Mustang Dreams (COMPLETED)

Chapter Two

     "Alright, Jace, Howard, Trace, y'all take the left flank." Bill gave out orders as to who rode with who in the round up, and where each ranch hand was to be positioned once they got out to the range.

     "Trigger, Paul, and Nelson, I want y'all to ride lead." Bill commanded.

     Misty bit her lip as the selection of ranch hands were wearing thin. She still hadn't been called and neither had Clay. Any other day, Misty would've begged her dad to put her with Clay, but today, she prayed that her dad wouldn't make her ride alongside Clay.

     "Roger, Waylon, y'all pick up the rear. Junior, Pokey, y'all are with me to help with all the supplies. Rowdy, I want you and Marshall to take the right flank." Bill finished his assigning.

     Misty stared at her dad in disbelief. No, this wasn't happening. Frantically, Misty looked around, hoping that there was a ranch hand or two whose name hadn't been called, but each one had already had their parts assigned. There were only two names that hadn't been called: hers and Clay's.

     "Alright, listen careful. There have been more coyote sightings in these parts, so y'all keep a close eye out. If y'all see anything, please use your walkie-talkies to get a hold of me. Since last year's round-up lasted for six straight days, I'm expecting this year to be about the same, so it's essential that everyone try to get as much sleep as you can. We start out each morning before day break. Veterans of this round-up, I want y'all to make sure that the rookies know where we set up camp each night. I tried placing one or two veterans with each group to ensure that this round-up goes as smoothly as it can. If for some reason you and your partners get separated from each other, or from everyone else, use your walkie-talkies; we don't want anyone, especially rookies, getting lost on the range. Those walkie-talkies are good for, at best, up to fifty miles, but you should never be more than two miles from another group." Many murmurs came from the cowboys around Misty's dad. Taking a breath, Bill said quieter, "Clay, Misty, I want y'all to ride together and ride behind Roger and Waylon and look for any stragglers. Then, y'all can help Marshall and Rowdy on the right flank, okay?" Bill looked between Misty and Clay, as if silently asking if that would be a problem.

     "Yes sir." Clay replied from Misty's right.

     Misty nodded her head when her dad looked to her.

     "Alright, good. Everyone know their job, and who they're ridin' with?" Bill asked all the eager cowboys.

     Many murmurs and "Yessir's" filled the air. "Good. Pokey, all of the hay, feed, and tents all set to go on the truck?" When Pokey, the eldest cowboy nodded, Bill turned back to his excited group of men and said, "Alrighty then, let's head out." Trigger, Paul, and Nelson trotted their horses out to get into the lead; all of the ranch hands filed in behind them.

     Misty could not believe what just happened: her dad just blatantly placed Clay and her together, doing the job that required the most amount of sticking close together and the one that required you to have a pretty decent, compatible relationship with the person you were riding with. Picking up stragglers meant that you had to have one person be the boss and the other person willingly listen to whatever the boss tells them to do, or at least that's the experience that Misty had had whenever she rode the back of the herd. Also, the ride out to the herd of mustangs took two days, which meant that Misty and Clay would have to set up camp together and sleep under the same tent.

     Desperate to not have to ride with Clay, Misty's eyes searched the swarm of cowboys until she found who she was looking for. Misty asked her horse to trot to catch up with her closest friend out of all the ranch hands. She slowed her horse to a walk once she caught up with who she was trying to find. "Jace. I need to ask you a favor. Can you please switch places with me? Please? I cannot ride with Clay after what happened this morning." Misty pleaded with Jace.