by Ali Spooner
Once she settled onto his back, Coal’s nerves calmed. Riding him was as natural as breathing to her, and she was confident that he would give her his best runs today. A grin formed on her face as they cantered easily in the ring.
“She looks ready to go,” Harley said as he slapped Gene on the back. “I hope you are that confident when your events start.”
“I will be, boss,” Gene said with a grin and they took up seats on the railing of the arena to watch.
†
Coal watched as the sun gleamed off a beautiful palomino mare that cantered in front of them. The horse and rider, a feisty woman named Shelly Brewster, would more than likely be their top competition in both events. The horse was quick, and if ridden properly, they would give them a run for their money. But Coal knew the weakness in the team was the rider. Shelly was a spoiled, rich daddy’s girl. Her dad could buy the best horse money could buy, but her lack of practice showed in her performance. She had drawn second run so Coal would know her run time before her turn.
†
“You look more nervous than Coal,” Melissa told her sister as they waited for the competition to begin. “Relax, she will do fine.”
“I know, I just want her to kick Shelly’s ass this year,” Mary Leah said.
“Who is Shelly?” Del asked.
Venom flowed through Mary Leah’s voice as she answered Del. “A spoiled rich kid who thinks daddy’s money can buy her anything.”
“You like her that much, huh?” Del teased.
“Uh-hmm,” Mary Leah said.
Del was about to speak again when the first competitor was announced. They sat back and watched as the competition began. The first run was clean but not an incredibly fast run. Shadow shouldn’t have problems beating that time.
The next competitor stepped to the starting line and was introduced to the crowd. She waved like a beauty queen in a parade. Del turned to Mary Leah. “A bit cheesy isn’t she?”
“That was actually pretty mild for Shelly,” Melissa said.
Shelly took off from the starting line and made it through the right-hand barrel fairly well, but her boot caught the second barrel. It didn’t topple over, which would have meant a time penalty, but it threw her horse off stride. The crowd watched as her horse raced for the final barrel, and after rounding it, Shelly used her reins to whip the horse’s flanks urging more speed.
Watching Shelly’s run from outside the ring, Coal growled, “Damn, I hate when she does that.”
“If she’d give the horse her head it would run faster,” Harley said. “Whipping it is totally uncalled for.”
She watched as the horse broke the plane of the finish line and she looked up at the time. Faster than the first run, but still not a blazing time. “We can beat that,” she said into Shadow’s ear as she reached down to pat his neck.
The next rider dumped a barrel and Coal moved into the rotation with a rider ahead of her. The dirt around the barrels was becoming soft from all the turns ahead of her so she would need to be careful not to slip in too close. She watched as a cowboy lifted the barrel back into place and listened as the announcer introduced the next rider.
Coal could feel Shadow’s muscles tensing beneath her. He was ready to run. He danced in place as the rider finished her run and she walked him to the starting line. She barely heard the announcer calling her name as her eyes focused on the course ahead of her. She looked to the left at the timer. When he nodded to her, she pressed her heels into Shadow’s sides and they blasted into the ring. She lowered her hand holding the reins and Shadow took the first turn perfectly. She glanced down and saw her boot an inch from the barrel. She held her breath until they cleared it and galloped toward the next barrel.
The wind whipped through her hair and she could feel a grin growing on her face as Shadow’s turn was just as sharp on the next barrel and they were racing to the end of the arena and the final barrel. Coal again lowered her hand and Shadow turned so tightly his hooves threw dirt into her face as he cleared the final barrel and then opened his stride as he raced to the finish. Dirt and all, she grinned wildly as they galloped to the finish.
They flew past the finish line and Coal leaned down to pat his neck. “Great run, big boy,” she said as she waited to hear their time.
“Ladies and gentlemen we now have a new leader,” the loudspeaker blared as the announcer gave their time.
“That’s going to be hard to beat,” Gene said as he raced over to them.
“I hope so,” she said with a huge grin.
