Nothing But Horses (16 page)

His jaw tightened and he closed his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Rocky. I’m so sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Mom said. “It took me
a lot of conversations with my counselor to figure out that it
wasn’t mine either. Nobody deserves to be abused. Dave told me I
needed to share this with you.”

“I wish you’d told me sooner.” Grandpa
started to reach for her, then stopped like he didn’t know if he
should or not. “I love you so much.”

“I know, Dad. It’s why I blamed myself.” She
turned into his arms. “I felt like I failed you when I allowed
someone to brutalize me.”

I stepped back toward the tack-room before
they spotted me. I didn’t know exactly what, or who they were
discussing, but I wouldn’t find out if they knew I was around. I
still didn’t hear anything because she lowered her voice. When he
answered, Grandpa barely whispered.

I gathered up my brushes, conditioner and
Nevada’s halter. Then, I headed down to my horse’s stall. Mom
managed a smile when she saw me, but it wasn’t the usual bright
one. “Hey,” I said, “my first basketball game is tomorrow. Will you
be able to make it?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Mom said.
“Vicky and Robin told me that you had an idea to improve business.
Your grandpa and I would love to hear it.”

“Are you sure?” I glanced at my grandfather
who was busy wiping his eyes with a red bandanna. “Are you all
right, Grandpa?”

“It’s that oat hay your momma bought. It
always makes me sneeze.”

I didn’t see any crumbs left from horsy lunch
in the stall, but I wasn’t going to tell either of them that.
Instead, I shared what Cathy and Lisa had told me about having
clubs based at their barns. “I thought if we started a riding group
here, our boarders and pre-owners could join. I checked it out
online and the 4-H organization rules say that members need horses
to ride, but they don’t have to legally own them. They can lease
them. What do you think?”

“That it needs some research,” Mom said. “Is
this for the business, Sierra, or are you just trying to get out of
the Silver Spurs?”

“What do you mean?”

“I had a call from Tanya Jamison today.” Mom
came across to Nevada’s door so she could look at me. “Tanya said
you embarrassed her and the rest of the club last Saturday. What
happened?”

“Not much.” I focused on working conditioner
into Nevada’s thick golden tail. “She told me I wasn’t welcome
there and Cathy Tiernan invited me to join the Horse Heaven Angels.
So, I sat with them instead.”

“And Lisa? Was she rude to you?”

“No way. Lisa was great. She wanted me to
bring Nevada up for the clinic so he could learn to do three-day
eventing. She thinks I should talk to you about being in her Pony
Club. It’s based on the same rules as the associations in
Europe.”

“And what happens when your horse cuts loose
in one of his bucking sprees?” Mom demanded. “Do you get a
parachute? No way, Sierra. If you want to do eventing, we’ll buy
you a real horse. You’re not taking No, No Veda into a situation
where you have to take flying lessons instead of jumping ones.”

I moved up to my big, red monster’s side and
squirted conditioner into his mane. “That’s
so
not my thing.
We’re going to do Western games after he learns to be good at
equitation. So, what about a club, Mom? Can we start our own?”

Chapter
Fourteen

Marysville, Washington

Thursday, January
9
^th
, 7:05 am

As soon as I walked through the main doors at
Lincoln High that morning, I spotted Robin in the Commons. I went
across to her table. She pushed a cardboard cup my way. “What’s
this?”

“A sixteen-ounce mocha. Normally, I’d let you
get your own, but today’s the first basketball game with you on the
team. I can’t wait to see the girls win.” She drank some of hers.
“They lost the game they played in December. Tonight’s game with
Baker View was moved because of the snow and the match with Mount
Pilchuck isn’t until the middle of the season. Olivia says that’s
good because they dreaded facing you and their squad.”

“Nothing to dread.” I pulled out a chair and
sat down. “With the new coach at M.P., I probably wouldn’t have
turned out anyway. There was way too much politics and I wasn’t
fighting to be point guard.”

“But, you’re not the point guard here,” Robin
said.

“Not yet. I have to prove myself.” I
shrugged. “Once Coach Norris realizes I am that good, he’ll let me
show it.”

