Storm Chaser

by Chris Platt

  Ariel picked up one of Jessica’s horse magazines and thumbed through it. “Yeah,” she said in a less than enthusiastic tone. “It’s just that Duncan makes things more interesting.”

  He does? Jessica thought, trying to hide her hurt. Sure, Ariel was almost three years older, but Jessica was trying really hard to fit in and make the older girl like her. She felt a moment of shame when she thought about Marybeth. Was this the way Marybeth felt when she was trying to fit in with her?

  “I’m thirsty,” Ariel said. “Do you think you could get me a glass of water? I really want to read this article.”

  “Sure,” Jessica said. “I’ll be right back.”

  She went downstairs to the kitchen and came back with a glass of ice water. But when she opened the door to her bedroom, it was empty.

  “Ariel?” She paused for a moment, looking around the room. The sound of the girl’s laughter came from down the hall. She followed it to Duncan’s room, stopping several feet outside the door.

  “You probably shouldn’t even be in here,” she heard her brother say.

  “Why not?” Ariel said. “We’re just talking. I was getting bored waiting for your sister.”

  Bored? Jessica’s grip tightened on the glass. She’d only been gone for two minutes. How could she get bored in that amount of time? Especially since she’d left Ariel with her best horse magazines! It was becoming painfully obvious that Ariel didn’t want to be friends with her at all. She was only interested in Duncan.

  “Oh, hey,” Duncan said, spotting Jessica in the hall. “There’s Jess now.” He jumped to the door, giving her a please-help-me look and pulling her into the room. Jessica almost dropped the water.

  “Here,” she said, handing the glass to Ariel.

  “Why don’t you take Ariel down and show her the map of where we’re going on the cattle drive?” Duncan said.

  Ariel looked disappointed as Duncan closed the door solidly behind her and Jessica. “Your brother sure is hard to get to know,” she said. “Usually guys are dying to talk to me.”

  I bet, Jessica thought. Aloud she said, “Yeah, well, like I said, he’s pretty shy.”

  “Good thing I like a challenge,” Ariel said. “Anyway, thanks for the drink. I’ll see you at the roast. We can look at the cattle drive map later.” She started to leave, then turned back to Jessica. “Oh, and I know your little buddy will probably be here tonight, but try to keep the munchkin away from me, okay? She really bugs me.” Ariel lifted her glass in salute and started down the hall. “And see if you can talk Duncan into showing up,” she called over her shoulder.

  Jessica stared after the blonde girl. She didn’t understand Ariel at all. And what was she going to do about Marybeth? She knew her parents wouldn’t be happy if some kind of trouble started between the kids. Maybe it would be better to leave Marybeth out of the marshmallow roast.

  Jessica woke at 4 a.m. when she heard Duncan tiptoeing down the hall. He’d be on the tractor baling hay hours before anyone even rose for breakfast. Ariel had been a real jerk at the campfire last night when he hadn’t shown up. After seeming so excited about having a marshmallow roast, Ariel had suddenly declared that s’mores were fattening and singing songs around a campfire was stupid. Apparently, if Ariel wasn’t having fun, she made sure no one else would either.

  Jess sat up in bed and leaned toward the window, parting the curtains. It was still dark, but the half-moon allowed her to see the clouds gathering on the horizon. She hoped it wouldn’t rain. Rain was the last thing they needed when cutting hay. But if the weather stayed dry for the remainder of the summer, they wouldn’t get another cutting, which they desperately needed. Either way, they would be in big trouble.

  She lay back in her bed and tried to go back to sleep, but she wasn’t tired. She tossed and turned a few times, then decided to get up.

  “What are you doing awake so early?” her father asked when she entered the kitchen.

  Jessica yawned. “I couldn’t sleep. I thought maybe I could help with the hay.”

  Duncan handed her a piece of toast while her father poured her a glass of juice. “Well, there are some boards we’ll need to move before we can get the hay in the barn,” her father said. “You can help with that. Duncan’s going to be running the baler, and the Lightfoot boys will follow behind him with the wagon, picking up bales. You’re strong enough this year to help drag the bales off the wagon when we load them into the barn.”

