Montana Rhapsody Pt 02

CHAPTER 4

The weeks went by. Paris had built a wide circle of friends, seeded by her Women's Auxiliary-sponsored address of course and also through the regular dinner invitations arising from locals becoming aware of her celebrity status. Now Hal was in a stable female relationship near neighbors were anxious to re-establish with him and Hal and Paris were on the invitation lists to dinner or parties.

But February 27 turned Paris's life into a virtual black hole. That was when cows gave birth to the first five calves.

Assisting with calving soon had her exhausted and bitter at the apparent ease in which new-born calves or just calved cows died. She was in the calving barn day and night, often falling asleep in the bunk in the side-room so exhausted she had no idea where she was.

"You have to pull her back," Annie said, worried. "I've tried and tried but she argues that she committed herself to work right through calving month without unnecessary let-up and that's what she's doing. Hal, I'm telling you, I want her back in this house and not working for three days."

"Ha! You try telling her," Hal said wearily, "and please get off my back over this."

Annie went out to the barn. She found Paris sprawled over a heifer, crying into its side.

"Oh Paris, oh Paris my poor darling," Annie cooed. Annie looked up and waved away Tom who was waiting with a chain to drag the carcass hooked to the tractor out of the barn

"You don't understand," Paris wailed. "Of all of them, this was the one that wasn't supposed to die. Larry bought her in two days ago and a few hours later they had to pull out the calf with the help of the tractor. The calf lasted less that two hours; I wouldn't let them kill it although I knew it had both front legs badly dislocated. The calf was just two large for the heifer.

"I stayed with the heifer all night last night and this morning she appeared to have stabilized and by mid-morning looked very much better. But when I checked back on her ten minutes ago I found she'd gone. Oh, if you could only understand Annie, she was definitely getting better; then she went and died on me."

"I know, I know sweet one; I've been through it too. Come lie down in the side room. Rest for a while and then I'm taking you back to the house. You are so pale and are losing weight. This is not right."

"I'll have a rest and I'll come over for a shower and change of clothes but don't attempt to stop me coming back here Annie, I'm warning you. My work is here."

Paris slept for two hours and left for the house. As she departed she looked forlornly at the spot where the heifer had died but the place was occupied by two cows feeding their calves. Both weakened mothers eating from feed boxes and recovering now they were being boosted with protein and were in the warmth. After a shower and climbing into clean clothes Paris scoffed a hot chocolate drink and some food. When Paris fell asleep in the lounge chair Alice covered her but just over two hours later when she checked on Paris she found the chair empty.

By March 24 calving was down to under ten a day. At midday Hal came in and picked Paris up and carried her unresisting to the house.

"No more work for you before the start of April. Sleep for two days and then start your first draft chapter," he said kindly. "There have only been four births this morning and only one brought in to you but that little fellow will be fine. We boys can manage now without Nurse McCoy."

"Okay boss."

Hal came a little late to the lunch table, earning a glare from Annie, but he was smiling.

"Some excellent news Nurse McCoy. According by my accurate records I must advise we lost four heifers to dystocia and eleven cows, that's the name for calving difficulty. We've lost thirteen cows to date and gave birthing assistance to fifty-five mainly involving calves exhibiting problems. Now for the good news. Our calving mortality rate at this stage according to my figures is 3.28% better than the past three years and yet this it was the worst winter we've had for seven year. So that is an excellent result. Calving should finish by Tuesday. You ladies are invited to accompany the boys and me to our usual bar on Friday at 4:00 and we are booked to have dinner at the Bald Eagle at 6:00."

"The boys too?"

"Um, Paris. I don't think you understand. The dinning room is the best in town."

Annie said fearlessly, "Look at her eyes and the set of her month Hal."

"Thanks for the thought Paris. I will ask the boys do they wish to be booked in."

"Thank you boss. Tell them that no one goes to town without passing my inspection."

"Certainly Paris. Is there any other Royal Command?"

"Hal if I thought you are making fun of me..."

"Heaven forbid, Paris."

"No that is all and once again your cooperation is appreciated."

Hal phoned the bunkhouse and returned saying all three had opted to join the ranch party for dinner at the Bald Eagle Hotel.

