Nothing But Horses

by Shannon Kennedy

  “This is bogus.” I got up and walked down to the end of the benches where Coach Norris stood. “My mom wants to talk to me.”

  “So do I,” Coach Norris said. “She can wait.”

  “I can,” Mom said, behind me, “but, I won’t. That girl hurt my baby. And Sierra has a big audition on Saturday. She can’t sing with broken ribs. Or muck stalls. Are you going to clean her barn tonight and tomorrow night and the next six weeks until she can do her chores? Cracked ribs are even worse. They can take months to heal.”

  That silenced him and I headed to the restroom with Mom. Once we were inside, she pointed again. I pulled up my jersey. She ran her hand over my side. It hurt, but not big-time. Not like the last time I’d gotten thrown into a fence when I was breaking an unruly colt two years ago.

  I hissed when she added pressure. “Lay off, will you, Mom?”

  “No. It looks like a bruise. Nothing feels broken.”

  The door opened and I saw Olivia. “What’s up?”

  She held up a couple baggies of ice, then my towel. “I thought if you put ice on it now, you wouldn’t have a big bruise tomorrow when you have to run lines.”

  “Run lines?” Mom glanced back and forth between us like an inquisitive horse hunting carrots. “What is that?”

  “It can be an exercise or a punishment,” Olivia said. “Sierra will have to do it tomorrow because Coach doesn’t like it when she acts like a star and wins the game for us.”

  “How do you do it?” Mom took the ice and pressed it to my ribs.

  Olivia described running the short lines that progressively became longer and harder until we raced from one end of the gym to the other. I put the towel over the ice and held it in place, bringing down my jersey. When I was ready, all three of us walked back to the gym.

  Mom made sure she was between me and my coach as we entered. Before he could say anything, she did. “I agree that Sierra should build up her skills as a team player so she doesn’t get hurt. However, she will not be running lines tomorrow.”

  “I coach my team and I don’t like helicopter parents.”

  “Then do your job and take care of my kid. I have horses to train and a stable to run. I can’t do my job and yours too.”

  Olivia took my elbow. “Come sit down, Sierra. You need to rest, or your mom will drag you to the doctor.”

  I nodded and hastily escaped. “What’s that about?”

  “Coach can’t back off or placate your mom if we’re standing there. He’ll lose face.” Olivia guided me to a spot between Zoey and Kanisha. “So, we’ll hide out here while your mom cuts him into little bits.”

  “Works for me.” I glanced up when someone touched my shoulder. I turned my head and saw Dave with Autumn beside him. “Hey, pumpkin. Did you like the game?”

  “That mean girl hurt you.” She scowled fiercely. “Me and Queenie are gonna get her.”

  “Sweetie, stuff happens in games when we get all excited. She didn’t mean to hurt me. I’ll be fine.” I kept holding the ice in position with my elbow. “Promise.”

  “Okay, but I’m doing the Mommy and Me classes for you tomorrow and helping in your barn when we do chores.” Autumn nodded firmly. “You need me.”

  “Always.” I smiled at my little sister. “I will always need you, sweetie. Now, why don’t you sit with me so Dave can go rescue Coach from Mom?”

  “You’re a good sport, Sierra.” Dave tugged my braid gently as the other girls made room for my little sis. “I’m proud of you. That was a great game, but I’m going to teach you how to avoid a blow since your coach hasn’t stepped up and showed you.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Monroe, Washington

  Thursday, January 16th, 5:15 pm

  Kanisha heaved a sigh when Dave headed off to save the day again. “I like your dad a lot better than mine. Want to swap?”

  “He’s not my dad,” I said. “He dates my mom.”

  “He’s not our dad yet,” Autumn corrected, pressing against me. “He will be when he marries our mom. He already asked me and I said, okay.”

  “You did?” I kissed the top of her head, hiding my smile in her strawberry blonde curls. “Guess what? He asked me too and I said, okay.”

  “He’s nice,” Autumn said. “I checked first and he doesn’t believe in spankings like our last mean stepdad. Dave said when I’m naughty, I have to do huge time-outs, or lose privileges, or my ‘lowance.”

