#sfwfic

[afy2018]

Roll in the Hay *Updated* Ch. 1

A crack of bright morning light arose through the flat Canadian fields, pouring across open farmlands and flooding throughout Purgatory. The rays cut into a small homestead, breaking through the parted curtains to wake the household. It shone in her eyes, waking her before her alarm had the chance to do so, making her initially turn away from her window. The alarm blared by her head until their local radio station booted up. She sat up, turning off the white noise to begin her day, starting off with her sister. Through a thin sheen of sleep, she found her way one door over, barging into the unlocked room where her sister was still sound asleep. She kicked her mattress, watching the frame shift as she woke up.

She groaned at the rude awakening, only verbally protesting after the third kick, “HEY! Okay, I’m alive, Jesus woman.”

“It’s time to wake up,” she informed her.

“Too frickin’ early.”

“Same time as always, Wyn,” Waverly informed her.

“Still too early,” she whined.

Wynonna sighed in defeat and grabbed her jeans from the night before, yanking them on while she hobbled to the small wardrobe to grab a shirt and bra. Stretching as she made her way to the bathroom, the siblings split paths with the elder one still getting ready at her usual lackadaisical speed while Waverly went down to the kitchen to make breakfast. Even with her sister’s inability to play nice with others, she found it efficient to do most of the more menial tasks her sister chose to avoid.

She pulled out strips of venison from their icebox and onto a hot pan, where they sizzled until an enticing scent drifted down the basement where their farmhands were living. Xavier, their transporter ascended the stairs, his loud footsteps clomping against the old wooden planks until he hit the first landing.

“Smells good, need any help?” he asked, rubbing his hands together.

“Yeah, can you go grab the milk and water from the fridge?”

“Of course, anything else, Miss Earp?”

“Yeah, can you wake up Doc, I need him to do a quick check on the goats to make sure they're okay. They were a bit loud last night.”

“Of course,” he said, walking back down.

Waverly sighed and cleared her throat, flipping the meat onto a plate before moving to the next part of their meal, English muffins. She placed them in the oven until they turned golden brown before pulling out butter and setting their food on the table with four plates. Waverly turned back around and grabbed a bowl of fruit from the window sill, to top off a healthy and nutritious breakfast.

Wynonna came back in through the kitchen door with her full report. “The blueberries look almost ready. Same as the strawberries.”

“Peaches and cherries?”

“Pfft, nowhere close. They need maybe another two weeks to be ready for picking,” she added, popping a fractured piece of bacon in her mouth. “Hot, hot.”

“Yeah, they’re fresh off the pan,” Waverly half-heartedly warned.

“Yeah, I guessed,” she playfully bit back, flicking the back of her sister’s head.

“Did we ever get a claim on the job posting?”

“I don't know… maybe,” her sister shrugged.

“Great,” she sarcastically remarked as she took her seat at the table.

“What was with the goats?”

“Already have Doc checking on them.”

“Good,” Wynonna said, looking at their breakfast displayed out on the table. “Looks great, need any help?”

“Just tell the boys breakfast is ready.”

“Yokkie-doke.”

Doc moved out of the way for the older Earp and looked at his crew. “Waverly,” he greeted, tipping his hat as he left for the barn. “Y’all can start without me.”

The other two returned from the fields, taking their places at the small table as they began to feast, taking a small share of everything their chef had prepared. Wynonna smiled and licked her lips, taking a piece of bacon then a few of the sliced nectarines and an English muffin. They continued to engorge themselves, leaving enough for Doc until the mustachioed gentleman came back, sitting down with them.

“Didn't see anything outta the ordinary. All of them are still there,” he reported.

“Okay, thank you,” Waverly replied.

“I heard we were getting a new farmhand. Any ideas?”

“We haven't gotten any applicants, yet,” she disappointedly informed them, “Due to the latest yield, Dolls, you’re moving to the arbor, Wynonna in the greenhouse, and I’ll work in the fields. Doc, you’re in charge of the grass fields until a greenhorn comes along.”

“Okay, so I’m still with the goats, right?” Doc asked

“Yeah, you remind them of their kin,” Wynonna quipped behind her glass of water, earning a sarcastic smile.

Once they had all finished, Dolls and Wynonna cleaned up while the others went off to their posts. Waverly grabbed the large baskets from the doorway and left the rest for Dolls. She went out towards the rising sun, checking the crops, seeing that her sister was right in saying that the blueberries were almost ready. She began to harvest the ripe ones, leaving behind the pink and purple berries. From that session of picking, she plucked over a hundred berries, making it now only barely over two-fifths of the projected yield so far, but good for midseason. She went back through, checking for the others she had missed.

