False Hope

Chapter 14: The Reason

Lily was distracted. Twice she had let a cow or two break off from the herd and they would have melted into the trees if Paul hadn't called out her name. Wendy snorted whenever mixed signals were given and Lily had pulled on the reins to say "Whoa" while giving a kick to Wendy's ribs.

Pearl was her golden girl. Her dream horse, her buddy. Even when she got antsy and high headed it was easy to forgive her. After all, it was silly to hold a grudge against a horse; a good rider wasn't supposed to give up on a horse, that would mean giving up on achieving skills.

What was going to happen now that her favorite horse was gone?

Her father had often told her that it was no fun to shoot a horse. He'd always said that the best thing to do was to not hesitate. She was glad she wouldn't be the one to shoot her horse. She couldn't help but wonder if it had happened yet. What was she going to come home to?

Perhaps the best thing to do right now was to cross that bridge when she came to it. She was worthless if all she was concerned about was her own feelings. After all, the right thing to do was shoot her. A horse needed four good legs. There was too much trouble going into a horse with only three. A horse's leg would never heal right after it was broken. So, it was the right thing to do. But for some reason, deep inside of her, it felt like it wasn't.

Tami hadn't even bothered to call her after she'd hung up the phone. Tami knew better than to call her right now. Given the fact that she would be a blustering mess if she did talk about it. On the other hand, the other reason Tami probably didn't call her was because she was so deep into the mountain range that the signal couldn't reach her. She desperately missed being in a state of mind such as the one she usually drifted into when she was called to do roundup. However, it was impossible now. She desperately needed to focus.

Something stung her face, and she jerked her arm up to prevent any further damage. She'd been struck by a branch.

Get it together Lily, she thought to herself.

Lee rode up beside her, "You alright?"

"It was only a branch."

"I wasn't talking about the branch. You've been out of sorts all day. Your horse hates you, you're letting the cows go berserk, and you act as if you can't see two feet in front of you."

Lily flinched. She knew Wendy was watching where she stepped because Lily wasn't paying any attention.

"Do you need to go home?"

"No!" she cried out.

Lee sat back surprised, "And now you're mad."

Lily felt the guilt riding up her throat, "I'm sorry, it's just that the last thing I need is to go home right now. I need something to keep my mind off it."

Lee reined his horse away, "Then c'mon Girl. Keep your chin up and make me proud."

She smiled then, feeling as if she really did have the best friends in the world. She loved the respect and admiration you could feel for a person. Sometimes, it was all she needed to make everything alright.

For the rest of the day, she rounded up the cows with no problem. She managed to rope calves who'd ran away from the herd and kept cows in the herd who'd gotten separated from their babies. How she loved the smell of horse sweat and sweet grass. The wind rustling through the trees played a familiar melody and she felt as if everything in the world was at least okay. She bowed her head in silent prayer thanking God the bit of solace she'd been given.

Run to Him when things get hard. Not away from Him.

She understood. She could find comfort in God. The rock in her storm. He was all she had. She loved Him. With every bit of her soul and every thought that crossed her mind. Thank you, Lord.