A Horse Story

I recently ran across a story I wrote for Danielle a while back. Danielle loves horses and loves to write just as much. One night while she was visiting I jumped on the computer after she had gone to sleep and wrote a story for her. What follows here is what I came up with. Not your normal 'blog' but one I enjoyed quite a few months ago.

TALL AND STRONG IN THE WIND

While the storm that had pounded the ranch had occurred almost a month ago, the damage done to the main barn, several out-buildings, and the main house had yet to be completely repaired. The Jackson family, Artie, Melinda, and their 12 year-old daughter Cheyenne did what they could in the days following the storm but the rest would have to wait until there was enough money to complete the repairs. Money was tight as the market for the few crops they were able to plant and harvest, as well as the market for cattle and horses, had been slow over the past few years and it was beginning to catch up to them. They had borrowed what money they could but even that had started to dry up and the banks were hesitant to lend them any more money, especially with no end in sight to the slow market. As it was, the family relied on what little Artie was able to bring in selling the few excess crops and animals that he could as well as some cash he was earning working at the nearby Bar-None Ranch as their assistant foreman. In addition, Melinda worked part-time in the general store in Two River Junction. Even 12 year-old Cheyenne tried to help by sweeping out the general store and taking out the trash at the small local diner in town. Together, the Jackson family brought in just enough money to get by, but with nothing left over to purchase any luxuries. They were the lucky ones. Many families had already gone under, unable to keep up with the cost of just surviving.

The small herd of cattle and the few horses weren’t going to last much longer. It seemed like the cost of feed was increasing in price every time Artie went to town to stock up. Feed was just one of the staple of items needed around a ranch that was increasing in price – store bought food goods such as flour and wheat were also increasing. The family butchered a few head of cattle and grew their own vegetables to offset the rising costs and even had some apple and pear trees they were able to harvest as well. What they didn’t sell at the local farmer’s market they kept for themselves. But for how long? That was the question they kept asking as they watched neighbor after neighbor leave homes and ranches their families had lived in for generations. It was painful to watch as their friends departed. And it scared them as well.

Years before the markets had come tumbling down, the Jackson ranch had been very prosperous. Artie’s great-grandfather had purchased the land and built the original ranch house and as the ranch was passed down to Artie’s grandfather, then his father, and finally to him, there were improvements made by each member of the family. What had started out as a simple barn and ranch house now was made up of over six separate out-buildings as well as four completely enclosed pastures for both summer and winter grazing. In addition, several creeks meandered through the property and while a creek would sometimes dry up in the heat of the summer, they were never without water – and that was a good thing because if the water had dried up during one of the long summers the cattle and horses would have had to have been sold. That would have been the beginning of the end for the Jackson ranch. Now, however, what one waterless summer could have done over the years, a slow market was about to do. Something had to give, and give soon.

One of the things that kept Cheyenne busy and not thinking about the current problems at the ranch was her love of horses. It didn’t matter what kind of horse it was or what color it was; nor did it matter if everyone thought the horse was ugly. If it was a horse – Cheyenne loved it as much as any little girl could. The one thing Cheyenne didn’t like about having so many horses around was that they could never keep a horse for very long. When the market for a good ranch horse was strong, the Jacksons couldn’t keep a good horse around very long before they sold it. Each and every time Cheyenne’s dad sold a horse, Cheyenne thought she had lost one of her best friends. Her mom and dad had tried to explain to Cheyenne not to get too attached to the horses because she would always feel sad every time one was sold. And she did too.

But of all the horses on the ranch, Cheyenne’s favorite was Cherokee, the black and white Pinto that had been given to her by her mom and dad on her sixth birthday. Her mom and dad saw how sad Cheyenne was every time they had to sell a horse so they decided to buy Cherokee for Cheyenne and promised her they would never sell her horse no matter what. Cherokee and Cheyenne were inseparable from the day young Cherokee came to the ranch. At first all Cheyenne could do was take the lead and pull Cherokee around with her but soon Cheyenne was able to get up and ride Cherokee around the enclosed paddock on the ranch. She needed help at first but as she got older she was able to saddle Cherokee and do all the things she needed to do. That also included the hard work that went along with having her own a horse. She regularly cleaned out the stalls, groomed Cherokee, and made sure he got all the feed and water he needed. Cheyenne loved Cherokee with all her heart.

