Two
Keith Brooks
I couldn’t help but smile as I drove down Main Street, which was still covered in all the decorations from yesterday’s Pride parade.
Never would I have imagined Foggy Basin would embrace those of us in the rainbow community, but now there were more of us than there once were, and more of us not willing to hide anymore.
That included the owners of the hardware store where I pulled into a parking space.
I didn’t know Hudson well even though he grew up here and we were close to the same age, but I did know Jack and his friend Isaac.
For a while almost everyone knew Isaac, but now he was in a committed relationship and was happier than a pig in shit about it.
I walked past the rocking chairs and into the remodeled store that now carried so much more than it ever had and saved me a trip to the farm supply.
Jack was busy stocking the nail section and I didn’t see Hudson as I walked over to the small section they’d started just for hoof maintenance.
Not that a lot of the ranchers around here did their own maintenance.
Just as I turned to walk toward the counter, a man I’d never seen before walked up to Jack asking for directions.
I would have known he wasn’t a local before he’d said a word but for a second, I listened to him.
He was flustered and explained he’d been looking for one of the ranches in the area.
Which just happened to be the one I was going to.
“I’m headed out that way in a few if you want to follow me,” I said and walked past him to the counter.
Hudson came from the back to ring me up while Jack tried to assure him I wasn’t an ax murderer.
When I turned around, he still didn’t seem very comforted by my offer even with Jack’s reassurances.
“I’ve only hidden three bodies in random cow pastures so far,” I said, and didn’t need to look at Hudson to know he’d be rolling his eyes. Moving as casually and unbothered as I could manage, I walked outside and waited by one of the rocking chairs.
“You don’t have to bother. They gave me directions.”
I looked him up and down. He was tall, thin, and more than nervous, but cute with reddish brown hair and brown eyes. “Like I said, I’m going that way. It’s Asa’s day for trimming.”
“He’s my uncle,” he said but still hadn’t moved.
“He’s mentioned he has family in Auburn. Goes there for Christmas,” I said. I wasn’t just a hoof trimmer. I knew my clients and considered most of them friends, and Asa Martin had been one of my very first clients.
“Yes, that’s us. My dad used to spend time here in the summer when he was a kid. He never forgot.”
“So, what brings you all the way to Foggy Basin?” I asked and leaned against one of the timbers holding up the roof.
“I’m not sure. Uncle Asa sent me a letter, a handwritten letter in cursive, saying he wanted to speak to me about the farm.”
I knew Asa had been slowing down but as far as I knew he didn’t have any relatives to pass the dairy down to. Maybe he hoped his great-nephew could be that person? “Have you ever done farm work?” I asked even though I knew the answer.
He finally met my eyes then, his dark brown eyes so full of something bordering on terror. “I’ve barely been to a farm. I work in heating and air. We do go to farms, but I’ve never been to one where I was there just to hang out and see how the daily operations went.”
“Asa wouldn’t have reached out if he wasn’t sure. He’s a man of few words but one thing I know for sure is how much that farm and his herd mean to him.”
He was silent for a moment while focusing on the board he was standing on before he drew in a deep breath and met my eyes again. “I won’t know for sure until I talk to him. Are you ready?”
“Stay behind me, it’s not far,” I said and walked over to my truck without another word.
I backed out and as soon as I turned the wheel and put it in Drive, he was behind me and ready to go.
Every time I glanced in the mirror, he was focused on the back of the truck and since we were the only cars on the road at that moment, I could see he really did not want to end up lost again.
Hudson had given him shitty directions but as soon as he saw the gravel road, he looked panicked.
I tapped the brakes to get his attention, and he continued to follow me to Lakeview Drive which bypassed the gravel road and was paved.
The mailbox came into view, and I turned onto the narrow driveway that led to the small dairy that had managed to pivot and survive while many others hadn’t.
Asa appeared as soon as I pulled up to the milking barn.
Tall and lanky, wearing an old blue trucker’s hat, tall white rubber boots, and a clear plastic apron.
He threw his hand up and leaned back into the greeting he always used.
“Mornin’, Keith,” he said with a firm handshake.
“Mornin’, Asa. This guy was looking for you in town.” I tipped my chin in his direction as he climbed out of his car looking so much like a fish out of water, I crossed my arms and waited for him to dive back into his car and tear out of here.
“Is that Bart Martin?” Asa asked as he walked over to where Bart stood next to his car. He pulled him in for a hug and Bart grinned at me over Asa’s shoulder.
“Uncle Asa, it’s been a while.”
“That it has. Come on, I’m about to do the late milking, and Noah is going to need our help,” Asa said and led Bart to the barn door.
Bart gave me a look that was a bit like hostage eyes, before hurrying to follow his uncle.
I shook my head and grinned. “This’ll be fun,” I mumbled and got back into my truck.
While they entered this side of the barn, I’d be working on the other side, so I drove around and backed my equipment as close as I could get it.
A lot had changed about hoof trimming through the years and one of main changes was the invention of the crush.
A small portable chute with hydraulic lifts to hold the cow in place while I trimmed.
After unhooking the trailer, I used a trailer jack to push it into the barn and where I knew Asa wanted me to work.
I looked up to see Bart wearing the same white rubber boots and apron Asa wore and when he met my eyes, he’d lost the scared look, and his eyes now reflected happiness and curiosity. “You just might have the heart of a country boy after all,” I mumbled and once again grinned.
“Watch out for the shit, Bart,” Asa said as I watched him slam to a stop before side-stepping around said shit.
“Oh, sweet city boy,” I said as I pulled out my leather chaps.