Spirit Horses (10 page)

 
As he watched
the man fall, Shane felt a hard, unexpected punch below his left ear. He turned
to defend himself only to realize he was now dealing with two men, both
throwing punches at him at the same time. These two were a bit smaller than the
first. Shane threw a quick, but well-aimed, uppercut that knocked one of them
out cold. The one still standing was a better fighter, but his punches had no
real power and did little damage. Shane saw an opportunity and took advantage
by kicking the remaining attacker in the groin as hard as he could. The man
doubled over groaning in pain and held up his hand. He’d had enough.

Shane thought he had everything under control, but
suddenly felt a stinging crack to the back of his head. Someone had taken a
rake handle out of the truck’s bed and broken it across his skull. This time it
was Shane dropping to his knees. His bell had been rung good, but somehow he
was able to keep himself from blacking out.

While he was struggling to maintain consciousness,
he heard the girl’s truck engine start. With the guys focused on the fight, the
girl had been able to slip into her driver’s seat.

Shane looked up to see the men scatter as she drove
her truck right through the middle of the drunken mob blowing her horn. With
tires squealing, she raced up beside Shane who was still on his knees. The old
truck came to a sliding halt as the passenger-side door swung open.

“Come on, get in�—�NOW!” she begged.
Shane staggered up and crawled into the truck cab as the woman floored the gas
pedal. In the rearview mirror, she could see the men were shaking their fists,
giving them the finger, and throwing rocks at her accelerating truck, but she
was already out of range.

Though badly outnumbered Shane had held his own, but
he was sure glad the girl had gotten him out of there when she did.

“Are you okay?” she asked, as she sped out of town.

“Yeah, I’ll live.”

The woman then shook her head. “Mister, you should
have stayed out of it. They weren’t going to hurt me. I’m not afraid of those
idiots.”

“Yeah, well maybe you should be,” Shane said, as he
wiped the blood from the back of his head and grimaced.

She handed him a handkerchief and said again, “You
shouldn’t have gotten involved. I could have handled it.”

“Ma’am,” Shane replied angrily, “I watched the whole
thing from a distance before I came over, and I didn’t throw the first punch
either! Those guys were pretty drunk. There’s no telling what they might have
done to you. You know, where I come from, people tend to say thank you when
someone helps them.”

The woman remained quiet for a few moments. “I have
to get home so tell me where to drop you off.”

Shane thought for a minute. “My truck is at the
motel in town, but I don’t think we want to go there now. Can you take me to a
friend’s house a few miles east of town?” He felt sure Mr. Jensen would take
him to get his truck later on.

“Okay, but I have to get home. My grandfather needs
the prescription I just picked up.” The girl knew the area well and took a
shortcut. Soon they were pulling into the Jensen’s driveway.
          

Shane slowly got out of the truck, dealing with one
hell of a headache. As soon as his feet hit the ground, the dizziness
overwhelmed him. The woman quickly jumped out of the truck and ran around to
help.

“Hang on and I’ll get you to the house.”

Shane slowly, with the pain pounding in his head,
gave a slight nod. The paddock fence where Tory and Sloppy were staying was
only about thirty feet away. As the woman helped Shane get his bearings, the
two trotted over.

“Those horses seem to know you,” she said as she
helped him find his balance.

“Yes ma’am, they’re mine. I’m boarding them here for
a few days. Hey lady,” Shane said, as the horses followed them up the fence,
“what kind of Indian are you?”

She shook her head and gave him a hard look.

“You obviously aren’t from around here.”

“No, ma’am,” he replied a bit defensively. “You sure
have a chip on your shoulder, don’t you?”

The girl looked at Shane out of the corner of her
eyes. “Sorry, I guess I still have my guard up. You know most of the folks in
town are good people, but that bunch of guys we just dealt with seem to enjoy causing
trouble for anyone who is Shoshone.”

Shane stopped and pointed at the Mustang. “Do you
know that brand on her hip?” He could sense the girl’s anger, as she looked
over.

“That’s a stolen horse,” she blurted out. “Where did
you get her?”

“I’ve had her for a few years. I got her in
Tennessee. That’s where I’m from, and I’m not a horse thief.”

“Well that horse is a Shoshone mustang and belongs
on our reservation!” the girl exclaimed angrily as she helped Shane onto the
porch and watched him sit in a rocking chair.

“Ma’am, my name is Shane Carson, what’s yours?”

“I’m Tara. Look, I don’t have time to ask any more
questions about the horse right now. I need to get that medicine to my
grandfather. I’ll come back tomorrow around noon with my brothers to talk to
you about the mare?”

“I’ll be here,” he replied.

Tara stepped down off the porch, turned back, and
quietly said, “Thanks for your help, Shane Carson. I won’t forget it, but I
still think you should have stayed out of it.”

Shane forced a grin and slowly shook his aching head
as he reached up and felt a growing lump from the rake handle.

This was the first time he’d really taken a good
look at her. He had noticed right off the bat that she was tough and
independent, but she also possessed some class. She appeared to be in her late
twenties, and, listening to her command of English, Shane couldn’t help but
think she must be well educated. All of this was a bit overshadowed by the hard
shell she hid behind.

