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Takis pushed open the stable doors. It was a beautiful space — light, clean, and perfectly maintained. Ten or so horses looked dolefully from their stalls, their beautiful eyes picked out in the early afternoon light.
“Chuck?” Takis called out. “You there?”
But no response came.
“Where the hell is he?” Takis said, sighing.
*
Sunrise was steady beneath him. The horse had a calm, gentle soul, but so far, Chuck had been the only one of the North brothers who’d been able to ride him. Not that Trent was particularly interested, of course.
But Duke, being a bullish, arrogant, ass, had insisted that he have a go. Sunrise had gently backed away. When Duke had approached again, Sunrise had started to trot around the corral, making it clear that he had no intention of letting Duke on.
“He’s got no respect,” Duke said. “Needs to be broken.”
“No respectfor you.“ Chuck replied, before calmly approaching Sunrise and mounting him. “I can always count on you to make me look good,” Chuck said as he crested a gentle hill with his horse.
Sunrise didn’t reply, of course, but he stood so stock still that it may as well have been a hi-five.
Duke scanned the pasture. There was a herd of rescue sheep that Takis had brought in shortly after taking on the ranch. They could be shorn for wool to add some extra income for the ranch. Bunny had also had the idea that Littles could crochet and knit with the wool.
Big plans. Changes. Chuck felt as though this was only the start. Was this really the right life for him? The tourism industry?
Then, Chuck saw something that reminded him that there was still serious work to be done: a motionless, dirty object, streaked with red.
It was so ragged that he hadn’t realized it had been a sheep. But it most definitely was.
Chuck dug his heels gently into Sunrise’s flank.
The guilt was intense, almost overwhelming.
The sheep’s carcass was torn apart — the telltale bite marks of a coyote were obvious. No. It had to have been more than one coyote. The kill was messy and brutal, but most of the remains were still there.
That meant only one thing — he must have scared the beasts away. He’d been riding so brazenly across the prairie that the keen-sensed predators would have heard him a mile off.
This was bad news. If there was a pack of coyotes on the ranch lands, it could be a disaster — especially with the imminent opening party.
Chuck adjusted his ever-ready Ruger Ranch rifle. He had coyotes to hunt.
Chasing down coyotes. It wasn’t Chuck’s favorite job, but at least it was a job that he knew. Ever since Takis had taken on ownership of the ranch, Chuck had felt completely lost — purposeless. So, even though the news was terrible, Chuck had to admit that there was satisfaction in doing this kind of work: it was a problem he knew how to solve.
But it also felt like a problem that he had caused.
As Sunrise carried him across the wide-ranging lands of Littlecreek Ranch, he remembered countless times he’d roved these spaces with his dad.
His dad would have been more careful with the livestock. His dad would have cowboys regularly patrolling. That was the problem with running a place like this as a dude ranch. It was too damn big, with too few staff. Something had to give.
As the search stretched from minutes to hours, Chuck couldn’t help but feel his dad’s judgment lying on him. And not for the first time, he felt lacking.
He got more and more desperate, hopping off Sunrise to scratch around in the dirt for any sign of the wild dogs that had so mercilessly slaughtered the sheep. It was with a heavy heart that he realized he’d be losing the light soon.
He had to stop.
“Thanks for the help, boy,” he said, stroking Sunrise’s head. “You deserve more from me. Damn. Who even am I? What am I doing in this place? Can’t keep my animals safe. Can’t connect with my brothers. Got no clue what a Daddy even is. I’m a fish out of water. And I’m starting to run out of air.”
Over the past few months, there had been countless times when he’d thought about quitting. It didn’t feel like his family ranch anymore. As he rode back to the ranch house, he made a decision — it was time to quit. He’d given this new life a go, but it wasn’t for him.
Maybe he could go back abroad. He had experience training and raising champion racehorses in Kentucky and in Ascot in the UK. Maybe there was a purpose out there for him. It was time to find out.
