‘It was a community effort,” explained her husband. “Our neighbors donated the hay. The Rotary Club bought the feed. The Lions Club got the tack. And the 4-H Club provided the grooming supplies.”
“I don’t know what to say,” her voice grew husky with emotion.
“Say thank you,” prompted Russ.
Aunt Bess turned to the large group of people gathered around. They included neighbors, friends, firemen, members of local stores and churches, scouts, kids from the 4-H club and other people we didn’t know. They gathered with one goal in mind: to finish the barn. My eyes filled. These people made it all possible.
“I want to thank everyone,” said Aunt Bess. “You’ve all made me — and my horses — mighty happy,”
There was a ripple of laughter.
Tables had been set up with saw horses and pieces of plywood. Chairs, benches and hay bales were scattered around to provide seating.
She turned to the Pastor Bill. “Will you say grace?”
He stepped forward. “Be happy to. First I have a little contribution. He held up something I couldn’t make out. Rick took it, climbed a ladder in front of the doors to the new barn. He nailed something above the door. As he descended, I could make it out. The plaque showed the silhouette of a running horse.
“I love it,” said my aunt, now close to tears
“It’s been blessed,” said the Pastor, smiling.
“No,” contradicted my aunt. “I’ve been blessed by good friends and neighbors. Thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart.”
A spontaneous cheer went up.
Pastor Bill said the blessing and everyone descended on the food.
Conversation and laughter surrounded me. I stood behind a long table with Lisa and a bunch of other ladies. I was so busy dishing out potato salad, cole slaw and baked beans that I didn’t have time to think about anything else. Rick, his father and other firemen handled the grill. A constant stream of hot dogs and hamburgers filled large platters.
“Let’s eat, Bess,” I heard Russ urge.
“Oh honey, I just want to watch for a while.”
“Watch what?”
“Watch the love,” she answered snuggling against her husband. “It was love that built this barn, you know.”
“And here I thought it was the insurance check.” He laughed.
She kissed him. “Fool,” she murmured.
With his arm around her waist, they stood watching everyone laugh and talk and eat. Lisa elbowed me in the side to get my attention.
“What?”
She leaned over and whispered, “I swear Rick hasn’t taken his eyes off you all day.”
My face flushed.
“No, it’s true. Look, he’s watching you now.”
Looking over at the grill, Rick met my eyes and grinned at me. I blushed. I elbowed Lisa in the side. “Lisa, stop it.”
She just laughed.
I continued scooping potato salad onto plates, a familiar voice thanked me. Startled, I looked up. Rick stood in front of me.
“Why don’t you take a break and eat?” suggested Lisa with a knowing look.
“Good idea,” agreed Rick.
Before I could protest, Lisa took my apron off and handed it to another woman. Rick and I filled our plates and found a hay bale to sit on to eat our lunch.
“Why do grilled hamburgers always taste so good?” I asked
“It’s not the grilling,” said Rick. “It’s the company.”
I grinned back at him.
The Boy Scouts were busy fetching drinks and collecting trash. Once we finished, they picked up our empty plates. Rick moved closer and put his arm around me. I rested my head on his shoulder.
“Got something for you,” he whispered in my ear.
“You do?” I asked.
He handed me a box about five inches square.
“What is it?”
“Open it,” he urged.
Nervously I took off the lid and gasped. On black velvet sat a silver cuff bracelet. I took it out. The figure of a horse ran across the band. I looked closer and saw spots on its rump.
“It’s an Appaloosa,” I exclaimed. “Where did…?”
Rick kissed me cutting me off.
“The moment I saw it, I knew you’d like it.”
“I don’t like it, Rick. I love it.”
“Good,” he said and kissed me again.
I’d never been serious about a boy, or had a crush on one. Nor had any boy ever given me a present. The only Valentine’s Day gifts I got were from my parents.
“Nothing but the best for my girl.”
My girl. I was Rick’s girl. I looked down at my new bracelet and wondered what I’d done to deserve such a nice boyfriend.
Later, Aunt Bess admired my bracelet. Her eyes narrowed at Rick. “Seems pretty serious when a fella gives a girl piece of jewelry.”
“It is,” said Rick, without missing a beat.
“We’ll see,” she answered watching him.
I didn’t know what she meant. Rick did.
“You will.” he told her, putting his arm around me.
I felt like he’d thrown down the gauntlet, accepted her challenge somehow.
“It’s just a bracelet,” I said stepping out of his embrace and standing between the two of them.
“Is it?” asked my aunt, and looked over my head at Rick.
I fingered the silver horse on my wrist and wondered what they knew that I didn’t.
Chapter 40
Monday, September 4, 1961 — Labor Day
The new barn was finished and tomorrow the horses would come home.
I stood in the twilight and inhaled the scent of new wood and fresh hay. It smelled wonderful.
“There you are.” Rick joined me. “What are you thinking about?”
“So much has changed.” I tried to explain the confusing feelings inside me. “And it keeps changing. Now Aunt Bess and Russ are married.”
“That hasn’t really changed anything, has it?”
