Learnin' The Ropes (23 page)

Much to his surprise, Ty found himself sitting next to Lexi. After she asked her Uncle Linc, who was sitting on her other side, to bless the food, they all dug in. Ty bit into crispy fried chicken, savored bites of fall-off-the-bone tender ribs, and inhaled the yeasty scent of fresh rolls, still warm from the oven. Dessert was a buffet of delectable temptations including brownies, pie, and slices of cake.

A rest followed the meal to let their food settle. Good natured joking and visiting went on around the tables until Swede and Linc stood, along with Lexi, signaling it was time to get back to work.

The afternoon passed in a blur of dust, ropes, bawling calves, and burning hide. Ty had gotten used to the smell when the brands burned into the sides of the calves and resigned himself to being coated from head to toe in manure and blood due to the nature of his job for the day.

As he wrestled the calves to the ground and held them there, he was right in the line of fire of anything and everything. Rather than wrinkle his nose in disgust, he tried to take it all in stride and act like he’d done it hundreds of times before.

He was glad Swede had warned him to wear his oldest clothes, ones he didn’t mind getting completely filthy. A ratty old T-shirt and a pair of jeans that had definitely seen better days, along with his steel-toed shop boots, served him well as he worked.  Although his clothes didn’t come close to being considered cowboy attire, he managed to get the job done as well as the next guy. More than once, he was grateful for the boots protecting his feet from stomping, kicking hooves.

A few times throughout the day, he looked up and caught Lexi watching him with a proprietary look in her eyes. Pleased by her interest, he watched her instead of paying attention to the large calf he held. The calf yanked its leg back and delivered a kick to his inner thigh that made him suck in a huge gulp of air. Sharp needles of pain raced up his leg. He bit his lip to keep from uttering words that would make his mother rise right up out of the grave and shove a bar of soap in his mouth for saying.

Aggravated, he held the calf, hoping the ground crew was about finished so he could walk off the pain he fought to ignore. Grateful the calf hadn’t kicked a little higher, he would have died of embarrassment if it had.

Lexi’s unique floral scent wafted over him about the time her hand settled on his back.

“Ty, are you okay?” she asked, bending down by him. “Are you hurt?”

“I’ll be fine,” he said. His jaw clenched as the calf attempted to deliver another kick but missed.

“It looked like he nailed you pretty hard,” Lexi said, still close. Most men would have hollered, cussed, and pitched a fit if they’d received the kick the calf delivered to Ty. Instead, he barely flinched, continued doing his job, and acted like nothing had happened.

Throughout the day, she’d observed him, thrilled by how well he fit in with everyone. Even dressed in his “city-dude” clothes, as Swede called them, everyone accepted him and he more than proved he could do the work, better than many of them.

It hadn’t exactly been a hardship for her to watch him wrestle calves all day. The formfitting holey T-shirt he wore outlined and accented every impressive muscle. From the bulging biceps of his arms to the thick muscles of his chest, Lexi couldn’t think when she’d enjoyed a branding more.

“I’m fine, but thanks for asking.” Ty wished Lexi would step back. He didn’t want her to get hurt and he really didn’t want her watching him too closely when he stood up and limped off until it was his turn to wrestle another calf. In an effort to man up, as Swede often said, he put on his best poker face, released the calf, and walked away like he was on top of the world.

When the last calf was branded and turned out with its mama, Ty joined the crew in their pilgrimage back to the ranch yard. Dinner was waiting and Ty sat down to eat with everyone. What he really wanted was a hot shower and a soft bed, but the aroma of so much good food was too tempting to resist. He passed bowls and platters around the table, heaping up his own plate.

A platter of some unidentified deep-fried meat that looked golden brown and tasty ended up in his hands. He took a few pieces and passed it on. After a few bites, he still couldn’t identify the mystery meat. Not impressed with the flavor, he focused his attention on the other tempting treats on his plate.

 Swede turned to ask him a question and noticed Ty’s plate, slapping him on the back.

“Whooee! You’ve crossed the line to official cowboy territory, dude!” Swede cackled. Although Ty was clueless as to what was stirred their amusement, others joined in Swede’s laughter.

“What?”

Linc leaned around Swede and pointed at the uneaten fried lumps on Ty’s plate. “Rocky Mountain oysters, my friend, are a cowboy delicacy.”

