Page 29 of Cole's Joy
“Exactly. Anyway, the guy that met me at the bus station took me to the feed store, he had an order to pick up, then we went out to lunch, and to the ranch. Where New Double, Broken, and Erin’s Way are an hour away from Fool’s Gold, or even Colorado Springs, the ranch I was going to was two, but closer to three, hours away. When someone went to town, they made sure they got everything at once.”
Lois snorted a laugh, and without revealing the surprise birthday party for Cole they were having the next afternoon, she told him how she had ended up getting groceries for everyone. “When I first heard about Pru’s idea of having a communitypantry, I thought, yeah, okay, that sounds nice.” She snorted a laugh. “However, after doing the grocery shopping for everyone but you, Ducky, and Clem, I see where it would come in handy. But I can also see how we would have to revise some things.”
“Like?”
“I’m not being rude, but that’s something we can talk about later. This is your time, oh, and by the way, happy birthday.”
“Thank you.”
“Will you continue your story?”
“Sure, I just didn’t want to bore you.”
“Cole, you’re not boring me. I find your stories fascinating. Besides, it’s your life, your history. How many opportunities do you have to sit and talk to someone about your past?”
Cole cocked his head to the side with a funny expression, then sighed heavily before he answered, “None, actually. I never thought anyone wanted to know about my past. No one ever asked.”
“Well, I’m interested, and I’m asking. Before we continue, I only have a couple of questions.”
“What’s that?”
“I know you answered this before, and I don’t want to beat a dead horse.”
“Lois, if you don’t ask, I can’t answer. Not only did I invite you out to celebrate my birthday with me, but I invited you out because I want to get to know you.”
“Good, because I want to get to know you, too, Cole.”
They smiled at one another, and he picked up his story. “As I said, the guy that picked me up just added me to his list of things to do. I helped with whatever I could, I didn’t want people to think I was a worthless teenager looking for a handout. I wasn’t, I was there to prove my worth, and to work for any wages they offered me. Anyway, it turned out that that particular ranch was hopping.” He shook his head and had a small smile on his lips.
“Hopping how?” Lois asked, to get him to continue his tale.
“Oh, sorry. This particular ranch raised rodeo stock. Horses and bulls, but not together.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Yes, you’re not going to want to have bucking broncos in the same pasture or pens with the massive bulls for the bull riders.” He looked at her with a smile. “Picture Erin’s Way.”
“Okay.”
“Erin’s Way would be where the rodeo horses were kept, while The Broken Wheel would be the location of where the wild bulls were kept, raised, and trained.”
“Ah, got it. Together, but separate. The rodeo stock was the together part, and the separate part was where the animals were housed.”
“Correct. Anyway, as I said, I was still sixteen when I arrived there, and I worked twelve to fourteen hours a day from the second day. The manager wouldn’t allow me to work when I arrived because I had already helped load up the truck, and unload it from the run to town. He wanted me to get settled and get my bearings before I jumped in. I don’t think I took a sick day or even a vacation day the entire four years I was there. The manager, goodness, I forget his name now, it’s been so long, but he assigned me to work with a guy everyone called Petey. He was a grisly old dude, I swore he was at least a hundred years old when I first met him.” Cole shook his head as he looked over at her, then removed his hand from hers as he saw they were approaching their exit.
“How old was he?”
“Somewhere between thirty-eight and forty-two. But again, to a sixteen-year-old boy, that was old.” He kept talking as he drove the streets to their destination. “Anyway, he was grisly, rough, chewed tobacco, and spat it everywhere, and he was so bull-legged when he walked, I swear you could put twobasketballs together and toss them between his legs and they wouldn’t touch. He was that bull-legged. Later I found out he had been in the saddle since he was two, and had been a rodeo rider for years. Not that you’d get that bowed from being a rider.”
“I didn’t expect anyone would. Was he mean to you?”
“Not really, once I got around my initial fear, I realized he was just gruff around the edges. He never married, never had kids, and always worked with animals. I think that’s why his voice was so gruff, he never talked to humans.” He pulled into the parking lot, and looked at her with a small smile and chuckle. “Finish the conversation inside?”
“Oh my, I hadn’t realized we had arrived. Yes, that’s fine.” She waited as he got out and he came around and helped her from the truck. They walked in and within five minutes of entering, they were ushered to a table, and Lois liked that it was away from a lot of the other diners, but the corner wasn’t dark either. She smiled as he pulled her chair out for her, and they settled at the table. The hostess said their waitress would be right over.
“Do you want alcohol?” Cole asked quietly before he even picked up the menu.
“Not really, you?”
