On the Fence

Chapter 40

"Son of a bitch!" I cursed as the barbed wire ripped through my jeans and into the top of my thigh as it broke where I was stretching it. A large break in the fence had been discovered along the mountains days ago, and I had been working on repairs.

"That's the most you've uttered in days, Darlin," Tyler's gentle voice broke the silence as he walked over to me.

He examined my knee and grabbed a bandage from his saddle bags to wrap up the deep cut. Six weeks had passed since my frantic race to catch Aiden, and my spirits were low. Tyler had volunteered to come out with me to fix the fence as it was a large project, but we both knew he was really keeping an eye on me.

The break in the fence was big and needed to be repaired quickly. Many cattle had escaped and were now wandering around the mountainside. The break had sprung loose right at the corner of the border, and Thunderbird ranch was in the middle of the same repairs, though their break was significantly smaller. To make matters worse, warnings of a cougar in the area which had been going after cattle circulated. The problems had Zeke in an especially foul mood, and these last few days had been tense on Bridlewood.

Tyler's and my eyes were drawn up at the sound of a plane flying overhead, heading back towards the ranch.

"That'll be Zeke and Brant coming back from scouting. We'd better head back now to hear what they have to say about the situation. We'll leave the temporary fence up a little longer, ok, darlin?" I nodded in answer at him, and we gathered up our tools.

We rode back to Bridlewood in silence, with him stealing glances at me now and then. Tyler had been doing his best to keep my spirits up, but I was mostly a silent companion these days. The men had noticed my change, but I had no answer to give them that wouldn't reveal my secret, so I stuck with the simple explanation of 'personal problems, not related to work.' They all knew I didn't have much of a family and came from a difficult background, so most accepted this answer without pressing me too much, except for Brant and Marney.

Marney had been easy to talk to and reveal the truth to, but Brant was another matter entirely. I still didn't know what to say to him about my more melancholy attitude these days. He had guessed right at one point that it was 'the other guy' I had mentioned before, but he had left it at that, not wanting to pry.

Brant and Tyler still managed to pull smiles from me occasionally, but I was quieter these days. I had a lot on my mind, and every time I looked at Brant, I couldn't help but examine how I felt about him and compare that with how I felt about Aiden. I had promised to wait for Aiden, and I was taking the time to think and mull things over in my mind. That hadn't stopped me from spending time with Brant, though; my feelings for him were just as strong as ever.

Tyler and I rode up to the hitching post and dismounted. We turned and walked out to the airstrip, where we found Zeke and Brant talking next to the plane, discussing numbers and options about what to do.

"What's the damage?" Tyler asked as we walked up close to them. Brant and Zeke turned to us.

Brant sighed and answered, "We were able to count close to 300 head wandering around the mountains from that break in the fence. We'll have to send a group to round them up and drive them back."

"We don't have the manpower right now, Mr. Bailey," Brant sighed. It was true that with the harvest season starting and the rodeo fast approaching, there was too much work to go around. Baling and storing the winter's hay along with normal operations, rodeo preparation, and emergencies was enough to keep all the ranch hands busy. Adding a special drive to search and round up the missing cattle was a considerable strain.

"Then we will need to hire some extra hands to go along on the drive," answered Zeke.

"Who did you have in mind, Mr. Bailey?" Brant asked, rubbing the back of his neck with irritation. It made me curious about what he was thinking. Did he just cringe?