by Bella Knight
“Yes, from Utah. Jeffrey Bearpaw. He just texted his parents. They’re coming up to live in one of the apartments over the barn addition. Jeffrey can have the middle one, but he prefers sleeping with the horses.”
“He won’t, come winter,” said Henry. “Let’s see the rest.”
The barn was coming along nicely, the pitched roof covered, and the large doors being hung. Someone was on the second floor installing glass. Henry nodded as people called and waved to him. They swung around to the dorms. The walls and roof were framed. The noise was deafening —the circular saw, hammers, nail guns, electric screwdrivers.
Ace looked down from the roof. “My God! Henry!” he said. He ran down the interior stairs and slowed when approaching the horse. He grabbed the stirrup and his friend’s foot, encased in a boot. “Good God, Henry, don’t scare us like that,” said Ace, tears welling up. “I’m going to lose my manliness and cry.” All three of them laughed, and he wiped his eyes off on his sleeve.
“Glad to be back,” said Henry. “My arms and legs all work, but I’m weak as a kitten.”
“As long as everything works,” said Ace. “Ivy’s doing a bang-up job at the club. Tito’s her second, and Gregory’s my second. Gregory’ll be here later. Just texted me that Katya helped Inola here sign up for classes.”
He gave her a careful sideways hug. She turned to him and gave him a real one. He held her close, kissed her head.
“Damn, girl, having you alive means more than we can say. I’m so sorry we weren’t fast enough.”
“You got me out. Ivy gave me a real-good gun, too. Still, have it.” She let him go and stepped back.
“I want to mount that gun over the fireplace,” said Henry. “It let Inola save herself.”
“We’re having a baby,” said Inola. “I’m gonna need all your help to raise it. To let it grow up in clean air and sunlight, surrounded by horses. And dogs, maybe.”
“Where’s the dog run?” asked Henry.
“Damn,” said Ace. “I knew we were forgetting something.” He hugged Inola again. “I’m real sad about how the baby came to be, but we’re all gonna be a good family.”
“You already are,” said Inola.
Ace had to wipe his eyes with his shirt sleeve again. “You make me lose my manliness!” he wailed. They all laughed.
Dance
Bella moved it at Dirty Vegas. They were as busy as ever. Nina was her bar back. They kept the drinks going out, bopping and swaying to the music, some AC/DC. She had people two deep at one point; the cocktail servers were literally carrying trays as fast as possible. There was a rally in town for the Foster Care to Success Program, scholarships for kids aging out of the foster-care system. They were also trying to form a group to help with housing subsidies, and a free furniture program. They were riding both Red Rock and Boulder City in the morning.
Bella smacked open another case of Mountain Dew, sliding the cans into ice.
“How’s Inola?” asked Jaycee, a biker with the Iron Knights with a buzz cut of soft, blonde hair and androgynous features.
“Getting better,” said Bella. “We did yoga today. We’re both still sore from that.” She poured two beers, handed them out.
“Who’s Inola, and what happened to her?” asked Fallon, a member of Legion, an East Coast biker group for military veterans.
“She got beat up by some guys, but she took them out,” said Jaycee. That was the ‘for-public-consumption’ story.
“Well, fuck me,” said Fallon, whipping out his wallet. “Where can I contribute?”
“We have a jar,” said Jaycee, handing over a bright yellow tub with a picture of Jeffrey Bearpaw working with Chenoa, and another shot of the half-finished dorm. “But the money doesn’t go to her directly. That boy there’s Jeffrey Bearpaw. He and a bunch of kids like him need housing. They’ll be dorm and teachin’ them how to rescue horses and train them. Inola’s one of the trainers.”
Fallon dropped in a twenty. “Great!”
Bella handed out three colas and an ice water and took the money. “Henry’s real excited about it,” she said. “Rode over and looked at it today. Got a text from Inola about it.”
“What the fuck?” asked Jaycee. “Henry’s up and riding a horse?”
Bella filled a pitcher of beer. “Weak, Inola says, but she said, ‘He came back from the Spirit Lands.’”
“HEY EVERYBODY!” shouted Jaycee, over ZZ Top’s Tush. “HENRY RODE A HORSE TODAY!”
