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- #81
I see her riding back. "Wait!" I call. How rude it was of her to leave me. I think.I look back over my shoulder. Maybe in my mindless gallop I had left the lady behind. I turn around, shrugging, and go back to the ranch.
The wooden sign greets me warmly as I click to Outlaw... a clear sign of "let's get moving". Dad and the ranch hands are loading hay into the bed of the old, beat-up pickup truck, probably going to take it to the mountainside, where most of our herd is. I raise a leather-gloved hand and wave. They return it.
"Okay, mister," I say to Outlaw. "Carrots? Apple? Bob once for carrot, twice for apple." He bobs twice.
"Good job," I say, rewarding him with an apple. I untack him, groom him, and release him into his stall, and make my way out to the barnyard. The hens noisily run about, and our two roosters strut around. I reach down to pet a nosy Sex-Link, and look to the evergreen trees across the nearby river. They are heavy with ice, and the grass bears a light dusting of snow. Our pregnant mare, Winn Dixie Chic, snorts from the nearby field. I whinny in return; an old horse trick.
After feeding the menagerie of goats and sheep, I rub my cold cheeks and open the door to our log cabin. My step-mom is in the kitchen, stirring a pot of soup. "Hey, girl," she greets me.
"Howdy," I say. "Anybody riding Stewball right about now?"
She shakes her head.
"Good. I'm gonna follow the cowboys."
"Be careful."
"I will."
QUickly, I saddle up Stewball, a lively paint stallion, and follow the truck.