Jamie had been riding fence with her foreman, Carlos. They had been at it since six that morning. It was late August and she was hot and tired. She sat on her horse as Carlos dismounted and opened the gate from the north field, giving access to the main house and barn.
When it was pushed wide enough, she rode through and continued to the barn, not waiting for Carlos She reined up and the open barn doors and slid off into dust deep enough to raise a cloud. She led her horse into the barn and handed the reins to a waiting Aria, the daughter of her house keeper and cook. Aria was eighteen, finished with high school and uninterested in anything such as college that might take her away from the ranch.
Jamie drew a ladle of water from a spigot and sat down on a stack of straw bales. She removed her western hat and used a bandana to wipe the dust from her face.
She could hear Aria unsaddling the horse, closing and locking the stall. Then she heard the girl drop an arm full of hay over the stall rail and into a feed bin.
Aria returned and waited quietly for Jamie's next instructions. Jamie looked at her. Finally she pointed toward the ladder at the far side of the barn which led up to the hay loft.
