Chapter 9
Two Whiskey Sours
As soon as I arrive at Branding Night, I realize Miles and Parker downplayed this event by a lot.
There are literally hundreds of cowboys here, and the bonfire Parker mentioned is closer to the size of a small forest fire.
Before I got here, I was ready to have some fun with the only people around here that I know.
Now, I’m feeling so far out of place, my heart is practically beating through my shirt.
A few cowboys I overhear by the makeshift bar mention that Branding Night isn’t just Lone Pine Ranch, it’s all of the local ranches coming together for a celebration.
It’s held at Lone Pine each year because Lone Pine is the oldest running ranch in Jackson Hole. Another detail I wasn’t aware of. One I found by googling it on my phone as quickly as I could while sitting on a wooden barrel at the end of the ‘bar.’
The ‘bar’ is really just a collection of worn pallets and barrels that have been setup in a sort-of rectangle shape near the big barn.
There’s one very quiet cowboy behind the pallets serving drinks without a word.
I heard someone yell, “Walker” at some point so I’m guessing that’s his name.
I’m just about to ask Walker for a drink when a familiar warm breeze wisps across my arm.
Turning around, my elbow makes contact with a hard chest.
“I told you you didn’t need to come, Mac,” Miles grumbles from above my shoulder.
“Nice to see you too, Autry,” I counter with a smile. He answers with a sigh, as if he just can’t put up with me any longer. Can’t wait to test that limit, because I’m not leaving for his sake.
“I just mean it’s a lot of rowdy cowboys acting like children until all hours of the morning. I’m out of here by eleven at the latest,” he says, placing an elbow on the pallet bar. Always leaning on something like he’s exhausted.
“Wow, grandpa, you sure eleven isn’t too late? Isn’t your bedtime nine sharp?” I ask, eyes comically wide.
He rolls his eyes, scoffing at my comment. It almost looks like he might smile, but he doesn’t. “Ha-ha,” Miles deadpans, his eyes piercing into mine. “Very funny. You’ll see soon enough, come eleven o’clock you’ll wish you were leaving too.”
“We’ll see about that.” I wink at him just as he’s turning to order his drink.
“Two whiskey sours, Walker,” he says with a polite nod.
“Double fisting it tonight, are we?” I tease, throwing his words from before back at him.
“Actually, smartass, this one’s yours,” he says, handing me one of the mason jar drinks. I try to hide my surprise, tapping his glass back when he nudges his towards me with an almost inaudible “cheers.”
Miles holds my eye contact as we take a sip, which feels much more intimate than it should.
I feel stripped down when he looks at me.
Like he can see all of me, my insecurities, my thoughts, my real feelings.
There’s no small talk with him, no fake conversations.
It scares me a bit. I’ve never met anyone that so easily rips through my walls of confidence and self-assurance.
I’m the first to break eye contact, looking down and clearing my throat. “Not much of a late night drinking kinda guy anymore?” I ask, trying to break whatever tension is floating around us.
“Never was,” he answers. “That was a special occasion in Utah.”
“Oh, were you and Parker celebrating something?”
“Not really,” he stumbles over his words, looking down to his boots. “It’s kind of a long story.”
“Okay,” I say with a nod. If he doesn’t want to elaborate, that’s fine. I’m not going to make him share anything with me he doesn’t want to.
His lips part as if he’s about to explain himself just as we’re interrupted by a holler from right behind me.
“Katie! You showed up!” Parker yells, pulling me in for a side hug by my shoulder.
Even sitting up on my barrel, I only come up to Parker’s stomach.
“I was hoping the old man wouldn’t scare you away.
I promise the rest of us are a lot more fun than Miles.
” A flash of annoyance dances across Miles’s face, his jaw ticking once as he turns away from us.
“I don’t know, I think under that tough guy exterior he’s secretly a maniac,” I laugh.
“I wish the two of you had never met,” Miles grumbles. He grabs his drink and stands from the barrel.
“You’re just bitter because Katie likes me better than you,” Parker shrugs. Miles rolls his eyes, walking away from us.
“You shouldn’t antagonize him so much, he’s bound to pop that vein in his neck one of these days,” I say to Parker once Miles is out of earshot.
“Oh, it’s good for him,” Parker smiles, nodding towards Miles. “He’s too serious, that one. Wound up so tightly all the time. He needs a few dozen chill pills.” I nod in agreement. “Have you been here long?” Parker asks.
“Nope, just got here. Looks like a good time.”
