Spirit Horses

by Alan S Evans

  My horse’s name is Sloppy. She was named by my little sister, Tina, who said she looked filthy dirty when we first got her. My dad broke and trained her because he thought she would make a good horse for us kids.

  He taught us to ride on her and he said she does real well for us. My mom found out from a brand on her that she is a wild mustang from Wyoming.

  We love Sloppy very much and she loves us too. Sometimes I think she is sad and misses her own family though. I know if someone took me from my family I would miss them.

  I asked my dad if someday we could take her back to her herd and put her with them. He promised me that someday we would do it. I think when we take her home it will make her very happy. I will be happy too but also very sad because she is a good horse and she is my best friend.

  Tara smiled as her eyes began to well up. She carefully folded the paper back to its original creases and handed it back to Shane. “Having a son such as Jacob would make any man proud.”

  Shane nodded slightly while he shifted his eyes toward the floor. “He was a good boy, and I know he would have made a good man.”

  “She’s finally going home tomorrow. This will please your son.” It startled Shane a little to hear Tara speak of Jacob in the present time, but he now understood how strong the Shoshone believed in an afterlife. Her words made him feel good. Now that she had read Jacob’s letter, she understood why this was a personal thing between him and his son, something he had to do on his own.

  With the rising sun, Shane loaded Sloppy and Tory and drove out to the valley. Hawk reported to him that the herd had been seen grazing almost every morning in a meadow on the south side of Owl Creek. Shane knew this place and felt confident he could find it.

  After unloading the horses at the valley entrance, he rode Tory and led Sloppy alongside. Shane couldn’t have asked for a better day to do this. The temperature was in the low seventies, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. An hour into the ride, Sloppy became anxious. Shane knew this meant he was getting close to the herd.

  “Well, Tory, this is as far as you go,” he told the old horse as he stepped down out of the saddle and tied him to a tree branch. The last thing he wanted was for the mare to be confused whether she should stay with Tory, who had been her running partner for some time now, or go to Naatea and the herd. For this reason, he would lead her the last couple hundred yards through the woods on foot.

  As they eased through the trees and into the meadow, the herd was already aware of their presence. “All right, girl, there they are,” he said as he softly rubbed her muzzle. “It took me a while, but I finally got you home.” Sloppy stomped her front foot and whinnied to the herd, and Naatea responded by doing the same.

  Shane slipped off her halter to let her go, but Sloppy was unsure if she should leave. She turned and gently pushed him with her nose as if to ask what she should do. “Go on, girl, you’re with them now,” he said as he pushed her away. She only made it about twenty yards before she turned back to face Shane. “Git,” he yelled, as he threw up his arms and choked back the emotions. Sloppy stood there a few moments longer, shook her head, snorted again, then turned and ran off toward the waiting herd.

  A few of the lead mares came running toward her, squealing and striking out at her with their front feet. Sloppy held her ground and didn’t back up an inch from the group. Just then, Naatea ran in close to check her out. The mares surrounding her all moved back out of his way to see if he would accept her. The stallion charged aggressively at first, but Sloppy stood firm and acted as if she had a right to be there. Naatea sniffed her from head to tail while grumbling his studly growl. Then, he stepped back, reared straight up in the air striking out with his front feet, screaming his wild call. Shane had watched him do this before when he defeated the young stallion who had challenged him several weeks ago. He knew this was Naatea’s way of letting the whole valley know that Sloppy was now one of his mares, and that no one better mess with her.

  Chapter 26

  Shane took a deep breath as he checked his emotions. “Well, there you go, Jacob,” he whispered under his breath.

  It was evident that Sloppy had been accepted when the herd began to settle. Shane quietly slipped into the woods, while the little gray mare turned to watch him leave. He quickly made his way back to ole Tory and rode away at a fast gallop, making sure she wasn’t trying to follow.

