Cody grabbed his cowboy hat and sunglasses off the dash with one hand, while shoving his truck into park, turning off the ignition with the other. Removing the keys, Cody slipped them into his pocket as he jumped down from the cab, walking towards the barn office. 

        The early morning sun was just beginning to peak it's way over the tops of the mountains, through the clouds. Resting his sunglasses around the band of his old, dusty Stetson, Cody sniffed, pulling his bandana up higher around his neck. Montana was not known for it's warm autumn mornings, that was for sure. Last night, the temperatures has dropped several degrees, making it a chilly Tuesday morning. 

        Opening the barn office door, Cody was immediately greeted by a blast of warm air, filling the room from the space heater in the corner. Greeting one of his coworkers and his boss, Cody pulled out his phone while he waited for Garrett to finish singing in, and for him to end his conversation with Marty, their boss, so Cody could talk to him. Trying to not allow that fact that Maleena saw his last text but didn't reply, bother him, Cody texted her again, telling her he got to work safely. He really just wanted to talk to her since they didn't end things on the best of terms last night. 

        Once Garrett had his question answered, he stepped aside, leaving room for Cody to sign his time card. Just as he turned to ask Marty something, Marty started, "The other guys ain't goin' to get here until 11, so until then, it's just fixin' to be you two. Cody, I need y'all to do the usual chores, but you're also going to have to get the wagon and put 12 of the wet wrapped bales on it. I have a guy down the road buying some bales from me until he can get his baler fixed. Y'all can take the F-250 and the John Deere 6210 out there." Marty leaned back in the creaky office chair. Tucking his hands into the warmth of his Carhartt coat, he thought about what else to add to the list. "Oh, and y'all will have to re-bed the replacement heifers pen. If y'all have any problems or questions, just call. Brooke is already here and she already took care of the heifers and cow/calf pairs in the bank barn."  

        "Yes, sir. Will do." Cody was going to ask Marty his question about why folks hadn't been showing up on time, and why some folks hadn't been showing up at all, but since Marty had given them an extra long list to accomplish this morning, Cody decided it would be better to wait. "Ready to head out?" He asked, turning to Garrett who, like usual, didn't seem incredibly eager to work. Garret, unlike Cody, was not at all a morning person. 

       "Yep." He replied simply, following Cody outside. 

       "Want to learn how to drive the tractor today?" Cody asked, partially teasing as he hopped behind the wheel of the new F-250 farm truck.

       "Umm, I mean I can learn if you wanted to teach me, I guess." Garrett responded, almost nervous.

     Garrett was the ranch's newest hire, and having come from a very small family farm where his parents did the majority of the work, he never really had to learn the ropes of ranching, until he came to work with Cody at Tate Ranch. 

       "It's alright, man. We will have time for that another time." Cody replied, starting the truck down the road to the equipment shop. "Hopefully we will get done at a decent time today. I would love to surprise my girlfriend tonight, but it all depends what time we get done here, I reckon." Cody enjoyed Garrett's company, but his work ethic wasn't like Cody's, so that was something that Cody struggled with. As a person, Cody liked Garrett, but as a ranch employee, not as much. Granted, Garrett is very quick to pick up on things around the ranch when he is first taught something new, but he pretty much waits around until someone tells him to do something. Cody, though he had worked at Tate Ranch for just shy of 4 years, was one of the employees that had been there the longest, so he had his own routine and way of doing things, so he often times had a hard time adjusting to that when a new person was hired.

        "Yeah, how is the girlfriend?" Garrett asked, following Cody's lead by hopping out of the truck, walking into the shop. 

      "She's great. We are doin' really good." Cody flipped on the light switch in the shop, opening the small garage door so they could begin loading up the bags of feed for the creep feeders. "She got sort of upset with me last night, however." 

       "Uh oh, what did you do this time? Punch out her ex again?" Garrett teased, lifting the first brown feed bag into the truck bed. 

