I Should Have Been A Cowboy Pt. 01

Now here he was again. Why, he didn't know. Somehow he was now here. He had shut off the engine when he rolled into town but it was now getting a little chilly in the steel cabin. He started the engine to warm up but after a few minutes there was a loud noise from under the hood and the air immediately cooled. The battery indicator also showed something was amiss so he shut the engine down. Bad news number three.

Kelly looked and found an old jacket from last year's hunting expedition down in the Ozarks behind the seat. It would help keep him warm. Occasionally he would get out of the truck and walk around. The night was clear and cold. The stars were brilliant in the overhead skies. It was hard to believe it was the same sky he could see from his house in Missouri. Take away the light pollution and it was amazing what you can see.

Despite the jacket and getting out and moving around, morning found Kelly shivering in his pickup. The sun came up and a few signs of life were seen on the short streets of the small Nebraska town. Kelly could see a café down the block so he made his way there. Luckily it was open to serve breakfast to the early risers.

He ordered coffee along with ham and eggs. The coffee went a long ways to getting his body warmed and the ham and eggs would help fuel the fires to keep him going. After he ate he inquired about someone who could look at his only possession, his pickup. The helpful waitress told him that her boyfriend ran a repair shop and would be happy to check out his truck.

She made a quick call and then directed him over a street to the repair shop. Kelly made the quick walk and discussed the need for repairs. Soon a tow truck was sent to retrieve the truck. The only problem was that Kelly only had a hundred on his person. Actually less because of the snacks so many hours ago and the breakfast this morning.

He didn't want to use his credit card or anything that might leave a paper trail for Megan to follow him, if she actually gave a damn to find him. He wanted space and time to think through her betrayal and the reasons. He would go back and talk with her when he was ready and not a moment before.

He asked and was directed to a bank another block down. There he talked to the manager for a few moments and then sat down with his laptop and accessed the public wireless internet. Soon he had transferred some of his money to a new account at the local bank. It should be enough to fix his truck.

While he was there he turned on his cell phone. He was in the habit of shutting it off when he left work as Jerry was prone to call and harass his employees at all hours. It went through its start up routine and then the message indicator showed he had multiple text messages. A quick check showed them to be mostly from Megan and a few from Mark. Some of the later ones were from his mother. He assumed that Megan had contacted her with some kind of concocted story in hopes that he had contacted her or his dad. He sent a quick reply to his mom that Megan and he had a falling out and he was taking some time out to think things through.

Kelly also let his mom know he was okay but stranded a long way from home. He would call when he could.

Kelly then called his attorney. Since it was a Saturday of course he wasn't in the office. The answering service picked up. Kelly left a message for Lawrence Roberts, his attorney. The message contained the facts that Megan and he were estranged and that she was to have no access to any of his accounts until a judge decided differently. He also wanted Lawrence to move all monies as possible to off shore accounts.

An hour later Kelly received an email reply from Lawrence Roberts. He expressed dismay at the fact that Megan and Kelly were not together but he promised to do as Kelly asked as long as it was legal to do so. He knew of a couple of financial guys who had the right experience.

Kelly also asked Lawrence to make arrangements for $2000 per month to be transferred from his accounts to Megan's accounts to help with monthly bills including the house payment. He wasn't going to live there anymore but she needed a place to stay.

But he had another problem. He assumed that Megan would be looking for him. Too much activity in his accounts in the next few days would give her a place to look and his pickup was out of service for those few days. He needed a job that would give him money for expenses but keep him off the grid for a while.

He returned to the diner for lunch and mulled over the possibilities. There was no large city nearby in which to lose himself. He could camp but it was still freezing at night. Besides that, the purchases necessary to outfit himself would require money and would leave a trail. He could hitchhike away but he wanted to have his pickup. He didn't want to buy something else right now either. Besides, that also necessitated cash movement. Now he wished he had stayed in his home city for twenty-four hours and had gotten a significant amount of cash before cutting and running.

