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The truck with my parents and my youngest brother rolled over the embankment and into the ravine below.
Suddenly I went from the oldest son who was just learning the basics of running the ranch to bearing the full responsibility of the largest ranch in Montana with a couple hundred employees as well as three younger siblings to watch out for.
It was a lot. Frankly, all these years later, it's still a lot. I'd like to think I've gotten better at it.
Taking one last look into the ravine, I say a little prayer, wipe away a tear and get back in my truck and head home.
An hour later I see the gates for the ranch and my heart swells with happiness like it does every time I return home.
This is where I belong. I can handle myself in about any situation, including the corporate meetings I attended last week.
That doesn't mean I like it.
Hopefully the issue has been resolved and I won't have to make the trip again for a while. Several months would be better. But I put that all aside for now. I'm home and glad to be here. I punch in the code to open the massive iron gates then follow the long driveway to the house. Along the way I take in all the changes since I left.
Maybe no one else would notice. It’s only been a few days. But I know the grass, the wheat, the cows, the horses. The barns and stables. All of it is etched into my mind and each change registers with me.
It's my duty to know. My duty to protect and care for all of this. Land, buildings, animals and people. My family.
I park the truck in front of the house and hop out. Caleb, my now-youngest brother, strolls up from the stables. I wait for him to join me and he claps me on the shoulder.
"Welcome home, brother. Glad to see you survived a week in Ponderosa Pass. Not sure I'd be able to do it."
I chuckle. "Not sure I'd like to do it much myself, but it's what has to be done."
"You are a stickler for what has to be done," Caleb says with a grin. He's five years younger and the most sensitive of my siblings, including my sister. Each of us reacted to the deaths differently. But with the passage of time, and various methods of coping, we've all healed a bit in our own way.
I'm glad to see Caleb joking around. For a long time he took everything way too seriously. He gets my bag out of the back seat of the double cab truck and we head for the house.
He drops my bag inside the front door and then the two of us enter the billiard room. He grabs us each a pair of long neck beers from the small fridge under the bar and we sit down to catch up. He fills me in on happenings around the ranch and I’m pleased nothing's gotten too far off the rails in my absence.
I tell Caleb about the meetings I had and what’s happening there. He's quiet for a moment digesting the information.
He takes a long draw on his beer then sets the bottle on the table, leans in and scrutinizes me.
"What all did you get up to while you were away?" He's eyeing me the same way he checks out a horse on the auction block.
Well, I'm not one to kiss and tell. I'm also not one to lie. So I drink my beer and think about what I ought to say. Turns out, I didn't need to say anything.
Caleb reaches across the table and whacks me on the shoulder. "You old dog. You got laid, didn't you? I can tell. Your shoulders aren’t bunched up to your ears like they usually are. And you didn’t go rushing off to your office as soon as you got home. Only one thing can calm you that way. Pussy."
It's funny, usually I'd agree with him. And I did have to admit I’m feeling much better today than I would have expected. And I knew why. What feels funny is the fact that I didn't want to spill the beans about my night with my little kitten. It’s not like Caleb and I spend a lot of time sitting around swapping stories about our conquests, but there is something about last night that I want to kind of keep to myself.
But, knowing Caleb would not be put off so easily, I merely grin and say, "Well, I did meet a fairly appealing woman last night."
* * *
KIT
The call with my mother nags at my mind as I drive closer to my destination. I don't like the way she mocks Boone. The two of them got off to a rocky start and things have gone downhill ever since.
As I remember the first day on campus, though, I can’t help but laugh. I had gotten there early, of course, because my mother insisted.
"You'll want to get there before your roommate so you can pick out the best bed. I'm sorry we weren't able to get you a single room. Apparently the d’Winter name doesn't carry as much weight around here as it used to."
Two weeks before classes started I had gotten an email with contact information for my new roommate. It included an address which was actually a post office box in a little town in Montana.
Chickadee Ridge. I thought it was a joke but when I Googled the place, it actually existed, though it was just a tiny speck. I had no idea anyone from a town so small would enroll at prestigious Bartlett College but, I suppose they need a diversity of students.
