RanchersHealingTouch Read Free Page B

fifty years old, I wouldn't have had that problem. When he said automated pumps, I figured they actually worked without all this manual intervention.”
    “Don't blame this on the boss. This is your fuck up, girl.” He turns, forcing the lever back into place with a quick rush of brute strength. “Brax outta know better than to send a woman out on a man's job.”
    “That's enough.”
    She turns her smoldering hatred away from the portly farmhand to see Brax standing in the shadows.
    He strides forward, arms crossed, a halo of sweat between his brow and the brim of his tall black hat.
    “Both of you. Dinkie, if I catch you insulting a lady and a fellow worker here like that again, you're gonna step into my office for a talk. And by talk, I mean ass kicking.”
    “Sorry, boss. I was just trying to do right by the ranch. Least I don't have to pay for what's been spilled here today.” He rubs his hands together nervously, staring at the indentations on the cement floor.
    They stare at each other. It's obvious the fat man is testing a tenuous, longstanding boundary.
    “Good thing I reserve cash just for troubles like this. That's a businessman's job,” Brax says. “You've been here long enough to know that shit happens every so often. Go on, now, and get back to the fields.”
    “Sure thing,” he says, lifting his eyes for one last sardonic wink as he staggers by her.
    “And you...it's your first day, so I'm going to cut you some slack. I can tolerate honest mistakes, Sadie. But I'm not putting up with shifting blame from a girl who should know better. Sure, the equipment around here's a little worn...but it does its job when it's used right.”
    “Sorry. I was just trying to do my job. I didn't know some of these guys were such kids.”
    “If they talk to you like that again, find me. I'll deal with it.”
    Squinting at the evening light behind his silhouette , she tries to temper the adrenaline surging in her veins. If he hadn't shown up, Dinkie would've been right in line for a jaw cracking slap.
    “I can defend myself, Brax. I've dealt with bullies before...”
    I know I have. I just can't remember where or when.
    “It takes some time getting used to these men. Some of them have been working here before my dad passed, and it took years to win their respect. I'm the boss now. Keeping the peace is part of my job, but if everybody keeps their nose clean, that part's easier and I can concentrate on everything else. Nobody gets a pass – I don't care how beautiful they are, beautiful.”
    She presses her hands into fists, digging them into the sides of her jeans. The tears are coming at the corners of her eyes.
    I can't do this. I'm not going to cry in front of him. I need to hold steady.
    “Why don't you take the rest of the day off? It hasn't been a total disaster...just one trough flooded.
    Sounds like you need more time to rest, anyway.” He moves to the control panel and checks it.
    “Okay.” Pivoting on her heels, she marches back into the open, praying she doesn't encounter anyone else between the work buildings and the house.
    His words don't sound very sincere. Face it: this was a big fuck up. I know it, he knows it, everybody knows it. I have to do better tomorrow...
    Sadie stays in her room for dinner, settling for a couple fruit bars ferreted away from his kitchen. The same uncertain dreams of a tall menacing man doing forbidden business occupy her all the way until sunup.
    The next day, the kitchen is empty, but breakfast is waiting. She barely eats anything, wondering if he's so disgusted by her performance that he's left for the fields early to avoid her.
    The sun is just beginning to lift itself up into the sky when she heads out. Today, they're putting her in the big barn to gather animal feed with another man.
    “The feeder's like a big funnel. It separates the crap from the gold – as much as you can call animal food gold, anyway. Your job's simple: catch everything good that comes out in