by Ember Pierce
* * *
Already, a few folks in town had told her to appreciate the sunny days because soon winter would be moving in, and winter in Wyoming was even cold to Eskimos. Philadelphia was cold, but she was told it wasn’t in the same league as Wyoming.
* * *
The name Red Desert, a few folks had told her, was a bit ironic. In winter, nothing like a desert was seen within a hundred miles of the town.
* * *
Kristian had included a fireplace in their new home, and Bonny knew she would be glad that he did. In fact, Kristian said he wanted to buy her a thick winter coat to prepare for the coming snow and ice.
* * *
That was one of the pluses in her new location. With so many children at her home back east, at times the children were cold in the winter. Not freezing, but almost.
* * *
When the snow began falling in the winter, she and some the of the other children were cold and stayed that way until spring came. They huddled together at night, but during the day, coldness spread in the house.
* * *
Fashioning a clothesline to hang up one of Kristian’s pants, she laughed, remembering something she’d heard about the West before she headed out.
* * *
She’d thought the line was the Lord’s honest truth, then she’d found out it was mostly fiction. She laughed that she could have been so silly as to have believed it.
* * *
“Something funny?” Kristian asked.
* * *
Bonny laughed again. “Well, back in the east, I would find an occasional dime novel on the street, and I read it.
* * *
“The West of the dime novel is not the west of Red Desert, Wyoming. In the dime novel, you had outlaws galloping down the streets shooting up the town.
* * *
“And every day, there might be a gunfight in the streets. From time to time, a renegade Indian band would come whooping and hollering and attack the town and shoot people down.
* * *
“The town was full of guns, whisky, outlaws, thieves, and every other type of reprobate. Women were not even safe going to church.”
* * *
Kristian chuckled. “The dime novels that people write about us out here in the West are fiction. They will write anything in those books, just so they can get a sale.
* * *
“I will give it to the writers, they do have vivid imaginations. But you can’t only not believe a word they say, you can’t even believe a syllable of it.
* * *
“We have never have a gun fight in the streets of Red Desert, and the sheriff does not spend all his time shooting bad guys. I think the last time he was out on a posse was when a gang tried to rob the bank up in Cedar City.
* * *
“And despite the deadly shooters written about in dime novels, these guys were not that competent. A bank teller shot one and a deputy wounded another on his ride out of town.
* * *
“A posse was formed and they caught them all. The gang of three were greedy and wanted money, but they were just not very good as bank robbers.
* * *
“Our sheriff rode off to help but by the time he got there, the outlaws had been captured and on the way back.”
* * *
Kristian laughed. “It wasn’t exactly the stuff of shoot-em-up dime novels.”
* * *
Bonny laughed with him. “Actually, I’m glad to hear that. I’m glad we have a peaceful community here.”
10
“I promise, I won’t let anything bad happen to you,” Kristian said a few days later.
* * *
“I just can’t,” Bonny said, her eyes large and sad.
* * *
Kristian stifled a sigh. They’d already had this exact same conversation several times, always with the same result. “I thought you said that you wanted to ride a horse.”
* * *
“I did… I do,” Bonny said. He could tell that she was doing her best not to cry, which was something he definitely did not want to make her do.
* * *
“Are you sure?” he asked. “You don’t have to. I don’t want to make you do anything that you don’t want to do.”
* * *
When Bonny had come to him in the barn and watched him shoeing one of the horses, he’d thought that they had made a breakthrough.
* * *
He patted the gelding named Sandy. She was light gold in color and a gentle horse. She also liked carrots.
* * *
“Bonnie, let’s try something,” he said. “I think I can help you past your apprehension about riding horses.”
* * *
Sandy did not have a saddle on, just a bridle. He took Bonny’s hand and led her to the horse. “Just bring your hand up and pet his neck. Stroke her very gently.”
* * *
Bonny walked with him until they were less than two feet from the house. Kristian reached his hand out and stroked Sandy.
* * *
“Now do the same,” he said. “She likes you, I can tell. Just reach out and touch her with your fingers.”
