Part 4
Lou and the crew fastened the banner at each corner. Mae checked it herself, pulling on the lower edge until she was satisfied it would not billow into the pen. Rook was still in his stall when Lou cleared the path of equipment and asked everyone who was not part of the rehearsal to stand back.
Sam took his place outside the rail. His mother waited near the barn, close enough that he could see her. Mae brought Rook through the gate at the opposite end. She walked him in one circle before turning toward the fence line.
Rook noticed the banner immediately. His head came up. Mae stopped several yards from it and let the lead rope slacken.
“We can finish here,” she told Lou.
The horse stood without pulling. Sam watched his ears move between the fabric and Mae. He had seen Rook look at unfamiliar things this way before and then walk past them. He wanted to give him the chance.
“Could you take one step?” Sam asked.
Mae looked across the rail at him. “I’d rather end on what he’s done.”
Lou did not overrule her. Sam nodded, though he was still measuring the distance from Rook to the banner. He rolled forward to the mark on the pavement where the sponsor wanted him to stop. Mae turned Rook toward the gate.
A tie at the banner’s lower edge came loose. The fabric snapped once against the rail.
Rook jumped sideways. Mae moved with him and guided him away from the fence, but his next stride was stronger than she expected. She let the rope slide rather than hold him in place. In stepping clear, she caught her boot in a shallow rut and went down on one knee.
Lou was already moving toward the pen’s far gate. Mae got up and called to him to leave it closed. Rook ran a short circle, then stopped at the side of the arena he knew. Mae took a breath and walked toward him only when he had settled enough to watch her approach.
Sam stayed by the rail. He had asked to try the banner after Mae warned them about it, and Lou had agreed. He watched her favor one ankle as she gathered Rook’s lead rope.
Mae led Rook back to his stall. She told Lou she had twisted her ankle but could put weight on it. When Sam offered to bring her a chair, she said yes. He fetched the one his mother had carried from the car and placed it where Mae pointed, leaving a clear route to the barn.
Lou took down the banner. The loose tie fell onto the pavement beside Sam’s wheel. Sam picked it up and held it until Lou came over for it.
“Is she going to be okay?” Sam asked.
“I’m taking her to get that ankle checked.”
“I asked you to try the banner. Mae wanted it somewhere else.”
“I agreed to hang it there,” Lou said. He took the tie from Sam. “Let’s get her to the clinic.”
Sam’s mother drove them while Lou stayed with the horses. Mae’s ankle was sprained. She would need time away from leading Rook, though she expected to be back doing lighter barn work soon. She was tired by the time they returned, and Sam waited until the next day to call.
“I’m sorry,” he said when she answered. “You told us where you wanted to finish.”
“I did.”
He had planned to say that Rook might have spooked anyway, even without the banner. It was true, and it would not help her ankle. He let it go.
“I wanted that picture,” he said.
“I know.” He heard a door close on her end of the call. “I need Lou to keep him out of the August event. And when I say a setup isn’t right for him, I need you to back me up, not ask me to try it anyway.”
“I will.”
“Good. I’ll see you next week.”
After the call, Sam found his mother sorting the clean towels they kept in the van. She set one aside when she saw him.
“You were right about the video,” he said. “I wanted it to mean I could do anything with him.”
“I wanted people to see you the way I saw you that morning,” she said. “I should have told your aunt to keep it private. I know how freely she shares things.”
Sam leaned his chair against the doorframe. “We both thought she’d understand.”
They folded towels together. His mother did not bring up the ATV. Sam was glad; he had enough of Thursday to think through without making every mistake he had ever made part of it…
To read the rest of the story – CLICK the NEXT button 👇👇👇