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“It was coyotes,” Duke said. “Saw some of them, in the distance. Half a dozen at least.”
They hitched their horses and headed into the ranch house. Takis and the majority of the ranch staff were already in there. He saw Duke, Chuck, and Millie enter and he gave them a look.
For a moment, Chuck wondered whether Takis had realized that something was going on between him and Millie. Hopefully not. Whether he had or not, right now, luckily, there were more important things to discuss.
“Good,” Takis said, clearly stressed, “glad you two are here.”
“I was showing Millie my tree house,” Chuck said. It was a strange, awkward thing to say, and as soon as the words left his lips, he knew it had been a mistake. Thankfully, Takis didn’t seem to notice — or at least, if he did, he wasn’t letting on right now.
“Right. Well. I presume Duke filled you in on the coyote attack?”
“He did,” Millie replied. Just as well she was talking. She seemed less likely to be about to put her foot in it than Chuck was.
“Chuck, Duke, Trent,” Takis said, “when I bought this place, I didn’t realize coyotes were going to be such a huge problem.”
Trent seemed irritated by this. “With respect, Mr. Karas, coyotes are just part of life when you’re a rancher. They come and go, but when you’re dealing with livestock, regardless of whether or not it’s destined for the slaughterhouse, coyotes are gonna show up.”
Duke piped up. “There’s probably more of the little shits around ’cause of all the new critters we’ve been taking in.”
Benjamin, the foreman, added, “And you’re offering a home to a bunch of older animals, too. Means that they’re slim pickings for coyotes.” Ben was from rural Oklahoma originally, and he had an accent that sounded like soft butter poured over biscuits.
“That makes sense,” Takis said. He rubbed his forehead. “But it doesn’t change my plans. We’re going to keep increasing the size of our animal sanctuary.”
“If that’s your plan, then you’re gonna have to just accept that you’ll be losing some of those animals to coyotes,” Trent said, matter-of-factly.
“You gotta wonder,” said Chuck, “whether it’s crueler to give them a clean death in a slaughterhouse, or let them get picked off by predators.” He was surprised to see Millie give him a confused look.
“Chuck,” Takis said, “I appreciate where you’re coming from, but I have to stress that the safety and health of the animals on this ranch are my number one priority. And Trent, regarding your point, I’m afraid that I won’t be accepting that. That’s not the way I operate. We will not be losing more animals to coyotes, and that’s that.”
Trent crossed his arms and shot a look at Chuck, which seemed to say: this guy has no idea.
Chuck agreed, to an extent. Takis didn’t have any ranching experience. But there was something about his bullish attitude that Chuck had to admire. “So what’s your plan, boss?”
“My plan is to increase the security for the animals. We’re gonna graze them a touch closer to the ranch, at least for the time being, and I’m going to increase the patrols. I’d like anyone who feels confident riding a horse to join in with patrolling.” Takis looked at Millie. “I also would like all staff members to be trained in how to handle a rifle. We’ve got a shooting range, so I figure it’s about time we started using it.”
“I’m not sure that Littles and guns mix so well,” Duke said, clearly less than thrilled with the suggestion.
“Littles are people, first and foremost,” Takis said. “They’re just as capable as anyone else. Having said that, we’re not going to be making anyone do anything they’re not comfortable with. But this is a ranch, so there might be times when our staff might need to be happy using a rifle.”
“I actually think that’s a wise decision,” Trent agreed. “The best way to avoid accidents is with thorough training.”
“I’d like to learn.” That was Millie.
Chuck actually had a feeling that she might want to get involved with the gun training. To his surprise, he felt good about it. He wanted her to be safe, and this would help her look after herself.
“Good,” said Takis.
“And I’ll patrol, too. I’ve been riding Ranger. I think he and I are a good team.”
Chuck tried to hide the pride he was feeling. His nervous little girl was gonna be a bold cowgirl in no time.
“Glad to hear it,” Takis said.
“I think, on balance, I should be kept away from guns and horses and anything except typewriters or laptops.” That was Anita, who’d nervously raised her hand before speaking.
“You sure, Nita?” Duke grinned. “I could teach you to shoot straight and safe. Might have to help with your grip, though.”
“Double sure,” Anita said.
