Wild Horse Rescue

by Nancy M Bell

  “I guess…she wouldn’t sell us out, would she?” He went back to his task.

  “Nope…at least I don’t think so. If her dad really pushed her, she’d probably cave, but she’s had plenty of practice staying out of his way when he’s in a mood. And anyway, there’s no reason he should think she’s involved at all.” Laurel pulled the saddle and pads off her mount and slung them onto the rack, turning the pads upside down over the saddle so the sweat would dry. She gave the horse a quick brush to remove the sweat stains and picked his hooves, checking for anything caught in the clefts, and she was done.

  Coll reached for the lead shank. “If you want to go catch Sam and whoever you want me to ride, I’ll take these two and turn them out.”

  “Deal.” Laurel turned on the tap by the tack room and splashed water on her face. “Can you check the waterer while you’re out there? The float in that one keeps sticking lately.”

  “Right-o.”

  Laurel blinked in the bright light when she stepped out of the barn. Putting two fingers in her mouth she shrilled a loud two note whistle. A thunder of hooves rewarded her, and a moment later Sam appeared over a small rise. A small bay mare loped beside him. Perfect, Coll can ride Lola today. She can use the work. In short order, she slid halters on both animals and they followed her to the barn where Coll was waiting.

  Fifteen minutes later they were angling down the steep side of a coulee toward the river. Laurel was careful to avoid the area where she knew the first catch pen was located. There was no point in taking it down again…yet. First, I need to find out if Carly heard anything new and see what she’s told Joey. Then we need to go check out where they’re planning to put the other catch pens.

  “You’re awful quiet,” Coll remarked.

  “Just thinking,” she replied.

  “And…” he prompted her.

  “I think we should leave that first pen alone for now, better to let them think it was just some kids wrecking something for the hell of it. I want to see where the other pens are going, but we need to meet up with Carly and Joey. See if Carly knows anything else.”

  “What about the other ranchers, aren’t they going to be building pens too?”

  “That’s kinda what I was hoping maybe Carly’d heard something about. Or Joey’s dad.”

  “Is he really on our side or do you think he’s just playing with us, so he can tell the ranchers what we’re planning?”

  “Who? Joey? Of course, he’s with us.” Laurel stopped Sam dead and turned to glare at Coll.

  “Not Joey, his dad.” Coll nudged Lola past Sam and kept walking.

  “Oh.” Laurel rode in silence for a moment, considering. “I’m pretty sure Harry won’t rat us out. He loves those horses as much as we do. He can’t say much because he depends on working for most of those guys to put money away so Joey can go to agricultural college or maybe vet school, so he tries to stay out of the conflict between the ranchers and the conservation groups.”

  “What if—” Coll began.

  “Look! There they are.” Laurel nudged Sam into a gallop and flew along the flats by the river toward Carly and Joey.

  Coll gave Lola her head and raced after her. They pulled up almost in a dead heat, showering their friends in a spray of dust and small bits of gravel. Joey and Carly retaliated by urging their horses into the river splashing water and mud from the shallows. Laurel and Coll wheeled and joined them, laughing and attempting to pull their rivals from the saddle. Eventually, they tired of the game and left the river.

  “Man, I’m soaked,” Joey remarked, pulling his wet shirt away from his chest.

  “Me too,” Carly removed her hat to gather her wet hair into a tail and pull it through the back of her ball cap.

  Laurel wiped her face with the end of her T-shirt. “It feels good though, it’s hot today.”

  “I don’t know how you guys stand the heat.” Coll’s face was sunburnt even with the help of sunscreen and his wide brimmed hat. “Hot and dry, it’s never like this at home. It gets hot, but not like this. It’s sucking the life out of me.”

  “We could go down to the old swimming place,” Joey suggested.

  “That’s on the rez, though isn’t it?” Carly frowned.

  “Sure.” Joey shrugged. “But you’re with me, even if anyone’s around, nobody’s gonna say anything.”

