Storm Chaser (7 page)

Duncan appeared outside the corral. Jessica was surprised to see him. She hadn't heard him approach. “She doesn't want me to touch her,” Jessica said with a frown as she tossed the brush back into the bucket.

“Give it some time,” Duncan suggested. “She's been wild for the last couple of years. It doesn't happen all in one day.”

Jessica didn't care. She wanted it to happen
now.
They needed to look at that injured hoof before infection set in. “So what should I do?”

“You've got Rusty to help you,” Duncan said. “A lot of the time these young horses take their cues from the older ones. They look to see how the older horse reacts to a situation and they act the same way.”

“Gee, thanks!” Jessica called after Duncan's retreating form.

Duncan looked back over his shoulder. “You'll figure it out, Jess.”

Jessica knew she wouldn't get any more out of Duncan right now. He'd said plenty. She'd have to sort this one out on her own. She leaned her elbows on the fence and observed the two horses for a while. Sure enough, everywhere Rusty went, Storm Chaser followed like a little puppy. The filly limped along behind him, walking when he walked, stopping when he stopped. The paint watched Rusty drink from the water trough and sidled up beside him, sticking her muzzle deep into the trough.

An idea suddenly occurred to Jessica. She knew her father and brother would recommend soaking the hoof to draw out any infection. She quickly ran to the tool shed and dragged a couple of old wooden saw horses over to Rusty's feeder, blocking off the sides so the horses would have to stand directly in front of the feeder to eat.

Next she went to the old pig pen and found the rectangular feeder they used for the weaner pigs they'd raised last season. The feeder was long and shallow. It would work perfectly for soaking the foot of a reluctant horse. After washing the container thoroughly, Jessica lugged several buckets of warm water from the house and gathered some Epsom salts and vinegar. She'd watched her father use these ingredients before. They worked together to draw the infection out of a wound.

Rusty watched calmly, but Storm Chaser snorted in surprise as Jessica brought the metal pig feeder into the corral and placed it in front of the manger where the horses ate. Next, she poured in the warm water and added the Epsom salts and vinegar.

Rusty stepped forward and sniffed the strange concoction, lifting his upper lip and making a funny horse face. “I know it stinks,” Jessica told him with a laugh. “Like my dad always says, ‘The worse it smells, the better the medicine.'”

Chase stood far back from the odd-smelling brew. Jessica hoped her plan would work. She went to the hay pile and grabbed a big armload of hay. Rusty saw her coming and nickered in excitement. He loved to eat.

Jessica tossed the hay into the feeder and stepped back to see if the horses would venture into the water to get to the food. Rusty gave the pig feeder a suspicious look and lowered his head to sniff the water. He stood for several moments, pondering the situation.

“Come on, Rusty,” she pleaded. “I'm counting on you.”

The old gelding put one foot in the water and snorted. Jessica was sure he was going to turn and run for the other end of the pen, but his belly got the better of him. He put both feet in the pig feeder and stretched his neck toward the manger full of grass hay.

Chase wandered closer. Jessica noticed that when the filly stood still, she shifted the weight off her hurt foot. Her injury seemed to be getting worse. After a few minutes of assessing the situation, the paint apparently realized that Rusty was eating all the good stuff. She hobbled to within a few feet of the hay.

Jessica had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing as Chase contorted her body this way and that, trying to get to the hay without stepping into the water. Rusty continued to munch away, turning his head now and then to look at the filly.

Finally, Storm Chaser could stand it no longer and stuck one foot into the water. Jessie was glad Rusty had his two front feet and most of his weight planted in the pig feeder, because Chase snorted loudly and pulled her foot out of the water with such force, it would have upset the entire thing if Rusty hadn't been standing in it.

“Come on, Chase, you can do this,” Jessica said encouragingly as the little paint moved forward and sniffed the water. This time when she stuck a foot in, she pawed at the metal feeder, sending water all over herself and Rusty. She played around for a few more moments, trying to figure it out. Then she took her cue from the calm old gelding and lowered her injured foot gingerly into the water, pushing her muzzle into the hay.