Finally he asked the waitress about any jobs in Hyannis. She gave a little laugh. "Honey, there ain't but a few businesses here and there won't be any new jobs in town until late spring. If you want a job you need to hit up the ranchers. They are always needing help."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have any skills they might need or I would check that out. Are you sure that no one is hiring here in town?"

She shook her head. "Look, Hon, I can understand when you get stranded that you can get a little addled. I'm sorry. There just isn't anything for a few more weeks."

She left him then to attend to another customer. He sat and pondered his options. Finally he admitted defeat. If he hitchhiked even to the small city of North Platte he wouldn't be able to lose himself in its population of 25,000. Strangers were strangers and stuck out, just not as much as here in Hyannis. Even if he managed to get some kind of job there it wouldn't pay much and he was sure rent was a real issue as well as other issues such as food to eat. He might not be able to afford to come back and get his truck.

The waitress, who's nametag said, "Tiffany" came back and refilled his coffee. "Look, Tiffany, I have been thinking. Do you think that a ranch would hire me on until I can get my feet under me?"

"Well, Sugar, you look like you are in decent shape. If you are willing to duck your head and really try hard I know of a few ranches that would give you a shot. The pay is shitty even by my standards but they put you up and provide your meals."

"I don't know how to ride a horse. I mean, I haven't tried to ride since I was a kid and that was on a dude ranch in Wyoming where I'm sure the horses were especially gentle."

"Ah, Sug, they use pickups and 4-wheelers more now. As a matter of fact some of the ranches don't even have a horse on the property."

She looked around the small café. She then smiled and pointed over at an overweight man at the other end of the room. "Look, that's Bill Blaze. He owns the Circle Bar X out north of town. Let me check and see if he needs any help right now. He should be calving and that means a lot of sleepless nights unless he has enough help."

Kelly nodded his permission. As she left to fill Mr. Blaze's coffee mug and have some words with him Kelly was thinking about a book he read as a teen. It was a Zane Grey novel called "The Dude Ranger" in which a tenderfoot from the East had come to the wild and woolly West to seek his fortune. The times were a lot harder then than now but the tenderfoot had accepted the challenge to adapt and learn and became a top hand and finally earned the respect of the original Westerners.

Kelly started to believe that if he kept trying hard enough he could adapt and learn. After all these were far more modern times. He would just have to keep control of his temper and accept any challenge. He remembered that in the book the Westerners had tried many tricks and sometimes outright attempts to harm the hero before he gained their respect. He would have to be ready for some of the same here if he got a job.

Tiffany made her way back and let him know that Mr. Blaze would like to talk with him. Kelly nodded and made his way over to the rancher.

As he approached he tried to read the man. Bill Blaze was a large man. He must have been almost three hundred pounds of well-fed weight on a 6 foot tall frame. His hair was thinning but still brown and he had piercing brown eyes. He had a permanent squint to his eyes. Obviously he did not believe in sunglasses. "Sit down, young man, please, sit."

Kelly took the offered seat across from the rancher. They sized each other up for a moment. Bill Blaze appeared to be about sixty years of age. He wore plain but serviceable clothing and had an open and honest face. His hands seemed a little arthritic but were rough and calloused. This was a man who was used to hard work.

Bill was looking at a man in his mid-30's with sandy-colored hair and blue eyes. Not overly tall at five foot nine inches compared to Bill's own seventy-two inches in height. This stranger was not overweight but also didn't seem all that muscular. He had the thought that this must be some kind of city dude and not one who is used to hard physical work.

He reached across the table and shook this stranger's hand. "My name is Bill Blaze and I own a ranch about ten miles north of town. What is your name, son?"

Kelly introduced himself. He had no reason to keep his name hidden. While well known in the real estate circles, Bill would have no reason to know his name or reputation. Also, Megan had no idea where to start looking for him, should she be so inclined.

