Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
W est slapped dust from his chaps and thought about taking them off. He shouldn’t need them again today, but then again, he still had to ride back to the house.
He and Ben had been riding fence for at least four hours. And he was starving.
“You ready to head back in?” he asked Ben.
“Nope. Get down and walk her out, West. Since we’re out on the road, Little Nate is coming to get us in the trailer.
“Oh, damn. Good deal.” He had two drovers and two day laborers starting next week, and was damn happy about it. It had taken way too damn long to hire reliable guys who weren’t working some other job.
Ben seemed tired, but his smile never once let up. He tended to come off as pretty happy, all in all, for having worked so hard.
“I really appreciate all your help. I know it’s been tough, but we’ve got four guys starting and?—”
“Hey, hey, it’s all right, I get it. I’ve done this long enough. I know how it works. How’s Noah doing in school?”
“That kid is happy. He’s all excited about Halloween. It’s still two-three weeks away, and he’s over the moon.”
Poor Zoe had been sick for her birthday, and Trey had had to wait a week after her actual birthday before they could get her well enough to get the bouncy house. She’d managed without too much of a fuss, and she’d had a cake, Mal had come with a tricycle, and she and her brother had bounced away, happy as pigs in shit.
“Good deal, good deal. I know that they’re at prime trick or treat age. At least Noah is. Zoe is determined to do whatever her brother does.” Ben shook his head. “I like that Mark kid, he’s doing a good job, knows what to do with his food, and he’s keeping the house clean, I approve.”
He was waiting for Ben to get around to whatever it was that he wanted to talk about.
Because it was obvious that Ben had something on his mind. He was over to the big house every afternoon to talk to Trey and give him a rundown of the day’s events.
He knew about the birthdays, he knew about school, about trick or treat. Thing was, West just had to wait until Ben was ready to tell him what he was going to tell him.
“So I got me an idea.”
Here it comes…
“Except, it’s a problem idea because I don’t want anything to do with it. It’s an idea for you though, and Trey and Little Nate.”
That sounded way kinkier than he thought Ben meant it to.
“All right. Lay it on me.”
Ben took a deep breath. “I think that you ought to take Nate off the regular rotation and set him to doing therapy dogs. Like training all types of different dogs. It’s something that Mr. Trey could use as a tax write-off. I’m sure there’s like monies out there for it. Mr. Trey needs a dog. Those kids need a dog. And Nate’s the best trainer I’ve ever seen. I think that it’s something to do, and I think that you ought to suggest it to Nate. Have him write something up and present it to Trey. I think that you ought to do it. I think it’s important.”
Well, damn.
Ben had said a whole lot of words for a single deep breath.
West was impressed.
“There’s a big difference between ranch dogs and therapy dogs, Ben.” He wasn’t saying no, he was just pointing that out.
“Uh-huh. You ever seen what his Quinn can do?”
“No.” Not even on the ranch. He tended not to work with the dogs like Nate and Ben did.
“Well, stop by the bunkhouse tonight.”
“Okay. Y’all going to feed me?”
“Yessir. I can make chili.”
“Oh now, that sounds fine.” He hoped. Some people’s chili and his were different. “I’ll come on down.”
“Don’t worry. I’m originally from Texas. I know from chili. I won’t poison you on purpose.”
“Listen to you! You need more to do, old man.”
“Bullshit. I’m working my butt off. I’m just waiting for you to hire folks before you kill me.”
“Uh-huh.” He chuckled, then unbuckled his chaps. Oh, better. He walked out the roan mare he’d taken out today, super-pleased at how she’d stepped up. She was a hard worker.
Nate showed up about twenty minutes later, and they loaded the horses, then piled into the truck. “Ben asked me to supper tonight.”
“Cool. He’s making chili. You got any special kind of beer you like?”
“I’ll bring us down a six-pack,” West murmured. He was not drinking bunkhouse piss.
“Okay, that works. We’ll see you at six.” They all went their separate ways at the ranch, Ben taking the horses, Nate the trailer, and West going to meet one of the day laborers at the office at his little house.
The guy’s name was Dodger, but West didn’t think he was going to shirk his duties one bit. He seemed a good sort. “You got a place to stay, then?”
