Page 11 of Head Above Water

“Then ask him,” Hazard offered. “Oh, sorry, that was rhetorical.”

“Yeah. The one thing that would help is some rain.” They both instinctively looked up into the nearly cloudless sky. “Or maybe some fresh grazing land.” He turned toward the south. “I’d love to put some of the cattle over there, but that section of land has no water.”

“We could see about digging. If there was water there once, it’s possible there could be again. I mean, sometimes the plumbing gets gummed up.”

“But you’d think the water would find another way to the surface,” Bryce offered.

“Not necessarily. Water always runs downhill, and it will find the path of least resistance. So, if that’s a channel underground, that’s how it’s flowing now. But we could dig and maybe get it to flow back upward. I don’t know, but we can try.”

Bryce set his mug on the top fence rail. “Let me think about it. I can’t do anything until my shoulder feels better anyway.”

“Danny knows what he’s doing,” Hazard said. “And he and your father have worked together for a number of years. So, for now, I’d guess that he’s acting under some plans that your father gave him.”

“But that isn’t going to last very long,” Bryce said. “Not if it stays this dry.”

“Then gather as much information as you can and make plans of your own. I’d start with Danny and see what orders he’s operating under, make sure they’re solid. Then work with Mom to get a feel for the books.” It was easy enough to offer advice, but he wanted to try to help.

“That’s solid.” He looked out over the land, and Hazard followed his gaze. “I do love this place, and I’m sorry I was so whiny last night. This land is home, and….”

Hazard could understand that. “You can love a place and still wish it wasn’t your whole life. This is home for all of us. But every single person here would be happy to see it through therearview mirror every once in a while. Maybe you could take a vacation and go away for a few weeks a year. See some places that you always wanted to see. You have good people to watch over things, and once you have a plan in place and a feel for things, you could take the time to recharge. The ranch doesn’t have to be your whole life if you don’t want it to be.”

Bryce shrugged. “It’s going to be for a long time.”

Hazard didn’t know what to say, and just when he thought he might have found the words, the farrier pulled in. He greeted him and showed him where to set up while he got the first horse for him to work on.

The guyswere back, and all the cattle were where they should be. “How did it go?”

“It took us the last two hours to find the stragglers,” Danny said grumpily. “But we got them all where they need to go. But dammit, what we really need is some more rain. Otherwise, we’re going to have to move them again to avoid overgrazing.” He too looked to the south. “We may need to open that range land and haul in water. God, that is going to cost a fortune.”

“Would it be okay if I borrowed a four-wheeler? My work is done for the day, and I can make sure the horses are bedded down in a few hours.”

“Sure, go,” Danny agreed, his mind probably on another task already. Hazard fueled one with a rack on the back and loaded a shovel and a rake before heading out to the south. He floored the pedal, eating up the distance between the house and the stand of trees that indicated the old watering hole.

Once he arrived, he grabbed the rake and shovel, heading into the old depression. First, he raked away the leaves and debris to get to the ground. Then he found the lowest spot and sank the shovel into the dirt. It was bone-dry, like the rest ofthe area. Still, he dug, tossing the dirt up around the side of the depression.

The breeze was cooling in the shade, but it took only ten minutes before he was coated in sweat. He continued digging, hoping to find any sign of water. But even two feet down, it was still dry.

“It isn’t going to be as easy as just digging a hole,” he told himself before widening the hole and then going deeper, digging out rocks that he tossed aside. After digging for almost two hours, he had a sizable hole, but nothing more. The ground was dry and hard packed. There was no sign of clay or anything. Maybe he had been wrong the other day about signs of water.

“What are you doing?” Bryce asked when he peered over the side of the hole.

“I thought I’d see if I could reach the center of the earth. What does it look like I’m doing?” He leaned on the shovel. “What are you doing out here instead of letting your shoulder rest?” If Bryce could ask dumb questions, so could he.

“Anything?” Bryce asked, avoiding the question.

“Just dry earth,” he answered, and went back to digging. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he snapped as Bryce made his way down. “Getting out isn’t going to be as easy, and with your shoulder… do you think I’m going to carry you out?” The idea of getting his hands on Bryce wasn’t all bad. In fact, he got a zing just thinking about it.

“I’m fine.” Bryce began poking around as Hazard went back to digging.

“I keep wondering…,” he muttered as his digging came to an abrupt halt. He tapped around and managed to get the shovel around a large rock. It was at least two feet across, but using the shovel as a lever, he was able to lift it slightly before it settled back into place. He tried again, scooting the shovel under itfarther. He raised it about three inches and ran out of leverage. “I want to get this out.”

“I’ll help.” Bryce was already trying to get into position.

“No. I’ll bring some of the guys over tomorrow to help.” He set the shovel aside and climbed out of the deepest section of the hole to where Bryce stood. “Let’s go back. I can’t do any more today.”

“Is there any sign of water?” Bryce asked, and Hazard shook his head. “Then maybe it’s useless.”

“But if there was water here once, there can be again. Those wells they capped drew down the aquifer, but now that they have stopped, it should recover. It’s probably just deeper than it was in the past. I’m hoping to go down twenty feet or so.” He helped Bryce out and put the tools on the back of the four-wheeler. “How did you get out here?”

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