Cheers went up all over the bar. Drink orders poured in as people bought drinks for their entire tables in celebration. Bella emptied some of the liquor bottles behind the bar, handing out shot glasses by the tray.
Ace apparently told Ivy the news. Bella slapped her own head; she should have told Ivy when she got in, but they had been slammed, nearly from the time they opened the doors. People had been waiting for them in the parking lot.
Ivy went up to the stage. When the band finished the song, she said, “Some of you know us, the Nighthawks. Henry was injured with a skull fracture trying to rescue Inola, who was beaten up by some guys. She took them out herself. Anyway, Henry came back from the Spirit Lands today, and rode his horse.” She raised a shot glass with some amber liquid in it; Bella knew it was apple cider, not whiskey. “To Henry coming back, and Inola getting better. To Henry and Inola!”
Bella snagged her stamped beer bottle and drank her cinnamon-spiced apple cider, the alcohol-free kind.
“To Henry,” she said, tears in her eyes. The band went into ZZ Top’s Sharp Dressed Man, and Ivy went to the plinth to dance, sending a dancer on break.
The bar rocked, with people dancing and singing so loud Bella could barely hear the orders. She sang along and filled up more trays.
By the time she rode back to the ranch, it was nearly three in the morning, and Bella was exhausted. She thought longingly of her bed, but knew a shower was in order; she smelled of beer, whiskey, and fried potatoes.
She slipped up the stairs, showered, and dried her hair on low. She hoped Inola had slept; her wife tended toward nightmares. She crawled in bed and held Inola.
Inola flipped over. “Love, I have something I have to tell you.”
“Hit me,” said Bella.
“I’m nervous,” said Inola. “It’s going to be tough on us.”
“On us. So, you’re not breaking up with me?”
“No, love. But, we do have a little rider.”
“A little…” Bella’s tired mind stuttered, then picked up the thread. “Oh. Oh.” She touched Inola’s stomach. “So, what’s the plan? Keep it? Adoption?”
“Thank you for not expecting me to get rid of the baby,” said Inola.
Bella snorted. “Not the baby’s fault the father is —was —pure evil.” She sighed. “Evil isn’t genetic.”
“I know we’re young, just starting out,” said Inola.
“Fuck that shit,” said Bella. “If we’re having a little rider, then we’re having a little rider.” She snorted laughter. “Saves us from having to go to a sperm donor clinic.”
Inola laughed into Bella’s shoulder. “Yeah, I guess it does.”
They kissed, slowly, quietly, the only sound that of the horses stamping and whuffing in their sleep through the open window. Inola took off her shirt, then held Bella close. Bella, naked from the shower, held Inola around the waist with one hand, her other hand in her long black hair. Inola caressed Bella’s nipples with the back of her hand, making them harden. She leaned down and sucked each one. Bella gasped. Bella ran her hands down Inola’s sides, sliding her thumbs along the side of her breasts. Inola gasped. Bella came, cried out. Bella did the same for Inola, making her arch her back and hiss, coming in great gasps. Just on the outside of her pants.
Inola pulled down her yoga pants and underwear and threw them to the end of the bed. She flipped over on top of Bella. Bella tried not to cry at this huge step forward. She kissed Bella and slid her fingers down her, then into her hot, wet center. Bella gasped and bucked. Inola put a
thumb on her button, and made Bella arch and buck more before she came in great gasps. Bella held Inola and stroked her, from her neck to her spine, then she cupped her ass, then stroked back up.
“Baby,” said Bella, “Do you want me to go inside, or just do this?”
“Do this all night,” said Inola.
“Sorry, babe, but I’m exhausted and you’ve got a bun in the oven. All night won’t work.” Inola laughed and drew a sheet over them both. They held on, smiling.
The nightmare, when it hit, had the advantage of being at nearly five in the morning, much later than usual. Bella had Inola look at her phone, see the time and place, to know that it wasn’t happening again. Bella held her until she stopped shuddering and the tears stopped falling. Inola put her yoga pants back on, and Bella cradled her until dawn. Inola actually fell back asleep for a few minutes before the horses needing feed drove her into the shower.
Jeffrey helped her feed and water the horses and put them out to pasture. He worked with Chenoa. She went to him to be fed carrots and chuffed into her hair.