       Cody chuckled. Garrett and him were friends, so they talked about a lot of things together, but Cody just got frustrated with his lack of willingness to work sometimes; other than that, he was a genuinely good guy. "No, I didn't punch out anyone. We were both exhausted and I fell asleep instead of callin' to tell her goodnight. I fell asleep on the couch after I finished my supper while I was watching TV, so I called her first thing when I woke up. But she was busy, so she couldn't answer, so I ended up just textin' her the rest of the night. I'm not really sure why she got upset, honestly. But you know how women are." Cody tossed the bag into the truck bed.

       "Well, did you ask her why she was ticked off?" Garrett asked, stopping to take a short break from lugging the 50-pound feed sacks.

       "Yeah, and she just said that it was because she was tired, had a long night, and misses me." Cody replied, not stopping his job of adding to the growing piles of bags in the bed of the truck. "I mean we didn't fight or anything, so I'm not concerned. But this is the first time we have been apart for more than 24 hours since we started datin' and that has really been botherin' her. She hasn't responded to any of my text messages this morning. Hence, why I am hopin' to go over there and surprise her later tonight." Pausing his rambling, Cody turned and counted the bags of feed in the truck. "Garrett, can you please hop up in the bed and stack those bags closer to the cab and count them as you do so?" He delegated.

        "Sure." Garrett obeyed Cody's orders.

        Not that he needed a break, but deciding to allow himself a very short one to let Garrett finish his task without being distracted, Cody pulled out his cell phone. Trying to hide his relived grin when he saw Maleena texted him back, Cody opened the text. 

       "Mornin'."  Maleena's text read simply.

        "How is my beauty this morning?" Cody quickly texted back. 

         "Tired." She replied immediately.

         "I bet." His fingers lingered over the screen momentarily before deciding to add, "Are we okay, sweetheart? I miss you." 

          Right after he sent the text, Maleena opened the message, but didn't reply. Cody stared at the bottom of the screen, hoping to see the indication that she was typing out a message, but one never showed up. "I am goin' to try my hardest to come see you after work tonight. Is that okay?" He added, desperate to smooth things over with his clearly still upset girlfriend. Cody watched as the message status went to "delivered," but it was not opened by Maleena yet. Sighing, he tucked his phone back in his pocket, turning back to his first task of the day. "How many do we have in there?" Cody asked Garrett who had just stacked the last bag. 

         "16." He looked over his shoulder to make sure he counted correctly. 

        "Alright, so four more. I'll grab those, you just stay up there." Cody walked back to the pallet, grabbing a bag on each shoulder, dropping them off at Garrett's feet in the bed of the truck. 

        Once all the creep feed bags were in the truck, Cody drove further down the lane to where the bags of minerals were stored. Parking the truck in front of the red, metal container, Cody hopped out, nodding for Garrett to follow him. "We just need five bags of minerals." 

         "Alright." Garrett responded, opening up the large metal doors, stepping inside to grab the first bag.

        Cody, feeling his phone buzz in his coat pocket, frantically pulled it out, seeing a text from Maleena.

         "I guess." She replied, bitter, to Cody's question about him coming over later. 

        "Malie, can I please call you?" Cody responded, knowing he didn't have time to stop and text.

       "I thought you were at work?" Maleena quickly replied. 

        "I am, but you are more important right now."  He said, honestly. 

         "Fine." 

          Cody, taking that as his sign, quickly helped Garrett load up the last of the mineral bags they needed, then dialed Maleena's number, hopping back into the truck. 

           "Hey." Maleena answered the call.

           "Mornin', darlin', how are you?" Cody asked, buckling his seat belt with one hand, holding his phone with the other.

           "I just woke up about 10 minutes ago, so I am still layin' in bed." Maleena chuckled slightly. 

           "That's my girl." Cody grinned. "I missed hearin' your voice." He replied, forgetting Garrett was in the truck. 

          "You too, cowboy. You haven't called me for two days." There was a slight accusing edge to her words.

          "I know, I'm sorry. We keep playin' phone tag." Cody paused. "I was gonna try to surprise you, but I'm fixin' to come see you tonight." 

        Maleena let out a heavy sigh on the other end. "You said that last night, too." 

      Cody tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he switched his cell phone to the other ear, driving out to one of the pastures across the road. 

        "I know, Malie, but I'm goin' to try my best, but regardless, I will get to see you tomorrow anyways." Cody tried his best to keep the peace. 

