Slowly but Surely Ch. 02

"You brute, leave the poor man alone."

Her dad came over and dragged her off and I continued my business. I had no sympathy for him. I knew he would have killed me if he'd had the chace. After a few more swipes, I heard him whimpering. I got up and lifted him to his feet then shook him a couple of times to make sure he was listenin'.

Pete had earlier given me an envelope with Klein's severance pay in it. I tucked it into his shirt pocket, and told him harshly, "Git over to the bunkhouse and grab yore stuff. Leave here and if I see you again I'll shoot on sight."

I threw him towards the bunkhouse and he fell heavily. I watched him a minute as he struggled to his feet and staggered towards his destination. Satisfied, I turned and began walking back towards the rest of the men. I saw a startled look on Pete's face and stepped sideways as I turned. Then I crouched and drew my sidearm, firing as it came level. I didn't want to kill Klein and the bullet caught his hand just as he got it on the handle of his pistol.

I looked over at Pete's wife and said, "Miz Glenna, could you fix his hand up so he can ride out of here?"

Turing towards the rest of the riders, I asked, "Anyone else want their time?"

Two of them stepped up and Pete took them to his office to give them their pay. They were the two he had mentioned. I turned back to the other men, "In spite of what you just saw I'm an easy goin' man. Do your work and we'll get along fine. We're shorthanded now, so if you know anyone, have them come see me. I'll be comin' around and talkin' to each of you. Today, hang around the ranch and let's get everything ship shape for the summer. Check the shoes for all the horses in the remuda and check all the riggin', saddles, bridles, and such, and all yore personal gear."

With that, I turned back to the house, wanting to talk to Pete. Candy was standing in front of the house, lookin' might pretty with her angry red face.

"I hate you! You are crude and mean. I want you to leave the ranch immediately."

I tipped my hat, smiled gently, and said, "Yes, ma'am. I heard what you said."

I stepped around her and went on to the office. I'd heard her, but Pete was the boss. I got there just as the two men were walking away. They gave me a sneer as they went by, but a sneer never hurt anyone. I walked into Pete's office, sat down and accepted a cigar after he offered it. I leaned back, enjoying the rich, unaccustomed flavor, and listened.

"Slade that was a mighty fine job. Smooth as all get-out. Shame it got as far as shootin', but he got what he asked for. I think you made a mistake by not killin' him. He's a dangerous man and he's the grudge bearing kind."

I nodded but that was already in the past. "What are your plans for the cattle this year? How many head do you have anyway?"

"I've got a tad over two thousand head. We turn the bulls loose in August each year and the calves are droppin' now. We have a short growin' season, the better part in June and July, when the grass is the best. That gives the momma cows plenty of nourishment while the calves are feedin' and in late July we brand the new calves."

With a grimace, he continued, "This year I want to gather all I can of the steers that are three and older. We'll also pick out as many of the older cows as we can. We've been losing too many cattle to rustlers and I want to get money in the bank up in Laramie. You'll head out for Walcott the first part of August. It's right at a hundred miles, but we'll take it easy, maybe ten to twelve days. I want them as fat as possible when we sell them.

I thought about it for a minute and came back with, "Okay, I'll keep two men out at night keeping an eye on things and we will go round during the days takin' care of the cattle, making sure the calving goes okay and taking care of predators."

"Sound good. Have Gramps take the cook wagon into Walden and have the blacksmith check it out. Have him stock up with staples for the drive. We get most of the fresh stuff from our garden."

Two weeks later, it was time for the first dance. I was lookin' forward to it. Originally, I'd thought about takin' Candy, but that didn't seem like a plan anymore. I rode Red alongside Pete's wagon with his wife and Candy on the seat with him. Candy was a vision; I'll say that for her. Problem was that a block of ice would warm me up more than she would.

We got there just as Gramps and another older cowboy started tuning up. Gramps had a banged up but serviceable concertina and his partner a fiddle. Glenna took me around, introducing me and I found myself face to face with the loveliest woman I'd ever seen. She was a trifle short, a trifle voluptuous – though that was all good. She had a sweet face with a trace of baby fat still on it and her head was enveloped in a misty cloud of pale yellow, almost white hair. If anyone could ever replace Jennie, I knew this was the one. I was startled out of my reverie as the vision spoke.

Showing a pretty blush, she said, "My, my, Mister Slade. Do you always stare at the ladies when you meet them?"