Page 63 of Stormy Ride

Harlan shrugged. “Once is too often.”

We all laughed, and the tension eased a lot.

“I’ll make grilled cheese,” said Tammy, “and then we’ll go see Marilyn Pellegrino.”

“Yep, that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

Pellegrino Ranch. Shelby.

After Tammy made Harlan an extra three grilled cheese sandwiches, and he ate a big piece of the leftover butterscotch pie, we drove to Marilyn Pellegrino’s ranch outside of Shelby.

Tammy was hyped up to start training to be a barrel racer in the rodeo. Whether she would ever make it that far was yet to be determined.

“Lucy is a lot better than me,” said Tammy. “That’s because she’s a better rider and has more control of her horse. That’s what Mama said. She said I would be just as good once me and Bonnie Grace were thinking the exact same way.”

“That’s probably true,” I said. “If you’ve ever seen Annie ride Target and shoot from her back, you would believe that.”

“Mama showed me, I couldn’t believe how she could stand up in the stirrups while Target galloped, and still get a bullseye with her rifle.”

I smiled. “I’ve seen her do it, and she is amazing. Lucy has been practicing under Annie’s guidance for a lot longer than you, Tam. You’ll catch up to her.”

“But Lucy is younger than me and when I watch her, I feel like a loser. What if she beats me when we’re in the rodeo against each other?”

“You can’t win every event, Tammy. Even the best riders have a bad day. You will win on the day that you and Bonnie Grace are in perfect sync.”

I parked and shut off the truck. “Come on. Let’s talk to Marilyn and see if she’s got room for you in the spring session. Annie told me Lucy was already registered, so she has a guaranteed spot.”

A welcoming smile on her face, Marilyn was waiting for us and seemed to have no ill effects from the concussion the horse thieves had given her.

“So happy to see you, Travis. All of you—Tammy and Harlan too. Come on. I’ll show you my training setup but keep in mind everything looks a lot better when the sun is out and there is a lot less mud.”

“It has to stop raining soon,” I said. “This is too much for the ground to soak up.”

“You’re right,” said Marilyn. “My entire ranch is saturated. Not a dry spot in the entire five thousand acres.”

“I’m sure mine is the same,” I said. “Haven’t been to the back property line in a while.”

“I’m usually ready to start training classes on the first of May,” said Marilyn, “but I’m going to need another week for the ground to dry up. The girls can’t ride on the course the way it is. The horses can’t get any speed in mud.”

After a tour of the racing ring and a walk through the barracks where the girls slept, and the dining room where they all ate together, we went back to the house to Marilyn’s office where I signed Tammy up.

I handed my check to Marilyn, and she put it in her lockbox. “That’s it for the spring session. The class is full, and I can’t take one more girl.”

Tammy smiled. “I’m glad I made it in time.”

“Uh huh. Me too,” I said. “To have Lucy in and not you would have made you sad, Tam.”

“And mad,” she added.

I chuckled. “Yeah, that would’ve made you mad.”

Wild Stallion Ranch.

When we got home from Marilyn’s ranch, a big horse trailer was backed up to the barn door. Billy was outside standing in the rain on his crutches watching two guys unload the horses.

“Four horses,” said Tammy. “Outlaw, Bonnie Grace, Lucy’s horse Buckshot, and the other one is Windrider. Why are four horses here, Travis?”

“I told Annie to send a horse for Harlan. He’ll want to ride with you and me. We need another stall cleaned out and fresh bedding put down. Show Harlan how to take care of his horse and help him through it.”

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