Jamie turned. Leland stood there, and because he was on a little rise, he was taller than Jamie, taller than he normally was. And while that might have been imposing in any other circumstance, here on the ranch, it felt less so, much less so than had he been at the meat packing plant with the manager coming up to grill him about some fault, real or imagined.
“How are you feeling, Jamie?” asked Leland, tipping his hat back from his forehead so his eyes weren’t in the shade of the brim.
“Good,” said Jamie. “I had dinner with Clay and Brody and they said I could head down to help Maddy hand out water and stuff?” He turned the answer into a question, just in case Leland didn’t like the idea of him greeting guests like that, since he was the newest ranch hand.
“That’s fine, as long as you don’t overdo.” Leland nodded. “But where’s your hat? Did you leave it in the dining hall?”
“No, I—” Jamie had to take a deep breath. The hat had been brand new, and maybe his plan had been to make sure the store was open before grabbing some money from the drawer and buying a new one. Maybe he’d been hoping nobody would notice, but it was too late for that. A sense of honesty pushed to the fore, as it always did. “I sliced through it accidentally with the scythe.”
“That’s a shame,” said Leland. “That hat looked good on you.”
Leland stepped back to let guests pass by them on the way to the dining hall, and Jamie stepped back, as well. It gave him a sense of belonging that felt weird but good at the same time. Then Leland pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket and looked at it.
“It’s after five, so the store is closed.” He looked at Jamie and nodded, as if it was the most sensible of things for a store to close at five on a Sunday. “But I can get the keys from Maddy. It’s going to be sunny tomorrow and you will need that hat.”
“Okay, thanks,” said Jamie. “I can pay for it, right?”
“Yes,” said Leland. “It’ll come out of your pay, though, which might teach you to be more careful in future.” The words were said in Leland’s steady way, like he wasn’t judging Jamie, just reminding him. Then he jerked his thumb at the newly shorn fire pit. “Is the hat still out there? Maybe Jasper picked it up. We better go check.”
It only made sense that Leland would want everything on the ranch to be tidy but, at the same time, he didn’t seem bent out of shape about the whole thing. Instead, the two of them looked in the short grass around the fire pit until Jamie found the two pieces of the hat, neatly stacked on one of the hay bales, as though Jasper had intended the pieces be found. When Jamie gestured, Leland came over and shook his head.
“That scythe is damn sharp,” he said. “Here, we can throw this away at the store.”
He handed the two pieces to Jamie and put the thin leather hat band with the small bit of brass shaped like a pine tree into his pocket. Together they walked down the road, and through the glade of trees, where the sun slanted through the spring leaves, and the warmth of the day was whisked away by a sprightly breeze around their shoulders.
At the office, where Maddy was helping a guest with paperwork, Leland nodded at her, and grabbed the keys to the store. At the store, Leland unlocked both locks and turned on only one of the lights. The store was quiet and cool, and in the semi-darkness, Leland went behind the counter and started tugging on boxes high up on the shelves.
“You want the same kind?” he asked, reaching up.
“Yes, please,” said Jamie, smiling as Leland brought down a box that was a replica of the one from the day before. But this time, it was Leland opening the box and gently pushing it across the glass-topped counter at Jamie. Feeling rather like he was opening a very special birthday gift, he found he was smiling and his hands were shaking.
“Try it on,” said Leland. “Make sure it fits.”
Jamie raised the hat and put it on his head, looking up at Leland. In the shadows of the half-lit store, Leland’s eyes seemed to sparkle like grey diamonds, and in the stillness, he reached out and pushed some hair away from Jamie’s forehead. The movement was quite slow and gentle, as though Leland didn’t realize he was doing it, and for a moment they were quiet together. Then Leland shook his head as if pulling himself out of his own private thoughts.
“Looks like it fits,” he said. “Make sure you take better care of it this time, right? I’ll write it up for Maddy to deduct out of your pay, so you’ll see that info on the statement.”
All of Leland’s words eased over Jamie, laying themselves down like a gentle blanket. Sure, he’d messed up, cutting his hat in two like he had, but Leland was treating it all so matter-of-factly, as though it was a mistake anyone could have made, a small one, at that, and didn’t warrant Jamie getting yelled at or written up. The tightness in his chest that always came when he thought about the meat packing plant loosened even further when Leland smiled at him.
“Don’t worry about it, Jamie,” said Leland, jingling the keys in his hand as he scooped up the box and placed it on the floor next to the recycling bin. “We’ve all been there.”
“Did you ever cut your new hat with a scythe?” asked Jamie as he followed Leland out of the store and waited while he locked up.
“No,” said Leland. As they stood on the wooden porch of the store, and Leland looked out over the parking lot, where a lone van was dropping off a few people with their suitcases, he shook his head. “But I’ve had my share of mishaps. As long as you learn from it, you’ll be fine. Now, if you’ll pardon me, I’ve got to go and help those guests.”
Before Jamie could say yes or no, Leland hurried down the stairs and over to the people, his long legs eating up the distance in short order. He pointed to the glade of trees and took the handles of two suitcases. Jamie could hear Leland telling them about which cabin they would be in, and what kind of view it had.
Jamie walked to the office, where Maddy was standing on the shaded porch with a clipboard in her hand.
“Evening, Jamie,” she said. “How are you feeling?”
She asked it like she really cared, and not like she had to ask. That was another difference between the ranch and the meat packing plant, and hopefully, soon, he wouldn’t be making any more comparisons like that because he never wanted to think about the meat packing plant again.
“I’m good,” he said. “Clay suggested I come down and ask if you need help greeting guests, or handing out water, stuff like that.”
“That’s like him, bless him,” said Maddy. She shook her head as she looked at the clipboard. “We’re all checked in for the week. Those folks were the last.” She appraised Jamie with a quick up-and-down look. “You’re off duty till 8 o’clock tomorrow, when Leland runs the general meeting in front of the barn. Breakfast starts at 6:30, so you should have plenty of time to eat beforehand.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Jamie, making a mental note to ask Clay to bang on his door. As soon as he could, he’d find an alarm clock of some sort. Or maybe he’d learn to wake up with the birds, bright and early, instead of dreading the day like he used to.
