Iâm off the clock now. Iâll sit in for a couple of hours. Thatâs the least I can do. You know, that bust didnât hurt my stock any, so I figure I owe you.â
Virgil grabbed his hat off the desk. âThatâs great. Drink all the coffee you want. Iâm out of here, before you change yourmind. Dif shows up, tell him Iâm on my way to the Thompson ranch. He can reach me there.â
âVirgil, Iâm going to try to set up the other thing for tomorrow.â
âOkay. Do you want to give me a hint?â
âNo. I think itâs better if you donât know till then, especially if youâve got a situation now that needs your focus.â
Virgil gave a slight wave, then was out the door. All the way to the Thompson ranch, he puzzled over Kyleâs reticence. He even passed the turnoff because he was so preoccupied.
âDamn, missed the turn.â He backed up Rosieâs car a full quarter of a mile before he saw the marker.
âCharlie sure likes his privacy.â The only indication of the ranch was a sign proclaiming the name HIGH LONESOME and an arrow below pointing down the dirt road with the notation 8Â MILES . The sign hadnât been refreshed in at least twenty years, Virgil figured. Sagebrush along with cactus had grown up around it.
âIf you didnât know it was here, youâd never find it,â he said to the empty car. The road in was rough. Dust clouds trailed in his wake while more than a couple of times loose stones bounced off the underside of the car. Like Rosita, he was aware of the emptiness. He hadnât been here in a few years, but remembered clusters of cattle dotting the now-vacant landscape. He saw a couple of mule deer, but no livestock. There were a couple of places where the fencing was in serious need of attention. The earlier preoccupation with Kyleâs last comment had slipped away, then vanished completely when he saw Rosie standing by a corral fence, stroking a horse that looked like it belonged in a cartoon. He pulled alongside the cruiser that she had driven. Rosita was still stroking the old horse when he got out of the car.
âThat sway is so deep, I think I could jump over that horseâsback from a standstill,â Virgil said as he got out of the car. âWonder why Charlie hasnât put him down? His time has come and gone.â
âNot always easy to say good-bye, Virgil. You know that. I think this old guy was something special in his day.â
Virgil took a step back, eyeing the horse.
âI canât believe it. Rosie, I think youâre right. I do believe this is the horse Charlie rode in his last rodeo years. If Iâm right, he took a first, his last year in bulldogging on this guy. This old-timerâs got to be at least thirty-five.â
Rosie patted him once more, then stepped away. âI called the EMTs. Thought maybe theyâd get here before you.â
âGood,â Virgil said. âWhereâs Velma?â
Rosita nodded toward the house. Virgil could see the figure sitting in the porch chair even though the late-day shadows were creeping across the front yard.
âSheâs where I found her. I called from the house, but it didnât feel right staying there. I felt like a trespasser. Thatâs why I decided to come out here and hang out with this old guy till you or the EMTs showed up.â
âAny sign of the help?â
âNo one. Nothing.â
âThey must be around here somewhere. There must be somebody besides Charlie and Velma on this place.â
âWell, Velma told me some time back that Manuel is still here. She also mentioned Lorenzo. I donât think I know him, but Manuel has been here a long time.â
âManuel and Cesar are good friends. Iâve met him a bunch of times. Iâve run into him at the feed store with another fella. That must be Lorenzo. Daylightâs slipping away, so wherever they are
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