13 Degrees of Separation Read Online Free PDF Page B

town girlfriend. Annie saw them across the way from her as she talked with
Ricardo. She didn't like being short handed, from what Wario had told her, she
was it and he'd been good to his word. One woman managing a herd this size for
months at a time was not on, it was a lot of work, even with Jane's help she
dreaded something going wrong. She groaned as the yahoo propped the girl up on
the fence.
    “Will you look at these yahoos?” she demanded, waving a hand. The
kid was talking as the girl in the bright yellow sundress flirted with him.
    “Ah, leave em alone, they're just kids. Young love. It's about
that time anyway,” Ricardo drawled, leaning against the fence. “You were young
once too you know.”
    “I was never that young,” Annie grumbled, eying the two with scant
favor. She knew something was going to happen. For one the kid was supposed to
be mucking and feeding, not giving tours! The girl had no business here. Annie
snorted as the girl made nasty faces and pointed to a pile of nearby cowpies.
She nearly unbalanced herself trying to move away from the dried up manure.
    The girl accidentally kicked the gate latch, swinging it wide.
Annie groaned, seeing it all unfold but being too far away to do anything
except yell. The animals had been cooped up and contained too long, the
opportunity presenting itself like that... One of the nearby calves saw the
opportunity for freedom and got loose, dashing through the gate before the boy
could close it. Chaos erupted as the woman screamed, flapping her skirt and the
boy jumped out of the animal's way. The flapping skirt startled the animal.
It's young eyes rolled white and its tongue came out as it bawled in terror and
took off bucking and running. Before another could get loose the idiot hand got
a hold of himself and closed the gate, then went to his girl.
    Of course the damage was done, one of the bison was off and all he
cared about was his beau. Annie shook her head angrily as she marched around
the fencing and grabbed a lariat hanging from a hitching post. The animal
kicked and bucked, and tore up the port, making the most of its freedom. Annie
followed in its wake, measuring out the lariat with grim determination.
    Hands waved as they tried to direct the animal to an alley.
Ricardo, the lead hand on duty yelled for someone to do something or he'd put
the animal down. Annie could see him loading a rifle grimly.
    “Don't do that!” she yelled.
    “Then get a hold of that critter!” Ricardo bellowed. “Get a rope
on it!”
    "What'dya think I'm trying to do!" she snarled tossing
the rope. It dropped over the animal's head neatly. She yanked, pulling the
calf off balance. It stumbled in the dirt, going down to its knees. "If
that damn fool idget hadn't opened the gate this'd never of happened!"
    "Well, fix it or we'll kill the damn thing," Ricardo
snarled, waving an angry hand, since the gun was tucked under his arm. He
dropped the round he'd been loading and looked down, trying to find it in the
dirt, buying her time.
    "I'm working on it. He's just scared and lonesome. Let me get
him settled and back where he belongs,” Annie said, smoothly working her gloved
hands up the rope to her captive.
    ...*...*...*...*...
    Jane saw the whole thing. Her father held her back when she moved
to help Annie. “She's the expert here,” he told her quietly as she looked up to
him. “You don't expect her to help in the shuttle, just let the expert do her
thing here,” he told her quietly. He rubbed her shoulder but held on as Jane
watched.
    Jane looked up to her dad and then nodded. She turned as Annie got
the calf under control with the rope and a suitable sugary bribe. A second
carrot was employed to lead the miscreant back to his pen. The bison calf
nuzzled the older woman, nearly knocking her off her feet.
    Ricardo had control of the gate as the woman led the animal
inside, broke off the carrot and dropped it under the animal's nose, then
quickly slipped the lariat off and