* * *
Bonny nodded but kept her hands at her waist. She lifted her fingers slightly, then eased them back down. The horse and woman just looked at each other for a moment.
* * *
Then, Sandy took a half-step forward. Her nose almost touched the sleeve of Bonny’s dress.
* * *
Bonny lifted her hand and slid her fingers along Sandy’s nose, gently touching and stroking the gold hair. Sandy nodded slightly, so Bonny lifted her other hand and touched the gelding’s neck.
* * *
The horse seemed to sigh and edged closer. Bonny always spoke softly, but now she spoke even softer.
* * *
“Yes, there’s nothing to fear.” As she spoke, confidence grew in her voice. She ran her fingers across the horse’s throat, then eased her hands across Sandy’s back.
* * *
Krislian dug his hand into his pocket and brought out three bright orange carrots. He pushed them into Bonny’s pockets.
* * *
“Feed them to her,” he said.
* * *
Bonny took one out and brought it toward Sandy’s mouth. The horse chomped on it and nodded its head.
* * *
Bonny smiled with delight. She found the second carrot and also offered it to Sandy, with the same result.
* * *
Sandy nudged Bonny, now expecting another one. When it came, Sandy chewed it vigorously. She nodded her head and neighed loudly.
* * *
“Have you ever saddled a horse?” Kristian asked.
* * *
‘”No.”
* * *
“Perhaps this would be a good time to learn. It’s very easy, really, and once you know how, you can come out any time and take a ride.
* * *
“Sandy will enjoy it, she likes riding. You’ll have to go slowly at first—don’t want to slip off. But I think you will make a fine rider, Bonny.”
* * *
“Do we have time before dinner?” she asked.
* * *
“Yes, we have time for this. I will help saddle her. You can take her for a quick ride, and then come back tomorrow and ride again. You’ll never have a fear of horses again.”
* * *
With Kristian’s help, she saddled Sandy, lifted her foot, and inserted it in the saddle. She lifted her right foot over Sandy’s back and eased into the seat.
* * *
Kristian raised a finger. “Maybe it would be better if we just walked you around this first time.
* * *
“Then, tomorrow, you will be ready to ride off to the hills. But please make sure you come back.”
* * *
Bonny threw back her head and laughed. Kristian realized it was the first real laugh he’d heard from his new bri
de. And it thrilled him.
* * *
It was a hearty laugh, a laugh, he thought, from her very soul. He took the reins and led Sandy outside the barn and down the small road.
* * *
Bonny kept smiling. Then, when he stopped, he slipped the reins in her hand.
* * *
“Now you can guide her back. She’ll become used to you and will respond when she hears you call, like a dog.
* * *
“If a dog is your friend, he will hear or sense your coming and run toward you. A horse can be as faithful and loyal as a dog.”
* * *
“Really?”
* * *
“Yes, ranchers want horses to graze in groups of two or three. A predator, like a bobcat or a wolf, will attack a lone horse.
* * *
“The predators are fierce and strong. They can bring a horse down.
* * *
“But if two or three horses are grazing together, they will protect one another. If a wolf attacks one, they will all attack him, and that’s too much even for a wolf.
* * *
“If a thousand-pound horse kicks a predator halfway across a pasture, the wolf immediately gets second thoughts about attacking. Horses will defend each other, and defend their owner, too.”
* * *
“I never knew that.”
* * *
She held the reins and guided Sandy back into the barn. She climbed down, a huge smile on her face.
* * *
“Thank you. Kristian. But now you have to show me how to take the saddle off and put it away.”
* * *
“I’ll be glad to,” Kristian laughed.
* * *
Bonny smiled. “Most lessons by students are ignored. A lot of mine were.
* * *
“I didn’t have much time to study, so I always let my lessons slip—but I have a feeling I will remember this one forever.”
* * *
“I hope so,” Kristian said.
* * *
Bonny remained silent for a moment. She looked around.
* * *
“You know, if you have been frightened of something for a long time, it usually takes a long time to overcome that fear. But this may be different.
* * *
“I don’t think I’ll ever be afraid of Sandy again. And I think that will go for other horses, too.”