Paris went to bed after lunch and stayed there until breakfast on the second morning.

During that second night a sleepy Hal found himself being rubbed up for sex and was awake quickly as twenty-one nights had passed since they'd last had sex. He knew because he was used to keeping statistics although this particular recording was a first for him. As they got underway he became soft talking, telling Paris he was rarin' to ride one of the most attractive fillies in the entire west. She fluttered her eyelashes against his cheek in the dark and resolved to ensure he could scarcely walk to the bathroom after she'd finished with him.

It had been a busy month because the hayfields had been closed and Hal had been out on dry days preparing the first of many acres of ground for the planting of barley oats and sugar beet on the lower land running along the highway frontage. When he tired he'd call Alan on CB radio to be relieved and Alan would do his six to ten hours before calling Hal to rotate with him. They'd work relief system around the clock whenever possible. Whenever conditions were unsuitable for ground conditioning and sowing they'd revert to routine ranch work.

Grinding the hours on a tractor on agriculture work requires skill and concentration but once Hal was in the grove after setting up correctly he had time to think, and often thought about Paris and not just about her body. He'd decided she really wasn't the ideal wife for a rancher in tough country like this. She was more interested in working on the ranch rather than cooking and housework and producing offspring. Or so it seemed. He conceded once again that could change. The problem was she had no ranching tradition; the perfect woman for him lay out there somewhere. A pretty perhaps a little buxom lady who knew everything from go to whoa about ranching, talked ranching talk to ranchers and rancher-wife talk to other rancher wives and would drop everything she was doing and jump into the pick-up and drive one hundred miles to pick up a part for a bailer or a sweep or a water pump.

But he didn't want this theoretical perfect rancher's wife from traditional ranching stock. He wanted Paris. Wanting her was no different to bringing in a new stallion or a new line of bulls to attempt to improve the bloodlines of the ranch-bred horses and cattle. Hell, where had Marissa come from with her Arab blood? The stallion his father purchased in 1992 been used over seven mares before he tumbled into a canyon but it established his influence and that had come out strongly on Marissa. Another influence of his father was in having several mares artificially inseminated with semen from a proven mustang sire, and the best example of that progeny was Prairie Queen.

He smiled, rubbing tired eyes at the thought of Paris being compared with the importation of new blood. Hal thought she might berate him over that or even take a swing at him. She was the only adult woman he'd ever been associated with who'd smack him one if she thought he needed it. That was part of the attraction of her. He'd not been successful in finding a woman who appealed to him and what happened? In comes Paris to find him and to fuck him. She wouldn't have done that with him had she not liked him.

The radio crackled. "You've run over ten hours, I'm coming out."

"Thanks Alan. Much appreciated."

"I'm fit for at least eight hours boss, so no too much booze and a good sleep. The forecast for tomorrow is not good."

"What does Annie say?"

"What would Annie know...oh, yeah? You can find out for yourself boss. Over and out."

Annie greeted him with a beer. "Have a long bath. It's ready for you. You'll be able to find something entertaining to do with Paris tonight as rain will be approaching us within six to eight hours."

"Which is it?"

"I'm not a weather professional. I'm just Annie and certain things just come into my head."

"Okay, I understand I think. Tell Paris to come to the bathroom when she comes out."

Annie sniffed. "Do you think that woman is dumb? She knows you're in the house."

"How does she? Are you beginning to teach her things?"

"No you fool, she heard the four-wheeler come back up the hill like I did."

"Oh, yeah." Hal was tired and knew that; however he was annoyed at making himself sound such a fool. Fortunately Annie, who being ten years older was more like a big sister than hired help because of her long history in the family, knew him well and would made allowances.

* * *

Although the boys now virtually accepted Paris as 'one of the boys' there was a nervousness on Friday afternoon when they trooped in for inspection. They felt rather humiliated although Paris had sent the boss and Annie from the room. She felt to check they'd shaved and lifted up an arm and sniffed and checked their string ties and that each person's socks and shoes matched.

"Okay, three of you passed."

They all grinned knowing they were being teased about numbers.

"The ranch is paying for your meals and liquor with the meal but here's twenty bucks for each of you for looking after me."

