he pulled his head up and led him back
into the barn and out of the warming sunlight.
"I know, I know.
Nothing I do is ever good enough." Marcus chuckled despite
his exhaustion as he untacked the horse and rubbed him down. Of
all his horses Rusty was the one he rode the most and he deserved
the extra attention after a days worth of hard riding.
With the onset of colder
weather Marcus had decided to drive all the cattle closer in. The
older cows had been ornery as ever and tried to give him the slip
more then a few times. Rusty had had his work cut out for him
today.
After Rusty was brushed
down and fed Marcus turned him out with the other horses and went
back to work. Even as the sun started to set Marcus still had his
work cut out for him. He put out fresh bails of hay and water for
both the cattle and horses and fixed a loose board in one of the
horse's stalls.
This time when the phone
rang he picked it up by the third ring. "Hello?"
There was no answer.
"Hello? Anyone
there?"
Marcus finally shrugged
and put the phone back on the hook. This wasn't the first time
the phones hadn't been cooperative. Whoever was calling would get
through eventually.
It was starting to get
dark as Marcus took a head count of the cattle and scribbled the
number down on a book in the tack room. The number was a little
lower then normal, but nothing he was concerned about. It had
been a long summer and it wouldn't surprise him if he'd missed a
cow or two as he'd driven them in. He made a mental note to
himself to check the upper part of his spread the next morning to
see if he could find them.
The approaching darkness still couldn't entice him inside. Marcus
spent the better part of an hour cleaning stalls and checking
tack and going over how much feed and hay he had left to last him
for the week. The temperature was dropping outside and he was
considering pulling the horses in for the night when the phone
rang for the third time.
With a bridle in one
hand, Marcus grabbed the phone with the other and pressed it to
his ear as he continued to rub the leather conditioner into the
noseband. "Hello?"
Over the murmur of the
cattle, the chirping crickets, and nearby stamping hooves, he
could hear the sound of someone breathing on the other end of the
phone.
"Who is this?"
No answer.
"Look, whoever this
is, I can hear you breathing."
The breathing continued
slow and steady. Marcus rolled his eyes and hung up. Most likely
it was one of Greg's boys playing a prank. Although he liked
Greg's kids they were prone to trouble.
It was pitch black
outside when Marcus got all the horses into the barn and
blanketed. He was dressed in only a long sleeved t-shirt and
tattered jeans and could feel his teeth chattering as he hurried
towards the house. The first frost would be setting in soon;
winter was coming.
It was nearly as dark in
the house as it was outside when Marcus got in and pulled his
boots off. He hit the kitchen light with one hand while he hung
his hat up with the other. Nothing happened. He hit the switch
down and back up again. The power was out.
"Man!" Marcus
felt around in the dark for the wall and then the refrigerator
handle. Slowly he worked his way around the kitchen until he
could move into the living room and down the hall. In the hall he
smacked into the utility door before he found the knob with his
hand. "Of all the times…" He cursed as he pulled
the door open and felt around for the breaker box. When he felt
around and flipped the main breaker switch he heard the hum of
electricity as the house came back to life. The light from the
kitchen illuminated the hall enough for him to shut the door and
flip on lights as he walked back to get something to eat.
When he came into the
kitchen he stopped. The kitchen door was wide open and he could
see nothing but the empty darkness of the night beyond. Marcus
spun around in a full circle. He'd shut the door when he'd come
inside. With confident strides he walked towards the door
into the barn and out of the warming sunlight.
"I know, I know.
Nothing I do is ever good enough." Marcus chuckled despite
his exhaustion as he untacked the horse and rubbed him down. Of
all his horses Rusty was the one he rode the most and he deserved
the extra attention after a days worth of hard riding.
With the onset of colder
weather Marcus had decided to drive all the cattle closer in. The
older cows had been ornery as ever and tried to give him the slip
more then a few times. Rusty had had his work cut out for him
today.
After Rusty was brushed
down and fed Marcus turned him out with the other horses and went
back to work. Even as the sun started to set Marcus still had his
work cut out for him. He put out fresh bails of hay and water for
both the cattle and horses and fixed a loose board in one of the
horse's stalls.
This time when the phone
rang he picked it up by the third ring. "Hello?"
There was no answer.
"Hello? Anyone
there?"
Marcus finally shrugged
and put the phone back on the hook. This wasn't the first time
the phones hadn't been cooperative. Whoever was calling would get
through eventually.
It was starting to get
dark as Marcus took a head count of the cattle and scribbled the
number down on a book in the tack room. The number was a little
lower then normal, but nothing he was concerned about. It had
been a long summer and it wouldn't surprise him if he'd missed a
cow or two as he'd driven them in. He made a mental note to
himself to check the upper part of his spread the next morning to
see if he could find them.
The approaching darkness still couldn't entice him inside. Marcus
spent the better part of an hour cleaning stalls and checking
tack and going over how much feed and hay he had left to last him
for the week. The temperature was dropping outside and he was
considering pulling the horses in for the night when the phone
rang for the third time.
With a bridle in one
hand, Marcus grabbed the phone with the other and pressed it to
his ear as he continued to rub the leather conditioner into the
noseband. "Hello?"
Over the murmur of the
cattle, the chirping crickets, and nearby stamping hooves, he
could hear the sound of someone breathing on the other end of the
phone.
"Who is this?"
No answer.
"Look, whoever this
is, I can hear you breathing."
The breathing continued
slow and steady. Marcus rolled his eyes and hung up. Most likely
it was one of Greg's boys playing a prank. Although he liked
Greg's kids they were prone to trouble.
It was pitch black
outside when Marcus got all the horses into the barn and
blanketed. He was dressed in only a long sleeved t-shirt and
tattered jeans and could feel his teeth chattering as he hurried
towards the house. The first frost would be setting in soon;
winter was coming.
It was nearly as dark in
the house as it was outside when Marcus got in and pulled his
boots off. He hit the kitchen light with one hand while he hung
his hat up with the other. Nothing happened. He hit the switch
down and back up again. The power was out.
"Man!" Marcus
felt around in the dark for the wall and then the refrigerator
handle. Slowly he worked his way around the kitchen until he
could move into the living room and down the hall. In the hall he
smacked into the utility door before he found the knob with his
hand. "Of all the times…" He cursed as he pulled
the door open and felt around for the breaker box. When he felt
around and flipped the main breaker switch he heard the hum of
electricity as the house came back to life. The light from the
kitchen illuminated the hall enough for him to shut the door and
flip on lights as he walked back to get something to eat.
When he came into the
kitchen he stopped. The kitchen door was wide open and he could
see nothing but the empty darkness of the night beyond. Marcus
spun around in a full circle. He'd shut the door when he'd come
inside. With confident strides he walked towards the door
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