others greeted Jesse with sullen stares. His job had been to accompany the cook into Gorham to replenish supplies and escort him back. Unfortunately, while McCann arranged for the provisions, Jesse wandered into the saloon and then insisted he’d catch up later. The minute Luke saw the chuck wagon roll into sight without an escort, he knew what happened and headed in to town to fetch his employee. By then Jesse had seen the bottom of at least a dozen shot glasses.
Jesse passed Willie, jerked a nod, and continued on toward the chuck wagon. Following behind, Luke held Bo in check while he scanned the herd’s condition. The cattle were spread out for almost a mile across the prairie, with the majority of them clustered in the center. Their heads hung down, and he saw a few gaping mouths, sure signs of fatigue and thirst. Still, they weren’t looking too bad, considering the rough night they had.
He checked the position of his men. Willie and Charlie rode drag, following at the rear to keep the herd moving. Griff and Morris were flank riders, maintaining a position at either side to make sure the herd didn’t spread out too far. Off to the left, directly behind the chuck wagon, Vic was the wrangler in charge of the forty-horse remuda.
Because Luke and Jesse had been gone for a few hours, Kirk, who normally rode flank, had taken the position of point rider. He appeared to be doing a fine job keeping an eye on the lead cows. A good point rider was critical, because if a lead went astray, the entire herd would follow.
Pa would be proud. This might be his first time to personally be responsible for the herd, but Luke planned to make it successful. Following in his father’s footsteps wasn’t easy, and he wasn’t certain it was what he wanted, but for the time being he’d do what he’d done since he was a youth: herd cattle to market. Only this time he was trail boss, not Pa.
Luke overtook Willie, the youngest of his men. “How are they doing?”
This was only Willie’s second cattle drive, but he’d done a good job on the trail. He made no secret of the fact that he intended to hire on as a flank rider on his next drive, now that he had some experience under his belt. Luke would recommend him without hesitation. The drag position was the least favorite on a drive, because the men at the rear rode in the dust and stench of the herd.
“Tired.” Willie didn’t bother to hide a big yawn and then an even bigger grin. “I’m not the only one either.”
Luke gave the kid a sympathetic smile. “Hang on. I’m going to call it a day soon.”
He kneed Bo into a gallop and caught up with Jesse as they neared Griff, who was riding flank on the left. An experienced cattle wrangler, Griff countered his grizzled experience with a rough manner that offered no quarter.
“Hold up a minute, Jesse,” Luke called.
Jesse slowed. Griff gave him a narrow-eyed glare and spat into the dusty grass as they approached. “I see you found him.”
“Yeah. He’s not feeling too good at the moment, if it’s any consolation.”
As if to prove Luke’s point, Jesse moaned and pushed his hat further down on his forehead.
Griff’s glare deepened. “Nope. No consolation.”
“Hey, you’d deny a fellow a couple hours’ of fun because you can’t join him?” Jesse shook his head and clucked as he fell into step beside them. “Selfish. That’s what these men are.”
“Selfish or not,” Luke replied, “they have been working all afternoon while you’ve been throwing your money away on whiskey and women.”
“No women.” He heaved a dramatic sigh and pulled a mournful face. “I ran out of money.”
Luke wasn’t in the mood to humor him. He’d worked hard not to show favoritism during the past two months on this drive, and he couldn’t ignore Jesse’s infraction. Everyone knew they had been friends for years, ever since they worked their first cattle drive together as boys. A good trail boss treated his men equally and made sure everyone was treated fairly. For this stunt, Luke was going to assign him a double watch tonight, and deliver an even more pointed message now.
He speared Jesse with a look. “Willie needs a change of scenery. Go relieve him, and tell him I said to move up to the right flank.”
Jesse’s jaw gaped. “Me? A drag rider? You’re pulling my leg, right?