Tristan opened the digital file and adjusted the highlights and shadows of the photo in an image enhancement software program. Next, she added a blend near the bottom of the image, and then superimposed the words her father had written, on top of the darkened area.
She repeated the same process with the rest of the photos her father had asked her to look through. She added a date to each one, and then sent them to a local high school student who interned for Lost Cowboy. The images would be uploaded to social media sites on the dates Tristan had indicated in the file name.
The only time the prearranged schedule varied was if something significant happened either with one of their riders, or in the world. In that case, no matter where Tristan was, her father would email her a photo along with his caption, and she’d prepare the image and upload it herself.
“Got some good ones the last couple of weeks,” her father said and sat down in the chair by her desk.
“R
eally good ones, Daddy. I especially like this one.” The image was the silhouette of a cowboy sitting on a fence, watching the sun set. The caption her father wrote was, “Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand. They listen with the intent to reply.”
It was one of life’s lessons she learned from him. “A conversation is like a game of catch,” he’d say. “If you’re not payin’ attention, you’re gonna get hit with the ball.”
Bullet sat in a rocking chair in the kitchen, holding Grey, who was sound asleep on his lap. He didn’t have the heart to move him. Billy and Renie had gone back to their place, which was just up the road, but Dottie and Bill were close by, cleaning up from dinner.
“What do you think?” he heard Dottie ask Bill.
“About what?”
Dottie must’ve swatted Bill with something, and the two of them laughed.
“He reminds me of someone.”
“He reminds me of someone too. And so do you.”
“Me? I thought we were talkin’ about Bullet.”
“Clancy. The way you talk to him, Bill. It reminds me of the way Clancy used to talk to you.”
“That’s a right fine compliment, sweetheart.”
Bullet could hear the emotion in Bill’s voice, even from the other room. Who was Clancy, and what did he have to do with Bill and him?
1965
The weather was better for their drive back to the ranch. Not that Bill was thinking much about weather. Clancy had been right. His mama told him that she and Mr. Snyder were getting married. She didn’t say a word about him coming to live with them, and he didn’t ask.
“She gave me hell about your schoolin’,” grimaced Clancy when they stopped for lunch.
She’d asked Bill if he was keeping up with his school work, and he’d muttered that he was, but nothing could have been further from the truth. There wasn’t a school close to Double-P-Bar Ranch, and even if there was, as an employee of the ranch, he wouldn’t have time to go to school during the day.
He and Clancy had talked about it a few times. There were other workers at the ranch with children who were home-schooled. Clancy had been willing to let Bill give it a try by teaming up with one of the other families, but Bill hadn’t done anything to make it happen. He was thirteen. Lots of kids whose families made their living on a ranch quit school before then.
“Your mama made me promise to get you back to learnin’.”
“I already missed two years. Nothin’ but a waste of time.”
Clancy squinted his eyes and raised his index finger. “I promised her I’d do it, and we’re gonna. Even if it means I gotta school ya myself.”
“Oh, yeah? You got somethin’ past a sixth grade education?”
The index finger came back up, and Clancy reached across the table to poke him in the chest. “One thing you’re gonna learn is respect for your elders, boy.”
Bill hated that he’d just disrespected Clancy. The man had been good to him. “I’m sorry, sir. I know better than to talk to you like that. And I sure know you’re a smart man.”
“You’re damn straight I am. And if you wanna know the truth, I got a college degree to prove it. I’m ashamed of myself for lettin’ your education slide, but not anymore. We’re gettin’ you back on track, young Flynn.”
Clancy hadn’t been kidding. Before they went back to the ranch, they stopped in Glenwood Springs, where Clancy ordered a bunch of books and other supplies from the bookstore.