The work-a-day-world was fine for Potee. Most things were okay with Potee when he arrived at the Lazy R. He didn't remember ever eating better or wearing better clothes. He was never treated better, and even the grumbling Cookie had a smile in his words, and to make sure Potee understood, the smile was on his face when fussing with the boy.

Pardo always stopped for a burger, fries, and a big thick milkshake at Gus's, on the edge of Laramie. After Pardo took him into town to shop or just look around. Gus's burgers were thick and juicy, the fries were crispy delights, and Potee loved Gus's pineapple milkshakes. He was lucky if he finished the milkshake by the time they reached the road that went up to the Lazy R.

Potee was always hungry. As he grew, he looked more like the cowboys around him and less like the boy who arrived at the Lazy R.

"You ride Thunder this week?" Pardo asked on days they went to town together.

"Not yet. I been too busy. I'll take him out in a day or two," Potee promised.

"I'll put him in the corral before I ride out to talk to Rowdy. You take him back to his stall when you get off after dinner tonight. Thunder isn't a horse that's going to sit still for being in a stall for days at a time. You need to ride him often. Make sure you allow him to run. A horse like that wants to have the feeling he is free. He humors you by letting you ride him."

"I will. I will. We had the round up and I've been spending extra time letting you run, Cowboy. I'll take care of it."

Thunder was as close to being a wild horse as a saddle horse got. He let Potee ride him for his own reason. Being in a stall twenty-four hours a day did not sit well with him. He let the kid ride him because he was so persistent. He wouldn't sit still standing in a stall for this long.

Pardo opened Thunder's stall and slipped a halter off the wall to use to guide him out to the corral. As soon as Pardo turned, Thunder slipped the bridle and was at full gallop leaving the stall. Pardo's shoulder's slumped as the horse headed for parts unknown.

"Let the horse get away from you, Partner?" Tumbleweed asked, looking toward the stable door where the black stallion was last seen.

"Shit!" Pardo said. "Out smarted by a horse. I must be slipping."

"He's been standing at the head of his stall waiting for someone to give him a chance to run for it. I guess he was waiting for you, Partner."

"Thank you, Tumbleweed. I needed that."

Pardo knew he should have been more careful. He knew stallions were spirited animals. He was lulled into a false sense of having complete control of the situation. He knew it was Thunder in that stall. Only a reinforced gate on his stall kept him inside.

He hung his bridle back on the nail he took it off of. He walked toward the stable door. He could have stopped just beyond the stable. Yeah, and he was a monkey's uncle. He'd just created the work he'd be forced to do for the rest of the day. Who was going to tell the kid?

"That horse ain't half as broke as you think," Tumbleweed said from the stable door. "I was going to let him out in the corral today. With the roundup the kid ain't taken him out. I knew he needed exercise, but I was going to let him run in the corral. I never thought of letting him go and exercise himself. That's why I'm just a stable hand and you're the right hand man of the owner."

"Thank you, Tumbleweed. I needed that."

Tumbleweed stood in the doorway looking toward where Thunder disappeared in the distance. Pardo stopped beside him and looked at the empty pasture.

"Yeah, well, I wish you'd been the one to have him get away from you, Tumbleweed. Then, you'd be the one who had to go after him. I got work to do."

"He's a wild thing, Pardo. It's his nature to run for freedom. He's too much horse for a kid to be riding. Hell, Del's been in here admiring him. He can't stand that stallion ain't working his cows. I remind him that he sold that horse before the kid rode him."

"I'm sure he appreciated that, Tumbleweed. Do you really think he'll forget that little tidbit?"

"Never hurts to remind the big guy he makes boneheaded plays from time to time, Pardo."

"That was then. This is now. The kid won't be a kid forever. I'll make him into a cowboy one day. That'll get Thunder where Del wants him. All things in their time, Tumbleweed."

"What you going to do about that horse?" the stable man asked. "If Del don't like him standing around his stall doing nothing, he really ain't going to like him going back to where he came from."

"Thank you again, Tumbleweed. That reminds me where I first saw that stallion. I got Topper at the hitching post. I'll go get Thunder, but I got to go tell Potee what I done first."

"How you figure you're going to do it? You need a strong rope and a fast horse, because Thunder ain't about to let you sneak up on him. He's a wild thing, Pardo. Use your head. Go get a rope. You might ease up on him to throw a rope over him. He ain't just going to let you ride up on him."

