Longrider

         The man from the diner leaned against a wooden pillar on the porch. He’d been rocking on a chair, his hat on his knee, when Nathaniel approached. However as he realized he had company, he stood up and replaced it atop his head. Nathaniel had gotten directions from Katelyn, yet he still couldn’t bring himself to waste the money on a cab so he’d walked. In the end, it took him a bit into the afternoon to turn the curve of the red dirt road into the driveway. “Took you long enough.” The man called out, from his tone Nathaniel guessed he’d been waiting a while. Katelyn probably called when he left. 

         “You the kid looking for work?” He asked when Nathaniel gave no response. Nathaniel stopped a few feet from the stair’s edge, enough room to move if the man tried to grab him. Stranger danger was far out the window by now, but Nathaniel wasn’t going to make it easy for him. “Yes sir.” He said, firmly. The older man scoffed, his tribal tattoo flexing as he waved his word off. “None of that sir shit. I ain’t that old yet. Kids here call me Wymack, or other colorful names I won’t repeat.”

         Nathaniel realized he was expected to answer, yet again too late, with his own. That was how conversations -or was this a job interview?- worked. Maybe he’d already ruined it by being late. “Kid?” Wymack asked sternly, causing Nathaniel to jump out of his thoughts. “Sorry.” He said softly. “Neil.”

         “Alright Neil.” Wymack repeated. “You ride?” He asks, gesturing to the barn. Nathaniel shook his head. “You ever done farm work? Got any physical ailments I should know?” Nathaniel shook his head slowly. The man raised a brow. “You ever worked?” Wymack trailed on, his eyebrows falling as Nathaniel shook his head to each question. “You wasting my time?” He asked.

         Nathaniel took a second to answer. He was already bombing the interview part. “I need a job, somewhere to stay.” He said honestly. “I’m a hard worker, I learn fast.” He watched the man look out towards the driveway, he seemed to be solving something in his head. He didn’t follow the man’s gaze, but he’d seen the motorcycle and trucks. It didn’t seem like something he’d consider at this moment. Nathaniel assumed he was stalling, but perhaps that was his mother’s paranoia. Still, he double checked the zipper of his hoodie. 

         He realized he’d preferred the man’s attention to be distracted as he soloed in on Nathaniel. His gaze was appraising, it made Nathaniel squirm. “How old are you, kid?” He asked. Nathaniel adjusted the bag on his shoulder, dropping Wymack’s gaze for a moment to steady his nerves from just the understanding behind the man’s eyes. “Nineteen.” He stated. Wymack made a noise, it sounded like a laugh Nathaniel couldn’t quite define. “Nineteen… that’s pretty damn young. Ain’t got any other job prospects?” Wymack didn’t seem surprised when Nathaniel shook his head.

         Wymack straightened himself off the pillar that was holding his weight. “The type of work I’m looking for ain’t easy, pays good so you’ll earn your keep.” Nathaniel’s chest eased, something warm bubbling beneath his skin. “Yes si-wymack.” He corrected himself, getting caught up in his excitement too quickly. The man paid his slip up no mind, walking towards Nathaniel, a loud bounce in his step as he descended the creaking wooden steps. He didn’t comment as Nathaniel stepped back instinctively, instead used the room to turn down a trail made from years of wear and tear on the ground. “Come on, let’s get you acquainted.” He said over his shoulder, an order for Nathaniel to follow.

         The property was longer than Nathaniel could even see, he assumed it disappeared behind the hills and trees on the horizon line due to lack of a visible fence. “Main house is where you'll get your dinner, make sure you’re clean up before you step on the carpet or I’ll never hear the end of it, so neither will you.” Wymack drawled, the gravel crunching underneath his boots setting a rhythm to his words. He had almost a foot on Nathaniel, so the younger man had to keep a fast pace to make up for the man’s longer strides. 

         “Here you got the cowpens” he gestures to a large grey building, the roof a little flatter than the barns Nathaniel had seen in pictures. He turns on the path towards it, continuing his spiel. “You got that big field back there for em, four paddocks, but you just missed rotations.” He said with a huff, giving no pause for questions or definitions as he yanked open the large wooden door. Nathaniel heard laughing before he turned the corner. If Nathaniel thought Wymack was tall, the man on the ladder was a giant. He wasn’t even halfway up the ladder to reach the roof. The ladder seemed to have rocked as the woman next to it laughed while the man above her crouched to grip the metal, stabilizing himself. 

         “You’re trying to kill me, woman!” The man said, his voice stuttered with laughter not heat. The woman below gave a hearty laugh as she apologized. “These two buffoons are Dan and Matt.” Upon hearing their names, the two turned. Their laughter simmered out but Nathaniel noticed how they didn’t tense at the man’s entrance. However, they eyed Nathaniel curiously. “Hey boss, who’s the dude?” Nathaniel didn’t know why the girl smacked his leg as he descended, but he was more trying to figure out which one was Matt and which was Dan.

         Dan, as in Danielle, or maybe there was a name Matt could be short for. Mattie? Thankfully he mustn’t have hid his confusion well. “Dan, nice to meet you.” The woman, Dan, said as she wiped her hands on her already dirt-stained bell bottoms. She held out her hand, calluses still stained but Nathaniel didn’t see the point in acknowledging it and took her hand. Her grip was strong, Neil quickly corrected his own in a failed attempt to match. 

         “Neil.” He replied, catching onto this whole introduction back and forth by now. Matt quickly replaced Dan with another handshake, somehow his was gentler but still firm. The two held equally bright smiles as the waitress from the diner, however Katelyn’s smile was an expectation of her job and these two seemed to be wildly authentic. Nathaniel, not wanting to seem rude, gave a small one in response. 

         “We’re testing him out for the day, you can show him around after dinner if he sticks.” Wymack told the pair, but he kept his eyes on Dan. The job interview wasn’t over yet, but Nathaniel never expected it to be easy. He was being tested. “Matt’s patching the roof, so I could use the help setting up feedings.” Dan nodded, Wymack nodded and took that as his cue to leave. Nathaniel watched him disappear out the door again. He turned back to Dan and Matt, the pair still smiling, and awkwardly returned a similar one from earlier.