insane." I patted his dark neck.
"So where do you live?" as Sam became less focused on her horse and more on the conversation, her reins had begun to slacken, and the little bay, or 'Ace' started to settle.
I slowed the checkerboard horse to a walk as he floated ahead. One thing I had to appreciate was his flowingly smooth gates.
"We don't have a name for the ranch yet. It's pretty run-down, and we need to renovate everything before we move in." I adjusted my checkered shirt.
In dry heat like this, I was okay to wear a long sleeved, loose shirt. It kept the sun off my skin and allowed a breeze. Underneath the open shirt I wore a tank top. This way when the sun went down and temperatures dropped, I'd have the shirt down up for warmth. Right now though, it was the hottest part of the day.
"Wow. So where are you staying for now?" Sam had a thick black sweater tied around her waist. At the moment, she didn't look like cowboy Wyatt's daughter.
"There. We've got sleeping bags and we stay on the porch." I shrugged.
She was surprised, of that I was sure of. "How long until the house is livable?"
I shrugged again. "Depends. I have to clean everything and see from there. A lot of stuff is musty and gross, but we can use some of the furniture left behind. The house seems structurally correct and in working order."
Sam nodded.
"Did you say you just came back from San Francisco?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"How long were you there for?" it seemed odd a ranch girl would spend any time in the city.
"Two Years."
My head snapped around. "Did you say two years?"
She smiled. "Yeah. Two years."
I just stared.
Sam sighed and began to explain. "I'll start from the beginning."
Nodding, I said, "That would help me."
"Two years ago, my horse threw me, and he clipped me good in the head. I had to go to the hospital, and they thought there would be complications or permanent damage. So I went to live with my aunt in San Francisco, so I could be close to a hospital." She summed up with a big breath.
Ouch. I knew head injuries could be bad. Still, two years seemed a bit extreme. "That's too bad." I was unsure of what to say. "How did you stand the city?" I knew I wouldn't have been able to.
"I got used to it." She said simply.
That's why she didn't look like a cowgirl. She'd been turned into a city slicker.
But I certainly couldn't deny she rode well, even if she did seem a bit nervous.
I was only glad she didn't ask about my life in Texas.
XxXxXx
I smelt the chuck wagon before I saw it. The scent of a delicious range super was like a gravitational pull. I couldn't wait to eat. I was glad to get out of the saddle too. My skin was dry and my butt was sore. No matter how much time I spent in the saddle, these drives always came to bite me on the behind. Almost in a literal way too.
I saw Sam veer around the cattle herd but the time we reached the camp, Ace trotting eagerly on.
Dalton tossed his head, shifting his weight and throwing out a slender front leg.
"Behave." I said mildly, distracted. I thought I had spotted Seth.
The next step was to group the cattle into a tight circle, like they were before the drive began this morning. My job at the back would be very important, as Sam's would though she had taken off. The cattle would try to escape the tighter confinement by squeezing out the back of the herd, as they were driven in from all other sides.
The cows did like I had guessed, and I let Dalton go.
He swooped and chased, ran and ducked, scaring the cows back into the middle. I sat tall in the saddle as he moved like lightening, my legs swaying with his movement.
As I headed towards the camp, a grey haired cowboy rode up beside me. "Nice job back there."
I smiled, liking the look of his weathered face and easy position on the horse. "This boy had been waiting for that all day."
He chuckled and nodded, moving on ahead. I thought I heard him mention something about 'sharp horse'.
Dismounting, I tried to ignore how unyielding the ground felt beneath my legs, and how it got me every time.
I lead Dalton over to the portable corral which held all the rest of the saddle horses, him behaving much better than he had this morning. As I stripped off his tack and picked his feet, I crinkled my nose against the slight ache in my upper back; the result of an old injury.
Dalton was happy enough to be turned in the corral with the other horses, his tail high and eyes curious as he stopped to sniff noses with the first horse he met. I smiled as he gave a squeal, then turned and continued on the next, a stocky paint. Hoisting the saddle onto my hip, I found my way over to the tent Seth and I would share, which he was already setting up.
I set the tack down, and he glanced up. "Dalton good?" he asked as he bent his head to work again.
"Fine. A little jumpy, but nothing out of the ordinary."
He nodded. "Good. Then you can go untack Jessie for me."
Once again, I was running his little errands like the wimpy, useless sister he saw me as.
XxXxXx
I sat beside Seth after dinner, planted on a log near the fire. The hot glow warmed my face and body as the chilly spring night set in.
This time I had gotten to see that sunset. It was much like in Texas, colours vibrant and passionate, but still different. Even the sand was alive with the colour of the sky. The sage had burned red, contrasting against the dark shadows it cast. It was gorgeous.
But now darkness was quickly falling. With the horses away for the night, a warm fire and lots of company, it felt like a little piece of heaven.
This was when the cowboys began to tease Sam Forster, bosses' daughter.
