Chapter 14
After they got through looking at the horses, Jake took her into the cattle barn. There were all types of cattle inside. Sam recognized the red and white type that her ranch raised. They were called Herefords.
Down the aisleway Sam saw a bull with the largest horns she had ever seen. She took a step back and ran into Jake.
"Mean lookin' aren't they?" Jake stepped around her to get a better look at the bull.
Sam was grossed out by the gob of mucus hanging from its nose.
"These are longhorns," Jake told her. "They're fierce but not as fierce as the Brahmas."
"Is that what you have?" Sam asked.
"No, we have Brangus and Herefords," Jake told her.
"What are Brangus?" she wondered.
"Angus and Brahma," Jake informed her. "Takes the nasty out of the Brahma part to cross them with Angus."
Sam had no idea what an Angus was either. Jake grabbed her arm and pulled her down the aisle. He stopped in front of a huge black bull.
"That's an Angus," he pointed.
Sam thought the black bull was pretty. There wasn't any white anywhere on him, but he too had a gob of mucus hanging down from his nose. She shivered.
"These are all pretty quiet," Jake continued, dragging her down the aisle again.
He stopped in front of a reinforced pen. Good thing it was reinforced because the bull inside kept butting his head against the sides as if trying to get out and go after the people watching him.
"This is a Brahma," Jake announced. Sam jumped when the bull rammed the side again and stepped behind Jake, peeking around him to look at it.
"Dad won't have one on the ranch," Jake was saying. "He doesn't think they're the best beef either. Says they're too mean to be tender."
Sam looked at him in confusion.
"Ah, never mind," Jake rubbed the back of his neck. Obviously Sam didn't know where meat came from.
After looking at all the cattle and listening to Jake tell her about them all, they went into another building that looked like it had crafts in it.
"Mom's photos are being judged," Jake said as they walked through.
"Her what?"
"Photos. Pictures," Jake explained. "Mom takes pictures with cameras and enters them in contests. She's won just about every year." He sounded proud of his mother. It brought home to Sam that her mother was gone.
Sam felt the tears in her eyes as she and Jake found Mrs. Ely. Mrs. Ely smiled at her son and then at Sam. She saw the tears on Sam's eyes and gave Jake a look before coming to Sam and squatting down in front of her.
"What's the matter, honey?" Mrs. Ely asked. "What happened, Jake?"
"Nothin'," Jake responded, confused at why Sam was crying.
Mrs. Ely put her arms around Sam and held her close to her breast. Sam sniffled into her. Jake stood nearby, rubbing the back of his neck and looking very uncomfortable.
"You miss your mom, don't you honey?" Mrs. Ely just seemed to know.
Sam nodded. Mrs. Ely held her close to her until Sam finished crying.
"Where did you get the little horse?" Mrs. Ely tried to get Sam's mind off of her mother.
"Kit gave it to me," Sam told her.
Mrs. Ely looked to Jake who nodded. "He won it throwing a ball at bottles," Jake explained.
"That was nice of him," Mrs. Ely murmured. "What's its name?"
"Jingles," Sam said, touching the little bell attached to the horses halter.
Jake rolled his eyes. This is why he didn't like to hang around with girls. He preferred Sam when she was kicking the shins of some guy. At least she wasn't clutching some doll. A stuffed horse was a whole lot better than a doll would have been.