It Started with a Rope and Ended with a Trough

by Josie L. 

Picture #1 Andi in the Trough

San Joaquin Valley, California, August 1881
       

          Andrea,” said Mother, “I got a letter today that might interest you.” The clinking of silverware and the loud cattle conversation slowly diminished. Andi swallowed a bite of peach cobbler. ‘How come nobody notices whenever Mother talks to Chad or Melinda, but when she speaks to me, everybody stares?’ mused Andi.

          “Yes, Mother?” asked Andi, her mind racing. Had she done something wrong? Mentally, Andi checked off a chore list. Quickly realizing that nobody would write a letter to her mother about chores, Andi’s mind went to town. ‘Is it a letter from Mr. Foster?’ Andi gulped. She had slacked a little on her studies the last week of school.

Flicking her eyes back to Mother, Andi noticed that she was smiling. ‘Phew! If it’s from Mr. Foster, it must be a good report,” thought Andi, relieved.

“It’s from an old friend. Her name is Abigail Lawson. She and her husband, Seth, run a ranch about a day’s journey from here. They’ve invited you to stay for the rest of the summer,” continued Mother, glossing over the letter. Wrinkling her brow, Andi asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“Why?”

Mother smiled again, a faraway look entering her eyes. “When you were a toddler, the Lawson’s lived only an hour away; you played with their daughter every Sunday after church. But around when you turned three, they bought a bigger spread, farther north.”

“But why does she want to see me?” cut in Andi. Usually, she loved her Mother’s stories, but right now, Andi wanted to know what this had to do with her going to the Lawsons’ ranch. She had plans for these last few weeks of summer! Cory and her were going to race, fish and catch lizards. That would all be discarded if this invitation was mandatory.

“Patience, little sister,” Chad grinned as he reached over to pat Andi’s head.

Andi slapped his hand away and glared at him. “Speak for yourself! You get to stay on the ranch.”

Chad shrugged and opened his mouth to reply, but a sharp look from Mother caused him to shove another fork full of peach cobbler into his mouth.

Andi turned to her now-cold cobbler. Pushing the plate away, she rubbed her stomach where her dinner had settled in a hard lump.

“Andrea, I thought you would be excited to go somewhere new,” said Mother, raising her eyebrows. Andi sighed, not wanting to disappoint her mother but hating the prospect of going.

“Normally, I would be. But Cory and I have tons of things we still want to do, and summer is almost over,” Andi replied. Suddenly, Andi’s eyes flashed and an idea popped into her head. “Couldn’t I go next year?”

Mother slowly shook her head. “No, next summer they finalize their move,”

“Where are they going?” asked Andi, wrinkling her brow. Couldn’t she go by train? Or boat? That’s how Andi got to San Francisco; why not somewhere else in California?

“Montana.”

Andi’s eyes opened wide. The others gasped or let out low whistles.

“That far?” asked Andi, skeptically. Mother nodded. Andi knew that her mother wouldn’t make her give up her plans with Cory to go to the Lawsons’. But, as usual. Andi didn’t want to let her mother down.

“All right,” she sighed, “I’ll give it a try.”

****************

                “Andi! We need to get going!” Justin called the next day.

                “Coming!” replied Andi, stuffing a few pairs of overalls in her carpet bag. Spinning around, she snatched her brush off the bureau and swept some wrinkly, plaid shirts in with the overalls. Glancing around the room to ensure she hadn’t missed anything, Andi spotted her boots. “When did I take these off?” she wondered, jamming her feet into the well-worn soles.

                 As soon as she stepped out of her room, Andi’s eyes caught the banister. She ran her fingers lightly on the handrail. ‘I’m thirteen,’ she thought, ‘Much too old to be sliding down banisters.’

Yet, here she went. Climbing up on the railing, Andi set the carpet bag in her lap and confirmed her balance. Her hands gripping the handrail, Andi's thoughts spun. ‘This might be a bad idea.’

                “I won’t be able to slide down the railing for another few weeks; why not do it while I have the chance?” said Andi. She released her fingers. Squealing down the banister, Andi suddenly realized her mistake: Justin would be standing by the door at the bottom of the railing. Letting out a shriek, Andi and pack both went sailing off the banister, each in a different direction. The carpet bag ran into the wall, spilling its contents onto the floor. Andi flew right into Justin.

                “Oof!” grunted Justin, falling onto his bottom, Andi in his arms.

Face burning, Andi scrambled off Justin and hurried to her carpet bag. Turning around, she saw an amused Justin, no worse for wear. Taking the carpet bag from Andi, Justin looked down at her, eyes twinkling.                 “Aren’t you getting a little old for that?” he asked, opening the door.

Andi grinned back at him. “I won’t be too old for sliding down banisters until I’m eighty!” she exclaimed, leaping off the back porch and strolling towards the stable.

