Stay the Night

2.The First Week

Jack forced himself to get up the next morning. Before the sun. When he lived in town, he didn't sleep too late even though he had night shifts. Living here on the ranch would make him wish he had those mornings back. He yawned as he dragged his feet and got dressed. It was summer, but it was chilly and he had to turn up the heat just a bit to get comfortable. The cold woke him up faster, but he didn't like it. He would rather have a cup of coffee and a nice breakfast.

And about three or four more hours of sleep.

Jack walked out of the bedroom just as a knock came at the door. He had gotten up just in time then. He turned the heat off as he made his way to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open to see Joe standing there with his eldest son. Ron was seventeen, almost eighteen. Jack had met him and his sister when he met the Aguirres at the restaurant, but hadn't gotten much of an impression of him until last night. In public, Ron Aguirre was an angel. In the privacy of his own home, Ron was rebellious. Joe had told him to go upstairs in the middle of dinner last night.

"Didn't expect you to be up and dressed already," Joe said, clearly impressed. Jack wanted to tell him not to be too impressed since he felt like he'd drop and pass out right then. "I have some errands to run, but Ron will show you around and get ya familiar with everything. You don't mind, do ya?"

"No," Jack assured him. He held back the yawn that was trying to escape. "What my body minds is the lack of sleep."

Joe gave a light laugh. "You'll get used to it," he said. Easy for him to say since he probably grew up with this sleep pattern. It always amazed Jack that people got up this early and weren't tired. Well, at least, they didn't show it. "I better get goin' or I'll be late." He nodded at Jack and Ron then turned and hurried off.

Leaving Jack and Ron in awkward silence.

"So..." Jack started.

"Ever work on a ranch before?" Ron asked. At least he wasn't the silent type. He sounded like he was comfortable talking with complete strangers. Even though Jack wasn't that much of a stranger.

"Nope," Jack said, shaking his head. He wasn't going to mention the fact that he had never even imagined himself anywhere near a ranch. The closest he had ever gotten before now was either driving by it or seeing it on TV.

"You'll get the hang of it," Ron said then turned and led the way away from the house.

Jack stepped out of the house, pulling the door closed behind him. The sun wasn't up yet, but at least it wasn't completely dark. He checked his phone and saw that it was a little past five-thirty. He grumbled inwardly, knowing he would get tired of this sleep pattern real quick.

Ron took him to the barn first and showed him the machinery and tools that were used. He got Jack a pair of gloves and showed him how to stack the hay or take it wherever it was needed. This job was going to be a lot of lifting, which sucked for Jack since he had never really pushed himself to the limit like this. Ron grabbed the bales of hay as if they weighed nothing. And Jack got the feeling that he was showing off. He might be rebellious, but this was his element and he was better than the weak-ass new boy.

Jack was shown around the ranch a bit more. His least favorite part was cleaning up after the animals. He probably would never get that smell out of his nose. And he hadn't even done anything! He had just stood around watching Ron and trying very hard not to breathe. And the cows looked at him as if they knew how uncomfortable he had been through all of that. Jack had imagined once or twice the cows rolling around in their own shit, laughing at him.

Joe got back around lunch. Jack could feel the lack of sleep hitting him harder now. He was sitting on the porch of the house with Ron, eating a sandwich and drinking lemonade that Joe's wife had made. The cool drink helped keep him awake, but he still felt as if passing out would make him feel a lot better.