October 2020

The Beginning

It starts at her home. She got home from school. They are desperate for the sale of cattle for income. The foreman is not recovering from an injury, her father can't do it any longer. None of the other hands can be trusted. She has been on short drives with her dad before, but no authority. She knows cattle and horses and wants to run the business end of the ranch some day.
She's in pretty dresses and is called on by a boy/man from town. She insists that she can handle it. They argue. She has to build up their trust and convince the all to let her go and that the hands aren't going to molest her or divert their mission.
They're in a nice but not fancy ranch house for most discussions, but there's a barn, a stable, corrals, a bunkhouse, the well, a garden, a wood shed, a root cellar, a chicken shed, etc. No discussions in the outhouses.
Men who have been around long enough know that she can handle a horse and round up cattle, but the newer ones seriously doubt it.