Dirt & Desert

Josephine hated the ranch. She hated the sun, the dirt, the cacti, the cows – she hated it all. It’s not that she didn’t mind hard work; she just much more preferred city life.

She liked the sophistication that the city had to offer, and she saw the ranch as a means to an end. Her brother, Boone, was due to inherit the ranch, which was fine with her.

He would buy her out, and she would take her share of the money and officially start her life in New York.

Josephine had recently turned twenty-five. It was her first birthday without her mother, Ellinor. She was very close with her mom. They would talk every day, and Josephine didn’t keep any secrets from her; they had a very special relationship.

Ellinor was a strong woman who had worked hard her whole life and Josephine admired that about her. After all, ranch life wasn’t easy.

When the cancer came, it was undoubtedly challenging, but Ellinor wasn’t in pain for long, and her death came quickly. Josephine found solace in that and cherished her years with her mom.

However, Josephine’s father, Randy, was a completely different story. He was hard on Josephine. He expected a lot from her, and it infuriated him that she didn’t want to live on the ranch, but she never understood that about him.

It was he who sent her away to boarding school all those years; it was he who insisted she get an education in one of the Ivy League schools, so why was he so surprised that she had fallen in love with the city and didn’t want to stay in Arizona?

She didn’t dwell on it, though. Just one more summer on the ranch, and she would be gone. It wouldn’t be that bad; she adored her brother, Boone, so the more time she spent with him, the better.

“Joe, I need you to help me with something today. Are you up for it?” Boone asked.

“Of course, she is up for it! She’s not just going to sit around all day on her phone,” Randy answered, implying she was lazy.

Josephine was at the top of her class at Yale, where she majored in cellular biology, so she was far from lazy. However, to her father, if you weren’t working long hours in the sun, then you were lazy.

“Firstly, Boone, I would love to. Secondly, Dad, I don’t need you to answer for me, but thanks,” Josephine snapped back, standing up for herself.

Boone was the only one who called her Joe. She didn’t really mind it, but she preferred if he saved it for when they were on the ranch. She didn’t want her friends in New York to know her by that name.

“That’s right, Josephine, because you don’t need anything from me,” Randy said, antagonising her.

Wanting Josephine to ignore their father, Boone held the door open and motioned her out with a sway of his cowboy hat.

“Why does he have to be such an ass to me all the time? Why does he want me to have his dreams? Mom never made me feel this way. She understood that I didn’t want to live on the ranch.”

“Oh, Joe, he’s just a lonely old man. Ignore him.”

“He wasn’t always a lonely old man, but he’s always been an ass.”

Boone laughed and put his arm around Josephine as they approached the barn. The ranch stretched across five thousand acres, and the family home sat in the middle.

They usually drove one of their UTVs from place to place, but Boone enjoyed the walk, so Josephine didn’t protest.

As Josephine’s anger subsided, she asked, “So, what’s on the agenda today?”

“I need to get the cowboys set up for the day. Then, I thought you and I could go to the pond and do some fishing.”

“Fishing? Wow, Dad would not approve.”

“No, he wouldn’t, Joe, but I have one summer left with you, so I am going to make the most of it.”

“Boone, don’t start. I’ll come back and visit. I just can’t stay entire summers here anymore. I have a great job starting in New York, and I’m really excited about it.”

“I’m just messing with you, Joe. I’m proud of you. I’m glad you are getting away. The last thing I want for you is to stay and fall in love with a cowboy.”

“Trust me, that will never happen. There is nothing attractive about a cowboy. I hate the hats, the boots and why are the jeans so tight? Like, how do you move?”

“Hey, now, watch yourself!” Boone pushed her a little, almost knocking her down.

Laughing, Josephine said, “But seriously, it’s going to be a great summer. We also have your thirtieth birthday party to plan for; that will be amazing!”

“As long as there is bourbon, I’ll be there.”

When they arrived at the barn, the cowboys were leaning against the fence, dressed just as Josephine had described. Tight Wrangler jeans, weathered Stetson hats and leather boots stained with the red dirt from the ranch’s dusty roads.

They looked to be in their mid-twenties, but it was hard to tell. Ranch hands always appeared to be dirty, and the dirt seemed to age them.

“Hey guys, good to see you. Not sure who of you know, but this is my little sister, Joe.”

“It’s Josephine.” Realising she sounded like a snob, she added, “Boone’s the only one who calls me Joe.”

The boys tipped their hats and waited for Boone’s instructions for the day. The chores around the ranch consisted of tending to the animals, managing the land and handling maintenance and repair.

Nothing out of the ordinary, but the work was strenuous and never-ending.

