Lone Wolf Ranch - 6. Chapter 6

Connor

When Maʹiitsoh released his boy, Connor walked over to the fence, grinning ear to ear. No one spoke for several minutes, then Dylan broke the silence.

“These three came to us with some friends. I’d like to try to keep them all together if you’re willing?”

When Shamus nodded to Connor, the boy said, “It would be a shame to separate them. Let’s see if they like me too.”

Dylan went into the barn and soon returned, leading Sally and Dusty, explaining, “I didn’t bother saddling them. Let’s just see how they react.”

As soon as the two horses entered, Maʹiitsoh moved to block them from Mac Tíre and Fenrir. He then herded ‘his two’ to the far side of the corral. Connor again climbed through the fence, but before he could get to Sally, Maʹiitsoh moved to stand between them, refusing to move. Connor turned to approach Dusty and was again blocked. After several attempts, he turned to Dylan, shrugged, and walked to stand by Fenrir’s nose.

As Dylan walked Dusty and Sally back to their stalls, Connor led Fenrir to the fence where everyone else was still standing. Shamus asked, “Am I to assume you’ve found three horses?”

Connor nodded as he replied, “If you think they’re good, yes, sir, I have.”

Shamus waved for the boy to bring the horses as he headed toward the gate. He entered the corral and gently reached out, taking Fenrir’s reins. He examined the horse slowly, checking his eyes, ears, teeth, legs, hooves, and even giving his tail a tug for some reason. He then turned to Connor and said, “I realize that Maʹiitsoh might end up being a one-man horse, but you can’t have three of those. If Fenrir and Mac Tíre won’t allow me to ride them, we might have to consider other options.”

Shamus didn’t wait for a reply. He simply brought the reins around, put his foot in the stirrup, and climbed aboard. Fenrir stood rock solid as he was mounted and waited patiently for instruction. Shamus took a few laps around the corral, changing gaits and directions a few times, then came to a stop beside Mac Tíre. He dismounted and dropped Fenrir’s reins to the ground as he proceeded to inspect Mac Tíre. After the inspection, he again climbed aboard and took several laps. As he was riding, observing Mac Tíre’s actions, he was also observing Fenrir’s patience, checking if the horse was trained to ground-tie. Satisfied with both horses, he ground-tied Mac Tíre beside Fenrir and went to talk with Connor.

Shamus gave his initial evaluation, “Well, without putting these two through some real trials, they seem like they’ve had basic training. Dylan told us they belonged to a working cowboy, so we can assume they’re trained in cutting and roping. I wish we could test that, though.”

Colt spoke up, “You can. We have a rodeo arena, and the attached practice arena has a roping dummy and a cutting trainer. You’re welcome to use all of that while you’re here.”

When Dylan returned, Shamus asked, “What are the terms for adopting these three horses?”

After Dylan explained the usual adoption arrangements, Shamus said, “Well, I can’t say I like the idea of Connor not having ownership, but I do understand your reasoning. What about these saddles? They’re custom work. I know the artist, and the tack is easily worth twenty-five thousand dollars. Is that part of the adoption of the horses?”

Dylan thought for a moment, then admitted, “We don’t get many horses with tack like this, Shamus. Honestly, I’ve got mixed feelings about it. What are you thinking?”

“As I understand it, you’re a non-profit, and you’re funded quite well. If the rescue doesn’t need the money, I’d like to contact the widow of the previous owner and pay her for the saddles. Maybe tell her about Connor and his connection with Maʹiitsoh. Give her some peace of mind about the issue.”

Dylan thought this was a great idea. He pulled out his cell phone, dialed, and said, “Carol, it’s Dylan. There’s a gentleman here with his grandson, and they’d like to speak to you if you’re up to it?” he listened for a moment, then handed the phone to Shamus, saying, “Carol Spiker.”

