Spirit Horses (19 page)

Every day, after they finished with the three young
horses, Shane would put Tommy on Tory or Sloppy for riding lessons. The boy was
learning every day how many buttons and how much control a rider can have with
a well-trained horse. Tommy was taking to all this like a fish to water, and
Shane enjoyed watching his progress, as much as Tommy enjoyed the instruction.

Most of the Indians at the ranch tried to be
inconspicuous as they watched the sessions progress. They still didn’t talk to
him much. However, some of them began waving as they walked past him on his
porch in the evenings.

The two dogs were now spending every night on
Shane’s porch. He would sit in his chair and talk to them at the end of the
day. Butch would now let Shane gently scratch him on top of his head, but that
was all. Jessie would only stretch out his neck to take food from Shane’s hand
without any contact. Shane was careful not to force the issue, and the dogs
seemed to be slowly gaining confidence in him. Soon Tommy had all the Indians
joking about Shane being the pup’s ma. Tigee seemed to get a kick out of how
the dogs had taken to Shane.

One day he remarked. “I was right about you.” When
Shane asked him what he meant, Tigee just smiled and said, “I knew you were
different,” as he turned and walked away.

The week had flown by, and Shane was looking forward
to his trip back out to the river to check on the herd. He was supposed to meet
Hawk and Johnny Badger on Sunday morning.

It was Friday, and Tommy had plans with his mom
today, so the two geldings and the Appaloosa mare were getting the day off from
their training. Shane decided to pack a lunch and take Sloppy out for a long
ride to check out the countryside. He knew it was important to keep the mustang
in good condition, so she could keep up with the herd when he set her free.

It was a pleasant morning for a long ride, and since
he was able to get an early start, he decided to head northwest toward the
stream with the large pool that Tommy had shown him. The two wolf-dogs weren’t
anywhere to be seen this morning.
Hopefully,
they’ll pick up my trail and catch up with me later on
, he
figured. Their company would be a welcome comfort. He made sure his rifle was
loaded before he packed it on his saddle.

The first part of the six-mile ride took him through
some open country in the foothills. He noticed a herd of elk grazing in a low
area and spooked a couple of mule deer farther up the trail. Sloppy perked up
her ears and began getting anxious as they approached some large pines near the
edge of a forest. Shane moved her to a high area and pulled out his binoculars
to see if he could spot what was worrying her. He scanned the edge of the woods
and quickly caught sight of a large grizzly and her two cubs moving east along
the tree line.

“Easy girl,” he told her, “you’re okay. They’re
moving away from us.”

Shane smiled. It felt good to see nature untamed
like this. He once again found himself wishing he could have shown this country
to Jacob and Tina, but he quickly put the thought out of his mind. The bears
stayed on the other side of the hill, and the mare finally relaxed as Shane
rode her into the woods.

There were large spruce and fir trees scattered everywhere.
The rolling hills added to the beauty, and the woods became thicker as he rode
on. The air was fresh and crisp, while the popping in his ears told him he was
gradually riding toward a higher elevation. Soon, he could hear the sound of
running water, and it wasn’t long before he saw the creek’s edge. He knew from
here the pool was only about a half mile up the narrow stream.

Two more mule deer having their morning drink jumped
into the brush, disappearing in a flash. He looked up and saw a bald eagle
circling high above him. It was a large male with his distinct white head and
tail feathers making him easy to identify. The eagle was probably looking for a
trout in the pool just ahead. Shane had to ride away from the stream’s edge to
get around a thick area of brush and young saplings that bordered the creek. He
knew when he made it around this thick patch, he would be able to see his
destination.

He was about halfway down a small hill when he
rounded the thicket and caught sight of the waterfall. The relaxing sound of
rushing water made this picture even more serene. He stopped his mare and took
a deep breath of the clean mountain air while he stared at this amazing place
and soaked it all in.

It was then that he noticed the outline of a horse
tied to a small tree next to the stream. Shane looked through his binoculars
and, to his surprise, saw a woman move from behind the waterfall and dive into
the pool. As she climbed out of the water, Shane realized she was an Indian who
was wearing very little. He slowly dropped his binoculars, feeling a little
embarrassed for looking so long. He knew he should leave and also knew he
shouldn’t have another glance, but the truth was he found himself totally
entranced by this young native woman in her element.

Her skin was light bronze, and her hair was long and
jet black. Her figure was sleek and athletic. She wore only a dark halter top
with black panties, which were pulled up high on her waist. This only
complemented the curves of her trim, shapely body. Shane again made an effort
to put the glasses away, but he was captivated. He felt like a guy he’d seen in
a comedy, who had a devil sitting on one shoulder telling him to look, while an
angel sat on the other, shaking her finger at him. For now, the devil was winning,
so he hastily raised the binocs for one last glimpse before he left. The young
woman dove into the pool and then walked up a narrow rock slope by the edge.
Her legs were lean and muscular and flexed in good condition when she walked
out of the glistening water. The girl was now standing with her back to Shane
as she reached behind and squeezed the dripping wet out of her long black hair.
Shane breathed deeply and swallowed the lump in his throat while the guilt
started to get to him again.

He was about to stop looking, when the woman turned
and for the first time her face came into view. She couldn’t see him, but Shane
realized immediately it was Tara. Her beautiful native features only helped to
accentuate her alluring physique, and Shane felt ashamed and infatuated all at
the same time. Seeing her like this, stirred up feelings that had been shut
down in him since the loss of his wife almost two years ago. Shane thought this
part of him was lost and gone forever and wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
However, out of respect for Tara, he decided he should leave now.

He quietly got up on his horse, slowly backed her
into the shadows, and then turned the mare around and rode toward home.