“I think she’s your horse,” said Inola.
“My… my horse?” His voice jumped registers.
“This is a working ranch, and you’ll need a horse. You’ll have to get her to accept a lead and blanket, eventually a saddle. Get the lunge line and saddle pad, and get the pad on her today.”
“Awesome!” said Jeffrey.
She had him work the lead, establishing trust. She taught him how to start on the left, to rub the saddle pad over the horse’s body, to get her used to it, and to put it on her back. Chenoa had been saddled before, it seemed, for she responded well. Jeffrey had been riding for years, and she gave him a leg up so he could sit on the horse’s back. She switched to reins, and he walked her around the paddock, talking to her gently.
Out of the corner of her eye, Inola saw David take and saddle Arrow, and ride her back to the house. Soon, Henry sat on his horse next to her.
“Good work,” said Henry.
“Boy loves horses,” said Inola. “He texted his family to come. I may have to go over and help hammer,” she said, pointing with her jaw toward the barn extension and the dorms.
“With the little rider, you moving into the house?” asked Henry. Hope it doesn’t feel like a step back for her, he thought.
Inola shrugged. “There’s a two-bedroom going up in the middle of the extension. Was thinking about moving into it and making the second room into the office. Then the boy on the right, his parents on the left, me in the middle. But, Little Rider here’s going to be loud.”
“Besides,” said Henry. “The ranch was made for lots of people. You can spend a little of my money, cut a hole in the side of the house, give yourself separate stairs.”
“Might be good for Bella,” said Inola. “She hates the idea of waking farm people up at two in the morning from her job.” She thought a minute. “The balcony —we could just put a spiral staircase there, maybe enclose the balcony. Make it a sitting room for the little rider.”
“Ryder.” said Henry, “With a Y.”
Inola went still, then nodded. “Not a traditional name.”
Henry snorted. “And my name’s traditional? Or that boy’s?” He pointed his chin at Jeffrey.
Inola nodded. “Point taken. Looks like I’ve got to go talk to someone about a balcony and a spiral staircase.” Henry followed her down to see Ace and company.
Tito was there as the project manager. “Can order one from a kit.” He pulled up three styles.
“Need a railing,” she said, discarding a just-stairs model and a one-sided-railing model.
“A little over two thousand,” said Tito.
She chose a silver metal one with black steps. “That one. And, we need to enclose the balcony, and run this up the side.”
“Glass? Modular walls? There’s some durable plastic stuff. We could go modular on the bottom and plastic on top, or some sort of meshy stuff. Or frame it and put glass doors in that you can’t open.”
“Frame and glass doors,” said Inola. “Don’t want Ryder going out the window.”
“Ryder?” Inola touched her stomach. “Oh, you want to extend the bedroom into a sitting room with a way for Bella to get in and out at three in the morning without waking up the whole house.”
He smiled. “Kind of like an enclosed gazebo, without it being separate from the house.” He nodded to himself. “Doable. I can probably even find a sunroom kit online. Now go away and let me work.” She laughed. “Henry, I’ll be over later to measure. We should be able to get that done without it costing too terribly-much.”
“Excellent,” said Henry. “Is there a job I can do sitting down?”
“Got a lot of sanding to do,” said Tito. “You can’t do it on the horse, though.” Arrow stood tall, completely unconcerned by the noise, sawdust, and hive of workers building the barn extension behind Tito.
“Let’s go get an Adirondack chair,” said Inola. “And don’t do too much, or I’ll sic David on you.”
Henry laughed. Tito and Inola smiled like idiots at the sound.
Lunch was a truly massive-amount of tacos, and salad she and David created in the kitchen. Bella joined for only half an hour, then kissed Inola and left for the long drive to work.
Inola got the call right after lunch. “Got a horse abandonment situation,” said Doc Vially, a vet they were in contact with that worked the North Las Vegas horse farms. “Idiots got foreclosed on, left the horse. She’s a mare. Neighbors fed and watered her and called me.”
“On our way,” said Inola, taking down the address. She took the dually and the trailer, Jeffrey at her side. “We’re lucky,” said Inola. “Neighbors were kind and fed and watered the horse. Been there about six days. They did everything to try to contact the owners, but they split.”
