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Butch informed him about prairie rattlesnakes but the weather recently was still pretty cold for them to have left their dens for the summer. It was unusual for anyone to get bit but it was still a possibility and just something to watch for. Boots were next on Missouri's list of needed items.
They came back through the herd on the way to the ranch and found a cow in the midst of delivering a calf. Butch stopped at a nice distance and Missouri witnessed the wonder of a new life coming into the world. Butch talked about how ranchers and farmers were the first conservationists and most were environmentally aware as their livelihoods depended on making sure that the land and its occupants were healthy at all times. Bill Blaze actually kept some horses for herd watching and fence riding to reduce his carbon footprint. When they went to help with haying they would also find a few ranchers who still stacked hay with horse power rather than gas power.
After the calf was born Butch made sure it was ear tagged with a match to its mother. He also gave it a quick shot of vitamins and an antibiotic to reduce its chance of getting pneumonia. The wet and cool weather could play havoc with a newborn's ability to fight disease. They had to carefully watch the cow as she was very protective of her newborn. By moving slow and speaking softly they were able to put the UTV between them and the cow as they worked.
"Sometimes the little one is too weak for a bit so we gather it in the back of the side-by-side or drape him on the back of the ATV and we slowly move him to the barn. We want his momma to come with him and once we get the baby into the barn we dry it and then get momma in there to help so he can nurse. Usually we only have them in the barn for about a day before the calf is strong enough to be out in the elements."
This calf looked strong and ready to be with his momma. As a matter of fact he, a young bull, immediately walked on shaky legs around the UTV and started to butt his momma and then nurse. Butch gave out a satisfied chuckle and said, "That's the thing we look for right away. Human or bovine, the need to nurse is paramount and shows how strong the baby is."
With his recent difficulties with Megan, Kelly decided he was not destined in the near future to see how human mothers and babies interacted this way shortly after birth. He was pleased at what he had seen but saddened about what he was again contemplating.
Butch kept Kelly busy showing him the various pieces of equipment needed for a ranch of this size. There were no assigned vehicles for each man to use. It usually came down to what was needed and closest at hand in the choice. Thus every vehicle had keys in them. Butch cautioned Kelly about that. "You automatically take out the keys and lock the doors in the city but here you could condemn a man to be exposed to high heat or extreme cold or wet if you lock him out of a vehicle. Even when we brand or hay in large groups no one takes the keys out of their vehicles. It is not unusual for someone to just grab the nearest pickup to go and get something needed. We all trust each other to bring it back in the same condition as it left."
Kelly made the mental note to break that habit of removing keys as he got out of vehicles. He could understand the need to keep from getting too hot or too cold from exposure.
Butch also gave Kelly an extra coat. "Someone left a couple of coats and jackets here when they left. You can use any that you need, especially at night while it's cold outside. We will go out at 2:00 and 4:00 to check the cows. Hoss will go out at 3:00 and 5:00 to do the same. We don't expect it to get down to freezing tonight but there is a chance of rain and that will make you miserable if you don't have something waterproof."
He paused. "Do you have a hat?"
Kelly, AKA Missouri, shook his head. Butch cocked his head in disbelief and then sorted through the closet and found a floppy hat with a three inch brim. "Here, you might want to wash this before wearing it but it will keep most of the moisture off you tonight."
Missouri had noticed the full size washer and dryer at the bunkhouse and decided to wash the cap, coat and his current clothes as they were the clothes he had on when he worked last. Oh my gosh, he thought, I was laid off yesterday, drove all night and have a new job today. He shook his head in amazement.
Butch and Hoss showed him how to run the pickup with a bale lift on the flat bed. They backed up to a bale and used the arms to grab the bale at about its center and lifted it up hydraulically. Butch laughed and said that he could remember having to grab small square bales by hand and load a trailer and then take them out to the cows and break each bale open so it could be scattered. Now they showed Missouri how the bale was then let down from the back of the pickup and then they just drove around as the bale rolled behind them and left hay in a wide trail for the cows. They went around and around until the bale was gone.
Then they had to go and grab another bale for the bulls. The bulls were kept away from the cows until it was time to start breeding again. Bill had a dozen bulls and traded a few off every couple of years to reduce the chance of inbreeding. He exclusively bred angus bulls to angus cows but occasionally he would buy just some black white-faced cows and some red angus cows just to change up the herd for a bit. He always kept angus bulls though.
Three months or so after calving was done the bulls would be turned out into the cows again. At the end of the following month Missouri would be taught how to preg check the cows. Any cows not pregnant would be loaded up and sold. A few heifers from this year's crop would be kept back for next year. This continual process maximized the production of the herd by weeding out the cows that could no longer produce. Some of them actually made their way to the Blaze's freezers as fresh meat. Those would be sorted from the herd and fed corn for a few weeks before going off to the meat locker for processing. This gave the meat its marbling and made it more tender. Bill would then bring the fresh meat back to the house for aging before freezing. Missouri was to learn that this made the meat extremely tender and tasteful.
Missouri was now on knowledge overload. This whole process was so different from his old life that it was like a different world, full of different priorities and morals. These people were trusting to a fault. It was obvious that it was still a very physical environment but labor saving devices were evident everywhere he looked.