  It was about four in the afternoon when he got back to the ranch. As he drove in the gate, he was surprised to see a huge party going on. There was a band playing and meat cooking on a large open grill. Everyone seemed to have a beer or drink in their hands, and it was obvious they were enjoying themselves.

  Shane drove to the barn to unload Tory. He was still there when Tara ran up to him and threw her arms around him.

  “What’s going on?”

  “This is all for you,” she answered. Shane could tell she’d had a couple of beers and was in good spirits as she smiled and softly kissed him on the lips.

  Shane sighed. “I don’t know if I’m in the mood for this right now.”

  Tara grabbed his hand, urging, “Come with me, I’m going to mix you a strong drink and put you in that chair on your porch, then I’m going to sit on your lap and nibble on your ear. You’ll get in a party mood in no time.” Shane couldn’t help but grin at Tara’s lively attitude.

  They had not been on the porch long when Mr. and Mrs. Jensen ambled up. It was good to see them, and they sat down to join Shane and Tara. While the four of them watched the festivities from his porch, people wandered up to greet him, the smiles on their faces showing their gratitude.

  “I’ve got some more good news,” Tara said.

  “What’s that?”

  “One of the investigative reporters has been in contact with my grandfather over the last couple of weeks. His name is Chad Dunning. He said he had talked to you.”

  “Yeah, I gave him all the information I had on the situation and told him, off the record, that I suspected Vince Nethers.

  “Well,” Tara said, “my grandfather gave him the names of all the people who had stopped doing business with us concerning our cattle and hay sales. We heard back from him today. It seems three of the men admitted that Vince had forced them to stop buying from us. Apparently, since the situation here had become so high profile, all of this was enough to spur a federal investigation on Nethers for land fraud and racketeering. I don’t know if he’ll get convicted, but ole Vince is in some deep muck right now.”

  Shane tilted his head and nodded. “Now that’s the best news I’ve heard in a while. I do believe I’ll have a drink to that.”

  “I think I’ll have one too,” said Mr. Jensen.

  The party continued until late that night. The Jensens stayed till the end. Mrs. Jensen had to drive home because her husband had partied a little too much, but before the two of them drove off into the night, she made Shane promise to come over to dinner soon.

  After everyone went home, Tara lay in Shane’s arms, and said the words that neither of them had spoken before. “Shane, I’ve never experienced such strong feelings for anyone, I want you to know that I’ve been head over heels in love with you since that night at Shadow Creek.” Maybe it was the influence of the alcohol that gave her the courage to say it, but now it had been said.

  Shane was taken aback by Tara’s confession. At first he wasn’t sure how to respond, but his feelings for her had become too strong to push aside any longer. “I never thought I could feel this way about anyone again, but I’m in love with you, too.” They lay there for hours tangled up near the fire, wasted in the powerful feelings they’d finally owned up to, until eventually they fell asleep.

  The next day, Shane called Terry back at the farm in Tennessee. He received all the latest news from him about his wife, kids, and the farm. Shane informed him he would be staying in Wyoming at least for the rest of the summer.

  “It’s good to hear your voice, boss,” Terry said. “Don’t worry about the fa
rm. The training business is as busy as ever, and everything is fine. We saw the story on the evening news about the horses being killed out there.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes, sir. Sounds like you’ve been involved in quite an adventure. Has it settled down enough for you to set Sloppy free yet?”

  “I did it yesterday.” The two old friends chatted a while longer before hanging up.

  Later, Shane went over to talk to Tigee and Tara about an idea. “I’ve been trying to think of a way you can keep the horses safe from anything like this happening again. You never know when those kids from town will start playing their games of stealing horses. At this time, the mustangs are very much in the public’s eye. Because of this, no one is going to take a chance of messing with them. When all this oil money starts coming in, why don’t you use some of it to pump up your tourism business using the herd as an attraction?