        "Yeah. I guess you're right." She replied, discouraged.

        Cody hit his hand against the steering wheel, beginning to get upset. "Maleena, what is wrong? What is goin' on? You're never this upset constantly. Is it something with Dillion?"

          "No! Cody, don't even start with me about Dillion. You promised me that he wouldn't come up in any more of our fights ever again." She countered, completely right. 

         Letting out a sigh, Cody replied. "You're right. I'm sorry. And we aren't fighting, Mal, I just want you to tell me what the heck is wrong." 

          "Like I told you, nothing is wrong. I just miss you and I'm tired and have a lot to get done today, okay?"   

         "Alright. Well, I'm sorry." He asked, defeated.

         "I am, too." 

         "Well, hopefully I will see you tonight?" 

         "Hopefully, but no offense, I'm not gettin' my hopes up. That way if I don't get to see you, then I won't be disappointed."

         "I'm goin' to try my best. I'll talk to you later, honey." Cody said, hanging up the phone, letting out a heavy breath in a sputter.

         "I thought y'all weren't fightin'?" Garrett pressed, a slight smile on his lips.

        Cody scoffed, shaking his head. "We aren't. She's just moody." 

        "Mhm." Garrett mumbled, accusingly, but teasing.

        "Hey, what's that out there? Is that a cow?" Cody changed the subject as he squinted, leaning over the steering wheel. Turning on his high beam headlights, in the dark early morning, Cody asked Garrett to open the gate. 

         Once the gate was open, Cody drove through the gate into the relatively flat pasture, momentarily stopping so Garrett could hop back in the truck, eager to go check on the cow that was laying flat on her side. 

        The closer they got to the deep red color Hereford cow, the better they could see that she was, for sure, injured. Driving as quickly and as safely as he could across the frozen ground of the pasture, Cody finally arrived beside the downed cow. The only reason he had reacted as quickly and as serious as he did was because he got that gut feeling in his stomach that something was wrong, and sure enough, as he got out of the truck and walked over to the Hereford, he was glad he listened to that gut feeling.

       Kneeling down beside the cow, it was obvious she had passed away. The worst part was that it was clear she had broken her leg, and based on how cold her body was, and the icicles hanging from her nostrils, it was evident that she had been laying there for some time. Looking around him, Cody made an observation. The cow was awfully far away from the herd which was unusual; she must have slipped on some ice or mud and went down, causing her to break her leg. Just like he was trained, even though he already knew the answer, Cody pressed a hand against the cow's stomach, and put his other hand by her nostrils to see if she was breathing. When that test failed, Cody took off his cowboy hat, pressing his ear against her, trying to listen for a pulse. Again, nothing. 

          Settling his hat back on his head, Cody stood up, letting out a sigh. Making eye contact with a pale white, wide eyed Garrett, it was clear that he had never seen a deceased cow before, or at least not one in this state. Walking past him, Cody mumbled, "Call Marty. She's dead." He knew it was stiff response, but he had to distract his coworker, otherwise, he was afraid Garrett would begin to get grossed out by the brutal sight.

                                                      ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        "That's weird. I don't recognize this number." Maleena mumbled, staring at the screen on her phone. 

        Deciding to go ahead and answer the phone call, Maleena was instantly glad she did so when she heard, "Hi, this is Lori calling from Destiny Feed Store. Is Maleena available?" 

       "Hi, yes, this is she." Maleena instantly became more professional sounding. 

        "Great! I was callin' to let you know that we have chosen you for the next step in the application process. We would like to have you come in for an interview. I know it's very short notice, but any chance you will you be free anytime today?" Lori inquired. 

        "Yes, absolutely! Thank you so much. I will be free the rest of the day. What time would you like me to come in?" 

         "How does 1pm work for you? I know that is really soon, but we would like to talk to you as soon as we can." 

        Maleena pulled her phone away from her ear to check the time. It was only after 11, so she had more than enough time to get changed and get to the feed store in time. "Sure, 11 works for me." 

      "Great! We will see you in a bit." Lori replied before hanging up the call. 

