by Andrea Young
Finny drove into the rodeo grounds. The cold that had shocked her in the morning had been replaced by a gentle, warm breeze.
She locked the truck and scanned the grounds. There were hundreds of people and even more horses. When a quick check of her phone revealed nothing, Finny headed into the crowd. Once at the horse and cattle pens she slowly circled around them. There was action everywhere. Large livestock trucks unloaded cattle, sheep, and pigs into pens and cowboys on horseback and on foot dashed back and forth sending their herds in the intended directions. The rodeo wasn’t open for the crowds yet. This was the setup.
Trying her best not to stand out, Finny studied the horses in the pens and stayed out of everyone’s way. As she moved toward the cattle pens the smell became overwhelming. Finny fought the urge to put her shirt over her nose and mouth. Nothing would make her stand out more than that. After seeing no sign of Joe or Sky, she headed to the barns. Finding a map of the grounds, Finny saw there were over five hundred stalls. Tears burned her eyes suddenly, but she willed them back. She was tired of crying whenever things felt hopeless. Searching just the pens had taken her over two hours. Five hundred stalls would take the rest of the day and time was running out.
She started at barn A; it was empty, as were B and C. Finny changed directions and picked up a run; she’d go high to low. She needed to get them all searched before dark. Joe had told her after dark is when the background, illegal games began. Finny wanted Sky and Joe back well before then.
Barn Y was full of horses, young ones with white tags already glued to their tails, ready for the auction. Finny was able to dash by each stall, all white tags. The next barn the same—sale horses—the next two, all white tags. Finally the tags turned to green. The horses were different, riding horses, rodeo horses, not for sale. Finny checked them all too. She had finished ten barns when what she saw next almost took her to her knees. She staggered back into the barn aisle just in time to stay out of sight.
Joe was forty feet from her with three other men walking in front of the next barn. Finny saw his downcast face. The tallest man was speaking to him in a hushed tone. The other two men stayed right behind them. Finny knew the man with Joe had to be his uncle.
Once they turned the corner she dashed to it just in time to see them slide open a large barn door and go inside. She ran to the other side of the building and came upon a truck with a camper. A chill went down her spine, paralyzing her on the spot. On the truck door, a faded, painted-on sign read “McCoy Livestock.” The truck Finny had pictured so often in her nightmares sat right in front of her. It was eerie how similar it was to how she had pictured it, except in her dreams it was always brown. The truck, in reality, was blue.
Finny backed away from the truck and approached the building. She found a small side door. Knowing she was taking a big chance, she entered anyway, desperate to get to Joe. The knob turned and the door was, to her relief, soundless when she opened it. The structure was a giant warehouse for storing farming equipment. Finny slipped in quietly and closed the door behind her.
The building had a large open floor. Several thick poles lining the middle held up the giant roof. Several small offices were built along the sides. There were dozens of large pieces of farming equipment in various stages of repair packed tightly inside, giving her ample places to hide. Finny was halfway to the other side when she spotted Sky with two other horses in a makeshift corral. Her heart somersaulted in her chest as relief flooded through her. He looked okay. Her brain told her to call the police, but what would happen to Joe if she did? His uncle was his legal guardian. Would they help or would it make things worse like Joe feared?
Finny maneuvered to the other side of the building. She wanted to spot Joe again. Slowly and carefully she made her way. Finny could hear men talking. She slid behind a tractor, then got on her belly and crawled underneath.
She found them just outside an empty office. The men were standing around a table. Joe was the only one seated in a chair.
“Let me race, please. I’ll run the big horse. I’m not too heavy for him. I’ll win you the money back,” Joe was pleading.
“Not gonna happen. Besides, it doesn’t come close to what you owe me.” A tall man came around the table and leaned against it in front of Joe. She knew this was his uncle. “I’m going to ask you one more time. Why is the big horse important to you?” Joe crossed his arms and looked away. Uncle John let out a disappointed sigh, got to his feet, then smashed Joe in the face with his fist, hurling him to the ground. Finny almost screamed; she held her hands over her mouth and choked back a sob.
