Nothing But Horses (22 page)

“I’ll think about what you said.” Coach
Norris gestured toward the door. “Let’s go.”

We headed for the gym again. When third
quarter started, I pulled out my book and read Monty Roberts. I
wondered if his “join-up” theory would work on our coach. Could I
make the guy run circles until he flicked his ears, licked his lips
and chewed? Probably not. What worked on horses didn’t always work
on people, especially stubborn, old, macho chauvinists. Despite
having the paperback open in my hands, I still kept an eye on the
game. Once again, Olivia did a fab job as point guard, but Monroe
had rallied. The margin narrowed even more when one of their wings
shot a three-pointer.

Patricia slid into place next to me. “You are
going to kick backsides next quarter.”

“You know it,” I said. “Keep Coach distracted
so he doesn’t send in a sub.”

She nodded. “We’ll all be running lines
tomorrow, but let’s teach these girls that the Lincoln Yankees are
a major force. With or without Coach, we’re going to State this
year.”

The clock wound down and I tucked my book
into my backpack. Fourth quarter and I ran in with Kanisha and
Zoey. I grinned at Olivia. “Okay, game on!”

She nodded. “Get them.”

“No worries.”

Monroe had possession, but not for long. I
stole that ball, dribbled down the court. Cedar and Kanisha were in
place so I passed to them. No air-balls today for Kanisha. She shot
and scored a two-point. Her dad couldn’t make it to afternoon games
so she was on fire. Between her, Cedar and Zoey, we tied up the
game in three minutes.

The Junior Varsity cheerleaders started
dancing and the crowd yelled. When they cut loose, shouting my
number and name, I didn’t lose it. Instead, I concentrated on
getting the ball to my team-mates. In the last four minutes,
Patricia signaled me. She and the first string kept Coach busy all
right. He was either talking to one of them or correcting another
for misbehaving, so his attention wasn’t on the court.

I went for three-pointers as much as
possible. This time, Olivia saw to it that I got the ball whenever
she had it. She passed to me and I either shot or dunked it. Soon,
the other girls were doing the same thing, passing to me. The
Monroe team didn’t know what to do. Their mistakes piled up, one
after another. Finally, one of their forwards fouled me, elbowing
me in the ribs right in front of the ref. I got three free throws
and that added six more points for Lincoln.

The buzzer sounded and it was game over. We’d
cleaned up by thirty-three points. We did the “good sports” thing
of slapping hands with the other team. I grinned at the forward
who’d gotten all excited. “Good game.”

“Thanks.” She flushed. “Ribs okay?”

“Yeah. My horse kicks me harder.” That was
bull. Nevada never tried to get me, not even when he was a colt,
but I wasn’t about to say my side hurt. I’d throw some ice on it
when I got home and I’d be fine by tomorrow.

I headed for the bench and sat down. I heard
someone move and the crowd shifted to let Mom through. She frowned
at me, smoothed my hair. “Let me see.”

“See what?” I caught the impatient look.
“Hey, I’m fine. I’ve been hurt a lot worse at the barn.” She
pointed to the end doors and I sighed. “Do you have to be such a
mother?”

“Yes. It’s either me or Dave and I know you
don’t want him checking you for broken ribs.”

“This is bogus.” I got up and walked down to
the end of the benches where Coach Norris stood. “My mom wants to
talk to me.”

“So do I,” Coach Norris said. “She can
wait.”

“I can,” Mom said, behind me, “but, I won’t.
That girl hurt my baby. And Sierra has a big audition on Saturday.
She can’t sing with broken ribs. Or muck stalls. Are you going to
clean her barn tonight and tomorrow night and the next six weeks
until she can do her chores? Cracked ribs are even worse. They can
take months to heal.”

That silenced him and I headed to the
restroom with Mom. Once we were inside, she pointed again. I pulled
up my jersey. She ran her hand over my side. It hurt, but not
big-time. Not like the last time I’d gotten thrown into a fence
when I was breaking an unruly colt two years ago.

I hissed when she added pressure. “Lay off,
will you, Mom?”

“No. It looks like a bruise. Nothing feels
broken.”

The door opened and I saw Olivia. “What’s
up?”

She held up a couple baggies of ice, then my
towel. “I thought if you put ice on it now, you wouldn’t have a big
bruise tomorrow when you have to run lines.”