Chapter 12

On the ride back, he could not get the image of Tara out of his mind.
She was like a song that was stuck in his head. Shane smiled and thought to
himself, “It’s good to feel like a man again.”

He was less than halfway home when he looked back
and noticed Butch and Jessie trotting behind. “I swear, you two are like ghosts
the way you sneak around!” There’s no telling how long they’d been following,
but he was glad for their company.

The comfortable morning temperature had slipped away
and now the heat of the afternoon was beginning to wear on Sloppy. Noticing the
white lather beginning to appear on her neck, Shane decided to stop and rest
the horse. They were halfway home at this point and had already traveled a good
ten miles since he left the ranch. He had stopped before he left the creek’s
edge so Sloppy could have a drink, but he didn’t stay there long. To be honest,
he was worried about Tara riding up on him after her swim and he was still
feeling awkward about watching her.

The two wolves were also in need of a break and
quickly found the shade of an old cedar tree to lie under. Shane noticed a
bowl-shaped rock near where they had settled and poured them some water from
his canteen. He felt privileged they had accepted him, and figured, someday, he
would try to return to check on them and the mare. “It’s a nice thought
anyway,” he mumbled.

Suddenly, a loud snort from Sloppy, who was merely
clearing her nostrils, moved Shane’s attention over to her. The sight of the
little mare standing in the shade triggered a memory of a forgotten afternoon
with his kids. He’d been giving Jacob and Tina a riding lesson on Sloppy and
recalled how proud he felt watching them ride. After directing them to take the
mare into the barn to unsaddle her, he worked another young horse nearby.
  

Tina climbed on a bucket so she could reach the
mare’s back with her brush, but slipped and hit her head on the floor.

Jacob ran outside and yelled, “Dad, Tina fell and
she’s hurt!” He remembered running to the barn to find Sloppy gently sniffing
her as she lay, crying.

“Come here, baby girl,” Shane crooned, as he picked
her up. Tina quickly latched onto her daddy, throwing her arms around his neck
and her legs around his waist. “Shhhh, you’re okay. With that hard head of
yours, I’m a little worried about my barn floor, though.” Tina cracked a grin
as Shane gently pulled her off and looked into her eyes, “I’ve told you a
hundred times, you have to be tough to be a horsewoman.”

Tina, now with a tearful laugh, playfully slapped
his chest, “Quit it, Daddy!” During all of this, Sloppy never stopped nuzzling
her.

Shane sat quietly in the shade next to the dogs, and
wiped away some moisture that had sneaked out of his eyes. Looking over at
Sloppy, it began to sink in how much he would really miss the little mare when
he finally did set her free. But, before he could even consider letting her go,
he’d have to figure out some way to help sort out the problems concerning the
herd’s safety. Whatever those idiots from town were up to must be wrong, and
Shane was determined to get to the bottom of it so he could stop them.

As he rode onto the ranch, he noticed a familiar
truck parked in front of Tigee’s, and he saw Mr. and Mrs. Jensen sitting on the
front porch.

“Hey, stranger,” Mr. Jensen said as Shane rode up to
the house and greeted them. Both of the dogs had stolen out of sight. Shane
stepped down off his saddle just as Mrs. Jensen came out to greet him with a
hug. Mr. Jensen followed with a strong, friendly handshake.

It was Mrs. Jensen who spoke first, “Your friend,
Mr. Tigee, says you’ve been pretty busy out here helping with some young
horses. I told him you were definitely the right man for the job. I hope you
don’t mind that I told him a little bit about your credentials.” Shane shrugged
his shoulders.

“I told her to keep quiet,” said Mr. Jensen, “but
she enjoyed bragging about your clinics to Tigee.”

“That’s okay,” Shane said, “I wasn’t trying to hide
anything.It just never came up.”

“Well, I think they should know how lucky they are
to have you here helping with their horses,” she said.

“All right woman, that’s enough,” Mr. Jensen
scolded. “Why don’t you sit and talk with Mr. Tigee, while Shane and I unsaddle
the mustang?” The old Indian motioned for her to sit next to him on the porch.

Mr. Jensen walked to the barn with Shane and looked
around to make sure they were alone. “I drove out here because I wanted to tell
you in person what I’ve found out.”

“Thanks for coming. I was going to call you Monday
if I hadn’t heard from you.”

“Well, son, I talked to my cousin and learned
something that might interest you. He told me that there was a permit pulled to
do some preliminary testing on some private land adjacent to the Indian’s Wind
River Valley.”
          

Shane, puzzled, asked, “Testing for what?”

“Oil,” Mr. Jensen answered. “Vince Nethers owns a
lot of land that borders the reservation and has a long-term lease on a bunch
more property beyond what he owns. I told you about him before. Vince is the
largest cattleman in the area and for years has used all that land to graze his
cows. I always figured he had his eye on a bigger prize in those hills. I heard
he’d spent a fortune a couple of years ago testing around that whole area.”

“Did he find anything?”

“They did find some oil, but apparently it wasn’t a
big enough reserve to pay for pumping it out. My cousin said there was a rumor
going around the office back then that the geologists believed there could be a
real mother lode a bit farther to the southeast. That would put a lot of oil in
the area of the valley where those mustangs live. Nethers tried to put an end
to these rumors two years ago. He claimed the tests had been a big waste of
money. He whined all over town about how it almost bankrupted him.”

“It sounds like you don’t believe him,” Shane
replied.

Mr. Jensen shrugged his shoulders. “I know I’m just
guessing here, but what if he’s been buying time, you know, waiting till the
rumors die down while he tries to confirm the bigger deposit. Then all he has
to do is figure out how to hoodwink the Indians into some kind of a deal to
give him control over that particular part of their land. If he could get a
lease done before the Indians figure out what’s going on, he could make
millions.”