“Idiots,” said Jeffrey. “They could have sold her, given her to the neighbors.”
“Neighbors can’t take her,” said Inola. “Too many animals as it is. And no money to add onto their barn. They already rent out half their barn to keep the barn running.”
“Okay,” said Jeffrey. “They’re still stupid. Or even call the animal rescue society on the way out of town.”
“She’ll be scared, and really sad,” she said. “Her people abandoned her. We must pour on the love.”
“We can do that,” said Jeffrey.
“Have you heard from your parents?” asked Inola.
Jeffrey hang his head. “They got divorced. Dad wants to stay on the res, and my mom wants to come here.”
“That sucks that they broke up,” said Inola. “Some people try, and they can’t stay married.”
“My dad drinks,” said Jeffrey. “My mom don’t. It makes him mad.”
“Every family has its alcoholic, for the most part,” said Inola. “Sucks that it’s your dad.”
“Mom wants to learn the horses, like me,” said Jeffrey. “Maybe learn the building trade, too. Another lady is taking her receptionist job, and she’s coming up with the other kids next week. Kind of a travel mom.” He laughed. “Gonna be a pain in the ass with some of them,” he said. “Some of them are real hard-headed.”
Inola laughed. “So am I.” She sighed, tried not to panic. “Next week,” she said. “Looks like I need to swing a hammer.”
They pulled in, as close to the paddock as possible. The vet was just packing up, a beanpole man with a shock of black hair and piercing green eyes.
“She’s clean as a whistle,” he said. “I’ll bill you for the checkup and the immunizations, twenty percent off ‘cos she’s a rescue.”
“Good,” said Inola, shaking his hand. “Thank you.” The mare had a gray head, a white spotted rear, and a lovely gray mane and tail. “Gorgeous horse,” said Inola. “Shame.”
“Name’s Jumper,” said the vet. “May be why they left her. Doubt she’s been trained properly. Tack’s still in the barn.”
“Thanks, Doc,” said Inola. He hopped in his truck and
left.
She looked dejected, heartbroken, head near the ground. Jeffrey approached quietly, talking quietly.
“Hey, girl,” he said. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you.”
“I’ll get the tack,” said Inola.
The room was dusty, the tack uncleaned. She used a rag and tack cleaner to clean a bridle and saddle. She put the saddle in the back of the dually, and several blankets. She dropped off a clean bridle, leg wraps, blanket, and shipping boots with Jeffrey. The blankets were, at least, clean. She also took a box with curry combs, hoof picks, hoof oil, and the like, and an empty water barrel. Jeffrey put the bridle on the horse and supports on her legs. Inola opened the windows of the trailer and put down hay on the ramp and inside the trailer.
The horse was calm walking into the trailer. Inola coached Jeffrey into walking in first.
A neighbor came over to watch. Inola got Jeffrey out and shut the back before ambling over.
“You the adopter?” asked a woman in a loose shirt, jodhpurs, and English-style boots.
“Yes,” said Inola. “She’s going to our ranch. We have other rescued horses there.”
“Marybelle Carson,” said the woman.
Inola shook hands with her. “Thanks for feeding her,” said Inola. “I’ve got to get her home before she gets too scared in there.”
“Such a sweet horse,” said Marybelle. “That rat-bastard Raymund Adel bought a horse for his wife, but neither one of them knew how to take care of her. Had a guy, but let him go two weeks before they left.”
“Thanks for taking care of her,” said Inola, again. “I must go.”
“Bye,” said Marybelle.
“Goodbye,” said Inola. She reached in her pocket and handed over a card with her name and number. “You see an abandoned horse, you call,” she said.
“Will do,” said Marybelle. Inola turned, walked to the truck, and slowly, slowly drove the horse home.
Jumper loved the paddock, the rubdown, the apple, and Jeffrey’s gentle voice. Inola cleaned the tack and went out to the barn extension to pound nails. She got the stalls ready in the barn extension, staining the wood, hanging the doors, installing the latches. Henry had David set up his chair in there with her, and she had him rub in stain. They talked easily about the new horse, and he chided her about not wearing a mask. She pointed out the fact the barn doors weren’t installed yet.