A/N: No copyright infringement intended.
Thanks to you for your patience with this story, its been a while since I posted any new material
Not Betaed, so all errors are mine, let me know if you see any
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop
Friday at the Ranch
The offer to come to Chris' ranch was always open to his fellow ATF team members any time they should need it day or night. It was located outside Denver, in the rural countryside, not so far away as to be inconvenient, but far enough to get away from responsibility and other things intruding on their lives. Being at the ranch offered a chance to decompress from the intense cases they worked. The ranch provided the opportunity to return to a much needed sense of normalcy. Life in the countryside moved at a slower pace, it wasn't life and death situations where split decisions meant the difference between success and failure, focus for their attention was reoriented around the numerous daily chores upkeep of a ranch required, and the needs of the animals. Being surrounded by nature, the quiet absence of urban sounds, was a balm to the weary souls of the men. The change of pace was satisfying and rewarding.
Sherry pulled off the road on to the driveway leading to the entrance gate. According to the directions JD had sent her, this should be the place. There wasn't a sign, but then again, Chris valued his privacy, so he wouldn't be advertising his location. She eased up the driveway past wide lush pastures framing both sides of the road. Up head she could make out a large barn, a big outdoor arena, and off to the side a moderate ranch house surrounded by other out buildings. Sherry could see Vin's Green K5 Chevy Blazer parked along side the house. A quick scan of the parking arrangement showed next to his truck there was a Black Dodge Ram 3500, a White & Blue Ford 250, and she recognized JD's White Tahoe. Not surprisingly the Black Jag was not present. She pulled in along side the other vehicles with her Chevy Silverado truck. Vin emerged from the barn as Sherry was climbing out of her truck and headed over to meet her. About the same time, Buck came strolling out of the house onto the covered porch and looked over her 4-wheel drive vehicle.
"Sweet heaven, still my beating heart, I just love a woman who knows how to drive a truck. Would you marry me, Sherry?" Buck asked with a gleam in his eyes.
"Aw shucks, of course I will, if your plans with your current lady interest don't pan out"
"Shut up, Buck, Sherry you ain't marrying him" Vin snapped, Buck laughed, Vin knew they were just kidding around, but it still irked him to think of Sherry getting married. Vin turned Sherry away from Buck and proceeded to help her unload her stuff.
"Aw Vin, I meant no harm, just wanted to get my offer in early, she's not going to stay single for ever. Mind my words"
"Well she's not going to be marrying you"
"Guys, hello? I'm standing right here. Don't I have a say in determining my future. Maybe Buck is the man of dreams, and I've just been waiting for him to propose? Huh, did you think of that Vin?" Sherry could barely contain her grin at the look of shock on Vin's face. He quickly recovered his composure.
"Ha, ha, not funny" he muttered, but Sherry was chuckling. "Lets get this stuff moved over to the Dodge, already." Vin grabbed her sleeping bag and tossed it into the Dodge truck's bed. Sherry took her clothes bag and walked over to put it into the bed as well. There she saw other bags, boxes of stuff, and a few bales of hay.
"So how's this camping trip going to work?"
"Anthony, he's the ranch foreman, will drive out to the camp site and drop off everything ahead of us. Then he'll head back here to over see things while we're out. We'll ride out along the trail to the camp site. He'll be long gone before we get there"
"Where's Anthony? I don't see him"
"Oh, he's a bit of a recluse. He don't like to show himself around lots of people. He'll come out from where ever he is once we head out."
"Okay" Sherry said while absorbing the details about the eccentric ranch foreman.
"Wanna come see the horses?"
"Oh yes, I'd love to. Which one will I get to ride?" Sherry asked excitedly. She hadn't been riding in ages and was thrilled to get back in the saddle.
Vin led the way to the barn. Buck jumped down from the porch and joined them. Inside the barn, Sherry could see that it was divided into two sections, the front portion was comprised of 12 large stalls that opened into paddocks and backed up to the home pasture. There was a well organized large tack room and multiple grooming stalls. Sherry glanced around and noticed stairs that led to a second story loft. From what she could see, the second portion looked to be a large indoor arena. Chris and JD were grooming their horses inside. The big black horse had a white star on his forehead. Buck leaned against railing near JD. At Chris' feet sat a black and white border collie staring intently at the new arrivals in the stable.
"Hay Sherry" JD greeted as he brushed the coat on his chestnut horse.
"Hay there yourself, who do you got here?"
