Welcome To The Bullpen
George Just Rode Horses
By H. E. McChristian
George never thought about entering the rodeo, he was too busy riding horses. The ranch was in south Texas and George never thought about using 4-wheelers, branding shutes, and for sure he wasn't worrying about the battle of the sexes! George, and those like him, just tossed a rope on, laid em down, and slapped a brand on their rump.
On the X bar T, the horses were wild, tame, broke, and unbroke. The cattle was all wild. Wide open range leads to wild eye cows. College was afar off but if a young man survived he could earn a P.H.D. in cow knowledge. Gals were kinda spare on the range where George joined the other hands to herd cattle. So you can understand his suprise when the boss brought a young thing out to the line shack and introduced her as the new hand.
George had seen the dust cloud a long way off. He recognized the old Jeep that old man Tucker drove around the ranch. So he climbed down and rested his shoulder against a tree. Besides, the shade was alright. With a cloud of dust blowing up around it, and all over George, the Jeep pulled up under the tree. George was too busy slapping his hat on his leg to knock the dust off to see who all was in the dad-blasted thing!
Old man Tucker laughed, walked over and slapped George on the back, which raised another cloud of dust. "Son, I brought you some help out here to help get them cows out of the brush." George looked over to see what the new feller shaped up as, and nearly staggered and would have if old man Tucker hadn't caught his arm to steady him. "What in the wide world are you talking about Tucker?, That ain't no cowhand, that's a girl." George turned to the young thing and apologized,"I'm sorry mam, Tucker here has a wonderful sense of humor and I didn't mean you any disrespect." The young thing smiled at George and just melted him into the ground, so to speak, and told him,"Hi!, I'm going to be your partner for awhile, my name is Peggy Landers, but you can just call me Peg."
George watched as old man Tucker drove off, leaving him and Peg alone. "Mam," "Call me Peg." "Well, yeah, uh, well this is all new to me and I'm not real sure where to start." Peg was making her third trip into the shack with belongings, "What do you want to start?" She asked as she passed through the door out of sight. "Hey," Peg yelled out the door, "which one of these bunks is yours?, looks like you been using all of them." George, dumbfounded, headed inside to try to sort things out. "I have, I just been grabbing the nearest one, then making all of them up once a week. There's some clean sheets up on the shelf there"
It was nip and tuck for a week before George and Peg got things worked out. One corner of the single room was now blocked on two sides with extra blankets, giving her a bedroom of her own. Peg, as it turned out, was about as good riding as George was. She didn't have the weight, but she had the skill, to ride the rough string George inherited as the youngest cowhand on the ranch. Hey! now, That gal could swing a rope. George was just a get close and drop a loop over their head kinda poke, but Peg was like a long range rifle. Once she had a steer in her sights that rope was going around a neck, or leg, as George learned she could do also. Before long they were just two cowhands doing the job.
All that summer they worked as a team. Sometimes at headquarters, and sometimes out on the range. On the range Peg always shared a shack, or a tent with George. The other hands tried to make something of it but found out soon enough that Peg had the anger to go with her grit. After she poked two of them in the snoot, breaking one of them, and finding out that George was a tough nut himself, they left well enough alone. But
George did notice that anytime they were at headquarters Peg slept in the house.
Late in the fall, just when the wind was starting to bite hard, Peg asked George to come up to the house for supper. He had eat at the house a time or two, Christmas and a birthday one time, but usually the hands had their own place to eat in the bunkhouse. He was kinda worried and was asking himself what all he had done wrong, thinking maybe Tucker was going to let him go this winter, the way he did with extra hands each year. So, glad to be getting a good meal, never-the-less, he worried.
George cleaned up and put on his Sunday clothes. A new set he kept for such occasions. Slowly mounting the steps he crossed the porch and rapped on the door. "Come on in." that was tucker, not a lazy bone in his body, but he wasn't going to get up when the other feller could open the door for himself! George walked in, closing the door behind him. Turning around he was face to face with Peg, wearing a pretty dress, the first one he had ever seen on her. "Wow!" George said the first thing that come into his mind,"You sure don't look like a cowhand now, Peg, you make a right pretty lady!" Peg blushed a bit at the compliment. She had known George well enough, and long enough, to know what he said was what he felt. "Thank you George, that means a lot coming from you."
After feasting on a well cooked meal Tucker led the way to the front room and invited both of them to set down. "George, Peg has something she wants to ask you, and I've already said it was fine with me." Tucker leaned back in his chair and waved a hand at Peg as if to say talk. For the first time since he had known her Peg seemed a bit shaky. She looked down at her hands, then sipped at the ice tea she had carried in from the dinning room, finally she set the glass down and turned toward George.
"George," Peg glanced at George, then at Tucker. Then, as if taking the bit in her teeth, turned her full attention on George across the room. "I know that you respect what I can do riding and roping, but, I really want you to know what I am." George raised his eyes from the floor to look at Peg directly. "Peg, I don't have any idea what you got to say, but, I can tell you this much, nothing you say will change what I thank of you or my respect for what you can do." He turned to Tucker,"Tucker, Peg is one of the finest people I ever rode with, and the best roper I ever seen, she earned every penny of her pay and as a side-kick, I'd chose her in place of anybody on the ranch." George leaned back to hear what was in store.
