Once Upon A Rodeo

Chapter Twenty Six - [The Storm.]

One Year Later

"Come on, Kennedy! Just turn the corner a little tighter."

On a particularly hot November day, a bead of sweat was trailing down the side of my face. Though the cowboy hat on my head shaded me from the sun, it did little to cool the stifling heat.

In the pasture behind my house, barrels were set up in a triangle. For months now, I had been practicing my barrel racing in an effort for the upcoming rodeo in Nashville. It was not only my first rodeo, but there would be so many people there.

"I'm trying," I said, slightly exasperated as I pulled Apollo to a stop. Brantley was sitting on the nearby fence, watching as I had made my ways around the barrel's for the dozenth time.

I frowned at him, unsure how to word my thoughts.

"I'm just worried," I said, swallowing. "I just don't..."

Just last month, I had turned a corner entirely too hard, and had gotten nervous. Apollo had then knocked over the barrel and tripped. I had taken a particularly hard fall, and my shoulder had been pulled out if it's socket.

It resulted in a particularly painful trip to the ER.

"I know you're scared, darlin', but if you don't trust Apollo he's not going to be able to do what he needs to do."

I leaned over the saddle, patting Apollo's neck. Brantley was right.

"Come on. What do you say we get cleaned up and head to dinner?" Brantley asked, reaching up and scratching Apollo's nose. I looked over at the sunset beginning in the distance.

I smiled at Brantley.

"Sounds good to me," I said, sliding off of Apollo's back. I stretched my legs a little, sore from having ridden so long. I led Apollo to the barn, where Brantley and I unsaddled him, hosed him down and brushed him out. After I fed him, I released him into the pasture where he promptly laid down and rolled over in the dirt.

"What a brat," I said, shaking my head at him. "Figures he would do that when he's newly clean."

Grace came running up to Apollo. Grace was getting big, but not as big as Apollo was. In a separate pasture, was a pitch black horse named Storm. Storm had been a wild horse. Brantley had found her with one badly injured leg.

She could barley stand, let alone walk. He had to call out the local vet, who tranquilized her so we could get her some care. After her leg was healed, the bet had tried to release her...But she wouldn't go.

I wasn't sure why she didn't want to return to the wild. She was angry and untrusting, and I had been working my ass off to be able to now pet her. If I touched anything but her head or neck, she freaked out.

I'd gotten knocked on my ass more than once.

But I didn't mind.

Storm wasn't mean...She was scared. Just like Grace when I first got her, I needed to gain her trust. It would just take a lot more work.

"You alright?" Brantley asked, looking over his shoulder when he realized I hadn't been following him.

My eyes darted up to the sky. Off in the far, far distance, dark storm clouds were brewing. Though it was still hot, you could feel the incoming storm in the wind that blew through the pasture. We still had about four hours until it was even supposed to begin to rain, and about eight or nine hours until it was really supposed to come down.

"Trust me, if she wants shelter, she'll get her ass to the barn," Brantley said.

"I suppose you're right," I said, turning to follow.

Brantley and I showered and got dressed, heading into town. Our one year anniversary had been a while ago, and we'd had an amazing time. We went on a four day cruise to the Bahamas.

It was the most romantic thing I'd ever experienced.

Brantley and I enjoyed a nice, quiet dinner together before heading to the movies. It had been a couple of weeks before we had been able to enjoy a date night together, so it was nice.

When we were done, Brantley dropped me off at home. He had to work extra, extra early in the morning and had to go to bed very early. He walked me to the door and kissed me good night.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

We had started to say those three words about six months ago. Even though I knew that I loved him, I was glad that we had taken it slow. It made it that much more meaningful.

I changed into a pair of old jeans and a shirt and began bringing in the horses. I started with Grace, who could be a little bit feisty. She was less difficult than I had thought she would be, and I suspected it was because she was afraid of the thunder that was beginning to rumble.

As I secured Grace in her stall, the storm started to come down. Hard.

"This wasn't supposed to happen for another couple of hours!" I said, shaking my head before grabbing another halter and lead rope and heading into the rain. Apollo was easy. He loved water, but hated being rained on.

He was waiting by the fence. Last was Storm. By then, the sun had completely set and I was soaked. The only light I had was the distant light of the house and the occasional dart of lightning.

I had to hide the lead robe behind my back. I didn't even bother bringing the halter - there was no way Storm would let me put one on her. But today, she wasn't letting me anywhere near her.

Luckily, the pasture she was in was fairly small so she couldn't run too far. But the weather was particularly agitating to her. Her eyes were wide. She was terrified. I brought out the lead rope, trying to get it around her neck one time that she actually let me close to her.

"Come on, baby, don't you want to get out of the rain?" I asked.

For twenty to twenty five minutes, being very gentle and soft and kind. Today, Storm wasn't having any of it. I felt sad and a little deflated. How could I get her to trust me?

More than exasperated, I turned my back to her and leaned up against the fence. After a couple of minutes, I turned around. In a flash of lighting, I saw that Storm was five to ten feet closer than she was before.

That was it! I had to let her come to me. I had been doing it wrong all these weeks!

I turned back around, hanging the lead rope over the fence and took a deep breath. I waited, and waited, and waited. After nearly ten minutes, it happened. I felt a nose nudge my arm.

My heart swelled.

Slowly, I turned around. I first patted her nose, then her neck. Then I picked up the lead road, letting her look at it before I even move. She sniffed it for a moment. Slowly, I swung it around her neck and latched it to myself.

I gently grabbed the lead rope where it latched to itself.

"How's it feel?"

It was still storming, and it was only going to get worse. I took a couple of steps, leading her behind me. She was resistant at first, but it was probably because this was new to her.

I led her to the largest stall I had. It was already full of hay, food, and water. I tried to dry her off, but snorted and pushed the towel out of my hands. I picked it back up and was able to wipe her down, but she wasn't happy about it.

As I made my way back to the house, soaked to the bone, I smiled to myself.

I was making progress.

Author's Note: YAY, an update! Sorry it took so long! I got a little uninterested. It happens!! :) Hope you like this. Anyway, this story only has FOUR MORE CHAPTERS and an epilogue. I already know exactly where I want to go with it. :) Let me know what you think of this chapter!