We Went for the Ranchhands
 

Laura leaned on the counter, watching the TV put up in the corner, like everyone else in the diner. There was a race on, and everyone was keeping track of it. But she did make sure all her cleaning was done and no one needed a refill before she slacked off.

"So, you going off again this weekend?" she asked her cousin and co-worker, barely glancing in her direction. The answer would be yes; it always was.

Tammy nodded as she absently wiped some coffee from the counter.

"Yeah," she said. "Gonna head out once we're done here." She looked at her cousin. "You know, it's been slow there lately and I've been helping out some. They offered to let me bring a friend, if you're interested?"

Laura blinked. "Really?" That was new. "Huh. Sure. I'll have to let Kate know I won't be around, but she's closed Saturday for the show a few towns over anyway. When are you leaving?"

"I'm usually gone a couple hours after I get off shift," Tammy said. "Gives me enough time to pack for the weekend. Bring comfy stuff, okay? Jeans, shoes you don't mind getting dirty."

"T-shirts or flannels?" Laura would probably end up bringing both, along with a jacket or two. But she had plenty of shoes she didn't mind getting dirty.

"Tees," Tammy said. "Though bring a flannel or two for the evenings, it gets chilly."

"Will do." Laura actually grinned. It kind of sounded fun. "Anything else I should know?"

"Moose is a sweetheart and likes to pretend he's a horse," Tammy said, grinning. "That's about all you'll need to know. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory when you get there."

"Alright, sounds good." Laura grinned at that. "Sounds like fun. It's been a while since I've had a chance to be around horses."

"Great," Tammy said, grinning. "I'll pick you up two hours after we get off shift, alright?"

"Sure." Laura smiled. "Two hours after shift. Sounds good." Two hours was more than enough time to throw together a weekend bag, after all.

"Great," Tammy said, grinning. Now hopefully the end of the shift would be quick and painless so they could get out of there.

Laura finished up the shift and grinned.

"See you in two hours, then," she said, taking off her apron and heading for her car.

"Yep," Tammy said. She headed home to pack. Two hours later, she was in front of Laura's place, beeping her horn.

Laura headed out to her car, grinning.

"Here I am," she said, putting her duffel in the back seat. "So, how far away is this place?"

"About an hour," Tammy said, heading back out to the main road once Laura was in. "May as well get comfortable."

"Alright." Laura settled in for the ride, watching the landscape go by as they left town and went out into the farm land. She could only see half the farm houses from the highway; the others were too far back on private roads.

The one they were headed for in particular was set very far back off the main road. It wasn't visible at all from the main road, and was quite a ways down the private road as well. Finally, they drove under a sign that had the name Winchester on it over a pair of crossed guns, and the ranch came into view.

Laura raised her eyebrows but didn't comment until Tammy had parked.

"Winchester, huh? You hadn't mentioned his last name." She shrugged. "I suppose it doesn't really matter, but it is kind of funny."

"Just wait till you see them both," Tammy said, grinning. "You won't mind the last name so much then." Because she could definitely admit that both brothers were pretty. She could definitely appreciate Sam's aesthetics.

Laura rolled her eyes and motioned for her to lead the way, slinging her duffel over her shoulder.

Sam heard the car pull up and finished putting away one of the horses before he went to go check, grinning.

Tammy had barely gotten out of the car when she heard the jingle of some dog tags. She grinned when a huge dog came barreling around the ranch house, tongue hanging out.

"Hey, Moose," Tammy greeted when the dog got closer. Moose immediately got up on his hind legs and put his front paws on her shoulders so he could start licking her face. "Moose! No, stop, get down, no more kisses!"

Sam laughed. "Moose," he called. "Come on, over here." He grinned as he walked over to the two. "I see someone's happy to see you."

"I guess so," Tammy said, grinning. Moose got down and trotted back over to Sam. "I brought my cousin Laura with me this weekend." She looked over at her cousin. "Laura, this is Sam, and his dog Moose."

"Hey." Laura waved awkwardly.

"Hey Laura. I've heard a lot about you." Sam smiled. "Oh, hey, you probably want to get settled in, huh? Let's go head over to the cabins. You two have the blue cabin this weekend," he said, more to Tammy.