  “Did you tell him that you don’t get an allowance?” I put my left arm around her shoulders. “Neither do I.”

  “He says when he and Mommy get married, we get ‘lowances,” Autumn said, a serious look on her face. “Plus, he pays for good grades. I’m going to get all “4s” from now on, ‘cause “4s” are the best at my school. I’m not sassing my teacher either, ‘cause Dave says it costs me five dollars every time she calls and tells him or Mommy how bad I am.”

  Kanisha grinned at me over top of my sister’s head. “I wonder if that will work for you too. Of course, you’d be broke if he charged you each and every time Coach Norris whined and sniveled at him.”

  Zoey laughed at us, then said. “Okay, if you and Kanisha don’t swap first, I will, Sierra. I could so use a dad who is on my side and I desperately need a ‘lowance too.”

  “In your dreams. We saw him first. Right, Autumn?”

  “Right.”

  * * * *

  Shamrock Stable, Washington

  Friday, January 17th, 11:05 pm

  Autumn and I had a great junk food, TV watching night with Queenie and Charlie while Mom and Dave went out for dinner. He’d warned me not to expect them too early. He’d made reservations at the Space Needle in Seattle. If she didn’t accept his proposal, they would still have a fantastic dinner at a place with an amazing view.

  When he saw the concern on my face, he told me not to worry. He was persistent. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept coming to the barn for ten years until she finally agreed to date him. He didn’t say a word about her rodeo cowboys or her marrying one loser after another during that time, so I didn’t either. If she held back, Dave said he’d wait until she knew him better and then ask again.

  The two of them made an amazing couple. I didn’t know what they’d said to Coach after the game at Monroe, but none of us had to run lines during practice today. We played Horse instead. Well, the other girls did. I sat out most of the time nursing my bruised ribs until Coach joined me on the bleachers. Then, I put away my Monty Roberts book and slipped into the squad to take a turn for the last little bit. Shunning was another of Monty’s tricks. Walking away often made a horse want to come join your herd.

  Coach Norris had caught up with me when I headed out of the locker room toward the exit we used to get to the parking lot. “What were you thinking during the last few minutes of the game yesterday? Did you just get excited and forget about teamwork? Or did the other girls put you up to it?”

  “No, sir.” I wouldn’t let him blame the squad for what I did. “Sir, if I was a guy and played as hard as I could, would you still hate me, sir?”

  “What?” He gasped for air like a wind-broke horse. “I don’t hate you.”

  “I’m glad, sir. Maybe, we can learn to get along, sir.” I shifted my sports bag and backpack. “So, what is it, sir? Is it just the fact that I’m a girl, sir, and I don’t know my place, sir? If you coached Jack’s team, sir, and I was on it, could I play ball like they did yesterday, sir?”

  He didn’t answer and I’d walked away. Darn, I only got a score of seven sirs in that last speech. I hadn’t beaten Jack’s coach yet, but I’d given mine something to think about over the weekend. I didn’t know if it would work or not, but there had to be a way to make him reconsider his views on male and female roles. Besides, this way I could tell Ingrid I’d done her assignment, not that I’d forgotten all about it.

  When I’d gone to obedience class with Charlie today, I ran into Aspen. She recited my stats again and told me that Lincoln’s cunning str
ategy wouldn’t work on her squad. I’d laughed at her and said that my point guards would come up with a different one to kick the Crusaders back to England. Patricia and Olivia were the brains of our outfit. Then, I learned all about teaching Charlie to sit while he was on the leash if I stopped walking.

  I glanced at my dozing sister, sleeping beside me. I hit the button on the remote and let my old copy of the Victor, Victoria movie rewind. I wanted to watch Julie Andrews sing “Le Jazz Hot” again. I’d already seen it six times tonight and I wouldn’t copy her technique tomorrow. Every performer had their own style, but she was playing the part of a guy who pretended to be a woman. I had to think about the subtle mannerisms that would convince an audience I was doing the same thing.

