I gave Warrior a pat at the back door, as Ford and I went inside. Ford went to drop the flashlight back into the drawer.
He proceeded to get a glass down, and pour himself milk.
"Want some?" he asked me.
"No," I said, with a shake of my head. "I'm stuffed from supper."
"Is the new place nice?" Ford asked.
"Yeah. It's nice."
"Expensive?" he asked then.
"I don't know," I admitted. "I didn't really pay attention to the prices. Evan paid."
I got out all my diabetes supplies and gave myself my shot. Ford stood watching me, sipping at his milk.
"You're a real pro at that now," he said.
I shrugged. "I guess I'm sort of used to it now."
Ford drained his glass, and set it in the sink. "See ya in the morning," he said, heading up the back
stairs.
"Night," I told him.
I put my supplies away, and went thru to the living room. Adam and Hannah were sitting on one of the
couches, and Evan sat opposite of them, eating a handful of cookies.
"There you are," Hannah said, in greeting. "Evan's been telling us about the new restaurant."
"Oh," I said, flopping down next to Evan.
"Did you have a good time?" Hannah asked me then.
"Yeah. It was fun," I told her.
"What's the kid's name?" Adam asked.
"Brock."
"Yeah. Brock. He a nice kid?" Adam asked.
"He was nice," I said, in noncommittal.
"Good. I'm glad you went," Hannah said. "It seems as though you haven't gotten to do much this summer."
"You do your shot?" Adam asked.
"Uh huh."
It was just a few minutes after that, and Adam said he was bone-weary and ready for bed. He and Hannah stood up,
and I stood up, too, giving them both a hug goodnight.
When they'd gone up the stairs, their arms around one another's waists, Evan tugged on the hem of my
shirt.
"Hey," he said. "How about doin' some practice in the morning?"
There was only one sort of practice that he would be talking about.
"The rodeo's comin' up soon," he went on.
"Really?" I asked, in nonchalance.
"Yeah, really." He gave me a tug, and I plopped down beside him on the couch. "You gonna do it?"
"I'm not good enough, Ev."
"Well, heck no, not talkin' like that, you're not," he said.
"Why do you want me to do it so much?" I asked.
"I just think you should try. It's a good way to get some experience and make some money."
"You have to win at the event to win the money," I said dryly.
"Alright, smartass," he said, giving me a light push as he got to his feet. I stood up, too, following him
as he started up the stairs.
"Maybe I will," I said lightly.
"Yeah? Good."
"Don't come out and watch me in the morning, though," I told him.
"Why the heck not?" he demanded.
"You make me nervous," I said.
"How do I make you nervous?"
"Because you holler, and you criticize."
"When you put it that way, I sound like a real ass," Evan said dryly.
I gave him a conciliatory shrug of my shoulders.
Evan thumped me on the head, not really too hard, though. And then he went on down the hall to his own
room.
7
I set my alarm for an early morning rising. Five-thirty. When it went off, I had to talk myself into getting out of bed.
Once up and going, and dressed, I went down to the kitchen, and started the ever-present pot of coffee. While it was
perking, I made myself a ham sandwich from leftovers. A weird breakfast, but it tasted just fine as I went out the back door,
nibbling on it, and drinking out of my Carlsbad Caverns coffee cup.
I finished my coffee and sandwich, sitting on a bale of hay, with all of the dogs sitting in a semi-circle around me,
waiting for a handout. I grabbed a couple of the apples from the barn to tempt Petra, and to reward her.
Once I'd managed to capture Petra, and get her tacked up, I rode over to where the three barrels were still set up in the
field. I realized that I'd once again neglected to bring anything to time the runs with. I figured it didn't really matter at this
point, though. We were certain to be as slow as we'd been at the beginning.
I repositioned my ponytail thru the back of my ball cap, and put Petra into motion. Instead of seeming reluctant, she
appeared eager to get going. We'd gone thru the pattern two times already, and I had to really work to control Petra.
She kept tossing her head, and whinnying.
It was while we were taking a break for a couple of moments, and I was leaning down, over her neck, hugging Petra, that
I saw a glimpse of brown. It was at the far end of the open meadow, just across the fence. I rode Petra a bit closer.
It was the burros! At least one of them! I wasn't close enough to see if it was both, or not.
I slid down from Petra's back, letting the reins dangle, and patted my jacket pocket to see if I still had one apple left.
I did. I went over towards the fence line so that it wouldn't seem to the burros that I was walking right up onto them. I paused
when I was still fifteen feet or so away. It was both the burros. I began to talk to them softly again, the way that
I had the day before.
Moving slowly, I came a bit closer. I took the apple from my pocket, wondering how I could split it between them without
a knife. I couldn't figure out a way, unless I would have used a rock to hammer the apple into separate pieces. And I didn't want
to do that. It might scare them off, to see me hacking away furiously like that.
I held the apple out in front of me, and walked a few steps closer. They both just looked at me in seeming curiousity, and kept
nibbling grass.
I gave the apple a gentle toss, figuring that they could decide between them who got the apple.
