A Rancher's Touch
Chapter 3
"Alright now, I'll take this side, you take that one. We'll probably find her near around one of the trees," Slim said.
"Alright," George nodded.
From there, they made quick work in checking their sides of the field, keeping their eyes pealed for any sign of her.
T
"Damn it to hell!" I cried, kicking harshly at the ground.
It always happened, no matter what I did, it never changed. At one point in my life, I could count on one hand the number of pranks people had played on me. Now, I'd completely lost count, I couldn't even remember how many at this point.
"It never changes," I whispered, letting my nails dig into the bark of the tree in front of me.
So many times I had been embarrassed, humiliated. So many times I had been hurt. You'd think that I'd be used to it by now, but I wasn't, far from it actually. It still bothered me, even if I didn't always let on. It still bothered me that they always took it out on me. Just like how Curly would come after me at times, but he was more physical than anything. I could deal with that, I could put up with it, but not all these damned pranks and jokes.
"Chris?"
"The hell do you want now?" I yelled, whirling around to face the guy.
I stopped when I saw who it was, quickly regretting my words.
"G-George, I…I didn't mean…I…" I sighed, resting my head against the tree.
I hadn't meant to go off on him of all people. I felt even worse as I watched him stand there, mouth clamped shut, eyes never wavering.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, unable to look at him.
"It's alright," he said, carefully taking a step forward.
"I…I didn't mean to go off on you like that," I told him, feeling the corners of my eyes well up.
"Mind tellin me what happened back there?" he asked, completely forgetting that I'd even raised my voice at him just a few moments ago.
"I…" I stood there for a moment, glancing down at the ground.
He waited patiently for me to continue, slowly taking a few more steps toward me. I didn't even bother to move as he drew closer, finding no need to budge. I saw no threat in his progressive steps.
"It's always the same," I mumbled, looking over at him as I pressed my cheek into the rough bark of the tree.
"What do you mean?" he asked carefully, leaving us roughly two to three feet apart now.
"Why do you want to know anyway?" I asked softly, finding myself locking eyes with him for a few moments.
"Perhaps I'm curious as to how a nice girl like you ended up as a ranch hand with the rest of us," he shrugged.
I felt a small snort escape me as he said this, laughing faintly afterward.
"You know," I pushed away from the tree, turning my back to him for a moment as I wrapped my arms around myself, his jacket shielding me from the night air. "Slim asked me the same thing about three months ago."
"You ever give him a straight answer?" he asked, a bit a humor in his eyes.
"Yeah, I suppose I did," I breathed, closing my eyes for a moment, before turning back around. "You wouldn't know by lookin at me, but I was engaged once if you can believe it."
A faint laugh escaped my lips, but there was no humor in it, no joy. It was sad, lonely even.
"Came home one evening, found him with another woman flopping around in my bed," I said quietly, my mind going back to that night.
I'd say it was probably about eight years ago. I was 18 then, getting ready for marriage. I thought he loved me, but I found out otherwise when I'd come home. He'd had the nerve to go at it with her in my own bed, my bed of all things.
"She was a pretty little thing. Blond hair, blue eyes, real easy," I choked out, squeezing my eyes shut.
He still stood there, listening quietly to every word I said, taking it all in.
"He just sat there and smiled…wasn't even bothered at the fact that I'd just walked in on them havin a bit of fun," I whispered, running a hand through my hair.
"Sounds like one cheap bastard," George voiced, making me laugh.
"I suppose he was, huh?"
I caught his eyes this time, just drinking them in. There was something about him, his presence, something about it was calming and friendly.
"After that, I up and left. Haven't been back in eight years," I told him, rubbing my arms a bit. "Been ranchin ever since."
"And the ring on your finger?" he asked.
I looked down at my right hand, a small smile forming on my face.
"Heh, my mother's," I said, running a finger over it. "Now, why don't you tell me somethin about yourself," I said, feeling that I'd said enough about myself for a time.
"There's not much to tell," he said with a shrug.
"There's gotta be somethin," I offered, watching him shift his weight to the other foot, his eyes cast elsewhere.
"You know, I won't bite," I said softly, offering him a small smile.
I heard him chuckle for a short moment, before he brought his eyes back to mine.
"What do you wanna know?" he asked, folding his arms loosely over his chest.
"I don't know, anything. Where do ya come from?" I asked, going back to leaning against the tree.
"A little place in Dakota," he said. "You?"
"Kansas."
"Once a southern girl, always a southern girl," he chuckled.
