“See how much fun he’s having?” Nick said.
“I’m fascinated. I had no idea he could do this.”
“Watching a good dog work cattle is a pleasure. This is his element. He loves it. He might not look like most cattle dogs, but he’s got the instincts. Didn’t it make you feel a little bit guilty keeping him in the house or in your store all the time?”
She looked away. “What’s the point of having him gather all these cows like this? So he can play? Or work?”
“Both. It gives him something to do, which he needs and it gives me a chance to look over my little herd. Make sure none of them are sick or injured. If I didn’t have a good dog and my old Jeep, I’d be out here horseback all day.”
“So Waffle is nothing more than a tool for you.”
“I’ve told you, he’s a working dog. My helper. My partner. But he’s more than that. He’s my friend. I don’t have that many friends.”
“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.”
He couldn’t let her keep arguing a point that had been settled. “Ma’am, I’m not gonna let this conversation turn into a fight between us. We disagree over “working dogs” versus “pets” and I know you’re still smarting after being beaten in court for Buster’s custody. I think it’s time to change the subject.”
They stood in silence a long time, watching Waffle keep his little herd in a tight circle.
“Seems like a lot for one poor dog to do,” she said. “How many cattle does he have to take care of?”
“Right now, about eighty bred cows. And he isn’t hurting. I told you. He likes it.”
“A bred cow is one that’s carrying a calf, right?”
Surprise, surprise. She knew something about ranching. Few people outside the industry knew the terminology that well. He turned to face her and gave her a smile. “Hey, that’s right. I just sold all the calves, so pregnant mamas are all I’ve got left.”
“You probably thought I knew nothing about ranching, right?”
“Have you lived on a ranch?”
“No, but I used to lend ranchers money and I heard the jargon all the time. I was a V.P. in the loan department at Community Bank before USA Bank took them over.”
“Ah. A big shot.”
“Hardly. USA Bank didn’t blink twice when it came to laying me off. That’s why I started LaBarkery. Besides being unemployed, I was disillusioned with big business. I decided that if I’m going down, I’d rather sink on my own.”
“Good for you. If you can do it, being your own boss is always better than being a hired hand.”
“In your job down in Salt Lick, do you consider yourself your own boss?”
“Most of the time. I just don’t own the ranch. Harley doesn’t have much interest in the nuts and bolts of ranching. He likes ranch life and owning all that land. He thinks it’s a good environment for his kids. And it is. But what he likes the most are those seesawing pump jacks sucking up oil all over the place and the tax breaks he gets from being in agriculture.”
“All I know about Harley Carruthers is that he’s rich and owns an oil company. And my aunt likes him. But you sound like you don’t like him.”
“But I do. He’s a good man and a great guy to work for. He leaves me alone and trusts my judgement. And I trust him. I think we’re friends.”
“In a job like yours, I suppose trust is important.”
“Trust is important in any job. Between people, it might be the most important thing there is.”
“Maybe so, but it needs to go both ways. I trusted the people I worked with at that bank, but it was wasted energy on my part.”
“And you trusted two men with your heart. Sounds like that, too, was wasted.”
She stared at him. Finally, she ducked her chin. “I shouldn’t have mentioned my past like that. And I shouldn’t have questioned you about Sylvia. We hardly know each other.”
“Ma’am, you probably know me better than most of the women I’m acquainted with. As for Sylvia, we’ve had a mutually satisfying arrangement for a long time. Neither one of us would have a broken heart if we never saw each other again.”
“From what my neighbor said, I don’t think that’s true of Sylvia.”
“I meant it when I said I haven’t seen her in a long time.”
Across the pasture, Waffle sat a few feet away from the tight herd of cattle. “Oh, look,” she said brightly. “Poor Waffle has gathered every cow. Now what?”
Time to change the subject again. This wasn’t going the way he planned at all. He had hoped that by now, she would have moved on from what happened in court. He hadn’t counted on the conversation about Sylvia. “We’ll drive over there and take a look.”
***
Soon, Nick had satisfied himself that his little herd was okay. Buster was back in the Jeep worn out and they were creeping back toward the house. With the waning day, the temperature had dropped and Sandi pulled the jacket he had lent her around herself. “It’s nice to have so much elbow room,” she said. “How long have you had this place?”
“Lived here my whole life ’til I left home for college.”
“You inherited it then.”
“Partly. When my dad died, he left it to me and my two sisters. They’ve got their own families and don’t live around here anymore. They wanted to sell it, so I hocked my soul and bought them out of their shares.”
What he didn’t tell her was that life in the Conway home had been miserable, especially for his two sisters. They had found husbands as soon as possible and run for the hills. He had been more capable of tolerating his dad’s drunken belligerence and crude behavior. Football and an understanding high school coach had been his salvation. That and the fact that he was male and out of necessity, he had become a man long before
