Let It Be Me

by Barbara Speak

  so why don't you water all the stalls and troughs in the corral?"

  "I can handle that."

  Once that was done, it was time to feed the horses. Canyon stopped the tractor and came into the barn to show me where the grain barrels were. He even brought me up into the hay loft where he kept all of the alfalfa bales.

  "Oh my gosh there is a whole other barn up here. This is huge!"

  I had just climbed off the top rung of the ladder into what Canyon called a loft.

  "With as many horses as we have had at once we needed a space that could hold enough to feed them all winter."

  I heard a cat and then felt something brush up against my leg. Looking down I found an orange tabby staring right back at me.

  "That there is Penelope. She's the head barn cat up here. You should be seeing the lot of them pretty soon."

  "How many are there?"

  I bent down to pet her and could feel her body vibrate from her purring.

  "Seven. Well, there were three but four kittens were born six weeks ago."

  "You have babies everywhere around here."

  "That's what spring brings."

  "Why do the cats stay up here?"

  "Well, it's warm and there are plenty of mice to catch."

  Canyon grabbed a bale off of the stack, opened a door on the floor and dropped it down to the ground underneath us. He grabbed another bale and lifted it up only this time I screamed causing him to almost drop it.

  "WHAT?"

  I had my hands covering my mouth but the scream kept coming. In my mind I envisioned seeing a cute furry kitten if I was going to be seeing anything. Not some freaky, eyes glowing, huge and I mean HUGE rat staring back at me.

  Canyon threw the bale down the hole and then started kicking around the bales I was looking at.

  "Ari, talk to me. What did you see?"

  My hands were shaking as I tried to explain. "It was the hugest rat I have ever seen, Canyon. I mean like scientific experiment type huge."

  He moved some bales around until he picked up one and the loudest hiss came with it.

  "Holy shit!" Canyon dropped the bale immediately and looked over to me holding his hands straight out at me. "Okay, everything's okay, I just wasn't expecting it is all. Why don't you go back down and I will take care of the opossum."

  "What the heck is an opossum? The granddaddy of all rats?"

  "More like a kangaroo, really."

  "What?"

  "I'm going to try to get it out of here but they get mean. Do you want to stick around or go play with the puppies?"

  Naturally, I wanted to be as far as possible from that thing, but I was also curious as to how Canyon planned to pull this off.

  "I'll stay, just way over there."

  "If you're sure."

  He walked to the far wall where he got a huge fork and began heading back to the spot it was hiding while I made my way to the other side of the loft.

  "You're not going to poke it, are you?"

  "No. This is just to move it."

  "You don't have a shovel?"

  "Not up here."

  He set the fork down and started moving bales around before he grabbed the fork again and pushed it down. I wasn't sure what was happening until the damn thing ran out toward him hissing and made Canyon not only scream but jump three feet in the air, causing him to throw the fork and land on the bale beside him. I have never laughed so hard in my life! Seeing Canyon scared of an opossum or whatever it was had me nearly pissing my pants.

  "You find this funny?"

  I couldn't stop laughing long enough to answer him. He got down and grabbed the fork again, sliding it down and under the opossum. Every time the fork touched it, it turned toward Canyon hissing. Eventually, Canyon maneuvered it to the opening where he pushed it to fall down on top of the bales below. I hurried to the hole so I could watch it land before it ran off.

  "That was priceless!"

  Canyon dropped the fork to the floor and then scooped me up, carrying me over to the stack of bales behind us.

  "I told you they're mean."

  "When you screamed like a girl..."

  "Like a girl?" He dropped me on the hay and then turned and walked towards the ladder.

  "Where are you going?"

  "Away from you." He stepped down each rung until I could no longer see him.

  "What do you want me to do about the door?"

  "Close it for me, please."

  At least he said please. He wasn't too mad at me.

  After feeding all the horses and dogs I was exhausted. How he managed all this on his own amazed me. Canyon finished up with the crap and met me back at the barn about an hour later.

  "I need to condition a few of them today but what do you say about taking that ride first?"

  My face lit up. "Really? I would love that."

  "Let's get the tack together first."

  I remembered everything he taught me and shortly after getting the horses they were fully equipped and ready to go.

  "You take Magnus, I'll grab Winston."

  "Sounds good to me. Magnus and I have an understanding, don't we, boy?"

  I was rubbing behind Magnuses' ears and he loved it. Every once in a while he would push his head into my side letting me know just how much.

  "He likes you, that's for sure."

  "The feeling is mutual."

  After we were both on, Canyon made a noise and the horses took off. I wasn't the least bit scared anymore. Riding that fast through the open fields felt like home to me. The wind had my hair flying behind me as if we were flying. I looked over at Canyon and caught him staring at me wearing the hugest smile.

  "Come on," he yelled. "This way."

  He pulled a hard right and led us across a creek and up a hill until we reached the top and came to a stop. The sun was just coming over the mountain side and it was purely breathtaking.

  "Oh my gosh. It's gorgeous."