"Don't you know it."
I could feel myself smiling as I stood there, feeling more at ease than I had in a while.
"How'd you and Lennie end up together? I heard the boss sayin somethin about you guys bein cousins, but I don't buy it."
It was true though, something just didn't set right about it and I knew it couldn't be. Yes, something told me that they were close, but they weren't cousins.
"Well, you're right, we're not cousins."
"Then how?" I asked, finding myself fairly curious.
"Well, I knew his aunt Clara, promised I'd watch after him," he started, taking a moment to look up at the sky. "So when she died, Lennie came along with me workin," he said, reaching up scratching at the space between his jaw and ear.
"So, that's how it is," I smiled, turning my eyes toward the sky. "You know, you're like Slim, easy to talk to," I said, staring up at the stars.
Slim had always been easy to talk to. He was a swell guy and now I'd found myself talking to one just as good from what I currently knew.
"I hope that I can trust you to keep quiet about all this," I asked, turning toward him.
He stood there for a moment, locking eyes with me, glistening in the moonlight. I wasn't sure which I like more, seeing them by daylight or night.
"Sure," he nodded, the corner of his lips pulling into a small smile. "Sure."
I smiled a bit more as I walked toward him, standing in front of him. He stared at me for moment, just watching as I stood there.
"Thank you, George," I whispered, leaning up and kissing his cheek softly, a faint roughness brushing my lips.
After that, I walked back toward the bunk house, pulling his jacket tighter around myself.
T
"Hey, George, did ya find her?" Slim called, walking toward him.
"Yeah, I found her. She went back to the bunk house though," he said, scratching lightly at his cheek where she had kisses him.
He'd never actually gotten close to a girl before, so something like this was rather new to him. Sure, Lennie's aunt Clara had kissed him on the cheek a few times before, but that was different. This wasn't aunt Clara anymore, no, this was Chris. Chirs Kingston.
"Well, I'm gonna head back and check on her then. You comin?" Slim asked, eyeing the smaller man for a moment, taking in the hand on his face.
"Yeah, I'm comin," he nodded, moving to follow him as he they made toward the bunk house.
When they got back, it was quiet for the most part. Candy was laid up on his bed sleeping, Whit and Carlson were at the table playing cards, Jake was nowhere to be found, and Lennie was set on his bed merely watching in curiosity as the young girl sleep. She was just laying there on her bed, George's jacket on top of her like a blanket. It was obvious to Slim and anyone else that knew her that she was fast asleep, with her head tilted toward George and Lennie's side away from the light. She was at peace.
"George?"
It was Lennie, his voice holding an obvious question behind him.
"What is it?" he asked, his eyes flitting toward the large man that he'd traveled with for so long.
"Why she have your jacket George?" he asked, giving him a curious look as he sat there on his bunk.
"She was cold," he replied simply.
"She don't look cold George," Lennie pointed out, eyeing the young woman for a moment.
"That's because she has it around her, it's keepin her warm," he stated, shaking his head for a moment at the man.
Sometimes the most obvious of things could be so oblivious to Lennie.
"It's keepin her warm?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Yes Lennie," George sighed, running a hand through his short brown hair.
He was getting tired of these questions of his. Then again, he knew that Lennie didn't know no better.
"So she not cold then?"
"No Lennie."
"George?"
"Lay down Lennie," George said, moving over to his bunk.
"Alright everyone, lights out," Slim announced, before going and cutting the lights.
From there, everyone went to their beds, laying down for a nights sleep.
"George?" Lennie called quietly, looking over at his friend.
"What is it Lennie?"
"She's pretty," Lennie said quietly.
George sighed at this, before laying down on his bed. It was the second time that Lennie had said such a thing and it was starting to bother him.
"Don't cause her no trouble," he said firmly, turning over on his side to face him.
"I won't George," Lennie assured him.
"Now, go to sleep," he said.
"I'm sleeping George."
With that, Lennie closed his eyes to sleep, leaving George to his own thoughts as he laid there.
Okay everyone, that was chapter 3. I hope that everyone liked it? Please, remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts, ideas, opinions, and feeling on this story/chapter. I'd love to hear feedback because it helps me write and keeps my spirits up. Also, don't forget to check out my PROFILE for other stories that you might like like X-MEN (GAMBIT), FINAL FANTASY (VINCENT VALENTINE), OUTSIDERS (DARRY CURTIS), ROBINHOOD: PRINCE OF THEIVES (WILL SCARLET), and much MORE!