One day as Cheyenne was riding Cherokee around the ranch, she noticed Mr. Pearson’s pick-up truck in the yard. Mr. Pearson was a friend of the family, but not a real close friend she didn’t think because they never went over to his house. He lived up on the big hill south of town on a very large ranch with lots of horses and cattle. She thought to herself that Mr. Pearson would never be poor because he had so much on his ranch. As she guided Cherokee back towards the house she abruptly pulled back on the reins and pulled Cherokee underneath a large oak tree near the top of the hill and watched as Mr. Pearson and her dad and mom came out of the house. She watched as they continued to talk and right before Mr. Pearson got back in his truck he shook her dad’s hand. As he drove off, Cheyenne noticed his mom and dad hug which she thought was strange. Cheyenne had never seen her mom and dad hug like that before – like something was wrong. Cheyenne pulled Cherokee’s reins to the left and spurred him forward and as he galloped down the hill toward the house Cheyenne could not help but wonder what was going on.

Once Cheyenne and Cherokee got into the stable, Cheyenne quickly took off the saddle and brushed Cherokee just a little (she told herself she would come back later and brush him some more before she went to bed). She had already put more feed down and put fresh clean water out before she and Cherokee went for a ride so she didn’t have to do that right now. From there she went into the house but noticed right away that the house was very quiet.

She called out for her mom and dad and heard her dad call back to let her know that they were on the back porch. When Cheyenne went out to the porch to see them she noticed her mom turn her head away quickly. She saw that her mom’s eyes were red, like her eyes got when she cried when one of her best friend horses was sold and taken away. Cheyenne, looking at her mom, asked what was wrong. Her mom didn’t say anything and seemed to turn away further. Her dad answered the question by just saying that they needed to talk to Cheyenne about something very important. All of a sudden, Cheyenne was scared.

Her dad started talking about how bad things were as far as not having a lot of money and that they had to do things they didn’t want to do in order to keep the ranch. Cheyenne wasn’t sure what that was but she didn’t like the way it sounded. When Cheyenne asked what that all meant, her mom all of a sudden got up and walked out of the room in a hurry – and she thought she heard her crying. Her dad started to explain to her that Mr. Pearson had been at the house and Cheyenne said she knew because she was watching from the hill.

Cheyenne’s dad continued on by saying that in order to get some money and save the ranch, he had agreed to sell all the remaining horses and cattle to Mr. Pearson. The money Mr. Pearson had offered to pay would get the family through the hard times her father explained. Cheyenne’s first thought of course was about all the horses she had made friends with that she would have to say goodbye to. That made her sad and she almost started to cry just thinking about it. When she asked her dad when Mr. Pearson was going to pick up the horses he told her in three days. That really hurt because she now knew she only had three more days with her best friends. She and Cherokee would miss them but she knew it had to be done. If she didn’t have Cherokee to share her sadness with she thought it would really be bad. She stepped over to her dad to give him a hug and tell him everything would be okay and she would be brave when her best friend horses left but before she could give him a hug he said there was one more thing he had to tell her.

Her mom came back in the room and stood by the door as her dad started to tell her the one more thing. He explained that Mr. Pearson had agreed to buy all the horses and cattle and that the sale had to include the black and white Pinto he had seen around the ranch before. That couldn’t be Cheyenne thought to herself. The black and white Pinto? What? No, that can’t be, that is Cherokee! No, no, no Cheyenne yelled – he can’t have Cherokee, he can’t, he just can’t! And with that, Cheyenne ran off the back porch. Both Artie and Melinda stood and stared at each other, speechless and angry that it had all come to this. They decided to let Cheyenne have some time to be alone and didn’t follow her.

Cheyenne cried all the way to the stables. She couldn’t understand why all of this was happening. What did Cherokee do that would make her dad sell him to Mr. Pearson. And why did Mr. Pearson want Cherokee? Didn’t he know that Cherokee was her horse and no one else’s? Why? Why was this happening? She continued to cry as she hugged Cherokee as hard as she ever had before. Cherokee didn’t know what was happening either and Cheyenne didn’t know how to tell him either – but she knew she would. She cried some more and fell asleep in the stable, with Cherokee watching over her – maybe for the last time.

