Page 4 of Head Above Water
“Jesus,” he cried, the hair on his arms standing up. That was damned close. More drops of rain fell around them just as they arrived at the compound. Henry and Dusty, two of the ranch hands, hurried out of the barn as they arrived, leading the horses inside as the sky opened up, pelting the earth with a torrent of rain.
“Thanks,” Bryce said to the men.
“Yeah. Thank you,” Hazard said.
“Do you want us to brush them down?” Henry asked, but Bryce shook his head.
“Hazard and I will take care of them,” he said as the lights flickered out, leaving the interior of the barn in shadow. The storm seemed closer in the dark. Henry and Dusty sat on bales of straw while he and Hazard unsaddled the horses and put away the tack.
“It’s wild out there,” Hazard said, looking out the window toward the west. “I can’t see anything but rain.”
“It probably won’t last very long,” Bryce explained. Storms like this blew up and then passed through quickly, especially this time of year. Hopefully, once the storm did pass, the power would come back on quickly. There had been times when it was out for a few days. He hoped that wasn’t the case this time.
“I hope you’re right,” Hazard agreed softly and continued looking out the window before turning away. Bryce watched as he grabbed a curry comb and left the room. Bryce did the same,following Hazard to where the horses were now munching away. They quickly combed down their mounts.
“Where are the guys?”
“I think they made a run for the bunkhouse,” Hazard answered from the stall across the way. Then there was quiet, with just the sound of rain on the roof filling the space.
As expected, the rain began letting up and settled into something less frantic before tapering off all together. By the time they were done, and Bryce closed the stall door, the sun was trying to peek through the clouds.
“What do you have to do for the rest of the day?”
“I have some chores I need to finish, but this afternoon is free. The guys are going into town and will probably be kicking up their heels at the Six Shooter. They asked me to go along, but I don’t think it’s something I want to do.”
“I see. You don’t go to the bar with the guys?” Bryce asked, watching Hazard, who shrugged. “Why not?” Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Hazard there the times he went.
“Don’t drink very much, and if I want a beer, I can get one of my own at the store. I don’t need to pay a bunch of money to drink.” He turned away, and Bryce figured there was a story there, but it was none of his business. Men out here tended to have secrets, and they were theirs to share or to keep to themselves. His father had told him a number of times that a man’s past was his own, and that as long as he did his work and abided by the rules, then the rest was none of their concern.
Bryce stared at Hazard, wishing he had a way to continue the conversation. Their ride had been nice, and things had been so easy between them, but now Hazard seemed to shift his weight, and Bryce tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. “Well, I’ll let you be.” The last thing he wanted was to bother him. So he turned and went inside the quiet, dark house. There was nothing for him to do at the moment, so Brycewas at loose ends. Sunday was the one day of the week when everyone tended to relax. There was always work to be done, but this was the day to rest. The chores would all be there in the morning.
“Did youget caught in the storm?” his mother asked when they returned from town. “The lights went out halfway through church, and the Reverend dismissed everyone because he couldn’t shout over the sound of rain on the roof.” She sat down. “I see things are out here too.”
“Yes, and the generator didn’t kick in the way it’s supposed to,” Bryce told her. “I looked at it, and apparently there’s no fuel for it.” He turned to Willard, who had been tasked with making sure the propane tank had been filled. “Maybe he’s been too busy luring girls into the barn lately to be bothered.”
His mother narrowed her gaze. “I hate it when you two fight.”
“Then make sure Willard does what he’s supposed to.” He glared at both his parents before leaving the room to let them talk. He had had more than enough of the way they coddled Willard all the time.
The sun had come out and was drying the ground, so he hopped on one of the four-wheelers, figuring he’d check on the herds. They were probably just fine, but it gave him something to do. As he approached the equipment shed, he ran into Danny.
“I made a call to a friend at Western Gas, and they’re sending someone out to fill the tank. Do you want me to keep on eye on it in the future?” The foreman was a good man.
“Thanks. It seems that my brother isn’t capable of doing it.” He looked upward toward the clearing sky, a constant breeze making sure that whatever humidity there was didn’t hang around for very long.
“I sent a group of the men out to check the cattle and to check on a report of a tree down over one of the fences.” Bryce should have known that Danny was on top of things.
“I’m surprised my father isn’t out here directing everything and issuing orders right and left,” he said, but Danny returned his gaze in a strange way. “Am I missing something?”
“You should ask your parents,” Danny said softly, before hurrying away to get things done while Bryce paused in his task and returned inside, where his mother was explaining the lay of the land to Willard. His father, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found.
“Mom,” he said, interrupting her dressing down. “Danny said that a truck is on its way to fill the tank. So hopefully everything will be okay in the next hour or so.” He continued looking around the room while Willard took the opportunity to escape. “Where’s Dad?”
“He wasn’t feeling well, so I told him to lie down.” She seemed pale and fidgety, which she never was. “Your father didn’t sleep well last night, and it seems like Danny has things well in hand.” She bit her lower lip.
“What’s going on? Dad is never sick.”
She looked seconds from crying but pulled herself back. “We don’t know.”