The Cowboy's Call

Chapter 2

Dawn rose over the small town, dispersing its rays across the prairie. The valley still clung to the shadows that sheltered them from the burning rays of a winter sun. The town was barely awake as the merry-making of the night before had told on the men and women that joined in the festivities.

Above the rest of the town, a lonely figure stood watching the coming of the sun. His eyes followed the beginnings of life within the small municipal. Shopkeepers began opening their doors, once in a while a lonely cowboy would trot down the street, bedraggled and unkempt, flopping to and fro upon his steed. He watched as a portly woman opened the doors to a shop across the street from the cowboy's lonely hideaway. Her bony hands clung to an old, well-used broom as she swept the dusty boards that made up the wooden sidewalk. The dust was disbursed and her strokes became hypnotic, flowing this way and that. The cowboy watched her like a clock ticking back and forth.

A beautiful girl passed by the old woman, screaming when the bristles of the brush barely whipped her shining black boots. The woman professed her supreme sorrow to the girl before she passed on with a scoff and a whip of her perfectly curled hair. A smile fell upon the poor cowboy's face before he turned and retreated into the interior of the room.

As he found his way down the stairs of his lodgings, the room in which he had entered the night before had took on a cheerful, morning glow. He smiled as a plump, little woman came forward to greet him. Behind her, the man who had welcomed him stood calmly watching, an almost imperceptible smile upon his face.

"Welcome, sir, I hope you slept well. If there is anything you need, don't you hesitate to ask me or Henry here. I hope he wasn't too bothersome last night. He can be a bit of a scatterbrain sometimes," she giggled as her husband came up from behind her giving her a hearty kiss on the cheek.

"I ain't no scatterbrain Mrs. Mason. I swear I never know what she's on about." He let out a hearty laugh, a twinkle lighting up his dull eyes.

A minuscule smile came over the cowboy's face before he tipped his hat to the old woman. Her face shone with a thousand dimples and her eyes sparkled like blue diamonds in a Texan sun. "How do you do ma'am," he said, politely.

"Oh, I'm fair to meddling', thank you very much. It's been a coon's age since I've seen such a handsome boy around these parts." She grinned wickedly and her husband scowled down at her.

"Oh, Roy's still my handsome cowboy, but we ain't as young as we used be. My, those were the days." She took on a far-away look, as her mind stretched back, leaving the rest of them alone in the present.

"So, what are you doing in these here parts?" Questioned Roy.

"Just looking for work, sir," the cowboy growled.

"Well, there's plenty of ranch work out here if that's what you're looking for. A fella your age shouldn't have a problem getting a good honest job on one of the nearby ranches. You may try Jack West's ranch. I hear he's looking for some new cowhands."

"Thank you, sir. I'll certainly take your advice."

"Oh, and I didn't get your name." Roy looked him up and down.

"It's Lance, Lance Carter, sir."

"Very good to meet you. I'm Roy and this here is my wife, Myra." Myra nodded as she silently sized him up.

"It's very nice to meet you too, sir."

"Well, we won't keep you no longer." And, he turned aside, pulling his wife to stand beside him.

Lance passed from the room with all its warmth and charm and out into the street. the sun had finally come fully above the tiny western town and stood smiling down upon them. With the cold wind gone from the day before, the world felt warmth invading its cold crevices and Lance looked up to let the sun's rays pass over him.