Spirit Horses (7 page)

“I’m okay, Terry. I don’t want you worrying about
me. I’m fine.”

Terry hesitated again, “With all due respect, I
don’t think that working all the time is much of a life. Abby and I were
discussing something the other day when she came over. We drew straws to see
which one of us would talk to you about it.”

“About what?”

“Boss, everyone just wants to see you happy again.
We’d like to see you do more than just get through each day like you’ve been
doing. You know, get some fun back into your life again. We think you should
take a trip. Go on a cruise or something. Maybe getting away would help give
you a new start.”

“I know you guys mean well, but I’m okay.”

“Would you at least consider it?”

Shane stood and gave Terry a friendly slap on the
shoulder. “I’ll think about it. Let’s get to work.”

By six thirty all the horses were fed and the hired
help had gone home. Shane grew restless after a shower and some dinner. Maybe a
walk around the farm will help me relax, he thought. It was the beginning of
spring and good weather had set in so it was a nice evening for a stroll.
    

Ambling by the paddock where the kids’ little
mustang was turned out, he couldn’t help but stop to watch her munching on her
evening hay. As he propped his arms on top of the four-board fence surrounding
her small pasture, she quit eating and came over.

“How you doing, Sloppy?” he softly rubbed her neck.
The mare quietly nickered, then affectionately nuzzled his shoulder in
response. “Sorry I haven’t paid much attention to you lately.” Shane inhaled a
deep, refreshing breath of the crisp, cool evening air as the horse moved
sideways over to the fence where he stood. He remembered the mare doing this
for the kids when she wanted her back scratched.

“You miss ’em too, don’t you, girl? I’m not sure
what I’m going to do with you,” he said, reaching over to rub her back. “It’s
been damn near a year and a half now, maybe I can find a nice family with young
kids to give you to.”

The thought of getting rid of the mare started to
bother him as soon as it popped into his head. Even though it was in the
horse’s best interest, he just couldn’t face the idea of parting with his kids’
horse. So he promptly put it out of his mind, gave her one last rub, then
finished his evening walk.

Over the next month Shane continued working harder than ever, driving
himself to the point of exhaustion. Concerned for his friend, Terry confronted
him about his worn-out condition.

“Boss, in all the years I’ve worked here, I’ve never
seen you get sick. But you look like hell. If you don’t take some time off
soon, you’re gonna end up going down.”

“I know, Terry, I’m not sleeping real well, and I’m
starting to feel it. The truth is that your suggestion of a trip is finally
starting to sink in. I’ll take some time this evening to look for some old
travel brochures Jen had collected to plan a family vacation. Maybe one of the
brochures will give me an idea of where I could go.”

“Good, now I won’t have to badger you about it
anymore!” Terry looked relieved as he left the barn to go and fetch another
horse.

Later that evening Shane decided to start rummaging through the hall
closet, hoping to find the pamphlets there. As he pulled open the door, the
first thing he noticed put a lump in his throat and made his chest tighten. “Oh
man, I’d forgotten all about that.” It was the box the kids’ teachers had
dropped off almost a year and a half ago. Shane’s heart began to race as he
picked it up and carried it into the living room. He put it on the coffee table
in front of the couch and sat down.

Almost thirty minutes passed before he could bring
himself to open it and look inside. There, neatly separated, he found two
bundles. The first was from Tina’s third-grade teacher. It contained her last
spelling test, which had 100 percent written across the top in bright red ink.
Underneath that was a math test with a 90 percent grade on it, and a note from
the teacher to keep up the good work. There were also some other pieces of
graded homework, one of which Shane remembered helping her with the week before
the accident.

The other bundle was from Jacob’s teacher. It, too,
had some tests with good scores and some graded homework. As he flipped through
the papers with a heavy heart, he consoled himself with a deep sense of pride
that his kids had been doing so well in school.

At the bottom of the stack he noticed a picture from
Jacob’s art class. It was a drawing of the mustang mare. Shane filled his lungs
and slowly let the air out again as he recalled his son talking about the
assignment the teacher had given the class. The kids were
supposed to draw a picture of something important to their whole family and
then do a one page essay about what they had drawn. It seemed like just
yesterday when Jacob told him that he decided to do this project about his
horse.

It was just what you would expect the art work of an
eleven-year-old to look like. The horse’s head was too big, her legs were too
short, and her neck was too skinny. Shane could tell it was Sloppy by her light
gray color and darker mane and tail. However, the real giveaway was the broken
arrow brand Jacob had drawn on her hip. In the picture she was standing in the
foreground with a goofy smile on her face. Behind her were five other horses
drawn in the same disproportionate manner, all wearing the same brand on their
hips. They were grazing in a meadow with a stream running through it. The sun
was shining from the top right-hand corner of the page and he’d drawn some
clouds in a blue-colored sky. The picture was surprisingly titled “Sloppy goes
home.” Shane had no idea the boy’s theme was centered on taking her back to
Wyoming. A sad smile spread across his face as he remembered the talk he and
Jacob had about someday returning the mare to her wild herd. The essay was
attached to the artwork and Shane read it several times before once again
staring at Jacob’s drawing.

Suddenly, he realized what he had to do. “I’m gonna
do some traveling after all,” he muttered. “A trip to Wyoming to set the
mustang free with her herd, just like I promised Jacob we would do some day!”
He remembered how proud he was of his son that afternoon for being so
unselfish. The boy had wanted to see the horse happy even if it meant losing
her.

