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The day’s work was finished, and the coolness of evening had settled gently across Roaring Rapids Ranch. The horses had been fed, the chickens had found their roosts, and the last streaks of orange sunlight painted the western sky. As happened on so many pleasant evenings, a few of the ranch family gathered on the front porch.
Old Man Caldwell rocked slowly in his favorite rocker. Looking over at Mary sitting on the porch swing, he thought, “I remember when she was just a little girl. Right before dinner, she’d run out and pick some wildflowers to put on the table. And here she is now, rocking on the porch swing with little Grant wrapped up asleep in her arms.” Looking at Jake as he sat beside her, he mused, “When I hired Jake as Ranch Foreman five years ago, I had no idea they’d fall in love and I’d become a grandfather.”
He looked forward to nights like this. He saw Sheriff Tex riding in from town. Sheriff Tex, who had once been a hand on the ranch, enjoyed evenings like this and would occasionally ride out just to visit, taking his usual chair carried from the kitchen. Leading the way from the cookhouse, Hank was walking over with two new hands. Caldwell thought, “Over the past year, he’s made himself one of the best Range Bosses I’ve ever hired.” Behind him, Tiny and Thomas were just shutting the cookhouse door. All the regulars and two new hands would be there tonight.
As Hank approached the front porch, Caldwell put a finger on his lips and pointed toward Grant sound asleep. Hank still had a habit of speaking with the same voice he used when giving orders across a pasture.
Eventually, Tiny leaned comfortably against the porch post and whispered, “I still don’t trust chairs.” “We know,” Jake grinned. “A porch post has never let me down.” “It couldn’t,” as Thomas suppressed a laugh, “You’d probably break it first.” Everyone shook with quiet laughter. Grant opened his eyes and smiled at Mary.
Boone lay asleep near Old Man Caldwell’s boots after a long day riding fences with Jake. Curled tightly against Boone’s side was Whisper, the handsome gray ranch cat who had somehow grown up believing he was every bit as much a ranch dog as Boone.
One of the two newest ranch hands watched them for a long moment. “I understand why everybody talks about Boone,” he finally said. “But that cat...”
Almost as though he knew they were talking about him, Whisper stretched, wandered across the porch, and leaped into Old Man Caldwell’s lap.
Tiny chuckled.
“Son... that ain’t the strange part.”
Jake folded his arms. “Here we go.”
Mary smiled. “I hope Tiny remembers it better than he usually remembers things.”
Tiny looked offended. “I remember important things.”
“It all started one stormy night. Back when the ranch was short-handed…”
Hank butted in, “It’s always short-handed.”
Ignoring him, Tiny cleared his throat, “And Thomas had only been here a few weeks, a fierce thunderstorm pounded the bunkhouse roof. Boone stood, walked to the door, and gave a soft whine. Jake opened the door, and Boone disappeared into the rain. Anyway, a few minutes later scratching came from outside. I saw Jake step onto the porch, where he found Boone soaked from nose to tail.
“He was soaked,” Jake added quietly, and gently held in his mouth was the tiniest gray kitten I’d ever seen. Its eyes were barely open. Its little body trembled with cold. I tucked him inside my shirt just to warm him up. I looked down at Boone and whispered, ‘Well, partner, I reckon you found new friend tonight.’ Boone’s tail wagged exactly once.”
“The next morning,” Mary continued, “Jake brought him to me before breakfast.”
“And Boone followed every step,” Thomas remembered. “He wasn’t about to leave that kitten alone.”
“Jake handed him to me and I began feeding the kitten with a tiny bottle while Boone watched every feeding as though he had appointed himself nurse and guardian. I named the kitten Whisper because his tiny meow sounded more like a whisper than a cry.”
Tiny went on, “As Whisper grew stronger, he became convinced he wasn’t really a cat. If Boone chased butterflies, Whisper chased butterflies. If Boone raced after rabbits, Whisper raced after rabbits, usually several yards behind and acting much fiercer than he really was. Whenever Boone barked at someone riding up the lane, Whisper puffed himself up and answered with his bravest little ‘Mrrrp!’ He sounded to me like somebody yellin’ for more bacon with a mouth full of biscuits. But he thought he was bein’ a ranch dog.”
Mary covered a smile. “And then came the horse trough.” Everybody laughed before she even finished. “The little rascal finally stretched high enough to think he could pull himself up and drink just like Boone.”
“Splash!” Tiny said. “He disappeared clean into the water.”
Jake looked toward Boone. “Boone didn’t even hesitate. He reached right in, and gently fished that dripping kitten out by the scruff of his neck and set him safely on the grass.”
Tiny grinned. “I’ve never seen a wetter cat.”
“I’ve never seen a prouder dog,” Caldwell replied.
For a moment no one spoke. Tiny stretched his legs. “Yep. Always trying to be exactly like Boone, Whisper leaned too far.”
Caldwell gently stroked Whisper’s head and smiling said, “Whisper grew into this handsome gray ranch cat. Every evening I’m on this porch he climbs into my lap and Boone stretches out at my feet.
One of the young ranch hands nodded, “I reckon that explains a lot.”
Old Man Caldwell looked down at him and into his eyes. He thought about the man he could become here on the ranch someday, and said, “The Lord has a way of bringing lonely creatures together. Sometimes they’re people... and sometimes they’re a faithful ranch dog and a rain-soaked little kitten. Sometimes they’re cowboys like you who come to work in a short-handed ranch and find a family.”
Jake slipped an arm around Mary’s shoulders. “I’ve always figured Boone found Whisper that night,” he said quietly. “But I reckon the Lord found both of them.” Boone opened one eye long enough to see Whisper safe where he belonged, then closed it again. Some stories are worth telling more than once. At the Roaring Rapids Ranch, some friendships become part of the heart.