Page 7 of The Earl's Wrangler
Chip nodded.“I see.”
“I doubt you do.”He couldn’t help wondering what Chip’s sly look meant.“I swear he expects me to read his mind.”
He shrugged.“We cowboys are strange.Well, technically I’m a cowboy.I tend cattle and drive them to where we need them to go.I don’t do rodeo, though.Mama would have a fit.Mostly I care for our animals.I’m going to be a vet, but that’s a long way off yet.”He was the most open person Randall had met yet.
“So why aren’t you like the rest of them?All tall, dark, and broody.”That was Sawyer to a tee.“I don’t get the not-talking thing.”
“You learn to read between the lines.Besides, these are men of action.They communicate by what they do, not so much in what they say.”Chip seemed to scan the horizon and then shrugged.“Hey, Sawyer,” Chip called, and Randall groaned as he came over.“Are any of the horses saddled?”
“I can get some ready.”
“Then saddle up two.You and Randall here can ride out and see if the guys need help.He should see what we do and how we manage the herds.”Sawyer’s eyes widened, but he nodded once.“Thanks.I appreciate it.I have to check on Mary Jane.She’s about to have her pups at any time, and I don’t want her to be alone.She had trouble last time, and I told Mama she shouldn’t have any more pups.”He sighed.“She got pregnant again before I could have the vet take care of her,” he added to Randall.“Go and see what they’re doing.”He hurried off toward one of the outbuildings, and Randall sighed, following Sawyer into the barn to help him saddle the horses.
At least this was something he was familiar with, and once the horses were ready, he mounted and followed Sawyer out of the yard.God, for the first time since he arrived, he felt comfortable.Horses he understood, and as he rode, he gently patted the chestnut gelding’s neck.He was a fine animal and one Randall would be really proud to have in his barn.
Sawyer rode in silence.“I have to ask,” Randall finally said, getting tired of the quiet.“Do you ever say much?”
“No,” Sawyer told him.
“Really?You just do the strong silent thing.”
Sawyer shrugged.“Ain’t got a lot to say.”Randall rolled his eyes.“You seem to like talking.”
“There’s something civilized in being able to hold a conversation.I was trained by my nanny to be able to hold a conversation with anyone about just about anything.”
Sawyer pulled his horse to a stop.“You had classes in how to talk to people?”He seemed shocked and looked at Randall, shaking his head like he was completely strange.
“Because in my world, you need to know how to act around others.My parents used to have grand parties with dinner for twenty people.I had to know how to speak to the person on my left and my right as well as hold my own in a general conversation.Sometimes the conversation would be about the weather, which was boring, or the economic impact of sanctions in Iran.”
Sawyer scoffed and started his horse forward.“Why would you want to talk about that?”
“It’s polite to speak about things the guest wishes to talk about.And if you have diplomats at your table, they will talk about their postings and current events and issues.You have to know how to sound interested even when you’re bored stiff.Because it’s polite.And I had to learn how to do that.”
Sawyer didn’t slow down, looking toward the horizon.“Is that what you’re doing now?Being polite?”
Randall chuckled.“Maybe a little, because manners are always called for.That’s another lesson from nanny: manners never go out of style.”He sighed.“God, you should have seen the list of rules I had to grow up with.”He paused as they crested a rise.The land spread out in front of them, dotted by cattle with men on horseback gathering them.“What are they doing?”
“Cattle are herd animals, so they feel comfortable together and will move as a group.The trick is to get the lead animal moving the way you want them, and the rest will follow.Alan, George, and the other men are relocating them so they don’t overgraze the land.”He pointed.“See the fence over there and that open gate?It’s where they’re going to get the herd to get through.Let’s go see if they need help.”That had to be the most Sawyer had said to him so far.
“Okay.Lead on.”
Sawyer spurred his horse forward, and Randall did the same, hurrying toward the others, the land flying beneath them.Few things in life were as exhilarating as riding like the wind.
They slowed as they approached the others.“Glad you’re here.We could use you,” Alan said.“We’ve got the main herd, but there are a dozen head back that way maybe a mile.”
“We can get them,” Sawyer said, tilting his head in that direction and taking off, with Randall following behind.He loved this kind of riding.The open air, the sense of freedom.There was something primal about the team of man and horse.It made his spirits soar.He spurred his horse on faster, giving him his head, passing Sawyer like he was standing still.He laughed as Sawyer tried to catch up, but he had too much of a head start.
“You can do it,” he whispered, urging the horse to a full-on gallop, loving the power under him.When he saw the cattle ahead, he pulled up, bringing his horse to a walk.
“You ride good,” Sawyer said when he caught up.
“I wanted to be a jockey when I was a boy.My father wouldn’t have it and said I was to be a solicitor instead.He said it was what the family needed.So that was what I did.”Nothing gave him the thrill a horse did, though.Randall checked out the small group of cattle gathered near the water.“What do we do?”
Sawyer turned to him just as his horse neighed in panic, rearing back.Randall moved his horse away and jumped off.What the fuck was going on?
Sawyer’s horse stomped and reared again as Randall tried to see what was happening.“It’s a snake.”Or what was left of one.The horse’s hooves had squashed it.
Sawyer backed his horse away and then Randall hurried over, speaking softly.Sawyer somehow managed to stay on the panicked beast as it continued stomping.“It’s okay.The snake is dead,” he said softly.At least the horse stayed on four legs, and Randall continued speaking softly.Huge ears turned toward him, straining to hear as Randall took the reins, patting the horse’s neck.“It’s okay.”He held the horse still, and Sawyer dismounted.
