Lone Wolf Ranch - 3. Chapter 3

Connor

After silencing his alarm, Connor threw the covers back and followed his morning friend to the toilet. As he was aiming for the bowl, he noticed something strange and shouted in surprise. His father knocked and asked if he was OK.

“Come in here, Da, something’s weird,” Connor said as he finished peeing.

Sean entered his son’s bathroom to find Connor pointing at his now flaccid penis, saying, “I’ve got hairs, Da.”

Sean grinned as he said, “That happens to boys. We’ve talked about this.”

Connor rolled his eyes as he said, “I know it happens, Da, but not overnight. I’ve been waiting so long for this that I check almost every night. I swear I didn’t have any the other night, and now I’ve got like twenty, and they’re long. It’s weird!”

Sean laughed as he patted his son’s back and said, “No, it doesn’t happen overnight. I think you just overlooked them. But maybe puberty will hit you fast since it has waited so long. I’m happy for you, son. Your body is finally catching up with the young man you’ve become in all other ways.”

Connor was blushing bright red from his hairline to his chin as he said, “Thanks, Da. I guess I should get dressed.”

“It might be a good idea unless you plan on showing those hairs to everyone you see today?”

Connor rolled his eyes as his blush extended to his nipple line. He pushed his father out of the bathroom, then brushed his teeth. As he pulled on his boxer briefs, he couldn’t resist taking one last look at his newest acquisitions. He grinned as he pulled on the new Wranglers, a tee shirt, a cotton button-up shirt, and the new Ariat western work boots. While making his bed, he noticed several long black hairs on the sheet. He quickly looked in the mirror, pulling at his black hair. None of it came out, but that’s where these hairs had to have come from.

Sitting to eat, he asked his mother, “Ma, look at my hair. Does it look like I’m losing any? I found hair in my bed this morning.”

Maureen grinned as she said, “So I hear.”

Connor blushed again as he whined, “Da, you didn’t have to tell her!”

As she examined her son’s head, she playfully smacked him and laughed, “Oh hush, you’re not afraid to walk around the house naked. So why should you care if I know you’re growing up? And no, I don’t see any sign that you’re going bald. Maybe it just broke off because it’s been so dry; you should drink more water.”

That was his mother’s answer to everything, eat better and drink more water. Maybe she was right, but somehow Connor thought there was more to it. Right now, it didn’t matter. He had things to do and places to go.

As Connor put the dishes in the dishwasher, Maureen observed, “You seem eager to get going this morning. I thought you were depressed about this move?”

Connor shrugged as he answered, “I was at first, then I realized that I can’t change it, so I need to accept it. Now that I have, I’m excited to learn to ride a horse and to see places I’ve never been. Who knows, maybe I’ll even meet a cute boy in Montana.”

Maureen had always known her son was gay, but she had no clue if you asked her how she knew. There was nothing ‘typically gay’ about Connor. He was brilliant but wasn’t what some would call a geek or nerd. He was athletic but had never wanted to participate in organized sports. He liked music and appreciated art, but no more than the other boys his age. When she mentioned her suspicions to Sean, he said that he, too, knew they would never have any natural grandchildren. At Connor’s twelfth birthday party, a nurse that worked with Maureen mentioned that Connor would soon have girls chasing him. When he heard this, Connor shook his head and replied, “They can chase me all they want, but only boys are going to catch me!”

That evening, the family sat after dinner and talked. “How did you know your Ma and I wouldn’t be upset about your being gay?” Sean asked his son.

Connor had just shrugged as he said, “You’ve always loved me no matter what I did. I didn’t think this would be any different. Is it?”

Both of his parents shook their heads as Maureen said, “No, son, it’s no different. We’ll love you no matter what. Even if you sprout a tail and fangs, you’re our son, and we’ll love you, fangs and all.”

Sean, always one to tease his son, added, “Only if you’re house-trained.” And they all laughed at the image.

With breakfast finished and cleaned up, Connor was headed to his room when he realized his Ma was still in her robe. He looked at her and asked, “Aren’t you going, Ma?”

“Your father and I talked, and we think this is a boy’s adventure unless you disagree?” Maureen said, watching her son’s face for any sign of distress. “I can get dressed and go if you like?”

