That next morning, Henry had sleepily pulled himself from his bed just as the sky was getting light, got dressed and brewed a fresh pot of coffee. The wranglers who’d been out partying the night before had gotten back to the ranch just a couple hours earlier and were passed out in their bunks, three of them still with their clothes on. Henry poured himself a cup, shrugged into his threadbare canvas jacket, slipped on his hat and stepped outside onto the porch. Steam rose up to great him as he brought the tin mug to his lips, and a perfect sun breached the horizon in the east. He stood quietly, watching as the sky slowly turned from dark blue to a soft yellow-orange, and for the first time in a long time, he found himself welcoming the beauty of a new morning.

He thought about taking a seat in one of the nearby rocking chairs, but in the distance he heard the faint sound of the screen door on Jessie’s house opening and closing. Rather than sitting down, Henry moved closer to the steps and leaned on the wooden upright supporting the roof that hung over the porch. Across the yard he could see Jessie heading his way dressed in her faded jeans, large brimmed cowboy hat, denim jacket that was beat up nearly as bad as his own, and her long light brown hair in a thick braid hanging down the middle of her back. He took another sip from his cup.

“Morning, Henry,” Jessie smiled while still several yards away. Her smile seemed different somehow—happier, more open, perhaps, than Henry had seen before. It caught his attention and held it for several seconds before he straightened himself up and tipped his hat.

“Mornin’, ma’am.”

“The others ever get back from the bar last night?” she asked.

“Yup,” Henry nodded, stepping down the steps as she walked up. “Sleepin’ like babies in there. I expect at least a couple of ‘em will be wakin’ up somewhere between ‘oh lord’ and ‘my god’ in a few hours.”

“Happens every year,” Jessie smirked. “Last day of the season comes and the first thing everybody does is run down to Mona’s bar and blow half their last check drinking too much and spending the rest of the next day wishing they hadn’t.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Henry nodded. “I know what that’s like. Been more than one mornin’ when I woke up wonderin’ if I’d found a rope or lost my horse.”

Jessie didn’t comment. Instead she changed the subject. “I wanted to thank you again for coming to my rescue last night. I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to get out of that by myself.”

“Believe me, ma’am, I was happy to do it.”

“I’m sure that’s probably true,” Jessie smiled. “But thank you just the same.” There was a sincerity in her voice that Henry wasn’t accustomed to, and as he stood looking at her in that early morning sun, he felt himself blush.