Page 30 of Rough Stock
“An unusual water-borne parasite. I remember that now. They lost ten calves to that,” Roland said, his voice growing weaker.
“They sure did. You only have two right now that seem to be sickly, but it’ll be more if that’s what’s wrong with them,” Jensen said, pointing toward the rest of the herd. “I can’t remember if their manure was capable of spreading the parasites, but you’d better start checking.”
“I’ll call Dr.Baker as soon as we get back to the house.” He was quiet for a few moments before he said, “By the way, your mom wants me to talk to you.”
Jensen fought the urge to sigh. “About what?”
“About this woman you dragged in here,” Roland said, his vocal inflections about as unflattering as they could get.
“‘This woman’ is someone I care deeply for. What is there to discuss?” Every red flag in Jensen’s brain started to wave like a windsock.
“Your mama’s just concerned, that’s all. She seems kind of, um, rough,” Roland said. “Colleen was from good stock, and we’d?”
“Yeah. Colleen was from good stock, and you see what she did to me,” Jensen almost shouted. “I don’t think that has anything to do with anything, Pop. Shyanna had a rough time growing up. Parents were alcoholics, grandparents tried to raise her but were too old and sick, kids at school picked on her, teachers treated her like shit. She went to community college and fought to get some kind of education. And then she made the mistake of marrying a piece of trash who almost beat her to death.” The longer he talked, the madder he got. There’d alwaysbeen this hard-and-fast rule in their family about not judging people without knowing them, and it appeared the general consensus had been changed. Somehow, that rule no longer applied to them, or at least where Shyanna was concerned.
“She can’t help her upbringing, son. But your mama did some checking. Did you know she’s been in prison?” Roland asked, almost like it was the surprise revelation of the day.
“OfcourseI know she was in prison. He tried it again and she wouldn’t take it, so she stopped him. For that, she did six years in a women’s medium security facility. It was wrong for them to put her there, and it’s wrong for you to keep her there,” he stated, a fury growing in his gut. How dare they judge her that way without knowing anything about her!
Roland sounded exasperated when he said, “Yeah, but almost beating a man to death with a ball bat is a lot different from being slapped a couple of times, son.”
That was all Jensen could take. “Slapped around a couple of times? Take a good, long look, Pop. She’s got a big scar along her left jawline and scars on her temple beside her right eye. He beat her until he fractured her jaw and her occipital bone. She went through hours of surgery, and she almost lost that eye. You haven’t seen her undressed, but I have. She’s covered in scars. I’m sure some of them are from rodeo, but some of them are from him beating her too, plus some are probably from horrible things her parents did to her. ‘This woman,’ as you seem to like to call her, has been to hell and back and fought her way out. She’s tough and determined and smart.”
“And trying to make it in men’s events. She’s tall, but she ain’tthattall, and she shore ain’t big. What makes her think she can do this?” Roland asked, and Jensen could tell he was being serious.
“You don’t have to be big to ride in rough stock. Matter of fact, the smaller you are, the less wear and tear on your wrist andarm. And as far as the events go, those arenotmen’s events, Pop. They’re open to everybody.”
“Why doesn’t she just do barrel racing and breakaway roping like the other ladies?”
“Because she doesn’t want to. She wants to ride rough stock. And I know enough from watching her to know she has a talent for it. I want to support her in that and help her all I can. She deserves to be able to do something she feels special for and can be proud of.”
Roland snorted. “The guys are going to give her shit.”
“Going to? They’ve already been doing that just because she’s riding in the roping events. They chased off her heelers, and two of them roughed her up last weekend. That’s how she got that bruise on her jaw. But this is her dream, and she’s determined.” He took a deep breath, then said, “I love her, Pop, and I’m pretty sure she loves me. After what I went through with… After what I went through, can’t you just be happy for me? Shyanna’s a good person who got a bad rap, but she’s fought her way back up. She deserves respect for that, not criticism.”
“I’m not sure your mama’s ever gonna feel that way,” Roland said, pulling out a bandana and wiping his brow with it.
“Well, she’d better start. Don’t make me choose between Shyanna and y’all. You won’t like the outcome. She lives in my world. I don’t live in yours anymore. I don’t think you want to lose me, but that’s a decision you’ll have to make. Now I’ve got to get back.” Jensen picked up the pace as he made his way back to the four-wheelers.
“What’s the hurry, son?” Roland called after him.
“If Mama really dislikes Shy that much, I don’t want her coming back and having to be there with Mama alone,” Jensen barked as he climbed on the four-wheeler, started it, revved it, and took off. He didn’t know if Roland was behind him, and he didn’t care.
In just a few minutes he could see the house in the distance and someone on the dirt road. As he drew nearer, he couldn’t help but smile. “What are you doing out here?” he asked Shy as he pulled up beside her.
“Looking for you. You weren’t at the house and your mom said you had come out here with your dad. Everything okay?” she asked, her hand planted on her brow to shade her eyes from the late-day sun.
“Yeah. Got a couple of sickly calves, that’s all. I gave him some ideas. Hope it helps. Hop on and I’ll give you a lift back to the house,” he said and revved the engine. That made her grin, and she climbed on behind him, leaned into his back, and wrapped her arms around his waist.
As they rolled up to the house, Jensen’s phone rang. By the time he got stopped and could reach it, it had stopped ringing, so he called the number back. It was answered with a cheerful, “Hey-yo!”
“Roger! What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow.”
“Yeah?”
“Send Shyanna over here and you stay there.”
