At First Sight

We've been riding for a few hours now, guiding the herd. Rex has been doing a great job catching any stragglers and pushing the herd if needed.

All I can hear is the sound of hooves on dirt and I love it, all the fears I had are now gone. I have decided this is heaven.

"You good?" I hear my dad ask as he trots up next to me.

"Oh I am great" I say with a smile and for the first time in a long time, I really mean it. My father smiles in return and trots back to his spot along the herd.

We made it to our stop for the night. I hop off Dolly and tie her to a tree to help set up camp. I see an old bow-legged cowboy tying one end of a rope to a tree, I grab the other end and tie it to the second tree.

"Thanks" the man says with a smile and a tip of his hat

"No problem" I reply "What else can I do?"

The man smiles "first time?"

"That obvious?" I reply with a weary smile

He motions for me to follow him "well, not by your riding that's for sure. You knew what you were doing out there" he walks up to me and holds out his hand "Lloyd"

I grab his hand "Lili, and thanks" I reply with a smile

He stops by a bundle on the ground "here, grab that end there. I'll show you how to set this tent up"

By the time the sun sets, all the tents are up and one of the cowboys has started a fire.

We sit around while supper is warming and listen to old stories. I sip on some water in between laughs. Rex sits in between my legs with his head rested on my thigh as I slowly pet between his ears. My father gets up from beside me and sits over beside a family friend, Herve. I continue listening until I hear someone shift beside me.

"So, where abouts are you from?" The man said as he leans toward me.

I turn to look at the man, noticing his clean shaven face and big smile.

"Not far" I reply with a smile, turning back to the fire.

He grins more and replies "she's specific"

"She is" I reply as I continue to stare at the fire.

The man leaves me alone for a few minutes but once dinner was ready, he asked more questions.

"So, what do you do for a living?"

"Cattle and music" I reply as I look down at Rex. He is sound asleep on the ground, now lying on my boots.

"Well at least that was more of an answer than the last, not to say it's very specific either but hey, we are getting somewhere" he says as he smiles and takes a sip of his drink

"What about you?" I ask, looking in his direction

"Horse trainer" he replies "See? That's a specific answer." he adds

I let out a small laugh, thinking this guy isn't all that bad.

We continue casually talking, I learn his name is Travis, he flirts a little and I ignore it. I got the feeling this guy would flirt with a fly if it was the only thing in the room.

As the night goes on an older man pulls out a banjo and starts playing some music. I notice the bearded man from earlier keeps looking in my direction but it is hard to tell if he is looking at me or near me in this lighting.

When the man beside me starts talking again, I am too focused on my father pulling out a shiny flask from his chest pocket. He can't take one day off from that shit. I stare at him for a moment, then nudge Rex so I can stand up, dust off my chaps, and head for our tent.

He won't ruin this day.

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I wake up to my father and Rex snoring and immediately decide I need coffee. I quietly throw my boots on and head out of the tent. Rex runs out behind me and heads behind a tree to do his business. I see Lloyd throwing a pot on the fire and I decide I should check on Dolly. As soon as I round the corner of the tent, her head perks up and she whinnies at me.

"Hey Doll" I say as I place my hands on either side of her face and give her nose a peck. "How was your night girl?" I ask

"Does she normally answer you?" I hear a man ask

I quickly turn on my heel to see John smiling at me.

"In ways" I reply with a smile

John chuckles and puts a hand on Dolly's head, giving her a rub before looking back at me

"You grow a foot every time I see you, glad you decided to join us" he says

"I'm glad I was able to come, I wish I could do this every day" I reply with a sigh

"Well you definitely belong out here, could tell by the way you rode yesterday" he replies "hell you would make a great hand if you were ever in need of a job"

I was just about to thank him when we turn our attention to some cowboys making a fuss behind us.

"We'd better head that way before they drink all that coffee" John says as he pats my shoulder

I walk up and grab the cup my father is holding out for me and lean on a tree to take a whiff of the hot liquid before I take a sip.

"Good morning Miss Specific" I hear from beside me

I groan and turn to look at Travis. He is grinning from ear to ear leaning beside me on the tree.

"Travis?" I ask

"Yes" he replies happily

"Go hump a tree" I say, then I take a sip of my hot black coffee. I look up to see the bearded man from the day before choke on his coffee and turn to look away from us as he coughed.

Travis laughed "well I guess I can give you some time to get your coffee into you"

"that would be wise" I reply as I look back to see if the man who was coughing is okay but all I see are other young cowboys doing a shitty job at hiding their amusement.

"Well you don't have to worry about her with the cowboys, Joe" I hear John chuckle beside my father.