Storm Chaser

by Chris Platt

  At the mention of Wyatt’s name, Marybeth looked over at Jessica and wiggled her eyebrows. Jessica rolled her eyes and tried to pretend she wasn’t interested.

  “Jess?” Her father said. “Ariel made a special request for you to join her. She’s at the front point of the herd with Duncan. I’ll ride up there with you since you’re on a green horse. If Chase starts acting up, I want you to switch horses with your brother. Understand?”

  Jessica nodded. But why did Ariel want her riding with her? She had Duncan all to herself. So why did she need her there, too? In spite of her doubts, Jessica’s hopes rose. Maybe Ariel did want to be friends after all.

  “I can go, too,” Marybeth volunteered.

  “That’s okay,” Jessica said. “Why don’t you stay here to help the rest of the girls? I’ll see what Ariel wants and come right back.” She reined Chase into position behind her father and followed him to the head of the herd.

  “There you are!” Ariel said as she waved Jessica to the spot beside her.

  A small calf suddenly broke from the herd and gamboled toward them, bucking and playing. Mr. Warner grabbed hold of Chase’s reins to stay her. Raven snorted loudly and bolted, giving a small hop along the way. Ariel let out a shriek, but gathered her reins and sat deep in the saddle, bringing the big horse under control.

  Jessica was impressed. Except for the scream, Ariel had actually handled the incident well. Jess wondered if she could stay astride if Chase bolted like that.

  Ariel brought her mount back alongside Chase and kept him on a tight rein until he settled down. “Good job,” Duncan told her, flashing her an admiring look before he turned his attention back to the herd.

  “Gee, he actually said something to me.” Ariel smiled. “About time.”

  “There are other people here besides Duncan, you know,” Jessica said, her voice sounding whiny even to her own ears.

  “Yes, but none of them are as cute,” Ariel said.

  “Whatever,” Jessica said.

  Duncan tipped his hat to the girls. “I’ve got to ride over to the back of the herd and make sure Wyatt’s not having trouble with that bossy cow that’s always acting up. Chase seems to be doing fine, Jess. If you have problems, Dad’s not far away.”

  “And there’s me,” Ariel added.

  “Right.” Duncan put his heels to his mount and cantered off.

  Chase jumped around a bit, wanting to go with the other horse, but Jessica balanced herself in the saddle and tightened her reins, bringing the filly back under control. She wanted to show Ariel that she was a decent rider, too.

  They rode in silence for several minutes. Laughter floated on the wind from the back of the herd. It sounded like Lainey. “Guess they’re having fun,” Jessica said to Ariel. “Do you want to go back there and ride with them?”

  Ariel shook her head. “Nope.”

  Jessica touched her boot to Chase’s side, asking her to move over and give Raven more room. The paint filly flicked her tail, letting Jessica know the cue was too strong, but she did as asked.

  “That is such a cute little filly,” Ariel said. “I think I could use her in a Hunter Class. She moves really nicely. And I told Duncan I’ve been wanting to try Western Pleasure. I talked to my dad about it last night. He said he’d definitely think about buying her.”

  Jessica almost fell out of the saddle as she felt her world tilt. Ariel was serious! But she couldn’t buy Chase. She already had a perfect horse. Why did she need two?

  Her throat tightened. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t fair! What could she do to keep Chase from falling into Ariel’s hands?

  SEVENTEEN

  You don’t want this filly,” Jessica told Ariel, her brain spinning like a tractor tire in a mud bog, trying to come up with a good excuse. “She’s not a broke horse yet, and besides…you’ve got Raven. He’s awesome.”

  Ariel’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, I get it. You just want to keep Chase for yourself!”

  “Who wouldn’t?” Jessica retorted. She didn’t care if she was being rude to a guest. She was fed up with Ariel. And there was no way she’d let her own Storm Chaser.

  Ariel swung Raven around, reining him in a half-circle. “Your dad and Duncan said the filly is for sale. If I want to buy her, I’ll buy her. And, from the looks of your ranch, you obviously need the money.”

  Jessica flushed in anger, but she held her tongue. She wanted to tell the older girl off, but she knew how disappointed her parents would be if she was rude to a guest, especially when that guest was a potential buyer for one of their horses. And besides, she didn’t like the idea of acting just as mean and low as Ariel.

