Page 15 of Forever His Brat

Sam trusted Nick to prove himself. The man knew his job and he was good at it. He’d have their trust before long and they’d stop grumbling about the changes and settle into it eventually.

“I checked the automatic feeder first thing,” Ben said as he leaned against the desk. “One of the teats got clogged but it’s fixed now.”

The smallest and most fragile of the calves were bundled up together there in the main barn. They were usually the rejected ones, or twins. If they were too weak, they couldn’t be left with the others, or they’d be bullied and pushed out.

There were currently ten of them sharing a stall and the automatic feeder meant no one had to be on baby duty all night. It had been an expensive investment, but it had paid for itself quickly in saved manhours. The machine did have a tendency to jam and clog though, and it needed to be cleared a couple times a day.

“Good, I don’t miss those nights of having to get up and feed the orphans,” Sam said. “After we…” He tilted his head listening. “Sounds like we’re going to have some help today after all.”

Ben grunted. He was staring at the coffee machine as if he could force it to perk faster.

The side door crashed open. Two men stomped in, banging and clattering as they cleared their boots of snow. The floors would end up a muddy wet mess anyway, but they all made an effort to keep it to a minimum.

Sam called them back, inviting them into the office and offering them coffee. It wasn’t much of a reward for coming in, but it was better than nothing. With a smaller crowd, things were relaxed and informal.

They discussed the plans for the day and the job assignments in the office while they drank coffee and before they had gotten too far into the details another hand arrived, June. That brought them up to five and he figured that would be enough to get them through the morning.

He didn’t rush anyone out of the office. He didn’t need to. The ones who had made the extra effort to get in were his best workers. They didn’t usually have to be pushed.

He handed out the jobs for the morning, and then they chatted while they drank coffee. The topic of Nick came up, of course.

“New boss here, yet?” That came from June. She was blunt as always.

“Yeah, they got in last night, but it was a long drive and I figured they could use a couple days to rest and settle in.”

June nodded and then gave Sam a look he couldn’t interpret. “You know he’s got some mighty big boots to fill. You sure he’s up to it?” she asked.

“He’s up to it. I told you, I’ve worked with him before.” He narrowed his eyes and let his gaze sweep across all four of them. “I seem to recall some problems when I first took over. Something about being wet behind the ears, wasn’t it?”

Ben hid a snicker behind his mug. He’d been one of the ones to resist a ‘youngster’ being put in charge. They hadn’t liked it when Jimmy had put him in the position, but they’d accepted it… eventually.

“Don’t give himtoomuch of a hard time,” Sam warned them.

“Why? He can’t handle a little hazing?” June asked. She crossed her arms over her chest and fixed Sam with a challenging look.

“Nope, just trying to save your asses some wear and tear from his boot. Nick’s not as patient as I am. He didn’t grow up on this ranch, so he’s not going to go easy on you if you pull tricks on him.” He was dead serious too.

He had no doubt Nick could handle whatever they threw at him. But he’d seen Nick come down hard on hands before and they wouldn’t enjoy it much.

June looked slightly mollified. At least she was willing to drop it. Ben didn’t seem concerned either way, but that wasn’t a surprise. He was at the point of thinking about retirement.

Sam looked at the other two. They’d been quiet, watching but offering nothing. “You two got anything to say?”

Billy shrugged. “I don’t care who’s running the show as long as things get done. If he knows what he’s doing I’m not going to bitch.”

Well, that was a blatant lie, and they all knew it. Ben choked on his coffee and June let out a loud cackling laugh. Sam just lifted one eyebrow and stared at Billy.

“Yeah, yeah okay. I won’t bitchmuch.”

Merle put up both hands as Sam turned to him. “Don’t look at me. I don’t mind a new boss. Not like you’re going far or anything.”

He seemed sincere enough, and Merle wasn’t known for causing problems anyway. He was a quiet man who did his work without complaint.

“Alright,” Sam said as he stood up and pushed back his chair. “Glad we got that cleared up. I’m going to get started.”

Sam left them to finish their coffee in peace, sure they’d have plenty to say once he was out of earshot. He had no problems with them talking amongst themselves. Bitching about the boss’s decisions before settling into work was a time-honored tradition for ranch hands.

Even though Ben had already checked the babies, he went there first. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust him; it was just habit. Besides they were cute at that age, and he liked to see them playing.

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