Connor thought for a moment, then hugged her as he said, “It’s not like I won’t see you when you get to Montana. There’s no reason for you to be bored all day riding in the truck.” He then turned to his father and added, “As long as Da promises to stop and get a hotel if he’s tired.”

As planned, Connor and his father backed out of their driveway just after 4 am. Sean had expected his son to fall asleep quickly, but to his surprise, Connor searched the internet with his new phone.

He looked up from his research and asked, “Did you know that boys who entered puberty late tend to grow proportionally taller?”

Sean shook his head as he answered, “I didn’t know that.”

“And did you know that those who enter puberty late often finish it at the same age as their peers, meaning they, well, we, I guess, go through it faster?”

Sean laughed as he said, “Another fact I was unaware of. Do you plan on writing your doctorate on late bloomers?”

Connor ignored his father’s comment and read some more, then looked up and said, “Did you know that you should have an acre of land for each cow? And an acre of land can produce 100 small bales of hay per cutting? That’s one and a half tons!”

Sean decided to enjoy his son’s mood and asked, “How many tons of hay do you need to feed a cow over the winter? And how many cuttings per year can you expect on your ranch?”

Connor and his dad spent the next three hours enjoying this back and forth as they both learned many facts about ranching. Sean was impressed, but not surprised, that his son was looking into all the various aspects of ranching. He was happy his son accepted this sudden change in direction and hoped the boy would grow to love the life that seemed to be coming his way.

When they stopped for fuel, Connor and his dad were happy to get out and stretch their legs. While Sean put fuel in the tank, Connor went inside to use the restroom. He returned with sandwiches and drinks, orange juice for himself, and water for his Da. After Sean had visited the bathroom, they got back on the road. Connor gave up on his research after the phone signal became spotty. He grinned as he picked up his father’s phone and started a playlist that was mostly songs from the 1990s when Sean was in high school. The music must have put Connor to sleep because they were driving under a sign that read “Last Stand Ranch” the next thing he knew.

As they parked near the house, a tall man came out to greet them. When Connor stepped out of the truck, he heard, “You must be Connor. I’m Colt Custer. Welcome to Last Stand Ranch.”

Connor shook hands and said, “Thank you, Mr. Custer. I look forward to learning everything you can teach me.”

Colt laughed, saying, “I’m not old enough to be Mr. Custer; call me Colt. Besides, there are too many Mr. Custers on this ranch to keep track of.” Connor looked confused until Colt explained that he, his husband, their two sons, as well as his brother and his son could all be considered ‘Mr. Custer’.

Having heard all of this, Sean grinned as he stated, “Well, I’m Sean MacTaggart, and to avoid similar confusion, please call me Sean, as there are at least two Mr. MacTaggart’s here today.”

Colt shook his head, then grinned at Connor as he said, “I see he’s got dad-joke-itis. Fortunately, I was vaccinated against it, but my husband has a nasty case of it.”

They all turned when Matt asked, “I have a nasty case of what?” as he walked up from the barns.

Colt put on his most innocent face as he nudged Connor and said, “Nothing dear, nothing at all.”

Connor was still giggling as he shook Matt’s hand. After a short conversation, Colt gave a sharp whistle, and an older teen came running, followed by a boy that Connor guessed to be about 12.

Colt looked at the older boy and said, “Jeffery, this is Sean and Connor MacTaggart. Would you and Chris unload the things from the back of their truck, then give Connor a tour of the barns while Sean, Papa, and I have a talk, please?”

When Jeffery and Chris nodded, Matt asked, “Do you mind if Jeffery moves your truck closer to the barn? Then, they can store Connor’s things in an empty stall until Shamus comes to pick him up.”

Sean tossed the keys to Jeffery, then followed Matt and Colt into the house. Once inside, he handed them the medical release and a list of phone numbers that included himself, Maureen, Shamus, and Connor’s doctor back in Fort Collins. Matt and Colt then spent an hour just getting to know Sean and, through him, Connor.

Outside, after Jeffery had backed Sean’s truck to the side of the barn, he and Chris quickly unloaded the containers that Connor said he planned to store. Connor said the three bags in the back seat were packed with all his new clothes and some of his old, his laptop, and his toiletries. Jeffery said those bags would go in the house later. So now it was time to tour the barns.