  "Isn't it? My mom would bring me out here as a kid and we would just sit here for as long as it took for it to rise."

  "I bet that was amazing."

  "It was."

  We both sat there and stared at nature in its finest form.

  "Thank you for sharing this with me."

  "No, thank you for letting me."

  The horses were eating the grass below us without a care in the world as we enjoyed the view. Eventually, Canyon picked up his reins again and said, "You ready to head back? I have to work on the horses especially that one if I plan to race him."

  "You aren't going to ride him in the race are you?"

  "Hell no! I'm twice the size of a jockey. Ever since you convinced me to keep Magnus I have been talking to a few that I know. I think I have one lined up."

  "Does he come out here and work with him too?"

  "No. Eventually I will send Magnus to him. That way they can bond before the race."

  "Gotcha. Well, all right, let's get heading back."

  Canyon and Winston led off but this time we went a different way back. New fields and trees, mountains and valleys to see. His property was a complete slice of heaven and I could understand why he never wanted to leave. I was beginning to feel the same way.

  We got back and stripped Winston down but he kept Magnus ready. I climbed up on the top rail of the fence and watched as he tied Magnus up and went to grab another horse. This one was not one of the horses I was familiar with. He led him out and put all of the equipment he took off of Winston onto him.

  "What's his name?"

  "Bud."

  "Are you kidding me?"

  "I wish. I lost a bet and had to name him after a beer."

  "You couldn't have thought of Guinness or something?"

  "We were drinking Budweiser at the time."

  "Poor horse."

  "Yeah, I have to live with that bet every day."

  He was on top of him and walking him to the running path when he looked back over his shoulder. "Are you gonna hang out and watch
?"

  "If you don't mind?"

  "Not at all. See ya in a bit."

  With one swift kick they were off. I couldn't believe how fast they were going right from the start. I guess a quarter mile wasn't very long of a stretch to run but damn it took them no time. Back and forth they went for a good thirty minutes and I never tired of seeing the dust fly behind them. When it was over, Canyon hooked Bud up to the turning wheel and let him walk in circles before he came over to the fence I was sitting on to kiss me.

  "What did you think?"

  "It's pretty impressive."

  "Bud's my slowest. If you liked that, it only gets better."

  "I can't wait to see."

  Four horses later it still never got old. After the first two had their run I took on the responsibility of taking the one walking in the circle back to the barn to replace it with the next. It fascinated me that they had the speed and agility that they were showcasing and the fact that Canyon was creating this allowed me to respect him that much more. He was brilliant for taking wild stallions and creating a whole new line for himself.

  Canyon had run the final horse for the day and I couldn't help but tell him just how proud I was of his accomplishments. "All this has been drilled into me since I learned to walk. I haven't done anything that can be called mine, yet. When one of these horses wins, the world will remember the name..."

  Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

  "Michaels!"

  Both of our heads whipped around to see a man walking through the barn toward us.

  "What in the hell is he doing here?" Canyon obviously was talking more to himself than me because I hadn't the faintest idea who the man was.

  "What do you want?"

  "What do I want? Well, that's a dumb question, boy. Seems I hear you sold a few horses a while back."

  "And?"

  Canyon was fuming as the man came closer.

  "And half of that's mine."

  "The hell it is! You have nothing to do with this ranch anymore. This is all mine."

  "Sorry to disappoint you. Actually, no it’s not, you piece of shit. This business was your dad's and mine, nothing about it is yours."

  "You've lost your mind, old man. Why don't you go back where you came from and get the hell off my property."

  "This may be your property but you sold those horses under the stable name and that is mine."

  I was bouncing back and forth between the two trying to follow the conversation. At the same time, I was ready to jump in front of Canyon if necessary to keep him from killing what I had figured out to be his uncle.

  "You're insane. You both destroyed the company, tore it to shreds! There was nothing left. This is ALL MINE!"

  "We'll see what the lawyers say."

  "Are you kidding me? Like this family hasn't gone through enough!"

  "You little punk ass. You think I want to take it easy on you? I'm going to do everything in my power to make you suffer. You are the very reason this family is the way it is!"

  "Me? How can you blame me? He killed my mother!"

  "You little..."

  His uncle was coming at him and Canyon was advancing ready to blow. Without thinking, I jumped down from the fence and was between the two of them holding them back with each arm while I screamed, "ENOUGH!"

  "Darlin’, I suggest you move. This is between my nephew and me."

  "Ari, baby, go inside."

  "Cany—"

  "GO INSIDE!"

  He had never yelled at me before making me tense up immediately. I didn't know what to do. If I walked away they would kill each other for sure. So I chose in that second to stay put.

  "Listen right now, both of you. I'm not going anywhere. You aren't doing this today." I looked at his uncle first. "As you have stated, this is his property so you are trespassing. If I go anywhere it will be to call the police and have you arrested. You need to leave." Then it was Canyon's turn. "He's not worth this."

  Both men were seething mad and I doubted they even heard me until his uncle broke the stare down contest between them and stepped back.

  "You will be hearing from my lawyer!"

