Page 11 of The Earl's Wrangler
“It seems like a hard life out here,” Randall said, thinking about evenings spent in his library with a book, a glass of whiskey or brandy, and a warm fire.His life in England was very settled, and he liked it that way.He didn’t live extravagantly, but instead comfortably.
“Maybe.But this is a good way to live.”He put the pup back with its mother, and the little thing nuzzled right in to eat some more.“I’ve been to England.Spent a month there with Alan and George the last few years.It’s really pretty there, and everyone was nice, but it wasn’t home.”He backed away from Mary Jane and her pups, leaving them alone, and then stepped outside.“Look up there, at those mountains.It’s still wild.There are wolves and bears, but no people.That’s all federal land, and it’s just left on its own.There’s something thrilling about that.”He paused.“Have you heard any wolves at night?I did maybe a week ago, but not since.The dogs that are out with the herds answered and warned them off.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I was out there and I heard them.They were quite a ways away, and the dogs gave their warnings.After that the wolves were quiet.We had troubles with wolves a few years ago.They attacked a few of the calves, but Alan added the dogs in with the herd.That really seemed to make a difference.”Chip sighed.“He wanted to kill the wolves, but I convinced him to try the dogs first.”
“But they affected your family’s livelihood?”Randall asked.He would have expected them to take Alan’s more aggressive approach.
“Yeah, but wolves are good for the environment.Not so good for the cattle, but they keep the deer and other herd animal populations under control.They’re part of the food chain, and the more people try to mess with that, the more damage we do because of unintended consequences.Yeah, we want to get rid of the wolves, but then the deer and other animal populations grow and they eat everything, so the woods don’t get a chance to grow and mature with the grazers eating all the new growth.It just keeps going.Alan doesn’t agree with me, but he’s gone most of the time, and Mom and I worked it out.”
“Your mother is….”He didn’t quite have the words.She was an amazingly strong person.
“A force of nature?”Chip asked, and Randall nodded.“What is your mom like?”Chip asked.“Is she a countess?”
“She was.My mom was every bit the countess, but in a good way.She always thought that her title meant she had to use it for the benefit of everyone else.Mom was always raising money to help the village or pushing for some sort of project.She was a lot like your mom in some ways.But she died when I was fourteen.”Then everything changed.He always wished his mother had spent as much time with him as she had with her causes.
“I’m sorry.”Chip sighed.“I don’t know what I’d do without my mom, especially after Dad died.”
Randall nodded.“Losing a parent is tough.”Though both of his were gone, he didn’t mourn his father the way he had his mother.His father became harsh and unmoving in his grief.Maybe he’d always been that way and his mother had mitigated it—Randall didn’t know.But his one major regret was not getting to know his mother as an adult.
“Do you think Sawyer’s dad is still here?”Chip asked as he went to the door.Randall followed, and Sawyer came out of the barn.He took one look at the truck and headed over to where they stood, pointedly ignoring the vehicle and its inhabitant.“That was pretty cool what you did.How did you learn to fight like that?”Sawyer stood next to Chip.
“I was a gay kid in a British boarding school.I learned to fight quickly, and I got really good at it.All I had to do was take down one kid and the others left me alone.I took down one of the bullies right in front of the headmaster.He pulled me into his office, and I thought I was in big trouble.”He swallowed, remembering the panic he’d felt at the time.If he had been kicked out of school, his father would have been over-the-house angry, and Randall would have paid for it.
“Did you get a beating?”Sawyer asked.“Like on TV?”
Randall shook his head.“The headmaster sat me down and asked what happened.When I told him, he gave me a cup of tea and said to stay where I was for a little while and calm down.”
“Jesus, do you all have a tea for everything?”Sawyer asked.
“Well, yes, we do, actually.There are teas to wake you up, some to help you sleep.There are ones served at society functions as well as afternoon tea, which is like a snack time rather than just tea.But in this case, the headmaster just wanted me to calm down.”
“Did he expel you?”Chip asked.
“No.He didn’t beat me either.The other boys all thought I got punished, and I just smiled to cover it up.But the bully never bothered me again.Or any of the other boys, for that matter.”
“But my father,” Sawyer began and then stopped.
“What?”Randall asked.“Is a bully?I’ve met plenty of those in my life, and I know how to handle them.Besides, the guy was half drunk.”
Chip looked at each of them and then nodded before striding toward the house.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Take him on,” Sawyer asked.“Why’d you hit him?I don’t remember anyone ever taking him on that way.”
“Maybe it’s something that someone should have done a long time ago.And as for why, I saw him hit you and I just acted on instinct.It wasn’t something I thought about.”And he didn’t intend to ponder the reasons behind it either.He wasn’t a violent person by nature.But….He needed to change the subject.“Is your father sobering up?”
“Alan doesn’t want him to go anywhere for an hour or so,” Sawyer said.“So I’m stuck with him sitting out there, and I don’t want to talk to him, but there he is.”
“Then let’s go,” Randall offered.“I need to go into town for a few things, and you can get away at the same time.”
Some of Sawyer’s tension seemed to ease out of him.“Yeah, let’s do that.I’ll let Alan know.”He hurried away, and Randall went inside to see about borrowing one of the ranch trucks.
IN THEend, he let Sawyer drive.Randall wasn’t used to driving on the wrong side of the road.Even sitting on this side of the truck, he kept reaching for the gear shift.He stopped himself most of the time, but as they approached Covington, another truck pulled in front of them.Sawyer pressed the brakes hard, and without thinking, Randall reached for the gear shift, gripping Sawyer’s warm hand.He immediately looked over and got a glance in return.The thing was, he forgot to remove his hand.Slowly he pulled it back.“Sorry,” he muttered and turned to look out the window so Sawyer didn’t see the way he blushed like a schoolboy over his first crush.