One of them took several steps to reach the apple, and began to crunch it.
I settled myself in the grass, and watched them, from my side of the fence. The whole while I kept talking to them.
I wanted to try to touch them, but I restrained myself. It would only scare them off. And I wanted them to stay.
"You guys remember me, don't you?" I said softly. "You know you're safe here, from all those crazy people
that keep chasing you around."
I don't know how much time passed, as I sat there. Then the peace was shattered by yelling.
"Harlie!"
My name was called out, once, and then twice. In a panicked way.
"Uh oh," I said, standing up quickly. So quickly that the burros took a few steps back at my sudden movement.
I walked quickly towards the barrels, where I saw Evan, and somebody else, too, looking around. Ah, Brian. He came
from the other side of the field.
"Hey!" I called out, to get their attention.
Evan, standing beside Petra, turned, and then he hollered, too, to Brian. Brian stopped and turned towards Evan,
who motioned towards me.
And then, as Brian came walking, (really fast), towards me, I realized with a sinking feeling that it looked as though
I'd been thrown from my horse, or something. I mean, with the way Petra was standing there, still saddled, with the reins
trailing on the ground, I can see how it would appear that way. Brian had obviously been walking over the field, thinking
I was laying in the grass somewhere, after being bucked off.
"Oh, boy," I said to myself, getting a nervous flutter in my belly. I thought about just stopping right there, and not
walking on. Letting Brian come to me. But I made my feet keep going.
"Are you alright?" were the first words out of his mouth, as he was nearly upon me.
"Yes, I'm alright."
"Were you thrown?" he demanded.
"No."
"What the hell, then?" he said, close to a shout.
"I was over there," I gestured, "With the burros-"
"What?" he demanded, looking incredulous.
"The burros-" I said, pointing towards the fence row. Brian swiftly took in the animals, who were now openly staring
our way.
"For God's sake, Harlie," he roared, "Evan and I thought you were laid out somewhere, unconscious!"
"Sorry," I said, trying to ease his temper.
"What did you suppose we'd think?" Evan said, getting in on the lecture. "Leaving Petra like that? That's the
natural conclusion-"
"I didn't think about anybody being worried," I tried to explain.
"What?!" Brian said, sounding even more furious.
"I mean, I didn't think anybody would be up this early, or looking for me," I tried again. They were both
standing, and staring at me, hands on hips.
"I'm sorry for scaring you both," I said.
I said no more, just waiting, and Evan took a few steps past us. "What are they doin' all the way here?" he asked, looking
toward the burros.
"They must have followed Ford and I yesterday," I said. "Or maybe they just sensed their way here."
"Well, they'll move on," Evan said, and tugged his hat down. "Come on. It's time for breakfast."
He walked on, but Brian stood there, still and silent. I raised my eyes, trying to gauge his mood.
"Good Lord, Harlie, you're making me gray," Brian muttered, and turned to start back towards the house.
I gave a final look back at the burros, hoping that Evan was wrong about them "moving on". I had my own ideas
about how to keep them nearby.
I went to pick up Petra's reins, leading her behind me, as I hurried to catch up with Brian's long strides.
Brian told me to hurry up, and get inside for breakfast, when I began unsaddling Petra, but he didn't sound so irritated any longer.
I was excited to tell Crane about the burros coming all this way, but I kept it to myself until breakfast was over. I didn't
want to talk about it in front of everyone else, and cause Brian to get all stirred up again.
I didn't get a chance to tell Crane right then, but I did tell Ford. His response was surprising.
"That's weird," he said.
"Why is it weird? I think it's exciting. I'll bet they were here last night. That's probably what Warrior was sensing in the dark."
"Well, you don't want them coming around here like that," he began.
I waved my hand at him in dismissal. "They're not going to eat that much grass," I said, thinking that was his
reason for saying such a thing.
Evan yelled for Ford then, and Ford said, "I'll talk to you later," and was gone.
I shrugged it off, and went about my chores. I told Kristin when we had a chance to talk, and then mid-morning,
the two of us walked back out to where the burros had been.
"Ah, shoot, they're gone," I said, in disappointment. We'd come, supplied with apples and pears both, to feed to
the burros. I'd also stuffed some hay into a empty feed bag, and brought some of the horse treats.
"No, wait," Kristin said, pointing. And, sure enough, they were there, a little further into the thicket.
We crawled thru the barbed wire fence, holding the wire for one another.
The burros were in the higher grass here, where it came up past Kristin and I's knees. They looked at us in what
seemed to be expectant interest.
I tossed out an apple and a pear, and the burros made short work of those. I shook the hay from the sack.
"What about the treats?" Kristin asked me.
"I want to try and get them to eat from my hand," I said.
"Oh," Kristin said, looking a little nervous. "Are they aggressive?"
"Maybe if they're scared," I said. "We just need to not make any sudden movements, or loud noises."
I tried holding a treat in my flat hand, and taking a few steps forward, but that seemed to make them nervous, so
I stopped, waiting for a long time, my hand out.