“Yessir. My wife and I are renting a place not too far down the road.”
“Good deal.” They shook on it, and he worked his ass off until five thirty so he could mosey down and see Nate’s dog.
It was already getting dark, and he smiled to see the bunkhouse lit up. That was how it was supposed to be—a place for cowboys to relax, laugh, play cards, and recuperate.
Nate was sitting at the kitchen table, and the dog was in the kitchen with Ben as he tapped on the screen door.
“Quinn, go open the front door for the boss.”
The click-clack of nails on the floor sounded, and a black and white border collie appeared, her ears twitching and nose working. She jumped up to hit the latch on the screen door, which popped right open for him.
“Thanks.” He stared at the dog. Okay, so that was a neat trick. What else could she do? “I brought beer.”
“Quinn, open the fridge for the boss.”
The dog went to the fridge and grabbed a tug toy tied to the handle. She pulled it, gentle as you please, and the fridge door opened without jostling everything in it.
“Damn. That’s pretty cool.” He put his beer where Ben had cleared him a spot, then grabbed a chair to sit.
“It is. She’s a smart baby. Show him, boy.”
“Sure.” Nate grinned, and West could tell he loved this game. “Quinn, I left the stove on.”
Quinn moved immediately to turn off the stove. It was a gas model with dials on the front, not all the way in the back.
“Good girl.” She sat, and Nate gave her a ball, which she mauled for about thirty seconds. “Okay, baby girl. Go turn off the lights in the front room.”
She whooshed away, and the lights went out like there was nothing to it.
“Quinn, can you go get the mouse toy?” Nate didn’t watch her, face still as hell.
Sure as shit, she ran off and came back with a bright green mouse toy.
“Damn, man. How long does it take you to teach her stuff like that?” West asked, studying the dog, who was playing with her toy.
“She’s my star pupil, so a new trick takes about six weeks of practice for her to do it every time. Now, I started her late. Little Hamdog? He’ll do it in like, a month. But he’s too little still to reach lights and all.”
“But he’ll be able to do it?”
“Yep. And then I got Dandy. She’s trained to run off the birds over at the airstrip.”
“Shit, man. I had no idea.”
Nate winked. “You want a beer?”
“Sure.”
“Quinn, get the boss his beer.”
She went right to the fridge, then pulled out a beer bottle and brought it to him. One of his. She was a phenom.
“Do you think you can train one of these dogs to make sure Zoe doesn’t wander off?”
He didn’t worry too much about Trey in the house, or the kids for that matter, but if that little girl got out into the pasture? Into the stock pond? The road?
The thought hurt his heart, one hundred percent.
If a dog could herd her back to the house if she got loose, well… And any help Trey could get would be amazing.
“So, have you thought about doing this full-time, Nate?”
“This what?” Nate blinked a little. West had a feeling he’d just been showing off.
“Training dogs. That’s some good stuff Quinn can do. Like helper dog stuff.”
“Oh.” Nate’s eyes went really round. “I mean, she’s no seeing eye dog.”
“Not everyone needs those. Some folks need dogs who can do things that they can’t do with their hands, or that they can’t reach being in a wheelchair.”
“I mean, no. I hadn’t thought about it. I reckon to get real helper dogs I’d have to do some sort of class…”
“I imagine there would be certification and all, yeah. Is that something you’d want to do?”
“Hell, yes!” Nate slapped his hand on the table, making Quinn bark. “Sorry, baby girl. But the dogs are my thing, West. Like a real ache to do it.”
“Then we’ll figure out a way. And you think you can train a dog to keep Miss Zoe safe?”
“Well, that’s easy. That’s just herding. I got dogs now who could do it. Not the two corgis. They need to nip as they go. But a border collie like Quinn? Or I got a Sheltie named Valentine. She could step right up.”
“That would be a real blessing. She’s getting more and more mobile, and that little gal is fearless.” He popped the top off his beer, and it fell to the floor. Quinn picked it up and took it to the trash can. Now that was just showing off.
He felt like this was a real thing, hand to God, and if he could help Nate build it up, well, they’d be doing some honest-to-goodness solid here.
“I’ll talk to Trey. He’ll sign off, and we’ll make it happen.”