Dream Beauty
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“What are you doing?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She was standing in the middle of a room with no idea how to get out, and she had just asked him what he was doing.
He turned around and smiled at her. “I’m looking for your brother.” He pointed toward the door on his right. “Do you know where he is?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Why do you want to find my brother?”
“Because we’re going to be traveling together,” he said. “It’s important that everyone knows each other.”
The way he spoke made it sound as if they would all be riding together from now until eternity. Her heart sank when she realized this was exactly what he wanted. It wasn’t only about finding her brother; it was also about keeping an eye on her.
“You can’t keep me here!” she shouted, trying to push past him but couldn’t because he held onto her hand.
“We’ll see about that,” he replied calmly. He led her down a short hallway into another room. A woman sat behind a desk, typing away on some sort of machine. She looked up briefly before returning to work.
When they reached the end of the hall, he pushed open the double doors and stepped inside. His gaze swept over the people who stood talking among themselves. Most of them wore long-sleeved shirts, pants, and hats. They didn’t look like cowboys, which meant they weren’t real cowhands. But then again, neither did he.
A tall man with black hair walked by and gave him a nod. “Good morning, Mr. Browning.”
Browning nodded back. “Morning, Doc.”
Doc was the name given to him by the townspeople. It was a nickname that stuck even though he never told anyone why he chose it.
He turned to her. “This is Doc.”
“Nice to meet you, Doc.” She extended her hand and shook his firmly.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Why are you calling me Doc? You should call me Mister.”
“Mister?” she repeated, surprised.
“Yes, Mister. That’s what I am now. Do you understand?”
She glanced at him. Was he serious or joking? If he was joking, he had a strange sense of humor.
“Of course, I do,” she answered.
“That’s good,” he said. He released her hand and walked toward the group of men. When he reached them, he stopped and waited for their attention. After a few seconds, one of them approached him.
“How many have signed up for the roundup?”
“Twenty-seven,” he said. “But there will probably be more after today.”
“Any chance of getting more?”
“Not unless someone decides to quit,” he said. “If that happens, we’ll need to hire new hands.”
The man nodded. “We’ll let you know.”
“Thank you.” He turned to the rest of them. “Who else wants to sign up?”
Several men raised their hands. One of them was wearing a blue shirt and a pair of jeans. He was younger than most of the others, maybe in his late twenties.
“You, too?” Browning asked.
“Yes,” the young man said. “I’ve always wanted to be a cowboy. Now seems like a good time.”
“You’re hired,” Browning said. “Come with me and I’ll show you where you can put your horse.”
“Wait,” she blurted out. “Are you really hiring me?”
“Absolutely,” he replied. “You’ll start tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes, ma’am. Tomorrow.” He took a step closer to her. “Now, do you want to ride with us or not?”
Her mind raced through all the things she needed to do. First, she had to tell her father about her brother. Then she had to pack everything she owned. And lastly, she would have to leave her home.
“Can I ask you something?” she finally managed to say.
“Sure, what is it?”
“Is it true that you’re going to round up cattle?”
“Yes, it’s true,” he replied.
“And you’re going to do it without any women?”
“No, we’ll have plenty of women helping.”
“So, you won’t need me?”
“Oh, yes, ma’am,” he said. “We’ll definitely need you. We wouldn’t be able to round up these cattle without you.”
***
“What happened to your hand?” Doc asked when he returned to the bunkhouse.
“Someone cut it,” she explained.
“Didn’t I just see you walking around with a bandage?”
“I took off the bandage,” she said. “It was bothering me.”
“Well, you shouldn’t take it off,” he said. “Let me help you.”
He pulled the sleeve of her shirt aside and inspected her wound. “Does it hurt?”
“Only a little,” she admitted.
“Then let me clean it.”
She leaned against the wall as he washed it with a damp cloth. Once he finished, he applied a salve to soothe the pain.
“There,” he said. “All better.”
“Thanks.” She smiled at him. “Your hands are very gentle.”
He grinned. “My mother taught me how to treat people.”
“Do you have a family?”
“Two kids,” he said. “They live with my wife.”
“Where is she?”
“She died five years ago from pneumonia.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be. It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t get enough sleep because of the baby.”
“Was she sick before she got pregnant?”
“No, but once she started showing, she couldn’t stop coughing. The doctor told her to rest and drink lots of water.”
“Maybe if you’d taken her to another doctor—”
“Doc, please don’t talk about this anymore.” His face darkened. “Please.”
She nodded. “Sorry.”
“Good,” he said. “Now, why did you take off your bandage?”
“Because I wanted to feel the sun on my skin.”
“That’s a good reason,” he said. “But next time, wear gloves.”
