The next morning, when Wesley woke up, the sun had yet to come up but, its morning rays were gently starting to warm the night sky. The earth had been refreshed from the night rain, like a healing had come over the land. It seemed to fit all together so perfectly, his opening up, and the tears going hand in hand with the opening of the skies, and then the healing rain that seemed to refresh the surrounding country. As he turned in the bed to reach for Lacey, she was gone. All that was left, as a reminder that she had been there, was a fresh cut daisy from the garden out back, and a little note that simply said, "Out for a run. Meet you at the barn."
Wesley grunted softly in disappointment as he just found the empty bed beside him. His fingers wrapped around the daisy and he read the note and muttered, burying his face into the sheets. The woman was insane. Last night had been a long night. Getting out of bed was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment. After several minutes of arguing with himself, he finally disentangled from the bedclothes and went to the laundry basket to get clean clothes. It was obvious a woman hadn't lived in the house for some time. Wesley lived like a bachelor through and through. There was cereal in the pantry, and he kept his clothes in the laundry basket. At least this time he'd bothered to bring the basket upstairs, rather than leaving it down in the laundry room, like he normally did.
Not half an hour later, Wesley seemed semi awake as he wandered over toward the barn. The fact was he was still half asleep, but that's the way life was. Chores always came first.
Lance wandered into the barn from the opposing open doorway, a styrofoam cup of coffee in his hand, and a huge yawn on his face. Stretching upwards, he scratched at his face and yawned again, the sound echoing through the barn before he caught sight of Wesley coming in. Then suddenly he seemed to be wide awake as his eyes lit up and he yelled out, "So ... how'd it go last night?"
Wesley half looked up at his friend and just grunted in response. Last night would be difficult to explain. He rubbed his eyes then scratched the stubble on his chin. He knew Lance's wiley ways, and how sooner or later he'd get it out of him. "Get the keys and drive the feed truck in here. Need to get those cows hay and cake."
Lance looked at his friend for a moment and took a quick assessment of the look on his face. Okay, he wasn't unhappy but he WAS serious, so something big must have happened. Downing his coffee, he crumpled it up and grabbed the keys hanging on a peg just inside the small tack room, and wandered back out to get the truck. He could see Lacey jogging up the road, coming in from the mountain trail past the southern pasture. He grinned and wolf whistled, calling to her as she went by, admiring the way her little shorts and sports bra hugged in all the right places. "Hey sexy! Git yer fine ass over here and give me a morning hug!"
Lacey pulled up for a moment, jogging in place as she glanced around and then smiled, seeing Lance and simply waved before continuing on her way toward the main house. Lance frowned heavily and called after her, "Fine! Be that way," before he grumbled and slid into the work truck and backed in into the open doorway of the barn.
Wesley was ready with bales of hay, and he threw them up on the back. Then he threw three full gunny sacks of cattle cake up and crawled up to dump them into the feeder that would allow the driver to distribute it without having help. He sat down on one of the bales and patted the top of the truck to give the signal it was okay to go.
Lance grinned and gunned the truck for a moment, knowing it would catch Wesley off-guard and send him lurching back. It was a bit of a game they played every once in a while.
Pulling out of the barn, he turned and headed towards the pasture, drumming his fingers on the window frame as the morning breeze blew in, whistling softly to himself. The weekend was coming up quick, and he was looking forward to the rodeo. Wesley had decided to take up team roping again, and they had done pretty well with building up points in the last couple of months. He wondered vaguely if Lacey would come along this time, and then his thoughts turned to last night and he itched to know what happened. Wesley deserved happiness, and Lance, along with the rest of the ranch, was hoping that with the return of Lacey, so would Wesley's smile.
Wesley grunted as he was lurched back in the truck and he fell off the bale as it turned underneath him. He growled and smacked the back window. "Goddammit, Lance! Behave." He grumbled as he righted the bale again and sat down, pushing open the back window of the truck. "You tryin' to kill me 'er sumthin'?"
Lance chuckled, ducking naturally as the back window slid open and he glanced back at his friend with a lopsided grin. "So, come on, spill it ... how'd it go last night?"
Wesley crossed his arms over the back and leaned in to avoid the wet wind whipping him in the face as he rode the back of the truck to be sure they didn't lose any of the bales as they went over the rocky, bumpy ground. "It went alright. Showed 'er the house. Went alright fer awhile. Woke up with a bad dream."
