Part 7 (1/2)
”I saw one of those wind-up alarm clocks in the bedroom. I'll bring it down here so we can use the alarm to be sure we wake up to do our checks.” Marshall walked out of the kitchen at a fast pace.
When Marshall returned, he wound up the clock and set the time, They left it on the coffee table in the living room.
”Kenny, you go on to bed. One of us will wake you in about four hours for your turn.” Kenny nodded and clomped up the stairs. Jeb winced at his heavy-footed tread.
”Set the alarm for an hour, and you can check on Drew. Then we'll go out and check the herd,” Jeb said.
Marshall set the alarm then leaned back in the chair to doze until it went off. Jeb stretched out on the couch determined to get some rest while he could. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.
The alarm clock went off after what seemed to Marshall mere minutes. He quickly cut it off and climbed the stairs to check on Drew. She lay on her side curled up in a little ball. He shook her by the shoulder.
”Wake up, Drew. It's time for your check-in.”
She groaned and slapped at his hand with her free one. He smiled and kissed her on the cheek.
”Open those pretty blue eyes for me so I know you are okay, baby.”
She squinted one open then immediately closed it back.
”Do you need more Tylenol for your headache?” he asked.
”Yes, please.” She opened both eyes and started to nod but winced instead.
He shook out two pills from the bottle and refreshed her water for her to take them. She swallowed and sighed.
”Lean over a little and let me check your head to be sure it's not bleeding anymore.” Marshall waited for her to turn her head for him.
She dutifully leaned forward, and he noted there was a nice size lump where the cut was, but it wasn't bleeding anymore.
”Looks good, Drew. You've got a goose egg, though.”
”Tell me something I don't know,” she complained, and closed her eyes once again.
Marshall kissed her cheek and made sure the covers were pulled up enough. Then he walked back downstairs to wake up his friend. The best way to wake Jeb up was from a distance. He stepped back from the couch and called his name.
”Jeb, time to get up.”
Jeb woke, sitting straight up with his hands curled into fists. He blinked, then shook his head and reached for his boots.
”How is she doing?” he asked.
”She's fine. Gave her two more Tylenol. She complained, so she's fine.”
”Good. Let's go see to the cattle and get that over with.”
Marshall waited for Jeb to get his outer gear on before opening the door and walking out into the silence of the night. He loved a new snow. Everything was always so fresh and clean until the world began tramping through it. Right now, he estimated they had a good foot to a foot and a half of snow on the ground. The sounds of the cattle moving around and calling to each other could be heard as if from a distance, due to the blanketing effect of the snow on sound.
They kept the line close to them as they checked on the horses first and found them doing well. Then they crossed over to the water troughs to check them. The electric coils were doing their jobs keeping the ice from forming over the top of the water. Next they checked the hay, and found it sufficient for the next several hours.
Marshall watched Jeb check on a couple of the cows' legs and smooth his hands over their rumps and necks.
”What are you doing?” Marshall asked.
”Just checking to see if they are stepping on each other or biting each other. That would mean they are too close together, and we would need to move some of them out to make more room. Right now, they aren't doing any of that, so we don't need to move any of them. I would like to keep them together as much as possible to keep their body heat up. But we will have to keep a close watch on them.”
Marshall helped him check the cows.
”How long have we been out here?” Jeb asked ”About an hour and ten minutes,” Marshall told him.
”Good, let's check over by the old barn for footprints just in case.” Jeb led the way.
They circled the old barn but found nothing out of the ordinary. No footprints or tools lying around.
”Maybe Kenny will notice something when he comes out next,” Marshall said. ”I'll tell him what we're doing. You get the next four hours to sleep.”
They peeled off their outer layers and walked into the living room. Jeb looked hesitantly at the couch, then up at the stairs.
”Don't hesitate to wake me if something is wrong, or you can't wake Drew up,” he told Marshall.
”Don't worry, something happens, you're the first one I'll wake up.”
Marshall watched Jeb make his way upstairs to their room for his four hours of sleep. His turn next. He checked on Drew and got her curses for waking her again, then reset the alarm for two hours and dozed on the couch until it went off again. He shut it off and groaned. It was five in the morning, and by the looks of things, still snowing some outside. He could see the snow flying around under the lights outside the window.
He got up and immediately went and woke up Drew again. She fussed big time this time, calling him a b.a.s.t.a.r.d twice in one sentence. He grinned and kissed her on the cheek, which earned him a pop on the head with her free hand. He pulled the cover back over her and eased down the hall to wake Kenny up. He knocked on the door and opened it.
”Kenny? Time to get up, man. We've got to check them cows.”
Kenny rubbed his face with his hands and rolled out of the bed to his feet.
”I'll be right down,” he said.
Marshall used the time to click on the radio station in the kitchen to see what they had to say about the weather. Kenny clomped into the room and looked morosely at the empty coffee pot.
”s.h.i.+t, sorry, Kenny. I should have made coffee. We have time to fix some. We can catch a few sips in the cups, then have the rest when we get back.” Marshall grabbed the pot and filled it with water. He set it up to brew then began layering the clothes on while it did its thing.
Marshall b.u.t.toned up his coat and settled his hat firmly on his head. They each slipped a few swallows of coffee from the pot then left their empty cups on the cabinet for when they got back in from the blistering cold outside. The next six hours went about the same. Around noon, Drew got up and dressed then came downstairs, much to everyone's ire.
”You shouldn't be out of bed yet. You had a bad knock on the head,” Jeb told her.
”I have a ranch to run. I don't have time to be sick. Tell me what's been going on while I've been sleeping,” she demanded.
”We divided up watching you and checking the cattle and horses every two hours. Everything is fine, with the exception of you, who should still be in bed. Twenty-four hours, Drew, and it's barely been twelve,” Jeb fussed.
”I can't stay in that bed another minute. I'll sit on the couch once I cook us something to eat,” she said.