Learning the Ropes
"Did you have a good day, Toby?"
"I sure did, Mom. I really like living here in the country. I had a great time at the creek swimming and lying in the sun."
I was helping Mom put the food on the table. She and Dad had just arrived home from work and had brought Chinese takeout with them.
We sat down to eat. "I'm glad you're enjoying it. But I'm concerned that you haven't met any kids your age yet."
I smiled. "Well, that changed today. I met a guy who lives on the ranch across the road. He's three years older than me, but we hit it off really well. We'll be in high school together this fall." The last part was a guess, but I was trying to make Logan as appealing as possible.
"I'm glad to hear that. I hope you can get better acquainted with him. What's his name?"
"Logan. And he invited me to come help him move irrigation pipe tomorrow morning. I'll have to be there by five o'clock to do that."
Dad teased me. "Do you really think you can get up that early?"
I grinned at him. "Yeah, I can. It's gonna be fun learning about country life."
Mom looked worried. "Is it going to be safe? Work on a ranch can be dangerous."
"Don't worry Mom. It's just a matter of lifting lengths of pipe that aren't that heavy and moving them a few feet. It will be good for me." I was becoming really good at making things up. "When you get up, you can look out the window and see us. We're gonna be working right across the road."
Dad spoke up for me. "One of the reasons we moved out here is so that Toby can learn what life is like in the country, Dear. This looks like an excellent opportunity for him to do that. But Toby, let us know before you tackle any other activities. Your mother is right. Some ranch work is dangerous, and we would like to help you make those decisions."
"Sure, Dad. I'll do that. The work will take a couple hours, and after that Logan invited me to join him for breakfast."
Mom approved. "That will be good. Then maybe you can meet his parents."
I didn't comment. She could think that if she wanted to. First, I was quite sure it would be just Logan and me at the bunkhouse, and second, I didn't know whether his parents owned the ranch or if he just worked there.
I was up at four-thirty. I'd set the alarm, but I didn't need it - my internal clock knew I had to be awake by then. The chance to spend some time with Logan and learn what he did was as exciting as the thought of having sex with him again.
Even at the start of summer, it was still dark. I pulled on the clothes I thought would be appropriate. My hiking boots would have to do for work boots for the day. Socks, a pair of Levis, an old hoodie, and a baseball cap completed the work uniform.
Quietly letting myself out the front door, I walked across to the field. Daylight was just beginning to intrude on the darkness of night. The air was crisp and cold, and bird songs filled the air. I recognized the smell of hay in the air. The rest of the odors I would have to learn later. As I thought about it, the air smelled a lot like Logan did. Maybe it all got into your bloodstream and just oozed out.
I climbed over the fence, happy I was there first. Within a couple minutes, an old pickup came up the dirt road inside the fence and stopped beside me. Logan was dressed much like I was. I'd chosen my work clothes well.
"Hi, early-bird Toby. Have ya ever driven a stick shift?"
"No." Actually, I'd never driven before.
"Well, yer gonna learn right now." He hopped out, leaving the motor idling.
"Come over here and get in on the driver's side. Yer gonna get ed-u-ca-ted."
I got behind the wheel. Logan closed the door behind me and got in on the other side.
"Press the clutch in and put it in second gear. Good. Now let the clutch out slowly while applying the gas."
I stalled it, of course.
"Okay, push the clutch in, start the engine, and try it again. This time give it a little more gas and let the clutch out slower."
It lurched, but I had it moving.
"Okay, now push in the clutch and put it in third gear."
It wasn't smooth, but it happened.
"Keep on drivin' to the end of the field. When we get there, let up on the gas, push in the clutch, step on the brake, and turn off the motor. In that order."
I drove at a slow but steady speed. At the end of the field, I did as instructed.
"Good job, hot-kid Toby! Yer a natural. Okay, shift into low gear to park. The parkin' brake gave up years ago."
Logan got out, and I followed his lead. I shut the door, and it popped back open.
"Ya gotta slam it. This ain't no city slicker truck. It's been driven hard, and a few things don't work too good no more."
It took two more tries before I succeeded. Logan was grinning. "Ya got a lot to learn about ranch life, but I'm here to teach ya."
"I wanna learn all I can."
"Great. So let's start with the irrigation system. Look along the side of the field there, and you can see the risers stickin' up out of the ground. The water is pumped from a well into a pipe under those risers. You can see there's a water line attached to every fifth one. That's what we're gonna move. I'll do the sections on the riser 'cuz that's a little more technical. You grab the next section not quite at the center, push against the line a little and twist it to get it loose, tip it to drain the water, and then carry it to the next riser, line it up carefully with mine, and reattach. Hookin' it up is the reverse of unhookin' it. Once it's hooked, be sure to pull it tight. They ain't that heavy, but remember to lift with yer knees. We leapfrog each other as we go, doin' one line at a time. Then we walk back along the line we just finished and start the next. There's four lines to be moved. Let's give it a try. Except hold on a minute. I wanna do somethin' first."
The day before, the time I'd spent with Logan I'd been flat on my back. Standing beside him, I realized how much bigger he was - a good five inches taller and thirty-five pounds heavier. I had my work cut out to keep up with him.
Logan got in the pickup, turned it around and pointed it in the direction we'd come from.
"Okay, let's go."