                “Where are you going?” asked Justin, hefting Andi’s bag into the buggy.

                “To the barn,” Andi slowly replied, her brow wrinkling, “To get Taffy?” What kind of question was that? Of course, she was bringing her palomino!

Justin’s face puckered in confusion. “I guess Chad didn’t tell you,” he sighed, “You can’t bring Taffy.”

For a moment, Andi stood dumbfounded. ‘He’s kidding, right?’ thought Andi, “Chad doesn’t really expect me to live without Taffy for three weeks, does he?’ She searched her oldest brother’s face. He didn’t appear to be teasing her.        “W-what?” Andi stuttered, “You’re joking, right?” Justin shook his head.

                “You didn’t bring Taffy with you to San Francisco, did you?” he asked.

‘No,’ Andi thought, answering the rhetorical question, ‘But that was different… Wasn’t it?”

                “Is Chad playing a mean trick on me?” asked Andi, her jaw tightening. If so, Chad was going to regret it. ‘I’ll put spiders in his bed! Or lizards! It’s bad enough that I have to spend my last few weeks of vacation a day away from home, much less without Taffy!’ Once more, Justin shook his head.

                “They’ll have plenty of horses at the Triple L Ranch,” came his reply as he helped a begrudging Andi into the buggy. She jammed her hat on her head to hide a few sneaky tears as Justin clucked to Pal. ‘How will I ever survive the next three weeks?’

********************

                Andi felt a nudge as Justin prodded her awake.

                “We’re here,” said Justin. Andi yawned and rubbed her gritty eyes. Why were they gritty? She suddenly remembered she’d cried half the trip.

                “You’re too old for that,” muttered Andi, looking around. It looked almost the same as back home: the big house, the barn, dozens of cowboys bustling about. It was nice. Not as rich looking as Andi’s house but still sizable. There was one big difference: six kids were trotting around in a pen nearby, laughing and roping calves; the younger ones were lassoing fence posts. Andi’s lips twitched. She herself had preferred the ranch dogs.

                “Let’s go say howdy to Mrs. Lawson,” said Justin, pulling back on the reins. Andi nodded and hopped out. A woman with brown hair was standing on the porch. Stepping gracefully down the stairs, Mrs. Lawson greeted Andi.

                “It’s nice to see you again, Andrea,” said Mrs. Lawson, giving Andi a warm smile and extending her hand.

                “Likewise, I’m sure,” said Andi, overlooking the ‘Andrea’ as she took Mrs. Lawson’s hand.

                “Your Mother sent us a telegram saying you would be here sometime today,” said Mrs. Lawson, “Are you hungry? Nana cooked a delicious lunch not long ago.”

                “Thanks,” replied Andi, “But I already ate.” Vaguely recalling a bleary lunch, Andi glanced at the pen full of kids and horses. There was a black, a bright bay, a dark chestnut, and even a brown-and-white skewbald. There were also a couple of golden horses with dark-colored mains.

Noticing that Andi kept fidgeting, Mrs. Lawson gestured to the pen. “Go ahead and see those gorgeous creatures. You can get settled in later,”

Grinning at Mrs. Lawson, Andi dashed towards the pen, barely hearing Justin’s apology for her rudeness. Mrs. Lawson just laughed it off.

Reaching the gate to the corral, Andi stopped. She didn’t have a horse, so waltzing into this chaos wasn’t a good idea. Instead, Andi climbed up on the fence. The golden horses fascinated her. They weren’t palominos; they were too light and their manes too dark. Andi’s eyes flicked from horse to horse, settling on the bright bay filly. The little girl sitting on her back could be no older than two! Andi smiled. She had been the same age when she’d started riding.

                “Howdy,” came a voice, “You lookin’ for something?” Looking up, Andi saw a brown-haired girl trotting towards her, an inquisitive look on her face. Blushing, Andi realized she probably looked like a beggar with her messy hair and dusty overalls. ‘I probably look like Sadie Hollister.’

 Smothering a giggle, Andi replied. “No, I’m Andi. I’m staying here for a couple of weeks.” If the girl was surprised, she didn’t show it.

                “I’m Josie. These are my brothers, Caleb, Titus, Isaac, and Zeke. Oh, and that’s my baby sister, Haddie. I guess she’s not much of a baby anymore, though…” mused the girl. At the sound of their name, each boy raised a hand to indicate who they were, except for Titus. He let out a loud war-whoop and charged after a calf. “You can go into the barn and ask Berty to saddle up a horse for you. He selected one yesterday.”

Andi grinned and thanked the girl before racing towards the barn.

                Suddenly, the barn door flew open, and a red-faced young man rushed out. “BOSS!” he roared, “I QUIT!” Practically plowing Andi over, the man stomped to the bunkhouse.