Shamus spoke to Carol for a few minutes, then handed the phone to Connor, who related the events of the afternoon to her. He told her how Maʹiitsoh had forced Fenrir and Mac Tíre to behave, then told her how all three had responded to him. After Connor had listened to the phone for several minutes, he handed it back to Shamus with tears streaming down his face. Shamus listened for a moment, then shocked those listening with his next statement.

“I’m sorry, Carol, but I won’t allow you to do that. How about if Connor and I buy dinner for you and your son this evening? We can discuss it then.” He listened for a moment and said, “We’ll meet you there.” He then handed the phone to Dylan.

Dylan listened for a while, said, “I think that’s a great idea.” and ended the call. He looked at Connor and said, “Well, Carol just told me that you now own Fenrir, Mac Tíre, and Maʹiitsoh. I’m more than happy to agree with her because that’s the happiest she’s sounded since Dan died. You can keep them here until you go home, but I would suggest we move them to the barn at Colt’s house. That would be closer to the rodeo arena and closer to you.”

Before Connor could reply, Shamus looked at Colt and asked, “If we ride them back, will Dream and Chardonnay follow?”

In answer, Colt and Matt mounted, then waited for Shamus and Connor to do the same. Rather than grab a lead, Colt simply looked at Chardonnay and Dream and said “Follow.” Then Scotch turned and headed for home with three mounted and three unmounted horses following obediently.

As they were riding, Shamus talked with Matt and Colt to compare their assessments of Connor’s riding ability to his own. He then said he and Connor would spend the rest of the week at the rodeo grounds practice arenas, starting tomorrow. This afternoon they had shopping to do.

Shamus helped and observed as Connor groomed his horses. He noticed that the boy was very attentive and spent time talking to each horse as he brushed them down and checked their hooves for debris or damage. He then led each to the stall Jeffery had marked with their name and made sure there was fresh hay and water.

After cleaning up, they made a quick stop at the local tack shop, where Shamus spent an hour teaching Connor about the different types and sizes of ropes, ending the lesson by saying that for a working cowboy, it was most important that you liked the rope. The clerk gave his opinions on the various brands, and Connor finally carried four different ropes to the counter. Shamus then led Connor to the chaps, where he explained the difference between stovepipe or shotgun chaps, batwing chaps, chinks, and woolies. The clerk then pulled out two pairs of shotguns and two pairs of batwings for Connor to try on. On Shamus’ advice, Connor took one pair of each to the counter. Shamus added two pairs of spurs to the growing pile of gear.

Shamus looked at Connor and asked, “Do ya have much experience with guns?”

“Da started taking me to the range with him when I was 8. For my 10th birthday, I got a bolt action Savage .22LR, and he took me rabbit hunting. For my 12th, I got a Remington 700BDL in .243 Winchester, and we went on a neighboring ranch to hunt coyotes. Da told me to pack both of those. They’re in a case back at Mr. Custer’s house.” Connor explained.

Shamus nodded, then asked, “And handguns?”

“Da showed me where he kept his handguns last fall. We packed them up and went to the range. He made me fire a box of ammo through each, and then he made me clean them.” Connor paused, then asked, “I understand the long guns, but why are you asking me about handguns? I’m not allowed to have one until I’m 18.”

Shamus replied, “When you’re working, it’s good practice to carry a handgun loaded with shotshells. We have the occasional prairie rattler, and unless you’re an amazing shot, you won’t hit them with your rifle.” When Connor’s mouth opened to ask, Shamus added, “And your scabbard will have a rifle, so you won’t have a shotgun.”

Connor nodded his understanding, then observed, “So that’s why we’ve come to this section? To look at holsters?”

Shamus grinned and said, “No, there’s no point in having a holster for the wrong gun. We came over here because they have the pistol I think is right for you, and the store at home doesn’t. I want you to try it, and if you like it, I can buy it and have them ship it to Montana. If we buy one, then we can buy a holster for it.”