Chris excused himself, as he had customers to take on a trail ride. Connor followed Jeffery into the barn, where he got his first lesson in horses, food goes in, and something else comes out. Jeffery was still laughing as he helped wash the horse manure off the boy’s new boots. Initially, Connor was hurt. He thought he was being laughed at, but as Jeffery told of the many times he and his brother had made a similar misstep, he realized the boy was laughing with him, encouraging him to see the humor rather than get upset.

Once his boots were clean, Connor asked, “Can I see the mare I came to get?”

“Sure. Brandy is Dad’s horse’s sister. We didn’t realize that until we got her, and Papa says we have too many of the same bloodline or we’d be keeping her. She’s as smart as her brother and almost as good-looking.” Jeffery said as he opened a stall on the north side of the barn and walked in. He returned, leading the beautiful palomino mare.

When they were about twenty feet from Connor, Brandy laid her ears back, stopped walking, and started pulling against the lead, trying to back away. Jeffery had never seen her act like this and tried to soothe her with some gentle words and a light stroke on her neck, but she was having none of it. Knowing not to agitate her for no reason, Jeffery gave Connor a look that said ‘sorry’, and led her back to her stall, stroking her and reassuring her with his voice.

When he came back, he shrugged and said, “I don’t know what was wrong, she’s never acted like that. Wait here. I want to try a few other horses. Maybe there’s something on your clothes that smells bad to them.”

Connor fought the tears that were trying to form in his eyes as he waited for Jeffery to return. Colt had said that some horses and riders just weren’t a match, but he had ignored that wisdom and let himself get set on the idea that Brandy was going to be his horse. Now he might have to settle for a horse he didn’t think looked good, or even worse, leave with no horse at all and have to accept whatever horse Granda gave him.

‘NO’, he said to himself, ‘You’re not going to fall into a pity party. Brandy wasn’t meant to be yours, but there is one that is. Just wait until you find him or her.’ Reassured by his own self-talk, Connor smiled when Jeffery came around the corner leading a cremello stallion.

“This is Chardonnay. He’s Chris’s horse and Brandy’s nephew. Let’s see how he reacts to you. I’ve known him all his life, and he’s never shied away from someone without a good reason.”

Connor wished Jeffery hadn’t said that last part, but he took a deep breath and slowly reached his hand out to the beautiful horse. Chardonnay’s nostrils flared as he inhaled the boy’s scent, then he rubbed his nose against the offered hand. Connor smiled as he slowly slid his hand up over the horse’s nose and petted him. Jeffery smiled and nodded, then led Chardonnay away, returning a few minutes later with a chestnut mare with white boots, who warmed up to Connor as fast as Chardonnay had. They repeated the experiment with four more horses with the same result.

After he put the last horse away, Jeffery grinned and said, “Well, it seems you’re not a monster after all. Maybe Brandy’s just having a bad day? We can try again in a few days, but at least we can start teaching you. Bootsie seemed to like you, and she will make a great first ride for you.” He glanced at his watch and added, “You should probably head to the house. Dad and Papa want to go watch the tack master that’s visiting the rescue. You should go with them. Chris and I went over this morning. He starts by going over the parts of a saddle, so you’ll learn a lot.”

When Connor got to the house, his father gave him a hug and told him to remember to phone home. As he watched his Da drive away, he realized that this was the beginning of an entirely new phase in his life, and he was both excited and terrified. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up to see Colt smiling at him. They nodded to each other, then joined Matt in his truck for the ride to the rescue.

They pulled up to the house, and Matt rolled his window down to speak to a man named Dylan. Then they parked in front of a two-story building that looked like a large work shed. Colt and Matt went in, and when they spoke to the teen inside, Connor could only stare. The boy looked like Booboo Stewart when he played Seth Clearwater in the ‘Twilight’ movies. The same high cheekbones, the same dimples, the same deep brown eyes. The only difference was, in those movies, Booboo had shorter hair. This guy had hair down to his belt! Even his smile was as bright and luscious as Booboo’s, maybe better. Definitely better. He spoke with Colt and Matt, but Connor didn’t hear any of it until he realized this guy, this Dakota, had asked him a question.

