Everything was dealt with, and we finished our breakfast and morning chores in no time.
By the time Pa and the boys were ready to leave, I was in the training ring with Adam and Bart.
“I want you to learn how she does this,” Pa said. “It's not right for a slip of a gal to know more about breaking horses than menfolk.” He mounted his horse and made sure Charles, Mark, Peter, and Paul had done the same. “You and Bart should hunt up some more mustangs, Adam. Take an afternoon to get it done.”
“Yes, sir,” Adam said.
We watched as they rode off and then got back to work. I approached the herd's leader, stroked his mane, and whispered in his ear. Only after Blaze allowed me to climb onto his back, did I prove how well I trained.
I had slid off Blaze for a break and stared in amazement at the sight before me. A dozen men in blue uniforms wearing flat brimmed hats rode up to the corral.
“Captain Smith, United States Army,” one said. He stared at me. “I'm looking for Michael Weston.”
“Abby, go on with the next horse.” Adam gave me a gentle push, and waited until I approached an untrained pony. “I'm his oldest son, Adam. Pa is in Carson City.”
“You let a girl train your horses?” Captain Smith asked.
He sure didn't think much of girls. I could see that much from his disgusted expression. I should have mounted Blaze right off to prove to him that I could ride better than he could, but I remained frozen in place. This was the first time I'd ever seen anyone in the Army.
“Abby has the touch,” Adam said. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“My commander, Colonel Anderson, would like to purchase a dozen horses as mounts for our new recruits,” Captain Smith said. “Can you do that in addition to your Pony Express contract?”
“When do you need them?”
“Ten days,” the army captain said.
“A dozen will be ready by then.” Adam nodded. “But you'll have to come for them. Bart and I can't leave the ranch unguarded since the Paiute attacks.”
“Understood. I'll be back.” Captain Smith looked at me again and then rode off.
Adam and Bart started working with the untrained horses.
“Adam,” I said.
“What is it?”
“Don't give Blaze to the Army.” I gulped when he gave me a startled look. “I promised Blaze he'd help the Pony Express. That's why he let me ride him so fast.”
“Then you'd better work hard.” He smiled.
To prove I could do it, I began talking to my horse while slipping a bit into his mouth. He accepted it and gave me no trouble. When Ma rang the dinner bell, I scurried to the house.
“Did you boys figure out how she does it yet?” she asked after we dug into hearty vegetable soup and cornbread.
“She's a little witch when it comes to horses,” Adam said. “Whispers with the leader for a long time, and then he lets her on his back. The next thing you know, she has half the herd eating out of her hand. Darn it, Abby's better than anyone I've ever seen with horses.”
He gulped at the stern expression on Ma's face. We often shortened our names out of her sight, despite her edict that we not do it. Even Pa had fallen into the habit when working outside. It made things easier than hollering a mouthful of a name, as he called it.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to shorten your names?” she said and then sighed. “Never mind, I won't give you a hard time if you call her Abby occasionally.”
I ducked my head to hide the smile creeping across my face. At least I thought I had, until her hand landed on the back of my head.
“Don't think I didn't see that, missy. I need your help this afternoon,” she said. “There's still mending to do.”
What an awful chore after the delightful morning I'd had. Mending rips and tears in our clothes to make them last longer was far harder than crocheting a doily.
Adam stretched as he rose. “We have to saddle break some of the horses this afternoon. She can't do that.”
While darning holes in socks, a sense of foreboding settled around me. I checked out the oiled paper window but saw nothing out of place.
It's nothing. Everything is great now. Even if I'm stuck inside darning socks, I know I'll always have a chance to train horses.
Chapter Nine
After seven days of hard work, I groaned when Adam shook me awake.
“Sun's been up for an hour,” he said. “We still have to teach that new bunch of ponies to carry weight on their backs.”
“An hour!” I sat up fast and regretted it.
No matter what I'd done in the past, nothing had prepared me for doing all my chores plus putting up fruit and vegetables and working with the horses. Every muscle and bone in my body ached.
“You'll stop hurting as soon as you start moving.” He walked toward the door. “Best hurry. Ma overslept, too. You'll have to take care of the chickens.”
Ma never overslept. I wiggled a finger in my ear to make sure I heard right. As the thought worked through my fuzzy brain, I threw off my blankets and snatched a worn and patched calico dress from a peg on the wall.
“Figured that would get you moving. Get the eggs and help Ma with breakfast. Bart and I will handle the rest.” Adam closed the door.
After tugging the nightgown over my head, I dressed and braided my hair. Instead of winding the braids into a knot at my neck, I let them hang. I had lost most of my hairpins working with the horses.
Ten minutes later, I collected eggs from the nests. One hen wasn't appreciative of my efforts.
“Stop,” I said after she pecked my hand a third time. “You know Ma needs these.”
The chicken flapped her wings and squawked. I finished collecting the eggs and hurried back to the house. The Johnsons stepped away from the wall beside my bedroom window. I slowed down and set to work figuring out a way around them.
This basket is too durned full to run. Ma really needs all these eggs, so I can't break any.
A step to the right did no good. They just copied my move. Quick glances in to either side of me offered me no insight as to where my brothers were.
