![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
A challenge
Feb. 25th, 2007 07:36 pmThe cattle station is quiet with everyone gone. Not as quiet as the mountains can be, but close.
Jim has grown used to the chorus of chickens and hogs, the occasional dog barking, unbroken by the sounds of hooves and gruff laughter. He has stopped looking over his shoulder and expectantly watching the horizon. Up in the hayloft, he makes as much noise as possible, choosing to delight in the solitude rather than continue sulking. Bale after bale of hay is tossed below, and Jim grins to himself, wiping the faint sheen of sweat above his lip with the back of a work glove.
It's a beautiful day. Not even the lone man left behind can find fault with it.
He climbs down the rickety ladder, jumping the last few feet to the dirt aisle between stalls. The colt gets his hay first, like the magnificent king he is. Jim finds it hard not to spoil such an animal, and smiles with pleasure as he enters the stall and offers the largest bale of the bunch.
"There," he croons softly, a fond look in his eyes. The colt takes a large bite and snorts, as if receiving his due.
Jim has grown used to the chorus of chickens and hogs, the occasional dog barking, unbroken by the sounds of hooves and gruff laughter. He has stopped looking over his shoulder and expectantly watching the horizon. Up in the hayloft, he makes as much noise as possible, choosing to delight in the solitude rather than continue sulking. Bale after bale of hay is tossed below, and Jim grins to himself, wiping the faint sheen of sweat above his lip with the back of a work glove.
It's a beautiful day. Not even the lone man left behind can find fault with it.
He climbs down the rickety ladder, jumping the last few feet to the dirt aisle between stalls. The colt gets his hay first, like the magnificent king he is. Jim finds it hard not to spoil such an animal, and smiles with pleasure as he enters the stall and offers the largest bale of the bunch.
"There," he croons softly, a fond look in his eyes. The colt takes a large bite and snorts, as if receiving his due.