John turned to his cohorts. “Tie him up.” He grabbed his hat off the table then marched out of the building. Finny watched the men drag Joe into an office. They came out moments later and followed John outside. Finny didn’t wait for them to get far. She scrambled out from under the tractor and to the office. The door was locked but it was a weak interior door and Finny broke it open on her first try, then dropped by Joe’s side. She held his face; he was unconscious and bleeding from a cut on his eyebrow.
“Joe, wake up, please.” Finny kissed his forehead and brushed his hair back. She pulled him to a sitting position and freed his hands, then his feet. Joe began to rouse.
“It’s okay, Joe, everything’s going be okay.”
“Finny, no, you can’t be here!” Joe sputtered when he opened his eyes. “He’ll hurt you.”
Finny kissed him again and draped his arm over her shoulders. “We’re going to get Sky and go.” She helped Joe to his feet.
“He’ll come back. He always wins. He always gets his way.”
“That’s going to change. Come on, Joe, we’re getting out of here.”
“If you see him, run.”
“Okay.”
“Finny, swear to me, you run no matter what.”
“You mean no matter what happens to you.”
“Yes, promise me.”
“Come on, Joe, hurry.”
“Promise me!”
“Yes, I promise. Let’s go.”
The big horse spotted Finny and nickered loudly, pawing the ground. Finny made a makeshift bridle out of a halter and two leads and slipped it over his head. She brought him out of the corral and to the door. “Come on, Joe.” He seemed to be out of it, slow to react. Finny glanced out of the window; all was clear. She opened the door and led Sky out. “Joe, come on, leg me up.” Joe did, then swung up behind her. Finny pulled Sky around and headed toward the parking lot.
“We’ll ride to the parking lot,” Finny said, “then you take the truck and split. I’ll ride out and meet up with you in the next town.
“This was too easy, Finny.”
“Come on, Joe. It’s going to be okay.”
“No, it’s not.” Joe looked around, scanning the area.
“Don’t say that. We’re getting out of here.”
“Don’t go for the truck. I don’t want him to find out what it looks like or that it even exists.”
“Okay, where then?”
“I got to think. He’ll find us if we go toward home. We need to hide.”
“Let’s call the police, Joe. They’ll help us.”
“Finny, I’ll go to juvie ’til I’m eighteen. My uncle promised that if I ever ran, he’d make sure I rotted in there. He’ll tell them I’m a chronic runaway, and a thief or anything else he can think of. He’s a master con artist. They’ll believe him. If they don’t, he’ll have ten people in an instant backing him up.”
“Okay, okay, no police. What about hiding in one of the barns?”
“First place he’d look.”
“Joe, he’s not a mind reader.”
“Go west, that way, toward the ocean. I don’t think he’d expect that.” The kids made their way behind the sale barn toward the property line. Joe heard a whistle.
“Finny, they’re coming.”
“They’re not, Joe. You’re being paranoid.” He didn’t answer, just looked around but spotted no one.
“Finny, go that way. Through the crowd.” Joe pointed toward the walkways intended for people. Finny didn’t hesitate; she kicked Sky forward.
“Remember what you promised me, Finny.”
“Don’t talk like that.”
“Promise me!”
“I do, okay.” Finny picked up a canter. The crowd was getting thicker and people were beginning to yell in protest at the horse that wasn’t supposed to be in the area.
“Joe, we’re calling too much attention to ourselves.”
“You’re right. Head toward the barns. Finny, hand me your phone; they took mine. I’m calling the police.”
“What about you?” Finny asked as they ducked into the first barn they came to. Joe didn’t get a chance to answer. Up ahead, men began to block the barn aisle. Finny pulled Sky up and turned him around only to find two more cowboys blocking the way they had just come. Joe saw one of the men approaching with a lasso, no doubt to pull them both off the horse. He jumped down. “Finny, when I run at them, you run by and get out of here.”