“No, I guess it hasn’t — at least, not yet.”
Rick switched the subject. “School starts Thursday.”
“I know. This summer went by so fast. So much happened. Your accident, the fire, Shadow missing.” I wanted to slow things down. It felt like I had no control over my life.
“Let me have your left hand,” he said.
“Why?”
“Maryann, just give me your hand, okay?”
I heard the annoyance in his voice. I thought it was funny and continued to tease him by putting my hands behind my back. I shook my head. “No. You can’t have my hand.”
“Just give me your left hand?” He sighed.
“Why?”
He reached behind me, pulled out my left hand and slipped a silver ring over my middle finger. It happened so fast I couldn’t protest.
“What are you doing?”
“Putting my ring on your finger. You’re my girl, so I thought I should let everyone know.”
I stared down at the ring.
“You are my girl, aren’t you?” he asked softly.
“Yes.”
“I designed it for your middle finger,” he explained. “The band has two horse heads entwined.
“You designed this?” I asked in disbelief.
“Yeah.” He pointed to the horses. “That’s Shadow Dancer and Treasure. I wanted something meaningful.” Then he kissed me. When he stopped, there were tears in my eyes.
“I’m glad you’re my girl,” he whispered
“So am I.”
We went back in the house. I couldn’t wait to show Aunt Bess. “Look what Rick gave me,” I said holding out my hand to show off the ring.
She shot him a look I couldn’t interpret. “What’s this mean?” she demanded.
“Means she’s his girl,” said Russ.
“Is that what this ring means?” she asked Rick.
“For now, yes.”
“Guess you should be glad it�
��s not her ring finger,” remarked Russ. Aunt Bess shot him a look meant to silence any further comment.
“Little young for this, isn’t she?”
Rick didn’t flinch under her searing look.
“She’s fifteen,” said Russ. “In Indian tribes that makes her old enough to be a wife — and a mother.”
“She’s no Indian,” seethed my aunt. “And she’s not gonna be getting married or having babies any time soon.”
What was going on? “It’s just a ring.” I tried to cut the escalating tension in the room. “How could you think we were getting married? Or that I was going to have a baby? Rick hasn’t…we haven’t… I mean. Well that’s just ridiculous, Aunt Bess.” I could feel my face turning red.
“Is it?” my aunt asked.
“Yes!” I grabbed Rick’s hand. “I’m Rick’s girl, and I’m wearing his ring. That’s all.”
“Looks like a brand to me,” said Aunt Bess.
“It is,” confirmed Rick, grinning.
I pulled my hand out of his. “It’s not a brand. It’s just a ring,” I cried.
“It’s never just a ring,” replied my aunt.
“Yes, it is,” insisted Rick.
“I need some fresh air,” I said bolting for the door. The conversation swirled around me and I struggled to understand it.
“Maryann.”
Rick followed me outside.
I turned on him. “How could you say that? You’ve upset Aunt Bess, and you’ve upset me. Why did you do that?” I pulled the ring off my middle finger and held it out. “You better take it back if you think you’re ‘branding’ me.”
He took the ring and quickly slipped it back on my finger. “I’m sorry,” he said. He took my hand and kissed the top of it like an aristocrat. “I’d be honored if you’d wear my ring because you’ve agreed to be my girl.”
“Why didn’t you tell Aunt Bess that? Now she thinks we’re about to elope because I’m pregnant.” I covered my face with both hands, too embarrassed to even look at him.
He said something softly that I didn’t hear. “What did you say?”
“Never mind,” he said.
“Rick, you need to apologize to Aunt Bess and make her understand what this ring means.”
“Are you gonna wear my ring and be my girl?” he asked.
When he put it that way, what could I say? “Yes,” I whispered. “Providing you apologize to Aunt Bess.”
He took my hand and led me back to the house.
“Come on, I better figure out what to say to your aunt.”
Chapter 41
When Rick and I came back in the house, Aunt Bess sat at the table with Russ. We had left before dessert. She didn’t say anything, though her stiff posture indicated she was still angry.
Rick let go of my hand.
“I want to apologize, Mrs. Stokes, for what I said,” he began.
My aunt watched him without saying a word.
He plunged on. “You see school starts Thursday.”
Aunt Bess shifted in her chair. “I know that, Rick.”
Russ put his hand on her arm. “Now, Bess,” he said softly.
“I wanted to make it official — before we go back to class, you see.”
“Make what official?” she barked.
“That Maryann is my girl. That’s what the ring signifies. That’s why I gave it to her before we went back to school.” He took my hand and held it out, pointing to the ring. “See, it has two horse heads — Shadow Dancer and Treasure. I designed it for her.”
My aunt’s eyes softened. “You did?”
“Yeah. I wanted it to be special — because she’s special.”
“We know she’s special, son,” said Russ, softly.
“She’s like a daughter to me,” Aunt Bess said in a husky voice. “Don’t matter how she got here. I love her and I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
“She’s like a daughter to me, too,” said Russ. “So you can see our concern when a young man suddenly puts a ring on her — even if it’s only her middle finger.”