In spite of his aching head, Shane found himself
drawn to her natural beauty. It was not the flashy kind that jumps out at you
from a distance, but the kind that slowly overcomes a man, the closer he gets
to such a woman. Her coal black hair was just short of waist length, and had
come somewhat unraveled from her ponytail. She wore no makeup. The truth be
told, she didn’t need it. Her natural high cheek bones and smooth, caramel skin
were obviously Indian traits, but her sky blue eyes made Shane doubt that she
was a full-blooded Shoshone. The only jewelry she had on was a beaded necklace,
with a light blue turquoise stone. She stood about five eight with a body any
woman would envy. Even with all this, she appeared unpretentious and seemingly
unaware of her appeal. Shane figured she must have a man in her life. He
wondered if there would be any retaliation on her behalf over what happened in
town.

As Tara drove off, Mrs. Jensen came out to the
porch. She was startled by all the blood on Shane’s hand and the back of his
head.

“Oh my goodness, what happened? You need to get in
the house right now and let me tend to that mess!”

“I’m okay, ma’am, I just bumped my head.”

“Bullshit,” the old man said, as he followed his
wife out. “You’ve got a black eye coming up along with that big bloody knot on
your noggin. It looks to me like you came out on the short end of a fight!”

“It’s a long story,” Shane answered. “I’ll tell you
about it later, but for now, could I take you up on that offer to stay here for
a few nights?”

“You know you’re welcome,” Mrs. Jensen said.

“I could also use a ride to the motel, so I can get
my clothes and truck.”

“No problem,” answered Mr. Jensen. “You let me know
when you’re ready. Right now, you need to let the wife do a little cleanup and
repair.”

“Thanks, I owe you folks.”

After Shane was doctored and had showered, Mr.
Jensen took him to town. To say the least, it had been an eventful day. In
spite of this, during the drive Shane’s thoughts began to drift to his family.
The early evening was the hardest for him. It was this time each day that he
always looked forward to being with them. That’s when he had the time to play
and laugh with his kids and visit with Jen while she was fixing dinner.

The ride to town was quiet. Mr. Jensen could tell
Shane didn’t feel like talking, so he left him alone with his thoughts. He
wasn’t the kind of man who would pry.

He dropped Shane off at the motel. Then he parked in
the next block waiting to make sure Shane got his stuff safely into his truck
before he headed home.

By the time Shane arrived at the farm, Mrs. Jensen
had dinner waiting. After eating, she showed him to their small guest room
where he unpacked and turned in early.

 
Shane woke
after a restless night, with the lump on the back of his head still aching, but
decided to ride the horses anyway. They needed to stay legged up
for what could be a long,
hard trip into some rough country during his upcoming search for the wild herd.

After exercising both horses, Shane took them for a
trail ride to cool them down. He rode Tory and ponied Sloppy alongside. Shane
felt driven to locate the mustangs as soon as possible, accomplish his
objective, and go home with Tory. He was anxious to meet with Tara and her
brothers at noon, hoping they would give him information that could help him
find the wild horses. Perhaps he could hire one of Tara’s brothers as a guide.
He had high hopes this meeting would be helpful.

As he rode, he was again overwhelmed by the sheer
beauty of this magnificent country, especially viewing it from horseback.
Returning to the Jensen’s, he noticed the Indians had arrived early. Tara sat
on the paddock fence while two men leaned against the bed of the same old
pickup she was driving yesterday. “I wonder why they brought a horse trailer,”
he mumbled to the horses. “I hope they don’t think they’re taking you,” he
remarked under his breath glancing over at Sloppy. Cautious of the situation,
he rode toward them at a slow walk while leading the mustang beside him. Tara
smiled and nodded hello, Shane did the same.

He couldn’t help but notice that the two guys with
her were good sized, tough-looking characters.
 
Neither of them greeted him. Their lack of response bothered Shane, but
he felt it was probably just their way. One of the men walked up to Sloppy and
inspected the brand. Then he looked at his brother and frowned, “She’s one of
ours, all right!”

The other reached up to grab Sloppy’s lead from
Shane’s hand. Shane immediately reined Tory back. The two well-trained horses
responded accordingly and moved out of the man’s range.

“Mister, we’ve come to get our horse. She has the
broken arrow brand on her. That’s proof enough she was stolen from our herd.”

Shane didn’t know what to say. In that instant the
man once more reached for the mare’s lead. Shane was beginning to get irritated
with the guy now and swiftly sent Tory forward, pushing the horse into the
Indian, knocking him against the fence. “What the hell do you think you’re
doing?” Shane shouted.

“Mister, we came to get our horse. We’ll take her by
force if we have to!”

Shane quickly bumped Tory into a canter and loped
the two horses into the small pen next to the barn. He jumped out of his
saddle, slipped the bridle off the gelding, and moved to close the gate. The
two men were now standing near the truck, looking like they were serious about
the by-force threat.

“You shouldn’t be doing this!” Tara hollered at her
brothers as she jumped off the fence with a bewildered expression.

Shane picked up a short two-by-four that was leaning
against the barn, and headed toward the truck. He was still hurting from the
events of yesterday, but if a fight is what they wanted, he was pissed and
ready. He wasn’t about to allow these strangers to take off with Sloppy.

Outnumbered once again, he angrily marched toward
them, with the board in hand. Yesterday had been bad enough, but with the
two-by-four, he felt better prepared to take care of himself.

As he approached them, one of the brothers grabbed a
crowbar out of the pickup’s bed. “Bring it on!” he hollered, as he aggressively
started toward Shane to meet him halfway.

Tara quickly moved in front of him. “We came here
just to talk to him. Damn it! You should have never brought that trailer.” She
stood between her brothers and Shane with her arms stretched out, yelling.
“Don’t do this. This isn’t why we came.”