“No, Joe! Get back on, we’ll run them down if we have to.”
“We’d never make it. These guys can rope Sky’s legs out from under him in an instant. Remember you promised me, so be ready, and Finny, call the police as soon as you can. I’m thinking juvie might not be so bad.”
Finny broke her promise. She dug her heels into Sky’s ribs and sent him bolting toward the man with the rope. The cowboy, caught off guard, staggered back, then jumped out of the way of the massive animal. Finny spun Sky around and looked for Joe.
“Finny, run!” Joe screamed at her as he dashed toward the end of the barn. Finny ran at the man trying to cut Joe off. She slid Sky to a stop in front of him, blocking his path, then spun away. Finny looked for the man with the lasso to make sure he wasn’t going to take her out. She didn’t see him. Joe was clear and he had a good lead. He waved her to follow and dashed around the corner of the barn toward the parking lot. Finny blasted after him, rounded the corner, and found Joe, with the beefy arm of his uncle wrapped tightly around his neck.
Finny heard running footsteps behind her. She spun Sky around as the other cowboys caught up. She looked to Joe, then back to the men.
“Please, Finny,” she heard him say. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t leave him. She knew Joe wanted her to run, but she loved him, and she couldn’t leave him.
“So you must be the reason Joe wanted that big horse back so bad.” Uncle John released Joe from the headlock, but left his arm draped over his shoulders.
“Finny, take your horse and go. These men know better than to try and stop you,” Joe said plain and steady. He knew it was one thing between him and his uncle as his guardian. If they messed with Finny they could be in a world of trouble.
Finny studied the cowboys around her. Two had disappeared; the remaining three stood back, watching.
“You need to let Joe go.”
“Do I?” Uncle John said with a bemused look on his face.
“I’ll call the police if you don’t.”
“Already did, told them they could stop looking for my wayward nephew. He’s come home.” John gave Joe a painfully tight squeeze.
“That’s right, Finny, so now you go home,” Joe added, drilling his eyes into hers, telling her to keep her promise.
“Joe, I don’t think your little girlfriend here wants to leave.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Don’t you think that’s sweet, gentlemen? Young love?” The cowboys around them remained silent.
Joe took a chance and twisted hard, trying to pull out of his uncle’s grasp, but it was no use. His uncle was too strong.
“I heard you love to race.” Finny’s eyes never wavered from Joe’s uncle as she spoke.
John raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Did you?”
“Uncle John, she’s crazy. Don’t listen to her.”
“Joe, shame on you to speak so rudely about this nice young lady. And yes, I do enjoy the races. My nephew here used to do a pretty good job.”
“You say Joe owes you money, right?” Finny said.
“She sure seems to know a lot, there, Joe, not being your girlfriend and all.”
“My horse is real fast. Let Joe race him. He’ll win your money back. That’s what you want, right? Money?”
“That does sound like fun.” Uncle John let out a heavy sigh. “It’s too bad Joe’s permanently retired from racing.”
“I’ll race, then.” Finny’s offer set the cowboys laughing.
“Make her leave, Uncle John, please,” Joe begged, desperate.
“I’ll run him,” Finny continued without missing a beat. “If I win, you get all the money and Joe goes free.”
“What do I get if you lose?”
“What do you mean?”
“You heard me, what do I get when you lose? If you’re gonna bet me, little girl, it’s got to be worth it to me.”
“Finny, get out of here now!” Joe’s plea fell on deaf ears.
“If I win, you get the money and Joe gets to leave. If I lose, I’ll sign my horse over to you. You’ll have his papers; you could get double what you could without them.”
“Now it’s starting to get interestin’.”
“Finny, don’t trust him. He’s a lying sack of crap.”
Uncle John wrapped his arm back around Joe’s neck and squeezed. He whispered loudly in his ear. “You better get some manners right quick before I lose my temper.”
“So is it a deal?” Finny asked, trying not to let her voice quiver, “I win, Joe gets to go and you get the money. If I lose, you get my horse.”
