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hurt again, he drives folks away before they can get close to him.” By then the band was ending the song. Several other couples had joined us on the floor.
    I tipped my hat to Sandy and said, “Thanks for the dance ma’am.”
    She laughingly slapped my arm. “Oh, go sit down and I’ll get your food.”
    Robert was pouting back at the booth. Our burgers came, and I ordered another beer and tried to tune him out and listen to the band. We mostly ate in silence. I picked up the check and we headed out. Winslett is a little tourist town in the Methow Valley. It has an old West theme. Despite the lights of the town, you could see lots of stars in the crisp cold air. We got back to the truck and headed on to the ranch. After a few minutes, Robert mentioned he needed to take a piss.
    “Why the hell didn’t you use the john at the restaurant?”
    “I didn’t think of it then. Stop at the rest area ahead.”
    Wordlessly I pulled into the rest area and found a parking place close to the restroom. Robert jumped out and hobbled stiffly to the men’s room. While I was waiting, I noticed a few cars parked strategically with single men in them. I dismissed them as restroom queens, closeted and hidden. I ended up doing a double take; one truck looked like Mike’s. It also seemed someone ducked when I parked; I was pretty sure it was Mike. Not too many guys have that combination of light blond hair and a dark red beard. Not too many that handsome either. None of my business I thought. Robert got back and we headed on home.
     
     
    N EXT morning, I was laying in bed just waking up slowly when I heard knocking on the door. Robert had stayed in the spare room since he said he was sore. This was beginning to be a pattern. Without bothering to dress, I ran down the stairs and to the door. Wayne was there, a crazy look in his eyes.
    “Pedro got shot ! He was out where the cattle got rustled. Josh rode up there this morning to take watch and found him.”
    “Did you call the sheriff and an ambulance?”
    “It’s too late for an ambulance.”
    I realized I was standing there in just my long johns. “Let me get dressed, and I’ll get some coffee for you and some whiskey. You look like you could use some.”
    As I headed up the stairs to get dressed, I heard Wayne echo my thoughts, “Shit, shit, shit!”

Chapter Three
     
    T HE wind whipped across the grassy valley south of Winslett. The trees were fewer here than back up at the ranch, and the trees had pretty much all lost their leaves. It was cold out. The chill in the air echoed the chill we were all feeling at the loss of Pedro. The sky was cloudy; it mirrored the somber mood in the cemetery. Wayne stood to one side of me, and José was on the other. Josh and Mike each stood a few feet away. I hadn’t known it, but Pedro had a girlfriend, Maria, from Wenatchee. Maria was just out of nursing school. She had olive skin, green eyes, and glossy black hair, which reached down to the middle of her back. Although she was short and what a lot of folks would call corn-fed, she possessed an ease and grace that made her shine. She sobbed softly. I tuned in from my thoughts and heard the priest intoning, “…in the sure and glorious hope of his resurrection. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust….” Most of the onlookers crossed themselves, and the priest turned to speak with Maria.
    Pedro was an orphan who had come up from Mexico as a child to live with his aunt and uncle here in eastern Washington. They took the time and expense to get him legal status. Unfortunately, they died a few years later in a car crash. I ended up paying for Pedro’s funeral, as he really didn’t have anyone else. It added to the money worries about the ranch, but it was the least I could do.
    “Hey, Jeff,” Wayne asked, “The boys and I are gonna meet at One Eyed Jack’s Saloon and raise a few to Pedro’s memory. You wanna come?”
    “Yeah, I’ll stop by.”
    “Good. See ya there then.” He clapped me