Peg smiled,"Well, that makes it a lot easier talk anyway. George, you know that every year with winter coming on Tucker has to pick half a dozen men to keep over the winter, and to let the rest drift." Peg waited for the slow nod she had gotten to know so well these last few months. "Well, to make that job easier I'd like to make you an offer. Awhile ago I told you that I wanted to tell you what I am. What I am is a rodeo rider." She waited to see what George's response would be. " Well, sure, you had to be something, nobody gets as good as you are riding and roping
without doing something." George leaned back in his chair and smiled. Peg was relieved,"O k then, here is my offer. I own two trucks, and two trailers. I also have a string of horses, eight of them, that I haul from rodeo to rodeo. I want you to travel with me on the road and drive one of the trucks. Also, because I know you love horses just like I do, I want you to be the one taking care of my horses." Peg stopped talking and waited for George to think it over. About three minutes passed in silence.
When George spoke he directed his answer to Tucker, on his right. "Sir, you know about my past and my family. So I am sure you will understand what I am about to say." George turned his attention back to Peg,"I appreciate the offer, no man could ask for more, but, after having seen the results of doing different, I gotta' tell you that there is no way I could travel, live, and sleep together with a gal on the road without being hitched."
George stood up and reached for his hat. Peg stood up and spoke up, "George, is that a proposal?" George laughed, "Not unless you were looking for one!" "O k, I accept." Peg walked over and laid her hand on his shoulder,"I don't think I could ever get a better offer." George was at a loss. "But, I, uh, I don't
have anything to offer a lady like you." George held his hands out toward Tucker seeking help,"Tucker, tell her that I ain't got nothing."
Having sat quietly by all this time Tucker finally entered the conversation "Kids, let me make a suggestion, George why don't you take peg up on the offer and spend a season on the road, that way you will know if you like the life?" Then turning to Peg he said, " Girl, forget this proposal stuff until the season on the road is over, then the two of you can come back here and see how you feel then?" Tucker picked up his pipe.
Peg and George spent a few minutes talking terms and after having come to an understanding, agreed that would work just fine. Early the next morning they loaded their gear into Peg's pickup and drove off in a cloud of dust headed for the rodeo.
Rodeo season started well. It didn't take too many dares before George was talked into signing up for the bronc riding. Many rodeo's and almost a year later Peg and George drove up to the ranch house and saw Tucker waiting for them on the porch. "Grandpa, how are you?" Peg threw her arms around Tucker's neck and kissed his cheek. George stood by the truck dumbfounded by this new revelation. Peg ran back to the truck and hauled out a small suitcase. She opened it on the hood of the truck."Look grandpa, look what I won." Holding up ribbons in one hand and medals in the other. "Wonderful," said Tucker," I am proud of you. So, how did George work out on the road.?" Peg ran back to the truck and pulled out of the suitcase a wide belt with a large silver buckle emblazoned with a golden horse. "Oh,"She raised it high in the air to show it's full glory, "Gorge just rode horses."
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REVIEW 1
A couple of suggestions; (1) proofread your story carefully for correct punctuation and capitalization, and (2) break paragraphs at dialog shifts. You have an good feel for plots and characters, but need to work on how to tell the story. This story reads like a first draft, lacking the polished feel of a finished story. Keep working at it - you'll get there! You have a real talent.
Bob
Review 2
It’s a good story, but full of errors capitals required in several places, some I have pointed out. Heed my advice check and recheck your work several times before submitting. Polish it up and then put it in. With the number or small mistakes an editor may throw it out. Your tale is worth it. Fix it and good luck.
L. Roger Quilter.
suprise typo - surprise.
"What in the wide world are you talking about Tucker?, Lose the period after the question mark.
George turned to the young thing and apologized,"I'm sorry mam, - needs a tweak -
George turned to the young thing and apologized, "I'm sorry ma’am,
George watched as old man Tucker drove off, leaving him and Peg alone. "Mam," "Call me Peg." "Well, yeah, uh, well this is all new to me and I'm not real sure where to start." Peg was making her third trip into the shack with belongings, "What do you want to start?" She asked as she passed through the door out of sight. "Hey," Peg yelled out the door, "which one of these bunks is yours?, looks like you been using all of them." George, dumbfounded, headed inside to try to sort things out. "I have, I just been grabbing the nearest one, then making all of them up once a week. There's some clean sheets up on the shelf there"
Needs work. I suggest
George watched as old man Tucker drove off, leaving him and Peg alone. "Ma’am,"
"Call me Peg."
"Well, yeah, uh, well this is all new to me and I'm not real sure where to start."
Peg was making her third trip into the shack with belongings, "What do you want to start?" She asked as she passed through the door out of sight.
"Hey," Peg yelled out the door, "which one of these bunks is yours?, looks like you been using all of them." (Lose the period after the question mark.)
George, dumbfounded, headed inside to try to sort things out. "I have, I just been grabbing the nearest one, then making all of them up once a week. There's some clean sheets up on the shelf there"
He had eat at the house a time or two, - typo - ate
that was tucker, - typo - capital T for Tucker
" Well, sure, - Get rid of the gap between “ and Well.
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