Dan

By Joan Sisson

Dan thinks he wants to be a rancher; his father wants him to enroll in a university. He has been granted a years stay at his godparents Wyoming ranch to learn what ranching involves. He came to stay with them in early summer. Now he must go thru a winter in the high country, a test even for those from New York state.

Receiving a horse of his own -a young pinto that he names Toby- he finds additional complications: Toby may be blind, he needs training, and his ownership is in question. There are times when work must be done, Dan learns, at a ranch or anywhere, even if a person is tired. He appreciates the beauty of nature and also learns more of its difficulties. During a time of being snowed-in when he is alone, Dan must draw on his own resourcefulness.

A thread running thru this story is Dans belief in a God to sustain him. This subject is written so that those of various faiths can relate to it without feeling pressured or excluded..

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 12, 2007
• ISBN: 9781465325884

Joan Sisson

Growing up in California, with a father working in agriculture and the national parks, Joan lived “under the redwoods” in her early years. During school years in Kansas, she enjoyed riding her mare along country roads and hearing meadowlarks sing. Joan has contributed articles to Western Horseman and Country magazines, is a former parent-helper of the 4-H Horse program and was a docent at Sunol Regional Wilderness in California. She is the author of horse books for teens, Echo Valley and Dan; books for young children, Marigold and One Little Heifer. A book of short stories, Smiles, is due out in 2008. The author believes, teach beauty and brotherhood rather than horror and destruction. Joan and her husband, Dave, had two children, Mark and Rebecca. (Becky illustrated Green Eyes.) They now live in Montana near Becky’s ranch; Mark died in 2003.

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Copyright © 2007 by Joan Sisson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission

in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Dedication:

to my husband, David,

for his loving encouragement

and

in memory of our son, Mark.

Chapter 1

The crisp November breeze drifted down from the high mountains and caused the trees to shiver among themselves. The smell of snow was strong in the air. Barren branches tried to shake away the coldness as their brown fingers reached toward the gray sky. The evergreens, fortunate enough to retain their coats, smugly settled themselves for a Wyoming winter.

Dan pulled the fleece collar of his windbreaker closer about his cheeks and narrowed his gray eyes against the growing wind. As he rode, one gloved hand steadied the tiny calf across his lap, while his mount worked their way downward. Scout’s every step seemed with care, as though he knew of the hopes placed on the newborn little one. He was a seasoned cowpony and he’d carried calves before. He moved carefully around patches of earlier snow. Mama cow closely followed the bay gelding that carried her calf to shelter from the harshness of the weather.

Sired by Rimrock Ranch’s prize bull, and out of a champion cow, he was a royal heir. Even before his birth hopes and plans were mounting for him. The ribbons and prize money he could win would further the good reputation of Rimrock in the breeding of fine Herefords.

This was a poor time of the year for a calf to be born, and already he had slept on the cold sod rather than in the warmth of the barn. His mother, champion though she was, had an uncanny way of getting outside fences. That was why her mating had been at an unintended time, and the calf had been born in the cold open country. A springtime calving would have been better. Dan had been sent out to find them, and now he was bringing the pair home.

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Plodding down a gentle slope, Dan paused Scout when buildings came into view. He gazed down at them, feeling they were now home to him. The house was two storied with a large, railed front porch that looked down the road. It was the side of the house that he could see now, with its ample enclosed service porch and door, that greeted family and friends where the driveway continued past. There were two large barns, a bunkhouse, machinery garage, three corrals, several smaller buildings including one that housed an emergency generator, and assorted trees. Dan envisioned someday owning a place just like it.

Soon after graduating from high school this past spring Dan had arrived at Rich and Dianne Kenney’s Rimrock Ranch in the high Rockies. After spending the summer there, he’d gained permission from his father and the Kenneys to stay longer. This was a big concession, since Dr. Nathaniel Dee had expected his son to start college that fall. (Sure, Dan thought, he could have made the decision to stay without Dad’s permission since he was 18 now—or would be tomorrow—and by law considered adult; it was with love and respect that he inquired of his father.)

Dan wanted to make ranching his life’s work, and he wasn’t convinced that college was necessary for that; he just wanted to learn by doing. He had been granted this year for ranching experience, with the agreement that he would start college next fall. Even a rancher benefits from college education, Rich confirmed (and he probably would have vetoed Dan’s extension there if Nate had not been consulted). The Kenneys’ son Dick, a year older than Dan, was away at a university. Their daughter Jackie stayed the school year with relatives in Casper and attended high school there, since winter weather could make ranch roads impassable.

Rich and Nate had been boyhood pals. Their friendship continued even though their interests in college separated them. Rich studied agriculture and became a rancher in Wyoming. Nate became a physician and moved to New York City. As sometimes happens, children of countryfolk yearn for the city, and children of city dwellers seek the great outdoors. This was clear at a very young age with Dan. His mother died when he was very small and it was not easy for the doctor to find the country life Dan wanted. Whenever he could, Dan rented a horse from the stables, and that was where he realized his love of horses and learned to ride.

When Dan was younger he called Rich and Dianne Kenney uncle and aunt. This past summer working with the ranch hands he felt uncomfortable with that, concerned about favoritism. In the style of the Old West, and with their permission, he called them Boss and Ma’m.

As the wind swirled and Scout continued on, Dan was curious about winter here in the high country. He’d encountered snow and hazardous driving conditions in New York, but here they moved the cattle down to the lower elevations where the temperatures were slightly warmer and primarily, there the cattle could be reached by truck to be fed. Dan thought back to a month ago; he’d witnessed and even been a small part of, his first real round-up. For several days ranch hands searched the vast reaches and brought in the cattle. Those belonging to other ranches were separated from Rimrock’s. The cows were then separated from weanling calves and yearling steers. Any calves missed in the spring round-up or any born since then, were ear-tagged and innoculated. The cattle destined for market were loaded on several huge trucks and taken away. When the trucks returned, the breeding stock was transported to the lower pastures. One of the hands, Mac, would spend the winter at lodging near the cattle to care for them.

Next spring the cattle would be brought back to the high pastures. Dan