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"Of course sir." Caleb said, knowing that today was saturday. He shot a smile at Cass, untying the exhausted Splash and leading the mare into the trailer. Caleb watched as Cass walked off, wishing he had the courage to ask for her number at least. "I'm in trouble." Caleb said, chuckling to Splash. Splash relaxed one foot, nodding off to sleep. Caleb left her loose in the trailer, double checking she was good for now. " 'Night, girl" He said, latching the doors and climbing itnto the cab of his truck, starting it, and pulling away. He only had about a half hour before he would reach his house, so he didn't grab a Redbull or anything. Once he got home, Splash nickered at Caleb as he walked down the length of the trailer. "I'm coming!" He called to his now restless mare, unlatching the doors. He grabbed her by the halter, snapped on the leadrope, and put her in the barn's cross-ties. Caleb walked into the tackroom, grabbing the mare's blanket and clipping it onto her. He led Splash into her stall, turning her loose of Caleb's control. He closed and locked the stall door, walking to his house. He didn't own dogs or anything because he traveled so much. He flopped down on his bed, sighing. He quickly got dressed in sweatpants, no t-shirt like always. Caleb fell asleep quickly. The next day was a blur. Caleb packed enough for himself and Splash to be good as long as he did laundry every week or so. He easily tossed both his roping and trail saddle into the backseat of his truck, along with matching bridles and halters. He grabbed a couple extra halters just in case, along with a couple different blankets. He sighed as it grew dark. |
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Cass and her father joined the rest of the family back at the truck. "How did it go?" Mal asked. John smiled, tilting his fedora at her, a twinkle in his eye. Cass looked at her the same "We have a new cattle driver" She said smiling. Jaxon smiled too. "I knew he would say yes" Mal said a hand over her heart. Cass looked at Jaxon who winked at her, Cass rolled her eyes as they both opened the doors to climb in. The journey home was short but they all got out and chatted about the fair and the newcomer to arrive on Monday. They went inside the barn house, Mal put dinner on as the sunset covered the farm in warm tones of orange, pink and purple. The horses grazing quietly in the pastures. A short while later the family sat round the dining room table and prayed before tucking into a hearty burger with a salad. They joked, smiled and laughed as they usually did, taking further about the day's events. -- The next day, Sunday, Mal prepared the stable hand room that was attached to the barn. It was a fully enclosed annex for someone to live there permanently. The last stable hand had moved on to better pastures. Jaxon was cleaning out a spare stall, whilst Cass was nowhere to be seen. |
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Caleb looked up at the southern sky, sighing. He was excited to go work for John, but also excited to see Cass again. He fed Splash her dinner and headed inside. Caleb was in sweatpants and no shirt again as he climbed into bed. Caleb quickly fell asleep. The next morning, Caleb got up at around 4am, making sure he had plenty of time to get to the ranch. He got dressed in jeans, a whit t-shirt that had grease stains from his truck, and his usual boots and hat. Caleb grabbed his jacket and a breakfast sandwich he had pre-made the previous day. He walked out to his truck, tossing his stuff in before grabbing Splash. Caleb walked over to her stall, grabbed her, and walked her to the trailer while she still had her rug on. "Morning. Ready to go to work?" He asked the mare, tying her up inside the trailer. Caleb pulled into a long dirt driveway, parking in a reasonable spot near the barn. He got out and spotted John walking over. Caleb tipped his hat, "Morning, sir. My mare and I are ready for the tasks." Caleb said, confident |
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John saw Caleb pull up, he walked over to him, shaking his hand. "Glad you could make it" He said. "I'll show you around" He turned to lead the way directly into the barn and pointed at the first available stall. "You can put your mare in here, she can turn out to pasture with the other mares when she's not working" All the other stalls were empty, minus the disturbance of bedding and hay where horses had clearly been. He walked all the way through the barn to the otherside, his boots clacking softly on the concrete floor on the barn aisle. It was a moderately kept barn, nothing too fancy but nice enough that it kept the horses warm and secure when they were done for the day. He reached the annex. "There is a place for you to stay" He pointed inside the one bed annex. There was footsteps outside on the gravel and a smiley Mal appeared. "Hi Caleb, I had this all cleaned out for you, if you should stay. The hours are long, the work is honest and the pay is fair" She said her tone curt but light. John eyed Caleb and pointed "Here, let me help you unload your mare and I'll give you a tour of the rest of the ranch" He said, clapping him on the shoulder, offering his wife a smile as he lead him back down the aisle to the trailer. |