“Damn, that was fast,” Melissa said in awe from her spot in the bleachers.
“Good enough to win?” Del asked.
“Oh yeah,” Melissa said. The trio of women all let out a whoop of celebration.
Coal turned at the sound and saw Melissa, Del, and Mary Leah cheering for her. She waved to them and turned back to Gene. “I’m going back to the ring to walk Shadow and keep him warm.”
Coal started back to the warm-up ring and passed Shelly talking with her brother Bubba. “Nice run,” she said with a glare.
“Thanks,” she said and kept moving.
There were six riders scheduled to compete after her so Coal took Shadow to the trough for a drink of water. Then they walked the circuit of the ring until the loudspeaker announced them as winners. She and Shadow finished a full half-second ahead of the closest competition.
“One down and one to go,” she said to Shadow.
They had drawn the tenth run of twelve for the pole bending, so they would have to wait for the course to be set up and nine riders to complete runs before they would make their run. Shadow was ready to run again so she let him canter around the ring for several minutes before she slowed him back to a walk.
When the third rider started her run, Coal rode back to where the crew was sitting on the rails to watch the next few riders. Lucas turned at their approach and grinned. “They got nothing on y’all,” he said.
Gene tossed her a bottle of water and she took a long drink and handed it back to him. “Thanks.”
“Would you look at that,” Harley said.
They all turned to see the bulls for the bull riding competition emerging from a large trailer. “Damn, they look like an ornery bunch,” Lucas said.
“Makes me glad neither of you signed up for that event,” Harley said.
“Me too,” Gene said as he turned back to the arena. “There’s no way I want to be tied to the back of one of those monsters.”
“I don’t know it looks kind of fun,” Coal said as the entire crew turned to stare at her. “Psyche,” she said and broke out laughing.
“Damn girl, I thought you were serious for a second,” Harley said, holding a hand to his chest.
“No way, man,” she answered, still laughing.
When it was time for their run, she positioned Shadow at the starting line and waited for the signal. The timer nodded to her and she and Shadow took off at a dead run until they reached the first pole. They quickly fell into rhythm, weaving tightly through each turn until they reached the end and raced for home, dirt flying from his hooves as he powerfully raced to the finish line.
Their time put them in first place, but Shelly and her mare still had to run. With only two riders left, Coal rode Shadow back to the crew to watch the remainder of the competition. The next rider came in with a slower time and Coal found herself holding her breath as Shelly came to the starting line, flashing her beauty queen routine as she the announcer called her name.
“Come on, just get it over with,” Gene groaned.
They watched as the mare performed nearly flawlessly, but once again, Shelly’s poor horsemanship held her reins back instead of giving the horse freedom to run her fastest. Her time was short of Coal’s first-place time. For the second event in a row, Shelly finished behind Coal and Shadow.
Coal’s eyes stared at the scoreboard as the lights flashed announcing their time as the winning time. “Yes,” she yelled and pumped her fist
in the air just as Shelly rode past. “Nice run,” she said but Shelly ignored her compliment and rode past them.
“I’m going to unsaddle Shadow and then cool him down,” she said and turned to walk into the stables.
Gene and Lucas jumped down to walk with them as Harley and the rest of the crew waited for the women to join them from the stands.
Coal draped the reins over the top rail of Shadow’s stall and dismounted. She took her saddle from his back and handed it to Lucas to store then bent down to take off his leg braces. The air filled with loud blasts. The noise startled Shadow, who had lowered his head to watch her, and as he flinched toward the noise, his head crashed into Coal’s face, busting her lip, the metal edge of his bit slicing a gash in her chin before knocking her to the ground as he fled out of the stables. Lucas dropped the saddle and jumped into an open stall to prevent being run down by the frightened horse. Gene took off at a full run after the stampeding horse.
Laughter exploded behind her. Coal looked up to see Shelly and her brother Bubba laughing as the last of a string of firecrackers ignited on the ground.
