Julie Carter
Cowboys are quite often loners, especially if they are holding down a ranch job in a remote area of the West.
Casey was just such a loner, with his horses serving as his best friends.
For five years running, he wintered very peacefully at the Box Canyon Camp on the Estacado Comida Ranch in northern New Mexico, a job that suited him perfectly.
With an abundance of horse charm and the fact that the ranch raised premier colts from their large mare herd, it was a good match for them all.
The mares were wintered in the large, protected canyon, giving the colts that were born in the spring a safe place to grow and a chance to learn to travel in the rough country.
Casey would work a little with the young ones, teaching them a few manners and getting them used to being around that beast called man. It was called work, but for him, it was something next to heaven.
He kept the mares gentled down and, when needed, offered a little midwifery skill during foaling.
Then along came the ranch owner's son, fresh out of college with a degree and an assignment to reacquaint Casey with reality.
Brad arrived at winter camp full of book ideas, enthusiasm for the invigorating outdoors and thoroughly in love with a blonde who promised to wait for him until spring.
During the cold months, Brad got over his scholarly schemes and recognized the environment for its greater challenges, but when it was time to bring the mares and colts out of the canyon, he was still in love.
Casey usually hit the rodeo road during the summer. Brad decided he and Blondie, who happened to be a barrel racer, would summer with Casey on the rodeo trail.
He was, after all, the boss' s kid, so off they went to collect the girl and get on with the summer.
When they met her at the arena, both men's eyes lit up.
This was a very pretty girl - long honey blonde hair and big green eyes. She was riding a big grulla gelding built like a fine quarter horse should be.
Brad had his eyes on the girl, but Casey had eyes on the gelding.
Through the summer, the cowboys kept their pockets lined with their rodeo winnings.
However, Blondie wasn't faring as well with the grulla, who hadn't quite caught on to the concept of running around three cans.
Casey regularly applied his "horse charm" to keep the big slate-colored horse calm and working well enough to get Blondie to the next rodeo.
He was not charming enough to keep her consistently winning, not that she noticed.
She and Brad spent more time looking at each other than at the rodeo schedule, so it didn't appear to be a career goal for either of them.
When the winds of autumn began cooling the days and fall nights took on a crispness recognized as a precursor to winter, Casey began to think about Box Canyon.
He had one more thing he wanted to accomplish before summer's end.
Brad and the honey-blonde were making their own plans and a fall wedding was in the works.
Casey agreed to stand in as best man at ranch headquarters along with further arrangements to leave right after the ceremony.
He and the newlyweds had come to an agreement about the future.
After the last toast for lifelong bliss was made, Casey changed into his jeans, a Carhartt jacket and set off for winter camp.
Brad had the girl. Casey left riding his gray and leading the grulla.
And everybody lived happily ever after.
Now, don't you feel all warm and fuzzy?
Julie is looking for a Box Canyon winter hideout.
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