CH 3 - #greetings
#greetings
Madison
I woke up early and decided to take a run while Bella was still sleeping. My parents were in the breakfast room, drinking coffee and nibbling on some fresh cinnamon rolls that my mom had baked.
“I’ll be back in a little bit,” I told her and my dad.
“Enjoy the fresh morning air,” he said, smiling.
“I will.”
After stretching on the front porch, I took off running down the long blacktop driveway, leading to and from my parents’ ranch house. Looking all around me, I couldn’t get over the expanse of land. There was so much of it, and so many cattle to be sold for eventual beef consumption.
Nearing my parents’ home, returning from my run, I slowed to a walk so I could catch my breath.
When I looked to my right, I noticed a black-and-white two-story barn with its doors open.
Curious, I headed toward it to check it out.
After I reached it, I peeked inside at the horse stalls.
They were all empty except for one with a horse sticking its head out.
“Hi, you gorgeous thing,” I said to it, not knowing if it was a boy or a girl. It whinnied at me, making me giggle, then I eased up to it and held out my hand for it to smell, which it did.
“Horseman’s handshake,” a deep male voice said from behind me.
Startled, I spun around. “You just scared the shit out of me,” I told the tall man standing a few feet away, wearing a straw cowboy hat, a white T-shirt, blue jeans, a brown belt with a shiny buckle, and brown boots.
“I didn’t mean to, ma’am. I was just coming to check on Casper.”
“Is he your horse?”
“Yep.”
“Appropriate name for him since he’s white. What breed is he?”
“Camarillo.”
“How old is he?”
“Eighteen years.”
I turned to Casper, stroked his nose for a moment, and looked back at his owner.
“May I ask who you are?” he said.
“You just did. I’m Madison Brooks, Charles and Sara’s youngest daughter. Who are you?”
“Luke Harrison.”
He extended his hand toward me. I did the same to him, expecting a regular handshake. Instead, he wrapped his long, warm fingers around mine, holding my hand chivalrously like he was about to kiss it. He didn’t, though. He just tipped his hat at me.
“It’s nice to meet you, Madison,” he continued, dropping his arm at his side.
“It’s nice to meet you, too. You’re one of the sons of the couple who owned this ranch.”
“The eldest son.”
“I’m sorry about your father’s passing.”
“So am I. I didn’t know you were coming here.”
“Besides keeping tabs on my parents’ finances, I needed to get away from Dallas for a while. That’s where I live.”
“Are you an accountant or something?”
“I’m in banking. I do investments for people.”
“I see.”
“Do you live out here somewhere? Or are you in the Amarillo city limits?”
Luke shook his head. “City-living isn’t for me. I’m staying in the cabin out here on the ranch until further notice.”
“I haven’t seen a cabin.”
“If you go back down the main driveway a quarter-mile, you’ll see a dirt road on the left. It goes straight to the cabin.”
“How long have you lived in it?”
“Since I built it eight years ago.”
“You built it?” I asked, surprised.
“Yep. Before then, my brother Hayden and I lived in the ranch house with our mom and dad.”
“There’s lots of room in it. Does your brother live out here somewhere?”
“Yep, in the bunkhouse with the other cowhands.”
“Is it the one over by the stables?”
“Sure is.”
“Everything is so spread out here.”
“That’s the best part of living in the country. You can breathe.”
“Right. I’ll get out of your way, Luke.”
“You’re fine.”
“I need to get back to the ranch house and check on my daughter. She was sleeping when I took my run.”
“Been doing that a while?”
“Doing what?”
“Running? Exercising?”
“Since high school. I used to run track and cross country.”
“That was never my thing. Football was.”
“Let me guess, you were the quarterback.”
“You would be correct.”
“Were you any good?”
Luke smiled, dimples included. “I was. I worked my tail end off for it, too. My team and I went to the state playoffs and won.”
“How many years ago was that?”
“Fourteen.”
“Best time of your life?”
“So far. Your daughter…”
“What about her?”
“What’s her name?”
“Bella. It’s short for Marabella.”
“How old is she?”
“Four, almost five.”
“Does she have your red hair?”
