Apprentices
I could have stayed in bed much later, but Rusty the ranch boy was shaking me awake at seven o'clock.
"Wake up, Toby. The day's half over."
I turned onto my stomach and put the pillow over my head. It was quiet for a moment, and then Rusty was lying on my back. I moved to accommodate him better, and then grinned as he slid inside.
"What do ya think yer doin', you horny bastard?"
"Gotta prove once more I'm not a boy."
The proof came quickly this morning. No long passionate love sessions. There was work to be done.
We showered together, dressed, and raced each other upstairs. Stopping at the kitchen door, we put our arms around each other's shoulders and grinned.
Mom and Dad were at the table having breakfast, and two plates of bacon, eggs, and buttered toast were waiting for us. Mom frowned at me for my two mealtime clothing violations - wearing a cap and not wearing a shirt - but I ignored her. I knew she wouldn't push it because Rusty was dressed the same way.
It was said in unison. "Good morning Mom and Dad."
Mom smiled at us. "You two are full of energy this morning. Sit down and have breakfast. I hear Toby's going to have a truck driving lesson. What are you doing, Rusty?"
"Well, right after Toby's lesson, I'm gonna learn about runnin' the combine. From what Pete says, it's kind of complicated, especially the part about fillin' the truck on the go. Toby has to learn his part of that, too."
Dad took a sip of coffee. "I'm sure you both will be model students."
Breakfast finished, we raced to our four-wheelers, and I followed Rusty to his parents' ranch. I stopped by the barn and equipment sheds. Rusty kept on going. He had other work to do.
Pete was in the large open area in front of the ranch buildings. He had positioned their combine on one side. A dump truck partly filled with sand was was sitting in the middle with the doors open. A similar empty truck was sitting nearby.
"Good morning, Toby. Are you ready to become a wheat truck driver?"
My enthusiastic grin would have been enough, but I answered. "Sure! Where do we start?"
"Get in the driver's seat."
I climbed in, and Pete climbed into the passenger side.
"You're going to find this much easier to drive than the pickup you learned in. You can see this one is an automatic. There are some other levers, but ignore them for now. At some point, I'll take you along to the grain elevator so you can see how those work for dumping the grain out."
"The difference between this and your other experience is that you'll have about twenty tons of wheat pushing you around. That's why there's sand in the back of this. Put your foot on the brake, start the engine, and put the truck in drive... Yeah, that's good. Now drive the truck out the ranch road. Start slow so you get the feel of it."
It was easier to drive, like Pete said, but it felt a whole lot different. I drove out the ranch road, getting up to about fifteen miles an hour. The road began to climb slightly - not a lot, but enough that I could feel the effect of the weight. I pressed down a little more on the gas pedal, and the engine shifted down automatically.
"Now, the fields are fairly flat, but I want you to get the feel of that weight behind you coming down a slight incline. So drive up to that T intersection, turn left, back the truck up, and drive back down. Remember when you're turning not to cut the corner too close."
I maneuvered the truck like Pete had told me. It would have been hard in a small space, but here on the open road, there was no problem.
"Okay, going down, I want you to shift it down to second gear. That's what you'll be using mostly out in the field."
Now the weight was pushing me, and I had to add a little braking to keep the speed down. At the bottom of the slope, Pete had me shift back into drive and park the truck.
"Okay, that was good. Now we're going to practice positioning the truck next to the combine."
We got into the empty truck, and I started the engine.
"Now drive to the end and come up beside the combine from the rear. Try to position the bed of the truck directly under the spout that's sticking out on the side, and then stop."
I looked at him, a little apprehensively, and he grinned at me. "Don't worry. It's far enough out you won't hit the combine."
After several passes, Pete was satisfied I had the idea, and we moved on.
"Now, I'm going to start the combine and bring it to the end of the compound. Drive around so you're about twenty feet behind on the left side. Put it in second gear. As we both move across the compound at about five miles an hour, pull up beside me so you're positioned under the spout. When I stop, it means you're full, so turn out left and go back to the other end. I'll come around and join you."