  “I vote yes,” Laurel said. “We can talk while we ride. We all in?” Without waiting for an answer, she urged Sam away from the river and followed Joey’s lead.

  “Sure, I guess, if you’re sure it’s okay,” Carly was less than enthusiastic.

  Coll let Lola fall in behind Carly’s horse. Once they were on grassy levels the four rode abreast making it easier to converse.

  “Did Carly tell you what I heard last night?” Laurel leaned forward to see Joey who was riding to her far left.

  “A little. Only that the cull is set for the second last week of August.”

  “Did you hear anything else since last night? Does your dad talk about it at home with Chance or your mom?” Laurel asked Carly.

  “Not around me, but probably with Chance. He’s supposed to be helping with the round up, I heard him talking about it with hands.” Carly looked miserable.

  Joey reached over and patted her arm. “You don’t have to be involved if you really don’t want to.” He caught Laurel’s eye and gave his head a small shake.

  “I just feel like I’m caught in the middle. I don’t want those horses to go to the packers, but I hate feeling like I’m spying on my own family. It’s like I’m betraying them or something, but Mom always says I should follow my heart and my heart is saying I need to stop those horses from getting caught. I don’t know what to do…”

  Laurel swallowed hard and bit back the harsh words that were on the tip of her tongue a moment ago. “I’m sorry if I’ve been pressuring you to do stuff you’d rather not, Carly. Dad says I have a one-track mind when it comes to the wildies and I need to think more before I open my mouth. I’m really sorry, honest. If you really feel you need to stay out of this, you should. We can do it without you.”

  “But I don’t want you to do it without me.” Carly was on the verge of tears. “I just wish Chance was on board. And I’m scared to death what Dad will do when he finds out I’m involved.”

  “Maybe you could just stay in the background. You know, like help with the planning but when it comes time to actually do whatever it is we’re gonna do you could stay away,” Coll suggested.

  “I could maybe get away with that.” Carly’s face cleared a little.

  “Okay, let’s plan, then swim.” Laurel halted Sam in the shade beside the bend where the bottom was scooped out deeper by the spring runoff and the current was less in the oxbow of the river. The others dismounted and took care of their horses before collapsing on the sandy bank in a circle.

  Laurel took a stick and outlined where they knew the Cullen catch pens were and where she thought Coal and his band were most likely to be this time of year. She handed the stick to Joey. “Where else do you think they’re likely to put other pens?”

  He frowned at the crude map. “Maybe here…and here.”

  “Where is the boundary between the crown land and the rez?” Coll tipped his head sideways.

  “Right about here.” Joey drew a line across the map.

  “How do you tell when you’re out here? I mean, if this swimming hole is on the rez like Carly said, I sure couldn’t tell where the boundary was.” Coll took his hat and scratched his head.

  Joey shrugged. “I just know, and if you know what to look for, there are markers.”

  “They can’t come onto the reserve to chase the horses, can they?” Laurel chewed her lip.

  “Not unless the Band Council gives them permission,” Joey agreed.

  “Has anybody asked for a meeting?” Carly scooted closer to him.

  “Dad’s on the Council and he hasn’t mentioned anything, so I’m guessing they haven’t thought of t
hat yet.”

  Carly cleared her throat and shifted uneasily.

  “What?” Laurel nudged her with her boot.

  “Dad says he doesn’t need to ask anybody’s permission to go where he wants to get rid of the horses, he calls them vermin and…” She looked on the verge of tears again.

  “I know what he calls my people,” Joey came to her rescue. “And I’ve heard your brother use the same words. I’m just glad you don’t.”

  Her two friends stared at each other and the tense silence stretched so long Laurel’s nerves hummed. “Okay, so we need to figure out exactly when the cull is going to happen and then what we can do to stop it.” She broke the tension and attempted to bring the conversation back to the cull.

  “I can probably get that information ’cause Chance won’t be able to keep his mouth shut. He’s all excited about being included with the men. And Dad will have to get stuff ready,” Carly volunteered.