“That's my girl!” Jessie crowed, but not loud enough to spook the filly. She hoped she'd put enough hay in the feeder to keep the horses standing still for at least another half-hour. That would go a long way to helping Chase's foot.

Jessica sat on a bucket outside the fence and watched the horses eat. From time to time Rusty would poke his nose at the filly, letting her know he was boss. “Be a gentleman,” Jessica scolded. “She's your guest.”

“Hey, Jess!” Duncan called as he came up behind her. He stopped and looked at the two horses standing in the container of water. “Whew!” he said, wrinkling his nose. “Smells like Dad's drawing liniment.”

Jessica smiled. “Maybe.”

Duncan tousled her hair. “Pretty smart. Dad will be impressed that you came up with that one.”

Jessica couldn't help but feel proud. It felt good to do something right for a change. Her father and brother seemed to come by their horse knowledge naturally, but it was a whole lot harder for her.

Duncan nodded toward the house. “Dinner is ready a little early. Dad wants to have another one of his family meetings. Why don't you toss another flake of hay into the feeder so that filly can soak her foot a little longer?”

Jessica placed a flake of hay in the feeder from Rusty's side, being careful not to startle the younger horse. “I'll be back later,” she promised, then turned and followed Duncan back to the house.

She wondered what her father would have to say this time. “Please let it be something good,” she whispered to herself as she climbed the back steps. At this point, she didn't think her family could take another slam of bad news.

SEVEN

Jessica took her cue from the somber look on her father's face. She slipped quietly into her chair at the dinner table. Her dad needed to stop handing out bad news in the kitchen or they'd all end up with ulcers after every meal. She put her napkin in her lap and waited.

Her father picked up the platter of chicken and took two big pieces. Jess knew he was trying to act as if everything was normal, but she knew better. Things were
not
normal, and wouldn't be anytime soon.

As the food was being passed around, Mr. Warner began, “I'm sure everyone has noticed the travel agents who've paid us visits all year long?”

Duncan couldn't hide his grin. “Kind of hard to notice when you chase them off so quickly.”

Jessica wasn't sure the mood was right for joking. She quickly took a bite of a chicken leg to stop herself from laughing.

The corner of her father's mouth turned up in a half-smile. “Well, all that's about to change soon.” He glanced at his wife, who nodded encouragingly. “Your mother and I have decided to give the dude ranch idea a shot.”

Jessica's mouth dropped open.

Her father continued, “Starting tomorrow, we're going to clean out the old bunk rooms and get them ready for guests. Wild Hawk Ranch is about to change.”

Jessica wanted to jump from her chair and yell,
Yes!
but she sat tight. Beside her, Duncan frowned.

“We've got a lot of work to do, folks,” her mother said.

“And we'll need something safe for the city slickers to ride,” her father reminded them. “We can borrow a couple of gentle horses and tack from the Lightfoots to begin. I want to start small to make sure we can handle this. And find out if it's what we want.”

Jessica took the salad bowl from Duncan and put two big scoops of mixed lettuce and a bunch of cherry tomatoes on her plate.

“According to one of the travel agents, some of the visitors may be real horsemen who are looking for someplace different to vacation with their animals. They'll bring all their horses and tack with them. It's the new ‘in' thing to do,” he said with a chuckle.

Jessica hoped that some of those visitors would be kids her own age. Summer vacation had barely started, and already she was lonely.

She thought about Marybeth and felt a small twinge of guilt. The younger girl considered Jessica her best friend. But Jessica couldn't help wishing for someone more her own age to be best friends with. The visitors would only be temporary guests, but it would be nice to have other kids around the ranch—especially if they were horse crazy like her.

Duncan cleared his throat and waited for their father's nod before he spoke. “We just lost our barn and hay supply. So…” He fiddled with his potatoes and stared down at his plate.

“Go on,” Mrs. Warner encouraged. “What are your concerns, Duncan?”

“Can we afford to do this? I mean, I love Wild Hawk and all, but it's not exactly a five-star resort.”