“Will you tell me about your family?” she asked. “I mean, besides your kids?”
“Why? Do you want to meet them?”
“Yes, I think they might be excited to meet me.”
“Well, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she said. “Anything else?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Thank you, Doc,” she said. “For everything.”
“No problem,” he replied.
When she left the bunkhouse, she headed back to the barn. She had to make sure that she had packed everything she needed. That included a change of clothes, a few changes of underwear, some toiletries, her Bible, and a small trunk for her personal items.
She also had to gather her belongings. Most of them were scattered throughout the house. But there was one place she could find everything: the attic.
“Hello, ma’am,” a woman called out as soon as she entered the house.
“Hi, Mrs. Bledsoe,” she replied. “How are you?”
“Fine, thank you,” the older lady said. “Are you leaving today?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I thought I heard someone in here.”
“Just me, ma’am,” she said. “I’m going to work for Mr. Browning.”
Mrs. Bledsoe’s eyes widened. “Really? Where?”
“In his ranch.”
“Wow!”
“I’m glad you approve,” she said. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”
“Me too,” Mrs. Bledsoe said. “You’ll be missed around here.”
“I will miss you, too.”
The two women talked for a while longer. After they exchanged goodbyes, she went upstairs to pack.
***
“I can’t believe you’re really doing it,” Doc said.
“What?”
“Leaving your family.”
“I know, right? This is crazy,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“But you’re not scared?”
“A little,” she admitted. “But I guess we all have our fears.”
“Mine is snakes,” he said.
“Snakes?”
“Yep, snakes,” he said. “I hate them. They scare the hell out of me.”
“Why?”
“Because they move fast,” he said. “And they slither. And their fangs are poisonous.”
“So what do you plan to do about it?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged. “I just avoid them.”
“I see.”
“Did you bring any food with you?” he asked.
“No, I forgot.”
“Oh, well, then maybe you should eat something before you leave.”
“If you insist.”
He led her down the stairs and into the kitchen where she found a bowl of oatmeal waiting for her.
“This looks delicious,” she said.
“It is,” he said. “Try some.”
She poured some in her spoon and took a bite. “Mmm,” she said. “Delicious.”
“I made it myself,” he said proudly. “I used maple syrup instead of sugar.”
“That’s smart,” she said. “Maple syrup has more nutrients than sugar.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I learned that from you.”
“From me?”
“Yeah, when you taught me how to cook.”
“You remembered that?”
“Of course,” he said. “I remember everything you ever told me.”
“Everything?”
“Yep, even the things you didn’t say.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Let’s get moving.”
They walked outside to the barn. The horses were already saddled and ready to go.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To the ranch,” he replied. “Mr. Browning wants to talk to you.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Good luck,” he said.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime,” he said.
“Bye, Doc.”
“See ya later,” he said.
As soon as the door closed behind him, she mounted her horse. She felt nervous riding without a saddle, but she did it anyway. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the ranch.
“Miss McCallister,” Mr. Browning said as soon as he saw her. “Welcome to my ranch.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you,” she said. “And thank you for hiring me.”
“We hired you because you’re the best,” he said. “Now come inside so we can discuss your duties.”
“Sure thing,” she said.
The three men who rode with her followed Mr. Browning into the house. Inside, she found a table set up for lunch.
“Have you eaten yet?” Mr. Browning asked.
“No, sir.”
“Well, then, let’s eat,” he said. “Doc, you’re welcome to join us if you’d like.”
“Thanks, I would.”
After they finished eating, Mr. Browning pulled out a chair for her.
“Please sit,” he said. “I want to hear everything you know about ranch life.”
“I’m happy to tell you,” she said. “I worked on a few ranches before coming here.”
“How many?” he asked.
“Five,” she said. “All in Texas.”
“I see,” he said. “Can you give me an example of one of those jobs?”
“Yes, sir,” she said. “One day, I was assigned to tend to a herd of cattle. I had to make sure none wandered away from the herd. If they did, I had to find them and bring them back.”
“Sounds easy enough,” he said. “What happened?”
“I lost two cows,” she said. “I couldn’t find them anywhere.”
“I see,” he said. “And what else?”
“Another time, I was supposed to check the water troughs every morning and night. But I forgot.”
“I see,” he said. “Anything else?”
“Not really,” she said. “Those were the only times I messed up.”
“Hmm,” he said. “Do you think you could handle this job?”
“I do,” she said. “But there’s no need to rush anything. We have plenty of time to train you.”
“I agree,” she said. “I’ll be happy to work here until you feel comfortable with my skills.”
“Excellent,” he said. “Then let’s start today.”
The End