I followed Adam from the kitchen to the living room, where he switched off the ceiling lights, and instead turned on two of the
lamps. Then he sat down on one of the couches, his glass of milk in his hand.
He'd told me outside how tired that he was, and how he wanted to go to bed. I paused on the bottom step.
"Aren't you going to bed, too?" I asked him, quietly.
"In a bit."
I realized then that he was likely waiting for Crane and Daniel to get home, concerned about what was going on
with Kenny, and wanting to make sure that Crane was alright. That had to be it.
He leaned back a little against the couch, running one hand across the back of his neck, in a gesture of
weariness. He put his hand down, and took a long drink of his milk. When he turned a bit, and realized that
I was still standing there, on the bottom stair, he twisted so that he was looking my way.
"What, Harlie?" he asked, obviously thinking that I wanted to say something.
I shook my head a little. "Nothing," I told him.
"Then go on up to bed," he said.
I went up the stairs then, and went to the bathroom before heading to my bedroom.
Kristin was already asleep, her long blonde hair spread out over her pillow. The lamp on my desk was still on, and I
squeezed around the cot she was sleeping on, in order to turn off the lamp. I felt my way in the dark, the few feet to my bed, and
got in, bumping my knee on the cot as I did so.
The bumping against the cot woke Kristin up, because she said, sounding groggy, "Harlie?"
"Yeah. Sorry I woke you."
"It's okay," Kristin said. "What's going on? I tried to stay awake until you came up, but I couldn't."
"It's okay. I got in trouble for walking out to look for the burros."
"Oh," she said, and I could hear her rustling around on the cot. "Did you find out anything about Kenny yet?"
"No. Crane's not home yet. Adam's waiting for him downstairs."
"Is Guthrie alright?" Kristin asked.
"I don't think he's really alright. He acts funny."
"Funny ha ha, or funny strange?" she asked.
"Strange. Weird."
I didn't think we were talking very loud at all, but we must have been, because there was a quick tap on the door,
and then it opened, the light from the hall streaming in.
"What are you girls doin' still awake?" Brian demanded.
I didn't think it was wise to tell Brian that I'd only just gotten into bed. That would be certain to set him roaring, and I
was sure he was going to find out about my night search for the burros from Adam anyway.
So I just said, "We're just talking, Bri."
"Well, shut it down. It's late. Hear me?" he ordered.
Kristin gave him a quick reply. "Okay, Brian."
"Harlie?" he prompted, sounding brusque.
"Yes, Bri," I said, feeling weary.
"Alright. Goodnight," he said, and closed the door.
"Now we're both in trouble," Kristin whispered to me.
"You're not in trouble," I whispered back. I got under my sheets and quilt, snuggling down in my bed.
"I don't know why they all have to be so darned strict around here," I said, in a furious whisper.
I heard Kristin giggle, and then she muffled it into her pillow.
"What's so funny?" I whispered.
"You are," she said, and muffled another giggle.
I was suddenly so tired that I didn't even ask her what she meant.
7
The next morning, Kristin and I were both still sleeping, when there was a rapping on the door.
"Up and at 'em, girls," said a voice from the hallway.
I woke up, and stretched, but I kept laying there. Kristin showed no sign of waking up.
There were sounds in the hallway, voices and boot steps. I rolled over, trying to see what time it was
on my alarm clock.
"Uh, six o'clock," I moaned.
"Harlie? You up?" said another voice, at the door, followed by a knock. Brian.
"Yes," I said, loud enough to be heard.
"Move it. All hands on deck," he said. "The truck's here to load the cattle."
"Okay," I said.
I got up, moving a lot quicker then. I grabbed a pair of jeans and t shirt from my dresser drawers, and a pair of socks.
"Kris, wake up," I told her, reaching down to shake her shoulder.
I went out, and down the hallway to the bathroom. The water from the shower was running, and I sighed.
I rapped on the door.
"What?!" came a holler from inside the bathroom.
"Truck's here to load the cattle!" I called. "Hurry up!"
I heard an oath. Something along the lines of 'dammit, thought it was 7:30'! Then the water was turned off. Another four or
five minutes, and then the door opened. Daniel was pulling on his shirt, his hair wet from the shower.
"It's here already?" he asked me.
"That's what Brian said," I said, and slipped around him to get into the bathroom.
"You sure this isn't just a trick?" he asked. "To get me out of the bathroom so you can have the shower?"
He smiled at me, but I didn't smile back.
"No, Daniel. No trick," I told him.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
I shook my head in answer to his question.
"Huh?" he persisted.
"Just tired," I said. "What happened with Kenny?"
The expression on Daniel's face changed instantly. He looked-well, regretful is the word, I guess. And somber.
"Crane will talk to you," he said. "To you and Guthrie."
He ran a hand over the top of my head, and went back down the hallway towards his own room.
I got dressed really quickly, puzzling the whole time over what Daniel might have meant by that. 'Crane will talk
to you'.
It definitely sounded as though it was something big. Something serious. Otherwise, why was it so shrouded in mystery?
I was dressed, and was sweeping my hair up into a ponytail, when someone else began rapping on the bathroom door.
"Truck's here! Come on!"
7
I had one boot on, and was pulling on the other one as I walked, going down the front porch steps. There was a large semi truck
backed up to the pasture gate. The area that Evan had worked so hard on, while everybody else was on roundup. The truck was
one of those that is called by ranchers and farmers a 'pot trailer', which is short for potbellied trailer. It's called that because
it's got two levels. Livestock can be on the top platform and on the bottom, as well. They can hold approximately fifty
cattle at one time. I could see Evan and Ford and Crane near the back of the trailer. Adam was talking to the driver of
the truck. Brian was coming out of the barn, and he gave a shrill whistle, getting my attention.