Waverly walked over to the homestead again, continuing to the cooling room as she washed them and left them to dry. She came back inside, checking the time, three hours had passed. She sighed and washed the purple juice off of her hands, distracted until there was a firm knock on the door. Waverly walked over, thinking it was Dolls or Wyn accidentally locking themselves out. She opened the door, surprised to greet the shoulders of a tall and pale woman. Waverly looked up and met the kind brown eyes of the redheaded.

“Hi,” she quickly greeted in surprise.

“Hello ma’am, I’m here about farm work? I’m Nicole Haught.”

“Haught? Oh, sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone. Come in,” Waverly beckoned, moving out of the way.

The taller woman took off her leather jacket, holding it over her shoulder as she followed the owner inside. She looked around, smiling at the cute quaintness of the farmhouse. There were old crocheted blankets and embroidered throw pillows on the couch comfily decorating the living room. She noticed the pictures around the house. Most of them were recently taken with the owner and a few other people she suspected they worked or grew up with. They both sat down at the small dining table decorated with a simple plaid cloth where Waverly began to interview her.

“Really, I called yesterday morning? Are you Miss Wynonna Earp?” she inquired politely.

“Oh, no. I’m her sister Waverly. She must have forgotten,” she pleasantly smiled, settling into her chair. “Anyway, we plan to have you do mainly prep work for us, you know, working the grass fields for the winter. Help our goat handler, fetch water for the crops and animals. Are you planning on living here or off-site?”

“Off-site. What would my hours be, ma’am?”

“7am-5pm, 8 hours of work with two one hour breaks whenever, Monday thru Friday. Pay will be $13.60 per hour, so $1360 for your biweekly paycheck.”

“Sounds great. So, when would I begin?” she smiled, resting her arms on the table.

“Work begins in four days. We’ll need some time to file the paperwork and get it approved.”

“Okay, thank you, ma’am.”

Waverly smiled and walked off to grab the employment papers from Wynonna’s desk. She returned a moment later with them and a pen, pulling them away for a second to ask, “Wait, you’re not a murderer right?”

Nicole glanced at her in shock and sincerely answered, “Well… no, of course not, Ms. Earp.”

Waverly only smiled, making her new coworker relax, and turned the papers around for Nicole to fill out. She watched the young woman intently read the contract before signing with her neat and curly calligraphy. “Nicole Haught. Perfect,” Waverly thought.

Nicole sat up straight and gave the contract and pen back. “Thank you. You won't regret this,” she finished with a genuine smile.

“We need another girl on the team. Even better when there’s someone as muscled as you. Have you worked on a farm before?”

“Yes, I grew up on a ranch, so I worked there until I was 19,” she divulged, relaxing back into the chair as she studied the bright woman in front of her. Nicole watched as her eyes flicked from her to the contract spread out in front of her, then back up to the redhead. Her hands sorted through Nicole’s papers before she continued to ask her questions.

“What animals?”

“Horses, chickens, and geese.”

“Perfect.”

Waverly watched as the young woman stood, quickly going to let her out, opening the door with a smile. She looked outside to catch her sister gawking over the bike by the homestead. Nicole looked at her, squinting to see who it was.

“That’s Wynonna.” she introduced.

Her sister glanced up at the sound of her name and asked, “Who’s bike is this?”

“Mine,” Nicole answered.

“This. Is. Beautiful. Where’d you get this, what’s her name, how much was it?” she asked in a flurry of excitement.

“Detroit, America. Black Beauty, or Beauty. A little more than $7k US.”

“Oh my god,” she continued to gawk, “Wait, why Detroit?”

“Cheaper from the source.”

“Hmm,” Wynonna answered, looking at the shiny black bike. “Impressive. Hired.”

“Oh, I’m-”

“A little sarcasm, she’s just being a mechanophile,” Waverly interrupted.

“Oh okay,” Nicole chuckled, watching the older woman gaze at her beautiful bike. She put on her helmet and mounted it.

“See you on Monday, Ms. Earp,” Nicole winked to them, starting the bike and driving off.

