Page 19 of A Triple C Ranch Christmas Wedding
There’s nothing like a night ride in the snow to make it feel like Christmas. Everything is perfect tonight. Ho, Ho, Ho, and won’t Buck be surprised.
His good mooddid not last long, as at the trailer, it was another story.
Zeb dismounted from Beau, unlocked both trailer doors and opened them, and then tried to lead the horse into the long white horse trailer.
Often the first horse wouldn’t go into the trailer. Zeb knew this could often happen. It was night, the trailer was dark, and the horse was skittish to enter that dark place.
After a few tries of pulling the sorrel named Cayenne, a big, tall, red horse, forward and back, with Cayenne continuing to refuse to enter the trailer, Zeb said, “We ain’t got time for this. Come on, boys. Got to get him up in here. Go get that cattle prod out from behind my seat.”
“Sure, boss.” Snake went to get it.
The sorrel continued to be stubborn, but Zeb wasn’t having any of that. Not tonight. He kept pulling on the horse, impatient to get him into the trailer.
Snake came along behind Cayenne with the cattle prod. He snickered and said, “Incoming,” then zapped the horse on its ass with the cattle prod.
Cayenne jumped up into the trailer, and Zeb, still pulling hard on the rope, had to back up fast and exit the other door.
Then the gelding was inside.
After the first horse was in, the others almost always went in easy, and tonight was no exception. Especially as Snake didn’t hesitate to use the cattle prod at the first sign of resistance from any of the horses. Loading them went much quicker.
Putting the last horse into the trailer, the men closed the trailer doors and locked them.
“There’s two mares in there, ready to foal soon,” T-Zone said. “So, my count is twelve.”
Zeb chuckled to himself and would have nodded, as T-Zone reminded him so much of himself at a younger age.
A sharp eye and always looking to get ahead, that was T-Zone.
“That’s right,” Zeb nodded. “Twelve. You’ll get your bonus, just like I said—according to what I get for them. You done a good job tonight, boys, but we ain’t on the road yet. Come on.”
They all piled back into Zeb’s truck, and he pulled the trailer out onto the main road.
Time being of the essence, he didn’t bother to have them close and lock any gates or doors on the property. In fact, he wanted them open so the cows would wander and create a distraction. All had gone according to plan and his good mood returned.
He had his faked paperwork in the glove box. Now, all he had to do was drop the boys off then get on down the road. Not the highway. He’d take the usual backroads.
Canada was his final stop, and he’d press on until he got there. The further away from the Triple C, the better.
When he stopped to drop the boys off, he got out of the truck to tie the horses inside the trailer. There’d been too much shifting inside the trailer as he’d driven, and he needed that to stop.
“They’re moving around too much,” he said. “Help me tie them up before you go.”
The boys helped him tie each of the horses so they would shift around less, and then Zeb was ready to be on the road again.
“Good work, boys,” he said. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I’m headed back through. You can meet me here, and then I’ll pay you.”
“Hope you get top dollar,” T-Zone said.
“Yeah, those two mares ought to be worth more,” Snake said.
They would be, as those horses would be auctioned separately. Zeb nodded. “Yep. Time we all got on the road. Remember to cover yourselves tonight.”
What he meant was, be sure to get with someone who could provide them with alibis for where they were tonight. Always a smart thing to do. Girlfriends, wives, or friends. Snake liked to hang at the pool hall with some buddies. T-Zone had a couple girlfriends in different towns.
“Of course,” T-Zone said and winked. “Always do.”
Tipping his hat, Zeb climbed into his truck, feeling less like an older man and more like the younger ones, tonight. Once he was on the road, he turned on his favorite radio station and listened to some older country tunes that took him back to those younger days. Soon, he was humming along and drinking a cola to stay awake.