  Jessica nodded and took a bite of her toast, eyeing Duncan’s bacon hungrily. He ignored her for a few moments, then rolled his eyes and handed her two pieces off his plate.

  “Thanks, Dunce,” she said. “You’re the best.”

  Mr. Warner smiled teasingly. “I know another gal who thinks the same thing.”

  Duncan lowered his head, and Jessica could see the red creeping into his face.

  “She’s Jessie’s friend, not mine,” Duncan mumbled.

  “Not really,” Jessica said. “Sometimes I think she wants to be friends, but then she starts being kind of mean.”

  “Especially to Marybeth,” Duncan said. “Poor kid.”

  That made Jessica feel even worse. She still felt guilty for avoiding her friend because Marybeth bugged Ariel so much.

  They quickly finished their breakfast, put the dishes in the sink, and pulled on their boots. When Mr. Warner went to find the keys to the tractor, Duncan said, “Look, Jess, I know you want some new friends and all, but watch out for Ariel, okay? I’m not really sure she wants to be friends with anybody.”

  “Except you,” Jessica said.

  “Well, you can’t blame her for that.” Duncan playfully slugged her in the arm, then put on his hat and walked out the door.

  Jessica worked by lantern for over an hour to move the boards with her father. The Lightfoots came in with the first load of hay just as the sun peeked over the hills. Wyatt looked rather sleepy, but he smiled at Jessica and helped her up onto the hay wagon before jumping down to move the hay.

  “Just roll the bales off to us,” Wyatt said as he pulled on his gloves and picked up his hay hooks. “We’ll put it in the stack.”

  A low rumble of thunder sounded and Jessica cocked her head. It was unusual to have thunder this early in the morning. That wasn’t a good sign. She gazed at the mountain to the west of their ranch. Dark clouds hung low on the hillsides.

  “Looks like it’s going to be a race between us and Mother Nature,” Gator said. “I felt a few drops on the way in with this load. I’m guessing we’ve got about two hours to get this hay put up before we get some serious rain. If we take too long…Mother Nature wins.”

  Jessica nodded, glad that she’d offered to help. It was taking all of them working together to save Wild Hawk Ranch, and they couldn’t afford to lose another crop of hay.

  SIXTEEN

  The rains arrived just as Gator had predicted. The guests finished breakfast and, after checking their horses, retired to the bunkhouses to wait out the storm. Nevada storms were often fast and ferocious, quickly replaced with blue skies and sunshine. The guests would spend their morning inside, waiting for the sun.

  Ariel made an appearance at the barn just as the rain began to fall. Jessica hoped she was there to help, as she was the only one in the barn right now. The bales weighed almost as much as she did.

  “You have to move hay?” Ariel asked. “That’s a tough job. We hire people to do that for us.”

  Jessica wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded. “Yeah, well, it’s worth it. If we lose this crop of hay, we’re in a lot of trouble. And the guys are helping, too. They’re out in the field getting another load.”

  Ariel looked around the barn, then through the open door to the fields. “Who are those new guys? The ones who were helping your dad yesterday.”

  “Wyatt and Gator.” Jessica shoved another bale into place on the stack and sat down with a sigh. Obviously Ariel wasn’t going to volunteer to help. She’d probably go right back to the bunkhous
e—unless she decided to stick around and flirt with the Lightfoots as well as Jessica’s brother when they returned.

  “They’re kind of cute.” Ariel waved and smiled, then headed out the door. “See you later.”

  Jessica sighed. It would have been nice to have someone to help, or at least someone to talk to. But she couldn’t really expect a paying guest to do a tough job like putting up hay. Ariel was on vacation.

  Jessica stacked the last few bales, then pulled on her rain gear. The rain was steady now. She went to find the wagon with the boys. When she arrived, her father was giving instructions for Duncan to quit baling and help with the loading. It made no sense to bale wet hay. It would mold in the stack. Once it stopped raining, the hay that was still down in the field would have to be turned several times over the next few days so it could dry out enough to be baled again. It wouldn’t look pretty and green like the rest of the hay, but it would be edible.