Connor felt the heat of his blush as he said, “Um, I’m not good with arts and crafts. I think I’ll just watch if that’s OK.”

That seemed to fit the question because Dakota nodded, then turned to finish his preparations. Soon the room was filled with boys listening to Dakota talking about his grandfather and himself, their craft, and what to expect. Connor did his best to pay attention as Dakota lifted a saddle onto the workbench and began listing the names of the various parts. He was intrigued at how the saddle was simply a wood or resin core called a tree, wrapped in leather with padding placed in strategic locations. He was surprised to find that if a saddle was properly fitted to the horse, it distributed the rider’s weight broadly over the horse’s back muscles, not his spine.

Once Dakota had moved on to talking about and teaching leatherworking, Connor’s attention returned to the boy rather than the lesson. ‘If puberty had hit me already, I would have a wet spot,’ he thought as he watched Dakota bend over a table to help a student. He may have been imagining it, but it felt like Dakota’s eyes kept returning to meet his. Hoping this was true, Connor started smiling each time their eyes met. Sadly, Colt and Matt chose to leave before the class was finished. Connor had said he had no interest in leatherworking, so he couldn’t find an excuse to stay. Hopefully, he would run into Dakota again in person. He most certainly would see him in his dreams tonight.

When they got back to the Custer home, Colt showed Connor the bedroom he would be using, then they sat to eat dinner. While they ate, Jeffery and Chris shared their day with their dads. Everyone made sure to include Connor in the conversation, asking him how he liked the saddle class and what he thought of the ranch. When Jeffery described Brandy’s reaction, Colt and Matt were as surprised as Jeffery had been, but they both agreed that time might turn her opinion around. Then they both reassured Connor that if Brandy wasn’t meant to be his horse, they would certainly find one that was.

When dinner was finished, Connor got up and helped the boys clear the table, then excused himself to go to bed. He groaned when Jeffery reminded him that he was due in the barn at 5 am. Once he was in his room, he called his parents to say goodnight and spent a few minutes going over the events of the day, Brandy’s reaction, and the American Indian god he had met. He brushed his teeth, said his gratitude prayers, and stripped for bed. When he looked down, he could swear he had even more pubic hair. Shaking his head, he thought, ‘That’s not possible. I’m seeing what I want to see.’ That settled, he climbed into the soft bed and was soon dreaming about the same three horses with the wolf standing guard.

When his phone started playing music at four, Connor started to roll out of bed when he felt something on the sheets. When his hand found the spot, he realized that he’d had his first wet dream. He pulled the covers back and was certain that he had more hair than when he went to bed. He decided it must be like he had read. Since puberty had waited so long to hit him, it was hitting him with a double dose to catch up. He grabbed his tee shirt from yesterday and wiped the sheets. Leaving them lying open to dry, he took a quick shower, dressed in the new Wranglers, a tee shirt, and the boots from yesterday.

As Connor came down the stairs, Chris said, “Go back up and put on your jeans from yesterday and bring the ones you’re wearing, along with a clean shirt. I think I saw a pair of rubber boots, if I did, bring them with you. We keep them in the barn.”

Connor turned and obediently did as Chris had said. He understood the reasoning and internally scolded himself for being so stupid. As he was coming down the stairs the second time, he heard Chris laughing as Jeffery reminded him of how they had both done something similar on their first day on ‘stall duty’. Connor forced himself to believe that these boys weren’t laughing at him.

Even with Connor needing to be shown what to do, the stalls were clean, and the horses were fed and watered before 7 am. Having the three of them working certainly made the job easier. They quickly stripped off and cleaned themselves in the shower room in the barn. When he saw Connor naked, Chris made a comment about how he was finally getting his hair. Connor got angry but held his tongue. He felt bad when he realized that Chris was talking about his own hair finally coming and not making fun of Connor for being a late bloomer.

On the way to the house, Connor pulled out his phone and motioned to Jeffery that he needed to make a call. When he was alone, he called Jack and talked about this recent trend of taking comments far too personally. Jack listened patiently, then said, “Remember, what other people think of me is none of my business, right?”

