“I was tired,” Tracy said, stopping beside him in the stables. “I had to chase chickens yesterday. A whole herd of ‘em.”
“A peep, flock, or brood,” Cash corrected her with a grin and shake of his head. “A herd is for cows.”
“I was so tuckered out after chasing a wholepeepof Goldies, Lilies, and Irises, I overslept,” Tracy said, adding a bit of a twang to her voice.
“Did the owner inform you, you had to feed that flock of chickens breakfast, too, to earn your keep?”
“No, he did not!” Tracy snapped, obviously fighting a smile as she placed dainty hands to saucy hips. Her new Elsa hat hung from a cord down her back and her hair caught themorning sunshine. Today, he noticed a few faint freckles sprinkled across her nose and wondered if yesterday’s sun had brought them out on her ivory skin. She wore a snug, turquoise, three-quarter length sleeve tee shirt that matched her eyes, along with jeans and her new cowboy boots. “I’m thinking I may very well report the whole feed-the-chickens-if-you’re-late-for-lunch and to-earn-your-keep scam inRanchers and Ranges.”
They both laughed. She placed her hat on her head, without yanking on the brim, as he’d shown her the previous day. Beau was already busy in the store as guests and wranglers led their horses past it into the open area. Ed was in charge of a pack mule, named Eloise, carting extra bottles of water. Guests picked up their sack lunches and bottles of water which went into their individual saddlebags.
The morning trail ride was on.
Cash let Jeff lead the way. Jeff, though young, had been raised on Triple C Ranch-East. He’d earned his place as lead wrangler through hard work and dedication. Along the ride over flat land past creeks and toward the hills, Sam took turns with Jeff, Ed, and Larry in telling the guests about the surrounding Colorado area. They answered random questions about everything from the American quarter horses and Percherons to daily ranch duties, rodeos, bunkhouse living, and even the brood of chickens, with pride and loyalty ringing in their voices.
Cash enjoyed the questions and comments made by the guests and replied to those in regard to his ranch such as how long it had been in his family? How had it come by its name? He said his paternal grandparents had named it after their three sons; Carson, Clarence, and Chester. How big was the ranch and did he have relatives nearby? Cash told them the acreage and described his siblings’ ranches. He said his entire family planned to be present for the fireworks display. Tracy asked for some specifics as to running a year-round dude ranch.
“You have to be a businessman, hotel operator, andrecreation director,” Cash said. “You have to know horsemanship, livestock, ranch maintenance, and public relations. You must get along with all kinds of people.”
“How did the Coopers come to own this land back in the 1800s?” Tracy asked.
Cash gave a brief accounting of how the Homesteading Act of 1862, had opened the door to his ancestors buying Colorado land. When Tracy asked about his ranch in particular, he told how he’d inherited it from his bachelor uncle.
“In the early days, Sam and Kellie kept me from running it into the ground,” Cash said modestly with a tip of his hat to Sam. “Jeff and our wranglers help maintain this ranch.” He always gave credit where it was due. “I could not do it without all of these friends who are more like family. They make the hard work enjoyable.”
Cash especially enjoyed Tracy as she occasionally smiled at him between asking questions and taking notes. He’d also noticed her assistant, Donna, often interrupted Tracy or cut her off or worse yet, sometimes answered her questions about life on a ranch. Incorrectly. Even Jacob had frowned in surprise at Donna once or twice.
“Where are we headed now?” Jacob asked, taking photos of the woods, the hills, and the land stretching on forever.
“Fish Creek. It’s up ahead in the copse of trees,” Cash replied and pointed. “Those of you who want to fly fish can do so when we ride to Turkey Pond. We’ll pack fishing gear for the pond and for fly fishing in the creek, in wagons which we’ll hitch to Eloise and our other mule, Mavis.”
“When will that be?” Diane asked.
“Tomorrow,” Sam said.
“We’ve never fished,” Joyce said.
“First time for everything,” Sam replied with a smile. “We’ll ride out after breakfast and camp overnight near the water.”
“In cabins?” Michaela, a tall, blonde barista, asked.
“No, ma’am,” Larry answered.
“In tents?” Brittany, a pretty and polite schoolteacher guessed.
“Yes, in tents,” Jeff said with a nod.
“Are there indoor bathrooms where we’ll be camping?” Lisa, a slightly chubby woman with a quirky laugh, wanted to know.
“No, ma’am,” Ed replied with a straight face.
“No bathrooms?” LeAnn, the most petite lady of the group, gasped.
“I’m warning you now if my bare bubble butt from the Bronx touches mud, the mud will burn so hot it’ll be like lava oozing from a volcano!” a brunette named Natasha warned them quite seriously. Everyone laughed. Natasha’s big brown eyes rolled as she swung a hand in the air for emphasis. “I’m not kidding.”
“There are his and her outhouses,” Sam assured the group and chuckled.
“Yay!” Patience and Daphne whooped in apparent relief at the same time.