I had no trouble with the operation, other than staying right beside the combine. After the third time, I had it down. When we returned to the other end that time, Pete parked the combine and came over to talk with me.
"Any questions?"
"Nope."
"Okay, we're going to do that one more time. This time when I stop, turn out and head up the ranch road. Make right turns at each intersection to drive around the quarter section, and you'll be back here."
I gave Pete a look of surprise. "Yer turnin' me loose on my own?"
Pete grinned. "That's what you'll be doing tomorrow. Remember to turn wide on the corners and you'll be fine."
It took me about ten minutes to make the loop. When I got back, Pete was leaning against the front of the other truck watching me. I pulled up behind the other truck, parked, and got out, a permanent grin etched on my face.
Pete smiled at my enthusiasm. "Okay, you passed your test. By the time you're done with about the third day of this, you won't be quite so excited. But I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."
"Thanks for givin' me this opportunity, Pete. I really appreciate it."
Pete shook my hand. "We're happy you're doing it. Good help is hard to find. Now here's the plan. If you can work from six until noon, it will give Rusty the morning to drive the combine. Rusty will take over your job at noon."
"That will work well for me. Maybe I can start workin' on our pasture fence in the afternoons."
"Have you talked to Jason yet?"
"I will this afternoon. I'm goin' into town to see him and his dads."
It was nearly noon when I pulled up behind our house. Dad's pickup was in the driveway. I found him in his office.
He smiled at the grin on my face. "I gather the lesson went well."
"Super! It's gonna be a lot of fun!"
"I'm glad you're looking forward to it. Now, I have some news for you. I've lined up Mason construction here in town to clear the site and put up the barn. They're also taking care of permitting. They expect to get started late next week, after the barn kit arrives. I'm already acquainted with Bob Mason, the owner, and he was happy to do the job for us. He's on his way out to look the site over. I presented our plan for you to help out, and he was good with it. You already have a reputation in town as a good worker."
My grin grew even broader. "Wow! That will be so cool! Thanks so much, Dad."
"After a few days, you may not be quite so excited. It will be hard work."
I laughed. "Funny, Pete said something similar about drivin' the wheat truck. But I think I can be enthusiastic about both."
"I'm sure you can. And have you given more thought to your fence project?"
"I'm goin' over to Jace's place this afternoon to talk with him and his dads. If he can help me, how do we go about hirin' him?"
Dad smiled. "I'm glad you're thinking about that, but your mom and I will take care of the administrative work. Just make sure that he gets a letter from his dads permitting him to work for us. If the subject comes up, none of the work will be dangerous. Then work out your own schedule with him. What do you need for supplies and equipment?"
"To begin with, just a roll of barbed wire, some galvanized fence staples, a few wood fence posts, and some tools. I've talked with Gramps, and I can borrow the tools from him to start with. When I know what I need, we can buy some for ourselves. When we get to the new section, we'll need a lot more posts and wire. We'll also need to drill a lot of fence post holes."
Dad took notes and thought a minute. "We can get all of those tools and supplies right here in town. I'll set up an account with BW Ranch Supply. You and I can get the initial supplies in my pickup. When we need a lot more, they'll deliver. I'll let you think about how to do the holes. We can hire that done if you want to."
There was a knock on the front door. Dad stood up.
"Let's go talk with our contractor."
"The site is almost level already. There's just a little clearing to do. Pete advised you well. It's a good location."
Bob Mason was going over the building site with Dad and me.
"We'll plan to start the actual construction a week from Thursday. We'll drill the holes on Thursday and set the posts on Friday. The concrete holding the posts can cure over the weekend, and then we'll start on the frame the following Monday. I think it will take us about two weeks to finish the basic building. With the power coming off your current service, electrical can be set up quickly as far as a new pole next to the barn, and we can work off that for construction. You should be fully functional four weeks from now at the latest."
Dad was impressed. "That's fantastic, Bob. I really appreciate you doing this so promptly."
Bob gave Dad a friendly smile. "We had a cancellation, so we have the time right now. And with all you've done for this community recently, it's the least we could do to help you out."