"That pony was doing his best to keep the herd together." A cowboy with a drooping moustache and hound-like eyes who worked for Slocum said. I knew he was referring to the struggle Ace had trying to escape Sam's hold.
I for one, wondered what she would do. He certainly had a point, but it was more than that. Growing up with cowboys, I had learned to tell when a challenge was set.
"Yep." She nodded, throwing in cowboy slang. "He was."
I gave a tiny smile. Sam knew when to take care of herself.
"Sam's been gone a while, but she's on the comeback trail." The grey haired cowboy who had spoken to me earlier sat whittling a stick.
I assumed he was referring to her accident, and time in the city.
"Can't wipe out that mustang blood in one generation." I looked over to see who had spoken.
Seth gave an almost inaudible snort. "That would be Slocum talking." He whispered in my ear.
Looking across the fire, I got my first real impression of him.
And I didn't like it. The man's big gut hung over a sickly huge belt buckle, and his clothes looked brand new, over the top and fake western style. "I heard that horse that throwed you was a mustang." Now he was trying cowboy slang, and not pulling it off the way Sam had.
"Half." Sam admitted after a moment.
"Range rats." Muttered the droopy-moustached cowboy, who I thought was named Flick.
At his words, I felt a twinge of defiance. The whole reason Seth and I had come to Nevada was for mustangs.
"You know, musteno, the spanish word 'mustang' comes from just means strays. So some will be good horses, some average." Sam pointed out.
"Smoke, her colt Blackie's sire, was the best working I ever had." Wyatt put in.
I looked at Seth, and I was sure he could practically read my thoughts.
Blackie? That's an original name.
Wyatt wasn't done. Apparently he didn't like Slocum's little comment either. "He was a mustang, same colour as an iron skillet, and just as tough. Smoke could stay out all day, and be fresh at night. He was kinda wise from looking out for himself on the range."
I nudged my brother, and said under my breath, "See Seth? Mustangs are good horses too."
"Seems to me there's a mustang you've been trying to put a rope on, Linc." It was the Indian cowboy speaking.
I hoped Seth couldn't hear my thoughts now as the fire turned the young rider's face bronze.
Slocum stood up, acting insulted and through his match on the ground, as he lit another cigarette, his Hollywood cowboy duds looking even more ridiculous. I couldn't believe how an ignorant man could run a whole ranch by himself. He was the total opposite of Wyatt.
"The Phantom's the only one out there worth anything." He spat.
I perked up. "The Phantom?" I was careful to keep my interested voice casual as I stepped out of my place. Just another way of letting Seth down.
"You haven't heard the story of the Phantom Stallion?" it was the red headed cowboy, sitting not too far from me. His face was lit in the same glow as the other cowboy's, matching his tone as it dropped into a spookey storey telling edge as I shook my head. "The Phantom is a ghostly mustang that runs free in these parts." He began, his eyes burning into mine as he got in role.
"Aww, come on Pepper, don't go filling her head with ideas. You know how girls are with mustangs." Slocum turned his eyes to me, but I wasn't to be put down.
"How are we exactly?" I asked, my tone slightly cool.
Seth shifted his elbow, finding my ribs discreetly.
Slocum waved his hand. "You girls want to go off catching every wild horse there is." He took a big drag of his cigarette, and I didn't like the way his eyes stayed on me, looking me up and down.
"Actually, most wild horses are better left free." Sam crossed her arms.
"And not all wild horses are worth being caught." I added. "Some you never can take the longing of the range out of."
"BLM's got its rules too." The Indian Cowboy was on our side, probably for Sam's sake.
Slocum changed his tune when he knew he was being ganged up on. "Those broomtails eat like vacuum cleaners. I wish they'd take 'em all of the range and keep it for cattle."
I was more than certain Pepper wasn't done his story, but with all the arguing it didn't seem like it was the time to bring it up again.
"You herd looks fine, Lince." The grey haired cowboy stood. "It's eight O'Clock. Time for me, Jake" -the Indian cowboy straightened- "And two of your boys to give those riders a break. If the night riders get sleepy, your fat, sassy heifers might lope out of here. Rest of you, turn in. Nighthawk shifts change at midnight and four."
Men began to get up and put their dishes in the dish pot, heading off to their tents.
"It's pure luck it's been a wet year, with plenty of graze." Linc shouted, though no one paid him any heed.
I stood. "I'm going to check on the horses."
"No need to." Seth said, but he didn't stop me.
The night was almost bitter, the cold creeping up. In the corral, it was hard to tell which horse from which.
"Hey you." I called. I thought I spotted Dalton, his white patches glowing. A looming shape though, blocked all else as it drew closer. I soft nose pressed into my cheek, and I knew right away who it was.
"Jessie." I murmured, run a hand along his neck. No matter what happened, or what horses I had, Jessie would always be my number one. He built solid, muscular and athletic, a dark bay that gleamed in the sun. It was easy to tell why Seth chose him.
