Cattleman's Dream

His horse seemed restless and Wade leaned down, running his hand across the thick mane. “Easy, Blackie,” he crooned as he continued to look into the canyon from the edge of the mountaintop. “I’m going to make sure you get your drink of water.”
Soft velvety eyes turned in Wade’s direction. Sometimes, Wade could almost bet his horse understood every word he said to him. He shook his head dismissing the stupid thoughts while glancing down again, to where the men had moved the cattle. He reached up and pulled the brim of his Stetson across his forehead to shade his eyes from the glaring sunset and watched the swirling dust patterns created by the restless animals.
As his mind drifted to the cattle drive he’d embarked on last month, second thoughts now filled his head wondering why he’d undertaken such a project. The stockyard, where he purchased the beef, wanted to ship the animals by truck, but Wade decided to do it the old-fashioned way. Thoughts of getting back to nature had filled his head. He shrugged his broad shoulders knowing he couldn’t change things now, although he wished he’d given it more thought. Shaking his head, he glanced again at the bottom of the canyon.
The beauty of the setting sun was lost on Wade Rawley as his gaze drifted to the lake shrouded by trees running alongside the campground. He couldn’t believe the raw scene unfolding below. “Holy shit, what a view,” the whispered statement swept across the breeze blending with the sultry heat of the afternoon. “Man, I could watch this all day.”
While driving the herd a mile from a narrow road in an isolated part of Montana, Wade had earlier chanced upon two stranded women. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him watching how they sat on their luggage with their thumbs stuck in the air. Annie’s voice echoed in his ears as he remembered her question that day. “How about giving a couple of stranded ladies a ride?”
“To where?” he’d asked after stopping his horse near them. “How did you get stranded this far away from civilization?” He shook his head in disbelief over the strange scene.
“Car gave out,” Annie spoke for the two. At the time, he couldn’t believe anyone would drive through the remote western plains with such an old and unreliable car. Some people didn’t give a hoot about their safety.
Now, he sat high above the campground watching the two women cavorting buck-naked in the lake below, not far from where he and his men were camped. As their lithe bodies bounced out of the water, two sets of breasts jiggled back and forth. His thoughts were that this was a cattleman’s dream.