  “You could build a vacation resort. People could go hunting, fishing, white-water rafting, and you could take them on tours to see the famous spirit horses. With guided tours out to the high ridges, you could keep people from bothering your mustangs down in the valley. I believe you could build a real business around the herd, and keep up the public’s fascination in them. This, in return, will help preserve them for many generations to come.

  “Believe me, people will come back every year just to see this inspiring country you have out here. I’m not talking about opening your gates to the general public. I’m suggesting controlled numbers of people making reservations at an expensive resort. This way, you could control where they’re allowed to go on their own.

  “I’ve already talked to Megan about coming back to do a follow-up story on the herd. The article she wrote has horse enthusiasts all over the U.S. wanting to see this valley and the famous historical mustangs. If she were to mention a future resort in her follow-up article, the place would be booked up before it was even built.”

  Tigee sat for a minute in deep thought. Maybe, with this kind of attention and admiration for the horses, his dream to ensure their long-term safety before he died could finally come true. “As long as our valley can maintain its original wilderness state, I would consider bringing something like this before the council. Maybe you could help me put together a proposal for them, when the oil money becomes a reality.”

  The next several days rolled by in a slow, relaxing manner, in stark contrast to the prior weeks.

  It had been one week since Shane had set Sloppy free. He could hardly wait to get out to the valley with JB and Hawk tomorrow to see how she was doing.

  The yearly branding of the weanlings would take place soon. Shane was hoping to still be out here at that time and was looking forward to a close inspection of the mare to make sure she was holding up okay.

  Even though it was Saturday morning, Tara had to leave around eight o’clock to go to work. She needed to tie up a few loose ends, as the first day of school was only two days away. She woke before he did and gently slid her smooth, warm body onto his. With his eyes still shut he smiled as he felt the heat of her breath on his cheek, followed by the pleasing sensation of her lips gliding along the side of his neck. Shane’s eyes slowly opened, allowing the early morning’s delicate light to reveal all of her appeal. His pulse quickened while he stared at the contours of her beautiful face and the fit shape of her perfect body with her silky, caramel-colored skin. Seconds later came a kiss that felt like it could last forever. This morning was special and they both knew it. It was as if their spirits had somehow intertwined, becoming one. Still out of breath, they held each other tight, then Tara whispered, “I love you, Shane Carson.” He gently caressed her face as he looked into her eyes in a way that told her he felt the same. A short time later she glanced at the clock and moaned as she forced herself to get out of bed and leave for work.

  For the first time in a long while, Shane was happy and totally relaxed. He and Tara were getting along better than ever. All the trouble in the valley seemed to be over. But, even with all this welcome contentment, his family was still constantly on his mind. Tara knew this and accepted it. Her willingness to share him with his memories was certainly one of the main reasons he had fallen for her so deeply.

  Shane got out of bed later than usual and was eating breakfast when he heard a knock on the door. As he opened it, he was surprised to see Tommy standing there with tears in his eyes. He’d never seen the boy cry before. Noticing the bruising on his face, Shane thought that Tommy had been thrown off a horse. But then he saw how shook up he was. Tommy was struggling to regain his composure and having trouble catching his breath in order to speak.

  “What the hell happened to you, bud?”

  “A m-m-m-man broke into my house this morning. He came in my room and pulled me out of bed,” the boy stuttered, still trying to catch his breath.

  Shane’s blood began to boil as he realized the boy had taken a beating from someone. “Who did this to you?”

  “He told me his name was Jack, and he gave me this note to give you.” Shane took the note and almost fell down when he read it.

  “Son of a bitch,” he mumbled under his breath as he crumpled the note into a tight ball and threw it hard against the wall. “Come here, let me look at your face.” He leaned over to get a closer look at Tommy’s shiner. “Did he hurt you anywhere else?”

  “No, sir, I thought he was going to though. He held me up against the wall and yelled at me, real mean. He told me if you didn’t do like the note says, he’d be back for me. And next time he’d hurt me bad.”

