Okay, well, I’m supposed to give you greetings from the entire Bart McKinnon family. That would be Bart, Bear, Beryl, Blitz, and Bella. If you don’t know who these other family members are, you’ll need to ask, and I’ll tell you what I know. I have no idea what you and the family know and don’t know.
Happy trails,
Molly
Chapter 12
Molly woke up sick on Thursday. She’d had the conversation with Silas on Tuesday. Everything Silas told her she knew already, but she needed to hear his words. Jo’s time was up. The risk was now high that she’d have a stroke and they’d find her down in her stall, either gone, or suffering. It would be so much better to get ahead of the curve and compassionately manage Jo’s final time. After the conversation, Molly made the appointment with Vivian for late morning Thursday, and started preparing herself for this dreaded of all days.
Lying on her pillow, her head was swirling like she was dizzy after a heavy night of drinking. She was sick in her stomach. She rolled out of bed and made it to the toilet just in time. On her knees, she tossed her cookies into the bowl. She hadn’t expected to be physically sick, but her body was a mess. She’d been crying off and on for two days. Just when she thought there weren’t any more tears, it would start again. She was a helpless mess.
Her stomach empty, she rinsed her mouth, stripped, and stood in a hot shower motionless for a long time before a final scrub and rinse. Throwing up had helped with her stomach, but her whole body ached. She dried herself and walked into the bedroom naked. She’d been debating all week what she wouldwear. Sitting on the bed naked, crying, her shoulders shaking, she lectured herself to pull it together. Jo didn’t want to see a sobbing mess this morning. Molly had to be stronger than this.
Sitting straight, she took three deep breaths, finally stood up, and moved to her dresser. She selected her best riding underwear, not the deep cleavage black bra she’d wear for Bart, but the compressed soft athletic bra she’d wear for a race. She wouldn’t need it for a race, but it was what she always wore on race day with Jo. Her underwear on, she moved to the closet. Her Omak Stampede logo outfit had been dry cleaned and was hanging in a Ziploc bag. She unzipped the bag and removed her formal rodeo outfit, pulling on the fancy studded and embroidered jeans. Thankfully, they still fit.
She slipped on the classic rodeo shirt, the one she’d worn as Queen of the Omak Stampede, the one she’d worn when she and Jo led the Omak Stampede parade through the main streets of town, the one she’d worn on the Queen’s Ride that opened the Stampede Rodeo, and the one she’d worn on the Queen’s Ride at every rodeo in the region. After that first year, the only other times she wore it was when she and Jo raced in the Omak Stampede arena. She had other outfits for the rodeo circuit. But this particular outfit needed to be worn today for Jo’s last ride.
The outfit on, she pulled on the dress boots that she’d polished the night before. Standing straight, she modeled herself in front of the full length mirror, playing with her hair until it was right before carefully placing on her head the dress cowgirl hat that was reserved for only the most special occasions. Well, it didn’t get more special than this. Looking top to bottom and back up again, she had to admit she still looked pretty good. She wasn’t the eighteen year old rodeo queen who first wore the outfit, but it did still fit and, if she did say so herself, it looked pretty damn good.
She put on a short pot of coffee and gathered remaining memorabilia, packing it in a bag. When the coffee was ready, she filled a travel mug and headed outside. She’d attached the horse trailer to the Jeep the night before. She got in the Jeep and slowly pulled out her driveway and down the dirt road to the stables.
Silas was waiting for her at Jo’s stall. Molly was determined to control her emotions as best she could around Jo. She didn’t want Jo seeing her crying or moping around. It was time to cowgirl up and do what needed to be done. But she almost lost it when she walked in the stables and saw Silas tending to Jo. Silas turned and greeted her with a hug. Molly held tight to her close friend, fighting her emotions, finally pushing back when she was composed, Shadow sitting close by, supporting her master.
Hanging on the wall was a garland of flowers. Molly looked at them, unable to say anything.
Silas said, “The stable crew wanted to do something.”
Silas helped her wrap the garland around Jo’s neck and together they draped Jo’s Omak Stampede neck sash behind the flowers. Molly wrapped her arms around Jo’s neck and held her face tight against her best friend, taking long, measured, deep breaths.
“You all set up with Vivian?”
“Yeah, she’s expecting us at eleven. Right now, I’m taking Jo down to the arena for our final ride. I called Brian and he said he’d keep the gates open for me.”
“Anything we can do for you up here?”
“Thank you for everything, Silas. I’m ready to do this.”
Molly took three long, deep breaths and walked Jo out of the stables. She was surprised to find Silas’ entire crew lined up to pay their last respects. Molly wiped the tears off her cheeks as one by one the stable workers gave Jo a pat and a scruff. Molly led her into the trailer, locked the doors, and pulled the loaded Jeep slowly down the road. When she passed the diner and store, Evelyn and Betsy were on the porch paying respects, and Mai and Tong the same when she drove past the administration building. Silas would have informed the entire staff of the events of the day.
Molly pulled the Jeep and trailer into the parking lot of the Omak Stampede rodeo arena, parking where contestants unloaded. Dressed in full regalia, she saddled up Jo, leaving the sash and garland in place. With Shadow at her side, she walked Jo into the arena and stopped.
“Here we are, girl, where it all started. Do you remember? Seventeen years ago? I never would have been Queen of the Omak Stampede without you. They weren’t looking at me during those tryouts. They were looking at you. And, there was never a more beautiful horse who competed that day or any day since.”
Molly was fighting back tears, but she didn’t care at this point. There was no one around. It was just the two of them. If she couldn’t cry now, when could she cry? She mounted Jo one last time and moved them out into the arena, slowly walking around the edge, Molly sitting straight and tall, Jo walking steadily forward, Shadow at their side.
“The best times of my life were right here with you, girl. Right here. The best. The very best. From our days as queen to all those races. You were the greatest who ever ran here. That’s notjust my opinion. No horse has ever won as many races in this arena, ever. You owned this place, and I was honored to be on your back. I got all the recognition, but it was all about you. I was doing nothing, just holding on. You are so beautiful, and I’ve been so lucky to have you.”
Molly kept a nonstop one way conversation going as they took their final lap, Molly periodically patting and rubbing her neck and giving an occasional kick. Jo didn’t respond to the prods until they were almost all the way around, then she threw up her head, and moved into a trot for the last twenty yards.
“That was so beautiful, girl. Thank you. I’ll never forget a moment I had the honor to ride with you.”
The victory lap completed, Molly slipped off Jo and hugged her neck for several minutes, before pulling her to the trailer.
Molly pulled into Vivian’s veterinary offices where Molly had worked for two years. She saw Carson’s special trailer parked off to the side and Molly pulled her horse trailer to that part of the parking lot just as Vivian and Carson came walking out of the offices.
Molly got out of the Jeep and moved into Vivian’s arms for a long hug, finally pushing away.
Vivian admired Molly’s rodeo attire. “You haven’t aged a year.”