“Oh shit,” Melissa said as Shadow raced past them and she saw the look on Coal’s face. She took off at a run as Coal returned to her feet.
Coal stood and her right foot lashed out, her boot heel catching Bubba square in the mouth, breaking his four front teeth and she bounced on her feet in an offensive position. Lucas rushed to grab her from behind in a bear hug as he yelled out to Shelly.
“Get him the hell out of here, before I let her go.”
Shelly looked at the blood pouring from her brother’s mouth. “You crazy bitch,” she snarled as she rushed Coal, still held in Lucas’s grasp.
Melissa stepped between them and caught Shelly by her shoulders, spun her around and pushed her toward Bubba who had the good sense to move away. “Go,” she shouted.
Lucas saw them moving away and released his grip on Coal. She raised her hand to wipe the dirt from her face and when she looked at her hand, she saw the fresh blood smeared across her palm. When she turned back toward her friends, Del saw the feral look in Coal’s eyes. The sound of the firecrackers exploding had triggered a trauma reaction from her, and she needed to get her somewhere to settle her down and tend to her wounds.
“Where is the first-aid kit?” she asked Melissa.
“In the trailer,” Melissa answered.
“Let’s go,” Del said, and gently took Coal’s arm.
“Where’s Shadow? If he’s hurt, I’ll kick in more than his teeth,” she growled.
“He’ll be okay. Gene is chasing him down. I’ll help him and bring him to you,” Lucas said.
She nodded and allowed Del and Mary Leah to lead her from the stables.
A crowd had gathered in the stables to investigate all the commotion. They parted like the Red Sea when Coal left the stables.
“How do you feel?” Del asked as they walked.
“I’ve got a massive headache,” Coal said.
“Go get your truck,” Del said to Melissa as they reached the trailer. “We need to take her to be checked out.”
Harley was standing at the trailer. When he saw her moving toward him with her face bloodied, he reached inside for the first-aid kit.
Mary Leah rushed ahead and took the kit from Harley, pulling out gauze to hold against Coal’s chin.
“What the hell happened?” he asked.
“Those stupid Brewster brats set off fireworks and spooked Shadow.”
“Damn kids, I ought to kick their asses,” Harley growled.
“Don’t worry, Harley, she got Bubba good,” Mary Leah said.
“He’s going to need some serious dental work,” Del said as she cleaned Coal’s busted lip, while Mary Leah held pressure over the gash on her chin.
Melissa arrived with the truck and Del urged her to climb inside, but Coal balked. “I’m not going anywhere until I know Shadow is safe.”
Harley looked around and saw Gene and Lucas walking the horse toward them. “There he is,” he said, pointing behind Coal.
She turned to see her horse being led back to her by Gene and Lucas. She sighed with relief and hugged Shadow’s neck as her tears began to fall.
“See, he’s fine. Now we need to go take care of you,” Melissa said.
“Take care of my boy, Gene,” she said.
“I will, Coal, you take care of you,” he said as he too started crying.
“Good grief. You better get her out of here before we all start bawling,” Harley said and walked her to the back door of the truck. “Call me if you need anything.”
“Just take care of Shadow,” Coal repeated and climbed inside the truck.
†
Melissa located a nearby emergency room and they were surprised to find it wasn’t overflowing with patients. Mary Leah and Del led her inside while Melissa parked the truck.
“What happened here?” a nurse asked as they entered the triage area.
Mary Leah quickly explained the accident as the nurse peeled the blood-soaked gauze away from Coal’s chin.
“Do you have a headache?” she asked.
“Yes, my head is pounding.”
“Let’s get you into an exam room, so we can get you cleaned up and examined by Dr. Tully,” she said with a warm smile. She looked at the three women surrounding Coal. “I can probably sneak one of you back, but not all three.”
“Go with Coal,” Melissa said to Mary Leah.