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"Yes. thank you, sir." Caleb said, walking to the trailer. He unlatched the back of the gooseneck and gently grabbed Splash's halter, led her to the stall, and took of her blanket. "This is Splash. Her and I have traveled the U.S doing calf roping and steer wrestling at different rodeos." Caleb said, latching the stall door. He walked back over to his truck and grabbed his duffel and backpack. Caleb walked into the room, putting his stuff away. "Thank you for this opportunity, sir. It's a honor." Caleb said, walking out. " Would you like for me to start today, or tomorrow, sir?" Caleb inquired |
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John helped Caleb unload. He carried his tack, placing it in the tack room with the other horse's stuff. Cass' horse Salem, his saddle rack was empty. John patted the mare. "A good horse you got here" He said, eyeing her over. "You don't have to stop doing the thing you love on our part as long as its a weekend, like my wife says, its long hours for honest pay" He said, stroking the mare's neck with a calloused wrinkled hand as she dug into the hay in the stall. He turned to face Caleb again. "No, you can settle in, but here, let me show you 'round" He said, leading Caleb out, turning and shutting the stall door. "We shall see how your mare does with her new companions when they come in this evening but for now she can settle there" He said. He turned to lead the way out of the barn. The sound of hooves crunched on the gravel, a makeshift path that lead out onto the ranch and its 500,000 acres. "Hi Jaxon, where is your sister?" Jaxon sat atop a bay mare, a small white star on her face. He lent forward on the horn of the western saddle that adorned her, ropes looped around it. "She's driving the cattle over with Jessop right now" He tossed his head in the direction. Upon the horizon, a black horse appeared, loping around the herd of cattle, Cass's gaze steady as she focused on driving the cattle forward as they rotated them into the next pasture. Jessop following close behind bringing up the last few on a grey mare. John raised his hand to above his brow, he narrowed his gaze to watch his daughter and cattle drivers work. "We have about 60,000 cattle here on this ranch" John let his hand fall to his side as he led Caleb over to the wooden fence, closer to the commotion. |
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"Alright." Caleb agreed, following John. He watched as Cass moved the cattle. Caleb smiled before catching himself and making it more casual. Damn. She's good. Caleb thought, walking again. "That's immpressive." Caleb commented on the amount of cattle, following John to see the other cows. "What will be my first task tomorrow, sir?" He sked, trying to keep his eyes off of Cass. |
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Jaxon loped up behind them "You'll be with me. We gotta process as many cattle as we can from the eastern roster for a hoof inspection. Gotta keep them clean even when they're out there" He said, smiling, his mare being fussy underneath him, shaking her head. John looked up at Jaxon and nodded. "That's right, Jaxon here will show you the ropes as it were" He patted Caleb on the back again. "I suppose your only task for today is to join us for dinner" John chuckled and then followed Caleb's gaze towards Cass as she made the beeline, successfully driving the cattle forward into where they needed to be. Jaxon tipped his hat at Caleb and then rode off to some other part of the farm. John continued to show him around. |
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Caleb watched Cass for a moment. "Thank you." Caleb said when John mentioned dinner. He wasn't picky, so any food was good. He then followed John around the rest. |
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John and Caleb reached the barn after the tour was complete. More hooves sounded up the gravel track this time. John turned to see Salem snorting, his breathing slightly laboured after the hardwork that had been done today. Cass smiled, sweat lined her brow. Her outfit similar to that of the fair but just a different shirt. "Hey Caleb" She smiled, giving the stallion beneath her a rub with her hand along his neck. She leaned on the horn of the western saddle, it too adorned with ropes and a canteen for water which was now empty. "Coming in for the night?" John said, turning to see his cattle drivers coming up to the barn. A few leading other horses in from the pastures opposite. Cass nodded, letting Jessop and the other riders and horses pass. Salem shook his head and then used his leg to scratch his nose. He crunched on his bit, licking his lips, swinging his head towards the mares that walked past. Cass picked up the rein to remind Salem to wait. The barn was full of life, with people moving horses around and putting them away for the night. |
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Afternoon Storms, then Clearing
