Two Sides of the Same Coin Read Online Free Page B

to the ranch pretty quick and took my report. He said he’d have one of his deputies inspect the site from the forest service road. Apparently the rustlers had brought a truck right up to the fence, herded some cattle into it, drove a few miles down the road and slaughtered them right there, if they were keeping true to the same method. After that it would be mighty hard to prove just where their beef did or didn’t come from.
    I needed to get some sleep. A cold front had come over the Cascades that afternoon, bringing clouds, rain, and the end to our nice, mild weather. Fall was definitely here. I had tried to sleep earlier, but just tossed and turned and worried about finances and what to do about the ranch. I had originally thought about asking Wayne to take on a full caretaker position, hiring another foreman and maybe another hand or two. With the current financial situation, unless something changed, that would be impossible.
    Part of the reason that I couldn’t drift off was, aside from the worries, I was cold. I got up and shucked off my T-shirt and boxers and put on a pair of red long handles. The stereotypes about cowboys in long johns are in part true. They’re comfortable and warm.
    I also felt bad for the way I’d taken out my frustration on Mike. I needed to apologize, but I’d spent the rest of the day with the sheriff, and later Mike had made himself as scarce as hen’s teeth. I went back to bed and finally fell into a restless sleep.
     
     
    I T SEEMED I’d just closed my eyes when I was woken up by knocking on the door. Looking up at the skylight I was able to see that it was already morning. I threw off the covers and without bothering to grab my pants, went to the door, yawning as I went. I yanked it open to see Mike standing there. He looked me up and down and blushed furiously. I realized that the long handles fit me like a glove, leaving nothing to the imagination, including the evidence, stiffly poking down the left leg of my underwear that I must have been having one hell of a nice dream.
    “Come on in and let me get my pants on.” I walked back to the bedroom and quickly pulled on my jeans and a pair of thick wool socks and then headed back to the kitchen.
    “Coffee?” I asked while adding water to the battered old enamel pot I kept by the stove.
    “Uh… sure.”
    Once the pot came to a boil I added the coffee and left the pot to boil. I turned to Mike, who it seemed had recovered from his earlier shock.
    “So what’s up?”
    “Well, I was talkin’ with José and Josh, and we volunteered to work a while with no pay if it helps. We know it can’t be easy payin’ for a funeral, the cattle gettin’ rustled, and all the other shit you’re goin’ through.”
    I was blindsided by this. Although I’d known Wayne and José for years, Josh and Pedro were newer. I’d only met Josh a few times when visiting for the weekends or vacation. Mike I didn’t even really know other than from the events of yesterday, and the way I’d ended the day with him was pretty childish.
    “Hey, Mike, about yesterday, I’m sorry about what I said. I acted like a real asshole. Only excuse I got is I was upset about my dad, the rustlin’, the ranch, and all the other shit I’m tryin’ to muck though. It’s really no excuse though, and takin’ out my frustrations on you was a real shitty thing to do. I’m very sorry. Also buddy, I really appreciate the offer about workin’ for free for a while, but we’re not that bad off yet.”
    “Don’t worry about it. It’s hard to be civil when you got all that stuff goin’ on.”
    I extended my hand to him, and he took it in a firm shake. I looked at him and realized he was staring right at me. We just stood there and looked at each other while we clasped hands. As I looked at him, I saw an expression of intense longing in his eyes. I noticed that they were brown with tawny flecks of gold. His beard was well trimmed and a red gold color. He smelled of