The two men talked for a bit. Bill described his ranch to his acquaintance and Kelly just stated he had been in real estate until the economic downturn had forced a change. Bill nodded at that comment. "Yeah, I guess there are good times and bad just like in ranching. Cattle prices are flat right now, just enough to keep me hanging on but not enough to make the banker any happier. I ranch about 15,000 acres. We keep the grass in shape by moving herds from one pasture to another. Here in the Sandhills we have great grass and plenty of ground water in small natural lakes but if the grass gets ate down too much then it takes years before it comes back and the sand blows away. We are calving right now and expect a good increase in the herd but it is a lot of work. I have a couple of hands at the home place and one at a cabin on another place about twelve miles west of here."

Kelly was surprised at the size of the ranch but Bill casually waved his hand to dismiss his incredulous look. "That is not unusual up here in the Sandhills. It takes a lot of acres of grass to raise a cow here. We have plenty of rain early on but not much in late summer. It gets pretty dry. I also have extra acres of grass so I can hay it off in the early summer. That way we can feed or supplement the grass in the late summer and all winter."

Bill sat back and assessed Kelly. "Tiff says you are looking for a job. What do you think you can do for me?"

Kelly knew he had to be honest with the man. "I just left my wife in Missouri after finding her in bed with her best friend and her best friend's husband. Somehow she thought that I was just going to go along with the whole damned thing. I need to do something to pay the bills so I don't leave a paper trail while my lawyer works to get things settled. As far as what I can do for you, I am open to anything. I haven't ridden a horse in forever but I can learn. I follow orders until I learn and then can contribute my thoughts. I am not against physical labor. As a matter of fact, that is probably just what I need right now, good physical labor while I decide what to do with the rest of my life."

Bill was a good judge of men. He was also used to people who needed a change in their lifestyle. Every year at branding time city dwellers would hear about roundups and branding and quite a few would come out to the Sandhills to try and experience a little slice of ranch life. They were all green, of course, but willing to do whatever needed done. It was usually a great time with just a rare few who complained about how hard a life it was.

He forced his bulk out of the chair and Kelly also rose. Bill extended his hand and they shook. "Do you have a ride to the ranch or are you hoofing it?"

Kelly flushed a little. "My pickup is in the shop over on the next block so I am 'hoofing' it I guess."

Bill chuckled and slapped him on the back. "That's all right, son. We'll get you situated at the home place and then make plans to reunite you with your truck when it's fixed."

They went out and got into Bill's large four-wheeled drive truck and detoured to the repair shop for Kelly to get his gear. They also stopped at the small farm/ranch store so Kelly could buy at least a couple of sets of clothing more suited for manual labor than the clothes he had on. Kelly knew the ranch was about ten miles north of town but it took a good half hour to get to the ranch house and buildings. The turn off was ten miles north of town but then that turned onto a single lane asphalt road that went five or six miles east off the highway. Bill explained that his ranch butted up against the highway but the ranch house was centrally located.

There were multiple pickups, tractors with loaders, ATV's (commonly called 4-wheelers) and a couple of UTV's or side-by-side seating ATV's in the area between the buildings. There were a couple of barns, one for hay and one for a few of the cows, a large shop and some smaller buildings for machinery.

The ranch house was a large older two story affair where Bill and his wife, Connie, lived. They had no children and were now in their sixties. Bill let Kelly know that he was going to ranch for as long as possible and then maybe sell and move into a larger town, like North Platte, when he could no longer physically care for himself or Connie.

There was also a large double wide house about a hundred yards from the main ranch house. Bill pointed this out as the bunkhouse. Kelly had almost expected a cabin with just a large room and an outhouse out back for the hands. Bill laughed when Kelly expressed his musings. "Well, I guess a lot of people still think we are living like that old TV show, "Green Acres." It is a bit funny since we have hot and cold running water, have had for ages, and, with satellite, get to keep up with the outside world and have for a lot of years now."

They stopped at the bunkhouse and Kelly pulled out his stuff. Bill asked about more clothing. Kelly shrugged and said he would just make do for now. "We'll have to organize a trip to North Platte or Alliance for supplies in a few days and pick up some clothes that will work for physical labor for you if you find you need any. Those larger towns have a much greater selection of clothing for any need."

Kelly just nodded. Any comment right now might seem derogatory after his comments about how rustic he had envisioned the ranch should look.

