“Our ride is going to double as my workout with Dusty, one of our exercise horses. I told Betsy two hours. I thought we’d ride up to Lookout Ridge. There’s a nice view of the Pasayten from there. It will be a good workout for the horses. Betsy and I rode up there all the time as kids, and it was one of my favorite rides with Jo.”
Riding Outlaw and Dusty, they walked the horses out of the stables and up the road a few hundred yards before Molly gave Dusty a kick, Bart following suit, and they were loping together. Molly looked over at her riding partner. He was very comfortable in the saddle, obviously a seasoned, lifelong rider. He smiled back at her. This was fun. Why hadn’t they ridden together before?
After several hundred more yards, they prodded the horses up to a controlled gallop. Molly couldn’t describe how much she was enjoying riding with Bart, an experienced horseman. Honestly, it didn’t get any better than this. Bart was as comfortable in a saddle as she was.
Having gotten the horses warmed up, they reduced speed to a lope, and Molly steered them toward a trail up into the forest. The trail was wide enough for them to ride side by side for a while before it narrowed.
“I assume you grew up riding.”
“Just like you. Living on a ranch, that’s what you did.”
“How many cattle did you have?”
“Five hundred head was probably the most, and more sheep than that.”
“Good grief. How much land on the ranch?”
“Twenty five hundred acres, half grazing, half in timber. It’s a little complicated.”
“Big ranch. What’s complicated about it?”
“Dad married the girl next door. Except it was the ranch next door. Mom and Dad both inherited family ranches but had brothers and sisters to buy out, just like what you’re doing with your brother. So the ranch is pretty big from the merger, but the finances are complicated. Dad has bought out his brothers, but Mom is still supporting two sisters. Finances will get better when that’s all done.”
“I get that. I’m three years into buying Mack out, with five to go.” She paused. “So were you moving cattle to various ranges?”
“All the time. The summer range is in beautiful backcountry where we had a camp. I spent my summers up there chasing cattle out of the woods, guarding for predators, cooking over an open fire, living the cowboy’s life.”
“How’s the ranch doing?”
“Very tough business. Small ranches are struggling. We’re big enough to be getting by. Sheep have been more profitable than cattle, but not much. Honestly, I think the timber is the main reason the family has been able to hold on to the property. The timber market has been great. Dad runs a modest timber sale every year. That and Mom’s teaching salary have allowed them to keep the ranch and pay off the siblings. Despite owning a lot of land, they live very simply. The typical Montana rancher is selling land for home sites to survive.”
“I totally get it. Dad’s livestock auction business has been fairly profitable. I don’t think my brother makes anything on the ranch. He’s living off the auction business and what I pay him every month.”
“Ranching is a way of life these days, but not much of a business.”
“Did you have your own horse growing up?”
“Yeah, I got Tucker for my tenth birthday. He passed when I was in Afghanistan. We were good buddies.”
“No horses since?”
“Not my own. There are always horses at the ranch. When I got back from the Army, I rode whatever was around. You giving some thought to replacing Jo?”
“Starting to think about it. But helping Silas with the exercise program is satisfying the short term need.”
They were now in an old-growth Ponderosa pine forest, the sunny, warm day filling the air with fresh pine. Molly lovedriding with Bart through a beautiful forest on a nice summer day. She’d thought about taking Bart for a ride, but with the pups, she’d just ruled it out. How thoughtful of Betsy to watch the litter.
“I haven’t ridden for a while. This is nice.”
The trail was getting steeper, and the horses were working harder. Molly was keeping them in a fast walk, just short of a trot. She wanted to exercise them, get to the destination, and get back on time. Both horses were strong and fit. The climb was nothing. They emerged to a long, flat plateau, and Molly kicked Dusty up to a trot.
The view at Lookout Ridge opened into that part of the North Cascades that made up the Pasayten Wilderness and then to the Canadian Rockies in the distance. They dismounted, tied the horses to trees, and walked up to the viewpoint.
The view was spectacular, endless miles of mountainous wilderness. Bart wrapped his arms around her from behind, clasping his hands just below her breasts and holding tight. Molly settled her head back against his shoulder. His warm body felt so good. This was what it was all about. She snuggled her back into his body. Her head light, it was a lovely moment she wanted to remember.
“So you live out there.”
“Yup.”
