Rough Creek by Kaki Warner

Author:Kaki Warner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-07-06T16:00:00+00:00

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Later that afternoon, Raney saw Press Amala’s truck and horse trailer go past the office window. Anxious to see this new addition to their growing stable of outstanding quarter horses, she set aside her paperwork and hurried to the barn.

By the time she arrived, Dalton was unloading the mare. She was a beauty. A flaxen chestnut with three white stockings and a white blaze that stretched from the middle of her forehead to her pink nose. Her confirmation was as square as it gets, deep in the chest and muscular in the haunches. Her demeanor seemed calm but attentive, her eyes bright with curiosity. She would definitely be an asset to Four Star, whether she could ever be shown again or not.

“She’s beautiful, Press.” Raney extended her palm for the mare to sniff. “I can’t wait to try her out.”

“Just be careful the first few times you take her into the pasture,” the old man warned. “She had great training back when. She sees a cow, she might zig while you zag. Happened to me a time or two.”

“I’ll put her in the arena for now,” Dalton said. “Let her get used to the place.”

Raney watched him lead her away, liking how the horse moved and the way her blond tail swayed side to side with every stride. Dalton moved nice, too—that swagger again. It was a joy to watch both of them. “I can see why she’s named Sassy,” she told Press.

“She’s a good horse.” He secured the trailer door and walked with Raney to the front of the truck. “I’m glad you took her. You’ll treat her right.”

“You can count on it. You’ll stay for supper?”

“Can’t. My daughter’s helping me pack. The new owners come next week.”

“So soon?”

“It’s time.” He grinned, showing gaps where teeth used to be. “And time I got to know my grandkids better. What a pair of hellions. Reminds me of you and your older sister back in the day.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“Don’t. I’ll still be around. But you can tell your mama good-bye for me.” A faraway look came into his faded gray eyes. “A real chingona, your mama. We had us some good times, damned if we didn’t. And Charlie, too, of course.”

Raney could imagine. Daddy often said Mama was broke to saddle, but had never accepted the bit. Raney didn’t understand what he meant until years later, and it was several years more before she stopped getting the heebie-jeebies whenever she thought of it.

Press opened the truck door, then stood beside it for a moment, watching Dalton and the mare. “That’s a good man you got there, Raney. Break him in slow and give him his head now and then and he’ll never let you down.”

Not sure how to respond, Raney just smiled. “You’re always welcome at Four Star, Press. Come anytime.”

“I’ll do that.”

But Raney knew he wouldn’t. And as she watched him drive away, it was like watching the past fade into dust. There would never be another Press Amala, world-class roping champion and unequaled horse trainer.

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