Western short story by Stephen Bly
In this western short story Hap Bowman and Laramie Majors search for Hap’s long lost love, Juanita, and fund the journey with odd jobs like rounding up wild horses near the Texas Mexican border. As modern day cowboys they use GPS and night vision goggles to avoid land mines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt from Aim Low, Shoot High:
Some days the air prophesies excitement, adventure, danger, or love. But on this day, it predicted no more than heat.
Hap Bowman paused at the top of the rise and surveyed the band of wild horses below. He pulled off his black cowboy hat and wiped his forehead with a bandanna. “I wonder, why didn’t the local cowboys jump at this good money?”
Laramie Majors stepped down, loosened the cinch on his saddle, then wiped his horse, Tully. “I think it has something to do with the Major’s ‘don’t go out there and get your fool head blown off like our last wrangler’.”
“It does somewhat dampen the thrill of it all.” Hap leaned back in the saddle. “You figure you’re destined to get Laramie bits scattered across a west Texas desert?”
“I’d rather die an old man surrounded by a loving wife, kids and grandkids.”
“Which, at the moment, don’t appear too likely.”
“There’s a certain nurse in southern California who gives me renewed hope.” Laramie tightened the cinch, remounted, handed the towel back to Hap.
“Oh my, Laramie’s pinin’ after Annamarie Buchett again.”
“She might be the classiest lady that ever gave me two twits of attention. Some dreams are too sweet to let go.”
“Yeah, I’ve been cuddlin’ a dream of my Juanita for almost twenty years now. At some point you try to turn loose of the dream and realize the dream won’t turn loose of you.”
Laramie and Hap rode down the draw as the stallion led his remuda over the next hill.
“You notice he’s slowin’ down?” Hap remarked.
“He’s not as panicked as he seemed to be at daybreak.”
They slowed to a walk, the wild horses in view.
“What if we discover there’s no road, no windmill and no corrals?” Hap said.
“The army wouldn’t allow that. They’ve plotted and mapped every square inch of this military reserve.” Laramie reached back and patted his crammed saddlebags. “This is the first time we’ve ever cowboyed with GPS and night vision goggles.”
“Too bad we have to give them back. Them goggles give a whole new meanin’ to huntin’ at first light.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Available as Ebook
Available as contemporary western short story eBook on any digital reader.
Stephen Bly’s Smashwords Author Profile: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/janetcbly