“If there are any questions, just let me know. You all have your walkie-talkies, so just give me a shout if you need something. Rick, Buck and Cole, y’all come with me, and I’ll get you set up with the feed and introduce you to the cows. Austin, you hang back with Joe.”

Josephine whipped her head around at Boone as if to gesture with her eyes, ‘what the fuck’?

“Joe, just take him to the horses. You can tell him their names and show him where we keep everything. I’ll be back soon.”

Rolling her eyes and putting on a fake smile, she said, “Fine.”

Boone and the guys headed out of the barn, and Josephine started walking towards the horses without speaking to Austin.

It’s not that Josephine thought she was better than them; she just really, really hated ranch work, so it wasn’t about having to be with the cowboys. It was just having to be there at all.

When they reached the horses, Josephine started pointing at each one, saying their names. “That’s Daisy, Duke, Prince and Bob. The fee – “

Austin started laughing. “Bob?! Who names a horse Bob?”

Josephine was so used to the name she forgot that it was an unusual name for a horse, or any animal for that matter. She laughed and looked over at Austin.

He was tall and had an athletic build. He wore a flannel button-up shirt and jeans with a belt, but it didn’t have the big buckle she hated.

He had taken his hat off so she could see his hair. It was brown and shaggy, and his facial hair was scruffy but didn’t seem unkempt. He had blue eyes that could pierce through your soul.

She paused for a minute, shaking off this feeling of attraction, and tucked her red hair behind her ears. She smiled while she explained the name.

“My dad insisted that I name a horse. I think he thought that if I named it, I would get attached to it, and it would make me want to stay, so I gave him the worst name I could think of, just so my dad would be forced to call the horse by it.”

Petting the horse, Austin said, “Awe, poor Bob. Don’t worry, Bob, I’ll take good care of you.”

“Yeah, well, anyways, the feed is over there. We keep the grooming stuff on this shelf and the brooms and other tools in that closet,” Josephine said, pointing to the corner of the barn.

Still petting the horse, Austin said, “So what did you mean you aren’t staying? You don’t live on the ranch?”

“I do, for now. I have a job in New York that starts in August, so this is my last summer here.”

“I see, so ranch life isn’t for you?”

“Gosh, no, I hate it. I’ve hated it my whole life.”

“Really? You hate it? Strong words. Where does this hatred come from?”

Josephine squinted her brow while she searched for an answer. No one had ever asked her why she hated it, and she had never really considered her reason; she just knew that she did.

Trying to find an answer that would satisfy him, she said, “I really didn’t grow up here. I went to boarding schools in other states and went to Yale for college, so this life was never really my life.”

“Yale? That’s impressive. Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” she said, not expecting that response from him.

“I tried the city life, but it wasn’t for me. Too many people, not enough fresh air, too loud, just not my scene.”

“Where did you live before?”

“A little bit of everywhere. New York, Chicago, Seattle, spent some time in L.A. and a handful of other places.”

He noticed the shock on her face, “What? Does that surprise you?”

“I don’t think I have ever met anyone who chooses this life. Most people around here are just born here, and they stay. It’s like they don’t know that there is a whole world outside the ranch.”

“Well, I think some people just like comfort. The idea of going somewhere new, making new friends, having to learn a new city, that can be scary.”

Josephine started to make her way over to the horse and began stroking his coat with Austin. “I guess I never thought of it like that. It’s not that I look down on people who want this life. I just don’t understand what they find so great about it.”

“Come on. I know you have seen what it looks like when the sun sets, and you can’t deny the peacefulness of it all. To be able to walk out in the desert and have a perfect view of the canyons, I’d take that any day over a bunch of man-made buildings. Yes, ma’am, give me dirt and desert any day over concrete and skyscrapers.”

Josephine liked his view of the ranch. It made her think of the parts she liked about it and reminded her of the good times she had, especially the times with her mom.

“The night sky is beautiful. When I was little, my mom and I would camp out at night, just right outside our house, and we would stare at the stars all night.”

Austin smiled at her. “See, you don’t hate it. It’s not the life for you, but you don’t hate it.”

She gave a little shrug and said, “Maybe this summer, I will give it more of a chance.”

Boone walked back into the barn. “Joe, you ready to go? Is Austin all set?”

Still stroking the horse, Josephine looked at Boone and said, “Yeah, he’s good to go.”

“Great. Austin, you can call me on the walkie-talkie if you need anything. Joe, let’s go.”

Boone walked out, and as Josephine started to leave, she felt Austin’s hand on top of hers, causing her to stop mid-stroke.

She looked at Austin with a stunned expression. His soft smile made her notice how full his lips were.

“I hope that’s not all you’ll give a chance to this summer.”