When I'd hurried over to him, he told me to saddle Charlie or Petra quick, and to begin helping Guthrie round up the
cattle that were in the new area that had just been fenced.
"Put 'em in the corral," Brian said. "The truck will get them next. Or on the next trip."
I said okay, and ran to gather my saddle and bridle. I whistled for Petra, but she was in one of her obnoxious moods,
and wouldn't come. Old Charlie did, though. I saddled him quickly and went to join Guthrie, who was rounding up
the thirty or so head of cattle in this area.
Over the noise, Guthrie yelled, "I've got these! See if you can get the steers that went over there!" He gestured
towards the corner of the pasture, and I nodded to show him that I understood. I galloped Charlie over, and began
rounding up the three stubborn steers that had decided to congregate in one corner.
As assignments go, it was relatively easy. Guthrie and I had the cattle in the corral, ready. Once the gate had been
closed, and refastened, I climbed back up onto Charlie's back. Guthrie and I sat there, side by side on our horses,
catching our breath.
"Where's Kristin?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "Maybe helping Hannah with breakfast," I suggested.
"I hope Hannah makes a big one. I'm starvin'."
"She will," I said. "She'll know everybody will be extra hungry after all this."
We sat in quiet for a couple of minutes.
"Have you found anything out yet?" Guthrie asked.
He didn't have to specify. I knew exactly what he meant.
"No. Daniel said that Crane will talk to us," I said.
Guthrie gave no response to that. He just let his gaze settle on the cattle, roaming around in the corral.
"Are you worried about it?" I asked him.
"Worried about what?" he countered.
"About what it is. That's wrong with Kenny."
"Got no reason to worry."
"But, you are," I said. "I can tell."
Guthrie flashed me a look. He looked irritated, and started to answer me with a snap. I know, because he stopped, and
closed his mouth, and looked out over the cattle again.
I felt suddenly adrift. Separated from Guthrie.
"It will be okay, Guth," I said, trying to sound comforting.
Guthrie looked at me quickly, and then away again. He gave a nod of his head. "Yeah," he said.
It wasn't much, as far as responses go. But it was better than nothing.
7
For the next two hours, cattle were sorted, and loaded into the semi truck. When they got ready for the
cattle that Guthrie and I had gathered, I manned the gate again, swinging it out wide. Ford and Evan kept the
cattle contained from escaping from the corral, as the big truck backed up again, the back up alarms beeping, over and
over.
It was while I was watching all that, that I noticed the boy that was with the driver of the truck. I knew I'd seen him
around the last couple weeks before school got out, but I didn't remember if I'd heard his name. From observing, I figured
out that the driver/owner of the truck must be his father.
I saw Guthrie talking to the boy, and then at one point, while I was still perched on top of the corral fence, watching the cattle
walk into the trailer, he was close enough to speak to me.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," I answered.
"Good looking cattle," he said.
"Yeah. They are."
There was silence for a couple of moments. "I'm Bill. Bill Griffin."
"I'm Harlie," I said.
"Right. I saw you around school. I was only there a couple weeks before summer vacation."
After that, we made small talk. He told me about where his family had moved from.
"Have you lived here long?" he asked me.
"All my life."
"What do kids do around here for fun?" he asked me.
"Well," I considered. "There's the Dari Kurl, in Murphys. Kids hang out there. Or you can go bowling or skating in Angels Camp. There's
a movie theater there, too."
"How about parties? Many of them around?" he asked.
"Depends on what sort of party you're looking for," I said.
Bill looked embarrassed. "Not that sort of party," he said. "I don't do any weed, or anything."
I felt bad for embarrassing him. He seemed nice.
"I didn't mean that, exactly," I said. "Sometimes there's beer parties."
"Yeah?" He regarded me intently. "Do you like to go to parties?"
"I don't usually go," I said, in honesty. "It's sort of hard to go when there's all these brothers, watching."
He grinned at me. "I've got three older sisters," he shared. "I think I sort of understand."
By the time the truck was loaded with cattle, Bill had asked me if I wanted to go to the movies.
I told him he could call me later, if he wanted to, and I'd let him know if I could go. As the truck pulled out of the
driveway, stocked with all forty-five of the cattle that were heading to the stockyards to be sold, I felt a little better.
Eight-fifteen in the morning, and I'd been asked out on a date. No matter what, there's something about
that sort of a thing that makes a girl's self-esteem and mood go a bit higher.
7
Typical meals, in times past, after the cattle have been sent to market, are usually rowdy, and
filled with the exaltation that comes from hard work and perseverance. A feeling of a job well done.
I sensed right away that there wasn't much of that this time. I could see some relief at having it done. From Adam and
Brian, mostly. But the usual jocularity was missing.
I kept still, eating my breakfast. I'd filled a cup with strong, black coffee, and was using it to perk myself up.
Guthrie was tense. Even though Kristin was between us, I could still tell.
"It's a relief to have the cattle off, isn't it?" Clare said, cheerfully. She's been around long enough to sense everyone's
moods.
"It is," Adam said, in agreement, and Brian leaned back in his chair, and put an arm around her shoulders.
Things got quiet again after that, and Clare made no more attempts to lighten the mood at the table.
After awhile, it was as though Adam and Crane exchanged glances, and then Brian nodded when they looked at him.
They were all doing their 'talking without words' thing again. I turned to Hannah, and she too, was in on the
'unspoken' thing. She was all serious and sad looking. She put her fork down, even though she did had a lot of
her eggs left. And I heard her sigh a little, and look toward Adam. Waiting.
Daniel, too, already in the loop of what was going on, was silent. I wondered if Evan already knew, too.
A glance at his face, and I was fairly certain that he did know. He looked uncomfortable all of a sudden.
"We need to talk about what's happened with you kids," Crane said. "About Kenny."
7