Chapter 2
Zeb
Iglanced up at the night sky, letting the sounds of the desert soothe my tired bones. The kids were great today, but they seemed far more energized than I wanted, which meant that I was on the go all day.
So, this mental breather was nice. A moment to reset, to chill, to focus on the main part of my job.
A counselor.
Someone who was here to help the kids in ways that others couldn’t, not just someone who was here to watch them.
“You okay?”
I glanced over at the man who pulled up a chair next to me and nodded.
“Yeah, just a long day. You good?”
The cowboy held up a beer and I chuckled.
“I’m golden. The horses are trying though. Makes for long days.”
“So are the kids, currently. But it’s nice. I can’t complain too much, I guess.”
“It’s summer, you know. The kids are going to need an outlet.”
I knew this, but I didn’t want to expand on it because that fell on me. Figure out and coordinate things to help and entertain them.
“Did you see you have a new teenager coming in?” he asked.
“Yeah, a Tiffany. Very new around these parts. Have you seen them?”
“Sure did. Single mother was here a few days back. Never been to a ranch or around a horse before, actually. They weren’t scared, but more like in awe.”
“Oh great, a couple of city folk in our area who don’t get our ways and question everything? Why in the world would they pick a spot like this?”
“Couldn’t tell you,” the cowboy said, and I looked over at him, shaking my head at the thought.
It wasn’t really a problem because I got all kinds of families all the time, but those that came to towns like this from some big cities made life far more difficult than it needed to be.
“But there was a look in the woman's eye. She looked as helpless as an old weary cowboy. Like life had already done her in. And she seemed far too young for that. So maybe don't be so harsh on her.”
I wanted to argue, wanted to fight him, wanted to say that my experiences would tell me something else, but I didn't. Something kept my mouth shut.
Maybe it was the fact that Dakota knew about cowboys and their stories on their faces far better than I did.
Maybe it was the fact that he was even out here talking to me about this. Not that he and I didn't talk, but advice about each other's job was a subject we stayed cleared of.
“Noted,” I told him, glancing at him once before taking solace in the night sky once more.
I would give this lady and her daughter the benefit, but I didn't have to like them.
The following morning, I stepped into my office, flipped on the light, and plopped into my chair. I sighed as I looked over the day’s events, not ready for it.
For whatever reason, that woman kept floating through my mind.
I grabbed her paperwork, reading over the information she filled out.
She was a divorced woman looking for a fresh start and wanted her daughter to try new things. Well, city folk always thought horses and ranches were easy work. They never quite gathered how busy and hard it really was.
Guess she could be in for a rude awakening. And her precious daughter.
I sat the folder down and then kicked up my computer, lining up some things for over the summer, along with some workshops, dances, and just other events.
Most everyone I worked with knew what I wanted and could easily help me out. After all, I’ve been doing this for long enough, even for as young as I was.
“Let’s get the day done,” I muttered, checking the time as I headed out of the office. Kids were supposed to start arriving for some fun time at the stables and I needed to make sure things were ready to roll with everyone.
And as I walked out, I couldn’t help but pause, because before me stood a gleaming red truck that stuck out like a sore thumb in these parts.
I watched as a woman climbed out of the driver seat, a faint smile on her lips as she looked around. Taking a deep breath, she turned around, walking over to the passenger side and helped out a teenage daughter. At least I’m assuming she was her daughter.
And given the clean truck, I was going to say this was my city slickers.
I clenched my jaw, already not liking her on the spot.
“Hi,” the woman called out, walking my way with her hand on the the girl’s arm. “I’m Katie. You must be Zeb. I heard such great things about how you’re amazing with kids. This is Tiffany’s first official day here, so I wanted to drop her off and make sure she got on okay.”
“She ain’t no baby,” I told her, my tone gruff. The woman’s smile wavered at the sound before she still plowed on.
“No, she’s not. She doesn’t need me to hover, and I’m not. But since we’re new to town, I wanted to make sure she’s okay. Parents do that, right?”
“Don’t get city slickers here.”
Why I was being a dick, I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t like this with new people, but something about her just rubbed me wrong. I was trying to give her the benefit, but everything about her right now was telling me not to.
“Oh, believe me, we’re not city slickers.”
“You ain’t from here, you’re a city slicker.”
“I see,” she muttered, finally glancing down at her daughter. “Why not go to talk to the girl you were with yesterday? I think I see her over there. I’ll just talk to Mr. Happy Pants over here.”
My lips twitched at that, but I wasn’t going to laugh.
“Have fun, Mom,” Tiffany said, waving as she ran off.
“Right, now then, did I do something to offend you Zeb, because you’re being very rude and I’m not sure why.”
She was right on that account, but I wasn’t about to dive into all the answers.
Instead, I left her with a simple few words, “don’t like nor trust city folk and I don’t believe in moving teenagers and uprooting their life.”