Mary Leah nodded and helped support Coal as they were led to an exam room. The triage nurse got Coal settled on the exam table and said, “Cindy will be in to get you cleaned up in a few minutes,” and left the room.
Mary Leah sat in a chair next to Coal and held her hand while they waited.
“Knock, knock,” a voice said and then the curtain opened. The small woman took one look at Coal in her boots and chaps. “All right, a cowgirl,” she crowed with a cute smile. “You in town for the rodeo?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she said as the woman reviewed her chart.
“I can tell you one thing right off the bat,” she said.
Coal cocked her head at her comment.
“Your horse’s head is definitely harder than yours,” she said with a chuckle.
“That’s debatable,” Mary Leah teased, and all three broke out in laughter.
“Hey now, I resemble that remark.” Coal fell into the humor. She smiled and then grimaced as pain shot through her chin.
“Ouch, sorry about that, no more humor. My name is Cindy, by the way. I get the pleasure of cleaning your wounds before Dr. Tully comes for a visit. Any pain in your jaw?” she asked.
“No, just my chin and I’ve got a killer headache,” she answered.
“No broken jaw or you wouldn’t be talking this good,” Cindy said as she cleansed her chin with Betadine. “Is superglue okay or do you want a few stitches?”
“Superglue is fine with me,” she said.
“We need to buy stock in that stuff,” Mary Leah said.
“Oh yeah? Do you frequently head-butt horses?” Cindy asked.
“No, I had a piece of leftover shrapnel make an appearance a few weeks ago,” she explained.
“Did you heal well with the glue?”
“Yes, I did,” she answered.
“I’ll let Dr. Tully know you prefer the glue then,” she said.
“Can I get something for a headache?” she asked.
“Unfortunately no, not until Dr. Tully examines you. She will probably order a CT scan of your head to make sure you don’t have a concussion. Once we get your picture, I will give you something.”
“Did I hear my name called?” a woman said as she entered the room. “Hi, I’m Dr. Tully. I hear you’ve been head-butting a horse.”
“He definitely got the better of me,” she said.
The doctor pulled out a penlight and completed a routine exam. “Your neurological check looks fine, but I’d like a CT scan just to rule out a concussion. Is that go
od with you?”
“Yeah, that’s fine, Doc,” she answered.
“I’ll key in the order if you want to hit that chin with some glue and then take her upstairs to the lab,” the doctor told Cindy.
“What can she have for a headache?”
“Any allergies to medications?” she asked Coal.
“No, ma’am.”
“Take some Tylenol 3 up with you and she can have them once we have films on her.”
“Yes, Dr. Tully,” Cindy said.
“I’ll see you when you get back,” the doctor said and left the room.
Cindy sealed the gash with the surgical glue. “Do you want a bandage? You really don’t need one.”
“I’m good then,” she said.
Cindy stepped into the hall and returned with a wheelchair. “Let’s roll, cowgirl,” she said and helped her into the chair. “Are you joining us for a stroll?” she asked Mary Leah.
“Yes, if I can,” she answered.
“Not a problem. I’ll even let you push the buttons in the elevator,” Cindy said as she rolled Coal from the room. “Two please,” she said with a chuckle when they entered the elevator.
“Are you always this chipper?” Coal asked.
Cindy chuckled. “My wife calls me her little ray of sunshine.”
“She’s a lucky woman,” Mary Leah said.
“Yeah, I tell her that all the time,” Cindy said with a wink as the elevator doors opened. “Let’s go get your Kodak moment done and you can be on your way. Are you finished at the rodeo?”
“No, ma’am. I’ve got another event in the morning.”
“Well, it’s been lovely meeting you, but please don’t come for another visit tomorrow.”
“Trust me, I don’t plan to,” she said with a grin.
“Okay, Suzy, she’s all yours,” Cindy said as she rolled Coal into the x-ray lab. “Watch her close, she’s a cowgirl,” she teased.
“She’s in good hands. I’ll bring her back in just a few,” Suzy said and closed the door.