  She turned in the saddle and looked back. Marybeth and some of the other kids were laughing and having a good time. That’s where she should be. Not up here wasting time with an ungrateful brat like Ariel.

  “I’m going to talk to Duncan again,” Ariel said. “I’m sure he’ll be interested in finding a buyer for Chase.”

  Duncan was riding about twenty-five yards ahead of them now. Jessica watched as the girl trotted up beside him. Her brother’s horse pinned his ears and snaked his head around, trying to nip Raven when they approached. Raven jumped to the side and snorted.

  Jessica wondered if it was such a good idea for Ariel to ride the high-spirited horse on this trip. Warmbloods weren’t exactly cut out to do cattle drives. Everyone but Ariel and Jessica rode a well-broke, even-tempered quarter horse. But Chase was green broke, and Raven was jumpy. They were the two most unpredictable horses in the group. At the moment, Jessica noted with satisfaction, Chase was behaving better than Raven.

  She leaned forward and patted the filly on the neck. She wanted to go back and join the others—especially now that Wyatt was riding with them. But her father had asked her to come up here with Ariel, and they needed someone in each position so the cattle wouldn’t be tempted to stray from the herd.

  Just then a cow and calf broke loose and began to wander away from the herd. “Jess, go real easy and get to the other side of that cow before she gets too far out,” Duncan called back as he turned his horse to help. “Push them toward the herd, but be gentle about it.”

  Jessica nodded nervously. She prayed that Chase wouldn’t get excited and run off with her, or spook if the cow and calf ran.

  “I’ll help,” Ariel said, turning away from Duncan. She gave Raven a boot in the sides and pointed him toward the cow and calf.

  Jessica almost had the pair back into the herd, but when the cow saw the big black horse bearing down on them, she took her calf and bolted.

  To Jessica, what happened next felt like a slow motion scene from a movie. Raven gave a big jump over a clump of sagebrush, then crow-hopped several times before stumbling into a rabbit hole and falling to his knees. Ariel tumbled over his shoulder into the soft sand, then immediately got up and grabbed his reins so he wouldn’t run off.

  Excited, Chase jumped around, tossing her head. Jessica knew better than to take a chance on a green-broke horse. She immediately dismounted before she was tossed. “Easy,” she said to Chase, attempting to calm the young filly.

  Mr. Warner cantered over to Ariel. “Are you okay, young lady?”

  She nodded and spoke in a shaky voice. “I…I’m fine, but I don’t think Raven is. You’ve got to help him.” She looked around. “Where are my parents?”

  The black horse danced around at the ends of his reins, limping on his front right leg.

  “Can he put any weight on it?” Mr. Warner asked.

  Duncan rode up and dismounted, handing his reins to Jessica. He put a steadying hand on the black horse and knelt to feel his leg. “He took a pretty good tumble,” Duncan said, running a practiced hand up and down Raven’s leg, “but I don’t feel anything broken. It doesn’t look like he pulled a tendon. I’d say it’s just a sprain.” He looked at Ariel. “Are you okay? That was a pretty bad fall for you, too.”

  She brushed the sand off her pants. “I’m fine, but what about Raven?
Will I be able to show him? There’s a big show coming up next month.”

  Jessica couldn’t believe her ears. Ariel should be happy that Raven hadn’t broken his leg. Forget the horse show. The girl was lucky to still have a horse.

  Mr. and Mrs. Wilson cantered over from the other side of the herd. Ariel’s mother bailed off her horse and ran to her daughter’s side. “We saw what happened, honey. Are you all right?”

  Ariel nodded. “Stupid rabbit hole! We would’ve gotten those cows before Jessica if Raven hadn’t fallen into it.”

  “Now, honey,” her mother cajoled as she wiped the dirt from Ariel’s face. “Let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s get your horse taken care of.”

  Jessica was dumbfounded. This wasn’t a competition. And how could Ariel be more concerned about beating her to the cows than she was about her own horse?

  “Well, it looks like this poor fella is done for a while,” Ariel’s father said as he ran a comforting hand over Raven’s neck. “How are we going to get him back to the ranch? There’s no road, so we can’t get a horse trailer up here.”