Connor turned to the clerk, who handed him a small stainless-steel revolver, saying, “This is a Smith & Wesson Model 60 in .357 magnum. It will also safely fire .38 special ammo. Because of its size, and yours, I wouldn’t recommend using magnums.”

Shamus noticed approvingly that when Connor accepted the handgun, he immediately opened the cylinder to make sure the weapon was empty. Once he was sure it was empty, he held it with his trigger finger alongside the trigger guard and aimed it at the nearby wall to get a feel for its weight and size. The small grips and light weight of the pistol meant it fit perfectly in Connor’s smaller hands. He opened the cylinder and handed the weapon to Shamus, nodding his head.

The clerk then offered a lever action rifle to Connor, saying, “This is a Henry Big Boy in .357 magnum. See how it feels.”

Connor took the rifle and opened the action, looking in the chamber and the magazine to ensure it was empty. He then held it up as if firing it, again aiming in a safe direction with his trigger finger outside the trigger guard. He brought it up to his shoulder and lowered it to his hip several times, then handed it to Shamus.

“It’s nice, but it’s short. Isn’t my rifle good enough?”

Shamus replied, “Your rifle is a fine hunting rifle, but for everyday carrying, this has several advantages. First, it uses the same ammo as the pistol, so you don’t have to carry several different boxes. Second, as you said, it’s short. That makes for an easy draw while mounted.”

The clerk gave Shamus the papers he needed to fill out to purchase the rifle, then got the name and phone number of the licensed firearms dealer in Havre to ship the pistol. Once everything was paid for, Connor carried his new rifle, ropes, chaps, and spurs to the truck. Shamus was carrying four boxes of ammo.

When they parked at Rapid City Steak House, a young woman was getting a toddler from the back seat of an older S-10 Blazer. Shamus called to her, “Mrs. Spiker?”

She turned, smiled, and said, “You must be Mr. O’Faolan. Please, call me Carol.” She turned and nodded to the boy in her arms, saying, “And this is Danny.”

Connor reached his arms out towards Danny, saying, “May I?”

Carol shook her head, saying, “He won’t go to…” She paused in shock as Danny eagerly went to Connor’s outstretched arms, then explained, “Since Dan died, he hasn’t gone to anyone, but I guess you’re special. He won’t walk for himself either.”

Connor looked at Danny and said, “Is that true, little buddy? Are you making your Ma carry you everywhere?” When Danny nodded, Connor set him down, saying, “Time for you to walk on your own. I’ll hold your hand, but you need to do things for yourself, OK?”

Danny looked at Connor, then down at the ground as he said, “OK, Cawnew, I walk.”

Carol’s hands went to her mouth in shock, then she smiled, wiped away a tear, and followed Danny and Connor inside.

Once they were seated and had ordered, Shamus got down to business. “Carol, like we told you, three of Dan’s horses have bonded with Connor, and he with them. As I told you on the phone, I can’t allow you to give Maʹiitsoh, Fenrir, and Mac Tíre to Connor. The saddles alone are worth over $25,000. I don’t know their bloodlines, but just from their obvious training, Fenrir and Mac Tíre are easily worth thirty thousand each. I don’t know your entire situation, but having just lost Dan, I’m sure money’s tight, even if he had life insurance.”

Carol was looking down at the table as she spoke in a low voice, “The insurance company for the truck is refusing to pay. They say their investigation shows that Dan didn’t have the trailer hooked up properly, and that contributed to the accident. Since it was partially his fault, they say they don’t have to pay. He had a life insurance policy, so I have some money. There was also insurance on the mortgage, so the house is paid off, but I don’t really want to live there without Dan. It was our home. I know that sounds silly but…”

Shamus reached out and took Carol’s hand as he said, “It doesn’t sound silly. It sounds like you loved him, and it was your shared home. If you sold it, what would you do? Do you have a career?”

