Henry shook his head as one by one the horses reached for her, and one by one she stroked each one on the muzzle, chin or forehead. “That is one of the most aggravating things I’ve ever seen,” Henry mumbled to himself. “How the hell does she do that?”

He quickly sat down on the bed and pulled on his boots, which wasn’t near the struggle getting them off was. He reached for his hat, plopped it on his head, and then marched toward the door. Once outside he was surprised to see that in the short time it took him to put on his boots and hat, Jessie was no longer in with the horses. He quickly looked around, but she was nowhere in sight. Like some school kid looking for mischief, Henry skittered across the yard and climbed through the fence. He slowly made his way to the approximate area where Jessie was standing when he had seen her through the window, and then straightened himself up, as if to say to the world: Okay, here I am. Come gather ‘round.

One by one the horses, which were for the most part still standing nearby, simply turned and walked away.

“Damn that’s aggravating,” he said again.

“It’s your attitude,” he heard Jessie say from behind him.

Startled, Henry spun around to see Jessie leaning on the fence, very near where he had climbed through.

“Dang ma’am! You ‘bout scared me out of my skin!”

“I’m sorry,” she said unconvincingly. “I thought you knew I was here.”

“Well, I do now!” Henry turned and watched the rest of the horses that were nearby saunter down the gently sloping hill and into the little ravine to get water. When the last one disappeared, he walked sheepishly over to where Jessie was standing. “I was just…” He turned nonchalantly and pointed toward the horses. “The horses were…”

“It’s your attitude,” Jessie repeated.

“Ma’am?”

“It’s your attitude, Henry.” She shrugged. “That’s why they don’t want to be around you.”

“Attitude?”

Jessie nodded. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”

By the time Henry and Jessie made their way to the old wooden porch swing in front of Jessie’s front room window, the sun had just passed below the horizon. The eastern sky had turned nearly black with nightfall, but to the west the heavens were still ablaze with dark red, amber and yellow hues. Henry was noticing the beauty of sunsets like these more lately, and as he sat in awe of the brilliant colors being cast upon the desert, Jessie stepped out onto the porch carrying two steaming cups of coffee and gently sat on the swing next to him.

“Here you go.” She smiled as she handed him one of the cups, and took a sip from the other.

“Beautiful evening,” he said quietly.

Jessie turned her attention to the western sky. “Isn’t it though?” They sat for a while, watching the remaining shards of colored light fade to black. “Is the coffee all right?” Jessie asked, breaking the silence.