Page 72 of Texas Destiny
As they rode back to the ranch, Amelia found herself intrigued by the young man riding beside her. Full of untamed energy, he had a restlessness about him. She supposed it had to do with youth. Something more exciting was always waiting just ahead, in the next mile, in the next moment.
Amelia drew her horse to a halt. “What in the world is that?”
Austin sidled up next to her. “What?”
She pointed toward the reddish-brown beast. Austin’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. “It’s a cow. Ain’t you never seen a cow before?”
She shook her head. It looked nothing like the cows of Georgia or the ones she’d seen grazing at John and Beth’s. “Not one like that. Those horns look dangerous.”
“They are dangerous. From tip to tip, the horns can grow as long as some men are tall. Longhorns enjoy a good stampede, too. Dallas keeps his cattle spread out over the range so they’re less likely to stampede. You wanna see Dallas at work?”
“You know where he is?”
“Sure. He’s gathering his cattle down on the south end, marking ’em so they’ll be ready come spring.”
She realized too late that she should have sought out Dallas first thing that morning, instead of Houston. When she had begun this journey, her mind was filled with thoughts of Dallas. Somewhere along the way, Houston had taken his place. “I’d like to see him working.”
“Come on, then.”
They rode at a gallop with the breeze circling around them. She thought she might never understand how men could look out over the land and know exactly where they were. More cattle became visible, dotting the countryside.
Then she saw what she thought must have been a whole herd, a sea of brown and red. It didn’t take her long to spot Dallas. He rode through the herd obviously with a purpose. She watched as he maneuvered his horse, maneuvered the calf away from the center of the herd.
“He rides well,” Amelia said.
“Yep. He’s got men to do that but every now and then, he does it himself.” Austin removed his hat and waved it in the air.
When the calf broke through to freedom, another cowboy lassoed it. Dallas rode past the bawling calf and caught up with Austin and Amelia. “What are you doing out here?”
“Took Amelia out to see Houston. Discovered she didn’t even know what a longhorn was so figured she ain’t never seen a roundup. Thought I’d show her.”
Dallas nodded and glanced over his shoulder. “They’re smaller in the fall. Come spring, you can hardly see for the dust the cattle stir up.”
“Houston said you had two thousand head of cattle.”
He smiled. “At last count.”
“I thought a ranch would feel like a plantation, have its grace and charm.”
“You don’t find the smell of burning cowhide and the ruckus of bawling cattle charmin’?”
She laughed lightly. “I find it fascinating, but nothing like what I’d expected. It’s so big. I think it takes a special breed of men to tame it.”
“That it does.”
“Houston mentioned that you were that sort of man.”
A blush swept down Dallas’s face, disappearing behind the red bandanna he wore wrapped around his neck. “I’m having a hard time believing how much that man talked. Reckon I got some catching up to do.”
A tinny sound filled the air. Amelia looked toward its source: the chuckwagon. With a metal bar, the cook was hitting a metal triangle.
“Are you hungry?” Dallas asked.
Amelia smiled. “As a matter of fact, I am.”
“Austin, go fetch us a couple of plates.”
As Austin rode to the chuckwagon, Dallas dismounted and helped Amelia off her horse. He removed his vest and set it on the ground. “It’s not fancy, but it’ll protect your skirt somewhat.”