Carol blushed as she said, “I got pregnant in our junior year of high school. My only skills are cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. We had talked about my studying accounting online, but I never got around to it. Now I suppose I’ll have to do something. I refuse to be one of those single mothers, sitting at home, doing nothing, and living on welfare.”

Their food came and the conversation slowed. Carol tried to help Danny with his food but he pushed her away, saying, “Cawnew said I need to do it.” Carol was smiling at this new development and didn’t notice the look on Shamus’ face as he studied the woman and her young son. Connor asked about Dan, and Carol told how they’d been sweethearts since grade school. Dan lost his mother when he was young, and his father turned to alcohol to cover the pain. Dan was 17 when they lost their ranch. He was 18 when his father took his own life. Having worked on a ranch since he could walk, Dan easily found a job on a neighboring ranch and was a respected young cowboy when he died.

Shamus asked about Carol’s family, trying to find something to improve the mood. She related how her parents and brother had died in a plane crash when she was 2. She was raised by her grandmother who was now in a nursing home in Billings. When asked why not one more local, she explained that her grandma’s sister had lived in Billings, and they now shared a room.

Connor had followed the conversation but had remained quiet except for a few comments to Danny. He now looked at Carol and asked, “So you’ll sell the house and move to Billings? Find work there and pay someone to sit with Danny?”

Before she could answer, Danny said, “Papa says we gonna live wif you, Cawnew.”

Everyone turned to stare at the 3-year-old, then Carol asked, “When did Papa tell you that baby? He never met Connor.”

“In my dweam last night. He said Cawnew and Mac Tíre would take cawe of me til I’m big.” Danny stated as if it were perfectly normal for his deceased father to pass him information in dreams.

Danny’s exclamation pushed Shamus to a decision on something he had been considering since they sat down. He set his fork down, looked at Carol, and said, “At the risk of sounding improper, would you and Danny like to come live with us? Work for me?”

Carol grinned and asked, “Just what kind of work did you have in mind?”

Shamus exclaimed, “Certainly nothing like that! I’m past my days of thinking that way, and we hardly know each other. What I am suggesting is much more proper. I have a large home and my great-granddaughter has always done the cleaning and such but with Connor coming to live with me, we’ll need someone to cook and clean. There’s an apartment over the garage, so you and Danny would have your privacy. You’d have time to take your online classes, in fact, I’d like to pay for them.”

Carol smiled as she said, “I was just teasing Mr. O’Faolan. I knew you weren’t suggesting anything bad. But how could I ever repay you?”

Shamus shook his head as he explained, “Stop calling me Mr., everyone calls me Shamus, and I don’t need to be repaid. We care for one another. That’s what we’re on this earth to do. And we lost track of what started this conversation, three horses. You have two choices, and I won’t accept no as an answer. Either I put $150,000 in a trust for Danny when he’s grown, or I put that same amount in your hands right now. I cannot allow you to just give those beautiful animals to Connor.”

Connor interrupted with, “Two horses Shamus. Mac Tíre belongs to Danny like his papa said. I have Fenrir, and I have a lot to learn before I’ll be working so hard that I need two or three horses. I have time to train Maʹiitsoh and find another. Anyway, I can use Mac Tíre until Danny’s big enough to need him. That way, he keeps his training.”

Danny shouted, “Wreally? Mac Tíre was Papa’s favorite!”

Carol looked from Connor to Shamus with tears in her eyes. When she was able to speak, she said, “I would love to come work for you, Mr. O’Faolan, er, Shamus. I’ve already started packing. I was going to live with a cousin in Billings until the house was sold, and I found a house. Now what should I do?”

Shamus patted her hand as he said, “You should do whatever you feel like doing. We’re here another few days, and even then, there’s no rush. You do what you need to do. Get a handle on things. Then we’ll get you moved. You won’t need any furniture, but you’re free to bring it all. If you don’t use it, I’ll find storage for it somewhere.”