Robin laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t count
on it. He’s all about teamwork. He may say that winners never quit
and quitters never win, but his other mantra is that there isn’t an
“i” in team. You have to work together.”

“Did he lose it when the squad did?” I asked.
“My old coach would have had us running lines for the next three
practices.”

“No way. Olivia said he was disappointed, but
he told them that they just had to work harder on trusting one
another and team building exercises. They were tougher on each
other than he ever was. The same thing happened when we ran
cross-country.”

I let her talk while I drank my coffee. I
might not tell her but I had to admit that the coach impressed me
with the way he motivated his kids. Who wouldn’t put in more effort
with someone who wasn’t nagging or carping at you about your
failures? I’d never heard of a coach who didn’t shout at his
players.

When Vicky arrived a few minutes later, Robin
passed her a cup. Vicky took a sip of her latte and then turned to
me. “What did Rocky say about a riding club? Can we design some
posters?”

“No posters yet, but soon. She and Grandma
are visiting the 4-H office today and talking to the county
extension agent. After that, they’re having lunch with the Weldons.
Herb and Virginia founded the Silver Spurs back when my mom was a
kid. Mom says if they’ll advise her, she can run an old-fashioned
club.”

“Old-fashioned?” Vicky rolled her eyes. “What
does that mean? We have to learn to ride side-saddle?”

“Not that old, but she said no whips or spurs
for beginners. It also means no cliques, no bullying, no snarky,
snotty crap. Mom told me that if she was the leader, I’d have to do
what she said and not argue with her in front of the other kids.
She wants the adult riders to be associate members so they don’t
feel shut-out of what happens at the barn. I definitely can’t set a
bad example.”

“Do you actually argue with Rocky?” Robin
gave me the big-eye look. “I can’t imagine anyone doing that. She’s
so tough.”

“She’s my mother. Of course, I fight with
her. I’m not perfect and neither is she. I’m not as bad as Autumn.
I don’t tell Mom that she isn’t the boss of me.”

Both Robin and Vicky laughed at that. The
bell rang and we headed for English class, dropping our cups in the
garbage on the way. When I saw Dani in Choir, I told her about the
new riding club and she promised to come up with some potential
names for it. She said that she’d popped in to visit her horse
after supper when I’d gone to church to sing with the teen
group.

“How was it?” Dani asked, as she organized
her music. “Are you going to join the chorus?”

“It was fun. I ran into some of the kids from
Salmon Pond there. One of the girls attends a puppy obedience class
on Friday afternoons. I’m going to check my basketball practice
schedule and see if I can take Charlie.”

“How will Rocky feel about that? I know she
depends on you to do a lot.”

“As long as she doesn’t need me for the last
Mommy and Me class, it should be okay. She wants me to train
Charlie so he won’t be a nuisance around the barn. I’d be home in
time to help untack, groom and do chores.” I slid my papers into
position as the bell rang. Mr. Haller walked over to close the door
as two of the sopranos pelted inside.

He didn’t wait for them to get it together.
That wasn’t the Lincoln High way. I felt a moment’s pity for them,
but it faded as we began our warm-up exercises. We started with
hissing for fifteen seconds while he counted down, then we did it
again, this time from twenty and finally from thirty. Then, we sang
the alphabet song on a five-note scale. After that, it was the “do,
re, mi” one from
The Sound of Music
.

I’d sung it like a thousand times before I
transferred to this school, but Mr. Haller made us do it in rounds
and that was a lot harder. At Mount Pilchuck, this would have been
enough work for the day, but here it was just the first fifteen
minutes and now, we were supposed to be ready to really sing. And
we did!

* * * *

Since we had a game that evening, we didn’t
have practice after school. I stopped by the gym to get my Lincoln
High basketball uniforms. I’d wear the white and blue one tonight
since we were playing at our school. The blue and gold set was for
times when we visited other teams. Then, I headed home. When I
arrived, Queenie raced to meet me at the back yard gate, Charlie
right behind her, both dogs barking in excitement. I put down my
backpack and scooped him up for a puppy kiss and hug session. “I
missed you too, buddy.”

I turned my head in time to miss his nip at
my nose and cuddled the tri-mix even tighter. “Did you have the
lonely cobble-wobbles like me?”