“We need to file that paperwork now,” Wynonna said.

~~~~~~~~~~

Nicole woke to the low southern twang of a country singer, ringing through her deep slumber. With the paperwork filled out and her new boss’s updates, the young rancher took up her new tasks with a revitalized gusto she hadn’t felt for a long while. She needed this new job to distract her from the boring hermit tasks of the day that had recently plagued her life after she had finished her degree. Living an hour out of Purgatory, Nicole took to the kitchen, fixing a small breakfast of grits and sandwiches before finishing the other menial work like feeding her long-haired orange pain in the ass, Calamity Jane before escaping the small apartment in Calgary. As she took the early morning commute to the Earp’s homestead, Nicole couldn’t help but think about the quirky Earps and their goat farm, an animal she now could understand such a unique pair of sisters caring for.

~

“So the newbie starts today?” Dolls asked, wiping his mouth.

“Yup, Nicole, she seems like a hard worker,” Waverly answered.

“Will she live out here?”

“Nope, you two scared her off,” Wynonna sarcastically claimed.

Doc finished first, placing his dishes in the sink before leaving out the back to start loading up the truck. Dolls and Wynonna followed suit, leaving Waverly to clean everything up as she waited for their new worker. She looked over at the clock now showing 6:45 on the face and peered past the kitchen wall to check if Nicole had arrived yet. When she walked out of the house, Wynonna and Dolls were already going out to their posts while Waverly left for the barn to perform her menial task of checking on the goats before letting them out to pasture.

On her way back, she spotted Black Beauty racing over the hill. Checking her watch, the young Earp noted her perfect punctuality, regarding her new farmhand as she dismounted her bike and rested it right in front of the porch of the homestead. Nicole removed her helmet and set it on the ground behind Beauty, shaking out her hair to fix the short red locks as she approached her boss.

“Sorry, hi Nicole,” Waverly quickly greeted with a firm handshake.

“Good morning Ms. Earp, so, where do I start?” she politely inquired.

“Ready to work, nice. Well, the grass is perfect for cutting, so I’ll need you to do that, then stack it, please. Once you’re done, ask Doc in the barn or me in the fields behind the house if you can help. Doc takes care of the goats and around this time of year we weed out the ones that are ready for the house.”

“Okay,” she confirmed, catching the bright tone in those final morbid words.

“You know how to use a scythe right?” Waverly asked, walking towards the field

“Like, the old style?”

“Well yeah, modern made, not an old, you know, rusty one from the 1700s, but still a scythe,” Waverly awkwardly explained. She sighed with a smile and continued, “Let me show you where the tools are.”

~

After a few grueling hours, the field was cut and the browned grass had been layered across the ground to dry. Nicole set the scythe down and began towards the homestead to grab a drink before returning to the homestead for a bite and nip. Once inside, she spotted Waverly by the sink washing some berries.

“Ms. Earp,” she greeted with a nod.

“Haught,” the other farmer greeted.

Nicole refilled her bottle, “Just taking a quick break. Do you need help in the fields?”

“Wait, did you already finish in the grass?”

“Yes.”

“And scattered it to dry?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole proudly nodded.

“Fast work, well done.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“That’s really impressive for two hours,” Waverly complimented. “I was never able to do it that fast. But then again, I enjoyed washing and shearing the goats more than the ag stuff.”

Nicole nodded in agreement, “So, this is a family farm?”

“Yup. My great-great-grandpa started the farm as a side job from being a for-hire officer.”

“Wow, so why goats?”

“Small and versatile.”

“What do you mean?” Nicole asked drinking from her bottle again.

“Well, you can eat them, drink them, wear them, and work them. Cows are drinkable, edible, and wearable, but not really workable as well as they’re large and require a lot of land compared to goats.”

“When did you switch?”

“Back when Grandpa Edwin ran this homely land,” Waverly playfully informed her, “Did you grow up in the area?”

“No, I’m from the outskirts of Calgary.”

“Oh, I love Calgary!” she beamed. “It’s so beautiful and exciting!”

Nicole couldn’t help but smile at her colleague's genuine interest in her. “Yeah, a lot happens there but definitely a nice mix of rural and city life.”

“My ex-boyfriend brought me up to the zoo there. I absolutely adored the reptile exhibit.”

“Reptiles?”

“Yeah, you know, exotic creatures from around the world.”

“I always loved the aviary exhibit. They’re so beautiful. So, you’re a bit of an adventurous soul, are you ma’am?”