Connor grinned and thanked his sponsor for calling him on his bullshit, then promised to try harder to call more often. Jack reminded him, ‘there is no try, only do or not do’, encouraged him to hang in there, and reminded him that a bad day sober is much better than a good day drunk. When he put his phone away, Connor said a quick gratitude prayer, thanking his higher power for his family, his friends, both old and new, and his program friends. He put on a smile and joined the Custers for breakfast.

After breakfast, Jeffery took Connor to the barn, where he opened a stall and introduced him to Jeffery’s Dream. After explaining what crossties were, he attached the lead, then proceeded to show Connor how to brush and groom his horse, how to check for anything stuck in the hooves, any sign of sores in the frog, and any sign of issues with their shoes. When they both agreed that ‘Dream’, as Jeffery called him, was ready, he showed his student how to place the saddle, then measure for a proper fit. After showing him how to properly snug the girth, Jeffery loosened it, explaining that it might be a few hours before Dream was ridden, and leaving the girth loose let the horse relax a bit. When he untied the lead from the crossties, Jeffery led Dream a few feet away and dropped the lead to the ground.

Jeffery then told Connor to lead Bootsie to the crossties and demonstrate what he had learned. He made sure to say that there was no shame in asking for guidance, as this was his first time. This wasn’t a test with a pass or fail grade, simply a learning experience. Connor had obviously been paying attention because he went through the grooming routine perfectly, even pointing out a missing nail in Bootsie’s shoe. After checking that the other nails were present and the shoe was indeed tight, Jeffery said the missing nail wasn’t an issue for what they had planned today and congratulated Connor for his thorough inspection. When he placed the saddle on the saddle pad, Connor again pointed out a problem.

“I know there’s supposed to be a gap between the gullet and her back, but this gap is too big.” Connor said as he slid his hand under the front of the saddle. He then moved his hand to the side, saying, “See how the angle of the tree doesn’t match her back? When I ride, she’ll have too much pressure in too small an area. If I ride for long like this, she’ll develop sores.”

Jeffery was grinning ear to ear as he said, “Awesome job, dude. I brought you the wrong saddle to see if you noticed. Bring that one, and we’ll get hers. From everything you just said, I’m sure you’ll see how good a fit it is for her.”

Once the proper saddle was in place, Connor once again slid his hand between the saddle and the pad, checking for proper fit. He smiled as he found an even gap down the spine and a large area of contact on either side to distribute the weight. As he tightened the girth, he heard her inhale, so he waited. When she finally exhaled, he pulled the girth snug. Jeffery just shook his head and laughed, then picked up Dream’s lead and, indicating for Connor to follow, led him outside to the small corral.

Jeffery then explained that a horse and rider need to communicate, and to do that, they both need to know the language. A well-trained horse can respond to messages given through the rider’s legs, hands, or voice, with the best trained able to understand any one of the three. He went on to explain the leg commands, then he tightened the girth on Dream and demonstrated mounting from the ground.

Once mounted, he leaned down to Dream’s ear and said, “I’m teaching. Ignore my cues.” He then proceeded to demonstrate the leg commands as Dream stood still, ignoring those commands as he had been told. After going through the commands a few times, he leaned down and said, “OK, let’s show him.” When he gently squeezed his legs, Dream started off at a walk. Jeffery used his legs to steer and command Dream from a walk to a trot, to a cantor, and back down. The corral was too small for a proper gallop. When Dream came to a stop, Jeffery gently slapped his reins and took him through the same pattern of walk, trot, cantor, and back to a stop, showing how he turned using gentle pressure on the reins. Even when stopping, he didn’t yank but put gentle even pressure on both sides. Finally, he dismounted and led Dream up and down through the gaits with a single or double click of his mouth, having the horse turn right and left by saying “gee” and “haw”.

When Dream came to a stop, Jeffery turned to Connor and said, “As I said, the best riders use their feet and their seat. Until you can move your horse with just those two, you can’t work on your ranch. Now it’s your turn. Mount Bootsie like I showed you, and show me what ya got. I have faith in you but remember; I’m here if you have a question, don’t be too proud to ask for help.”