Butch gave him a break and offered to share his food supply until Connie got back from Alliance. Bill expected her before dark or soon after dark but it depended on how long her visit with her sister lasted. Missouri thanked Butch and then decided to prepare a meal for them both. He had been accustomed to cooking at least three to four nights a week depending on Megan's and his schedule. Now as he worked to fix sloppy joes and macaroni and cheese he wondered how often Megan was actually working late or just fucking her friends, the Brooks. Then he had the wild thought, were the Brooks her only lovers? God, what an idiot I am, he thought.
After their supper Butch immediately cleared the table and all of the dirty dishes went into the dish washer and soon accompanied by Hoss's dishes. Missouri put the clothes into the dryer and they all three were done for the evening. Missouri retired to his new bedroom and made the bed. He then worked on the last real estate proposal and attempted to make a few phone calls but was dismayed to find that there was very little signal on the ranch. The nearest tower was probably at Hyannis.
He went outside and got enough signal to make a few phone calls in the cold evening air. The contact at the business he was doing the real estate search for was not happy at getting such a late call but understood when Kelly explained his recent job change. They worked out a few details before Kelly hung up and went back inside to warm up.
Kelly then looked at his phone and found multiple messages from Megan and missed phone calls. He deleted them all without looking other than to note she was worried about him. Yeah right, he told himself. She just wants to know where I am so she can get something done. He wasn't ready to deal with her yet. The funds he was having deposited from his savings account would keep the house payments and most of the utilities be paid on time. Megan could buy her own groceries. Hell, maybe she was taking this opportunity to move her lovers into the house. They could cohabitate and save money that way. The Brooks leased an apartment as Mark had always detested home ownership.
He worked the new requirements into the proposal and then set the alarm for 1:30 in the morning. He was going out with Butch at 2:00 and then with Hoss at 5:00. As he gained experience in birthing calves he would start to take his turn checking during the day and night. Butch wanted him to help pull a few calves first though. Missouri found out that pulling calves was needed sometimes when a cow got too tired trying to calve or the calf was breech. Sometimes the calf came out with a leg first. This was the worst case scenario as the calf sometimes had to be killed and then dismembered to protect the cow.
It was part of the learning experience to start to see when a cow was getting into distress early enough to help turn the calf before birth to reduce the chance of problems. The older cows tended to have fewer birth complications except for maybe a prolapsed uterus. The UTV carried a surgical repair kit for those problems. That cow would then be noted for culling from the herd later.
As luck would have it, Missouri got to help Butch pull his first calf that night. It was surreal. The shadows caused by the cow were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Butch had a head lamp on but Missouri only had a flash light and couldn't hold onto it and the calf puller at the same time. The cable had to be put around the calf's hips to reduce how much tension was put on an extremity. Butch informed him that it was not unusual to dislocate the hip or even pull off a leg. Care had to be used. It was hard to do as the cow was not cooperating.
They were lucky this night. The calf pulled out straight and true and was soon standing and trying to get to its mother. The cow got back up and ate her cleanings, that is the placenta and umbilical cord, while Butch directed Missouri to tag and inoculate the newborn. They found a couple of other newborns and quickly moved between the momma and calf and got them tagged and inoculated. They headed back in and turned over the UTV to Hoss as he readied himself for the first time out this cold but dry night.
Missouri fell into bed and slept like a log until 04:30 when his next alarm went off. He dragged himself out of bed and bundled up again. It was about 30 degrees outside with a brisk breeze. He was to find out that Sandhillers didn't really think about wind until it was greater than twenty miles per hour. Anything less than that was just a "breeze". Straight winds sometimes got up to gale force at sixty to seventy miles an hour. The spring also brought tornado season and the early warning system didn't work that well in this sparsely populated territory.
Hoss and he pulled another calf. This one was still born. They picked it up along with the placenta and took it back to the house for disposal. They could hear the coyotes yipping in the distance.
They got a couple of hours sleep before making a quick breakfast and then feeding the cows and making another check for calves.
This became the daily routine for the rest of the month until almost every cow had dropped her calf. The days became a little milder and the rains came and the grass greened up. Now started the fence riding. Missouri learned how to saddle a horse and then climb on. Most of the horses were trained well enough not to buck but a couple would crow hop and try to show the rider who was boss. He hit the ground hard a couple of times but soon learned he had to get right back on. He learned how to tighten the cinch so that the horse could still breathe but the saddle wouldn't fall off. He also learned to not put his boot clear into the stirrup so if he was coming off the horse he could get his feet clear. Being drug by an out of control horse was not a way he wanted to die.
Every day they fed the cows then saddled up and rode the fences looking for sagging or broken barbed wire. Since the cows had not been put out to the bigger pasture yet he noted the breaks and they would come back with a pickup or UTV to patch the holes, replace a post or put up new wire destroyed by the winter cold and wind. Heavy snow also accounted for some fence loss and then needed repairs.
