Work Text:
Annabele
The air was muggy, unbearably so, humid and hot. God, I hate summer. I always have, since I was a kid. My hair falls in my face as I groan and flip it back, running a hand through it to slick it back. Thankfully I kept it short… though it did get me mistaken for a boy sometimes if I was in work clothes.
I breathe in slowly as I scan over the papers with a wince. This month's profits were down too much, if it kept going like this we would end up losing the ranch within a year. “We gotta get these cattle pushed” I say quietly as I go over the head of cattle versus the amount we usually made off a cow.
“If we could butcher our own cattle then it would cut our costs down by at least a couple thousand” I comment as I glance over the papers yet again. “Then again… getting it set up and paying someone for it would cost more than we can afford at the moment” I add as Randy goes to open his mouth.
“Anne! Need some help over here! The new guy is fuckin’ things up!” John yells out, looking constipated as he storms towards me. Of course the new guy was the one to blame, the guys tended to do that when they messed things up. “On my way!” I call, sighing as I look over at Randy. “I’ll be right back, gotta deal with the idiots” I mutter as I hand him the papers we had been discussing and walk towards John with my arms crossed and annoyance spread across my face. I follow John as he rants, quickly hearing the sound of distressed cattle and yelling men.
“I was gone for five minutes, John!” I complain as I finally see what was happening. The cattle were stuck in a muddled mess inside the shoots. “How the hell did you imbeciles manage to mess things up this badly?” I ask loudly so the other men would hear me as well, I was the last person they wanted to hear approaching while this was happening.
“Well, if Elias hadn't been watchin’ your ass then he would’ve closed the gates on time!” Aaron protests with a glare directed at the poor new ranch hand who was standing with an embarrassed and ashamed look on his face. I roll my eyes at this, they always teased any new guy who showed up. With me being the only female who worked both in the office and outside I was the target of many crushes. Usually very short lived once they heard me opening my mouth more than a few times.
“I was not ma’am! I promise” Elias pleads as his face starts to go red, glaring at the other guys who were now snickering. “It’s alright kid, now you idiots let’s get this fixed before I change my mind on being so nice” I mummer to myself as I walk over and open the back gate to herd the stray cattle to where they needed to be. I grab the poker as I motion to John to grab one as well, prodding the cattle back into the larger pen until the cluster starts to clear up and we can start to sort the cattle properly again. I lean back on the fence as the guys go back to work, watching to be sure there were no more accidents.
John herds the cattle, his gray hair kept short and cropped at all times. He was an older man, mid fifties at least, though never ask him about his age. His face was worn with time, wrinkles and stress lines burned into the creases of it. He had been working here since before my time.
Then there was Aaron, a cocky younger guy with light blonde hair. He was the sleazy type, the kind to go to a bar and flirt with random women every chance he got. He was a good guy… just kind of a manwhore to be honest. His blue eyes were always a catcher for women, they were nice when the light caught them. But after working with him the last thing you would want to do is bang him, he had a bad habit of being lazy.
They were the ‘top dogs’ as you could say, the bosses or whatever. Though usually I ended up being the one in charge because I kept them from doing stupid shit. Such as trying to jump on the bull who was not friendly by any means, there was a reason all the new guys were warned about him. But hey twenty bucks is twenty bucks. I sigh as I look at the new kid, he looked big.
Tall but not too tall with short brown hair. Military cut from the looks of it, and a trimmed beard. He had hazel eyes that shone green if you looked close enough. He looked close to my age, probably mid twenties as well. A large guy with broad shoulders and chest. He was definitely a good fit for a ranch hand, strong and rough. Yet he was still respectful; he had never once spoken back to me.
I look around as the dust settles and the guys finish up with the cattle, glancing around the ranch to see the horses staring at us. It was feeding time, so I walk off to grab the feed out of the tack room. I slowly load it into the buckets as I hear footsteps and turn to see Elias walking up with a shy grin. I smile back as I grab two buckets.
“Hey, I wanted to apologize” he mumbles as he grabs two as well, following me into the stalls with a nervous look on his face. “No, no it's okay. They do that all the time” I laugh, shaking my head as we start to pour the feed as the horses start to get excited. I smile as I pet the horse in the current stall, gently pushing his head back so I could pour the feed into the bucket. He nods with a small smile as he starts to pour the feed, getting a bucket knocked over by the rowdy horse.
“Gotta watch out” I laugh as I see his shocked face. He goes red as he does his best to clean it up. “I’ll help” I say as I walk over to help him clean the feed up. We finish cleaning the feed up and throw the bucket out.
The feed had been mixed with mud and everything else, only the best was allowed for the horses.
I continue feeding, getting hit a few times by excited horses but nothing abnormal. They tended to forget how big they were when it came to food. They wanted that food and nothing was going to stop them.
I watch Elias out of the corner of my eye, my eyes slowly moving towards his arms. They were massive, but still had some meat on his bones. I could tell he ate well. He was my type right down to the nice ass. And he was actually nice, he was perfect.
But I still felt myself keeping a distance from him. Making sure I wasn’t too close and wasn’t watching him to long. I knew I wasn’t cut out for love. I had never been good at relationships and he was too nice for me. Having a boyfriend already didn’t help either. Even if we were barely even together at this point with how many girls he was hooking up with.
I start to not pay attention while feeding, barely dodging getting nipped by a few meaner horses. I come up on the last horse. I don’t recognize the mare but she was a beauty.
I go to move a palomino’s head out of the way, realizing too late that instead her head was coming at me. I let out a shout as her head collides with the side of mine. This causes my head to hit the metal of the stall. Blinking fiercely, spots fill my vision as I start to lose my footing. I hear someone calling my name as I step too wide and fall to the ground with a groan. God damn mares.
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Author's note I know it's short, this is just the first chapter, and it was a little rushed. Going to try and make the rest longer.