Wesley chucked hay into the corral for the horse. Lance was caulked a leak in the water trough that had caused a huge mud puddle around where the horses would gather 'round for water. Hoof prints were sunk easily four inches deep. Luckily the afternoon sun had been hot the last few days and had hardened the ground somewhat. Still Lance was covered in mud.
Lance squeezed a thin line of caulk along the seam, using a wet finger to smooth it out and then continued along the bottom rim of the trough, having it turned upside down to do so. It had been a few days since the rodeo, and he and Wesley's blow-out. They rode the next night and came in second, despite their cold shoulders towards one another and hardly a word had been said between the two friends since. Lance knew he had pushed too hard, but it seemed like he was the only one that could really get him to see what was sitting right in front of him. Standing upright, he stretched slightly with a groan and popped his neck before pushing off his hat to wipe at his sweat and then shove it back on top of his head again.
"I'm just gonna have to break down and get a new trough fer up here.... this is the second leak this summer. Either tha' er drag it into the barn during winter and heat it." Wesley said as he poured oats into the feeder. The sound of the things against the metal would call the horses better than any whistle could ever do. When they heard it, they knew it was food time and they'd come running in.
Lance glanced over at Wesley as he up righted the tank again and dragged it to a new place so the ground could dry completely where it had been. "Well not that yer askin' my opinion or nuthin' but I think that's a wise idea," he said, grabbing the hose and turned it on as he sprayed out the tank and checked his work. He glanced up in time to see Lacey's palomino Ice running up with the others. He had enjoyed finally being able to get out with the other horses and be in a herd again. They had had to keep him separated for too long while keeping the secret from Wesley.
Wesley just nodded as he pulled the pitch fork out of the hay as the horses came trotting in, pushing one another as if there wasn't enough food for them all. He grabbed the gunny sack that'd held the measured amount of oats before Ice grabbed it and rolled it around his arm as he backed off to let the horses in. He turned back to the barn to put the tools away and tossed the sack on to the pile of empty ones. They'd need to weigh and measure out new bags soon. There was only a few days worth left that had been pre-measured out. He peeked out of the barn at Lance. "'ey.... when you're finished wit that, ya wanna 'elp me measure out feed fer the cows 'n horses? We're gettin' low"
Lance glanced up, pouring out the contents of the small amount of water he had used to rinse out the trough and then shoved the hose in deep to let it fill up with water while he nodded and headed for the barn. Walking into the barn he moved to where Wesley was and picked up some of the empty gunny sacks and picked up a measuring can and started measuring and filling up bags.
They didn't talk as they worked, measuring a week's worth of oats and cache out so they didn't have to do it later. When Lance grabbed the last sack Wesley leaned back against the big trailer that held the cache up off the ground and kept it fresher and real easy to move if they needed to and he lifted his hat to wipe sweat from his brow "So.... who was that gal you were draggin' around all weekend?"
Lance continued to fill the sack, only glancing up momentarily to eye his friend for a minute. He had been thinking about apologizing ... not for what he had done, but perhaps in the manner that he had done it. Hearing his friend start to actually talk seemed to clear the air a bit between them and he grinned a bit, shrugging her shoulders. "Eh, just some girl I met a couple of weeks ago. Wendy's 'er name ... I think." His eyebrows furrowed a moment as he thought about it again. "Wendy? Mindy? Hell, I can't remember."
Wesley just chuckled and shook his head. "Ya 'ave too many to keep track of anymore, eh? Funny ya never find one ya like and stick wit 'er,"
Lance's jaw tightened a bit and he seemed to still momentarily in filling the bag but then continued on, shrugging his shoulders. "There's too many to enjoy. Why settle with one?" He grinned good-naturedly and stood upright, closing the sack and then tossed it over with the rest, shoving his hat back a moment and reached for the bandana stuffed in his pocket and wiped his forehead. This was one topic he didn't want to stay on long.
Wesley regarded his friend evenly. "You 'ad one once." Wesley said it gently, but it got his point across. Lance hadn't always been this way. He'd been engaged to some li'l gal from Jackson whose daddy sold big farm equipment. Soon after Anne's accident Lance had broken off the engagement and hadn't talked about the gal since, or why he'd stopped seeing her.
Lance shoved the bandana back in his pocket and tossed the measuring can back into the feed room and shut the door, almost as if he were shutting off that line of conversation. "What's next on the agenda?" he asked, feeling his jaw tighten. The last thing he wanted to discuss was the reason why all that had happened and Anne's accident again. That was in the past and he intended to keep it there.
"There was a postcard from 'er on the kitchen counter. Theresa was 'er name, wasn't it? Yea.... was from 'er. Didn't read it, but was addressed to ya if Caroline didn't tell ya." Wesley wasn't going to let it drop this time. The girl had been sending postcards every now and then to try to keep touch with Lance. Lance ignored them. Without Lance's knowledge Wesley had interfered and sent cards back to let the girl know Lance was still around and not dead, but that was about all he told her.
Lance sighed, his hands resting on his hips as he stood and regarded his friend. "Caroline told me," he said and then steeled his jaw some. "How'd we get on this conversation topic?"
"'Cause now it's my turn ta push. That gal deserves somethin' from ya Lance. A card, a call... somethin'. Don't leave 'er waitin' on ya.... 'cause she won't wait forever."
