Wolfe Ranch
Ridge
I took a deep breath through my nose as I gripped the saddle horn and reins in my left hand. Quickly, I placed my foot in the stirrup and lifted myself into the saddle. The worn leather creaked under my weight, and the heat of Lucius’s body rose up through the saddle, tense as a coiled spring. Too bad, no matter how fast I did this, Lucius always started bucking. Thankfully, I had my ass in the seat and was pulling desperately on the reins to get his head up. If I didn’t act fast, he would have me in the dirt in seconds, scrambling to get up.
The lunatic bucked hard while I tried with all my might to stay on and stop him. He bucked hard for at least fifteen seconds before slowing down. I pulled a little more on the reins, and slowly, he gave in.
Lucius stopped bucking and trotted around the paddock until I stopped him. As the young stallion halted, he dramatically stomped his hooves in protest. What a drama king.
“He almost got you this time,” my younger brother, Dakota, said as he sat on the top railing of the fence.
“Oh, I’m aware. How long did it take?” I asked.
“Fifteen seconds,” he grumbled.
I chuckled lightly. Dakota knew better than to bet I couldn’t get Lucius to settle down in less than twenty.
“Let’s get to work,” I told him.
Dakota had been bested, and now he owed me dinner. We would worry about that later, though.
Dakota hopped off the fence and opened the paddock gate for me. As I walked Lucius through the gate, Dakota untied and got on his horse, Goldie. She was a pretty Palomino that he’s had for the past four years. That had to be his favorite horse in the world. She worked great with him and always strived to impress.
I loved these rides across the ranch — the open land, the morning sun, the steady rhythm of hooves against packed dirt. Out here, it was just us and the land, no bullshit.
We rode to the spring pasture to check the cows and calves. This would be excellent training for Lucius if there were any new calves. This horse was the descendant of Cat’s most beloved stud, Maximus. There were certain expectations of this guy, like learning how to cut cattle, and I was the one tasked with getting him there. I just needed to work with him more. The first obstacle was getting him used to the fact that there was no fence between him and the cattle. He liked to be a dickhead and harass them.
The horses walked through the pastures to the area we needed to be. Soon, the cattle were in view, and our checks started. No new calves had dropped overnight, and everyone was accounted for.
“How many calves are we expecting in the next week?” Dakota asked.
“Four or five.”
We quickly checked the herd for problems and examined the bull. Cat’s new bull was aggressive and not toward the right creatures. He didn’t want us off our horses if we were in the field with them, making our job harder. If we had calves on the ground that needed tags, we would need more help to cut the herd off for one person to wrangle a newborn. It sounds easy, but it’s not.
I hope the bull is this aggressive with predators; otherwise, he’s useless other than for breeding him. He produced some great-looking calves with these ladies, so no one complained about him.
I moved Lucius around the outside of the herd, paying close attention to his behavior. Lucius loved to antagonize the cattle, but that was honestly typical of horses. All of them acted like they were better than the cows.
As we moved around the cattle, I wasn’t prepared for Lucius to lunge at them suddenly. I yelled out in surprise and held on for dear life. I pulled on the reins and backed him away from the cattle with small jerks of the reins.
“Asshole,” I hissed.
If he didn’t start listening soon, we would both be broken in more ways than one.
Lucius blew air through his nose harshly, making it sound like he was breathing fire in response. Talk about attitude!
I could hear Dakota chuckling not far away. I looked up to see him watching me with a smile.
“What’s so funny?” I asked with a grumble.
“The two of you have the same attitude. It’s clear why Cat has you training him and not me,” he said in amusement.
I lightly growled at him, and he laughed further. There was a time when my growl would shut him up, but that’s when he was a teenager, and we were far from teenagers now. If we got into a scrap for any reason, he could fight back with as much skill and strength as I. I had to think twice sometimes with the fights I picked with him, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. He’d get all cocky about it.
After a while, we left the cattle and returned to the stables to put Lucius away. The ride back to the stables was easygoing, though he pulled against me to try to run. He was crazy if he thought I was about to let him loose. I knew better. He would take me under some trees to try and knock me off. I’m not making that mistake again.
When we reached the stables, light music played, telling us that Cat was tending to horses. She loved listening to music while she worked, and the horses enjoyed it too.