I don't know what good having Bart and Adam here would do. They would just rip up their clothes fighting those rotten Johnsons.
The thought of mending my big brothers' clothes after a scuffle with these men made my blood boil. That would be punishing me for their misdeeds!
“Git.” I fixed my lips into a snarl. “Leave me alone.”
“I figure it's time to take you to our place,” Mr. Johnson said. “You'll do our chores and cook our food and marry my boy, Gabriel.”
Fear dried my throat so much I couldn't have whispered let alone hollered. I shook my head.
This can't be happening. What can I do?
I already knew what I couldn't do, but I did have one option. Ma might not like having less eggs than she had counted on, and I sure didn't want to bother the hens again, but I sure didn't have too many choices.
“Git along to our wagon,” Gabriel ordered. “No woman tells us no.”
Albert and Daniel took a step in my direction. The noises I heard from the barn told me Adam and Bart were busy with the cows and pig. Ma was close, but I wasn't sure she could move fast enough. I threw an egg and hit Gabriel right between the eyes.
He snorted and snuffled. Gabriel reached up with his hands and tried to wipe egg off his face. His pa and brothers gathered around to help him. I grinned at their futile actions. Holding the basket tightly, I ran around those pesky men and into the kitchen.
“Goodness!” Ma gasped. “There's no need to rush around so much. Set the basket in the pantry and then put bowls and spoons on the table.”
My brothers showed up as I finished laying out the dishes. Neither Adam nor Bart said a word about the Johnsons, but I noticed how they shot me the most unusual stares, as if they knew what I had done to Gabriel. I kept quiet out of fear of causing trouble. An hour later, with Blaze watching me, I climbed onto
one of the bit-trained mustangs and concentrated on controlling him, but my thoughts kept drifting. The way the Johnsons had snuck up on me, and how I hadn't said a word about it, bothered my conscience.
“Pay attention, Abby,” Adam called.
I waved in reply, but the feeling I should confess what the Johnsons had done distracted me.
They wouldn't really make me go to their place. Pa and Adam would know right off where they'd taken me. Even Gabriel isn't stupid enough to try something like that.
“Abby!”
Adam's sharp tone jerked me back to my job.
“That horse will buck you off if he thinks you aren't in control,” he said. “Keep the reins tight. Make your horse realize you're controlling him, not the other way around.”
“Sorry,” I called.
As I forced myself to concentrate, I saw movement near the barn. None of my family was anywhere near it, and I looked hard to figure out who it was. A head came into view—Gabriel's head. He swung his arm back and flung something in my direction.
The horse tossed his head. A crawly feeling wiggled across my skin, and then a whistle whizzed past me. Two wet sounding thwacks smacked the horse, and he bucked.
“Get off!” Adam jumped off his horse.
“Do it now!” Bart shouted.
My hat flew off as the mustang dashed for the open gate. Bart closed it before the animal escaped into the desert. The horse reared. My feet kicking in all directions, I sawed the reins as hard as my sore muscles allowed. Using words Ma would wash out of my mouth with lye soap, I thought I had the situation under control when the horse settled.
Thank goodness.
In a second, the horse went from settled to bunched muscles beneath my legs. He slammed me against the corral rails, and I flew off. My brothers’ horrified faces flashed past, and then Gabriel's victorious grin. I spun end over end. When I landed, the air whooshed out of my body. I lay there, trying with all my might to take a breath, but everything felt like it was on fire.
“Get Ma!” Adam leaned over me, gently moving my arms and legs. “Abby, talk to me.”
“Ugh, urg, oooooo.”
The sounds coming out of my mouth didn't sound at all normal. I would have laughed, if it hadn't hurt so much.
“I can't pick you up unless you tell me where it hurts, or if it doesn't,” he begged. “Please, honey, say something.”
I wanted to let the blackness at the edges of my vision take me away from the pain. If I did, Adam looked like he might cry. He never cried, crying was for babies and girls. He had told me so many times, when he pulled a splinter from my finger or cleaned up my scrapes.
“Hurts,” I finally said. “Everywhere.”
“Oh, honey, those are the best words I've ever heard. Let's get you off the ground.”
He supported my back with one hand while using the other to help me stand. As I straightened, everything spun in circles. Ma raced toward me, looking a bit like a drunk I once saw walking across the desert. I took a step but the spinning intensified, and I stumbled forward.
“Damn!” He swept me into his arms and walked over to Ma. “She's shaken up,” he said.
“In the house,” she said in a sharp tone. “Set her on her bed and take off her shoes. You're sure about nothing worse?”
“Yes, ma'am,” he said, and then he glanced at the corral. “Bart, take care of the horses.”
Tears flowed down my face. It was a stupid accident, and now I would never have another chance to ride a mustang. Pa would throw a fit when he heard about this, and it was my fault.
Lying against my oldest brother's double-breasted shirt, I tried hard to stop crying but listening to his heart thump-a-bumping sure didn't help.
Holy heck! Adam's panting like he ran all the way from Carson City.
Chapter Ten
The terror etched into Adam's sun-browned skin frightened me even more. He never, ever let his fear show, so I didn't get scared.