"Thank you Paris," they chorused.

"Go fetch my SUV Alan but let the boss drive."

"You look incredible in black and short a shirt hem Paris and you smell like green hay on a hot day."

"Thank you Alan," she replied, assuming all of that was a compliment.

Just before they left she whispered to Annie, "What does green hay smell like on a hot day?"

"Like one of nature's best perfumes," she said. "I'll demonstrate to you in late June. By the way, congratulations, the boys are looking really good. They all should score tonight."

"Pardon me?"

"Although the dining room and bars are classy the back rooms of the hotel have a down market reputation and the ranchers take however up to the tope floor. Rooms can be hired by the hour."

"Will you get lucky tonight?"

"Mind you own business you cheeky cow," Annie blushed.

They went out laughing and Paris told Alan to sit in the front. "I need to sit with Annie to keep her to heel."

"Everyone laughed but having no idea what she was on about, apart from Annie.

Although it was only 4:00 the bars were crowded. "We are not the only ones who have just finished calving," Annie said. "Some who have a second run of calving next month will be here tonight as well. It's one full-on night although quite different to July the 4th and Thanksgiving."

Annie disappeared but Paris scarcely noticed as woman who knew her drew her into their group and a glass of wine was handed to her; someone else would commandeer her from a neighboring group. At one stage she felt a tap on her shoulder; it was Annie.

"Paris, I would like to introduce you to my occasional companion Rory White who sometimes calls himself Little Round Black Hat. He's married and so am I but we like to be together at times. We were born in the same year and spent all our early lives together.

"You're married?"

"Oh yes, didn't anyone mention that," Annie said vaguely. "I'm sorry. I married a very handsome man and as soon as I became pregnant he left me, but stayed on the reservation with another family. His parents agreed I should return to the ranch where I had my baby but six months later I was summoned back to the tribe and asked to hand over what was theirs."

"Oh you poor darling."

"It was okay. I preferred living on the ranch. I was seventeen then. I go to see my son twice a year and he's a very happy and lovely boy who lives with my husband and his preferred woman who is unable to bear children."

"Oh Annie."

"It's okay. I carried on thinking that Hal is my substitute son. He knows that but please don't tell him you know that."

"Er, what do you do Mr White?"

"Rory please; well I don't wear a round black hat and smoke pipes and throw ceremonial lances on the reservation. I'm an accountant and am junior partner to Merle Cook. I believe you know her."

"Yes, very well. We socialize quite often with Merle. Is she here tonight?"

"Yes, she is the after dinner speaker and will be talking about gaining more tax relief by filing more detailed and accurate information and ensuring clear paper trails."

"Goodness, will people ingesting alcohol be in the mood to hear a highfalutin subject like that being discussed?"

"No, but you don't know Cheeky Red Petticoat. She's a semi-professional after dinner speaker with legendary humor. She'll have this mob rolling out of their chairs."

"Are you sure we're talking about the same person?"

"There's Cheeky Red Petticoat over there. That's my pet name for her."

Paris turned to where Rory was pointing and Merle waved a hello to her.

"It's lovely meeting you Paris," he said. "Alice and I are popping upstairs for half an hour. I'll say hello again later. I'm here to appeal to everyone to come along and support this town's welcome to spring festival." on behalf of the organizer."

"Is the organizer adverse to coming into hotels?"

"No he's in agony with gout. Too much red meat and red wine."

"Don't listen to Rory, he's such a tease," Alice said, as they began moving away. "He's the event organizer and I certainly haven't heard any mention of red petticoat before."

Paris found Hal talking to their neighbors whom she now knew. The men were talking about working jointly on haymaking over summer while the women appeared to be discussing American's foreign policy in the Middle East. Paris joined the men to learn something about haymaking.

She knew winter-feeding was the largest single item of expenditure in a ranch's operating costs. But it was a struggle to comprehend the discussion. The men were talking about timings for second and third cuts on irrigated pastures, whatever that meant but she understood the differences between dry land and irrigated land for hay-growing and guessed the variation of round bales weighing from 1000-1600 lbs each would be largely due to moisture content although perhaps compaction and whether the grasses were similar on all ranches would make a difference. She knew Hal seeded an alfalfa-grass mix and had explained to her that the hayfields were larger than what appeared necessary as pastures were used for hay on a three to four-year rotation.

