Page 10 of On the Land, We Shoot Straight

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he next day, Grady stepped out onto the porch, Cole right behind him, and said they’d take the horses. They could ride them out for this move, use the horse trailer when they moved the flock from the far farm.

“Can you ride?” Grady asked as he went through the gate.

“’Course.” Cole was walking a step behind him, head down and boots scuffing the dirt. Lady came up beside him, and he leaned down to give her a pat.

Grady grunted and figured that was the end of it, but as they came around the back of the house to the pasture hidden by a copse of trees where the horses were, he glanced at Cole, and the kid had gone so still, he looked like he’d seen a ghost. His white skin seemed even paler against the weathered black of his hat.

“Sure you can ride?”

Cole nodded and cleared his throat. “Yeah, I just—” He broke off and continued to look at the horses. “It’s been a while.”

Grady wondered what a while could possibly be for someone who wasn’t yet twenty, but he reckoned that wasn’t actually what Cole was going to say, so he didn’t push it.

“Well, I ride Red there.” Grady pointed at his stock horse, a chestnut gelding quarter horse. The horse looked over and then started up his loping gait to get to Grady at the fence. “So you got Chloe.”

Grady inclined his head at the young mare, a flea-bitten gray; she was about as perfect to look at as any horse could get, a Thoroughbred, but—

“She’s a real temperamental ride. Got her for the missus, but they never got along, so she ain’t been ridden much. Doesn’t really like it.”

As Grady was saying all this, he wondered if maybe it was a really bad idea.

But Cole was standing on the bottom rung of the fence and looking out at Chloe like she was something special—his eyes lit up and body strained forward—and Grady figured, what’s the worst that could happen?

Well, kid could get thrown and hurt, he guessed, but other than that.

“Come on,” Grady said as Red came up and Grady rubbed up and down the white blaze on his nose. “Saddles are this way.”

Grady got Chloe’s bridle and handed it to Cole, who slid it up over his shoulder.

Once he had it settled, Grady gave him the saddle and blanket.

He expected Cole to have some comment on the English saddle his missus preferred to the ranch saddles everyone else used, but if anything Cole looked approvingly at the absence of the horn.

He rested it on his forearm, took the lead rope in his other hand and walked out of the barn while Grady got Red’s gear.

Cole tossed everything on the fence, slung the lead rope around his neck, and lifted himself up and over the fence with both hands on the railing, landing softly on the other side.

Chloe watched him, but stayed where she was, ears pricking up.

Grady came over and tossed the other saddle over the fence, and Red nosed at it.

He patted Red’s neck as he watched Cole walk over to Chloe, his gaze away from her on the thicket of trees on the edge of their pasture.

Chloe’s ears twitched in their erect position, and her nostrils flared, all her attention on Cole; she started digging at the ground with a front hoof as he got closer. Cole never looked at her. He just went on up, stopped a few feet away and waited.

Cole’s presence got the best of her, and she stepped gingerly towards him. He let his hand hang loose at his side, and Chloe sniffed at it. They spent a few minutes like that, horse sniffing at the boy’s hand, until Cole patted her nose gently and she allowed it.

When Cole slipped the lead on, Chloe snorted and shook her head in the air, but it was for show, and Grady saw Cole knew that. Cole turned back and let the rope hang loose behind him. He walked back to the fence slowly, and Chloe followed on behind him.

“All right,” Grady said and got to saddling up Red.

Cole got the saddle on and was tightening the strap under Chloe’s belly when she whipped her head around and nipped him.

But Cole just said, “Yeah, yeah,” and carried on.

Grady thought it best to leave them to it. Chloe did the same thing to the missus every time, and she always whacked her back. Grady knew Chloe was just trying it on. Cole seemed unbothered by it, so Chloe rippled her body, snorted and let him finish.

As Cole put the bridle on, Grady got his foot in the stirrup and lifted himself up onto Red.

“No bit,” Cole said.

Grady shrugged. He never used them. Even with a difficult horse. He expected Cole to have something to say about it, but when he looked back down at him, he was grinning. He swung himself up into the saddle like he was born to it.

“You can ride,” Grady said as Cole took the reins in one hand and Chloe trotted in a manic movement up to Red’s side and shook her head, Cole holding his seat all the while and smiling.