"I wanted him to get some exercise. I really didn't need to get my exercise chasing him. I took my lariat to my room. I'll go get it and tell the kid his horse is in the wind. He isn't going to like it."

Pardo went to get his rope before he went to the kitchen to break the bad news to Potee.

"Potee, your horse is out on the ranch somewhere. Getting plenty of exercise, I suspect."

"You let my horse get away?"

"Yeah, I'll go get him. I'd take you, but you don't got no horse to ride," Pardo said.

"He can ride my horse. Anaconda hasn't been out this week either," Cookie said. "I can hold down the fort. You got my pots and pans caught up. Try to get back in time to do dinner pots and pans. Get you out of my hair."

Pardo had a good idea where Thunder was heading. They headed for where the mountains came down to meet the prairie on the far western edge of the Lazy R.

"Why do you think we'll find him out here, Pardo?" Potee said as they headed west.

"It's where we first caught site of Thunder. He was with a half dozen mares," Pardo said. "Like a bull, a horse don't forget where he left his ladies."

Potee laughed as the horses ambled along at an easy walking speed. They could see forever out there, but forever ended in the foothills, and the elevation increased the further west you rode. The sky was a vivid blue where it came down to the prairie. The sun hung low in the late afternoon sky.

It was nearing dark when Pardo spotted a shadow off in the distance. Thunder was back lit by the setting sun.

The horse looked magnificent as they drew closer to him.

"There he is. Damn he's a good looking horse. We'll split up here. I'll wait for you to come in from the north. I'll close in from the east. If I can get a rope on him, we might catch him."

"Pardo, I will never know how you know what you know. You knew where he'd go. He's a horse. How can you think like a horse?"

"Suspected where he'd go. I was right this time. He's way easier to see than he'll be to catch."

"Maybe not. You know where he went. I might know how to catch him," Potee said.

Potee did what Pardo told him to do. He had some tricks of his own, and he was pretty sure he could get Thunder to come to him. He had a secret weapon Pardo didn't have.

Thunder stood still as Pardo eased up on him. As he reached for his rope, the stallion took off in Potee's direction.

Did the horse recognize Potee even before he got close to him?

Potee stopped Anaconda and he got off the horse as Thunder trotted toward him. Thunder stopped about as close to Potee as he allowed Pardo to get to him.

"I'm sorry I left you in the stall all week. I should have ridden you yesterday, but I was tired and thinking about my sore feet. If you give me another chance, I won't ever, not ever, never leave you in your stall for more than one day before I ride you. I'm sorry, Thunder. I was bad."

Pardo sat astride Topper watching. He stopped moving. He didn't want to spook him. Thunder moved closer to Potee. Pardo watched the interaction between them, amazed by it.

"He isn't going to walk up to Potee. He doesn't even have a rope. He's going to run again."

Pardo watched Thunder walk up to Potee. The kid touched his neck and ran his hand down his flank. He'd love to hear what he was saying to draw the horse in like that. They stood together for long enough for Pardo to feel like he could get closer without running Thunder off. Besides, Thunder's full attention was on Potee.

Pardo was a few dozen feet away when he stopped Topper. Potee was taking his saddle off of Anaconda. He walked it over to Thunder, resting it on his back, and reaching under him to cinch it in place. He slipped the bridle into place, and kept talking to Thunder as he prepared to ride him.

Potee's foot went into the stirrup and he threw his right leg over to the other stirrup. Thunder did not move. He nibbled at the grass as Pardo eased up close enough for Thunder to raise his head and touch Topper's nose with his own.

"I'll be damned. How'd you do that? That horse is wild. He's drawn to you like a bee to honey."

"Bees are drawn to nectar. They make honey from it," Potee explained.

Potee reached into the pouch on his right side. He dropped a big fat apple on the ground near where Thunder went to nibbling on the grass once again.

"He loves apples. Cookie gave me two big apples while you were getting your rope."

"I'll be damn. You're Svengali."

"No, Svengali isn't real. I assure you, I'm quite real, Pardo, but you know I'm for real."

Pardo laughed.

Potee giggled delighted with himself.

Thunder whinnied.

Potee turned his horse toward home and Pardo followed.

