Page 21 of Make Your Shot
I look up, watching Tella ride to the center of the arena to meet with her instructor.
She started taking lessons when she was three.
She looks like she belongs on a horse.
She’s happy there, that’s for sure.
I was the same way as a kid.
Did you ride?
Tella slides down the left side of her pony, her toes touching the ground before she stands on flat feet next to the gelding. He cranes his neck, turning to her as he nuzzles his nose against her hair. Tella giggles, reachingover to pet his forehead and down his nose. A smile drifts across my mouth.
I did until college. My horse is an old man now, so he’s retired.
Maybe you can take T to see him. I’m sure she’d love that.
Heading onto the ice, talk later.
I stare down at my phone, not surprised by his abrupt exit of the conversation, but feeling unsure as to whether or not I’m supposed to respond. Locking my screen, I slide my phone back into my pocket and head over to the gate to meet Tella as she leads Sodapop back toward the stable.
“Did you have fun?” I ask her as I fall into step next to her and her pony. Magnolia closes the gate behind us and follows behind as we pad through the dusty stone path that leads to the back of the barn.
“Yep!” Tella looks over at me with a grin. “Cantering is my favorite.”
“It’s mine too.” I give her a wink. “You looked great out there.”
Tella tilts her head to the side. “Do you have a horse?”
“I do,” I say, nodding eagerly. “His name is Hank, but he’s retired so I don’t ride him anymore. I was telling your daddy about him and he said you might want to go see him sometime.”
“Oh, yes! Please. I would love that!”
I chuckle, pausing to slide open the barn door forTella and Sodapop to slip inside. “Maybe we can go some afternoon after school. He loves apples, so we can stop and get some to take to him.”
“Sodapop loves apples too.” She walks past the tack room, leading him into the wash stall. He spins on his hindquarters as she turns him around and stops in the center of the cross-ties. “Maybe we can get him some too.”
“We sure can,” I tell her, smiling brightly. “Do you want some help untacking him?”
Tella nods eagerly. “Yep! I can’t do his girth by myself yet.”
I walk over to Tella, handing her Sodapop’s halter and lead rope as she takes off his bridle. He bends his head down so she can slip the halter over his ears and Tella holds onto the lead rope as I undo the girth and remove the saddle from his back. Tella tells me where it goes in the tack room, so I carry everything for her, before coming back to the wash stall.
“Are the two of you okay in here?” Magnolia calls out as she walks down the aisle. “Great job today, Estella.”
“Thank you, Miss Magnolia,” Tella smiles at her. “Did you know Mia has a horse too?”
“Oh really?” Magnolia says softly, tilting her head to the side as her gaze meets mine. She looks to be in her early thirties and it’s impossible to miss her pregnant stomach as she absentmindedly runs her hand over it. “Well, I think you’re probably in great hands then. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Can you hold him for me?” Tella asks as Magnolia walks away.
“Of course,” I say, taking the lead rope as she hands it to me. Tella grabs a brush and gets to work smoothing out his coat. She has to get a step stool so she can reach his back. Sodapop presses his nose against my stomach and I laugh, lifting my hand to scratch the whorl marking in the center of his forehead. He lets out a sigh, his head sinking as he lifts one back foot onto the toe of his hoof and relaxes.
“Good boy, Sody,” Tella coos, patting the side of his neck before kissing his cheek. She reaches for the lead rope. “We can put him in his stall now and then we have to feed him.”
“Lead the way!” I step out of the way, motioning for her to go ahead of me. Tella leads Sodapop down the aisle to the last stall on the left, where she takes him inside, removes his halter and comes back through the door.
Tella shows me the feed room and we mix his food before pouring it into his feed bin together and dropping a flake of hay in the rack in his stall. “That’s it,” she tells me before turning back to her pony. “See you in two days, Sodapop. Love you!”