Jessie was my everything.
XxXxX
It was cold when I woke up. Seth of course, would have had to out do himself and get up earlier than I had. Bundled deep in my blankets, I still had my clothes from yesterday on, so when I finally emerged from the tent, it had taken me longer than I had wished to re-dress and be ready to tack up.
The sun wasn't even up yet, and by the time I had Dalton tacked, a faint light was spreading across the eastern sky.
With Dalton's reins in one hand and a bowl of porridge in the other, I had a great view of when Ace went…well, loco, on Sam.
With her aboard, he stuck his head down and threw his heels in the air, spinning and bucking like a rodeo bronc.
Sam's hat flew from her head, sending Ace into a jolting rear. I heard the shouts of people. But when Ace turned and bolted straight ahead, the loudest was mine.
"Firepit!" I shouted, and seconds later, Ace jumped it.
The moment he landed, he was into another bucking fit. Up down, round, round, round. Finally, Sam stopped him. She wrenched his head around, until he was turning in tiny circles, nose to tail. Then he planted his feet, breathing hard.
After yesterday, I hadn't expected Sam to hang on so well.
The grey haired cowboy nodded to her. Pepper handed her the hat she lost. She looked breathless and proud.
"Let's hope I can stick to you today like she did to Ace." I said to the tall black and white, swinging up on him before he could move. I had the first victory of the day between him and I.
Let the second day begin.
Once again, I was riding drag. I had a faint hunch that I was put back here to keep an eye on Sam. I wasn't complaining though. There was a nice breeze rolling across the desert, ruffling Dalton's mane. Like spring anywhere, the temperatures varied and changed from day to day.
Fluffy clouds floated through the sky, pushed by the gentle wind. Thick and luscious, they seemed out of place in the open sky of this barren land.
Different scents must have been drifting through the air, because Dalton was even more eager and curious than before. He wanted to stop and face every bird, sage bush, and thing that moved or had colour. I had my hands full. Slow down here. Speed up there. Leg yield this way. Now back.
By noon, he was only used to sagebrush. At least that was sixty five percent less of the acting up. It was then the grey haired cowboy, Dallas, as I had learned, asked me to switch horses. I'd be riding nighthawk later that night.
The horse I rode next was one of Slocum's horses, thickly built sorrel gelding. Swinging up into the saddle and feeling just how wide he was, I set in my head to call him Rock. Because by the end of the day, that's what it felt like I was sitting on, bumpy gates and all. But the horse was well behaved, and it was an almost relaxing afternoon of riding.
XxXxX
After dinner, Pepper came to sit beside me, and tell me the rest of the Phantom Stallion story. Seth had moved off to talk to the other cowboys, leaving me next to the young cowboy.
"You know why they call that horse the Phantom?" were the exact words he started off with.
I gave a smile. "Because he's white?"
He shook his head, returning the beam. "No, because he's a phantom."
I laughed.
"You don't believe me, do you?"
"Sure I do." I didn't completely. But there was a little part of me that believed in the power of such, and the mystery.
"Dallas swears it's true." Pepper nodded to the old cowboy.
"I probably will when I'm out night-hawking tonight." That much was certainly true.
"Well then, don't let me scare you." He teased in good nature. It was hard to believe the boy that wouldn't even make eye contact with me before was so open and friendly now.
"I can't be scared if you haven't told me the whole story yet." I pointed out.
He laughed. "This phantom horse is known to roam the range, pale and strong. He's every man's envy, but none can catch him." we had both unconsciously moved our head closer together.
It was then I realised he had pale greenish brown eyes.
"For those who do try to catch him, they say bad luck falls upon. And for those who attempt injury upon them, he'll haunt forever."
I shivered, captured by his tale.
"But he's not all bad. They say he's a symbol of wild horses, of their freedom and power and beauty, which will only die as long as he does. Dallas swears himself that some nights, when he's sitting on the porch playing his guitar, the stallion will cross the river to hear him play, drawn by the music."
"Have you ever seen him?" I asked quietly.
His whisper was half left in the story phase, half true. "Yes."
"Watch out there, lil' Miss Darcy." Slocum's voice broke the spell of Pepper's story. We both straightened fast as lightening, letting the air break us apart.
"Looks like that young cowboy is a flirtin' with you." He boomed. "Don't let yourself get caught up with them ranch hands."
If he thought he was being funny, he wasn't. Half the campfire turned its eyes to us, but then looked off, uninterested and unimpressed with Linc's little show.
I looked across the fire at him, both embarrassed with myself and disgusted with him. "He was just telling me the story of your precious Phantom."
Slocum puffed his chest, and waved a finger at me. "It's a good thing you're on nighthawk. Maybe tomorrow you'll be too tired to sass people."
I bit back a reply and turned back to Pepper.
"Then maybe if I'm lucky, tonight I'll see that Phantom stud."
XxXxX
- Rio