“Damn it!” The cattle trucks got in early, and he hadn’t heard them arrive. Frustrated with himself for not having judged the situation better, he stalked through the house, out the back door, down the porch steps, and never broke stride until he got to the barn.
“When did they get here?” Austin aggressively called out to one his security guys.
“About an hour ago. The other two trucks are close by,” the guard called back while waving his arms over his head, but the heifer he tried to corral zipped past him completely unconcerned with the crazy man in front of her.
“Damn it! I wanted to be out here,” Austin muttered grabbing his leather work gloves from the tack room inside the barn. He judged the situation trying to decide where best he should jump in. His security team seemed completely useless. None of them had ever been in this kind of environment. As much as they rocked at keeping him safe, they sucked as cow hands. They did as much standing around as helping out. A guy on horseback rode up beside him.
“They got here earlier than we thought. Kitt and Mike were workin’ them off when I pulled up forty-five minutes ago. I’m Micah, from the farm on the other side of the highway.” The rider extended his hand, never batting an eye as he introduced himself to Austin. Micah looked to be in his mid-thirties, healthy, tanned and already sweaty. A red bandana hung around his neck, his ball cap was pulled down on his head, and his shirt was hanging wet on his back. He didn’t look like anyone Austin remembered from his school days.
“I’m Austin.” He took the offered hand and shook it.
“Nice to finally meet you. My two boys are here, too. Rusty’s over there on the horse, and Brent’s workin’ with Kitt. They’re fifteen and sixteen. We all signed that paper Mike asked us to. Your secret’s safe with us. Let any of us know if you need anything.”
“Where do you need me right now?” Austin called out.
“Mike’s movin’ them into the barn. They’re gonna start processin’ and taggin’ ’em now. You can come with me. I’m gonna take over the unloadin’. The second truck just pulled on the property from the highway. It’ll be here in ten minutes. You any good on horseback yet?” Micah asked, giving Austin an appraising look.
“It’s been a while, but I’ve been picking it back up.”
“Good. Mike has a mount ready for you. She’s tied up over there. Come on.” Micah pointed to a horse loosely tied to a fence post and rode off toward the gate to wait for the truck.
A hard day filled with backbreaking manual labor kicked off. They unloaded both trailers, and Austin managed to do his job reasonably well. Only a couple of head of cattle got past him, but he was able to draw them back to the herd without any help. Rusty kept them rounded up, pushing them to the different corrals Mike designated. Austin was hot, sweaty, and his ass hurt from the saddle, but he kept going all day long.
Mike and Kitt worked the cattle through the stalls like a well-oiled machine. They didn’t mess around with any of it. They moved hundreds of heads through, tagging, indexing and vaccinating each of them. They kept them separated, but together, based on Mike’s overall plan. If Austin remembered correctly, the herd needed to be quarantined per State of Texas’ regulations before they could be put out to pasture.
They worked solidly from sunup to sundown. By nightfall, two thirds of the cattle were processed, fed and grazing in a front pasture. Austin’s security guards gave out hours ago, but Mike, Kitt, Micah and his boys worked the entire time. They never stopped for anything, and didn’t even seem overly tired at the end of the day. Austin used every acting skill he possessed to pull himself off his horse without wincing as every muscle screamed under the strain of just getting off the animal.
“Boys, it’s gettin' dark out here. I have dinner ready at the house,” Kitt’s stepmom said stepping inside the barn. Occupied with his chores, Austin never heard her until she spoke. Mrs. Kelly was young, not much older than Austin, and strikingly pretty with her long dark hair, deep brown eyes and olive complexion.
“Good evenin’, Mrs. Kelly. Heather’s got dinner waitin’,” Micah called out.
“Mrs. Kelly, I’m in.” One of the security guards said from his spot on a hay bale where he’d been most of the evening.
“Me, too!” Another yelled.
“Kitt, any of these guys staying with us tonight? Do I need to get some rooms ready?” Mrs. Kelly asked her stepson.
“No ma’am. Mike’s got it all taken care of.” Kitt quickly pulled his work gloves free of his hands. He used the short arm of his t-shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow.
“You sure, Mike, they can stay at the house if you need.”
“Nah, we got it,” Mike said with a grin on his face. It was clear the whole team knew each other well, and Austin stood back watching the familiar camaraderie they shared. They were all good friends. He missed having real friends.
“And I suppose this is our new neighbor.” Mrs. Kelly finally turned her attention over to Austin.
“I’m Austin.” He nodded, walking up to her with his hand stuck out. It felt wrong to try and dodge her, and since she was a Kelly, he figured it was possible she might be bound by the terms of the land sale contract.
“I know who you are. Surely, the old biddies of this town haven’t missed this.” She grinned at Austin.
“It’s on the DL, Lily. No one knows. It’s that part in the contract we all thought was so dumb. You can’t tell anyone,” Kitt said. It was the first time he made any sort of reference to Austin being anywhere on the property all day long. Up until that moment, Kitt never acknowledged him. Hell, Kitt never even looked Austin’s way, not one single time. Still hadn’t. He spoke as he wrote on the clipboard in his hands.