  “He’ll have to be walked back by hand,” Mr. Warner said. “Give him some time to rest. We always carry an emergency kit with us. We’ve got a support bandage we can put on that leg to help him out a bit.”

  “But it’s at least five miles back to the barn,” Ariel complained. “That’s going to take forever.”

  “I’ll go with you,” her mother said. “You should go back and rest, too. Maybe we should call the doctor out?”

  Ariel put her hands on her hips. “But I don’t want to go back,” she said. “This is the best part of the trip. I don’t want to miss it! I’m fine.”

  “Your mom’s right. Maybe you should go back and have the doctor look at you,” Duncan said. “You took a pretty good spill.”

  “No!” Ariel stomped her foot. “I’m finishing this cattle drive! We paid good money for this trip and this is the best part of it.”

  Incredible, Jessica thought. Ariel obviously didn’t give a hoot about her horse. All she worried about was not missing the cattle drive and being near Duncan. And now that Raven was injured, she didn’t even have a horse to ride.

  Ariel turned to Mr. Warner. “You know, I’ve been talking to my father about buying Storm Chaser. Maybe Jessica could walk Raven back to the ranch and I could try the paint out for the rest of the cattle drive?”

  Jessica clenched the reins tightly. What a weasel! Chase shook her head, telling her that the grip was too tight. “Sorry, girl.” She let up on the reins and patted the filly’s neck. Her father glanced her way and Jessica could see that this battle was lost before it even began.

  The riders at the back of the herd finally caught up to them, and everyone gathered around to see what happened.

  “Oh, my gosh!” Marybeth said when they heard the story. “That’s terrible!”

  “And now Jessica has to give up her horse to Ariel?” Monica whispered in a voice loud enough for Jessica to hear.

  Jessica could feel all eyes on her and Ariel.

  Mr. Warner turned to his daughter. “What do you say, Jess? I know how much you’ve looked forward to this ride, but we’ve got to get this horse back to the barn. And Ariel wants to try out the filly.”

  “I’ll take him back,” Wyatt volunteered from atop his horse. He looked at Jessica and gave her a sympathetic smile.

  Tears pricked the backs of Jessica’s eyes. She was grateful to Wyatt for making the offer, but he was too valuable to leave the drive. If the cattle turned surly, they’d need every experienced hand they could get. She couldn’t let him do it—even if it meant Ariel riding Chase and falling in love with her.

  She took a deep breath, hoping her voice wouldn’t come out shaky when she spoke. “Thanks, Wyatt, but I’ll take Raven back to the barn. You’re too good a cowhand to lose. They need you on this trip. I’m not much help.” She dismounted and handed Chase’s reins to her father. There was no way she’d give them to Ariel.

  “Wait, Jess,” Marybeth said. “I’ll go with you.”

  “That’s really nice, Marybeth, but you wanted to go on this cattle drive more than any of us. And you worked really hard helping us get everything ready at the ranch. You deserve to go,” Jessica said.

  Marybeth shrugged. “I don’t mind. I can go on the next cattle drive.”

  Jessica didn’t know what to say. Even though she’d treated Marybeth badly, trying to be friends with Ariel, Marybeth was still willing to give up something she really wanted in order to help Jessica out. Now she really did feel like crying. She’d been such a jerk.

  Mr. Warner patted Jessica on the back. “Thank you, Jess. I know you’d rather stay here and have fun.” He glanced at Marybeth. “But you’ll have good company. I’ll call your mom on the cell phone and let her know you’re on your way back with an injured horse. She’ll drive the horse trailer as far as she can up the mountain to pick you up.”

  “I’ll go back with them,” Mrs. Warner said.

  “No, Mom, it’s fine,” Jessica said. “I’ve ridden this trail a gazillion times. We’ll be fine. Besides, Marybeth’s mom will meet us a few miles down the trail.”

  Mrs. Warner handed Jessica her cell phone. “Take this and call if you have any trouble. Someone will be there as quickly as possible.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” Jessica took the phone. She waited while Duncan wrapped Raven’s injured leg, then she and Marybeth headed back down the mountain on foot at a very slow pace.