Bill stopped before showing him around the bunkhouse. "We never talked about pay. I don't know how much you need to earn but my standard pay is $2,000 a month. You get free housing and food. There is a fully equipped kitchen here and I keep separate freezers for each man. You will have your own key to keep any foodstuffs secured. Unfortunately I employed a couple of guys a while back who seemed to think that everyone's snacks or specialty foods were theirs and it caused quite a few problems until we set up individual refrigerators, freezers and pantries."

He stopped and showed Kelly his assigned pantry and freezer. "You can buy and keep soft drinks, alcohol, or whatever here and in that fridge over there. Here are your keys. I provide the beef, pork, chicken and turkey. If you don't know how to cook there is a computer over there on the counter that can access any recipe in the world. There is wi-fi here also. The password is located on the side of the monitor."

He took Kelly into the hallway. "This first room is David Terney's. He likes to be called "Butch." Each bedroom has its own bathroom and there is a common one here in the hallway. This second room is Terry Lochen's. He likes to be called "Hoss." I have no reason why actually. And this last room is yours."

Kelly was surprised at how spacious the room was. There was a double bed, dresser, and a small desk and comfortable chair. There was also a flat screen TV on the wall along with a DVD player and the box for the satellite unit. The bathroom was spacious with a full tub/shower and vanity large enough to store those personal needs items. Kelly dropped his bag on the bed.

They went back into the hallway and Bill showed Kelly the linen closet where extra bed linens and blankets were stored. Towels and wash cloths were also kept there. "I figure you will have your own soap and shampoo so I don't try to provide those."

Kelly nodded. He would have to make do until he could get to town and grab that kind of personal care items. He certainly hadn't tried to grab some as he left home.

When he said as much to Bill, his new employer snapped his fingers. "Say, we can help you. Connie has been wanting to go to Alliance. That is a bigger town to the west about seventy miles from here. She has a sister there and they have some shopping available. Why don't you make up a list of what you need today and she will pick it up and be back here tonight."

Kelly quickly wrote out a list of his immediate needs and gave it to Bill. Bill then took Kelly to the main house and introduced him to Connie, his wife. Connie was also in her sixties and was a typical mature bodied woman, matronly with a pleasant smile and outlook on life. She also didn't like sunglasses and so had the typical wrinkles around her eyes, both from her sunny outlook on life and squinting in bright sunlight. Her hair was shoulder length and gray. She was welcoming and quite happy to pick up some items for Kelly.

Bill then introduced Kelly to Butch and Hoss. Since Kelly was from Missouri, Butch immediately started calling him Missouri. Kelly quickly decided that "Missouri" was a better nickname than "Show Me" which also would have denoted where he was from.

Kelly guessed that proper names weren't necessary for ranch work. He shrugged his shoulders as Butch immediately started to teach him. They grabbed a UTV and headed out to the nearest pasture. Butch explained as they drove that the majority of the herd was sequestered here for the winter where the hands could watch the cows easier and be ready to assist with any calves. He showed Missouri the big round bales of prairie hay that were kept near the pasture. Since the cows had been fed early this morning they would not be fed again until about 6:00 pm. Butch did start to point out which cows appeared to be fresh and ready to drop calves. There were five to ten new calves each time the men went out to check them. At night it was more dangerous as coyotes would come in closer to the herd and try to grab a newborn. The cowboys worked hard to make sure that the cows and calves were protected as much as possible.

Butch showed Missouri the rifle that they used to keep the coyotes at bay when necessary. "Some of the ranches send guys out to eradicate all coyotes and other predators, like bobcats, but Bill just wants them controlled and kept away from the herd." Thus the rifle was a .223 caliber, not big enough for deer and other game animals but high powered enough for coyotes. They circled the herd a couple of times before going off over a low rise so Missouri could shoot the rifle a few times. Since he had grown up with weapons his marksmanship was good enough for Butch.

Kelly told himself that he would apply for a permit and get a handgun the first time he went to a town big enough to have a gun shop. It might be Alliance or Ogallala or even North Platte but he felt a handgun might be useful when around the herd.