Page 17 of Head Above Water

They all wandered back to the four-wheelers and took off toward the ranch compound.

“Sorry. I was just trying to help.”

“I know that,” Bryce said. “And it shows how dedicated all the men are to try. But they are going to need to dig really deep in order to reach water, and by that time, the sides will have caved in.” He took another look down in the hole. “That’s really something, though.”

“I guess we had to try,” Hazard said, disappointed that their efforts hadn’t come to anything.

“Thank you for that,” Bryce said, before kissing him. “I wish I could show you just how much I appreciate what you tried to do.”

The wind came up, blowing the old leaves around and shaking the trees overhead. Instinctively, Hazard looked to the west. “Maybe our prayers are going to be answered.”

Bryce sighed. “I sure as hell hope so.” Thunder rolled in the distance, and the wind picked up once more. “Let’s get back.” He sniffed and shook his head.

“What?”

“I don’t smell any rain on the wind,” Bryce told him. “The air still feels dry, which means we could have a storm that would ignite prairie fires without bringing any damned rain. We need to get back. Now.” Bryce led the way on horseback, and Hazard took off on the four-wheeler across the open land. More thunder rolled, and lightning flashed as the sky grew darker. They reached the yard and put their equipment away, closing the equipment shed. The wind picked up even more, and lightning split the air, followed almost immediately by thunder. Hazard turned to the west, hoping like hell there was water in those damn clouds somewhere. There had to be.

“See that line,” Hazard pointed before tugging Bryce toward the barn, the others heading for shelter as well. The wind blew harder, followed by more lightning and a clap of thunder that split the air.

“Shit,” Danny cried, looking out one the side windows. “It hit to the north.” He hurried over, smoke rising slightly before blowing east. More lightning followed, and then it sounded like stones hitting the roof. Hazard turned toward the door, where rain pelted the earth in huge drops.

“Thank God,” he said softly.

“Dusty and Wes,” Danny called. “You two be ready to head out as soon as the rain lets up. We need to be sure the fire is out, and you call back if you need help.” They all stood in the doorway, watching the life-giving rain. Hazard said a silent prayer for whatever they were getting.

The rain lasted less than twenty minutes, and almost as soon as it let up, the sun poked out from under the western edge of the clouds, quickly drying up what the ground hadn’t already soaked in. Wes and Dusty hurried out and breezed across the open range on four-wheelers.

“Do you think that was enough to buy us some time?” Hazard asked, but Bryce shook his head.

“I doubt it. Whatever good it does will be gone by tomorrow. The rain was enough to give the grass some water, but not much else.” He watched to the north. “At least it appears to have put out the fire before it could get a chance to really get started. That’s something to be thankful for.”

“I suppose.”

“Maybe the weather pattern will shift, and we’ll start to get rain more often. But I’m running out of time. My father is telling me—and I agree with him—that we can continue the way we are for only another week and then we’ll have to arrange to sell. The land we’re using is going to get overgrazed in less than a month, and it’s going to take some time to arrange the sale of cattle and transportation. So, a week is about all I have.”

“Okay,” Hazard said. “I wish I knew something I could do.”

Bryce turned to him. “You’re doing it already.” Their gazes met for a few seconds, and Hazard knew he wore a dopey smile.

“What’s going on between the two of you?” Willard asked snidely from the doorway before turning away from Hazard as though he wasn’t there. “I’m going to need some money.”

Bryce shrugged. “You haven’t done anything to earn any so… no. Sorry. You’ve been out with your friends, bumming around all week. So you haven’t earned anything. You heard what Dad told you, and I mean it. Either work or there will be no money. If you don’t like it, you can get a job in town or hit the road and make your own way. I have a ranch to run, and in case you don’t know, we have issues that we’re trying to work through.”

“Yeah, I know how you work through those issues.” He smirked, and Hazard wondered if Willard had found out about things between him and his brother. “You like to be the king of the ranch, the perfect brother who does everything the way Daddy wants. There’s a big world out there.” He swept grandly with his arms. “And I intend to experience it.”

“By all means, do so. But don’t expect the ranch to foot your bills.”

Willard looked like he was about to blow his top. Turning, he stormed off toward the house, banging the door closed. Bryce sighed but said no more about Willard.

“It’s going to be okay,”

“I sure as hell wish I knew how. With a smaller herd, we’ll need fewer men, and I hate letting anyone go.” The tension he carried in his shoulders made Hazard wish he could fix it for him. “But we aren’t going to need as many men.”

“They know that,” Hazard said. “We all do. Why do you think the men were out there trying to see if water was possible? Because they know what’s coming and they wanted to do what they could to stop it. None of them blame you or your family.” Hazard turned to where Willard slammed the front door of the house so hard, the boom reverberated across the yard. He carried a bag, which he threw in the back of his truck, and peeled out of the drive before fishtailing as he reached the road. “I’d say you have bigger issues.”

“He’s gone,” Bryce said.

“Yes. But he isn’t going to stay gone, and you know that. He’s angry and running to his friends, but they’ll tire of him. Soon enough he’ll be back, and he’s going to be even worse than he is now.” He wanted to hug him and hold Bryce until all this crap went away. It wasn’t fair that everything should land on his shoulders. “What can I do to help?”

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