“Run lines?” Mom glanced back and forth
between us like an inquisitive horse hunting carrots. “What is
that?”

“It can be an exercise or a punishment,”
Olivia said. “Sierra will have to do it tomorrow because Coach
doesn’t like it when she acts like a star and wins the game for
us.”

“How do you do it?” Mom took the ice and
pressed it to my ribs.

Olivia described running the short lines that
progressively became longer and harder until we raced from one end
of the gym to the other. I put the towel over the ice and held it
in place, bringing down my jersey. When I was ready, all three of
us walked back to the gym.

Mom made sure she was between me and my coach
as we entered. Before he could say anything, she did. “I agree that
Sierra should build up her skills as a team player so she doesn’t
get hurt. However, she will not be running lines tomorrow.”

“I coach my team and I don’t like helicopter
parents.”

“Then do your job and take care of my kid. I
have horses to train and a stable to run. I can’t do my job and
yours too.”

Olivia took my elbow. “Come sit down, Sierra.
You need to rest, or your mom will drag you to the doctor.”

I nodded and hastily escaped. “What’s that
about?”

“Coach can’t back off or placate your mom if
we’re standing there. He’ll lose face.” Olivia guided me to a spot
between Zoey and Kanisha. “So, we’ll hide out here while your mom
cuts him into little bits.”

“Works for me.” I glanced up when someone
touched my shoulder. I turned my head and saw Dave with Autumn
beside him. “Hey, pumpkin. Did you like the game?”

“That mean girl hurt you.” She scowled
fiercely. “Me and Queenie are gonna get her.”

“Sweetie, stuff happens in games when we get
all excited. She didn’t mean to hurt me. I’ll be fine.” I kept
holding the ice in position with my elbow. “Promise.”

“Okay, but I’m doing the Mommy and Me classes
for you tomorrow and helping in your barn when we do chores.”
Autumn nodded firmly. “You need me.”

“Always.” I smiled at my little sister. “I
will always need you, sweetie. Now, why don’t you sit with me so
Dave can go rescue Coach from Mom?”

“You’re a good sport, Sierra.” Dave tugged my
braid gently as the other girls made room for my little sis. “I’m
proud of you. That was a great game, but I’m going to teach you how
to avoid a blow since your coach hasn’t stepped up and showed
you.”

Chapter
Twenty

Monroe, Washington

Thursday, January
16
^th
, 5:15 pm

Kanisha heaved a sigh when Dave headed off to
save the day again. “I like your dad a lot better than mine. Want
to swap?”

“He’s not my dad,” I said. “He dates my
mom.”

“He’s not our dad
yet
,” Autumn
corrected, pressing against me. “He will be when he marries our
mom. He already asked me and I said, okay.”

“You did?” I kissed the top of her head,
hiding my smile in her strawberry blonde curls. “Guess what? He
asked me too and I said, okay.”

“He’s nice,” Autumn said. “I checked first
and he doesn’t believe in spankings like our last mean stepdad.
Dave said when I’m naughty, I have to do huge time-outs, or lose
privileges, or my ‘lowance.”

“Did you tell him that you don’t get an
allowance?” I put my left arm around her shoulders. “Neither do
I.”

“He says when he and Mommy get married, we
get ‘lowances,” Autumn said, a serious look on her face. “Plus, he
pays for good grades. I’m going to get all “4s” from now on, ‘cause
“4s” are the best at my school. I’m not sassing my teacher either,
‘cause Dave says it costs me five dollars every time she calls and
tells him or Mommy how bad I am.”

Kanisha grinned at me over top of my sister’s
head. “I wonder if that will work for you too. Of course, you’d be
broke if he charged you each and every time Coach Norris whined and
sniveled at him.”

Zoey laughed at us, then said. “Okay, if you
and Kanisha don’t swap first, I will, Sierra. I could so use a dad
who is on my side and I desperately need a ‘lowance too.”

“In your dreams. We saw him first. Right,
Autumn?”

“Right.”

* * * *

Shamrock Stable, Washington

Friday, January
17
^th
, 11:05 pm

Autumn and I had a great junk food, TV
watching night with Queenie and Charlie while Mom and Dave went out
for dinner. He’d warned me not to expect them too early. He’d made
reservations at the Space Needle in Seattle. If she didn’t accept
his proposal, they would still have a fantastic dinner at a place
with an amazing view.