Bob continued. "The one piece I didn't mention yet is the site clearing and leveling. That will include removal of about forty feet of existing pasture fence adjacent the barn. That will need to be done sometime before we start construction. If you want to take on the clearing yourselves, it would be a good project for Toby. Once the basic clearing is done, one of us will come out with the Bobcat to dig up the roots and level the site. If Toby could help with that by removing the root wads, it will further reduce our time commitment and we can adjust your cost. We can't hire Toby directly, but we can compensate indirectly for his work."
Dad looked at me. "What do you think, Toby? That's a task you would be adding to your fence project."
I thought for a few moments. "I think I can do both. I'll start on the clearing tomorrow. I can adjust the fence schedule if I need to. What exactly needs to be done, Mr. Mason?"
Bob smiled. "You can call me Bob if you like. Since we're going to be working together, formalities aren't necessary. To answer your question, those small trees and the brush on the site and up to fifteen feet from the edge of the building need to be removed. After you remove the forty feet of fence, you can pile them in the corner of the field. We'll haul them away later. Leave room for material storage in that field directly opposite the barn site. We need that as close as possible."
It worked for me. "Okay, I can do that. And I have a question for you. If I understand pole barns, you'll be usin' a large drill on a tractor to put in the post holes. Is that correct?"
"That's the way it works, yes."
"Since you have that equipment, could we arrange later on to have you drill a row of holes in the pasture for a new fence?"
Bob addressed me as a client rather than a kid. "Sure, we can do that if you want us to. Let us know when you're ready, and we can do it within a day or two."
"Thanks, Bob. We'll do that."
Dad shook Bob's hand. "Thanks very much. I'm looking forward to working with you on this."
Bob smiled. "I'm looking forward to working with both of you."
Later in the afternoon, I rode my four-wheeler into town to talk with Jason and his dads. Using the ranch roads like Rusty had taught me, I was able to park only two blocks from their home.
The three of them lived in a comfortable three-bedroom house near the school. Coach guided me into the living room, decorated with Native American artwork, and introduced me to James.
"Toby, this is my husband, James. And we've decided that 'James' will do until school starts. Then it will be 'Mr. West'. James, this is Toby, and among his other good qualities, he's a great diver."
James held out his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Toby. Jason tells us a lot about you, all good, of course."
"I'm glad to meet you too, James. If it's all good, Jace is lyin'."
That produced some friendly laughter.
Coach directed me to an easy chair, and I sat down. "I've described the fence project in detail to Jace. It's a two-part project, repair of existing fence and then construction of some new fence. It's not much of a job, and it's only part-time, but I would be happy if Jace could help me with the first part of the project. Dad will have to tell us what his pay will be, but I expect it will be about twelve dollars an hour. That's what Gramps started me at."
Coach looked at Jason. "What do you think?"
Jason was doing his best to look mature and serious, a difficult task for him. "I would like to do it."
Coach turned to James. "Are you okay with this?"
James smiled. "I think it will be a good experience for him."
Coach looked back at me. "Okay, it's fine with James and me. We'll produce a permission letter. When will this start?"
"Probably about Wednesday." Then I had a better idea. "Actually, tomorrow if Jace wants to help me clear the barn site, too. Dad will have to approve that part, but I'm sure he will. That will involve removing a short section of fence, and then using loppers and a bow saw to cut down brush and small trees and then carry it all to a temporary pile in the pasture. I'm helpin' harvest wheat at Rusty's ranch in the mornings, so we would start about one o'clock. I can come pick up Jace if you like. It's not that far from Rusty's place, and that way Jace wouldn't have to wait for me at home if the timing is off."
Coach looked at James, who nodded his approval.
Coach addressed Jason again. "That works for us. What do you think, Jace?"
Jason was beaming, having given up trying to be serious. "I think it sounds like a lot of fun. I wanna do it."