Jake Warner tipped back in his chair and laughed. It was the first time Jessica had heard him laugh since the fire.

Mrs. Warner shushed her husband and squeezed Duncan's hand. “We'll be cutting a few corners, honey, but we've got enough money to get the barn started and buy the towels and linens and things we'll need for the guests. A lot of the other stuff we've already got lying around here. It's mostly going to be a matter of getting everything together and putting in a lot of hard work.”

Duncan went back to eating. That told Jessica that her brother thought everything would be fine. She stared around the table. Everyone seemed to be okay with the project. That meant they'd have guests at Wild Hawk soon!

Jessica could hardly wait to finish dinner. She wanted to get back to the corrals to check on Rusty and Chase, then maybe afterwards she'd give Marybeth a call. She was sure her friend would be pretty excited about the dude ranch, too. They'd talked many times when they'd ridden together, wishing that there were more girls nearby for them to hang out with.

When she finished her last bite of salad, Jessica excused herself so she could check on the horses. Her mother winked at her as she left the table, and Jessie realized that her mom probably felt the same way about the prospect of dude ranch guests as she did, even though it would mean a lot of extra work. She flashed her mother a smile and went outside.

Rusty nickered as soon as he saw her.

“You just finished eating, you old greedy-gut,” Jessica told him. “Don't be asking for more. I'm just here to clean out the pan you guys were soaking your feet in.”

Chase eyed her warily and snorted when Jessica dragged the metal pan to the edge of the corral. The water sloshed over the sides and was quickly absorbed into the dry ground. She dragged the container outside the railing and dumped it over, holding her breath as the smelly concoction spread across the sand.

She rinsed and stored the pan, then returned to the corral and sat on the top rail. Rusty walked forward and stuck his nose in her midsection, begging for a scratch. She played with his forelock, then scratched his neck and finger-combed his mane. From her perch atop the fence, Jess could plainly see the burn marks on Rusty's back. She climbed down and rummaged through the brush bucket, looking for the salve she had placed there.

Rusty stood patiently while she dabbed the medicine on his burned areas. Jessica knew some of them had to hurt badly, but the old horse stood patiently, letting her care for him. She glanced over his broad back, staring at Storm Chaser. “Do you see how this is done? See how nice and quiet Rusty stands here?” she chided. “You're supposed to act like I'm your friend.”

Storm Chaser flicked her ears, listening to the sound of Jessica's voice. Jessica tried to keep her words soft and even, the way her father had taught her. A loud or excited tone of voice might cause a horse to think there was trouble. In the wild, a horse's best defense was to run away from the danger. Jessica didn't want the new filly to run away from her.

A movement on the other side of the stable yard caught her eye. Jessica stood on the rail to get a better view as Duncan entered the new horses' pen and singled out the blue roan. He expertly and quietly drove the gelding toward the opening to the next pen without causing the rest of the herd to move.

Jessie sighed. Her brother was a great horseman. Horses responded to Duncan like he was one of their own. If she'd gone into that pen, the new horses would have bolted every which way. Some day she hoped to be as good at working with the beautiful animals as her father and brother. But even her dad recognized Duncan was special. He had always had a way with horses.

“I'll be back,” she said to Rusty and Chase as she climbed off the fence and tossed the ointment into the brush bucket. Duncan was starting work on the first of the new horses, the blue roan, and she wanted to watch. Maybe if she could learn how he did things, she'd be able to do a little work with Chase. If she could get the halter on the skittish filly, maybe her father would have more faith in her and let her try to train the paint.

Jessica hung back under the shade of the big quaking aspen trees not far from the training pen. She hoped Duncan wouldn't notice her. He didn't like having an audience.

At first, her brother didn't do anything. He just let the horse move around the circle, looking over the fence and calling to the other horses. Jessica recognized Rusty's and Chase's cries of concern along with the wild ones in the pen. The blue roan continued to pace on the side closest to his buddies. Being a herd animal, he wanted to get back to his friends.