  Queenie lifted her head and growled softly. I heard the key in the lock at the same time that Charlie yapped. I hit the pause button and turned my head. Mom walked in, Dave right behind her. He grinned and gave me a “thumbs-up.”

  I glimpsed the emerald on her left hand and the nervous look she gave me. I eased out from under Autumn and went to hug Mom. “Congratulations. I’m thrilled for both of you.”

  “Really?” Mom stared at me. “Are you okay? You’ve never said that before.”

  “You never dated a guy I picked before.” I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “We have sparkling apple cider in the fridge. I’ll open it.”

  “Why do I think this was pre-planned?” Mom demanded, but she smiled. “Did you know before I did?”

  I nodded. “Dave talked to me and Autumn. We gave him our blessing, but I think it may have been the ‘lowance that convinced her.”

  “Allowance?” Mom shook her head. “I don’t believe in something for nothing.”

  “Then, we’ll call it wages for all the work they do around here.” Dave looked across to the TV. “What are you watching, Sierra?”

  “Victor, Victoria. We’re doing one of the numbers for auditions tomorrow.” I went back to turn off the VCR and the TV. “My sophomore project is participating in the community theater production. I haven’t figured out how to attend rehearsals and be home in time to do night chores.”

  “I have,” Dave said.

  I hoped he wouldn’t say that he’d pick up the slack around the farm. It wouldn’t work because Mom would view that as him taking over the place. She’d freak. Shamrock Stable was her third baby and she loved it as much as she did me and Autumn.

  “What’s your idea?” Mom asked, the hint of an edge in her tone. This might be her shortest engagement yet, less than five hours.

  “You’re having the first riding club meeting on Sunday,” Dave said. “That would be a perfect time for your pre-owners to sign up to learn to do horse care. You’ll need at least four people each day, two per barn.”

  Wow, he was so smart. He and Mom went into the kitchen, discussing how she could teach our serious students to muck stalls, water and feed the horses. I woke up Autumn and told her that we finally would have a dad soon. And we went to celebrate!

  * * * *

  Lake Windemere, Washington

  Saturday, January 18th, 2:00 pm

  Centennial Middle-High had its own top of the line theater. It wasn’t hard to find where we were supposed to meet since most of the cars were in the lot closest to the hexagon-shaped building. When I walked inside, I recognized some of the teens hanging out near the stage from my Choir class at Lincoln High. Dani waved at me and kept chatting to Nikki Tiernan. I went to join them. “Hi. What’s going on?”

  “Not much yet,” Dani said. “You need to put your name on the sign-up sheet.”

  “Okay. Then, what?”

  “Come talk horses with us,” Nikki said. “When I moved here last month, Grandma gave me one of her black Arabians. Donnybrook is a major monster, but I love him.”

  “Sounds like my No, No Veda.” I went off and wrote my name on Mr. Haller’s clipboard. Then, I headed back to ooh and aah over the pic of a glamorous coal black colt on Nikki’s new phone. She told us all about her last lesson when Donnybrook decided going forward was against company policy. She did Cowboy Dressage and made him go backwards around the ring at all four walks. “The instructor laughed at us and wanted to know if I was going to make him trot and gallop that way too. I said I would unless he gave up. Luckily, he did so I didn’t have to get into a major war with him.”

  “I’ve never seen a horse gallop in reverse,” Dani said. “Is it even possible?”

  “Watch Robin’s dad do it sometime when he’s roping,” I said.

  “I saw it at Marvella’s Winter Frolics a couple years ago in California when my mom and I went,” Nikki told us. “It was amazing. Their performers did all kinds of tricks on horseback, liberty work, Roman riding, vaulting and everything. And the haute ecole acts were totally incredible.”

  “What’s Roman riding?” Dani asked.

  “It’s when you have two horses together,” I said. “You stand with one foot on each horse’s back and try to keep them as close as possible so you don’t fall between them.”

  “Marvella’s Spring Fling opens in Redmond soon,” Nikki said. “Grandma says if we want to go, she’ll take the Horse Heaven Angels, but we have to buy our own tickets and they’re expensive.”