  Luckily, Duncan had already baled most of the field, but they needed to get those bales in the barn. Mr. Warner hooked his truck up to a second wagon and they all worked together to save the crop.

  Jessica wiped the rain from her eyes. Small bits of hay stuck to her wet clothes and cheeks as she dragged the bales that Gator tossed up onto the wagon. Her hair lay plastered to her head, and she knew she looked a mess. But Wyatt still smiled at her every time she pulled a bale of hay over for him to stack. He probably felt sorry for her.

  A horn sounded and Jessica turned to see Marybeth and her father bumping across the hay field. They pulled their truck alongside the wagon, and Marybeth’s father rolled down the window. “We thought you folks might need some help,” he said.

  “Every spare hand is welcome.” Mr. Warner said, motioning for their neighbor to park his truck and join them.

  Jessica grinned broadly at Marybeth as she reached down to pull her friend onto the wagon. It wasn’t just that she was glad to have the help. She was genuinely happy to see Marybeth. She still felt bad about leaving her out the night before.

  “Hey, check this out!” Duncan pointed to the edge of the field. A crowd of people walked toward them in the rain.

  Jessica was surprised to see their guests waving and smiling as they drew closer to the hay wagons. She noticed that Ariel wasn’t among the group.

  “We’re here to help,” Lainey said as she held up a hay hook. “We’re not sure what we’re doing, but we’ll give it a try.”

  Michael grabbed a bale from Duncan and tossed it onto the wagon. “We know how important it is that you get this crop in the barn.”

  Mr. Warner clapped him on the back. “Thank you, son.” He turned to the rest of the group. “Thank you all. This means a lot to us. Now let’s load some hay!”

  A few hours later, Jessica gazed at the bales of hay scattered all over the floor of the barn to air dry. Tomorrow, they’d put them in the stack.

  It had been a lot of hard work, but it was worth it. They’d had fun, even though everyone eventually got soaked while they joked and picked up the hay. When they were done, everyone voted to take the rest of the day off, even Duncan and Mr. Warner. They needed to be rested for tomorrow when preparations would begin for the cattle drive.

  Jessica couldn’t wait.

  The following morning, Jessica trotted Chase around the training pen, gazing at the beautiful blue sky. Yesterday’s hard rain seemed like a dream, except for all the drying bales of hay in the barn. Duncan had gotten up early to turn the hay, but now he was shouting directions to her from the center of the ring. Jessica tried hard to do what he asked.

  “If you’re going to try to ride this filly on the cattle drive, you better know how to keep her under control,” Duncan called. “She’s not a finished horse, Jess. She still doesn’t know all the cues and how to respond. You’ll need to use a little more rein and a lot more leg on her in the beginning. She’s not ‘push-button’ like our old horses.”

  Jessica saw a flash of blonde hair streak toward the training pen. Ariel. Great. This was just what she needed…a professionally trained rider to watch her practice riding Chase. She hoped she wouldn’t embarrass herself by making stupid mistakes or getting bucked off.

  Ariel stepped up and leaned on the round pen rail. “So, how is Jessica doing?”

  She spoke directly to Duncan, but he only responded in short answers, giving most of his attention to Jessica and Chase.

  “That sure is a nice paint,” Ariel tried again. “She looks like she comes from good stock.”

  Bingo! That was all it took to get Duncan talking. Jessica saw his impatient look turn to interest, and he rattled off Chase’s lineage.

  “Wow,” Ariel said. “So she’s a papered horse and the Lightfoots turned her out on pasture to run wild?”

  “Just while she was growing,” Duncan said. “She’s not a mustang. It’s a pretty common practice, even with big-time trainers. We don’t keep our horses boxed up in stalls all their lives.”

  “Hmmm,” Ariel said. “So is she for sale, then? This filly is pretty enough to show. I’ve been bugging my parents for another horse. I’ve wanted to try showing western pleasure, and Raven just isn’t the horse for that.”

  “Yeah, she’s for sale,” Duncan said. “You’d have to talk to my dad about price and stuff.”

  Jessica wanted to bean her brother with a cow chip. Sure, she knew that Chase would be sold eventually, but she didn’t want the filly to go to Ariel. She’d load Storm Chaser into her trailer and take her a zillion miles away.