Stumbling to her feet, Andi hurried inside the barn. After asking the man she assumed was Berty, Andi mounted and walked her horse back to the corral. Reaching the gate, she asked Josie who the young man was and why he was so mad.

Caleb answered for her. That’s Chuck,” Caleb rolled his eyes, “He’s forever quitting and being re-hired. I don’t know why Pa keeps him on.”

                “Because he’s our nephew,” Isaac interrupted.

                “Cousin,” corrected Josie, smiling, “Waaaaay older cousin. By ten years.” Andi’s eyes widened, and Isaac nodded. Caleb just sighed.

                “He’s awfully temperamental,” said Titus, cantering up beside Josie and reining in his horse so hard she practically sat down. Josie gave Titus a be-careful look before Titus continued talking, petting the horse to calm her. “Hush, Misty, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Turning to Andi, he restarted, “But forget about Chuck. I’m challenging you to a lassoing contest. I bet I’ll beat you with my fancy new lasso!” he grinned, waving around a black, patterned rope.

                “You're on!” Andi replied, reaching for where her lasso would typically be, looped over the saddle horn. Grabbing nothing but air, Andi’s cheeks tinted red. “It… um, it appears I’ll need a lasso first.”

Josie laughed and tossed Andi hers. “Catch!” she called, “Hopefully, you’re a better roper than Tito el loco here.” Josie continued, finishing in Spanish.

Andi narrowed her eyes and set her lips. Loosening the lasso, she spun it over her head a few times and tossed. It landed neatly around a nearby calf’s neck, and she dallied the rope.

Josie smiled and clapped Andi on the back. “Nice,” she said, “But let’s see how well you rope a running calf.”

****************

                The contest ended minutes before, and Andi had won. She had roped all of the twenty-five calves and Titus, only twenty-three. All in all, a close match. But Titus wasn’t happy.

                “I can’t believe it! I never lose!” blurted Titus, “Never!”

Andi looked over her shoulder at Josie. Was this normal?

Josie nodded and leaned toward Andi to talk over Ty’s noise. “This is normal. He hates to lose and gets real upset when he does. Especially ‘cause he rarely loses at lassos.”

Slowly, Andi nodded and turned back to Ty. He reminded her of Chad. Or maybe Chuck.

“Never! I’ve never lost before! Especially not with my fancy lasso!” hollered Titus.

“Be quiet and stop blustering in front of our guest,” snapped Caleb.

Titus, stunned into silence for a moment, sat ramrod straight in his saddle. Suddenly, he flicked the reins and galloped away, yelling.

Josie flushed. “He will probably try to get back at you,” she warned Andi.

Ooooh, boy.

**********************

                “Are you ready to go riding?” Josie asked, leaning back in her saddle to verify the picnic basket's security.

                “I sure am,” replied Andi, grinning at Josie as she finished cinching up her saddle. Josie’s words from yesterday still rang in her mind, precisely why she had checked Crowhop’s tack thoroughly before putting it on him. ‘There’s no way he can prank me now,’ thought Andi, hefting herself into the saddle.

Before she was fully seated, Crowhop, well, crow hopped to the side. Andi’s arms jolted, and her foot caught in the stirrup. She panicked, which scared Crowhop even more, and he continued bouncing. Suddenly, he reared. Andi saw a lizard skitter past out of the corner of her eye. She let out a short scream before her head plunged into cold water.

Her first thought was to scream again, but she realized she’d then end up with a mouthful of water. Pushing herself into a sitting position, Andi gasped. She hadn’t been underwater that long, but an unsuspected dip is never fun. As the water began to drain from Andi’s ears, she heard laughter. How dare Josie laugh at her; that had been terrifying!

Her fury burning, Andi turned towards the younger girl and was about to light into her when she noticed it wasn’t Josie laughing. She wasn’t even smiling. Confused, Andi turned around. Ah hah! The culprit was snickering just inside the barn. Andi once more opened her mouth to holler, but Josie beat her to it.

“TITUS!!!!!”

*****************

September 1881

Andi sat by Justin’s side again, but she was going home this time. Slumping into the buggy’s flanks, Andi thought about the past few weeks. After her dump in the horse trough, relations between herself and Titus had cooled considerably. Having been caught, Titus unwillingly confessed to letting a lizard run in front of Crowhop. Why Berty chose Crowhop for Andi, we shall never know. Maybe he wasn’t thinking or maybe he’s just a terrible ranch hand.

But after Titus confessed to the crime, he not only had to do extra chores but had to offer his new rope to Andi. He had shoved it into her hands and ran off. Andi could tell he would rather have mucked out a thousand stalls than give it to her.

When it was time to go, she made a spur-of-the-moment decision. She would give the lasso back to Titus. Andi had left it on his pillow, along with another surprise.

Boy, she wished she could see the look on Ty’s face when he saw that colossal spider!