“Oysters?” Ty asked, confused. The fried lumps he’d eaten were certainly not oysters.

“Sure, dude. Cowboy caviar,” Swede said, waggling his bushy eyebrows at Ty. “Calf fries.”

“Calf fries?” Suddenly, Ty’s eyes widened as he realized what they meant. “You fry up the…” Unable to finish his sentence, he clamped his jaw shut to keep from losing what dinner he had eaten.

Covered in blood and manure, with his thigh throbbing painfully, he thought he’d been a good sport throughout the day. Rather than be insulted, he ignored the teasing that morning for his “city-dude” attire. He put his back and muscle into wrestling more calves than any two of the other men. After all that, he was not going to sit at the table and eat… animal parts that should never see the inside of a kitchen, while the crew around the table made fun of him.

Hastily mumbling excuses, he rose from the table and retreated to the shop where he could have some peace and quiet. Hoots of laughter followed him across the ranch yard.

He turned on his music and glanced at the door as Baby wandered in. Mournfully, she stared at him, sensing his mood as she settled down on her blanket in the corner.

“That is just disgusting, Baby. Absolutely disgusting.” Ty picked up a part he’d been working on before he got called into cowboy duty a few days ago.

Baby barked and wagged her tail, showing her agreement.

Quickly losing track of the time, Ty looked up when Lexi walked inside carrying a plate with a big piece of berry pie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

“I come in peace,” she said, sliding the plate onto the clean end of the workbench where he often sat to eat his lunch.

Ty raised an eyebrow at her, but went into the bathroom and washed his hands. When he came out, he pulled another stool to the end of the bench, waited for Lexi to have a seat, and then sat down.

“Since you didn’t get much dinner, I thought you might need a snack,” Lexi said as he took a bite of the pie. The pie was warm and the ice cream slowly melted into a rich creamy lake around the flaky crust and sweet berries.

“Thanks. It’s good.” Ty was hungry and the pie was quite tasty.

“I’m really sorry, Ty. I heard what happened and I should have warned you about Rocky Mountain oysters.” She placed a warm hand on his arm.

Her touch sent fiery jolts racing up both their arms. Despite the electricity snapping between them, Lexi didn’t move her hand. Ty looked in her eyes. Although she sounded sincere in her apology, the mischievous sparkle dancing in the green depths of her eyes, along with the twitching corners of her mouth, gave away her humor over the matter.

“Not a biggie,” he said. Not yet at the point he was ready to see any amusement in the situation, he was slightly annoyed that she could. “I’ll survive.”

“I know you will.” Lexi tried without success to hide a grin. “But I am truly sorry we caught you by surprise. You fit in so well with everyone, I keep forgetting you’ve never done this before and all these experiences are new for you.”

“You really think I fit in?” He wasn’t certain if she was offering flattery to soothe his wounded pride or if she really meant it.

“Absolutely. You worked as hard as anyone today and picked up on what needed to be done without anyone telling you what to do. You wrestled more calves than the three Johnson boys together.”

Ty hid his pleasure at her praise behind the last bite of pie.

“I mean it, Ty, you did a great job today and I’m really proud of you. You’ve taken to life here on the ranch so well it’s easy to forget you haven’t always been here. You’re definitely learning the ropes very quickly.”

“Thanks, Lexi.” Lightly, he rubbed his hand on her arm. He wanted to pull her into a hug and steal a kiss or two, but decided that would have to wait for another day. Preferably one when he wasn’t coated in cow poop and gore. Rising to his feet,  he put his phone in his pocket, picked up the empty plate, and walked Lexi to the door.

“Come on, Baby,” Ty called to the dog. She lumbered to her feet and preceded them out the door.

“Oh, you were talking to the dog,” Lexi teased as Ty turned off the shop lights and shut the door.

He walked her to the house, taking her hand in his. As he leaned down, she could feel his breath blow across her ear. “You’re far too beautiful to be called the same thing as that ridiculous dog, Lexi Jo.”

Lexi blushed but held tight to Ty’s hand as they approached the house. As they strolled through the gate, Ty noticed Swede and Linc talking on one side of the porch while Bertie sat on the porch swing.