  “All right, Jess, that’s enough,” Duncan called. “Walk her for a few minutes to cool her down, then put her away.” He walked to the gate and let himself out. “I think you two will be fine on the cattle drive. Just be sure you stay with one of the better riders. After a few miles, Chase will settle in.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on her,” Ariel volunteered.

  Duncan nodded and walked to the corral to get another horse.

  Wonderful, Jessica thought. Ariel has everything she could possibly need, and now she’s showing an interest in the only horse I want. She dismounted and led the filly to the hitching post, where she pulled her saddle and bridle and gave her a quick sponge bath. “We’re going to do just fine on the cattle drive,” she said to Chase, even though she wasn’t sure she believed it. “We’re going to have lots of fun, and I’m not going to be nervous at all.”

  She pulled an apple from her pocket and fed it to the filly, then turned her loose in the corral with Rusty. “I’ve got one for you too, buddy.” She gave him the apple and laid her cheek on his neck. “I wouldn’t be sweating bullets if it were you I was riding,” she confided to the old gelding. She gave him a hug and headed up to the house to help her mom start packing the chuck wagon. They’d be off on their cattle drive by day after tomorrow. She’d call Marybeth tonight and remind her friend about all the things she’d need for the trip.

  “Let’s go. We’re burnin’ daylight!” Mr. Warner shouted, signaling to the riders to move the cattle out of the fields and onto the trail. David and Michael rode their ATVs and stayed well toward the back, but the rest of the vacationers were on horseback and stationed at various spots around the herd.

  Jessica sat atop Chase in the early morning light, listening to the sounds of the new day. Cattle lowed and calves bawled as they set hooves to the dusty trail. Scrub jays flitted among the sagebrush, picking at bugs and chattering to each other. Shep barked and heeled cattle, helping to move them along the path.

  Jessica put a steadying hand on Chase’s neck as the filly danced around, eager to be off with the rest of the horses. She could feel the paint’s muscles quiver under her palm. “It’s okay, girl. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” She felt the rush of adrenaline though her veins and wondered if she was the one who needed the pep talk, not Chase.

  “There you are.” Marybeth rode up on Daisy. “Most of the cattle are on the trail. Don’t you want to catch up to everyone? ” She looked at Jessica more closel
y. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

  Jessica bit her lip. “I’m okay, but I’m a little…”

  “Scared?” Marybeth finished.

  “Yeah,” Jessica admitted, pulling Chase in a small circle and trying to get her under better control. “A little, anyway,” she added in a shaky voice. “What if Chase really acts up and I can’t control her? She’s getting a little crazy right now.”

  “She’ll be okay,” Marybeth assured her, moving Daisy into position beside Chase. “Just walk beside us until you get brave again. Some of the other riders are kind of scared, too, I think. But they’re doing fine. All the horses are a little frisky this morning.”

  Jessica nodded and walked Chase alongside Daisy. The paint chomped at the bit and wanted to trot, but she paid attention to Jessica’s signal for a walk. They joined Lainey, Monica, and Sheri at the back of the herd. The adults rode alongside with Duncan and the Lightfoot boys, asking questions and getting pointers about the cattle.

  Most of the people were experienced riders, but they’d never worked with cattle. Jessica knew that the talks her father and Duncan had given them over the last few days had probably helped, but no one could be expected to remember that much information once they were on the move.

  Jessica felt like she should know more about cattle drives herself. After all, she lived here on the ranch. But this morning she felt just as green as the dudes from the city.

  After a bit, Mr. Warner cantered toward Jessica and the others. He pulled his horse to a walk and motioned for everyone to pay attention. “I want you people to stay here at the back for a while. In another hour or so, we’ll move everyone around to a different station so you get to ride on all sides of the herd. Okay? Mrs. Warner went on ahead with the chuck wagon and will be meeting us at the first stop for lunch.”

  They all nodded.

  “Wyatt is going to be riding back here with you also,” Mr. Warner said. “If you have any questions or problems, he’s your go-to man. And if he asks you to do something, I expect you to do it. The object of this drive is to keep the cattle together and keep them from spooking.”