Modern Day Cowboy: Fascination With Life series, #4

By J. Gordon Monson

Zack Adams is a self-proclaimed hyper-bashful cowboy. It's so bad that, with the exception of his own family members including four younger sisters, any interaction with the fairer sex makes him start to stutter, forget how to talk and to even forget to breathe. His condition is a major source of frustration to him. Is there a cure for his mental disability to talk? He is not dumb or lacking in his ability to carry on a normal intelligent conversation and how to speak unless it's with a young attractive female. His place as a pro-rodeo star and his writing success haven't broken this barrier  communicating with any attractive female. Mostly, whenever it's necessary, he lets his younger brother do his talking for him, or he avoids any chance of being put in any embarrassing situation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. Gordon Monson
• Release date: May 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393510888

J. Gordon Monson

The author went from telling his children bedtime stories to enlarging his work to novel-length stories offered to readers beyond his own household in 2012.

Book preview

Table of Content:

Prologue

Chapter one   Cattle Rustlers

Chapter two  Vengeance is Who’s?

Chapter three Back to Normal

Chapter four  Altering Normal

Chapter five  The Mystery

Chapter six  Weekend Plans

Chapter seven Unwelcome News

Chapter eight New Ride

Chapter nine  Questions

Chapter ten  All is Quiet

Chapter eleven Fun Yet?

Chapter twelve Next Event

Chapter thirteen Private Room

Chapter fourteen Plans Changed

Chapter fifteen Two Visits a Week

Chapter sixteen Plans can Change

Chapter seventeen Set Schedule

Chapter eighteen The Wedding

Chapter nineteen New Proposal

Epilogue

1. My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; 2. For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. 3. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, 4. And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. 5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. 7. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. 8. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones.

The Holy Bible, The Book of Proverbs, Chapter three and verses one through eight. NKJ

PROLOGUE

I remember several things from when I was very young. I was about first grade when Dad brought home Pony for us kids to ride. He was a Shetland pony, which was just the right size for me, Mack, and Erin. But Susy and Molly were too little to ride. I think I was about six at the time, which would make my brother, Mack, about five, and my sister, Erin, about three, maybe almost four. Susy would have been about two and the latest addition to our family, just before Molly was born, she might not have born yet. Bri, the young in our family, was definitely not born yet.

I’d always ridden with my dad until Pony came to live in our barn. That’s when I learned to ride for real. Pony really like to run. Mack and I always rode him bare back. I’d take the reins and Mack was up behind me and holding on to me. We gave that little horse a workout every time we rode him.

I was never happy just walking him, but I liked to keep him on a full run most of the time.

Oh, there was that one time when Mack reached up to grab his hat when it started to blow off. He lost his hold on me and fell off while Pony was at a full gallop. I looked back to see Mack tumbled head over heels several times. He just lay there until I got Pony, yes that’s the only name we ever gave our little horse, turned around to go back to see about Mack. When I rode next to Mack, he busted out laughing so hard I thought he had lost his mind.

He never did tell me what was so funny. He just stood up, grabbed his hat from a few feet away, and then grabbed my hand to swing back up on Pony. And we were off and going again with Pony at a full gallop.

I remember that certain Sunday. It was one of the few times Dad brought us to church without Mom along. She was just home from the hospital after Molly was born, so Mom wasn’t yet ready to go out that soon.

We always sat in the third pew back on the right side of the church. Our next door neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. McClery, along with their daughter and granddaughter, always sat right ahead of us in the second pew back. Mack and I always sat on my dad’s right, while our sisters, even with or without Mom being there, usually sat to his left. That certain Sunday Mack and I ended up sitting right behind the McClery’s granddaughter. That hadn’t ever happened before.

We had arrived first and when they came in, their granddaughter came in last. She made a quick glanced back at me before she sat down. I almost thought she had an angel’s face. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a single ponytail and she had the bluest, prettiest eyes I’d ever seen. She sat down directly in front of me. I looked at that ponytail several times, wanting to pull on it. When the first song ended, and before we started singing the second, I reached up and pulled hard on that ponytail. She screamed out loud right there in church, and of course everyone knew it was me that had done it.

Well, that little act got me in a whole lot of trouble. I was moved to the other side of my dad. I was now sitting between Dad and Susy, our two year old.

And Dad whispered to me, You wait til we get home. We need to have that little talk.

I knew some of the things about what, ‘that little talk’ meant. I was still young enough to be spanked. But, Dad hadn’t spanked me in a while. But then, our little Pony might be off limits to me for a while too. I kind of wished that it was Mack who had done the hair pulling. After that thought, I got onto myself for thinking such a thing. I did it and I deserved whatever punishment was coming. I also remember feeling bad for that girl. I couldn’t even remember her name at the time, even though I’d seen her a few times in our Sunday school class, like most every Sunday for a long time, maybe even for a whole year.