All's well that ended well but Pardo remains uncertain by what he's seen. Horses and cowboys have been teamed up since forever. He'd had two horses he'd been closer to, more attached to, than any human until Potee came along. He'd seen cowboys ball like little babies when their horse died. You can't spend all your time with such beautiful animals and not love them.

Horses often knew their cowboy better than a girlfriend or a wife. A horse doesn't need to be told much, after he's worked with his cowboy for a year or two. They simply work together. Go together, and each feels alone when separated for long.

The ride was silent for the most part. From time to time Potee looked back to see if Anaconda was still behind them. Cookie's horse would stop to nibble at some choice patch of grass and then hurry to catch up within ten or fifteen feet of the two riders before stopping the next time.

Potee swung off Thunder and Pardo hit the ground behind him, once they reached the open stable door. Potee stroked Thunder's neck, speaking softly to him.

Pardo walked Topper up to where he stood beside them.

"I've seen it all now, Potee," Pardo bragged. "The tenderfoot out cowboys the cowboy. You don't need me any more. You're no tenderfoot any longer."

"I'll always need you, Pardo. I depend on you. You're my rock, Cowboy."

"I suppose if he'd run us all over the range for an hour or two, I might feel better. I expected to chase him for a while, maybe get up to chase him again tomorrow. He walked up to you as pretty as you please. Apples or no apples, that was impressive, Potee."

"We know each other. He likes me. What's not to like about a beauty like this?" Potee said, patting Thunder's neck and Thunder nudged his cowboy with his nose. "Sorry, fellow, no apples."

Potee said the words as he walked Thunder to his stall. He loosened the cinch on his saddle and grabbed it off Thunder. He set it on the side of the stall before yanking off the blanket and easing the bridle off and hanging it on the nail where it belonged.

"You happy now Thunder?" Potee asked. "Come on. Time to go home. I'll fill your water."

Thunder stood facing the barrel with the feed he liked. It wasn't apples, but it would take an entire apple tree to fill his big horse belly with apples. Oats didn't take as long to eat."

Pardo closed Anaconda's stall before going to Potee. He watched him with Thunder before he walked into Thunder's stall. Potee heard him and turned to accept Pardo in his arms. He hugged his cowboy close and planted some kissed on his face.

"I love you, Pardo," he said.

"I can say the same for you," Pardo answered.

The kiss was long and deep and it lingered even once they were ready to pull apart.

"Tumbleweed?" Pardo said.

"He's at dinner at this time. Which reminds me, I'm starving. Would you like to have dinner with me, Cowboy?"

"Don't mind if I do, and then we can have a little dessert upstairs. I'm ready for dessert."

"Yes, but there are those pesky pots and pans Cookie wants me to do. Once they're done, I'll have all evening to be whatever kind of dessert you want."

Pardo laughed, liking the sound of it.

Potee giggled when Pardo kissed him again. This was as good as it got on the Lazy R.

"You find your horse?" Cookie asked Potee as he loaded a couple of plates with dinner.

"Yeah. He smelled the apples. Came right to me. He was eating oats when we left the stable."

"My horse?"

"Pardo said he'd follow us. He was a ranch horse. He knew where the oats were. He was standing in his stall when I closed the gate behind him," Potee said. "I'll get to these pots and pans after Pardo and I eat. I'll take his plate out to him."

"No hurry. Won't do no more cooking until the morning," Cookie said.

It was late that night while Potee refused to let Pardo sleep, they laid side by side and spoke into the darkness.

"Next time, when you go on roundup with Cookie, ride Thunder out. You can ride with me when you aren't busy with the pots and pans. I've set up all the paperwork so Del won't need me as much. I want to be with the herd to keep an eye on things. I want to be with you when we can arrange it. It'll be easier to get away together from now on. Thunder won't get as anxious because you aren't coming to ride him. He'll like it better than standing in a stall waiting for you. He'll be able to see you and you can take him an apple from time to time."

"I'll do that," Potee said. "You should have told me to bring him this time. I didn't give it a thought. Everyone has their horse out there."

"Didn't think of it, Potee. I'll remind you next time. I think about you constantly, but figuring how to arrange things so they work better doesn't come to mind. I've never had a lover before."

