The Cowboy's Family Christmas. Carolyne Aarsen

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      Reuben grabbed hold of a fence post and clambered over in his hurry to catch the gate and stop the rest of the cows from getting out. But it was hard to halt the press of all those large bodies and too dangerous.

      “What did you do?” he called out to Devin, who was ignoring the herd racing past him as he walked along the fence.

      “I quit.” Devin muttered as Reuben tried to get by him. “George is a maniac boss.”

      “Is that your own horse?” Reuben asked as the cows, increasing in number, now thundered past them.

      “No. Belongs to the ranch.”

      That’s all he needed to know. Reuben yanked the reins out of Devin’s hand, did a quick assessment of the young man’s height. They were about the same. The stirrups should be okay.

      Then he vaulted into the saddle, turned the horse around, nudged him in the flanks and galloped off to head off the cows before they got too far away.

      It was a race and Reuben had to be careful not to get too close to the cows and get them running even faster. He heard Leanne’s shout and tossed a quick glance over his shoulder to see her following on horseback behind him, making a wide loop around the herd like he had.

      All he could hear now was the thundering of the cows’ hooves, the steady rhythm of the horse’s, its hard breathing and Leanne shouting something indecipherable.

      * * *

      She needed to catch up to Reuben. Leanne gripped the reins of her horse, urging it on, fighting to stay in the saddle of the racing horse.

      She shoved down a beat of panic as she galloped alongside the now running herd going faster than she thought possible.

      She didn’t have time to plan. All she could concentrate on was getting the herd turned around before they got too far ahead. Could they do it with two horses? She’d never handled a charging herd before.

      Please, Lord, help me keep my seat. Help me not fall off.

      Her prayer was automatic. She didn’t want to disgrace herself in front of either Reuben, who seemed to be one with the horse he rode, or George, who had seemed on the verge of having a heart attack when the cows had surged through the open gate.

      She was so angry with Devin, but right now she couldn’t spare him much thought.

      Slowly the gap between their horses lessened and, to her surprise and relief, Reuben managed to get his horse in front of the lead cows. He waved his hat at the herd as he pulled his horse’s speed in.

      Please don’t split, she silently pleaded as she came behind Reuben, trying to gauge the correct distance between her and Reuben and the cows. Too close and she would spook the herd. Too far back and some of the cows might go right between them and they’d have two bunches to worry about.

      Thankfully they stayed together, calves bawling, cows bellowing and dust rising up from the milling hooves.

      Reuben made it to the front of the herd and slowly, slowly their forward momentum decreased. Reuben waved his hat again, yelling to get the cows turned. But the animals behind didn’t know what was happening and kept running through, ramming into the cows in the front. This spooked them again and Leanne hurried to join Reuben at the front to hold the herd back.

      But finally the animals seemed to sense they weren’t going to carry on and the herd slowed its pace, Reuben and Leanne keeping up.

      “Don’t get too close,” Reuben called out. “Stay far enough away that they can see you but not get scared again.”

      Leanne nodded, pulling her horse back.

      Reuben waved his arm at the cows again and they stopped. “Get beside me but stay about ten feet away,” he shouted to Leanne. “Turn your horse toward the cows and keep it facing them.”

      Leanne simply did what she was told. Reuben had herded far more cows than she had and knew what he was doing.

      So she turned her horse around, her heart pounding in her chest with a mixture of fear and anticipation as she faced down the herd in front of her. The cows had their heads up as if looking for a way out. What would happen now depended on the decision of the lead cows.

      “Get along, you creatures,” Reuben yelled, waving his hat at them again. Leanne had left her rope behind and her hat had tumbled off somewhere in the pasture so she waved her hands, praying it would help.

      Then, together, they managed to get the front cows turned back toward the corrals and, thankfully, the others reluctantly followed suit.

      The herd pushed and bawled as they made their way back, expressing their disappointment and confusion.

      “You keep pressure on the herd, I’ll make sure they stay bunched,” Reuben called out.

      Again all Leanne could do was nod.

      A few calves made a break from the herd, heading for the upper pastures but Reuben quickly got them back, his horse easily stopping and turning them around.

      Thankfully his horse was a seasoned cutting horse and Reuben knew what he was doing.

      The cattle had their heads down now, plodding along the way cows should be moving. Leanne sneezed on the dust raised by the herd walking over the fields that were once green. She shivered as the worst of the drama was over.

      Reuben was still working the one side of the herd as the animals headed back to the corrals. She knew they would face another challenge when they came to the gate, but hopefully the bale of hay she’d put inside the pen to lure them in the first place would draw them back again. The pasture they were riding on now was brown and chewed down so there was nothing to entice them here, though a few cows slowed to check it out.

      As they got closer to the yard, she saw the gate was still open. George was on the other side of the fence, holding it with a rope to make sure it didn’t swing shut. He also knew what to do.

      Then, finally, the first cows went through the gate.

      “Push them harder,” Reuben called out, whistling at the cows. “We need to get them moving fast enough so the front ones get pushed farther into the corrals and don’t decide to turn around when they reach the end.”

      Leanne clucked to her horse, urging the cows on, and then, finally, they were all back in the corrals and the large metal gate clanged shut behind them.

      Her hands were shaking as she unclenched the reins and pulled in a long, steadying breath. They had come so close to a complete disaster.

      If Reuben hadn’t been there right when Devin quit...

      She shut that thought off. She didn’t know why Reuben had returned, but he had, and right now she was relieved to have the cows safely back in the pen. It had taken her and Devin and Chad two days to round them up the first time. She knew if the cows had gotten out to the far pasture, it would have taken them a lot longer to convince them to come back.

      “Good job, Leanne,” George said as she sat, her breath shaky, her pulse still pounding.

      She СКАЧАТЬ