“Yes sir, I can.” answered Rick. He pulled me closer. “She’s agreed to be my girl, and I wanted it to be obvious. That’s why I got the ring before school starts. Everyone will notice it when we go back.”
“I see,” said my aunt. It seemed she meant something more than that simple remark.
“Knew she was gonna be my girl the first time I met her,” said Rick.
Russ laughed. “Son, you better quit while you’re ahead.”
“Anyway,” Rick continued. “I’m sorry the way I spoke to you. I didn’t mean to be rude, and I apologize if that’s how it sounded to you.”
“Apology accepted,” said my aunt, her lips twitching. “Now why don’t you two grab a slice of that apple pie you missed?”
Rick grinned. “Don’t mind if I do.”
“I’ll make a cup of tea,” I said.
“Kettle’s already boiled and is keeping hot on the back of the stove.” She anticipated I’d want tea. I smiled and prepared my cup. We sat down at the table and ate our pie.
Afterwards, Aunt Bess cleared the plates. She left the room and returned, carrying something.
“Now that the drama’s over,” she said. “I’ve got something for you, Maryann.”
She handed me a large, white envelope. It had the look of money or a gift certificate. That’s what I’d usually gotten from my parents. Why was she giving this to me now?
The paper I took out wasn’t a gift certificate. It wasn’t money, either. I held a certificate from the Appaloosa Horse Club registering a chestnut Appaloosa with a white blaze, a blanket pattern on the hips and four white stockings sired by Penny Wise out of Winter Dream. The horse’s name was filled in as Shadow Dancer. Maryann Madigan was printed on the line as owner with a box provided below for my signature.
“It’s Shadow Dancer’s registration papers,” she explained, as I stared down at the paper in my hand. “I made it out to you. That makes him officially your horse.”
“My horse?” I echoed stupidly. “Shadow Dancer belongs to me?” It took a moment to sink in.
I leaped out of my chair and ran to my aunt. “Thank you, Aunt Bess.” I threw my arms around her. “It’s the best present ever.”
“You’re welcome, dear,” She patted my back. “I’ve always thought of him as your horse since the day you named him.”
“I think we need a toast,” said Russ. “Is there any of that sparkling cider left?”
“I think there’s enough,” said Aunt Bess getting up. I followed her.
“I don’t have any of those fancy wine glasses,” she fretted, looking through the cabinet.
“It doesn’t matter,” I reassured her as she took out ordinary juice glasses.
“Well this is a ranch — not a winery,” she muttered. She put the glasses on a tray. I carried it in while she got the cider.
When everyone’s glass was filled, Russ made the first toast. “To my new wife.”
Aunt Bess raised hers, looked at Russ, Then softly she said, “To love.”
This time Russ blushed.
“To my girl,” said Rick looking at me as he raised his glass.
I blushed.
With a shaking hand, I raised my glass, “To Mom and Dad,” I said, choking up. “And to the new home Aunt Bess has given me.” Once again tears filled my eyes.
Aunt Bess put her arms around me.
“Oh honey, I miss them, too.”
She stepped back and wiped the tears from my eyes gently with her hands.
“They’re still with you,” she said. “In here.” She placed her hand over my heart. “And they’ll see everything you do. Just like my Jacob watched over me these last fifteen years.”
“Who would have thought I’d wind up on a horse ranch in Wyoming.” I laughed.
“Or that you’d learn how to ride,” said Rick.
“Yeah,” I smiled remembering that incredible first riding lesson with him.
“And now you’ve got a horse of your own,” said Aunt Bess.
I hugged her and whispered in her ear, “Thank you for everything.”
She hugged me back, fiercely. “I’m so glad you came here to live with me.”
With her arms still around me, I kissed her cheek. “So am I.”
I realized everyone suffered loss, not just me. Aunt Bess lost her brother and her first husband. Then she had to put down her favorite horse. Russ lost his brother, Rick his mother. I’d lost both my parents. No one went untouched by the capricious nature of life.
Aunt Bess was the only blood relative I had left. I looked around at these people who’d become my new family. No matter what happened, I knew they’d help me get through it — just like I’d help them through their troubles. Everything I felt must have shown on my face.
“How are you doing?” Rick asked.
Taking his hand, I smiled, “I’m fine,” I replied — and realized I was. I’d learned how to ride a horse, shoot a gun and drive a truck. I’d stood up to Pauline’s bullying and Lisa considered me her best friend. I’d fallen in love with Rick, and Shadow Dancer officially became my horse. Aunt Bess and Russ loved me like their own daughter.
Finally, Wyoming felt like home.
The End
About the Author
Obsessed with horses and dogs since childhood, Karen has shown purebred collies for several decades in obedience and conformation. Over 40 of her articles appeared in national dog magazines and several collie books. She won three Dog Writer’s Association of America awards, the latest for I Loved Them First, a memoir in poems and photographs about the horses and dogs she’s shared her life with. She lives deep in the woods of Westchester County, New York with two collies, Rufus and Keri, and Rosebud, her cat.
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