help.”
~*~*~*~
Saturday passed, then Sunday. Each day was a different adventure with the Argosy family. They inoculated lambs, fixed fences, checked for injuries, and generally prepared for the shearing process the next week. Matt couldn’t believe how everything worked out for a better vacation than he could have ever imagined. His flight was early Friday morning. He’d have to leave Thursday night, but he intended to enjoy every day to its fullest from now until then.
Four
Sweat trickled down Matt’s back and temples. He wiped ineffectively at his forehead with his sleeve; shearing was hard work. The professional shearers were fast at their job, but the boys and Matt helped gather sheep, pen them, run them through the chute, and then released them to pasture again.
It was hot grueling work, and Matt now understood how ranchers could put away mounds of food in no time flat. His jeans were already getting looser. He’d pulled his belt a notch tighter that morning giving Lane the opportunity to tease him. “You’re going to waste away to nothing—or is that w-a-i-s-t away?” she’d said.
He felt good. His job at the metal works was as a welder. It too was hard, hot work, and he came home dirty and sweaty each night, but this place was different. Even his lungs felt alive and full of what seemed to be the freshest air in the world.
At night, he rode back to the stables on Cardiff and unsaddled her. He’d learned to do it all and loved it. His westerns hadn’t betrayed him after all; life in Montana was everything he’d dreamed it could be. He’d already decided that his vacation to California was cancelled if the Argosys ever invited him to come again.
Thursday, he rode in at noon for lunch with the rest of the workers, but unlike the rest, he unsaddled Cardiff and brushed her down while Lane watched from the barn window in silence. Matt probably seemed like a different man than the one she’d met in the pasture that first day—maybe because he was. His movements were gentle, but confident, and he’d learned quickly how to soothe the horses as he worked.
As Matt led Cardiff to the corrals, he spied Lane watching him and turned Cardiff loose to find her own way to the water trough.
Standing a good three feet from the window, he eyed her curiously. “What?”
Lane shook her head. “Nothing. You just fit in here so well that I forgot you are from another world. You’re leaving.”
His feet shuffled a few inches closer. “Yep. Gotta clean up and hit the road in a few hours. This week—”
The tension in the air was unlike anything either of them had ever known. He wanted to hold her and tell her how glad he was he’d met all of them, but especially her. He couldn’t. If he got much closer with the heavy layer of wool coating every inch of him, she’d need medical attention. He ached to say something, but he knew he shouldn’t. He was leaving. She was staying, and by the time he got back, if he ever returned, things would probably be very different. “Lane, I—”
Patience dashed into the barn. “Matt! You’re missing dinner, and it’s tacos. Come on! “She grabbed his arm and pulled.
Matt’s eyes met Lane’s and then he disappeared from sight. Lane sank to the ground at the base of the window and stared into the corral. Cardiff eyed her curiously. “I’ll bet you’re gonna miss him too. You almost had him trained.”
~*~*~*~
Matt drove down the driveway with a lump in his throat, refusing to glance at the rearview mirror. He’d left Patience bawling and Lane even more sarcastic than the day she’d found him in the pasture. Warren had looked disappointed as he shook hands, thanked him for his help with the shearing, and invited Matt back anytime.
The drive through Argosy Junction was bittersweet. He stopped to fill up with gas, smiled at a little girl in a calico jumper who agonized over a candy purchase, and then wondered if she’d grow up to be
~*~*~*~
Saturday passed, then Sunday. Each day was a different adventure with the Argosy family. They inoculated lambs, fixed fences, checked for injuries, and generally prepared for the shearing process the next week. Matt couldn’t believe how everything worked out for a better vacation than he could have ever imagined. His flight was early Friday morning. He’d have to leave Thursday night, but he intended to enjoy every day to its fullest from now until then.
Four
Sweat trickled down Matt’s back and temples. He wiped ineffectively at his forehead with his sleeve; shearing was hard work. The professional shearers were fast at their job, but the boys and Matt helped gather sheep, pen them, run them through the chute, and then released them to pasture again.
It was hot grueling work, and Matt now understood how ranchers could put away mounds of food in no time flat. His jeans were already getting looser. He’d pulled his belt a notch tighter that morning giving Lane the opportunity to tease him. “You’re going to waste away to nothing—or is that w-a-i-s-t away?” she’d said.
He felt good. His job at the metal works was as a welder. It too was hard, hot work, and he came home dirty and sweaty each night, but this place was different. Even his lungs felt alive and full of what seemed to be the freshest air in the world.
At night, he rode back to the stables on Cardiff and unsaddled her. He’d learned to do it all and loved it. His westerns hadn’t betrayed him after all; life in Montana was everything he’d dreamed it could be. He’d already decided that his vacation to California was cancelled if the Argosys ever invited him to come again.
Thursday, he rode in at noon for lunch with the rest of the workers, but unlike the rest, he unsaddled Cardiff and brushed her down while Lane watched from the barn window in silence. Matt probably seemed like a different man than the one she’d met in the pasture that first day—maybe because he was. His movements were gentle, but confident, and he’d learned quickly how to soothe the horses as he worked.
As Matt led Cardiff to the corrals, he spied Lane watching him and turned Cardiff loose to find her own way to the water trough.
Standing a good three feet from the window, he eyed her curiously. “What?”
Lane shook her head. “Nothing. You just fit in here so well that I forgot you are from another world. You’re leaving.”
His feet shuffled a few inches closer. “Yep. Gotta clean up and hit the road in a few hours. This week—”
The tension in the air was unlike anything either of them had ever known. He wanted to hold her and tell her how glad he was he’d met all of them, but especially her. He couldn’t. If he got much closer with the heavy layer of wool coating every inch of him, she’d need medical attention. He ached to say something, but he knew he shouldn’t. He was leaving. She was staying, and by the time he got back, if he ever returned, things would probably be very different. “Lane, I—”
Patience dashed into the barn. “Matt! You’re missing dinner, and it’s tacos. Come on! “She grabbed his arm and pulled.
Matt’s eyes met Lane’s and then he disappeared from sight. Lane sank to the ground at the base of the window and stared into the corral. Cardiff eyed her curiously. “I’ll bet you’re gonna miss him too. You almost had him trained.”
~*~*~*~
Matt drove down the driveway with a lump in his throat, refusing to glance at the rearview mirror. He’d left Patience bawling and Lane even more sarcastic than the day she’d found him in the pasture. Warren had looked disappointed as he shook hands, thanked him for his help with the shearing, and invited Matt back anytime.
The drive through Argosy Junction was bittersweet. He stopped to fill up with gas, smiled at a little girl in a calico jumper who agonized over a candy purchase, and then wondered if she’d grow up to be
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