  "As if you can find one that will represent you. Good luck!"

  His uncle continued to stare him down as he walked backwards. "You just wait and see."

  He turned and walked back through the barn. Canyon watched him go until he was out of sight and then kicked the bottom post of the fence snapping it in two.

  "I'm screwed!"

  Chapter 19

  I didn't know anything about the business side of this but if he never changed the name, his uncle just might have a stake in it as he said.

  "So can you switch it now? He might have some claim but only to the few you sold already, right? Anything in the future would be yours."

  His hands had gone to his head out of frustration, knocking his baseball hat to the ground as he rubbed back and forth over his face and back up to his hair.

  "I wish it was that simple. Everything I have built up to this point is in the name of the company. He could come after me for any future earnings from the livestock I created. SHIT!"

  He kicked the broken board again. This time, it splintered and threw wood particles everywhere.

  "Okay, so you fight it. We both know this isn't fair and the law has to see it that way."

  "I wish you were right but I can't see it working out for me. Nothing ever does."

  "Please don't give up. You tell me all the time how I need to fight. I'm here. I will help you anyway I can."

  "But for how long?"

  That question changed everything. "As long as you need me."

  "That might be something you come to regret saying."

  "Maybe, but right now it's all that I have to offer."

  "Then I will take it."

  The mood never went back to the place we were at that morning. There was no longer a smile that was genuine coming from either of us. We both knew his uncle had a point and the last thing Canyon wanted to do was be in business with that scum bag.

  Eventually, I decided I needed to go home after hours of Canyon looking on the Internet for laws around this mess and coming up with nothing. He was so engrossed with the computer I simply kissed him goodbye and promised I would be back the next day. He muttered a simple, "Bye" in return and went back to his research.

  I walked home wishing I could ask John for advice, but I knew nothing good could come from asking him anything.

  The following day Canyon wasn't much better when I got there. He was sweet as usual but the light in him had burnt out. He was a shell of the man I knew two days prior. I hated his family for putting him through even more hell than he already was forced to endure.

  We played with the puppies, worked with the foals and even went out for another ride trying to do anything that would allow him to clear his head. Nothing worked.

  The rest of the week went pretty much the same way. I had school, Canyon trained, and then I would meet him back at his place. We worked in the barn, watched some TV, and I would go home. I didn't know what he needed but I knew being there helped. At least he wasn't alone.

  Friday came and with it so did the rodeo. I got home from school with enough time to change my clothes, grab Shelby and head over to Canyon's. We pulled into the driveway but before I could even come to a complete stop, Shelby was throwing her door open, jumping from the truck and running into the waiting open arms of Canyon. The smile was back and I learned quickly Shelby was the key to it.

  I got out and walked toward the two. "What am I chopped liver?"

  "Hey there, darlin'. You ready to go do this?"

  I walked over and kissed him before saying, "I sure am. This is going to be amazing to watch."

  I didn't want to bring up how happy I was to see him smile. It could trigger him to go back which was the last thing I wanted.

  "I can't wait to see the horses."

  "The horses?"

  He began tickling her to the point she was sc
reaming for help before he stopped.

  "Little girl, you see plenty of horses here. You better be excited to watch me."

  "You're going to ride a bull. That's not fun."

  "No, it's awesome!"

  "No, it's not."

  "Shelby!"

  "Don't yell at her she's just being honest."

  "Honesty can be rude and in this case it is."

  "I just don't want him to get hurt."

  Canyon bent down to be on her level. "I've been doing this a long time. Don't you worry, I'll be fine."

  We all loaded into Canyon's truck and headed off on the hour long road trip.

  Shelby wanted to play on her iPad the entire time in the back seat leaving Canyon to wonder why. I didn't want to explain in front of her that this was the standard practice with our family. The back seat didn't exist. Instead, I threw back questions periodically to her. What I got in return was only what was required to answer the question and then she was back to her game.

  Canyon and I chose to fight over what music was better the entire ride. I wanted top forty where he demanded country or classic rock. Truthfully, we both enjoyed all of it, but it was fun to bicker over.

  We made it to the arena right on time. The parking lot was filled with trucks and horse trailers. It was too early for the ticket holders to arrive yet. Canyon explained everything to Shelby and me as he walked us through the back area where all the riders were getting ready and then out to the arena floor. Looking up into the stands made everything different. It looked so much bigger from that view point.

  "Over there you'll have the barrel racing, the steer wrestlers and the tie down roping challenge done by one person or a team of people. Those are all timed events. Then you get to see the rough rider events. That's what I'm in. There's going to be saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding and finally the bull riding. A lot is going to be going on but I know you are going to love this."

  "So much is different from this and the PBR."

  "To tell you the truth, this is what I miss the most. The PBR is the final level of bull riding. This is where it all comes from. The heart and passion starts here. You can feel it."

  He was so passionate as he spoke that when I looked down at Shelby, she was mesmerized. "How did you go from being thrown by a horse to bulls if there is such a thing as bucking broncos?"