* * *
“Good. Then we’ve made progress today.”
* * *
Kristian watched her go as the midday sun beat down on the back of his neck. The way her thin shoulders slumped forward as she walked hit him in the gut.
* * *
He knew she’d had a rough life before coming to live with him, but there wasn’t a whole lot else to go on.
* * *
Bonny reminded him of a dog that had been beaten down one too many times. Even when a kind hand was outstretched to such a wretched creature, the animal would cower in fear that it would be hit again.
* * *
But he thought the interaction with Sandy had helped. In his heart, he believed it wasn’t just a pleasant experience for Bonny, but that it had helped her emotionally.
* * *
A breeze lifted his hair and he was drawn out of his thoughts about Bonny, noticing what a nice day it had become. The sun was shining with typical summer heat, but the breeze had a cooling effect.
* * *
From the house, he heard a pan clatter to the floor, and he could imagine the tears silently streaking down Bonny’s cheeks.
* * *
She was such a beautiful girl, and when she lost herself in a happy moment, she had spunk like no one he had ever met, but she was just so sad all the time.
* * *
He wished that he could think of a way to make her smile more. Seeing her on Sandy’s back and watching the glee in her face, even if only for a brief while, had helped.
* * *
Now he needed to build on that.
* * *
It startled him to think that his position, prior to his giving up drinking, might have an analogy with Bonny. He was beaten down the way she was.
* * *
His life wasn’t hard and it wasn’t miserable. But he was trapped in a situation, too—though one of his own making.
* * *
The death of his brother had, in effect, put steel bars around him. The bars were in his mind, to be sure, but they were almost as real as the bars in the town jail cell.
* * *
He had no real freedom of movement. He had no freedom. He had to break his mental bars. And now, he had to help Bonny break the emotional bars of her childhood.
* * *
“I’ve got it!” he said out loud. The horse in the nearby corral whinnied at him, and he shot the mare a grin. Then he turned and strode toward the house.
* * *
He stepped into the dim light of the house and found Bonny in the small kitchen, staring at the pot on the stove. When she heard him enter, she turned and looked at him with a quizzical expression.
* * *
“Do we have any of that leftover fried chicken?” he asked.
* * *
Bonny gave him a strange look but nodded. “We wrapped it up and put it in the cellar for supper tonight.”
* * *
“Let’s wrap it up now and take it with us,” Kristian said.
* * *
When Bonny continued to look at him with confusion written on her face, he chuckled and said, “ I thought I could take you on a buggy ride and we could have a picnic dinner.”
* * *
“Oh, that sounds nice,” Bonny said, giving him a small smile—the first he had seen all day. But the smile had come early, and that was a good sign.
* * *
While Bonny packed up the food, Kristian went out to the barn to hook up the horses to the buggy. When they were ready to go, he helped her into the seat and climbed up next to her.
* * *
As they rode out of the ranch, they passed his parents sitting on their porch. There were waves all around, and even Bonny was smiling as Kristian turned toward the wide-open spaces that spread as far as the eye could see.
* * *
Bushes of sagebrush grew to the left and right of the little trail that had been worn down over the years, giving a greenish hue to the prairie in the midday sun.
* * *
Kristian glanced over at Bonny, who was gazing around in what looked like wonder.
* * *
“What do you think?” he asked as he watched her look out over the prairie.
* * *
“It’s beautiful, but I thought that the second I got here,” Bonny said.
* * *
Kristian felt an absurd surge of pride and pleasure that Bonny liked the Red Desert as much as he did. Even though the trees were few and far between, the ones that did exist provided exquisite shade.
* * *
The slightly undulating hills gave the landscape just enough movement to keep the ride interesting as the buggy jounced over bumps. He turned the buggy toward the river.
* * *
When they stopped, Kristian helped Bonny down, and then unhitched the horses so they could graze nearby. They sauntered down to the river bank, and Kristian laid down the blanket they had brought to sit on.
* * *
Bonny knelt down and began to unpack their lunch. Kristian retrieved the carafe of lemonade from under the seat of the buggy.