Finally, I just tossed the treats over to them. "Maybe if I come back several times a day, then they'll get where they'll let
me touch them," I said hopefully.
"Are you going to keep them?" Kristin asked.
"I'd like to," I admitted, "But it probably wouldn't work out. If they hang around here though, at least we can see them
sometimes."
We crawled back thru the fence, and toward the house, carrying the empty feed sack.
As we walked, Kristin asked about where Evan and Nancy would live after they got married.
I'd been wondering that same thing myself. "I don't know," I said. "It's not like we have another attic, like we fixed
for Brian and Clare."
"What about the basement?" Kristin suggested.
I thought of all the stuff that was in the basement. I had no idea where we would put any of that. The freezers were down
there, and the washing machines and dryers.
"I don't know," I said again. "I haven't heard anybody talking about it yet, or about the wedding, either."
"Maybe they won't live here," Kristin said, then. "Maybe they'll rent a house in town, or something."
That surprised me for a moment. "Maybe," I agreed.
Then Kristin turned the conversation to herself. "Has anybody said anything about me being here?" she asked me.
"No. Not to me. I mean, Crane said something. But that's because Guthrie told him that you wanted to stay."
"So, do you think Crane's already said something to Adam and Hannah, and to Brian?" Kristin asked, looking worried.
"He might have."
"Well, when will we know? I mean, should I say something?" she asked.
"Did you mention staying to Hannah the other day?"
"Not really. I sort of lost my nerve," Kristin admitted.
"I'd say talking to Crane first would be a good thing," I suggested.
"Yeah. I feel comfortable with Crane," Kristin said.
7
After that both Kristin and I got claimed for various chores and for things that needed help. I thought, as Kristin went her way
with Crane and Ford, and I went mine, with Adam and Daniel, that it was almost as if Kristin was a real member of the family.
"This is your chance to talk to Crane," I told her, in a hushed tone, as we separated.
She nodded, but looked so nervous that I knew she would probably lose her nerve.
As I sat in between Adam and Daniel, as we bounced along in the old truck, going into Murphys to run errands, the
topic of conversation turned to Daniel's plans.
Daniel was talking about leaving in two more weeks, to go back to Nashville. Apparently, what he'd told me was now
common knowledge amongst the family, since Adam knew.
Adam asked questions, and seemed supportive, but I knew that he didn't really want Daniel to go. I didn't, either. I kept
still, and just listened.
Daniel was talking about getting in some heavy rehearsal time with Red and the rest of the group, before they opened for
the Eddie Rabbitt show.
Daniel made the comment then that he felt badly about leaving while everything was still "up in the air" and
unsolved with all the weird things happening around so far this summer.
"Things will work out," Adam said. "You need to do what needs done. For you."
Daniel got quiet after that for a bit.
I was quiet, too, until the silence got to me. "The burros came this morning," I said, in conversation.
"Came where?" Adam asked.
"To our place," I said.
"What's this?" Adam said, turning to look at me.
I perked up at his seeming interest. "Early this morning, before breakfast, they were in the west field. There's just the two of them. I think
they followed Ford and I down yesterday."
"Well, you leave them be," Adam said, in a no nonsense way.
"Why?" I asked him, puzzled.
"So they'll move on. Go back up to the rest of the wild herd."
"I don't think they want to," I said. "Or maybe they can't."
"What are you talking about?" Adam asked.
"When Ford and I first saw them," I tried to explain, "It was after we saw the stallion and the mares. Then they ran
on. It was almost as though the stallion brought the burros to safety."
Adam gave me one of those "looks". I turned to Daniel, and while his expression was not quite as damning, he looked
somewhat amused. I twisted back to Adam.
"What's that look for?" I asked him.
"I don't know where you get your ideas sometimes," he said.
"It's not such a crazy idea," I protested. "The stuff I've been reading says that the stallions are protective of their
herd. That would be the burros, too."
"So why do you say that they can't move on?" Adam asked me.
"Well," I considered, "They feel safe now. They have our horses for company. And they don't have any crazy people
chasing them with helicopters."
"They're wild animals, squirt. Not domesticated," Daniel pointed out.
"I know," I said, looking to him.
"Wild horses, and that includes the burros, aren't meant to be on a ranch," Adam said, and I turned back to him again, feeling
as though I was at a tennis match, turning my head from side to side.
"They're not really on the ranch, though," I pointed out. Reasonably, I felt.
"You just said they were," Adam said, sounding irritated.
"Well, but they're just hanging around," I said.
Adam shook his head, as if I was talking nonsense, and pushed up the visor, as we came into the city limits of Murphys.
"They're not hurting anything, Adam," I said, my tone more pleading now.
"Alright, Harlie," Adam said, putting a close to the topic. "Conversation's done."
I had to force myself to keep still. I wanted to keep discussing it. Keep picking at Adam, until he came around to
my view of things. But, I wasn't sure just where his view ended. Telling me to 'leave the burros be'. And then telling me
the conversation was over, without really answering my statement about them not hurting anything.
7