"You got one now, and you'll never need another one, Cowboy," Potee said, rolling over on top of Pardo and covering the cowboys lips with his own lips. He kissed and was kissed and they touched each other in ways that livened up the kissing. Potee kiss Pardo's cheeks, nose, and forehead with a hundred kisses.

Pardo laughed.

Potee giggled.

"The South shall rise again," Potee said.

"Not to mention that salami that hangs down the leg of those too tight jeans," Pardo said.

Potee giggled and kissed and Pardo kissed and laughed with enthusiasm.

They'd sleep tomorrow night. Maybe the night after.

*****

Much of the work that got done on at the Lazy R required single horse power. As time passed, the speed things traveled rarely changed. Potee only picked up speed when Pardo took him into town. Standing at the sink in the kitchen, or taking a meal out to his man, even riding Thunder, his life moved slowly. It was easy for Potee to think at this speed. Life was pleasant and easy.

Nothing was easy before the Lazy R. There was no direction to his life. Each day took a maximum effort to get through it. He didn't move. He had nowhere to go. When he decided he was old enough to go, he went. He stepped into the road and stuck out his thumb and he didn't know if he'd eat or not. He would look for a job and he'd keep moving until he came to a place where he felt no pressure on him and where no one yelled or told him what to do.

Potee smiled a lot these days. He smiled to himself because of everything he had since coming to the Lazy R. Mostly, he smiled at Pardo. Some days he smiled at his grumbling amiable boss. He smiled when he saw the first possession of consequence he owned. Thunder was his. He knew that was a condition that could change at any time if Thunder decided to break the bargain they'd made.

Del Champion could come for Thunder any time he liked. He fed the horse. He wanted the horse working the Lazy R, but Del was an honorable man, and besides, Pardo would never allow the owner of the Lazy R to make such a move.

Potee never loved anyone before. He was never loved by anyone. He loved Thunder. He belonged on that horse. Potee loved Pardo in a way he didn't know was possible. His life was flooded with feelings, physical desire, and admiration from a cowboy's cowboy who knew almost everything about the Lazy R, its owner, and the men who tended Del's cattle.

Standing beside Thunder, and even Pardo, Potee needed to look up. He was growing slowly. He was a small boy and he didn't know if he'd ever grow. He wasn't good at anything. He couldn't do much. He could wash pots and pans and Cookie was delighted he could. He earned his way on the Lazy R.

He didn't mind people calling him the kid. That's who he was when he arrived at the Lazy R. He liked the life he'd been introduced to when Pardo took him up to the chow hall to eat. It was in the chow hall when Potee decided he wanted to be a cowboy. He made up his mind to it before he laid eyes on Thunder. When he saw Thunder, he saw his horse. It took a lot of guts to make Thunder his.

He told Pardo what he wanted. Bugging his man about being a cowboy would only create friction between them. Pardo knew what he wanted, and he said, 'When the time is right, I'll see to it you become a cowboy. Potee would allow things to unfold in its own time. He was in no hurry.

Potee didn't grow right off. He didn't think he'd ever grow, but regular work, eating like a horse, and the fresh ranch air took hold during his second year at the Lazy R. Cookie could be heard telling the cowboys, 'I swear I can see him growing while he stands at the sink."

When Potee finally noticed that he was growing, he had something else to make him smile.

"You look like a hick in those jeans, Potee. They don't even cover your ankles. We need to go into town and get you some clothes that fit," Pardo told him.

Potee smiled.

By the time he turned nineteen, he was almost as big as Pardo. He didn't have the meat on his bones Pardo did, but he stood eye to eye with Pardo. He didn't read anything into his growth. It didn't make him think he was big enough to be a cowboy now. There were plenty of small cowboys. Some of the small cowboys were more fierce than bigger cowboys. Size didn't enter into the picture when you were working your horse to single out a cow.

Potee didn't have the meat on his bones men like Pardo had, but he'd fill out. Even when others were noticing him growing up, Potee did the pots and pans and kept his mouth shut. Pardo told him he'd know when it was time, and Potee just enjoyed the things he had and loved.

The year before, after turning eighteen, Potee decided to use some of his spending cash to buy clothes. He decided to dress like a cowboy. He bought the things that had him looking like a young Pardo. He talked like Pardo talked. He walked just like Pardo walked. He imitated Pardo's riding style, and when he stood still, his posture was pure Pardo.