By the time I'd done my second section of pipe, I had it figured out. After two more sections I was moving nearly as fast as Logan. We paused at the end of the field. The sun was up, and we were hot. Logan pulled off his sweatshirt, and I got an instant boner.
"Now we're gonna go back and do the same thing three more times. Ya doin' okay?"
"Sure!" I was lying, but I wasn't going to admit I was hurting and hungry as hell.
He handed me his sweatshirt. "I want ya to walk back along the road, get the pickup, and park it down there at the end of the last line. That way it'll be there when we're finished."
I was standing there with the deer-in-the-headlights look again.
"Get goin'! You can do it. When it's parked, walk back up the next line and meet me. Walk along the line. Ya don't wanna tramp all over the alfalfa field. And there's a box of granola bars in the backseat. Eat one and put a couple in yer pocket."
I walked back to the pickup and got inside. I put my sweating hands on the wheel. Talking my way through the steps I had taken after I'd killed the engine, I got the truck started and rolling. I shifted into third gear without any problem.
Parking the truck where Logan told me, I got out and slammed the door like I'd done it a million times. I tossed my sweatshirt into the bed of the pickup along with Logan's and walked up the line to where he was working.
"Did that work okay?"
I had to be cool about it. "Yeah."
He grinned. "I thought it would. Go ahead with the line now like ya were before."
It took us a two and a half hours to finish the job. Even with the granola bars, breakfast was on my mind, but I'd lost interest in being on the menu. I wanted to have breakfast, go home, and go back to bed.
Logan got in the driver's seat this time and headed for the ranch buildings. The bunkhouse was the first building we came to, several hundred yards from the main house. A large barn and several other outbuildings completed the main ranch complex.
Pulling to a stop, Logan got out of the pickup and headed for the bunkhouse with me following. We entered into a central living area, finished in knotty pine. A wood stove on the back wall divided the kitchen area from a lounge area. At the end of the lounge area were doors to two bedrooms with a bath between. There was a round table with six chairs in the kitchen area. The lounge area held a TV in one corner with two sofas in front of it. All of it was neat and clean.
"How about some bacon, eggs and toast?"
"Sounds good to me." Anything sounded good about then.
"Great. You get the table set and the bread in the toaster, and I'll do the rest."
Logan obviously did this a lot. He had things going in no time.
"I eat breakfast here and usually take lunch out with me. I have dinner with my grandparents at the main house."
"How big is the ranch?"
"A little over 2500 acres. Two sections that my grandparents own, and two more that we lease. Most of it is dry land grazing. Some of it is dry land wheat. We only irrigate a small portion for hay. Our part includes the woodland area on the west end near yer house. By the way, yer welcome to wander around the woods over there anytime ya wanna. I told my grandparents about ya, so they know ya might be out there. And sunbathin' and skinny-dippin' are also okay. And wankin'." The last he added with a grin.
I was more amused than embarrassed. "So, you saw me wanking too?"
He grinned. "Yeah, I seen ya out there several times. I've been keepin' an eye on ya."
Breakfast was ready, and I dug in. Logan wasn't eating much. "Don't you eat a lot for breakfast?"
He grinned. "I already ate breakfast. This was part of my recruitment plan. Would ya like to help me with the irrigation regularly?"
"I'd love it!"
"How about every mornin' for two to three hours until we shut the system down before harvest. For twelve dollars an hour, plus benefits. And just so ya know, fourteen-year-olds can work on farms in Idaho without their parents' permission, as long as it's not dangerous work. What do ya say?"
There was no hesitation. "You're on! Thanks, Logan!"
"No problem. We had a ranch hand, lived in that other room, but he left for greener pastures last week. I suggested this to my grandparents, and they told me to use my own judgement. You were pretty impressive this mornin', hard-workin' Toby, especially for a city slicker. Alone, that would have taken me four plus hours. Once you've done it a couple times, we'll have it down to just over two hours together."
"Okay. And you mentioned benefits?"
"Breakfast, of course, but ya gotta walk over here at four-thirty for that." I'm sure disappointment showed on my face. He grinned. "And certain other things too. Which reminds me, why don't ya drop over about nine or ten o'clock and spend the night. That way, yer gonna be here for an early breakfast and we'll be sure to get started on time. I've even got a spare toothbrush. You can make that a regular habit if ya wanna. The second bedroom is yers with my grandparents' approval."
My heart was beating so hard I was sure he could hear it, but I had to maintain my composure. "Sure. Sounds like a good plan."
Logan stood up and stretched. "Okay, now I gotta get back to work. I usually work all day, five days a week, and a little on the weekend for the things that gotta be done."
"So how did you have time to ... ummm ... take a break yesterday?"
He grinned. "Well, I'm on my own schedule, so long as the work gets done. And actually, that was more than a break. It was the other part of my recruitment plan. Now, ya gotta walk home. I gotta head out in the other direction. You okay with that?"
I grinned back. "No problem. See you this evening."
I grabbed my sweatshirt out of the pickup and walked the half-mile home with my head in the clouds. I couldn't believe how well this was working out. But I had some decisions to make. I could work without my parents' permission, but maybe I needed to be diplomatic and get it. I wasn't sure what I would do if they said I couldn't. I decided to take that risk. Which brought me to the overnight issue. I would have to play that one by ear.
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