"That is Shadow" he said pointing to Chris' horse, "this is Voyager" indicating the horse in front of him. "Yeah, but I call him Yager, (Jäger)."
The dog started wagging its tail and stood on all fours. It looked from Chris to Vin. Chris gave it the signal to leave from its spot. It shot over to Vin and danced around his legs. Vin reached down and patted the dog on is back. "How ya doing there Lady?" The dog quickly sniffed Sherry and then returned to Chris' side. Obviously the dog liked Vin, but its loyalty was to Chris. Vin walked up to Chris's horse and rubbed him on the face.
"So Chris, Sherry was wondering which horse she would get to ride?" Vin asked, still stroking the animal's face. The horse was enjoying the touch, as he leaned his entire head into Vin's side.
"Well, I suppose she should go out to the corral and see what there is. Also, your Devil horse is out there, damn animal wouldn't let me get a halter on him."
"Oh, well you know Devil, he is particular about who he lets get near him. Come on Sherry lets go out back" Vin led her through one of the side doors in the stable to the corral. The corral was along side the arena, inside were 10 more horses. Vin picked up a halter from the fence, then climbed over the fence rail into the corral. Sherry was trying to figure out which horse was Devil. Vin walked a few steps in and let out a whistle, then stood waiting. A few horses had come over to investigate Vin. He had soothing words and gentle hands to pet and praise each animal. From the back of the corral, a big black horse with a white blaze on his face came walking over to Vin, pushing the other horses out of his way. Vin reached up and pat the horse on his neck, then ran a hand down his back to his withers, there Vin started scratching the animal.
That must be Devil, Sherry thought with a smile. Vin worked his way back to the horses' head. Vin reached into his pocket and produced a treat for the horse. After taking the treat from Vin's hand, Vin finally slipped the halter on the horses' head.
Vin led the animal over to the rail where Sherry was standing. "I'd like to introduce you to Diablo. Most of the time we just call him Devil, on account he's so onry"
"Nice to meet you Diablo" Sherry attempted to pet him on his head and the horse tried to nip her. She pulled her hand back quickly and looked to Vin in surprise.
"See, what did I tell you? He's particular about who he lets touch him"
"Duly noted" Sherry made a mental note to give that animal extra personal space.
"Let me just put this guy in a stall, then we'll find you a mount" Vin led Diablo out of the corral into the stable. Sherry looked over the horses and tried to decide which one she liked. Buck walked over to join Sherry.
"So which one you like?"
"Gosh I don't know, they all look incredible"
"You have pretty good riding experience?"
"Yes"
"Well there is a nice chestnut mare that would be a good match for you. She's spirited and ready to go off the slightest leg pressure. But she can be a might bit fractious. Then there is the big bay gelding. He is sure footed and real steady. Not flighty or likely to pull on you."
"Both animals sound great, but since this is my first time riding here, I kinda think the bay sounds like a good match."
"We should let Vin decide, he's the resident wrangler" Buck decided. Just then Vin emerged to join them at the corral fence.
"So Sherry, I was thinking about two options for you. There is Cody, the dappled grey gelding, he's real quiet. Also, there is a palomino mare, Brook, I really like her on trail, she's level headed."
"What about the big bay?" Sherry asked.
Vin pondered her request as he looked over the horse in question. "Kanati? I wasn't considering him for your first ride"
"Why? What's wrong with him? I can handle myself on horseback." Sherry reminded him.
"I reckon he would work, but he's almost 17 hands tall, wouldn't you feel more comfortable on a smaller horse?"
"Vin, I'd like to try him."
"I would feel better if you were on a smaller horse, something like less powerful than Kanati"
"Let me tack him up and if you still don't approve, then I'll switch to another horse. Please Vin?" She begged with a wishful look on her face.
Vin knew he couldn't deny her when Sherry looked at him like that. Vin grabbed a halter and handed it to Sherry. "OK, lets see what you got" Vin was putting her to the test.
"Thanks Vin, I won't disappoint you, you'll see" Sherry climbed into the corral and began making her way over to the horse. Buck and Vin leaned on the rail watching.
"You put her up to that didn't you?" Vin asked, but it really wasn't as much of a question as it was a statement.
"I only mentioned a few of the horses I thought she might enjoy riding.. I also suggested Atira." Buck said in response.
Vin snorted, knowing that he would never let Sherry take Atira on her first ride under his supervision.