When we were excused after the song service to go to our Sunday school class our teacher asked me to wipe off all the blackboards. I was sure this was no kind of coincidence. She’d probably seen me pull that girl’s hair.

We still had blackboards back then. Of course, classrooms all now have white boards with special erasers to clean off the boards. When I finished with that project I turned to find that only chair was left for me was sit right between Mack and that same girl with the pony tail. How did that happen? Probably not a coincidence either, but I didn’t hear anyone arrange it. I sat there wondering if it was the Lord trying to get me to say I was sorry for pulling her hair.

I couldn’t look at her when I took my seat, but I knew she was looking at me. Actually, I believe everyone was watching me.

Our teacher spoke first, We all have our lesson I assigned last week, Zack Adams, will you please tell me what King David did when he found out his baby boy was very sick.

Well, I am so glad that I’d read the lesson. I told her and the class, He refused to eat and sat for days in sackcloth and ashes.

Then, before I could finish, Miss Blake interrupted me, Okay good, now someone else tell me what he did when he found out his baby had died.

I saw the little hand go up right next to me, and it wasn’t Mack’s hand.

Teacher first smiled and then responded, Okay Miss Angela McClery, tell me the rest of this story.

She glanced over at me before she spoke, I believe God took his baby to Heaven because of what King David had said, He will not come back to me, but I will one day go to him. Then King David washed, changed his clothes, and took food and ate. The King’s actions amazed all of his servants, because the King had mourned for his son while the baby was still alive, but when he died the King went on with his life."

Miss Blake answered, Well good, it’s apparent that you both read our lesson. Next week I will likely be calling on some of the rest of you to share our new lesson for then, so I encourage you all to be prepared.

When class was finished I turned to the girl, told her I was sorry for pulling her hair, and for making a spectacle of both her and me in the main service.

She looked up at me and smiled. Then she said those words that I will never forget, Oh Zack, I forgive you.

She and I saw each other most every Sunday morning after that for the next year or so. Then she and her mother apparently must have moved away, because I rarely saw her again after that.

CHAPTER 1

CATTLE RUSTLERS

Thirteen years later

Mack and I were out checking fences and moving cattle from one pasture to another on our dad’s ranch when Dad took the call from our neighbors. He agreed to try to help them with their rustler problem. Apparently someone was trespassing on their land and killing some of Mrs. McClery’s prime steers. They took only the choice cuts from the animals leaving the remains to rot. The first two steers were found early enough to save the meat and hide, but two days later two more steers were killed and not found until it was too late to save the meat. The animals were already cold. The bad guys again used that same method, taking the choice cuts, and then leaving the rest to spoil and for the wild animals to feast on.

Dad told us the story and his plan during our suppertime. It involved the three of us going over just before dark with our guns, bed packs and extra drinking water to camp out to see if we could catch these bad guys before they could do any more killing. We were to take turns standing watch throughout the night in case these guys came back and cause more losses on Mrs. McClery’s ranch.

We saddled our horses and arrived at her ranch house just before dusk. I was surprised to see that same girl whose ponytail I had pulled at the church all those years ago. It was the first time I’d seen her up close in maybe twelve or more years. Wow, she had grown up a lot and is even more beautiful now. She still has a face like an angel and beautiful long, dark, silky hair.

Mack volunteered to do all the talking for us when we arrived at Mrs. McClery’s that evening. He asked if they would ride out to show us where the rustler activity had happened. Both that girl and her mother agreed to come with us. It was still light enough to see what was left of the two dead steers. They were about half eaten by buzzards and who knows what else. This left me with the thought that we may have to keep our eyes open for hungry mountain lions or even bears.

We scared up a couple vultures that were still feasting on the remains of the two dead animals. These birds couldn’t have eaten that much in the few hours since the steers had been killed. Some other larger critters must have been filling their bellies on these steers before the vultures arrived. The vultures flew off only a short distance, but they would likely be back when we moved away.

We found a good find a place to hobble our horses a ways away, and then settled down further away for our night watch. I stood the first three hour post. This gave me a lot of time to think of things I might want to add to my second book I was writing. My first one had been out there available for readers to buy for several months. I’ve been anxiously waiting to see how well it has been selling. My publisher had recently gotten it into the library system. But, so far they had only limited reports of book sales in the open market place, and my royalty payments had been smaller than I hope for. It’s a good thing I wasn’t counting on that income source to live on.

This three hour watch also gave me time to plan my schedule for the pro-rodeo bronc riding events coming up next month. This is my way of supporting myself, and saving back a bank role for my long term goal to have my own ranch one day soon. Since I turned pro over three years ago I’ve save almost two hundred fifty thousand from just my ride winnigs and from stock sales to build towards my goal.