Luke’s forwardness humored me. “She does.”
“Y’all got it from your dad.”
“We did.”
“Are you and Bella fiery like redheads are known for being?”
“You better believe it. See you later.”
“Have a good day, Madison.”
“You too.”
I left, heading to my parents’. When I reached what used to be Luke’s home, I didn’t go straight inside.
I sat on the front porch in one of the wooden rocking chairs and stared at the barn where I’d just been, talking to Luke.
He was a real cowboy, my first one to meet.
He was also extremely good-looking. Not only did his being well over six feet tall and his muscular physique make him that way, but his brown hair that grazed the back of his neck, long-lashed hazel eyes, and dimpled smile, with dark scruff surrounding his lips and shadowing his chiseled jawline, did too.
The icing on the cake was Luke’s tight ass in his Wrangler jeans.
I got a glimpse of it when I looked over my shoulder as I was heading back to the ranch house.
Still gazing in the cowboy’s direction, he walked out of the barn, shirtless and leading Casper by the reins.
Then he began hosing him down with water, followed by sudsing him up and bathing him.
When he was done, he rinsed off Casper. Afterward, he turned the hose on himself, rinsing his face and letting the water run down his neck, chest, and abs as he held his head back, eyes closed, the sun illuminating him in the distance.
He was a delicious sight to say the least.
“What are you doing?” my mom asked, startling me as much as he had earlier.
I looked at her, peeking out the front door. “Just coming down from my run.”
She peered in Luke’s direction, pointed, and focused on me again. “That’s one of the sons.”
“I know. We met.”
“When?”
“A short while ago. I went to the barn to check it out.”
“Luke is nice, isn’t he?”
“He is, and so is his horse. I’ll be inside in a minute, Mom.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“I love you. And by the way, it is really pretty out here. It’s unique.”
“Your dad and I think it is too.”
My mom went back inside. I kept sitting and watching Luke rubbing down Casper. I wondered how long he’d had him. It was easy to see they were bonded. I couldn’t imagine losing something as extraordinary as a horse. It had to be much worse than losing a dog or a cat.
As Luke led Casper back into the barn, I thought about Luke’s bare ring finger.
He obviously wasn’t married, but I didn’t doubt he had a girlfriend or a fiancée.
Probably a cowgirl as into the lifestyle as Luke was.
I knew nothing about it other than what I’d seen on occasion when catching an episode of Yellowstone.
That show planted the seed in my dad’s mind to buy a ranch somewhere.
After Bella woke up, I fed her breakfast. She devoured one of my mom’s scrumptious cinnamon rolls, plus drank a glass of chocolate milk.
My parents’ rules were different. I went with them, too, letting my mom and dad spoil Bella as much as they wanted with sugary whatever.
If they’d told me once, they’d told me a thousand times that Bella would be a little girl only once and to let her be that to the fullest.
When she and my mom went to Bella’s playroom full of toys, my dad and I went to his office so that I could start combing through his finances. Not far into them, I nearly had a stroke.
“Why is upkeep of the cattle so expensive?” I asked.
My dad chuckled. “It just is, but it’ll be worth it in the long run.”
“Do you think what you’re paying the guys to work here will be?”
“Absolutely. They do their jobs well and make mine easy.”
“How long do you think Luke and his brother will stay here?”
“As long as I need them to.”
“Where will they go afterward?”
“To another ranch. Understand that Luke, especially, is in high demand for his horse training. He breaks them in, wild.”
“Wait, he gets on them, and they start bucking?”
“Yes. I watched him break one a few days ago. His ability is astounding. He’s a natural.”
“What about his brother?”
“Hayden is a natural with cattle.”
“He and Luke just grew up doing all of this?”
“They did, the same as their father, his father, and so on.”
“It makes me sad knowing Luke and Hayden are the last generation to be here, working this land and the animals.”
“It also does me, but they needed financial help. I’m thankful I was able to give it to them and their mother.”
“Where is she?”
“Luke told me that she’s temporarily living with her sister and brother-in-law in Lubbock until she figures out where she wants to put down roots again.”
“It has to be tough, especially for a woman her age, to start over.”