By Johnny Utah
Based on a suggestion by MetalbondNYC
The owners of the ranch sent me a letter. In 90 days, they planned to sell the ranch. They were asking me to do some upgrades and offered me almost double my pay for my work in looking after the horses and keeping the barns in shape. I accepted. What else did I have to do?
For the couple of weeks all I did was work. The owners came by to see me with some new plans for some upgrades. It meant a lot of digging. They were supposed to have a contactor show up with an excavator, but he never showed, so I used a shovel and wheelbarrow. I got up and took care of the horses. I sweated out in the sun all day, went home, ate, went to sleep, and got up the next morning to repeat it.
It was early Saturday morning. I heard the sound of a truck pulling up in the driveway. Sgt. Stiles arrived. He had sent me a text last night that he would be over. I looked out the window, and sure enough there he was in all his glory. Stetson hat, stern jaw, and thick neck, all I could think was “WOOF!”