This story is mostly true, but
names have been changed to protect the innocent. Also, I was not there for all
of the scenes, so I had to improvise. Let’s just call it a fictional short
story, but I came by my information on good authority.
Calvin, an
old high school buddy and captain of the Quien Sabe Ranch rodeo team, gained me
entry to the back chutes and inner sanctum of working ranch cowboys outside the
Taylor Expo Center in Abilene. Hoping to
see or hear something different than a normal spectator would, I walked among
real working ranch cowboys, my heroes, as they prepared for the Ranch Rodeo
part of the Western Heritage Classic.
Near the
Pitchfork Ranch team, I stopped at the sound of cursing and laughter. A big cowboy was trying to reset a loose shoe
on a palomino mare.
I was
dressed in my best ostrich boots and my wildest wild rag. But the big,
muscular, flat-bellied stranger beside me had me more than one-upped with
handmade crocodile boots, matching belt, silver buckle with two keepers and
tip, custom shirt and designer jeans.
We both
laughed when the yellow mare struck out with a back hoof and slapped the big
farrier away from her front hoof like she was swatting a horsefly with her
tail. The farrier looked at the blood
oozing from both of his shoulders. The hand on the side of his neck came back
bloody, too.
“Crazy bitch. That’s it for me, boys.” He picked up his farrier box and walked
away.
I laughed
with the cowboys, but felt sympathy for the farrier. I spoke more to myself than the man standing
beside me. “Heard about a yellow horse
that looked like that mare a few years ago.
They called her Sunfish. Best
horse on the ranch, but wouldn’t let anybody near her feet. Farriers all said her hooves should be
registered as lethal weapons.”
The
well-dressed fella bit. “So what
happened to her?”
“They hauled
her about four hours up to Northeast Texas.
A friend of mine got her shod.
He’s the only man in Texas can shoe her to this day.”
“Where’s
this feller at?”
“Delta
County. Name’s Burl Branchwater.”
“Burl
Branchwater? Hell, I know him. Took two horses to him once. Never saw em again.” I felt my temperature rising a little at the
suggestion that Burl was a horse thief, but I was too small and too late to do
anything about the insult. The stranger was gone before I could challenge him.
He didn’t
really need it, but I took my horse to be shod the next week. I was curious. Burl
had just begun breaking nails on the old shoes when I mentioned what happened
in Abilene. He dropped the hoof and straightened
and I knew I should have waited till he finished before mentioning it. “Big feller, you say?”
“Almost as
big as you. Well-dressed. I mean expensive stuff. A man that women look at twice.”
“You get his
name?”
“Nope.” I grinned.
“Walked off or I woulda just whipped his ass for you. That and the
hundred pounds he had on me.””
“No
need. I know who the sumbitch is. Called me a horse thief, did he? Want to know what really happened?”
I pulled up
a seatless metal chair with a board across it and sat down.
Burl pulled
a cigarette out of his pocket and struck a match on his thumbnail. “That
low-life bastard called Lillie (Lillie is Burl’s wife) one Wednesday night
about a year ago. Wanted two horses shod
before the weekend. She told him I was
booked the rest of the week, but he could come on Saturday.”
I knew the
routine. Lillie sets appointments for
his farrier work on weekday afternoons, but Saturday is like an old-time
barbershop – first come-first served.
Burl told the rest of the story and it was way past dark before he
finished shoeing my horse.
I’m not as
good a storyteller as Burl is, but I will try to do him justice next week. You’ll
need to pay close attention, but it will be worth it. It is a very unusual
story. You know what they say about truth being stranger than fiction.
Wonderful read, June 20, 2012
By
This review is from: Go Down Looking (Perfect Paperback)
I had been looking forward the the next book in the Rivers saga and was
not disappointed. Jim has a unique way of portraying his characters.
Being from the area where the book is set, I could really identify with
the setting and also with the time frame in the novel. The book shows
just how different siblings can be, along with the many emotions that
are involved in families. It does help you enjoy this book more if you
have read the previous ones. All of them were very good. Start writing
the next one Jim!
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