  “Dad might let something drop too,” Laurel mused. “He’s pretty careful about saying anything about it ’cause he knows me and Mom are against it. But he’s a pretty crappy liar.” She grinned.

  “Point one taken care of then, we hope,” Joey said. “What next?”

  “How do we stop them from catching the horses?” Coll asked.

  “We could sneak out the night before or really early the morning of and rip down the catch pens,” Laurel suggested, excitement brightening her eyes.

  Coll shook his head at her. “You just enjoy flying in the face of danger, don’t you?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe…I sure don’t enjoy getting yelled at later though, so let’s plan on not getting caught.”

  “That’ll work short term, but you know they’ll just repair them,” Joey cautioned.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Laurel sighed. “So, what do we do long term to keep them safe. At least for this year.”

  “It would be perfect if we could make it so they’d be safe forever,” Carly broke in.

  “I wish,” Laurel agreed. “I have no idea how we could do that.”

  “What about those associations or societies who want to protect the wildies? Do they have some sort of wildlife reserve where the horses could go?” Coll stretched out and rolled unto his belly, resting his chin in his hands.

  “I don’t think they have any place that would suit, or I imagine they’d already have done something,” Joey said.

  “Could we contact them and ask them for help?” Coll persisted.

  Laurel glanced at Joey, a question in her eyes. “We could try, I guess,” he said. “The contact info must be on the internet.”

  “I’ll look when I get home and send an email. They might have some suggestions,” Laurel offered.

  “I keep coming back to the fact the ranchers can’t chase the horses on your people’s land. Why don’t we just herd the horses there?” Coll looked at Joey for confirmation.

  He looked doubtful. “The Band Council would have to agree to that and also accept the responsibility for allowing them to stay on Piikani land.”

  “Is there any chance of that? It would be the perfect solution.” Hope rose in Laurel’s heart.

  “I don’t know. Some of the men believe the horses are a nuisance, just like the ranchers.” Joey frowned.

  “But if the majority of the Council agreed…?” Laurel persisted.

  “It might work, but only if, and it’s a big if, the majority agreed.”

  “Can you ask your dad?”

  Joey nodded. “There’s a Council meeting the end of this week. I’ll ask him if he thinks it’s worth bringing up to them.”

  “Well, that’s one solution, maybe.” Carly smiled at Joey.

  “Would those conservation societies be willing to buy some land for the wildies to run on?” Coll suggested. “Is there any land around here that’s for sale that would work?”

  “I don’t think so.” Carly shook her head. “I guess we could look online for property for sale, but we’d need an adult to do anything…and money.”

  “I have money!” Laurel exclaimed. “I have the money Gramma Bella left me and I still have her house in Bragg Creek. The people renting it might be willing to buy it. She wouldn’t mind if she knew the money was going to help the horses.”

  “Your parents would never let you do that,” Carly objected. “Especially your dad.”

  “You’re probably right, but I might be able to talk Mom around and she’d get him to see it my way.” Laurel’s mind whirled with arguments to use on her parents.

  “We don’t have enough time to buy land. It takes time for deals to close and land title checks and all that,” Carly said.

  “Still…” Laurel was reluctant to let go of the idea.

  “Back on track,” Joey steered the conversation back to the plans. “One. Laurel contacts the conservation people to see if they can help. Two. I’m gonna ask my dad about asking the Band Council if we can bring the horses and keep them on Piikani land. Three. We find out exactly what day, and if possible, the time they plan to start the cull. Four. We go and sabotage the catch pens. Five. Here’s where we hit the snag. If we can’t get the Council to agree to have the horses and the wildlife groups can’t help us…what do we do?”

  “Let’s see if the groups can help or what the Council says,” Coll suggested. “Either of those things could solve the problem for us.”

  “Agreed.” Carly got to her feet. “I’m ready for a swim, I’m hot and sticky.” She peeled off her shirt and jeans to reveal a swim suit underneath and Laurel did the same. Coll and Joey stripped down to their boxers and followed the girls to the river.

