THE SHADE

The shade under the knarled old mesquite was cool. the breeze rustled the limbs above his head as Sam bender sat there on a old rickety bench held together by wire. his hands held a broken headstall  that he was fixing. but his eyes were focused across the yard at the black haired girl who was carrying a bucket of potato peelings to the chicken coop . she wore a plain white blouse with levi jeans. the pants were just snug enough to enhance her figure. her jet black hair hung down her back almost to her waist.   she hummed a little tune he could faintly hear where he sat. slowly she turned to look his way as if some one had told her he was watching. Sam ducked his head and started fumbling with the bridle in his lap. the soft , fine features of the girl slowly broke into a smile. she returned to her chores. Sam hadn't realized  that the tension of the past few months had been lifted. he and coaly still went about the work of the ranch armed but they didn't feel the need to watch each others back as much.   coaly was in the shop working on the beat up old truck that Santiago had left behind. Eppi had run the plates and found them stolen. the last recorded owner was deceased. coaly had filed for a abandoned title and now owned the rust bucket. he had the engine running like new, and was beating the worst dents out in preparation for painting. Sam heard the banging in the shop but he still watched the slim girl across the yard. the breeze cooled sams back as it wafted by him. the sweat inside the denim shirt acting like a evaporative cooler. he gave  slight involuntary shiver.  Sissy had moved to her garden and was watering it with a garden hose , dragging it from row to row. Sam was content, but for different reasons than Sissy. he could now care for his ranch with out fear. coaly was there  and altho he was no cowboy he liked the work. he was always tinkering with the mechanical things on the ranch.  sissy was keeping his house and cooking. he felt like he was living a  royal cowboys life.  but a nagging thought still hung in the cobwebs of his brain. who was the farmer and why was he involved in the counterfitting?  shaking his head Sam returned to the chore in his lap. telling himself not to borrow trouble.  without conscious thought he shifted the old 44 on his hip to a more comfortable position. the hammering in the shop had stopped, Sissy had returned to the house. all was quiet. Sam realized that right now life was good.