Page 52 of Road to a Cowboy

“We don’t own those. That’s private land.”

“But what if we did?” At Whitney’s raised eyebrows, he continued. “There are plenty of ranchers in the area who would love to run extra cattle. What if we could convince them to pool our resources and enter into a co-op agreement on that land? We’d need the backing of the government and the bank, probably, as well as the town council. And if we can convince the USNC to support us, they might be able to get us a foot in the door with the government.”

“Hm.” Whitney opened the driver’s side door of her truck and tossed her wallet onto the dash. “You’re thinking something similar to what they did in Alberta, on the Waldron.”

“Exactly. If the USNC places an easement on the land, it’ll remain intact and conserved, ensuring those hectares remain development- and cultivation-free forever.”

“That will certainly make Las happy,” Whitney remarked. She pulled her sunglasses from the collar of her shirt and held them in a loose grip. “I don’t hate the idea. Put a proposal together for me. I want to know why we’re doing this, what we expect to get out of it, who else could potentially be involved, and better yet...” She tapped her sunglasses against his chest. “The numbers.”

Cal bit back a grin. “Will do.”

He’d never been one to show outward displays of excitement, but he was tempted to skip his way to the horse barn to meet Las and Leta. The idea had occurred to him at a recent Teton County Rancher’s Association meeting, where one of his fellow foremen had been complaining about the need to expand, but not having the space. Her ranch butted up against mountain slopes; there was no way for her to go but up.

There had to be other ranchers who wanted to diversify their operations but didn’t want to expand on their own lands—or couldn’t.

He was making a to-do list in his head when he reached the barn, where Las and Leta were already seated atop their horses. Dash was saddled nearby, waiting for him, and Cal gave Las a nod of thanks for the assist.

“So,” he said. “Which pastures did you have your eye on for your cell grazing project?”

They spent three hours in the fields on horseback, debating the merits of turning the north, south, or east pastures into cell grazing.

“I think your best bets are the east pastures,” Cal said as he walked Dash into a paddock. He was sweaty and hungry and very much looking forward to lunch—both Cal and the horse. “It has more nutritional plant species. Those same species are found in the north and south pastures too, but not in the same quantity.”

“I agree.” Las got off his horse and gave her a pat on the neck as Leta dismounted from her own horse. “But they’re the farthest pastures. Dragging all the equipment out there to build the cells is going to be a pain in the ass.”

“True,” Cal conceded. “But if you’re going to do this, you might as well do it right and give the cattle what they need.”

“We. If we are going to do this,” Las corrected. “We’re in this together.”

“It’s your project.”

“But I couldn’t do it without you. You know more about this ranch than I do. I wouldn’t have known that the vegetation in the east pastures was better.”

A hot nugget of pride worked its way through Cal’s veins. He didn’t have Las’s education, but he could still teach him a thing or two.

“How did you know that?” Las asked.

Cal dismounted. “I googled it. Them. The plants and grasses, I mean.”

“Smart,” Leta said. She stood next to her horse, scribbling in a notebook.

“It’s my job to know everything about this ranch.”

Las leaned against his horse. “My mom doesn’t even know all of the plants on this ranch.”

“I’m sure she does,” Cal said, catching sight of a tall golden-skinned photographer with aquamarine eyes and an off-white cowboy hat lingering by the barn.

His stomach flip-flopped.

“Nope.” Las chuckled. “When I was pitching her this project last summer, I told her about some of the rare plants found here, and she had no idea.”

“Speaking of those rare plants,” Leta said as Austin smiled at Cal and tipped his head to the side, toward the entrance to the barn, and disappeared inside. “We’ll want to make sure they’re protected from grazing.”

“I have to, uh, do a thing.” Cal let himself out of the paddock and waved over his shoulder.

“I thought we were going to lunch,” Las called after him.

“I’ll catch up with you. Untack Dash for me, will you, Las?”

---