As Sherry approached the big bay, the horse turned to look at the newcomer, sensed she was a stranger and moved away from her. Sherry stopped and the hose stopped shying away. She tried taking a step forward and the horse stepped away. It was an unual dance they were performing. Each time she tried to approach, he moved out of reach. Finally she stopped, knowing she wasn't getting anywhere. Unwilling to admit defeat or look at Vin, Sherry tried to think how she was going to gain this horse's trust. By this time, Chris and JD had ridden out the corral fence and were watching the unual stand off between Sherry and the horse. Sherry decided a new tactic was in order. The fastest way to an animals heart is through its stomach. Sherry turned and walked away from Kanati, who watched her depart. Sherry walked to the corral fence and reached through. She grabbed a few large handfuls of green grass. One handful she kept in her right hand, the other handful she kept in her left hand. Armed with the appealing food, Sherry began working her way around the herd in the arena, not going near Kanati at all. She gave small bites of grass to the other horses deliberately ignoring the big bay. Soon, all the other horses were clustered around her trying to get food.
The game of keep away was no longer any fun to Kanati, he approached Sherry wanting in on the food action. Sherry gave him some grass as she pet his neck and rubbed her hand over his body. As she moved around him, she kept giving him small bites of grass. He was more interested in getting to the food than what she was doing. Sherry slipped the halter from her shoulder onto her hand and casually reached up and over his head, slipping the halter into place. She pet him again and began leading the big bay over to the corral gate. She looked at Vin, he get her message loud and clear, did I pass?
Vin didn't say anything but opened the gate and let her pass by with the horse. Chris from atop his horse clapped at her triumph over the bay horse.
"Come on, lets get him tacked up" Buck led the way into the barn showing Sherry where to tie up the horse and which saddle she could use.
"Can't deny She has a way around horses" Chris said to Vin, who was still standing by the corral. "I didn't think Kanati would let her catch him, he's usually a real jerk about being haltered"
"I guess she'll do alright" Vin finally said. Just then they heard the crunch of gravel announcing the arrival of another vehicle.
"That'll be Nathan. He picked up Josiah and Ez. Wonder if he is ready to kill Ezra after just the ride over here?" Chris said with a grin.
"Naw, Selena is in the car, Ezra will be on his best behavior". Vin walked into the stable to begin tacking up his horse. JD and Chris rode their horses around the stable to the front to greet the others.
In the barn, Buck got his grey horse, Lady, out of her stall and brought her over near to where Sherry was tacking up her horse. Nathan, Selena, Josiah, and Ezra stood into the barn.
"Hello, glad to see we are not too late." Nathan said in greeting. Sherry walked over to greet everyone.
"No not at all, just getting ready"
"Great, let me go grab our horses, Selena will you bring out the saddles and bridles?"
"Sure thing. Its great to see you Sherry, I'm so excited to be getting out of the office and camping is just the thing to get rid of the cabin fever. I am glad there is another woman going". With that, Selena walked into the tack room to get the bridles and saddles for her and Nathan and headed out to the corral to tack up.
Sherry turned to smile at Ezra and Josiah. "So I see you have the 'lucky hunter' Josiah said.
Sherry looked at him in confusion. "His name, in Cherokee, means "lucky hunter" Ezra clarified.
"Oh, I didn't know that. How interesting. So any of the other horses have names from Indian languages?"
"Yes, there is Atira which comes from Pawnee, Wachabe is Sioux, and my horse is named Awonawilona."
"What does his name mean?"
"Actually, it is her, and her name means "The One Who Contains Everything, supreme god, creator of all."
"That's amazing" Sherry replied. Turning to Ezra, "What is your horse named?"
"His name is Chance. He's the blood bay over there" Ezra said pointing to a stall on the left. The horse in question whinnied when he heard the sound of Ezra's voice. "If you'll excuse me, I am being summoned" He walked over to the stall and produced a bag or carrots for his horse all the while talking affectionately to the animal.
Josiah excused himself from Sherry but as he passed she caught "If there was ever any doubt that that man was capable of showing emotion, just look at the way he is with that horse. Ezra positively lavishes on that animal" Josiah muttered as he passed by Sherry to go get his horse from the corral.
Ezra walked back to the tack room to get his equipment, as he exited the room he paused beside Sherry, "Here, I would not be a gentleman if I didn't help you put that saddle up on his back. You certainly picked a rather large equine" Ezra deftly swung the saddle up onto Kanati's back but made sure the saddle landed gently into place. "There you go Cherie, please let me know if I can be of further assistance". At that moment, Vin emerged from his horse's stall, leading his fully tacked up horse behind him. He came over to Sherry and Ezra.
