I sighed. “Yeah, well, you look the exact same, Torchy. The years have been good to you. But tell me, what the hell is that thing you got growing on your lip?” I pointed to his face. “Here, let me just?—”
Torchy swatted my hand away and played with his mustache. “Oh ha-ha. Make fun all you want, but I like it. And so does old Cooper.”
I laughed. “That old man would like it. He’s had the same mustache for what, fifty years?”
The ranch hand made a face. “Hey, don’t go hating on ol’ Cooper! He might be nearly eighty, but the man’s got style.” We both laughed. “Man, I know he’d love if you came out to see him.”
I bet he would.
A breeze blew past as my hair brushed along my face. “What a relief,” I breathed. “It’s so hot out…and this breeze feels so nice!” I raised my arms and embraced the cool air. “I don’t know how you guys can stand the heat.” I stared up at the bright blue sky. “Out of everything here, that’s the one thing I don’t miss.”
Torchy shook his head. “For starters, we don’t go around dressed in all black.” He pointed to my clothing. “You know you can’t be wearing stuff like that out here. You’ll catch a heatstroke, Lucille.”
I glanced down at my dress, realizing what he said was true. Heck, I didn’t even think to pack lighter clothing. And now, I was standing in the middle of a ranch wearing a knee-length dress with sleeves and clunky black leather boots. No wonder Forsythe called me a city girl.
My mood instantly soured at the sheer thought of him.
“Lucille?”
I snapped back. “Oh I’ll be fine!” I looked at Torchy. “Hey, speaking of, where is Cooper? My mom wanted me to come down and say hi to him and, well, everyone else.” I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. “I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but she insisted?—”
“Oh yeah!” Torchy nearly jumped with excitement. “Everyone should be down at the new barn ‘cause we're moving some of the horses up to a new pasture today. It’s all hands on deck, so everyone is there now.”
Everyone? Great.
He gently nudged my shoulder. “Come on, I’ll take you to him!” Wimberly barked and wagged her tail as I nodded and followed him.
Torchy danced around with such energy as he led the way. Wimberly pranced behind him, the two behaving in such childish ways, you’d think a boy and his pup were standing before me.
Some things never change.
I laughed quietly to myself and followed behind the two goofballs. As we walked, I found myself taken aback by my surroundings. The ranch grew as far as the eye could see, consisting of rows of wooded patches tucked within the rough and ragged limestone and granite hills sprouting from the surrounding plains. Bone Ridge Ranch was planted in the heart of Hill Country and surrounded by its beauty.
I almost forgot how much I loved the sight of these hills. Makes me regret leaving for so long.
Torchy led Wimberly and me a ways down the long, beaten path. Despite how far we’d walked, the new barn was surprisingly closer than the old one, and by the looks of it, much larger too. I wondered how long it took for them to build it.
“Come on, Lucille!” Torchy waved me over. “I bet everyone’s down at the other end loading up the trailers. The new pasture we’re moving these horses to is on the whole other side of the ranch, so we gotta load them up and drive them all the way out.” I followed him closely and together we walked around the barn just as a large stallion bucked and nearly kicked me over. Torchy yanked me back before jumping in to help settle the horse. “Easy!” Wimberly barked hysterically, as if shouting at the horse.
“Settle down, Wimblerly! Well, it’s ‘bout time your lazy ass showed up!” A second familiar voice pierced my ears. “What did Cooper and I tell you about being on time?” The older mangrumbled a bit to himself, cursing out Torchy as the two calmed the stallion. “I swear one of these days Ms. Nellie is going to—” The man widened his eyes when he caught sight of me and stopped talking.
Another familiar face.
Torchy chuckled and stroked the horse’s neck as it calmed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Dallas.” He shook his head and laughed. “It’s just little Lucille!” Wimberly quieted and returned to my side as the men looked at me.
Dallas grumbled his words, spitting at the dirt. “Might as well be a ghost.” He wiped his sweaty brow and did a double take. “Been a long time, Lucille. Alongtime.”
I bit my lower lip, trying to keep my composure. “Yeah, I guess it has. How you been, Dallas?”
His eyes burned blue against his red and sweaty face. He looked a lot older than I remembered. His once brown hair and scruffy mustache were now lighter than before, and he had at least twice the amount of sunspots and wrinkles along his face. But the one thing about him that remained the same was the grumpy-looking scowl he always wore, no matter how he felt.
Dallas cleared his throat. “Torchy, take that stallion out to the trailer and get him ready to move. Well go on, move your ass!” Torchy rolled his eyes and did as he was told. The old man shook his head. “I swear that boy will be the death of me.” His eyes rose to meet mine. “Cooper should be on his way back here soon. He and Forsythe just took a round of horses over to the new pasture a while back with the second trailer. Shouldn’t take them long before they return.” He seemed a bit awkward standing around me, but I didn’t blame him. I probably felt like a stranger to him after all these years. “You’re welcome to wait while I finish loading the last stallion up for this group of bachelors.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Dallas.”
“Yeah…” He shook his head and stepped back into the barn.
I wonder if he’s mad at me for leaving. Or maybe he’s mad I came back?