“Little lady, you got yourself a deal.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
WORD SPREAD FAST THAT A RACE WAS ON. The unusual twist made it all the more entertaining. Last count, Finny heard there’d be twenty-two racers. She had to fight back nausea from outright terror at what she’d gotten herself into. And Joe? From the look on his face, she didn’t know if he’d ever forgive her. The cowboys, so positive of their victory, allowed Finny to ride around the three-mile course so she could chose her path. They were gentlemen, after all. At least that’s what Uncle John said with a wicked laugh.
Two hours and the race would begin. It’d be dark, so Finny carefully rode the route the cowboys showed her. She didn’t want some unseen obstacle taking them out. Three miles long, it began at the back of the barns, went through the parking lot, and then toward the mountains. Once clear of the parking lot the terrain became hilly, rock-strewn, and full of scrub. Finny had a tough time finding a good path even in the daylight. The halfway point was a bridge where trains passed over the dry riverbed. Once under the bridge, it was a straight path back to the rodeo grounds.
Back at the barn, Finny thought about losing both Joe and her horse. It made her sick. She wouldn’t let that happen. She knew the cowboys would underestimate her. She was counting on it.
Finny rode back to the starting point. She wanted to stay with Joe until the race but his uncle wouldn’t allow it. “He won’t let you win,” Joe told her as they pulled him away. She took that to heart; she figured if she got out in front and stayed there he’d somehow sabotage her. Finny tried to think like Uncle John, like an evil person. She tried to figure out every scenario he’d try.
Once back to the barn Finny slid off of Sky. She found a stall to put him in so he could eat hay, drink water, and rest until the race. Finny looked at her watch— little more than an hour to go. She sat and put her face in her hands and said a prayer. She felt like crying but didn’t. Oddly, the closer it got to the race the calmer she felt. She looked at Sky. She had every confidence in him. They were a team and they trusted each other, and that made them formidable.
“Are you ready?” Finny looked up when she heard John speak. She stood and grabbed the saddle and bridle she’d brought from the truck.
“Yes, I’m ready. Where’s Joe?”
“He’s by the finish lin
e. He’ll be in charge of taking care of my new horse once you lose.”
Finny didn’t acknowledge the dig; she knew he wanted to psyche her out. Finny had to steady an agitated Sky as she tacked him. Joe’s uncle set him off. The horse’s eye never left the man.
“We tried to see what this horse could do, why Joe liked him so much. Figured there was something special about him. But he bucked my rider right off, a rider who broncs for a living.” Uncle John let out a big laugh. “Sure caught us by surprise. We knew he wasn’t for the rodeo, too big and too old. Didn’t know Joe had gotten himself a girl. Explains it all, though. Regular chip off his uncle’s block, that Joe.”
“He’s nothing like you.” Finny didn’t mean to react, to be baited. Hatred for the man boiled inside her, making her lash out. Her anger just amused John.
“Better get on, girl. Race is about to start.”
Finny swung up on Sky and trotted past John toward the starting line. She looked up at the night sky. The moon was half covered by clouds, but it was brighter than last night, and she was grateful for that.
Twenty-three riders total, Finny counted. All men, all adult. They were milling around warming up their horses. The mood was jovial. This was their fun. Finny spotted Joe sitting on the bumper of his uncle’s truck with another man standing next to him. She went toward him only to be cut off by another rider.
“Ain’t gonna happen, girl. Get in line.”
Finny looked at the menacing stranger and turned back. She glanced again at Joe and met his eye. She mouthed, I love you. Joe gave her a sad smile. She knew he’d given up. She didn’t think he lacked faith in her. He just had too much in his uncle.
“What d’ya say we give the little lady a head start just to be gentlemen?” someone shouted. The crowd murmured in agreement.
“I don’t need one,” Finny stated, never taking her eyes off Joe. She saw the look of surprise in his face, then his brows furrowed. The crowd laughed at Finny’s declaration and the mood became more animated, then intense. It was time.