“Girlie, come sit down by me,” Bertie said, patting the seat next to her.

Ty offered greetings then took the dirty plate into the kitchen before returning outside. He spoke with the men for a few minutes, nodded to the women, and bid them all good night.

When he was out of earshot, Bertie playfully smacked Lexi on the leg. “Girlie, he has one fine caboose, even in those baggy jeans. And muscles! My gracious, honey-pie! How do you get anything done around here? I’d spend all day chasing him around slobbering all over myself.”

“Aunt Bertie! You aren’t supposed to notice those things,” Lexi said in feigned shock.

Bertie winked. “I may be old, Lexi girl, but my eyesight works just fine.”

Lesson Eleven

Don’t Tempt Mother Nature

“A little rain can’t hurt ya,

but only an idiot stays out in a storm.”

By the third day of branding, the process ran like a well-functioning machine with everyone doing their part to keep things moving smoothly.

The morning flew by and they only had seventy-five head of cattle left to work when the crew stopped for lunch.

Most of the neighbors decided to head for home following the meal. While the women helped clean up the dishes and set the kitchen to rights, the men loaded horses, swapped stories and made plans for their own brandings.

Ty was flattered to receive several invitations to work as wrestler at various brandings. He assumed he’d be working them all since Swede said they went to help anyone that helped them.

Lexi offered warm hugs to Bertie and Linc as they prepared to leave. The lived south of Pendleton near the little community of Pilot Rock in northeastern Oregon and were anxious to get back to their own place.

“Come visit us for a few days, girlie,” Bertie said, giving Lexi another motherly hug. “Bring that gorgeous mechanic of yours along, too. It’s no hardship to have to look at him. Not at all.”

“Aunt Bertie!” Lexi giggled as they said goodbye. “I might take you up on that when things settle down a bit.”

“See that you do,” Bertie said as she climbed in the pickup. “And get yourself a housekeeper. You don’t have time to run a ranch and scrub toilets. Get your priorities straightened out!”

“Yes, ma’am.” Lexi waved as Linc pulled into the line of vehicles heading down the driveway. “Love you guys!”

“Love you, baby!”

The dog barked and wagged her tail, thinking Bertie spoke to her.

The remaining crew headed back out to finish the work. Swede kept one eye on the branding and one on the sky.

 “What’s wrong, Swede?” Ty finally asked, noticing the foreman’s preoccupation with the clouds overhead.

“A storm’s rollin’ in,” Swede said, rubbing his knee.

“Are you kidding?” Ty wiped sweat off his brow and stared up at the sunny, blue sky. “It practically feels like summer.”

“Yeah, well, practically ain’t the same as the real deal. Ya mark my words. Rain will hit the ground before the day is over.”

Since Swede probably knew something he didn’t, Ty refrained from making any further comment as he wrestled another calf. 

About two dozen calves were left to work when the air dropped in temperature and the sky suddenly turned dark.

As the working crew took stock of the upcoming storm, Swede yelled to the neighbors who stayed behind to finish up and get on the road.

“Go on and get home while you can,” he said, waving his hat as they hurried back toward the house. Swede cackled, and shook a finger to those who remained. “Let’s see if we can beat the storm, boys.”

Ty thought they’d been working fast and furious the last two days but it was nothing compared to what they did in the next thirty minutes. Despite the sense of urgency to work quickly and finish before the rain hit, they made little progress before the first drops of water hit.

“Lex, you head on up to the house. No need for us all to get soaked,” Swede called to Lexi as she sat waiting to rope the next calf.

“I’m fine. I won’t melt!” she said with a laugh, turning her attention back to the cattle.

Thunder boomed and lightning crackled, making the hair on the back of Ty’s neck stand on end. He’d never witnessed anything quite like a spring rain storm in wide-open country.

The lightning seemed to crack open the sky and rain began falling in torrential sheets. In minutes, they were all soaked and chilled.

As Lexi dragged a calf over for Ty to wrestle, he saw her shivering from the rain and the chill in the wind.

“Lexi, go on back to the house. You don’t need to stay out in this,” Ty said as he held the calf while Cal and Keith put on the brand and Jimmy vaccinated it.

“It’s my ranch, my cattle, and I’m staying.”  With a determined lift of her chin, she rode off to rope another calf.