Dakota and I dismounted before we walked the horses to their stalls. As I secured Lucius’s stall door, Cat appeared and leaned on it to talk with me. This was our usual meeting spot each morning.
“How did he do?” Cat asked.
“He did alright. If I can figure out how to handle his attitude, then I’ll be able to get further with him. When he acts like an angry toddler, it makes life difficult.”
She lightly chuckled and said, “You’ll get there.”
I hummed and nodded in response. I removed Lucius’s saddle and set it aside before picking up his brush and running it over his dapple gray coat. He stood there quietly as I worked and talked with Cat further.
“This morning, I called the vet, and he came to look at Helena again,” she informed me.
“What did he say?” I asked in concern.
Helena was one of Cat’s breeding mares. She had contracted a severe case of equine influenza, so we separated her from the other animals to contain the infection. Our only issue was that Helena didn’t seem to improve, even with proper treatment.
“We need to find an alternative treatment, or we’re going to lose her.”
The truth of the situation hurt. All of the animals we cared for were special to us, and it was always hard when we lost one, primarily because we worked hard to keep them alive.
“Do you have a plan?” I asked.
“I called around and talked with other vets and packs. Our only option is the Sandia Crest pack in New Mexico.”
“Why there?” I asked in confusion.
That was so far away. It would take forever to get Helena down there.
“They have specialty treatments that I hope will help her. I talked with Lianna’s brother, Alpha Andre, and he put me in contact with the trainer, Diego.”
“Ok.”
If that’s what it would take to help her, then we have to do it. I just needed to pick the right people to transport and pay attention to her. It would be awful if she died in transport because someone wasn’t mindful.
“They would be more than happy to help us with her. I just need you to get her there,” Cat told me.
“You want me to take her?” I asked in shock.
It felt strange — being asked to leave the ranch I’d been trusted to run. Like someone else would have to keep it steady while I was gone. I had work to handle here. We usually send Dakota or someone else on trips like this, so why was she sending me this time?
“Yes, I want you to do it,” Cat said with a grin.
“Why?”
I was so confused. Five years ago, Cat picked me as the ranch foreman, and I hadn’t made long trips since then. I had stayed close to the ranch to ensure it ran correctly.
“Because I know you will care for her properly,” Cat said gently.
“Are you sure you want me to do this and not Dakota?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m positive. Do you not want to do it?” she asked with that motherly look we all got from her.
I thought about it for a second. It would be nice to get away for a little while, and I would sleep better knowing that I was in charge of transport for Helena. If someone else were doing it, I wouldn’t relax until I knew she was at her destination.
“Yeah. I’ll do it. I’ll leave Dakota in charge of the other ranch hands,” I said.
“Perfect.”
“Was there anything else I needed to take down there?” I asked.
“Take a few cows as payment for their help and take someone to help you along the way.”
I sighed and thought about the task ahead of me. Someone to take with me?
“Ok,” I grumbled.
“Who are you going to take?” she asked with a devilish smile.
She knew I didn’t get along with just anyone, so this was a tall order for me.
“I’ll see if my dad will go with me.”
“Alright. If he won’t, let me know, and we will find someone you can tolerate for long periods,” Cat joked with a smile.
I hummed and told her, “Good luck with that.”
Cat laughed before returning to the stall where we had Helena in. I finished with Lucius before walking over and looking at how bad Helena was. She was standing in her stall, seeming miserable but enjoying Cat’s company. Her nose was constantly dripping from the virus, and she couldn’t seem to kick it—poor thing.
“How’s her fever?” I asked.
“It’s low-grade today, but still clinging to her,” Cat sighed.
A horse’s temperature ranged from 99 to 101. When it reached 105, we panicked. We were all thankful it didn’t reach 107, or we would have lost Helena. My goal on the way there was to keep that fever low.
After a while, I walked over to where Dakota was still talking with Goldie and feeding her treats. I told him what was going on and what I needed to do.
“How are you going to ask Dad to go with you?” he questioned.
“I was thinking of texting Mom and seeing about all of us having dinner tonight.”
“That would be good. I’m sure he’ll go with you unless he has something going on.”
I grunted, knowing that Dad had nothing to do except train warriors, and he was getting bored. I’m sure he would enjoy the adventure, but he needed to understand that I was in charge, not him. That didn’t always work out so well with both of us trying to be the leader.