When he saw the concern on my face, he told
me not to worry. He was persistent. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have
kept coming to the barn for ten years until she finally agreed to
date him. He didn’t say a word about her rodeo cowboys or her
marrying one loser after another during that time, so I didn’t
either. If she held back, Dave said he’d wait until she knew him
better and then ask again.

The two of them made an amazing couple. I
didn’t know what they’d said to Coach after the game at Monroe, but
none of us had to run lines during practice today. We played Horse
instead. Well, the other girls did. I sat out most of the time
nursing my bruised ribs until Coach joined me on the bleachers.
Then, I put away my
Monty Roberts
book and slipped into the
squad to take a turn for the last little bit. Shunning was another
of Monty’s tricks. Walking away often made a horse want to come
join your herd.

Coach Norris had caught up with me when I
headed out of the locker room toward the exit we used to get to the
parking lot. “What were you thinking during the last few minutes of
the game yesterday? Did you just get excited and forget about
teamwork? Or did the other girls put you up to it?”

“No, sir.” I wouldn’t let him blame the squad
for what I did. “Sir, if I was a guy and played as hard as I could,
would you still hate me, sir?”

“What?” He gasped for air like a wind-broke
horse. “I don’t hate you.”

“I’m glad, sir. Maybe, we can learn to get
along, sir.” I shifted my sports bag and backpack. “So, what is it,
sir? Is it just the fact that I’m a girl, sir, and I don’t know my
place, sir? If you coached Jack’s team, sir, and I was on it, could
I play ball like they did yesterday, sir?”

He didn’t answer and I’d walked away. Darn, I
only got a score of seven
sirs
in that last speech. I hadn’t
beaten Jack’s coach yet, but I’d given mine something to think
about over the weekend. I didn’t know if it would work or not, but
there had to be a way to make him reconsider his views on male and
female roles. Besides, this way I could tell Ingrid I’d done her
assignment, not that I’d forgotten all about it.

When I’d gone to obedience class with Charlie
today, I ran into Aspen. She recited my stats again and told me
that Lincoln’s cunning strategy wouldn’t work on her squad. I’d
laughed at her and said that my point guards would come up with a
different one to kick the Crusaders back to England. Patricia and
Olivia were the brains of our outfit. Then, I learned all about
teaching Charlie to sit while he was on the leash if I stopped
walking.

I glanced at my dozing sister, sleeping
beside me. I hit the button on the remote and let my old copy of
the
Victor, Victoria
movie rewind. I wanted to watch Julie
Andrews sing “
Le Jazz Hot
” again. I’d already seen it six
times tonight and I wouldn’t copy her technique tomorrow. Every
performer had their own style, but she was playing the part of a
guy who pretended to be a woman. I had to think about the subtle
mannerisms that would convince an audience I was doing the same
thing.

Queenie lifted her head and growled softly. I
heard the key in the lock at the same time that Charlie yapped. I
hit the pause button and turned my head. Mom walked in, Dave right
behind her. He grinned and gave me a “thumbs-up.”

I glimpsed the emerald on her left hand and
the nervous look she gave me. I eased out from under Autumn and
went to hug Mom. “Congratulations. I’m thrilled for both of
you.”

“Really?” Mom stared at me. “Are you okay?
You’ve never said that before.”

“You never dated a guy I picked before.” I
leaned down and kissed her cheek. “We have sparkling apple cider in
the fridge. I’ll open it.”

“Why do I think this was pre-planned?” Mom
demanded, but she smiled. “Did you know before I did?”

I nodded. “Dave talked to me and Autumn. We
gave him our blessing, but I think it may have been the ‘lowance
that convinced her.”

“Allowance?” Mom shook her head. “I don’t
believe in something for nothing.”

“Then, we’ll call it wages for all the work
they do around here.” Dave looked across to the TV. “What are you
watching, Sierra?”

“Victor, Victoria
. We’re doing one of
the numbers for auditions tomorrow.” I went back to turn off the
VCR and the TV. “My sophomore project is participating in the
community theater production. I haven’t figured out how to attend
rehearsals and be home in time to do night chores.”

“I have,” Dave said.