  When they were a few minutes down the path, Jessica took a deep breath and turned to Marybeth. “Marybeth, I owe you a really big apology. I’ve been an idiot the last few days and I haven’t paid much attention to you because I was trying to be friends with Ariel. I’m really sorry.”

  Marybeth shrugged. “That’s okay,” she said. “At first I wanted to be friends with her, too, but now I’m glad she didn’t like me.”

  They both laughed.

  “Forget about Ariel,” Marybeth said. “The other kids are nice. And there’ll be even more kids to meet when the next bunch of vacationers come in. Besides, there’ll always be girls like Ariel. She doesn’t care who she has to hurt in order to get what she wants.”

  Jessica turned and patted Raven. “Yeah, imagine not really caring about a horse like this.” She took a deep breath. “And now she wants Chase.”

  “What?” Marybeth’s head snapped around. Daisy jumped at the sudden movement. “Easy, girl,” Marybeth cooed, calming her horse down.

  “That’s part of why I’m taking Raven back to the ranch,” Jessica said. “It’ll give Ariel a chance to try Chase out. She’s already talked to her dad about buying her.” They walked several more steps in silence. “You know she’s going to love her,” she added miserably. “How could anyone not like that filly? She’s totally awesome!”

  Marybeth led Daisy down a deer path on the side of the mountain, trying to find the easiest way to get Raven to the bottom. The horse was limping pretty badly, but he was managing with a few grunts and groans. Hopefully, her mother would meet them with the trailer soon. “Just don’t think about it right now,” she said to Jessica.

  “Okay,” Jessica agreed.

  But she knew that would be impossible.

  Marybeth’s mom met the girls a couple miles down the trail and they were able to get Raven safely back to the ranch and call the vet. Dr. Altom declared that the horse had a sprain and would need a few months of rest to recover.

  Jessica was glad Raven was going to be fine, but she wished she hadn’t had to let Ariel ride Chase.

  The next twenty-four hours while they waited for everybody to return from the cattle drive seemed like forever to Jessica. Lainey and Monica called her every couple of hours on their cell phones to let her know what was happening. Ariel seemed to be doing fine on Chase, and Duncan was giving her pointers.

  Jessica pursed her lips. Her brother was a traitor. He knew how much Chase meant to her. He didn’t have to make i
t easier for Ariel to buy the paint, no matter how much their family needed the money.

  She visited Rusty’s pen often, brushing him and telling him about Ariel and how she was afraid the girl would take Chase away from them. She was now convinced that the only reason Ariel had taken such an interest in the filly was to get Duncan’s attention.

  She scratched Rusty up under his mane. “You’ll miss Chase as much as I will, won’t you, old boy?” She took a carrot out of her pocket and broke it into pieces to feed to the gelding.

  She heard footsteps coming down the barn path and turned to see Marybeth running toward her.

  “They’re coming!” Marybeth pointed toward the mountain. “I saw a big cloud of dust on the high trail from my house.”

  They ran to the barn loft to get a better view. “It’s them, all right.” Jessica shaded her eyes from the setting sun. Her stomach was churning. It wouldn’t be long before she’d have to hear about Ariel buying Chase and taking her far away.

  She let out an exasperated breath. It really stunk to be a kid and not get any say in the matter. She had to keep reminding herself that they needed the money that Chase’s sale would bring. And Ariel’s parents had the cash to buy her.

  Jessica looked back at the house. Her mother had returned last night after she’d fed the whole crew. She’d sympathized with Jessica and held her while she cried, but in the end, her mother had reminded her that selling Chase was necessary to help keep Wild Hawk Ranch afloat.

  “I’d better go tell my mom so she can put the steaks on the grill,” Jessica said. “They’re going to be awfully hungry when they get back.”

  She and Marybeth climbed down the ladder and ran to the house. Mrs. Warner had all kinds of dinner chores to keep them busy until the riders returned. Jessica tried not to think of Chase as she husked the corn and wrapped potatoes in tinfoil to put in the oven for the welcome-home feast.

  By the time the riders entered the stable yard, dinner was almost ready to serve. Jessica and Marybeth helped the tired cowhands unsaddle their horses and put them away.