While Pardo was waiting, and Potee was looking more and more like a cowboy, the plan Pardo had been working on for a couple of years was falling into place. He'd made up his mind, he wouldn't tell Del, 'The kid's grown. Time to put Thunder to work. I'll train him to be a cowboy.'

He wanted Del to arrive at this conclusion.

It was time. Pardo made sure he and Potee took their horses past Del's ranch house, when they rode out in the afternoons. Del still had it in mind to get Thunder to work, and Pardo didn't want the boss to forget Thunder. Del would see them from the office window, where he sat most afternoons.

Pardo didn't ask Del to replace Rowdy with another cowboy, once he left the Lazy R. He could get the work done with the cowboys he had. He'd pitch in and cover any slack. Pardo was content doing his job and Rowdy's job too. It kept him on the range longer each day, and away from Potee for longer than he liked, but once he got where he was going, he'd be spending all day ever day with Potee.

One day, Pardo dismounted off Topper at the hitching post in front of Del's ranch house. Del was watching him as Pardo approached the door.

"What's up, Pardo?"

"Cactus left out of the bunk house yesterday. He ain't coming back. I got the address where you canvsend his last paycheck. I'm down a man and it's close to roundup time again. We've never replaced Rowdy and it's been okay, but we'll be in trouble if we're short handed during roundup, Del."

"I've been keeping my eyes open, but everyone is heading toward roundup. Prices are high. There'll be no shortage of cows going to market. I watch you two when you go riding. The kid is grown Pardo. It's time to put Thunder to work. He's eating me out of house and home. I want him working my cattle. Can the kid do the work?"

"I reckon he can. I've talked to him about it. Showed him some things."

"Find a way. Make sure he knows the ropes and show him how to use Thunder. If you can do that, we won't need to go cowboy shopping at a time I got to pay top dollar to get a hand."

"I'll get it down. Potee's smart. He'll catch on fast," Pardo said. "There is the matter of my pay, Boss. I've been doing two jobs for months, I'd like to get a foreman's pay."

"I been meaning to give you foreman's pay. You fix up the payroll sheet before you leave. Put the kid on with cowboy pay and add a note about getting you back pay for a foreman's wage. Is there some way to get Potee and Thunder out there without needing to go hand to hand combat with Cookie? He ain't going to like this plan at all," Del said.

"I'll take care of it, Boss. Can I take him with me today? Get him started right away."

"May as well get it over with. Cookie's going to give me a headache over it, but I got a nephew that's about as worthless as tits on a boar hog. I'll see what my brother has to say. If I play my cards right, he might send him over here for me to put to work. We can't afford to piss off Cookie, Pardo. I'd rather look for a cowboy than try to find a cook as good as Cookie."

"I'll take care of it. I'll have him thinking it's his idea," Pardo said as he left Del's office.

As Pardo walked across toward the chow hall, he jumped, grabbing at the sky.

"Yes!"

"What the hell are you so damn happy about. I ain't got no breakfast left and I don't have lunch ready. So if you came in here thinking you was going to get fed, you was wrong, Pardo. You know what time lunch is ready."

"I know. I know. I've got orders from headquarters, Cookie. I'm taking your pots and pans man to make a cowboy out of him. We're short a man and I need him. Potee, Del says I got to make a cowboy out of you."

Potee recognized all the signs that said, he was going to leave the kitchen some. Pardo didn't tell him because he didn't get his hopes up. He knew most of what a cowboy needed to know, and he couldn't wait to see his last pot and pan.

"Wondered how long it would take for you to come get him. He's been wearing that damn ten gallon hat while he washes dishes for months now. I saw the handwriting on the wall, Pardo," Cookie said. "Go ahead, take him. Potee, you get tired of being out there among them smelly cows, I'll hold your job open for you."

"I appreciate that, Partner, but I done all the dish washing I need to do to hold me for a while."

"Damn fool even sounds like a cowboy. Get out of here and let me get to work or you cowboys won't get fed, and I don't want to be around cowboys who ain't been fed," Cookie said.

"I have it on good authority, Del's got a pots and pans man in mind to replace Potee."

"You can bet if Del picks him out, he'll be a real piece of work. Probably one of his worthless relatives. Go ahead and take him. Don't break him. He's the best pots and pans man I ever had."


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