Marcy, Martin, and the Mustang

Like Uncle Ed had said, each calf stopped sucking and then went outside. As each one did, Marcy took the bottle from the rack and put it back into the wire basket. When all of the calves finished, she took the bottles back to the feed room, rinsed them out, and put them on the rack to dry.

With nothing else to do, Marcy went back into the house. When she passed the kitchen, she remembered the dishes. That was something she could do to help out. Half an hour later, she'd washed and dried the dishes, silverware, coffee cups and the skillet Uncle Ed had used.

It was just a little after nine by then, so Marcy thought she'd walk around the ranch just to see what had changed since she'd last visited. The first place she went was to the pen holding the black stallion. Rex was there forking half a bale of hay into the hayrack over the manger.

He smiled a little, but didn't say anything. Marcy watched him until he dumped a bucket of something into the manger. She asked him what that was.

"Ma'am, that's just some sweet feed to keep him in breeding condition. It's grain and some vitamins and minerals mixed together with molasses. He could live on just grass and hay, heck, that's all he ate when he was wild, but this sweet feed'll keep him fat and sassy so he can cover the mares."

Marcy noticed that the black stallion was still at the other end of the pen. He was watching them, but he wasn't coming any closer.

"Why doesn't he come eat"

Rex frowned.

"He doesn't trust people yet. Don't know what happened to him when he was caught, but that might be why. Some wranglers get a little rough if a horse don't follow the herd. Horses remember stuff that happens to 'em. I been workin' with him every day, but it don't seem to be doin' much good."

Marcy asked Rex how he worked with the horse. Rex smiled a little.

"Well, first you got to get the horse to understand you ain't gonna hurt him. Horses are animals that bears and cougars eat if they can catch 'em, so horses fight or run if they see something they don't know. He can't run anywhere in this here pen, so he gets as far away from me as he can.

"What I'd usually do is put the horse in a circle pen and then walk around inside with the horse. Horses are curious, so he'd eventually come see what I was and what I was doin'. Then I could work on touching him so he figured out I wasn't gonna hurt him.

"I can't get close enough to drive him into the circle pen without him tryin' to run me down or bite me. Well, if you'll excuse me, Ma'am, I gotta go put some hay down for the brood mares now."

As Rex walked away, Marcy sat down on the remaining part of the hay bale and frowned. Rex was a little odd, she thought. He didn't seem to talk much to anybody including Uncle Ed. When he told her about the black stallion, that was the most she'd heard him say since she'd met him. She wondered if it was the way she looked.

She wouldn't have blamed him if it was. Marcy didn't think any man would ever want her again unless she had plastic surgery to fix the scars, and that was a problem she didn't see a solution to. Plastic surgery was expensive and she wouldn't be able to afford it until she had a job, but who would hire a woman who looked like she did?

Marcy had told herself she was done crying over how she looked, but that thought brought tears to her eyes. A second later, she sobbed, and that sob caused another until she was crying silently with her face in her hands.

Marcy was still crying when she heard a quiet little sound very near to her. She looked up and saw the black stallion standing in front of the manger looking at her. He'd evidently come to the manger to see what she was doing.

Marcy wiped her eyes and stood up, only to see the stallion wheel and gallop back to the other side of the pen. When he got there, he turned and looked at her. Marcy smiled.

"You're not as mean as everybody thinks you are, are you? You're just afraid of people. You don't need to be afraid of me because we're the same. I'm here because I'm afraid to have people look at me."

Marcy sat back down on the hay bale, but the stallion wouldn't come back. What he'd done gave her an idea though. Maybe the stallion was just afraid of men. That afternoon when Uncle Ed came to the feed room with her to make sure she mixed the calves milk like he'd showed her, Marcy asked him if she could feed the black stallion.

Uncle Ed shook his head.

"Marcy Honey, I don't know. He's a dangerous horse. Rex can't handle him and I sure can't. I don't know how a woman as little as you could either."

Marcy pleaded with him.

"Uncle Ed, I need something to do besides feed calves or I'll go crazy. I won't go in the pen or even get close to it. I'll just put his feed and hay in the manger."

Uncle Ed finally relented, and the next morning, Rex showed her where the sweet feed was kept and how much to give the stallion. He also said when he got hay from the haymow in the barn for the other horses and cattle, he'd bring a bale down for the stallion so she wouldn't have to.