I continued to keep my eyes open for what ranches might come up for sale somewhere close to my parent’s ranch.

I’d also been wanting to trade my old truck in on a new one, but my dad convinced me to wait until I had doubled or even tripled the total amount in my investment funds. Dad was right, he’s always right about these financial things. Three years ago he had encouraged me to spend most my first rodeo winnings on twenty head of calves just after they are weaned. That advice paid off big time when I sold them after they reached about a thousand pounds. He then encouraged me to buy forty more weaned calves right after the first group was sold. I’ve done that about twice each year since, and this has given me more profit than I was making with my rodeo winnings even after I shared part of the sale money with Dad to cover pasture rental and winter feed costs.

My last totals in bank certificates of deposits, combined with my mutual funds total upwards of two hundred fifty thousand dollars. And Dad encouraged me to also start my Individual Retirement Account. I have this in mutual funds. Dad convinced me to add to this fund every year as much as the government will allow in tax write-offs.

After I reached my preset goals Dad finally encouraged me to go for my new truck. He advised, You should reward yourself and go to buy that new rig.

But Dad added, You should also save out a substantial amount to cover any medical expenses in case you’re ever were injured.

He then stated, You’ve chosen a dangerous occupation. You might need enough to live on, and to pay for any doctor and hospital bills that could follow should you ever get injured.

I didn’t like to think about such things, but I knew that Dad was right again. I’d seen other riders get hurt when riding a rodeo bronc or a bull and decided that I better follow that advice.

The one main thing that I’m constantly seeking the Lord’s help with is for Him to keep me from any serious injuries. So far He has done that. I’ve only had some bumps and bruises so far. Thank you Lord for your mercy and grace.

All remained quiet during my three hour night watch on Mrs. McClery’s ranch. I woke Mack at the end of my time, took a drink of water, and then took over his warm sleeping bag. I looked up at the stars for just a moment before I closed my eyes for some welcome sleep. I thought about His creation. How awesome it is that we can be out here to enjoy all that He’s done for us. I’m sure there is so much more that He hasn’t yet revealed to us. I really like sleeping out under the heavens and its array of stars. That was my last thought before I fell asleep.

Dad woke Mack and me a little before six in that morning. He and Mack both had a quiet night watch. Those rustlers were apparently not showing up every night. Maybe tonight that would change. Dad continued his watch while Mack and I got our horses ready to ride back to Mrs. McClery’s ranch house to report in.

Mack, of course, again made our contact with the family. I could see that Mack was again talking with Mrs. McClery’s granddaughter. She was dressed in a pair of bib overalls, a long sleeve shirt and boots. I assumed she was probably getting ready to go to work on the ranch, just like we will be doing at home right after breakfast. Mack assured her we plan to report back again tonight just before dark. Then we headed for home hoping for our breakfast to be about ready when we arrived. All the fresh air and the cool night had driven my appetite to the complete ready. My stomach rumbled three different times on the mile and a half ride back home.

We smelled bacon cooking as we rode past our ranch house. Thank God, someone was working on our breakfast, for sure.

We made quick work of removing the saddles and bridles and brushing down our horses before turning them out in the near pasture. Then we washed up and headed for the kitchen to enjoy bacon, possibly eggs made to order, or possibly pancakes, or maybe even waffles. It didn’t really matter as long as it was ready, and there was plenty.

Erin, the oldest of my sisters was fixing pancakes. She had a big steaming stack of them ready. Susy, next in age to Erin, was helping her and brought them over to the table with the butter, and then went back for the bacon and pure maple syrup. She asked our other sister, Molly, to bring the cold milk and coffee.

Erin finished taking the last batch of pancakes off the big griddle, brought them over, and then sat down just as we were about to thank the Lord for our food. Molly was still standing. She poured coffee for Dad and Mother, and then milk for all the rest of us. There was only one of us missing. Our youngest sister, Bri, was staying overnight with one of her friends.

When we all had food on our plates and were ready to eat, Mom took on a serious look at Dad, How did last night go?

He looked back at her with affection and simply answered, Well, it was a quiet night. There was no sign of the bad guys. But, we plan to go back tonight. Maybe that will change.

She continued to look at him, Well, me and our girls stayed up late praying for your safety and success. I plan to do the same tonight.

He stopped his fork with a bite of pancake just before him for long enough to look into her eyes. He set the fork down and took her hand in his, Thank you Ruthie, and you too girls. We sure appreciate your prayers.

Molly was the one to soften the mood around the breakfast table when she excitedly offered, "Dad, I didn’t get to tell you this yesterday, but I’ve been accepted in that nursing class