Whenever time permitted, both Butch and Hoss worked with Missouri to develop his roping skills. It was a long process. Missouri had first to get a real loop in his lariat. It kept wanting to figure eight on him. Butch told him that if they had any horned animals that the figure eight might work but angus calves didn't have any horns so a regular loop was needed. He practiced making his loop and then swinging it over his head. After he mastered that it was time to throw the loop.
There was a calf head (artificial of course) mounted on a bucket that served as the target. Missouri threw from behind, from in front and from the side. Occasionally he actually got a loop on the head. Most of the time he failed. Then he had to pull the lariat back, wind it up again and then make his loop and throw again. His arm was sore by the time practice was called to a halt by his teachers, or maybe tormenters.
By the end of April the fences all looked good and tight again, ready for the cows and calves to be let out. Missouri was getting better at roping but it was decided he would be better suited to throwing calves instead of trying to rope them when it came to branding. Their ranch was slated to host the branding in the middle of May. First they would have to go to other area ranches and help with branding there.
Missouri's pickup was fixed but he decided to store it in town for the time being. He really didn't need it at the ranch and it could be stored inside ready for him when he needed it.
Just about that time Bill came and asked to speak with Missouri privately. "Kelly, I just wanted to tell you that your wife will soon know just about where you are. The state patrol noticed your pickup in town and started to ask questions. Apparently someone in your family, presumably your wife, reported you missing. There is a new initiative, kind of like an Amber alert, for adults, just to check on their whereabouts and let family know."
Kelly just nodded his head in understanding. As much as he hated to think of it right now his old life was about to rise up and bite him on the ass.
"The patrol is checking with people in the area. Since you didn't make any attempt to hide who you are they are not banging down my door yet but they will be coming by soon to check on your well-being. You don't have to leave or even change anything but I am curious to know why you are here and not talking with any of your family."
Kelly began cautiously and then spoke more confidently about his former job, his wife, way of life and his outlook on spending and then her betrayal. "Look at it from my standpoint, here I was just laid off from a job I loved because I had savings and lived within my means. I cleaned out my desk and went home to try and get my bearings and try and decide how I was going to proceed. I have many clients who would probably use me as a free-lancer or I could start my own business but did I want to do this now, in this economic environment? Then I walk into my house and find out my wife is not only a slut but bisexual and also wanting me to immediately jump in and join her. She even felt I would embrace gay sex at the same time. Here I was, already reeling and the woman I wanted to have children with was eating pussy. I just had to leave before I lost everything. God only knows what might have happened should I have stayed."
He looked up at his boss. Bill had the look of a concerned parent on his face. It was full of compassion. Kelly continued. "I drove around the city that first afternoon after escaping their clutches but couldn't think about anything concrete. It was just a jumbled mess. My boss couldn't have crashed my world better if he had planned it. Finally I must have just gotten on the freeway headed west and just continued. If I was moving I didn't have to stop and feel. I could just keep moving away from the problem. Once I know what to do I can go back and deal with this whole mess but I still don't know what to do. I have savings. My lawyer got a good man to move the bulk of it to offshore accounts where my wife cannot get to them. Infidelity is no longer a valid reason to divorce and keep most of the money that I have accumulated over the years. She would get at least half and I don't want her to profit from her shitty behavior."
Kelly took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair. There were tears in his eyes. He looked off into space. "This place and this job were a godsend. I almost wish I could pay you for the therapy you and the boys have provided for me. This work at the ranch has been the best therapy I could imagine. I am learning a whole new way of life and feeling better than I have for years. I sleep deeply at night because I am physically tired instead of being mentally exhausted."
He shook his head. "I know I can't hide from her forever but I did wish it would be a while longer. Actually I am surprised she is even looking for me. She has the house, her job, her lovers, just not me. All in all there isn't any good reason to even search for me unless she wants the savings. The cars were paid for and the house is almost paid off. I directed my attorney to deposit $2,000 a month into her account to help maintain her lifestyle. She doesn't need me at all."
Bill then leaned forward. "What is your plan if she shows up here? Of course, I could have her arrested for trespassing but shouldn't you talk to her and tell her it is over, if it is?"
Kelly shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know yet. I haven't decided. In the evenings before I crawl into bed I sit and try to decide what to do. I know this is a temporary job, not a career. I don't see myself ever owning a ranch. I might become an investor in the right operation but not an owner/manager. I really don't know what my future looks like except lonely and bleak." He took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. "Right now I can't talk to her. Someday soon, yes, I will be ready to talk but not now."
Bill nodded his head. "Okay, this is how I will proceed. The patrol will show up in a couple of days to talk with you. In town they really didn't know where you went but that you were still in the area. We are a close community and you have been accepted. Believe it or not, there has been a lot of speculation about your history. After all, you dropped in with your Missouri plated pickup, had a meal at the café and then disappeared except for the pickup. Butch and Hoss don't know much about you and probably don't even remember your real name. If they talk it's about Missouri, not Kelly. Most of the people would put two and two together but they won't volunteer the information to cops, except the sheriff and he doesn't care as long as no laws are broken."
He leaned back again. "If someone from your past shows up I will try and give you a heads up on the radio. You know that the business band radio reaches pretty much anywhere on the ranch. It will be up to you on how fast you respond back here."