“Yep.” Cole gave Chloe’s neck a few good pats, leaned up and said something softly near her ear while she tossed her head around.

Grady nudged Red and headed for the gate. He dismounted, opened it, and let Chloe and Cole through before he followed with Red. He got back on Red’s back and they set off, the dogs taking off alongside them as the horses picked up the pace.

Grady kept an eye on Chloe and Cole, but the kid was managing it, even though she was trying it on with some crazy head shaking. But then she got the feel for running, and while she liked Red well enough, she didn’t like him having a lead on her, so she settled down, and they rode.

They could’ve used the truck, and most farmers did it that way now, but as they rode out, Grady wondered why anyone would. More mobility with a horse, and—in his opinion—more fun.

It was still early when they reached the flock to be moved, the heat ever-present, but it wasn’t so hot they couldn’t cover some good ground before they had to turn back.

Grady rode up beside Cole. They slowed to a trot, and he was about to say they’d tighten up the flock, but Lady was already on it, running up and down the length of the flock, moving them into a tight huddle.

“Now we just gotta hope Dog stays out of it,” Grady said.

“Why?”

“You’ll see.” Grady smiled at him.

He swore Cole blushed at the smile, but he wasn’t going to dwell on it. He rode to the far side to shore up Lady’s flank and help her get them moving. Cole picked up on what he was doing and rode Chloe to the other side. They got them moving at a quick walk and settled in for the move.

They made it across two pastures before Dog showed up, remembering he was actually meant to be a sheepdog.

He ran right through the middle of the flock, sending one half streaming back in the opposite direction in a panicked gallop and the other half scattering into the pasture and trying to regroup.

Lady took off like a shot to bring the unruly group back into a huddle while Grady muttered, “Fuck’s sake, shoulda shot you when I had the chance,” and nudged Red into a gallop to help her.

He spared a glance over his shoulder and saw Cole streaking across the plain, Chloe like a goddamn racehorse as they charged after the group that’d bolted.

And Christ, that kid could ride; he was almost horizontal with the horse, ass out of the saddle as he spurred her on; he seemed to be saying something into her pricked-up ears.

Grady wanted to watch, but he turned back to where Lady was barking and tearing around the back of the flock, bringing them all in, tighter and tighter.

Grady and Red brought up her other side and got them up against the fence.

The feistier ewes at the front stopped and turned on them—stomping and glaring, fucking daring that dog to come any closer.

Lady took no notice of them, kept on holding the line, back and forth, giving them that eye.

Grady spun Red and started to head over to help Cole. He saw him rein Chloe in, turn her sharply before charging to get the bottom end of the flock back in because they already had the top under control.

Grady blew out a breath. Kid could fucking ride all right.

He set his horse and decided to watch. Dog reappeared, and Grady brought his forefinger and middle finger up between his lips; he gave a bloodcurdling whistle, and Dog glanced back at him. He looked over to Cole’s flock, then back at Lady’s, like he was damn well thinking about it.

Grady whistled again and muttered, “Just go on an’ try it.”

He might’ve promised his dad he wouldn’t shoot the bastard of a dog, but he figured he’d discharged that duty.

Dog must’ve decided he’d had enough exertion because he turned and headed for home, sliding on his belly under the fence before trotting across the adjacent field.

Grady looked over and saw Cole had his flock under control, had ridden Chloe around the rear, the pair of them holding their flock tight by cantering up and down the back line and riding them over to Lady’s flock at a nice pace.

Grady nudged Red into a canter, rode over to the far side of them so he could meet up with Cole once the flock reunited; this gave him a nice view of Cole’s flushed face and bright eyes, his blinding grin as he raced Chloe along the back, the horse charging and doing his bidding like she was part of him.

“I see what you mean,” Cole shouted around a laugh as the flock merged and he came up around the back of Red. Chloe refused to settle, as if she’d finally discovered what it meant to be ridden well; she was tossing her head around, had a real spring in her step. Red sidestepped her and snorted.

“Cursed animal. He’s doin’ his damnedest to get shot.”

Cole laughed, high and free. Grady shook his head around a smile.

“Come on.” He got Red moving, and Cole and Chloe fell in beside them. “Let’s get ’em into the next one and then call it a day.”

“Yes, boss.” Cole laughed again and then nudged Chloe. She took off like she’d been waiting for it.

Grady shook his head around another smile. This damn kid.