Once I checked on my hand, I climbed up into the hayloft between square bale bombings. One of the best places in the world, in my humble opinion, was a hay loft. There was something about the smell of hay and the symmetry of the neatly stacked bales that put me at ease. Pigeons cooed from the rafters and back in the corners the scurry of tiny rodents could be heard in the lull of conversation down in the stables.
“I got this,” Kyle grunted as he hefted two bales to the opening in the floor.
“You almost knocked David into a coma,” I said, reaching out to lift the bale from his left shoulder. His tight face softened as what I said sank in.
“Sorry,” he called down to the guys below then dropped a bale down after checking to see if anyone was directly under him.
“Want to talk about it?” I asked as we worked side by side. Kyle shook his head, sighed, took off his brown hat, and sighed once again. I didn’t push the big man. He would speak if he wanted to. If not, that was his business. Far be it for me to force someone to divulge something they wanted to keep to themselves.
“My younger brother Will got himself into some shit, legal shit.”
“Bad legal trouble?”
He dropped down to rest on a bale. I did the same but across from him. The aroma of horses and hay blew up from the open trap door, stirring up fine particles of dust and dander.
“Bad enough. He’s been in and out of juvenile detention for a couple of years now. Nothing he does is ever really bad…like he’s not killing people or raping or shit, just petty stuff. Stealing mostly, some drinking, smoking pot. My mother gave up on him when he turned eighteen a few years ago.” He lifted pained brown eyes to me. “Part of his parole is that he has to have a steady job. I was wondering if we could sign him on here.” Kyle wasn’t what I’d call model handsome. Not like the Cali professor with the bun. He was an ordinary man with a pleasant face. Strong and dependable, hard-working, quick to laugh, and even quicker to fight if he felt the need to defend a friend. Just ask anyone at the Hollow Wind Ranch. “A few months ago, he went and got into a fight with a bartender when they carded him. Guess the asshole threw a punch. Landed in jail for assault. I posted his bail and got him a lawyer who got him a lesser charge with only a few months. Time served and all that shit but now he’s ready to get out and needs a job.”
I contemplated while rubbing the whiskers on my chin. “I’ll have to discuss it with Landon. Normally, I’d say yes right off but with his prior record and all…”
“No, hey, I get it.” He sat up a little straighter. “He’s not a bad kid, not really, just…lost or something. Always hung with a bad crowd. If we can get him away from those asshole buddies of his maybe he’ll see there’s more to life than drinking, dope, and chasing women.”
“I’ll call Landon over the weekend with the weekly update, and we’ll discuss Will. I’ll do what I can for him, but if Landon isn’t comfortable with it, well, then we’ll have to pass on hiring him.”
“Thanks, and yeah, I know it’s a longshot.” Kyle offered me his work-hewn hand.
We shook and then we got back to work. Horses didn’t feed themselves. I also had my rounds to make yet. Checking on the cattle, moving through the herd as they gathered to eat, helped me spot any signs of illness early. We also had to get ready for the last round of insemination to take place. Walking through the cows to see which ones were showing signs of standing heat morning and night was part of my routine this time of year. Maybe I should have Perry just report back on how the dino group was doing. He’d be out there in the mud with the other fossil fans. It would save me time after my evening cattle check. I actually went as far as to call Perry over then stood there staring at him.
“Did you need something, boss?” he finally asked when the moment grew cumbersome.
It was right on the tip of my tongue. Instead, something moronic tumbled out.
“Make sure to double the rations on lactating cows.”
He looked at me as if I’d lost my fucking mind. “We have been.”
“Right, I knew that. Just checking.” I gave him a stupid smile then went and hid with Tiberius. My horse seemed disinterested in me at the moment. Fresh hay and oats were more important.
“You up for nightly rides?” I asked while he munched. His left ear twitched. I took that for a yes. I had to wonder what had held me back from simply letting Perry be the watchdog for the fossil brigade.
Maybe it was something with strong arms, sky blue eyes, and lips the color of ripe strawberries?
Yeah, maybe it was.