The next three days were terrible days at the ranch. As each hour ticked away, it got closer to the day Mr. Pearson was coming to pick up the animals, including Cherokee. Cheyenne couldn’t bear to think about it. She spent all her time with Cherokee, including the time her mom and dad tried to make her go inside to eat and sleep. She refused to go inside and leave Cherokee and she was mad at her mom and dad for trying to make her go – but more mad at them for agreeing to sell Cherokee to Mr. Pearson. So, for three days, her mom brought her food out to the stables where she ate with Cherokee whenever she wasn’t riding him around the ranch.

The dreaded day arrived when Mr. Pearson was going to bring his trucks over to the ranch to pick up the cattle and horses. She hated the day as soon as it arrived. She woke up early in the morning and got Cherokee ready for one last ride. She rode him to his favorite spot by Yellow Creek where they used to go on almost every ride. Cherokee loved to run through the water and jump the small streams running from the creek and Cheyenne loved to jump with him. She couldn’t bear to think that this would be their last ride to Yellow Creek. She cried just thinking about it.

She stayed away from the house and waited for her dad to come get her, to make her ride Cherokee back to the house so Mr. Pearson could put her on the truck and take her away. She listened carefully for sounds of her dad or mom calling her but she never heard anything. She rode Cherokee over to the big oak tree on top of the hill and peered down towards the house. She saw what she didn’t want to see, what scared her more than anything – the trucks pulling into the yard and backing up to the barn and stables. She watched in silence, staring at everything going on down below. She watched as the cattle were herded onto two long flatbed trucks with guardrails around the sides. She heard all the mooing and saw all the dust flying up as the cattle marched on to the trucks one by one. Then she saw the horse trailers backing up to the stables. There must have been ten of them of all different sizes. She watched as men marched into the stables and marched out, each leading a horse by the lead. It went on forever, or so she thought. Pretty soon she saw her mom and dad talking to Mr. Pearson and she saw her dad pointing towards her and Cherokee on top of the hill under the big oak tree. Mr. Pearson looked up and they all stared right at her. Soon, while Mr. Pearson and her mom stayed by the house, she saw her dad get in his truck and drive toward where she and Cherokee were on the hill. She thought about turning Cherokee and galloping off and running away but decided not to. As her dad got closer her heart started racing faster and faster and she got more scared as her eyes started to tear up. She knew it was almost over and she knew what they were going to make her do. It wasn’t fair.

Her dad finally made it to where she and Cherokee stood. He had a sad look in his eyes and she knew why. She couldn’t really stay mad at her dad because she knew he didn’t mean to take Cherokee away from her and make her hurt so much inside. As he got closer he called her name and started to talk. He said the time had come for Mr. Pearson to pick up all the animals and take them away. She knew all of that by what was happening down by the house – and she knew why her dad was here too – to come get Cherokee. Her dad explained to her that this was one of the hardest things he ever had to do and he didn’t want to do it but he had to in order to save the ranch. Cheyenne just started to cry and hug her dad and they both started to cry together. As Cheyenne continued to hug her dad she noticed the trucks starting to leave. First the two long trucks carrying the cattle drove out the gate, followed closely by the many horse trailers carrying her best friends. She started to cry harder. Then she noticed something very strange. She saw Mr. Pearson standing by her mom and he was waving – he was waving at her on the hill. But why? Why would he do that? With that, Mr. Pearson got in his truck and also drove out the gate. Then there were no more trucks.

Through her tears, Cheyenne asked her dad if Mr. Pearson was going to get more trucks and come back because he didn’t take Cherokee and there weren’t any trucks left. Cheyenne’s dad hugged her close then kneeled down, looked her straight in the eyes and said no, Mr. Pearson wasn’t coming back for Cherokee. Cherokee wasn’t going to leave after all. Her dad told her that when Mr. Pearson arrived in the morning he told him that he couldn’t sell the black and white Pinto, his daughter’s best friend in the whole world and if that ruined the deal, then he guessed he just wouldn’t sell any of the animals to Mr. Pearson. When Mr. Pearson heard how much Cheyenne loved Cherokee Mr. Pearson said he couldn’t bear to separate them and agreed to buy all the cattle and horses – except for Cherokee; he wanted Cheyenne to keep Cherokee.

Cheyenne screamed with joy and hugged her dad harder and harder and then hugged Cherokee and told him he didn’t have to leave after all. They could ride to Yellow Creek and jump over the streams as much as they wanted. Cheyenne was happy as she could be!

Cherokee stood next to both of them, tall and strong in the wind.