“Yes, well, I’ve always enjoyed traveling, but the farm keeps me grounded.” Waverly smiled and looked out at the barn before pulling her gaze back to the farmhand, “I hope I’m not prying by asking you this, but… nevermind.”

“What?” Nicole gently pressed.

“Nevermind, it’s a stupid question,” she sputtered out as she tried to cover up her mistake.

Nicole rolled her eyes and gently asked, “There’s not much that offends me, ma’am. What is it?”

Waverly awkwardly sighed and asked, “Are you… gay?”

“Well, first day and already hitting the personal questions.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn't have asked.”

“Yeah, you shouldn't’ve,” Nicole began screwing the top back on her water bottle, “but you did, so I’ll answer. Yes, ma’am, I am in fact gay.”

“You are?”

“Yes.”

Waverly bit her lip feeling completely stupid and yet, curiosity still flared beneath the naive surface of her question. “You must get asked that often, sorry…”

“Not really.”

“I’m sorry. Um, Doc will need help in the barn, so you can help him there, I’m almost finished in the fields,” she tried to smooth things over.

“Yes, ma’am.” Nicole walked out of the cramped house to join Holliday.

She walked to the creaky building to find Doc at the doorway watching the goats as he smoked a hand-rolled cigarette, hie tilted down a bit to block the sun. He glanced up at the new worker and smiled below that dark thick mustache.

“Good morning,” he greeted in a very thick southern accent. “You must be Nicole.”

“And you’re Doc?”

“Pleasure to meet you,” he nodded as he stood up to shake her hand.

“I was wondering if you needed help.”

“For now, I just need to refill some of the water troughs. You can help me, but after that, there’s nothing else to do.”

“Okay.”

Nicole followed him to the well and began pumping water into the buckets, lugging them back to the barn as they each took turns dumping the water into the troughs. Nicole smiled again as the kids nudged into her while she walked. She laughed as she and Doc dumped water into the last trough. He was an unassuming man, Nicole pieced, and a big softy by the way he cared for the younger livestock. In the brief time of working with him, he was a gentleman, something Nicole had misjudged as being an act from his style and sound.

“Do you guys have a hay baler?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s in the back by the truck, just hook it up to the ol’ tractor and drive it to the field. Turn it on and you’ll be good to go.”

“Thank you Doc,” Nicole finished, turning on her heels to ask, “So, why Doc?”

“Just my childhood nickname,” he wistfully smiled.

Nicole smiled at his brief but predictable answer and walked back to the fields where Waverly said she would be. She looked for the young Earp amongst the bushes and approached her as she stood up.

“Hey, you need help?” Nicole called out to her.

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” she absentmindedly answered. “Yeah. I mean no. Sorry. Did you finish helping Doc?”

“Yes ma’am. Now just waiting for the grass to dry before I rotate and dry it again.” Nicole watched for a moment, the awkward silence filling the void that was once full of eager interest in one another. “Would you want to join me for a lunch break, ma’am?”

“Sure, I’m finishing up on the second round of blueberries today, so I can take a short break right now. I don’t have a helmet, though,” Waverly told her. “Oh, wait, Wynonna does.”

“She has a bike, too?”

“Yeah, it’s our uncle’s.”

“Perfect. So, is there anywhere to have a nip this early in the afternoon?”

“There’s this local bar in the town center, Shorty’s,” Waverly suggested with a smile.

“Sounds great.”

“It is,” she said going off to store the berries.

Waverly quickly finished her task and joined Nicole for their thrilling adventure. Her farmhand pulled on her helmet and slapped the visor down to protect her eyes from the sun then sat still for Waverly to climb on. She tentatively put her hands on Nicole’s shoulders, then slid them to her waist as they drove off. Nicole sped to the town center, the wind whipping past their bodies as they broke through the countryside. The rolling hills looked even more majestic at high speeds, and with the cloudy day, partial shadows were cast over the grass in long streaks while low winds combed over the untamed reeds. The land flattened again as she approached the main street paved through archaic shops meant to preserve the Old West. They finally happened upon Shorty’s, hard to miss by the large sign outlined in lights, and dismounted the bike, Waverly led the way to the old bar. When they walked in, almost everyone greeted the young heir.

“You seem quite popular,” Nicole commented

“I used to work here part-time,” she explained as they found a spot at the bar.

“Barmaid?”

“Waitress because I wasn’t old enough to sell alcohol,” she explained, catching the attention of the current woman presiding over the saloon.

“Waverly, how are you, sweetie?” Gus greeted.

“I’m doing really well, could we have two of the house ale?”

“Oh, just one,” Nicole interrupted, “I’ll just have pop, thank you, ma’am.”

