Page 4 of Touch the Sky
I lunge forward, my legs sinking in all the way up to my knees, and strain my arm to snatch at his halter. My fingertips brush the faded green nylon once, then twice, and then finally, I grab hold.
“AHA!” I shriek.
We stand face to face, both of us breathing hard, and there’s a split second of stillness before the pile collapses.
It really is like a volcano erupting.
Shavings slough down in heavy, damp clumps, poo balls rolling alongside them like loose boulders. There’s no option but for me and Joaquin to slide down with them.
My feet are swept out from under me. I barely have time to throw an arm up over my face to keep from getting a mouthful of E. coli before I’m rolling like a kid playing on a grassy hill.
Only the hill smells like horse piss instead of clover and daisies.
I can’t see anything except the crook of my elbow still braced over my face, but I can hear Joaquin bellowing from somewhere below me, and I let out my own shriek in response.
He might be an asshole, but he’smyasshole. I’m supposed to take care of him. I’m supposed to make sure his demonic possession doesn’t lead to him snapping his legs in half or breaking his back.
Not only that, butMamanand I can’t afford a broken anything.
By the time I stop rolling and get a glimpse of clear blue sky, my whole body is jacked up on panicked adrenaline. I ignore the way everything is still spinning and stagger to my feet.
I expect to find Joaquin laying on his side in a heap, or maybe poking his head out above the debris like an avalanche survivor, but he’s nowhere to be found.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I chant, racing around what’s left of the pile.
That’s when I hear it.
The sound that haunts my dreams.
“HEE-HAW!”
I ball my hands into fists before slowly turning on my heels.
He’s made it all the way over to the back of the barn. He’s covered in filthy shavings, but he’s prancing around like he’s never felt spryer in his life.
This time, I don’t bother trying to sneak up on him.
I just run.
It’s completely the wrong way to catch an animal, but I don’t care anymore. I bolt at him like I’m possessed by a demon of my own, my vision shrinking down to just that smug little donkey face.
The smugness fades when he realizes I’m not bluffing.
Then he starts running too.
“That’s right,bête!” I shout as he disappears around the edge of the barn. “You better run!”
It’s only once I’ve made it back up to the front of the barn that I remember I’m not the only human out here.
Joaquin is trotting in circles whileMamanand Tess stare at me like I just crawled out of a swamp.
Honestly, I’d probably look better if Ihadfallen in a swamp. At least there would have been water to explain why the back of my shirt feels wet.
Mamanis holding onto Nana’s halter like she might bolt, but the mare has seen enough in her day to not even bother batting an eye at the shenanigans going down.
Tess is standing up straight, a pair of hoof clippers in her hand and a farrier’s apron belted on over her jeans. The thick brown leather is shiny over the tops of her thighs, worn down from pinching horses’ legs between them.
Seems like she really has been doing this for years.