"Thanks, Ezra, but I can manage from here"
"As you wish" he nodded his head, picked up his saddle and headed over to his stall. Vin watched as Sherry gently but expertly cinched up the saddle and bridled up her horse. He nodded his approval at her administrations. Together they walked their horses outside to join the others. Chris, JD, Nathan, Selena, and Buck sat on their horses. Nathan was sitting on a beautiful buckskin horse and Selena was mounted on a chestnut mare with a large white blaze down the face. Vin mounted up quickly then looked over at Sherry still standing on the ground. She was having a problem getting her foot into the stirrup due to the height of the horse. Vin gave her a look that said, you wanted to ride him, you figure out how to get on… Sherry was contemplating lowering her stirrup versus using an object as a mounting block, when Ezra emerged from the stable walking his horse.
"Your white knight at your service, on the count of three I'll give you a lift. Bend your knee"
Sherry bent her knee and as Ezra counted to three, she bent her other knee to help spring into the saddle. On three he lifted and she felt weightless as he lifted her into the saddle, settling her into place. Sherry reached down to pat Kanati on his neck near his mane. She could feel the well toned muscles of the horse. She stretched her leg and heel down into the stirrup. She felt very comfortable on the big bay. It didn't bother her that he was a tall boy.
"Thanks Ezra" Sherry said to Ezra who was now sitting into his saddle.
"It was my pleasure" he said with emphasis on the 'my'.
Vin gave Sherry a once over to make sure she was sitting well in the saddle, that she wasn't in eminent danger of falling off. He had to admit, she sat well aside the horse despite his massive size. Win walked his horse over to stand beside her. "Well, hows it feel up there?"
"It feels wonderful. I can't believe how much I missed this feeling" She leaned over and scratched the horse on his neck, running her hand through his silky mane. "This camping trip is going to be so much fun. Thanks for bringing me along."
"I got all kinds of interesting things out on the ranch to show you" Vin said with excitement, "I'm glad I get to share this weekend with you and the guys".
Josiah walked out leading his horse and quickly mounted up. He looked around at their group of nine people. "Alrighty, we ready to head out?" At nods from everyone, Chris took the lead out of the yard, JD and Buck fell in behind him, Nathan and Selena next, with Josiah and Ezra following behind. Bringing up the rear came Vin beside Sherry. Sherry looked around one last time for the elusive Anthony. The Dodge was still parked in its spot, the bed loaded down with everyone's stuff. She shrugged and gave up the search for mysterious man. She focused her attention on the beautiful countryside they were walking through.
They walked along for a while. First they had to clear the gate that separated the area around the barn and house, into the first pasture. Once everyone cleared the gate they set off again.
"How long will it take us to reach the camping ground?"
"Oh it takes about 4 hours, if we go as the crow flies. But we have to make some detours to check fencing and check the herd, so it will probably take about 5-6 hours."
"Will be all be staying together the entire time?"
"Yup"
"Will be leisurely walking the entire time?"
"No, there is room from faster gaits once the ground opens up. There is a meadow up ahead, we should be able to lope there."
"Great" Sherry replied looking forward to see what her horse could do. So far he had plodded along quietly and steady. He appeared unconcerned with being in the back of the group and content to amble along.
Selena dropped back to chat with Sherry. Vin remained by her side suffering through the girl talk.
Suddenly Chris held up his hand, calling a halt to their travel. He motioned Vin to his side. "Stay here Sherry" he said as he trotted ahead to see what had concerned Chris.
"Vin can you identify that track?"
Vin swung down from Devil to inspect the track in the mud. There were several toes and an absence of claws. "It appears to be Mountain Lion. We'll have to be on the look out tonight but I don't think it will bother us" Chris nodded his agreement to Vin's advice. Once Vin had ridden ahead, Ezra causally dropped back to stand along side the women.
"Up ahead there is some space, perhaps you would be interested in stretching the horse's legs. We could get in some trotting then a lope".
"That sounds great. I am really looking forward to seeing what this big guy can do"
"He appears to be half thoroughbred, so I would imagine he can do a lot"
"I suspected as much, his muscles are lean and not as heavily muscular as the quarter horses, plus there is the height, that was sorta a give away"
Vin rode back to take his position, but Ezra had usurped it, and was refusing to give it up. So Vin was forced to either ride behind everyone or take the position next to Chris up front. Josiah had moved up beside Nathan. Unwilling to let Sherry out of his sight, he opted to bring up the rear.