No answer, of course. He was a dog, after
all. Well, at least he’d be one someday. Right now, he was a collie
mix puppy with the fastest tongue in the West who swiped at my
cheek. I put him down and petted Queenie who acted like she had
never been his age, size or a fur monster. The three of us trooped
to the back door. They came in with me for snack time.

They opted for doggie cookies and I went for
the frosted ones left over from Christmas. I was a good big sister.
I saved a couple for Autumn. After that, I headed for my room to
change. Charlie trotted behind me. He flopped on his puppy bed,
cuddling with a stuffed teddy bear. Since we were alone, I sat down
by him. I stroked his gold and black fur, and then whispered in his
ear that I was nervous about the game tonight. Nobody else needed
to know.

We couldn’t lose. I wasn’t letting that
happen. This was a new team, a new school. If it was meant to be,
it was up to me. I didn’t have anyone to depend on, except myself.
What else was new? It had always been that way and I didn’t see
changes on the horizon.

I took a deep breath. I had to be totally in
control. If I wasn’t, I’d disappoint myself and my family. I’d go
help with chores, eat supper and be on time for the game.
No
mistakes
, I told myself. I’d score tonight. That was a given.
The question was how many points.

I took the dogs with me to the arena barn. I
had to water, muck and feed before we could go anywhere. I found
Grandma already running the hose. I grabbed a plastic manure fork
and the bale of pine shavings so I could get started.

“Are you apprehensive about tonight?” Grandma
asked.

“No. It’s a good team. We’ll be fine.”

“I haven’t seen you play since middle school.
I’m looking forward to it. Are you the quarterback?”

“That’s football, Grandma.” I laughed and
felt my tension slide away. “In basketball, the point guard runs
the plays the coach gives. No, I’m not anybody yet. This new guy
rotates the positions all the time. I don’t know what he plans for
tonight.”

“You’ll find out when we get there. I know
you can handle it.”

“You bet,” I said. “It’s what McElroys do,
right? We take care of the details.”

It was one thing to talk positive to my
grandmother. It was another when I returned to the school. In the
locker room, Coach Norris sat us down and went over the schedule. I
would play the second and fourth quarters, subbing in for first
string players. That was more than fair since I’d only been on the
team for a week. Patricia was the point guard for the first half
and Olivia was for the last half. Cedar shot me a look, but I
didn’t complain. I was new and hadn’t paid my dues yet.

The bleachers weren’t full when we ran into
the gym to warm up. Still it was a fair sized crowd for a girl’s
game. I was pretty sure that tomorrow night’s game when the guys
played Baker View would fill the place. I spotted my mom sitting
next to Dave, Grandma, Grandpa and Autumn. Tom was up there too. I
waved at my little sister who jumped up and called my name. She was
my favorite cheerleader. I saw Vicky and Robin move up there too,
boyfriends in tow. I definitely couldn’t screw up tonight, not with
all of them watching.

I sat between Cedar and Olivia while the
first five players ran onto the court. “Congrats on being point
guard tonight.”

“I don’t know what Coach is thinking,” Olivia
muttered. “You’d do an amazing job. We might even win.”

“We’ll win,” I said. “Baker’s good, but we’re
better. Have confidence.”

Olivia narrowed her dark eyes and glared at
me. “I’m confident all right. We need you out there for the whole
game, not half of it.”

“What she said,” Cedar agreed.

I glanced at Kanisha who sat in a crunched up
heap on Olivia’s other side. “What’s up with you? We’re not even up
yet. Why are you nervous?”

She chewed on the end of a black braid and
didn’t answer. Olivia did. “Her dad is here and he’s a major
jerk.”

“Been that, done there,” I said. “It
super-sucks. My mom always insisted her husbands come to my games
and I used to give the jerks numbers instead of bothering to
remember their names.”

Kanisha perked up enough to peek around
Olivia at me. “How could she have more than one husband?”

“Grandma said she collected boys like some
people do coins or postage stamps. My mom meets them, marries ‘em
and then discards them. During the last divorce proceedings, the
judge told her that doing the same things and expecting different
results each time was the definition of insanity. Mom decided to
give up on her rodeo boys.”