  An old rope swing hung from a big cottonwood overhanging the river. Joey was the first to grab it and launch himself in an arc and let go at the highest point with a loud whoop hitting the water with a huge splash. Coll reached out caught the swinging rope as it lashed back toward the tree. Laurel squealed in delight when he soared over the slow-moving river and attempted a backflip when he let go.

  Laurel and Carly chose to jump in without the use of the rope swing. The water was deliciously cool after the heat. Laurel dunked her head under the water, slicking her hair back when she emerged. The river was deep enough to submerge up to her chin while still being able to touch the bottom. She let the current swirl by her.

  The sun was getting low in the western sky by the time they emerged to sit on the bank and dry off enough to pull clothes back on. Glancing at the sky, Joey got to his feet and brushed the dirt off.

  “It’s getting late, I gotta get back. Dad’ll be wondering where I’ve got to,” Joey said.

  “Us, too.” Laurel scrambled to her feet and pulled on her jeans and T-shirt over the bathing suit. In moments, she had Sam and Lola bridled and tightened the cinches. Coll ambled over and took the reins she handed him.

  “I could just stay here forever.” Carly remained lying on her stomach, chin resting on her hands, her eyes on Joey.

  “You know we can’t do that.” Joey brought her horse over and leaned down to pull her to her feet. “Your brother or your dad would come looking for you pretty quick.”

  “I guess…I just really don’t want to go home. It’s so peaceful here, nobody yelling or me having to think before I open my mouth in case I say something to set Dad or Chance off.”

  “Is it really that bad?” Laurel hadn’t realized how tense things were in the Cullen household. “You can stay at my place tonight if you want. Mom won’t mind.”

  “Can I? I’ll call Mom and let her know as soon as we get up where I’ve got more than one bar.”

  “Of course, anytime.” Laurel stepped up onto Sam’s back. She turned from Carly and found Joey and Coll both mounted and waiting. Carly heaved a big sigh and vaulted into her saddle. Laurel fought back a spike of envy at the manoeuver. No matter how hard she practiced she somehow never managed to perfect the movement. Carly did it with such ease and without even seeming to think about it.

  The horses moved off int
o the golden light of early evening, tails swishing at the flies that were coming out now the heat of the day was dissipating. Laurel used the ends of her long reins to flick a big horse fly off Sam’s neck. They splashed through the river and took the steep trail out of the wide coulee.

  “See you guys soon. If I hear anything from Dad about the Council I’ll text you.” Joey loped off toward home, leaving the other three to carry on.

  “I’m just gonna text Mom and let her know I’m going to your place. She hates texting, so she probably won’t argue.” Carly pulled her phone from her back pocket, fingers flying over the keys.

  “Who’s that?” Coll pointed at a haze of dust moving toward them at a brisk pace.

  Laurel squinted into the sun. “Can’t tell. Might just be someone out for a ride or looking for something.”

  “Damn!” Carly muttered when the rider drew nearer. “It’s Chance. Dad sent him to look for me.”

  “Hey!” Chance pulled rein and turned his gelding to fall in beside Laurel. “Dad’s wonderin’ where you got to, Carly. You were supposed to finish up cleaning the chicken house and painting the shed this afternoon. I did it for you, but you owe me. Dad was some pissed at you running off.” He winked at Laurel and ignored Coll.

  “Thanks, I think.” Carly gave her brother a weak smile.

  “What have you guys been up to all afternoon?” The gelding took a step sideways so Chance’s knee pressed against Laurel’s. Sam flicked his ears back in annoyance and snorted.

  “We went swimming in the river,” Laurel said without thinking and moved Sam away from Chance.

  “Swimming? Where? The river’s pretty low right now.” He frowned at his sister. “You weren’t with that Indian kid, were you? The only decent place to swim right now is on the rez. Dad’ll skin your ass if you went there.”

  “We just splashed around in the river some, not really swimming,” Coll said.

  Carly shot him a grateful look.

  They came to the spot where the trail split, and Chance turned his gelding toward home. “C’mon, Carly. Tell your little friends goodbye.”