Selena carried on an animated conversation with Sherry and Ezra. She was ecstatic to see the usually reserved undercover man so relaxed and unguarded. As they approached the open space, Chris dropped back to where Sherry rode. "So you ready to trot some?"
"Ready as ever" Chris nodded his head and let the women proceed. He fell in along side Vin at the rear. He whistled to Nathan up front, giving the signal to pick up the pace. Nathan and Josiah began trotting their horses and doing a slow lope. Sherry pressed her legs into her horses' side and he easily picked up on the cue and began trotting. Sherry posted in rhythm with the horse's movement. Vin watched from behind, noting the ease in which she handled the increased pace. Kanati began lengthening his stride, letting his long gets stretch out. Sherry easily managed the horse and with an calm 'whoa, easy there" and adjusted her posting to slow him back down. The horse flicked his ear at the sound of her voice and slowed his pace as asked. After a few minutes of trotting, Nathan slowed his horse back to a walk. Everyone else followed suit.
"How was that Vin, did I pass muster?" Sherry asked with a confident smile.
"I have yet to pass final judgment, but so far, you have done well"
"Great, when do we get to gallop?"
"Now hold on, no one said anything about galloping, lets take one thing at a time"
"Oh come on Vin, you must be bored out of your mind with this sedate pace, don't you want to feel the wind on your face? Just see the ground disappear beneath you?"
"Lets let the horses catch their breath then we can do some loping. Then we can see from there" Sherry nodded and turned forward to continue their walk. Selena had gone back beside Nathan and Josiah, so Vin moved in beside Sherry. He began sharing some of the history of the area, pointing out different varieties of plants and birds they passed.
Chris raised an eyebrow at Vin's over cautious act. Usually by this point, they were letting the horses gallop along. He shook his head at his sharpshooter's antics.
Ezra dropped back beside Chris. "How long do you think Mister Tanner is going to keep up the mother hen routine?"
"I don't know, but I figure a long while still"
"That's what I was afraid of"
Sherry enjoyed listening to Vin share his vast knowledge of nature. He continually impressed her with the diversity of knowledge he had. After about 15 minutes of walking, Vin decided it was time to try a lope. He turned to Chris and silently communicated his message with a look. Chris whistled to the leaders who signaled back, message received, they moved their horses into a lope. Vin asked his horse to move off his leg into a lope. Sherry did like wise and expertly put her horse into the same gait. Kanati's long legs had him covering the ground easily. He began edging ahead of Vin, who of course increased his speed to keep pace. Sherry lightened the pressure on the bit, allowing her horse to stretch out his long legs, he over took Vin's horse again. Sherry maneuvered her horse beside Ezra, who turned to her with a grin at her horsemanship skills. Vin was now completely behind her. They continued on his way for about 5 minutes letting the horses release the energy they had. As the end of the meadow approached, it was time to slop down, as the terrain became more over grown and not conducive to riding three across nor at such fast gaits. They eased the horses down into a trot and finally down to a walk.
"That was exhilarating"
"You handled yourself remarkably Miss Sherry"
"Thank you, you did very well yourself"
"Well I'd reckon that was more than a lope Sherry. So I guess you got to have your gallop after all" Vin admonished.
"Well maybe, but wasn't it worth it? Oh god there is not much like that feeling of flying" Sherry dropped the reins over the horn and leaned down and pet her horse on both sided of the neck at the same time, "what a good boy, you are such a good boy" she praised the horse.
"Up ahead, is one of the spots we need to check fence line. This is where Chris' property borders with the neighbor. They run cattle on their property. The cattle need to be moved from pasture to pasture depending on the food available. Sometimes Chris lets them graze on his land, particularly if the grass is getting tall."
The group came to a stop as Chris rode along the fence inspecting if for damage or weak spots. Sherry watched Lady walk along quietly to the side of Chris' horse. Obviously the vigorous run they had just done had not outpaced the dog. Sherry was glade the dog was going camping with them. It would be nice to have a dog around during the night.
May 2013
What kind of mischief can be found on a camping trip? Please send suggestions for pranks that could happen
Review please, I would be interested in your thoughts, if you liked it, how it can be improved, positive constructive advice, apprentice writer here, Thanks Lee
Atira is Pawnee for The Earth, Sacred Mother of every living creature
Wachabe is Sioux for Black Bear, the guardian, a symbol of long life
Awonawilona is from the Pueblo Indians, The One Who Contains Everything, the supreme god, creator of all
Kanati is Cherokee for the Lucky Hunter