the last time the cattle moved before we brought them in for the winter to the ranch proper. After this move, we’d gather them all up and they wouldn’t be free-range cattle for a little while, and I knew they hated it. Still, it was safer and warmer back at the ranch, and with hungry wolves in the woods, this was the only way to make sure they made it through the weather and the elements.
I looked over at Jane who had her eyes set on the valley. There was a spark in her that wasn’t there when she first showed up. Something about her seemed to light up when she saw the herd of cattle and I smiled. I got that reaction from a lot of people, but seeing it on her was an extra bit of encouragement. She was a harder nut to crack, and getting her to see the beauty of a place without a strip mall or fancy coffee shops was a feather in my cap.
It was part of the reason I loved doing the tours so much. Sharing the love of the work.
I kicked at the sides of Smoke, and we took off down into the valley. Colt rode right beside me and the rest of them well behind. That was fine. They would pull up the rear and keep the cattle moving in our direction for a bit. After we got them all herded together and running together, Colt would peel off and switch with Rubin. Then after a bit longer, Colt would come back, Rubin would stay, and I’d head to the back to shore up the herd. Then I’d bring Walter and Colt would go. Rotating us over and over kept us all concentrating on what was going on rather than getting bored.
It also kept the newbies from completely failing.
The cattle began the slow march, following Colt first as I rounded them, kicking up a fuss and making them move. My first job was to count the herd. Last time out, this specific herd was fifty even out of the three hundred and fifty. Unbeknownst to the guests, we used RFID chips to monitor them from afar, usually Wade taking on the role of keeping up with them. Even still, out here there was no reception, and an eye count was what you had to rely on. I counted the head and it came out right, so I circled back around to Colt. I had one more job to do before we got into our rhythm of starting the drive.
“Fifty,” I said. He nodded. “We got some stragglers back there that are going to give them trouble. Might cut our rounds shorter so we can keep up with them.”
“Good idea,” he said. “I’ll follow your lead. This is your thing with the guests. If it goes to shit, I’ll step in.”
I nodded. That was as glowing an endorsement as I could get from one of my big brothers. He trusted me not to fuck it up but was ready to fix it if I did.
I rode forward and checked the path ahead. Things seemed clear, but I wanted to get out a little farther. There was a creek on the way that was going to cause trouble since some of the herd would want to gravitate toward it. But also, there was a den that Wade and I had cleared out a dozen times, and yet wolves kept digging it back up and rebuilding it. They were smart buggers and knew it was an oft-traveled area and a place where wandering cattle might find themselves in the dead of night, looking for a drink.
It was only a mile or so ahead, and while Colt and the guests got the cattle into a group and started inching forward, I went to check it out. When I got there, it looked empty and like it had been empty for some time. Satisfied with that, I rode back, pushing Smoke to his top speed before letting him peel off a bit when I got within sight. He was going to have an active day, and I wanted him warmed up but not tired.
When I reached the group, I was impressed by how well they had gotten them tightened up. Now all that was left was to start driving. That meant getting behind and making all kinds of holy hell until they were in a run and then maintaining the line. I nodded to Colt as