Old Stories Part I: The ABC Generation Series Ch3

Part 2 of Chapter Three :D 

Amy and Star got along great, that is, until the first roundup came along. Papa told all the cowboys to hold off on a batch of Texas Longhorn and Hereford cattle because his granddaughters would be rocking the field. However, when Amy got out there, she realized that Papa hadn’t expelled all the cowboys; one remained, the worst and the cutest.

Chase! Amy fumbled with her reins and Star sidestepped nervously. Oh, dear! What if I fail? She had just learned to lasso, and these jumbling steers would make her look like a greenhorn fool. She didn’t mind in front of her grandpa and sisters, but in front of Chase Nichols? Aaah!

“Howdy, Amy!” Chase touched the brim of his black felt cowboy hat. Amy wore one, too, a brown one, atop her braided curls.

“H-howdy, Chase.” Amy nodded.

Cindy snickered. Bri hooted. Papa chuckled.

Amy turned Star around. “Well, Papa, what do we do?”

“Herd ’em,” Papa ordered. “If one gets loose, lasso it or drive it back. If one drops behind, snap the end of your rope above its head. Simple and easy.”

More like vague and likely to be stupid, Amy thought dully. She glanced at Chase, and then at her ABCs. “Ready?”

“Go!” cried Cindy, digging her heels into Snow. The little mare broke into a lope, soon brought back to a walk by Papa.

“Not fast, Cynthia,” said Papa. He turned to Amy and whispered, “Introduce them to Chase.”

“Grrr.” Amy turned to Chase. “Uh, Chase, these are my sisters, Cynthia and Brianna. Call them Cindy and Bri if you want to stay on their good side. Um, people call us the ABCs, standing for Amy Bri Cindy Sisters, or something like that.”

Bri choked on her laughter.

“That sounds stupid!” Cindy chortled, doubling over in mirth. “Ha  —”

Papa cut her off with a firm look.

“Nice.” Chase grinned. “I wish I had more siblings. My sister, Lola, is a good buddy, but she’s five years older.”

“Whoa.” Amy’s eyes widened, but then she smirked. “Beat you there, Chase. My mom’s gonna have a baby in August, and she’ll be thirteen years younger than me.”

“Holy cow!” Chase laughed. “That’s a lot of years.”

Papa clapped his hands. “All right, young’uns. Let’s get movin’.”

Amy guided Star to the steers and soon the herd lumbered across the fields. That’s when disaster struck. A little cow broke away and plowed into Cindy’s path. Snow reared, came down, and then crow-hopped to avoid the bumbling youngster.  

“Ahhh-eeee!” Cindy flew from the saddle.

“CINDY!” Bri and Amy screamed. Star flew towards Cindy. Now the cows had scattered. Bri reached Cindy first and waved at Amy. “Help the cows!” she cried.

Amy spun Star around and headed for the cows. SNAP! She snapped her lasso above some Texas Longhorn’ heads, and the cows bellowed. They stampeded for the remaining cows in the herd and stood still. Papa guarded them, so Chase and Amy continued to round the strays up.

Amy found the last one, a burly bull calf. He eyeballed Amy, and Amy glowered back. “Come on, calf,” she instructed. Star plodded forward and started to try to herd the calf back to the herd. The big calf shook his horns. He lowered his head, bellowed viciously, and charged.

Star turned tail and broke into a hard gallop. Amy, jarred from the saddle, fell from her horse and hit the ground with a thud. Then she shot to her feet and spun around.

The big calf looked at her, amusement glinting in his eyes. He lowered his horns again. She screeched and took off running. The young bull screamed his frustration that his "toy" was getting away, and chased her fast as a Thoroughbred, his hooves pounding the ground and tearing dirt and grass loose.

Amy hollered again and flew down the meadow. “HELP!” she screamed as loud as she could.

The calf caught up and Amy slowed down, legs protesting with cramps and twists in the muscles. Her breathing quickened, her heart hammered. Frantically, she tried to sprint faster . . . and tripped. Something sharp stabbed her in the side. Too frightened to feel the pain, she staggered to her feet. A ripping sound hindered her, but she decided to ignore it. Finding her footing, she hurtled forward again.   Behind her the calf galloped faster. Amy screamed her terror. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chase racing his horse towards her. Soon he swished past, caught her, and yanked her into his saddle. Amy gasped for breath

Knowing he lost his chase, the bull calf whirled  and headed towards Star, seemingly thrilled with his incredible chasing skills. To him, this was all play. Before he reached the mare, Star took off and ran faster than the calf. The big Longhorn stopped, danced, and then plodded back over the hill to his relieved mother, disappearing.

Good riddance.

“Are you okay?” Chase asked Amy. She shook her head. She was breathing too hard to answer and she shook with fear.

Chase dropped Amy to the ground and fell down after her. He had lost his hat and his black hair was tousled. “Amy! Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, I-I’m f-fine,” she stammered. But her insides churned. Excruciating pain radiated through her middle. She gasped for breath, but each intake sent pain rippling through her. Her legs screamed, and her side burned like fire. She whimpered.

Chase seemed not to hear. He took a ragged breath and sat down. “Thank God. I thought you wouldn’t make it.”

Amy didn’t smile. She felt woozy. Stabbing, throbbing, furious, seething, twisting pain clenched her belly. She gritted her teeth. Another round of pounding made her cry out, grip her middle, and shake. “Oooooooh, no.” She doubled over. “Oh, Chase.” She choked and tried to breath. The breathing hurt. She screamed between closed lips.

Chase shot to his feet. “Amy?”

Amy stumbled to get up, but plowed into the ground. She squeezed her eyes shut. “Help! Something’s wrong, something’s wrong!” She clutched her stomach, awful pain ripping through her. “Owwwww!” Tears surged.

Papa charged over. Chase lowered himself beside her. “I-I —”

Papa knelt beside her writhering form.

Amy stared at Chase. He grew pale. “Is she okay, Mr. Key?”

“I’m afraid not.” Papa pushed Amy’s hands away and prodded her belly. Amy screamed and threw a punch at his arms. “Stay away!” she shrieked. “That hurt!”

“She’s delirious.” The voice came from far away. It faded. Suddenly, Cindy’s horrified screech brought Amy back from nearly passing out.

“PAPA!” Cindy pointed at Amy’s hands and shrieked, “LOOK!”

Chase glanced down, mouth dropping. He rocked back and forth. “Oh, my word.”

Bri looked, color draining from her face, and said, “Papa—?”

Amy glanced down. Blood oozed profusely from a rip in her shirt and a gaping wound in her side. Her hands were covered in blood. She started to cry harder, which made her hurt worse. Finally, she passed out as the pain became unbearable.

Push HERE to go to Chapter Four