“Well in that case, I’d love to introduce you to the rest of the guys from the ranch.” He points over to a group of cowboys standing near a corral fence. “They’re all dying to meet the new owner of the Old Cabin, especially after Walt described you as a ‘pretty young lady’ the other day.”
“Wow, I’m honored,” I laugh. Taking his outstretched hand and bouncing off of the barrel, I let Parker lead me over to the other guys and introduce me. A couple of them have girlfriends that ask me about my boots and tell me I should go out for coffee with them sometime.
“Hey, new girl!” A voice says behind me. I turn around and come face-to-face with Codie, the bartender from the Alpine Rose.
“Hi!” I smile as she pulls me in for a hug. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I actually know somebody here.”
Codie laughs, her bright green eyes sparkling in the twilight. “Look at you, already fitting in at a ranch party.”
“I might have to visit for Branding Night every year, this is quite the ordeal.”
“Cowboys do like to play hard,” she nods. “What brings you out here?”
“My company actually bought a piece of property that used to belong to Lone Pine,” I explain. “That’s what I’m in town for this summer, to fix it up and turn it into a vacation rental. Parker Bailey invited me tonight.”
Codie takes a swig of the beer in her hands. “Now that sounds like a really cool job.”
“I can’t complain,” I laugh.
“How are you liking Wyoming so far?”
“It’s gorgeous. I can’t stop looking at the mountains, it doesn’t feel real.”
“I know what you mean. I grew up here, and I still can’t believe it sometimes. Especially this time of year when everything is so green,” she sighs. “I love summer.”
“Me too,” I agree. “Although, I am a little sad to be away from home. I’m missing the peak horseback riding season back home with my best friend, Hazel.”
Codie’s eyes light up. “You ride? I used to jump growing up! You can totally find a place to go riding in Jackson, that’s like, our number one tourist activity in the summer.”
I laugh, rubbing my fingers along the edge of the cold glass in my hand. “I should. I love touristy things. I don’t even care if that makes me cliche. Give me all of the cowboy themed shops and wild west photo booths. The cheesier the better.”
“You know,” Codie tilts her head. “If you’re into touristy things, you can’t miss getting a custom cowgirl hat made for you. I work at a shop in town that makes them, I can probably swing a discount for you. It’s called Sage and Felt.”
“You work at the bar and at a custom hat shop?” I ask.
Codie shrugs. “I like to mix it up a little. I volunteer on the elk ranch in the winter too. Keeps my life interesting.”
“Maybe I’ll have to stop in sometime. That does sound like fun,” I say.
“Oh hey,” Codie nudges my arm, “I finished that new Willa Gray.”
“No way, how was it?”
“Five stars, no notes,” she smiles.
I sigh, a bit dramatically. “I knew it. She could never write a bad book.”
“If I knew you were coming tonight I totally would have brought it for you. If you come by the shop, I’ll give it to you then. You have to read it, it’s so good. The love interest is my new favorite.”
I laugh, “Awesome, I can’t wait. I’ve been dying to read it, and I definitely have some free time up here at night.”
After a while of talking about romance books with Codie, Reed, the one with the shoulder length brown hair under a straw cowboy hat interrupts. Codie wags her eyebrows at me as soon as he approaches.
“Would you like to dance with me?” He drawls, hand outstretched.
I nod, taking his arm as he leads me over to the field where there is a large speaker setup and a whole lot of people doing a line dance I’ve never heard of before.
“I thought Parker was just being Parker when he said that a beautiful girl bought the old cabin on the ranch, but man, did he under-exaggerate,” Reed says with a wink as he spins me around to the beat of the music.
He has the swagger of a rodeo cowboy. I can already tell he’s a favorite with the ladies.
“Are you planning on moving up this way?”
“Technically, my company bought it, I’m just here to renovate and then manage it after,” I clarify. “I’ll probably be coming back up every once in a while to check on it, but right now, I’m okay in Idaho.”
“Just okay?” He furrows his brow. “Doesn’t sound too permanent.”
“I’m not sure where I want to end up,” I say truthfully.
I never considered leaving Juniper Ridge until my Aunt Millie moved away.
Now, the only things that keep me there are my vacation rentals and my best friend.
I don’t think I’d be opposed to moving somewhere else, just haven’t found a reason to yet.
The song speeds up a bit, causing me to majorly lose my footing a few times.
I stumble into Reed, laughing. Who knew line dancing in a field in Wyoming could be so fun?
We’re spinning around in the twilight surrounded by dozens of cowboys, no one caring about what they look like or what tomorrow will be like.