eat her whole like Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma.
“No,” Colt said matter-of-factly. “You’re fine.”
“The cattle?” Walter asked quietly. I could see worry etched on his face. I nodded.
“Stories are fun, but this is the real life,” I said. “Wolves are out there, and we have to keep our eyes peeled and our ears open for them. We think it’s only a couple of them right now, but a large pack can do incredible damage in a very short amount of time, especially to cattle. We’ve had some issues with them even recently and have been trying to hunt them down. They run from humans, but they will hunt the cattle.”
“But that sound was from a way off,” Colt added. “And in the other direction. I don’t think there’s any immediate danger. We’ll know more when we get to the next stop.”
“Normally,” I said, “Clayton is on watch duty. Most of the time, there are a few of us on these runs, and Clayton is the one who takes the job of watching out for predators. He’s damn good at hunting them. But these guys are wily, and we’re having trouble tracking them down.”
“How many brothers are there?” Cecelia said, having sat down and seeming to calm.
“Six, including me and Colt,” I said. “Clayton, Garrett, Wade, Boone, and Cassidy, who we call Cass. Cass is the oldest. I’m the youngest.”
“How old are you?” Jane asked.
“Twenty-six,” I said and kept my eyes connected to hers.
I knew how old she was. It was on the forms they had to sign before I could take them out on the ranch. She was a year younger than me, and yet, she seemed so much younger. While I had grown up with the responsibility of the ranch, she had clearly grown up in excess. As much as I could tell her father was a grounded, respectable man, his daughters had embraced a life of privilege a long time ago.
“On that note,” Colt said standing, “this old man is going to bed.”
“Wait, how old are you?” Rubin asked.
“Thirty-damn-four, and I feel every day of it right now. See y’all in the morning. Early.” He walked away.
“Well, hell, I’m thirty-one,” Rubin said, shaking his head. “Am I old now?”
Laughter rippled around the campfire, and I settled a little closer to the fire, letting the warmth soothe the aches that I often didn’t think about but Colt brought the attention of. Usually on a night after work, I’d pass straight out in bed, exhausted. In a lot of ways, that was way better than doing less work and then sitting by the fire. My mind had time to focus on the pain rather than dropping off instantly to sleep.
Still, I was enjoying myself, and I was used to getting around six hours of sleep as a maximum, so I was in no hurry to get to bed. Plus, Jane was sitting on the ground, having moved off the log to get closer to the fire herself, and her elbow rested on her knee and her chin in her hand as she listened to me chat with her father and cousin after Cecelia had also excused herself to bed. Not long after, it was just me, Jane, and Rubin. When I looked over to her, she smiled, tucking the runaway strand of hair behind her ear and blushing.
Standing up, she seemed to be embarrassed at being caught. She brushed off her pants and picked up the blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders to unfurl it more and pull it over her head.
“I think I am going to go to bed, too,” she said. “Goodnight.”
“Night,” I said, and Rubin echoed. As she walked away, Rubin filled the coffee mug about halfway and took a sip.
I had made a habit on these runs of being the last one to bed. It let me put the fire out and check the camp and the horses one last time. Going to sleep with a clear conscience was severely underrated, and knowing I had done everything properly made sure I got restful, deep sleep, even if I wasn’t as physically exhausted as I normally was.
Rubin chuckled and shook his head. “They are something else, aren’t they?” he said. I noticed a slight affected accent in his voice and I grinned. He wanted so bad to be like Colt and me.
“Yup,” I said.
“I told Dad before we came, they are in way over their heads,” he said.