While Shamus and Carol discussed the details of her move, Connor took Danny to the restroom. When they returned, everyone headed outside. As Connor was putting Danny in his car seat, Carol started her Blazer. There was a metallic thud, and Connor felt the vehicle shudder, then there was silence. Shamus leaned down to look under the SUV, then asked Carol to unlatch the hood. When he raised the hood, Shamus slowly lowered it, shaking his head.

“I’m afraid there’s a piston sticking out of a hole that’s not supposed to be there.” he reported as he came to the driver’s door. He looked at his watch, then said, “Get everything out of it and put it in my truck. We’re going for a drive.”

Carol gathered her things as Connor moved the car seat to the RAM, belted Danny in, then climbed in beside him. As Carol climbed in the passenger seat, she asked, “Where are we going?”

Shamus did a search on his phone, then hit navigate. He looked over and answered, “You did accept my job offer, correct?” When Carol nodded, he continued, “The job comes with a vehicle, so you can get groceries and run other errands for the house. We’re going to get you your vehicle.”

Two hours later, Carol was still trying to argue as Shamus handed her the keys to a brand-new Dodge Durango. Connor had asked the salesman to show him how to properly secure Danny’s car seat. He wasn’t happy with what the salesman had said as they had Danny test it, so he went and whispered something to Shamus. Shamus nodded, so Connor and the salesman took off for a few minutes. When they returned, Connor took Danny’s car seat, removed it from the Durango, and gave it to the salesman. He then put one of the new, larger booster seats in the Durango. The other he tossed in the back of Shamus’ RAM.

Danny was watching intently, and then he asked, “Can I stay with you tonight Cawnew?”

Connor stopped working and knelt to face the boy, replying, “Not tonight, little buddy. I’m a guest where I’m staying. I promise you can when we get to Montana, though.” Danny looked like he was about to have a tantrum, so Connor added, “You can’t always get what you want, but you will never get what you want by throwing a fit. I said you can another night, just not tonight. If you can’t accept that, then I’ll just say never.”

Danny’s eyes flew open wide, then he took a deep breath and nodded, saying, “Papa always said da same thing. I’m sowwy. I can wait.” Connor smiled and hugged the boy, then picked him up and buckled him into the new booster seat.

Later that night, Connor remembered to add Danny and Carol to his gratitude prayer as he drifted off to sleep. His dreams that night were of six horses. Fenrir, Maʹiitsoh, and Mac Tíre were joined in their play by Dusty, Sally, and a black tobiano paint mare. The snow was chest deep, and they were chasing each other around a corral. In the distance, he could see the large black wolf standing guard. Tonight, there was a gray one there with him, lounging at his feet. In front of them, three rabbits played, seemingly unconcerned about the predators nearby.

Connor awoke before his alarm and realized he had had another wet dream. He quickly changed his bed, then went to shower. As he showered, he realized that things were growing. Yes, he had even more hair than yesterday, but things were larger than yesterday as well. He made a mental note to call his Da later, got dressed, and met Jeffery in the stables. The boys were happily surprised when Shamus joined them and grabbed a shovel saying, “I’m not too good to do any job I’ll ask another to do. When we get home, I’ll expect you to care for your own horses. Your cousins do, as do the hands, and everyone splits the other labor.”

After breakfast, Connor and Shamus saddled Fenrir and Mac Tíre and rode to the rodeo arena with Maʹiitsoh following. Shamus demonstrated roping, then had Connor try it. After knocking his own hat off, tripping on the rope, and lassoing Shamus, Connor started to get the hang of it. By the time they sat to eat the lunch they had packed in their saddlebags, Connor was consistently roping full horns with each throw. After lunch, Shamus had him mount up and attempt to rope while mounted. He noticed that Fenrir lined up slightly offline of the dummy in a proper roping position.