For the first time in a long while, Shane felt like
he had a
purpose. He actually became excited as he planned out the trip. He’d take ole
Tory along to keep Sloppy company in the trailer on the long drive. When they
got there, he’d use the old gelding to lead the mustang into the back country
where the herd most certainly lived. He scratched his head and cringed as he
thought about the lack of conditioning both horses were in. “I better start
taking some time now to get the horses legged up so they can handle the rough
terrain and the long ride.” He figured if he left soon, he could get there in
time to set the mare free well before fall arrived. The warmer weather would
definitely make it easier on her while she readjusted to her old life.

Terry and the others at the farm were thrilled to
see Shane with a sparkle in his eyes. They could tell he was keyed up about the
trip, and all of them eagerly agreed to keep the farm running until he got
back. Shane felt that keeping his promise to Jacob was the most important thing
he could do, and he hoped it would give him a real sense of closure that he
knew had been eluding him.

It took some effort to pull it all together, but the
day finally came for him to load up the horses and head out. Terry and Beth Ann
were there to see him off. He shook Terry’s hand, “I should be home in about
three weeks.”

“Don’t worry, boss, I can handle the farm.”

Shane rolled down his truck window as he slid into
the driver’s seat, then winked. “I know you can, buddy. I’ll call you when I
get there.”

The man at the BLM had told Jen that the reservation Sloppy had come
from was thirty miles from a medium-sized town called Reddick in northwest
Wyoming. Shane knew he had a long drive ahead of him, about 1,400 miles. He
figured with good weather it would take him three days to get there. Luckily,
the many years he had spent traveling and putting on clinics around the country
had made him an old pro at hauling horses long distances. He planned to have
the horses stay on the trailer at night during the drive out, then find a place
to board them as soon as he arrived.

He drove a good ten hours the first day, stopping a
couple of times along the way to give the horses a break. Tory was not a young
horse anymore, so the last thing he wanted was to have the old gelding feeling
sore when he reached his destination.

On the third night he decided to stop at a
campground about fifty miles short of Reddick. He planned to get back on the
road early the next morning. This would give him plenty of daylight to find a
place to keep the horses for a few days while he asked around town about the
herd’s location.

It was 8:30 a.m. on the fourth day when Shane,
blurry eyed and road foundered, saw a sign that read
Reddick, 15 miles
. As he drove through the country, admiring
the peaceful rolling green foothills, he noticed an older man walking from his
farmhouse toward his mailbox. He slowed to a stop, leaned out the window of his
truck and spoke, “Excuse me, mister. Do you know anywhere I can board two
horses for a couple of days?”

The old man introduced himself as Paul Jensen and
offered Shane the use of a small pasture next to his house for a reasonable
price. “The pasture has good grass, a water trough, and a small shelter,” Mr.
Jensen said. “I used to keep my own two horses there, but they both recently
died of old age.” It seemed perfect for Tory and the mare, so Shane quickly
accepted.

Mr. Jensen brought his wife out to meet Shane while
he unloaded the horses. Shane felt comfortable leaving them with these people.
“Would you like some breakfast?” Mrs. Jensen offered.

“No ma’am. I appreciate you asking, but I need to
get into town as soon as possible.” The truth was he really didn’t want to be
around people right now. He hadn’t slept a wink at the KOA last night. He just
wanted to get to town, find something to eat, take a long hot shower, then,
hopefully, get some sleep.

Tomorrow, Shane planned to ask around town for
information about where the herd might be located on the reservation. For now,
he was happy to see his two horses in a safe place. As he drove off, they were
already settling down and starting to graze. Shane got the Jensen’s phone
number, and told them he would check on the horses after he rested. Sleep had
not come easy for him in a long time. Maybe it was the excitement of the trip,
but the last several nights had been especially bad. In fact he was now
bordering on serious exhaustion, and he needed to crash.

His feeling that this trip was a good thing was now
giving way to a slight sense of uncertainty and anxiety. Luckily the Jensen’s
had let him leave his horse trailer at their farm, which would make
driving and parking in town a lot easier. When he arrived in Reddick, he
immediately got the impression that this was a nice friendly place. The sign at
the city limit told him it had a population of 3,700. As he drove down Main
Street, he could see they had all the necessities, including a small hospital,
several large restaurants, and a movie theater that probably drew people in
from all over the immediate countryside. He checked into the first motel he saw
then headed across the street to a diner for a hot meal. After a long, steaming
shower, he cracked open a fresh bottle of whiskey, poured himself a double
shot, and watched TV until he finally fell asleep.

Shane actually slept soundly until late the next
morning and was having trouble shaking off the slumber. “
Maybe a shower will help clear the
cobwebs out
,” he told himself.

Chapter 6

Shane barely had time to dry off and dress when he heard a knock on his
door. As he opened it, he found himself staring at an older man, but for the
life of him, Shane couldn’t immediately place him. The man saw the blank look
on Shane’s face, shook his head, and said, “Son, you look like hell, are you
okay?”

The sound of the man’s voice helped Shane realize
who it was. He let out a sigh, “Yes, Mr. Jensen, I’m fine. Are the horses all
right?”

“They are now, but I’ve been trying to get ahold of
you since yesterday. You told me you would call, but we haven’t heard a word.
So I finally came looking for you. I saw your truck in front of the motel. My
friend, Bob, who runs this place, told me what room you were in.”

Shane dropped his head shamefully, “I’m sorry I
didn’t call. I’ve been a little under the weather. What did you mean when you
said they’re all right now? Did something happen?”