I smiled to myself. He sounded so much like I had when Pete had asked me to help with the harvest. And it also reminded me of when I started doing irrigation with Logan. Now I was doing the hiring and training. "As Pete said to me about workin' for them, about the third day ya might not be so excited. But I'll see ya tomorrow shortly after noon. And Coach, may I please have yer phone number in case I need to contact you for anything?"
Tuesday, I was up at five o'clock, ready for the truck driving experience. Dressed comfortably in my old hiking boots, cargo shorts, and my John Deere cap, I was at Rusty's place by five-thirty. I wanted to be ready by six. Rusty, Pete, and their dad Patrick were already getting the equipment ready when I got there. They put me to work putting gas in the trucks from the above-ground storage tank. There was no time for idle conversation.
Pete rode with me for the first truck load. Loading the truck on the go worked perfectly. I couldn't actually see Rusty in the combine, but I knew he was there and it made the activity all the more fun.
Then the relay began. I usually had to wait about ten minutes for Pete to return from the grain elevator and swap trucks. I quickly lost track of how many loads we had done, and before I knew it, noon had arrived. Rusty's mom Gloria brought the noon meal of taco makings, fresh fruit, and cookies to the field. I was surprised how hungry I was.
As soon as I was finished, I rode the short distance to town, then back home with Jason. First, Jason and I removed the section of fence. Then we went to work cutting brush and trees. The trees were small - nothing over ten feet high. We cut them in half to make them easier to move. Then, in an unusual stroke of brilliance, I remembered that we owned a trailer for my four-wheeler. I hooked it up, and then had another stroke of brilliance.
I texted Coach. "Can I teach Jace how to drive the ATV?"
The response was almost immediate. "Go for it."
I gave Jason a quick lesson on four-wheeler basics and let him haul the unwanted material the short distance to where we were piling it. He was in seventh heaven, and I was smiling, too. Lesson number one - make your personnel happy, and they'll get more accomplished. By the time Mom and Dad got home at six o'clock, we were well over half done.
Dad was impressed. "Good job, guys! That's excellent progress. And using the trailer was a great idea. I think that's the first time it's been used."
I smiled. "Thanks, Dad. It was nice to put the ATV to use, too. After all, that's what we bought it for wasn't it?"
Dad chuckled. "We bought it for you to use however you need to. I'm glad you thought to use it for this. Jace, would you like to stay for dinner?"
Jason liked the idea. "Sure! Let me check with the dads."
The dads approved. Jason stayed for dinner, and then got a ride home in Dad's pickup.
Wednesday I was up at five o'clock again, sore from the afternoon before. I was glad that the morning activity would not be physical labor.
The truck driving went as smoothly as the day before. I was still having fun, but it was becoming routine. There was a danger of becoming complacent and making a mistake. I concentrated harder on what I was doing.
After lunch, Jason and I continued with the site clearing. We finished the project by mid-afternoon. I called Bob's office phone and left a message that the clearing was finished and he could schedule the leveling whenever he wanted to. Then I had another idea.
"Wanna go skinny-dippin' in my swimmin' hole before I take ya home?"
"Sure! Where is it?"
"Right across the road. Let's get snacks and water first, and then I'll show ya."
On the way out of the house I grabbed a couple towels, and then led Jason to one of my favorite spots. He hadn't seen the swimming hole. I'd been there many times with Logan, Rusty, Austin and Andy, but this was a first for Jason.
After a quick dip, we stretched out in the sun, side by side.
Jason leaned over and gave me a kiss. "Thanks so much for lettin' me work with ya. It's a lot of fun."
I kissed him back. "Ya gotta realize, now that ya work for me, kissin' could be considered sexual harassment."
"How about fuckin'? Is that even worse?"
"Definitely. But only if it's not wanted."
Jason grinned. "It's wanted."
I reached over and pulled a single-use packet of lube from the pocket of my cargo shorts. Those packets had magically appeared on my dresser one day. I was sure Mom had mistaken them for condoms. The lube was much more useful.
I knelt between Jason's legs and we grinned at each other as I tore open the lube packet and applied it. As we kissed passionately, I slowly slid inside. Having sex with a willing employee was a great way to end the work day.
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