  Shane’s heart nearly broke in two when he saw the terror in Tommy’s eyes. Tommy looked down at the floor, a little ashamed that he was crying in front of this man he admired so much.

  “Look at me, son,” Shane said in a calming voice to the young boy. Tommy slowly lifted his head. “You did real well today. I’m proud of the way you handled this. Hell, everyone gets scared sometimes. But I can promise you this, that man will never bother you again. Now I’ve got to go. Are you gonna be okay?”

  “Yes sir.”

  Shane grabbed his hat and lifted his rifle off the gun rack. He peered at Tommy with a rushed look in his eyes and spoke rapidly. “I need you to go fetch Tory for me, saddle him up just as quickly as you can, while I hook up the truck and trailer.”

  Tommy looked back at Shane with concern and asked, “What are you going to do, Mr. Shane?”

  “Just go get my horse for me now. Okay?”

  “Yes, sir.” Tommy raced out.

  Within ten minutes, Shane was loading his gear and his horse. The two dogs tried to jump on the trailer, but Shane wouldn’t let them go. “No,” he told them in a strong voice. “You stay here!” Butch and Jessie couldn’t understand why Shane had hollered, so they trotted back to the porch with their tails between their legs. Tommy was confused, too, and didn’t know what to do as he watched Shane drive out of the ranch gate with his tires spinning in the dirt.

  Tigee just happened to be looking out of his living room window and noticed Shane loading up and leaving in a big hurry. He walked out on the porch and saw Tommy standing in the road where Shane had left him, a dazed look on his face. He motioned for the boy to come over. As Tommy got closer, Tigee saw the abrasions on his face, and immediately asked what happened.

  Tommy, bewildered and shook up, told Tigee what he knew.

  “Do you know what the note said?” Tigee asked calmly.

  “No, sir, but Mr. Shane got real mad when he read it, then he balled it up and threw it on the floor at his house.”

  “I want you to run as fast as you can and get that note for me,” the old man demanded. Tommy took off like a bullet. Tigee wasted no time calling JB and Hawk. “Load your horses and get here as soon as possible,” he urged. His two grandsons were at a horse sale in Casper, too far away to help.

  Tara had forgotten some papers she needed for work and was driving back in the gate when she noticed Tommy running as hard as he could from Shane’s pla
ce to her grandfather’s. She instantly got a feeling something was wrong and hurried into the house. She walked in the door just in time to see the stricken reaction on Tigee’s face as he finished reading the crumpled up note. Right off the bat, she noticed Tommy’s swollen eye and rushed over to him.

  “What happened, Tommy?” By this time the boy had regained his composure, but his right eye was nearly swollen shut, and turning a deeper shade of purple.

  “I’m okay, Miss Tara,” he said with his head held high.

  Tigee spoke, “Jack did this and sent the boy to Shane with a message.” He handed her the note with one hand while he put his other hand on her shoulder. The words she read were cold and taunting, and quickly revealed the rest of the situation to her.

  I’ve been reading about you and your mustang mare in the newspaper. It was easy to figure out which one she was, since she still had the holes in her hoof walls from her shoes. The little mare still likes her grain, too, so setting a trap and catching her was easy. She’s tied up to a tree just outside Jasper Canyon, in the same spot where my partner Thomas was shot down. I told you it wasn’t over between us. You cost me my fortune and my best friend, but not my leave. If you want the mare to live, you have to come and get her. I’ll be watching you come into the valley, and if you have anyone with you or you bring the dogs, the mare gets a bullet between her eyes. My word is my honor, and if you can come out to meet me alone, I’ll let the mare live. If you don’t come alone, I’ll drop her where she stands, and still get to you later. You have till noon today.

  Tara’s heart was in her throat as she put her hand over her mouth and sank back into a chair. “Where’s Shane?” she asked Tommy.

  “He left about twenty minutes ago with Tory in his trailer.”

  Tara jumped out of her seat, and started to run out the door to go after him.