“No problem,” she nodded as she poured out two small glasses and slid them over to the farmers before attending to the other patrons.

“That’s Gus, she’s my aunt. Curtis and his friend, Shorty, own this place.”

“It’s nice. Is that why you’re very popular?”

“Not the only other reason why,” Gus cut in with a slight smile as she cleaned a few glasses within earshot.

“That doesn’t matter, not really,” Waverly instantly intervened.

“So, who are you?” she directed towards the new farmhand.

“I’m Nicole Haught, new to the Earp farm, ma’am,” she said with a smile.

“It’s great to see people still wanting to work there. I always told Waverly that she should have traveled, she’s a free spirit.”

“But we need to keep our feet on the ground,” she intervened again.

“You’re too smart for Purgatory, Waves. You deserve more than this town than that farm,” Gus berated, leaving to serve another customer.

Nicole looked at Waverly, head cocked to the side in curiosity. “What does she mean by not the only reason you’re popular?”

“My great-great-grandpa was Wyatt Earp. He owned that small farm and raised his family there.”

“The Wyatt Earp? I thought I recognized your last name.”

“Yup,” Waverly smile, sighing as she looked down at her drink.

“So exploring the world was on your bucket list?”

“Yeah, but it was only a dream. Have you explored outside of Canada?”

“I have and I have to say that once you explore the world, you’re excited at first, but then find that it’s not what you expected because of all of the issues you find at home you find everywhere else, just with a different mask. It’s better to learn about the world slowly so there’s always more to see, more to do, more to… feel.” Nicole said drinking from her cup.

“Wow, were you a philosophy major?” Waverly asked.

“I always enjoyed philosophy, but I actually majored in justice and law,” Nicole casually joked.

“Wow, any idea of what you’d do?”

“Become an officer, maybe, or become a detective. Though for now, I’m working on a goat farm for a charming lady and her bike-loving older sister.”

“Thank you,” Waverly bashfully accepted. “Why not go straight into the force?”

“Well, I wanted to take a while off to get settled again before I have to go to the academy.”

“Why law enforcement?”

“I wanted to be one of the good cops. I want to improve our system by seeing and experiencing how it works from the inside.”

“How noble,” Waverly carefully considered.

Nicole blushed and glanced away, drinking from her glass. “I’m glad that we have this time to talk.”

“Me too,” Waverly agreed.

They watched as the hour passed with only a few lapsing moments of silence, seemingly having forgotten about the awkward question that briefly made Nicole wish she had taken a different job. The two women walked out of the bar, mounting Beauty, and headed back to the homestead. Nicole left first to continue her work in the fields where she began to flip the grass. The hard labor proved to be more mindless than she had originally planned, spending most of the time recounting her small excursion with Waverly.

Once she finished the work, Nicole walked to the fields behind the house where Waverly said she would be and called out, “Miss Earp, would you like me to help?”

“Yes, please,” she called back. “I need to pick the strawberries now, they just all popped. You know how to pick these, right?” Waverly asked, wiping her fingers off on the red and purple-stained rag.

“Do they just fall off?”

“Not really,” she corrected, handing her a spare pair of clippers from the basket. “We pick them when they’re a bit green still and what ones that are too ripe we sell in town or keep for ourselves.”

Nicole knelt down next to her and began to pick the ripe red berries from the bush, gently dropping them into the basket. There must have been three fifty meter rows of strawberry bushes and another three rows of blueberries Waverly had picked earlier. They worked quickly and diligently, hoping to be able to rest for the remaining portion of their workday. The two women picked the berries side by side, talking as they worked.

“So, books or video games,” Waverly randomly asked.

“It depends,” she methodically began, “I like books a bit more but I also enjoy a well-written game, too.”

“Okay. What kind of books do you like to read, then?”

“I enjoy Sue Grafton or a well thought out novel about ancient history.”

“Really?” Waverly asked excitedly. “So, which ancient society do you believe really pushed the progression of man?”

Nicole smirked at her excitement and thoughtfully answered, “The Sumerians. With a very intricate religious system copied by the Babylonians and Egyptians which was copied by the Greeks and Romans, as well as a simple written system, I think that they really did aid in the formative years for mankind. What do you think, ma’am?”

“Wow,” Waverly murmured in awe of Nicole’s genuine interest and knowledge. She bit her lip and asked, “What about women in history, which do you believe was the most progressive?”