He looks just plain petrified. How bad is this?
Adam booted the door open and carried me to my bedroom.
“I can't tell you enough to pay attention when you're on a half-broke horse. What were you thinking?” he asked.
“I'm sorry,” I sobbed. “Two things hit the horse and another whizzed past my ear. Please, don't hate me.”
He unlaced my boots. After he eased them off, he rotated my ankles and ran his hands along my legs again. Standing, he pulled off his hat and swiped a hand through his hair. The longish brown mass clumped together from the sweat on his head.
“You scared me out of a year's growth.” He plopped the hat back on his head. “I don't know how I would have explained to Pa if something had happened to you.”
I burrowed into my pillow right as Ma bustled through the door. She carried a pot of steaming water in one hand and soft rags in the other
“Check the chicken I've got boiling,” she said. “Tell Bart I'll need carrots from the garden. One of you will have to gather eggs and milk before supper.”
“Yes, ma'am.” Adam bolted through the door.
The door slammed behind him, and I began to worry. I was alone with Ma, and she didn't look at all happy.
“You weren't paying attention, were you?” she asked.
“No, ma'am,” I said.
“I heard Adam tell you to do that. Why didn't you?”
“I tried to. Honest, Ma.”
My lie, the one I told by not saying something about the Johnsons, rose up. The end over end tumble through the air slowed in my memory, until I saw Gabriel smiling near the barn.
“I didn't mean to lie,” I cried. “But I didn't want to get into trouble.”
“If you mean not telling me about Horace and his no-good sons showing up, I already know. I saw them run off,” she said. “What does it have to do with not paying attention on a horse?”
“I think I saw Gabriel near the barn before the horse threw me.”
“We'll check later,” she said. “Lie still.”
For an hour, she poked and prodded. She held onto my chin and stared into my eyes, and then she asked me to say how many fingers she held up. Finally, she held me upright on the bed and stripped me down to my chemise and drawers. After a light washing, Ma lowered a flannel nightgown over my head and assisted me under the blankets.
“You'll be fine, but you'll stay in this bed until I tell you otherwise,” she said. “Do you know how lucky you are?”
I nodded.
“Abby, I've never heard of a gal breaking horses. I didn't think you should, but your pa, he thinks you're like my grandfather. Now, Gramps, he talked to horses. Made them do what he wanted, but he did take a fall or two when he didn't pay attention.”
My eyes drifted closed, and she shook me awake.
“No you don't, young lady. I want to make certain you didn't scramble your brains.” She raised her voice. “Adam, scoop some of that broth into a bowl and bring it here with a spoon.”
He appeared with the bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other. She settled on the bed and spooned the watery broth into my mouth. It took nearly the whole bowl before I realized she had called me by my nickname. I sputtered.
“Are you sick to your stomach?” she asked.
“No, ma'am,” I said. “You called me Abby.”
“Why, I did, didn't I? See what you did? You scared me so much I forgot my own rules.” She set the bowl on the floor and stood. After picking up the bowl, she looked me over again. “Now lie back. Adam will read from the Bible until you drift off.”
He settled me into the crook of his shoulder and read a few verses. The last thing I remembered was a gentle kiss on my forehead as he lowered me to the pillow.
* * * *
The night lasted ten times longer than I ever imagined it could, what with half-waking in pain every time I moved. My dreams alternated between the horse tossing me and playing with Grace. In the last one, she and David had snuck into the corral. I started to follow them, but I stopp
ed and looked for an adult when a coyote slipped under the fence.
The pretty lady with Trapper Andy was the only adult on the porch.
“Coyote,” I said, pointing at the corral. “David and Grace are in there.”
Then I ran after the creature. Coyotes never came close to humans unless they were very hungry. I had once heard Pa and Adam talking about sick ones, with a disease that would hurt people. They explained how I could never go near a coyote because might bite me, and then I'd have the sickness.
Keeping away from the animal didn't matter. I had to help Grace and David stay out of trouble. One other problem prodded me to break Pa's most stringent rule and go into the corral. The coyote might attack one of the horses.
The dream exploded into steel clad hooves kicking at me, and terrified screams. Sweat soaked my skin. A cool hand brushed hair back from my face.
“It's over, Abby,” Adam whispered. “Just sleep.”
My eyelids cracked open. He leaned over me.
“Why did I forget David?” I asked.
“Shhh!” He looked more scared than when I flew off the horse. “It's just a bad dream. Think about happy things, sis.”
He hummed until I fell asleep again. This time, I dreamed of pretty ladies in store bought dresses. While it wasn't scary, I hated how much I wanted one of those lace-trimmed dresses. Riding a horse in one of those things was nigh on impossible!
Sunlight heating my face brought me around, but I kept my eyes closed. Before I considered opening them, I had to stop the fierce thumping in my head. It felt like a bunch of little men was hammering away in there. My stomach flopped topsy-turvy when I smelled sausage and eggs. The sound of someone snoring close to me made me want to scream.
Holy heck! I'm not a baby. I'm fine.
At least I thought I was, until I sat up and every single bone and muscle protested.
“Yikes!”
My exclamation startled Bart. He fell out of a chair beside my bed.
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