Page 6 of The Only Seconds that Matter
Five minutes later, a tall and skinny figure in a beige cowboy hat approached the pen, followed by a smaller, skinnier figure in a matching hat.Victor attached a leadline to Cyclone’s halter, and he met the two at the gate.
“Howdy,” Johnny said, but out of his mouth it was more likehahdy.“Who’s this?”He gestured toward the horse.
“This is Cyclone, my two-year-old.Just working on some of the basics on the ground.”Victor looked down over the railing to the girl at Johnny’s side, likely nine or ten years old.She wore a very similar outfit—dirty cowboy boots, tight jeans, and a buttoned-up shirt tucked into the waistband.The only way she differed is that she had two red-haired braids hanging on either side of her face.She was freckled like her uncle, with the same twist in her mouth that saidtrouble.
“This here is my niece Taylor.”
“Hi.”Unlike many kids her age, Taylor did not seem shy.“Are you gonna ride your horse?”
“He’s not broke yet.We were just finishing up.Why don’t you follow us back to the barn?”
“Can I lead him?”Taylor asked.
Victor couldn’t help but smile as he unlatched the gate and threw it open.“Sure, knock yourself out.”
With a grin, Taylor extended a hand, and Victor dropped the leadrope into it.As they headed up the path to the barn, Taylor fell behind, resting one hand on Cyclone’s shoulder.It was clear she was comfortable in the presence of a horse.
“She looks a bit like you,” Victor told Johnny.
“Them Stearns genes are powerful,” Johnny replied with a crooked-tooth grin.
Jade was already with a lesson group in the indoor, but they would be finishing up within fifteen minutes.Victor directed Taylor to Cyclone’s paddock and then both Johnny and Taylor followed Victor into the barn aisle, where an industrial-sized fan hummed at the other end, creating a nice breeze in the humid late-spring air.
“Wow!You have a lot of horses!”Taylor said.
“Most of them are not mine.Come on, lemme show you who you can try out today.”
Victor led Taylor to the stall of one of his aunt’s horses, an older ranch gelding who had seen and done everything.He could put up with rough-handed children and still be a solid and fun ride under an adult.They put a lot of lesson kids on him.
“This here is Saint,” Victor told Taylor as Saint came to the gate and stuck his head over the top to say hello.“I’ll put you on him and we’ll see how you like one another.”
“Hello, Saint!”Taylor grasped his halter and hugged his head, which Saint tolerated with his usual saintliness.Can I tack him up?”
“I can help her if she needs it,” Johnny said.
“I don’t need help!”Taylor insisted, unlatching the stall gate and pulling Saint through without a leadrope.
“She don’t need help,” Johnny muttered under his breath with a roll of his eyes.Victor almost laughed.Headstrong indeed.
Victor had a variety of saddles he used for the eclectic shapes and sizes of child that came through this barn, and Saint had average withers, so most of what Victor had would fit him.While he looked for something appropriate, Taylor brushed Saint, talking to him during the entire process.Saint may have listened, but he appeared to be more interested in napping.To her credit, Taylor was very thorough, lifting each foot to clean out with a pick and then brushing his mane and tail.By the time she was done, the lesson had finished and several children were bringing their horses through the barn.
Taylor could not tack Saint herself, but she did try.Johnny had to step in and help her tighten the girth, as Taylor was still too young to be able to muster up the strength required to properly secure it.Victor handed her a helmet, and she looked at it like she didn’t know what it was for.Johnny nudged her, so she let out a sigh and took it, removing her cowboy hat to do so.Then she led the horse into the now-clear indoor ring, and Johnny grasped her calf so he could springboard her up into the saddle.
“Walk him around the ring a few times, get used to him,” Victor instructed, hanging back near the fence.
Johnny sat down on the lowest seat of the bleachers pushed back against the wall.“She take after her grandpa with how much she loves horses.My sister didn’t get that bug.”
“She must love you then.”
“Aw yeah, she’s always findin’ an excuse to spend time with my horses.People startin’ to think she’smychild.”
“The resemblance is there, down to the hat.”
“Once she wants somethin’, I can’t tell her no.”Johnny leaned back, stretching out his long legs.“She’s been wantin’ her own horse since she could sit on one, but I can’t afford to keep another one.It’s a real shame.Thought I’d make it up to her this way.”
“We’ll see how she does with Saint.”Victor then left the bleachers and headed toward the center of the ring, where it was easier to shout at Taylor and be heard.“Pick up a trot, Taylor.”
Taylor did so.Saint’s one unfortunate quality was his big bouncy trot, which gave many children trouble, but Taylor sat it well considering her size.Victor asked her to pick up the canter, and she showed no fear in pushing forward.Saint was a lazy bastard, so she had to keep kicking him to keep him going.Victor didn’t meet a lot of nine-year-olds who seemed this comfortable in the saddle.It was clear she’d done a lot of riding with her uncle.Victor decided that if she came back, he’d put her on something a bit peppier than Saint, maybe Saturn or Blitz.