By mid-afternoon, Connor was able to hook the horns or heel on a moving dummy nine out of ten times, so Shamus moved them to the cutting trainer. He wanted to demonstrate, so he mounted Mac Tíre and spent a few minutes seeing what the horse knew. He was pleased to find that Mac Tíre was obviously experienced in cutting. As they went through the exercise, Shamus explained to Connor why he wanted the horse positioned in certain ways, and he praised Mac Tíre when they were finished. Connor had noticed that Maʹiitsoh had been shadowing Mac Tíre, watching her closely and then copying her moves.

When it was time for Connor and Fenrir to try it, he found it wasn’t as easy as it looked. After several minutes, Shamus told him just to ride and let the horse do what he’s trained for. Things improved greatly at this point, and Connor realized he was learning from the horse. Again, he noticed Maʹiitsoh watching intently. When they took a break, he asked Shamus about it.

“Can I move a saddle to Maʹiitsoh and see how he does?”

Shamus looked at Fenrir and Mac Tíre, then at Maʹiitsoh, and said, “He’s not as broad in the back yet. Their saddles won’t fit him. And honestly, he’s too young for you to be riding him much unless you want to wear him out early?”

Connor looked confused, so Shamus explained, “His bones and joints aren’t finished developing. He’s strong enough to ride, but if you ride him too much at this age, he’ll have joint problems sooner in life. You’re a small guy, so you can ride him. Just don’t work him. Ride him around the corral every other day for fifteen minutes for now. And yes, he’s watching. I’ve noticed it too. Next year he’ll be a great horse. Right now, he’s an adolescent that needs to grow.”

They mounted up and headed back to the Custer home. When they were finished grooming the horses, Connor said he would be in shortly. He needed to phone his Da. Shamus nodded and went inside, leaving the boy his privacy. Connor sat on the steps and dialed his father’s number.

“Da? I need your advice, and it’s kinda private. Are you alone?”

“Ma and I are sitting down to eat. I can go in the other room if you like?”

Connor thought for a moment, then said, “No, she’s a nurse, so maybe she can help. Put it on speaker?” When he heard the background noise change, he continued, “You know that puberty finally started hitting me when I left, right? Well, it’s hitting me really hard.”

Connor heard his parents giggle, then blushed as he realized what he had said. “Ha ha, very funny. That’s not what I meant. I’ve had two wet dreams in the last two nights, and I’ve got like a full bush of hair already. I read that when it comes late, it can come fast, but this is insane. Is there something wrong with me?”

Maureen answered her son in her best nurse voice with, “Unless you’re in pain or you see something that shouldn’t be there, you’re fine. Everyone is different. There is no normal. There is average or typical, but there is no right or wrong. As to the wet dreams, you do know how to masturbate, right?”

Connor blushed again as he replied, “Yes, Ma, I know how to do that. I’m not stupid.”

Sean spoke up, saying, “Well, if you’re building up so much that you had two in two days, maybe you should try doing it more often. I’m guessing you haven’t done it since you got there, with it being a strange bed and everything.”

Connor considered his Da’s advice. Since he had always had drygasms, it was always something he just did to enjoy it. If he could prevent waking up to a mess by having fun, he was all for it. He adjusted the front of his jeans and said, “Thanks Ma, Da. I’m glad you guys aren’t all hung up on sex. None of the guys from school could ask their parents about shi…, er stuff like this.”

Sean laughed and said, “Nice catch, son, and we want you to feel comfortable coming to us with anything. You know we’ll never judge. Is there anything else? How are things going?”

Connor spent the next half hour telling his parents about roping and cutting with Fenrir and Mac Tíre. He explained how Maʹiitsoh was too young for now but seemed to be very smart. He told them about his new spurs and holster and the guns Shamus had bought. He told about meeting Carol and Danny and how Shamus had hired her to come to cook and clean for them. He was about to tell them about the American Indian boy he had seen when Shamus came out to say that dinner was on the table. Connor said goodbye to his parents and went in to eat.