Nicole perked up an eyebrow about the subject, finding it an interesting one to compare with ancient societies. “Oh, I think either the Sumerians- again- or maybe Ancient East Africa because of the matriarchal rule in some tribes. Well, now that I think about it, definitely the Sumerians because there was a woman leader who is regarded positively and women could be equal to men if they tried unlike many cultures, ancient or modern” Waverly just looked at the young worker and smiled. “Are you alright, ma’am?”

“Yes, yeah, I���ve just never met anyone so passionate about history. Everyone here is either a local running their own shop or working on their farm, so there aren’t a lot of people who like to talk about history for fun. Usually, it’s because it’s their homework… and they’re just asking for their homework.”

“Well, I’m glad that you approve of my overall nerdiness, Ms. Earp,” Nicole sarcastically engaged.

“Gosh, I embrace it with all of my heart because I'm not the only nerdy person in town now.”

Haught continued to smile as they went back to work, feeling her employer’s eyes on her every moment or so. Whenever she caught her eye, a light blush would cover her cheeks in an instant and she would go back to her task. As they finished the final row of strawberries, Nicole glanced at her watch seeing that she still had two hours left on the clock.

She excused herself and went to retrieve the small green tractor, connecting it to their old baler. The young farmhand drove to the front of the lot and hopped out to bring the hay together in individual rows. She then got back on the tractor and slowly drove over the mounds of grass as they collected and ultimately turned into seven dense round bales. She drove the tractor back, taking everything apart when she spotted Waverly in the house beckoning her inside. Nicole approached the manor, brushing off all of the excess grass, and walked in.

“Hey, you busy?” her employer asked

“I just have to bring in the hay, but other than that, no, ma’am.”

“Just wondering. I can help you,” Waverly offered.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Nicole accepted, pulling her gloves on again as she led the way to the field.

They each grabbed a bale and walked to the barn where Doc must have been on a break as the goats meandered the fields to drink and graze, pushing through one another. The farmers dropped the bales on the ground and began traveling back and forth for the remaining ones. After the last drop off, Waverly climbed up the ladder to the storage space with other extra bales.

“What was your aunt saying about you moving on?” Nicole asked as she tossed a bale up to her.

“Well,” Waverly huffed as she caught it. “I was a history and linguistics major, nothing like Wynonna or anyone else in the family. Gus has been trying to get me on a different track ever since my dad passed away. She even helped me through college.”

“Why did you decide to stay, if you don’t mind me asking, ma’am?”

“This is my home, and when Wynonna left I took care of this place with Uncle Curtis, just to get by. I found happiness here. Peace,” Waverly simply added, catching the last bale and setting it down. “Love.”

“Ms. Waverly Earp,” she beckoned, climbing up the ladder, “why did my sexuality matter to you?” Nicole only earned a defiant sigh and she pushed herself onto the deck.

She merely looked at Nicole as she tried to put her thoughts in order as quickly as she could while the worker encroached upon her. “Close enough to touch,” she thought to herself. A foot apart, Waverly gazed up slightly to study Nicole’s features before nervously breaking their connection with a soft sigh.

“I’m not really great with words,” Waverly tried to explain away, “You know what, pretend I didn’t say anything, Nicole.”

“With all due respect, ma’am, I really don’t think that’s possible,” she bluntly stated.

Waverly bit the inside of her lip as she tried to fight off the urge to do or say anything out of line, especially when her counterpart was so formal. “Nothing, I shouldn’t have said anything,” she tried, nudging her coworker aside by the waist before she descended the ladder.

“Waverly,” she called down to her, “I apologize if I have been out of line in any way.”

“I’ve been out of line, Nicole,” the young caretaker affirmed as the barn doors opened.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” Doc greeted, a fresh smoke peeking out from under his mustache.

“Hey, Doc,” Waverly quickly smiled, walking past him.

Once out of earshot, Nicole approached him to ask, “Is she usually like this?”

Doc tucked the unlit cigarette behind his ear and shrugged, “Like what?”

“Awkward.”

“I guess sometimes? The best thing to do with these Earps is to let them defuse in solitude rather than intervene,” he informed her. “Thank you for the hay.”

“No problem, Doc,” she nodded, following Waverly to the homestead.

“I mean it, Haught,” he warned her. “Leave it be.”

“I still have an hour left.”

“I have to herd the goats in if you want to help, that’ll eat up a good fifteen,” he asked, lighting the end of his tab.