      Smiling as she put her phone away, Maleena kissed to her horse, making him take off at a lope back to the barn. She had been out in the pastures, riding the fence line for a while, and it had given her more than enough time to think, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It just meant that she got to mull over why she had been so temperamental these past few days. As she thought about it, she remembered that it was nearing her time of the month, and she would always get very moody for a few days before hand. Another contributing factor, she knew, was stress finally sinking in of her family moving here and having to go back to school very soon as well Cody going to college, the stress of finding a job...she was just going through a lot. Either way, she was looking forward to talking to Cody, hopefully tonight, but if not, she knew she would get to see him tomorrow when they went apple picking. 

     Dismounting before she could enter the barn, Maleena led one of the work horses, Breaker, inside the long barn. As she did, her brother exited one of the stalls, carrying a muck bucket. "Hey, Chan, can you please take Breaker? I have to go get ready for my job interview." She practically threw the reins at Chandler, speed walking down the aisle. 

       "Good luck, let me know how it goes, please!" Chandler called after his sister.

      Turning around to face Breaker and Chandler, but still walking backwards, Maleena smiled. "You know you will be the first person I call. Love you, Chan." Turning back around, Maleena jogged to the house. Running up to her room, Maleena began trying to find an outfit to wear to her interview. Once she finally found one, she stripped out of her ranch work outfit, changing into the tan handkerchief shirt and stitched Cowgirl Tuff jeans, accessorizing the outfit with a long necklace with an arrow pendant. Taking a look in the mirror, she quickly ran a comb through her long hair before pulling back small strands of it, securing them with two bobby pins behind her head. With a grin at her appearance, Maleena nodded to herself before grabbing a pair of dressy cowboy boots on her way out of her room. Skipping down the stairs, Maleena told her mom where she was going before slipping on her boots, grabbing her keys and purse and heading outside to her truck.

                                                     ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

      Tapping her fingers against her steering wheel, Maleena checked the time on her phone for the umpteenth time. Having arrived thirty minutes early, she had been sitting in her truck, waiting for a few more minutes so she won't arrive too early. 

      After what seemed like forever, but was really only 15 minutes, Maleena pulled her sun visor down, checking her hair once more before deciding she was going to look as good as she could without makeup. 

     Sliding down from the cab, Maleena locked her truck, letting out a deep breath as she walked into the feed store. Thankful there weren't a lot of people in the store, Maleena was able to walk right up to the cashier counter where the same dirty blonde from the other day was. 

      "Hi, I'm here for my interview?" Maleena gave her most professional smile. Even though this wasn't her first job interview, it was her first one in a while, and it was in a new town where she was still trying to build a good reputation. 

     "You're Maleena, right?" The friendly woman in her mid-twenties asked. 

     "Yes, ma'am."

      "I'm Lori, you're new boss, that is, if you choose to accept." Lori stretched her hand out. 

       Maleena stretched out a shaky hand, beaming. "Yes, absolutely." 

       "Great! I know that is probably the easiest interview you have ever had. And not trying to sound creepy or anything, but it's such a small town that we have seen you in here whenever y'all are picking up your orders and such, and we have already seen how hard of a worker you are. Funny story, we were actually fixing to ask you if you would be interested in a job because we are a little short staffed right now, but you beat us to it. Yeah, this time of year, we are very busy, but short on workers only because we hire a lot of high schoolers and college kids, but the only problem with that is that a lot of them go to college hours away, so they can't work this time of year." 

         "That is very understandable. I really appreciate y'all accepting me for the job." Maleena was inwardly chuckling at how casual this interview process was going. 

        "Oh, of course. We are really looking forward to having you on our team." Lori smiled a shiny white teeth smile. 

       Lori and Maleena talked for a few more minutes; in the process, Lori explained the pay Maleena would receive, the process of training, and that she gets several of her own embroidered work shirts. In the passing minutes, Maleena gave Lori the size and shirt options that she wanted. After other small talk was made, Lori told Maleena that she looked forward to seeing her on Friday when her shirts would arrive in. 

        With a huge smile on her face, Maleena walked out of the feed store, pulling out her phone, and immediately dialing her brother's number. "Hey, I got the job." Maleena shared the news with Chandler as she walked to her truck. The longer she talked about the job, the more excited she got. She could not wait to see what the future would hold for her in this new town that she was beginning to love.