DawnKnight & Country Girl

[Country Girl]

I had been hearing stories from my father and the ranch hands about cattle and horses being stolen from the range. Most were cattle and horses that were not yet branded, so it would be newly bought or born stock. And no one knew where they were going. My father was soon taking his shot gun with him on the range so if he spotted any rustler, he could shot him or even shoot at him to scare him away. But so far, every day when he came home, he had no new news about the rustling besides stories from other ranches. Dinners were now about hardly anything but the ranch hands that had stayed at the ranch asking the ones who had rode out on the range about any missing cattle or horses. Some of my families’ best mares had been taken.

Our stallion had still somehow found a way to escape with losing very few mares in the process. Our cattle were a different story though. We had lost three bulls in the past month. My blonde hair was fully let down. My mother had always liked it that way. I was tall and slender, taking after my father with my height and body type. I had my mothers’ hair color, only mine was a bit darker, I had my mothers blue eyes, while my father had green. The ranch hands had come to the ranch one way or another, my father was giving some second chances when other ranches wouldn’t give them a look as to hiring them. Dallas was tall and then, he was about middle aged with brown hair and brown eyes, he had been working here since I was about ten years old.

My fathers ranch foreman, he was short and chunky, he was a sweet man, the oldest of the workers here on the ranch. He’d been with my father since I was about six or seven years old, his hair was slowly graying, though he didn’t like to admit it. Then there was Alastair, who was 21 and the guy I had a huge crush on. And then there were the twins, Tony and Alex. They looked the same, dirty blonde hair and green eyes, always fighting about something, it was a bit hard at times to tell them apart, but their horses had no problems there. And last but not the least was the youngest and newest member of the ranch. His name was Mike, he was shy, he didn’t speak much, and he usually went with the flow of things around the ranch. He was different though, he had red hair and blue eyes, the only person around these parts, so he got some looks, but we didn’t treat him any different around here. Everyone had finished their dinner.

“May I be excused?” I asked in a soft voice. My father nodded that it was fine. I stood up, taking my plate and silverware to the sink. I pushed my chair back in before heading out to the barn. I hadn’t been out to see Hazard yet. Hazard was a gelding my father had gotten me to ride into town if I needed to. Otherwise I just rode him where I liked once my chores were done. I walked into the barn, not surprised that it was a bit darker than I liked, but I always liked to visit the horses. I let myself into Hazards’ stall. “Hey boy, I’ve missed you. I bet you miss the other horses, huh? Well don’t worry, I think father will be going to get them tomorrow to bring them in the brand and give vaccines. You’ll see them tomorrow for a short time.” I told him.

But he wasn’t acting right. He was usually asleep when I came in after dinner. But his ears were moving and his nostrils flared. Something wasn’t right. He never acted like this before. Was he sick? No, he’d been healthy yesterday, and I had properly cooled him down after our ride. The whites of his eyes showed, the other horses seemed to be acting the same. Someone or something was in this barn and it was bothering the horses. But why were they or it here? What did they want? “Hello?” I asked into the darkness. What was going on here? Were the rustlers stepping it up and stealing animals from barns now? I let myself out of Hazard’s stall, ready to leave and go back inside. As I slid the lock into place to keep Hazard from opening the door, someone grabbed me from behind, covering my mouth with there hand to stop me from screaming for help. He pulled me up the stairs and into the hay loft, tying my hands behind my back and threw me into the corner. I was terrified.

[DawnKnight]

The ranch was huge, but by no means the largest, it was in an area populated by such things, the vast plains inhabited by massive herds of cattle. Herds that were now being preyed upon. It hung across the ranch like a shadow, no one knew who it was, where the cattle were going, and worse, no one had actually seen the rustlers at all. But it wasn't just this one ranch, it was happening on the ranches around it, the thieves clearly knew what they were doing, they had an eye for the best stock and a couple of the ranches prime mares had already disappeared. But that was nothing to the disappearance of three Bulls from their pens, it was a loss the ranch couldn't easily pay off, not only had Mr Robertson started going out with his shotgun, most of the other ranchers had started taking precautions as well. He knew Mike had started taking his revolver out with him, a massive beast of a pistol that he'd soon put down a maddened bull in one shot.

Alastair had been on the ranch for a while now, it was what he knew, and he was good at it, and, although he would never admit it, he had a crush on Mr Robertson's daughter. He'd always liked her, but never really paid much attention, now, she was eighteen and it was like he'd had his eyes shut for the last three years, the gangly, awkward fifteen year old he remembered had turned into a beautiful young woman. Slim, tanned, blonde of hair and blue of eye. Tammi was stunning, and when she was in the room he found it hard to keep his eyes off her.

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Like Tammi had just done, I took my plate to the sink, touched my forelock to Mr Robertson and headed out into the yard. I didn't really know why I was out here. To follow Tammi? That was stupid, I can't fool around with his bosses daughter, he'd have my hide, and then I'd be out of a job. It was entirely likely I wouldn't get another as a rancher, certainly not in the area, I'd have to go a long way to find another job. I dismissed the thought, I didn't know where she'd gone anyway, probably the barn, that was where she usually went right about now.

It couldn't hurt, I made my way over to the barn, it'd be good just to talk to her. I wandered into the barn, puzzled to find her not there. The horses were restless though, far more than they should be, and that prompted my curiousity. "Tammi, are you in here?"