ROCK CANDY RANCH

Hay is for Horses

"Rise and shine, little lady!" 

Seth's voice boomed through the old fashioned intercom, -connected from the outside of the front door of the cabin directly into her room- and Jane awoke with a clumsy start, blindly fumbling and nearly falling out of the bed.

She removed her sleeping mask and stumbled over to the intercom, depressing the speak button.  

"I'm up!" she yelled back. "-be out in another ten."  and she could have sworn she heard him snicker a bit on the other end.  She rummaged through her things and found her shower cap and caddie.

She took a quick lukewarm shower and dressed for ranch-work in her brand new boots, a pair of overalls and a t-shirt.   She kept her hair covered in her black satin scarf, and topped it off with a simple straw farm hat.  She wasn't trying to get crap in her hair.

After this was done, she looked up at a sky-light and realized the sky was still dark.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"  she sleepily said to herself, but she marched to the front door and opened it to Seth, who was very much awake, a'fresh, and staring at his watch.

"Fifteen minutes isn't bad for a woman," he said, his voice a pleasantly deep rumble.  "'Specially one of your presumed citified disposition. Still, five minutes is optimum. Shower the night before if you have to. And..." he leaned forward and sniffed. "For Pete's sake, use this soap from now on instead of that fancy perfumey stuff you brought. 'Less you want every insect and creature in the area to come on over to you for a lick or nibble." 

Jane huffed and reached into her front coverall pocket, pulling out an expensive brand of repellent.

Seth laughed, and scratched a spot in a his wildy sloppy, damp, but still somehow damn sexy hair. 

"That ain't gonna do ya' no good," he intoned.

She smirked humorlessly and sprayed the stuff all over her body, making Seth cough at the mixed perfume-medicinal smell.

"I'm good now." Jane said, stubbornly.  "Where are we going, first?"

Seth coughed-laughed and said. "To my truck,"  and he watched this cute but annoyingly hopeless girl, walk awkwardly in her brand new boots towards his truck.

How in the holy hell was this Ray Cressie's niece?  He wondered.  He could see nothing of the tough old coot in this prissy little city girl.

He discreetly put the fresh bar of hunter's soap on her entryway table,  shut her cabin door, and followed.

He opened the passenger door and she got in.

A woman calling herself Maxine Hanover was on the radio.  She wasn't giving weather, or even talking religion, but giving a rundown of the town and farm events, which included a recent birth from a local cow named Trudy.  The old girl had had twins. 

This place was surreal. Somehow, time had just stopped here.

It was a good fifteen minutes ride before he stopped at a beautiful stretch of land.  It was all fenced in, but done the old way, with heavy wood planks.  

"Before you get to work, I thought you might want to see this."  Seth climbed the fence, agile as a fresh young boy, put his fingers between teeth and whistled high and loud.   

Jane frowned up at him, but he simply put his finger to his lips.  In the ensuing silence, there was a distant thundering noise.  

After a moment, Jane realized this wasn't thunder, but galloping...

From the distant horizon where the sun was just beginning to make herself known, came a herd of horses.  Beautiful, unencumbered, wild horses.

Jane gasped.  

"Haven't been sorted yet." he said, absently.  "I'll keep some, -sell some.  That stallion is the leader, see?" he said, pointing toward a pinto beauty, with mane so long it was beginning to matt into locks.

"Oh, look at that one." Jane said, getting caught up.  "The white one!"

"-With the spots? Yeah. I'm definitely keeping that one.  That mare has a gentle disposition, even wild. She'll train up well."