the wait

after supper that nite sam and sissy were sitting on the porch watching the sun sink behind the javalina mountains. sam had a cup of coffee and was sipping it noisily.  the afternoon heat was disapating and the desert was cooling off to a bearable temperature.  sissy was watching a bunch of quail feeding around the saddle house door where the horses ate grain when being  saddled. it was a quiet , peaceful evening . a slight roar came from the road across the wash. soon a black suburban went by in a cloud of dust , the exhaust pipe dragging.  a smile crossed sams face." guess he didn't find anything up at the mine"
   sissy giggled and sam laughed outloud.
     for three days it was quiet around the vekohl ranch. sam went about his business caring for the cattle, checking water  holes and checking fences. sissy spent a lot of time planting a garden in behind the house. it was a quiet relaxing time.  each nite they enjoyed a good meal which sam was learning to enjoy more by eating a little more slowly.  then the evenings on the porch watching the sunsets. sam began to relax, the worry lines around his eyes and fore head were smoothing out. he had gained a little weight from the good food  cooked by a attractive cook.  he had almost forgotten about the back pack lodged in the rafters of the old barn.
   on the fourth morning  sam stepped onto the porch with the usual cup of coffee, took a step toward his chair and tripped on a bundle laying in the way. he spilled the hot coffee over his hand and the bundle grunted from the intrusion. changing the coffee to the other hand sam shook the coffee from his free hand. "what the hell?" he asked
    the bundle sat up and a deep voice rumbled from the sleeping bag " cant a man get some sleep on a friends porch?"
    " coaly? is that you?" sam asked
    " well who else would it be in this god forsaken desert? aint nobody gonna come out in the middle of this hell hole to see you." the deep voice rumbled
   sam went back inside and brought another cup of coffee. out side coaly was sitting up in the sleeping bag
 with a lit cigarette. taking the cup he looked at sam over the rim of the cup as he sipped. " no milk"
 he asked as he sipped the black brew
   " lots of cows here but not much milk." sam answered
    coaly grunted and took another sip from the cup. " hiked in here last nite, didn't figger you mind me using a piece of the porch for my boudouir"
   " oh no, make your self at home, mi casa su casa. " sam smiled at his friend " where the hell ya been ? haven't heard or seen  you since we got state side."
      " went home to see the folks. wasn't like home much. had a couple jobs, didn't like em, been traveling around some. us vets arnt real popular right now.  stopped over in bowie to see john, but his ole man hasn't seen him since he got back either. said he heard he got in some kind of fracus up in Washington state." coaly took a drag on the smoke
     " well he always found a ruckus where ever he went didn't he? so  you gonna hang around a while or just passing through?" sam was pouring some more coffee


from the back of the house sissy came padding quietly  to the kitchen, sleep still wrinkling her pretty face.  she looked around at sam and coaly. shook her head and poured herself a cup of coffee and started to make breakfast.
    coaly looked at the girl with a appraising eye. the long legs, the serape cinched around her waist with a braided hay twine. he turned to sam with a question on his lips.
   " before you say a word, shes a cook and a house keeper. no more and get that silly look off your face" sam was grinning
   " ok, if you say so" coaly stood up and stretched. " ime tired sam I need a place to lay up a while. ive seen a lot of country in the past couple years. ill work for my board, don't want any pay. just some grub and a place to crash"
    " stay as long as you like.  you don't have to work if you don't want to. besides what you know about cows?" sam was pulling on his boots while he was watching sissy through the door.
  " cook huh?" coaly grumbled under his breath as he rolled up his sleeping bag