  “Time to hold a car wash or a bake sale to raise money.” I wished I could go to the show too, but I was pretty sure that we wouldn’t have the funds this early in the year. If only Marvella began their circuit down south and ended it in Washington State, but the Canadian production company actually opted to begin the season here.

  “Why did your grandmother call her club, the Angels?” Dani twirled a strand of gold hair around her finger. “Shouldn’t she have chosen a more horsy type name?”

  “She wanted one that incorporated the name of the barn so people would be able to figure out where we were based. This way it builds the membership and she makes more money. The horses get better care and more to eat.”

  Good point, I thought. That made Vicky’s choice of the Shamrock Stars more appropriate for our new club. If we tweaked it a bit, it would be even better. I pulled out my phone and texted her, a new version. Shamrock Stable Stars.

  I’d just put away my phone when Mr. Haller waved to us. We headed toward him to start the auditions. I figured I’d do my best and not worry about the rest. This was one of those times when I wouldn’t give up on my dreams, although I might have to discover what they were first.

  * * * *

  Shamrock Stable, Washington

  Sunday, January 19th, 1:00 pm

  For the first meeting of our new riding club, Mom arranged for us to have pizza and pasta delivered by Parthenon up in Stewart Falls. We had a decent turn-out, twelve riders besides me, Autumn, Vicky, Robin, Dani and Tom. After we had food, Mom passed out the meeting agenda.

  Wow, when did she do this? Normally, she handed me a handwritten note and I pulled together posters or brochures or even the information packet for camp. She’d obviously spent time during the week typing up her list of things she wanted to cover.

  Mom rapped on the table with a little wooden hammer. “I’m calling the first meeting to order. We need a name for our club, followed by electing officers so I don’t have to run things and neither does Sierra. We have plenty to do, so let’s get started.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Marysville, Washington

  Monday, January 20th, 7:05 am

  When I walked into the Commons, I saw Robin at her favorite table. I carried over the cardboard tray of espressos and passed her a mocha. “So, how does it feel to be elected the first president of the Shamrock Stable Stars?”

  “Remind me that we’re friends so I forgive you for nominating me.” Smiling, Robin stirred her coffee with the straws. “It stunned Felicia when I told her that the vote was unanimous. She said she didn’t know that many people liked me.”

  “Wow, what a slam. I don’t think I’d ever say anything that mean to my sister.”

  “Yeah, but consider the age
difference. Felicia is barely three years older than I am and there’s nine years between you and Autumn.” Robin shrugged. “Besides, Autumn doesn’t steal your makeup, read the juicy parts of your diary to your crush or dump a cat-box in your bed.”

  “No way.” I pulled out a chair and sat down, stunned. “We elected a total psycho witch as our president. How could you be so rotten to your big sister?”

  “Let’s see. Her makeup was amazing when I was ten. She was only thirteen and she used to do this thing about how she could wear it and I couldn’t.”

  “And the diary? Journals are private, Robin.”

  “Yeah, that was nasty. I got grounded for a month when Mom found out and Dad wouldn’t speak to me for a week. He totally shunned me. Jack called me the Princess Spy and told all his friends not to talk to me or I’d pass their personal info around school. But, that wasn’t the worst.”

  “It doesn’t sound too awful. Nobody hit you or called you really evil names.”

  “The second week in, Felicia forgave me. She was decent to me and made Jack stop being a jerk. She said her crush never would have asked her out if I hadn’t been such a monster. He was majorly shy and couldn’t believe she actually liked him.”

  “Whoa. So, what could have been bad turned out okay.”

  “Yeah, but like Dad said that wasn’t my intention so he and Mom wouldn’t back off on the grounding.”

  “I wouldn’t have either. Okay, I have to know. What was the deal with the cat-box?”

  “She kept pitching a fit last summer about the orphaned kittens I rescued. They hadn’t learned to use the sandbox and I was up all night, feeding them every two hours for a week straight. One of them pooped on the bathroom floor and she stepped in it. She pounded on my bedroom door and woke me up, screaming. I got mad. One thing led to another and I dumped the litter in her bed. She really screamed then.”