"Being a city girl this will be double-Dutch to you," David Withers, a neighbor on their southwest boundary said kindly.

"I'm learning," Paris said. "I know that a cow weighing 1200 pounds eats about twenty-four pounds of hay a day and where we are we need four months' supply of hay for the winter with allowances made in calculations if the spring growth is exceptional or the hayfields were hit badly by longer than usual drought."

"Wow," David said in admiration. "You are not just a pretty face are you? Most of the wives here wouldn't have a clue about what you seem to know but then again I do know you are dedicated to learning all you can. Look, you drive over with Annie sometime and I'll take you through our set-up. You've been over twice for dinner but the talk was nothing to do with ranching. We all have variations to our methods."

"That's kind of you but why bring Annie? She's not particularly interested in what happens outside the home except to know enough to be able to converse with some knowledge."

"Quite, but Lisa will be more comfortable if Annie accompanies us in touring the barns and workshops and riding out to look at stock and farm improvements," David grinned. "You are very pretty."

At that interesting point he was called back into the general conversation that had extended into discussing specifics.

"I heard what Davie said to you," Lisa laughed, coming up to Paris. "He made me out to be an ogress. You come over without Annie and I'll have John saddle up my horse for you. He's always taking guys on a tour of the ranch so this would be a novelty for him. As for me thinking he could be tempted by you, oh dear: dream on over-weight and ageing David Withers."

They laughed and Paris casually allowing their nearest hand to touch. She wanted Lisa to know she liked her. Lisa was Merle Cooke's older sister and their brother Jason Macdonald managed their parents' farm machinery business.

"Look, we're becoming friends and I really like having a younger woman with refreshing new ideas and an urban outlook as a neighbor. The twins are coming home next Friday for a long weekend. Why don't you come over early on Saturday and have a look around and have late lunch with the twins and me. They appear very interested in you. I've chatted about you to them on the phone."

"That would be lovely. I had hoped to meet the girls."

A gong sounded and the bar began emptying. As soon as the group around Hal fell away Paris took his arm and asked, "Where are the boys?"

"This is the Cattlemen's Bar. They'll be in the rowdy Cowboys' Bar."

"Oh, segregation?"

"Don't be a twitchy New Yorker feminist or reformer. It's a voluntary segregation. In this bar we talk business with a little boasting. I believe the conversation in the Cowboy Bar is about horses, cattle, women and attempting to keep the lies believable. Come on, let's go to our mixed-company dinner thanks to you, although in recent years some other ranchers have been bringing in their better-behaved cowhands. Many have been accompanied by their ramrods for years."

"Why did your ramrod disappear a couple of days after my arrival?"

"I suspected him a stealing twenty head of cattle. He would only admit to stealing two so he was fired and he and his wife and child were gone inside two hours. I've decided not to replace him. Instead I'll bring in outside seasonal labor and do the supervision myself."

"Oh dear, that poor woman with her youngster. Do you really believe he got away with twenty head?"

"Possibly but twenty-two were missing when we put everything through for drenching but there are always a few that get through a fence and wander off or fall into canyons, drown or die of sickness in a corner of a pasture. We'll never know for sure without a confession."

"Why didn't you have him arrested and allow the police to extract a confession?"

"Lack of proof and lack of interest by the police. Allegations of rustling are a dime a dozen. Some ranchers also sell a few off privately and then cook the books by claiming rustling."

"So he lost his job over a few hundred dollars."

"Make that a few thousand dollars and the answer is yes. He's probably working for some unsuspecting rancher in Wyoming or Colorado now."

"How awful."

"Yes and it makes sense in hanging them when they're caught red-handed doesn't it."

"How awful. You're joking, aren't you?"

"If you say so."

Appalled, Paris asked what sort of reply was that.

"I could say the only reply you're getting but for your comfort I'll add I accept that individual retribution to take care of crooks is no longer lawful as everyone knows they had no idea of the wrong they were doing and need to given a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance and then a smack on the hand."