For the rest of that week, Marcy would feed the calves every morning, then get a scoop of sweet feed for the stallion, drop it and some flakes of hay into the manger and then sit down. The stallion always ran to the end of the pen when he saw her and he'd stay there until she gave up and left. Marcy thought he seemed calmer though.

The next week, the stallion started walking toward the manger, but when he was half way, he'd turn and gallop back to the end of the pen. Each day though, he got a little closer, and Marcy thought he was just playing with her a little because he'd snort and shake his head before he ran back to the end of the pen. It was like he was telling her, "I'm not afraid of you but I'm not going to let you catch me."

It was the end of the third week that the stallion finally walked up to the manger while Marcy sat on the hay bale, looked at her for a second, and then began eating the sweet feed. When she started to get up, the stallion backed away, but he didn't run off. Marcy sat back down and spoke to him in a quiet voice.

"You don't need to run away from me. I won't hurt you. I just want to look at you. You're a beautiful horse, did you know that? You need to be brushed and to have your mane and tail combed out, but you're still beautiful."

Each day after that, Marcy moved the hay bale a little closer to the manger. The stallion balked a little on the first day, but after that, he'd eye Marcy for a while, but then start eating. Each day, Marcy talked to the stallion, and was soon telling him her feelings.

"You know what? I think you're starting to like me. I don't know why except you're a horse so you don't look at my face like a person would. You know what else? I like you too. I don't care what happened to you before. I just like you because you're so strong and pretty. Maybe one of these days we can be good friends. I'll brush you every day so you'll stay pretty. I'd like to brush you and comb out your mane and tail. Wouldn't you like that? I used to like it when someone combed my hair."

In the barn where the sweet feed was kept was a bag that said, "Horse Treats". Inside were hard biscuits shaped like four-leaf clovers. The bag said they were flavored with apple and honey. One day, Marcy picked up two and smelled them. They did smell a little like apples. She wondered...

She stuck two of the treats in the pocket of her jacket, scooped up the sweet feed for the stallion, and then walked out to his pen. When he saw her coming, the stallion trotted up to the manger expecting her to dump in the sweet feed.

Marcy took one of the horse treats from her jacket, pushed her hand through the fence, and held it there while she talked to the horse.

"Come on horse...you know what? You need a name so I can call you something besides just horse. Well, come see what I have for you. It's like a cookie for horses and it's supposed to taste like apples and honey. I like apples and honey. I'll bet you do too. All you have to do is come here and take one. If you like it, I'll give you another one."

The stallion stretched his thick, arched neck to sniff the horse treat in Marcy's hand. He didn't take it, but he didn't run away either. Marcy tossed it into the manger after a couple of minutes. The stallion sniffed it again, then opened his mouth. Marcy heard the "crunch" as he bit down on the biscuit. When he finished with that one, he stood there looking at Marcy. She laughed and tossed the second horse treat into the manger.

"You like it and you know it. You're just a big softy, that's what you are. You want people to stay away from you so you act mean, but I know what you're doing so you can't make me afraid of you. I'll have to think of a name for you though and ask Uncle Ed if I can call you that. What would be a good name for a strong, black horse?

"Uncle Ed said you come from the horses the Spaniards brought to America and you used to live in the mountains, so it should be a Spanish name about mountains. If I remember from high school Spanish, Monte means mountain, but you don't look like a Monte.

"What else could I pick? How about Montenegro? That means black mountain in Spanish. It's an awfully long name though. I can't see myself calling you by that name to come and get your breakfast. It needs to be shorter. I know...I'll call you Montego. It's about the same as Montenegro but shorter. I think that's going to be your name -- Montego. I like how that sounds. Do you like that name?"

The stallion nickered because he was still waiting on the sweet feed. Marcy laughed.

"OK, Montego. I'll give you your breakfast now. Just don't forget about the horse cookies, OK. I'll bring you two more tonight."

Marcy dumped the sweet feed into the manger and then tossed three flakes of hay into the rack. Then, she said, "Bye bye for now, Montego", and went to the house. Uncle Ed had said she could fix lunch and she had hamburgers and sliced potatoes to fry.

Rex looked down from the open window of the haymow, the same window he'd been standing at for the last three weeks when Marcy fed the black stallion. At first, he'd done that because he was afraid she'd try to go into the pen. When she hadn't done that, he kept watching to see what would happen.

By the second week, he'd decided Marcy would be a natural around horses. Horses were funny animals, mostly because they were prey animals. It took a long time to earn their trust if they hadn't been handled as foals. The only way to do that was exactly what Marcy was doing -- just sit there until the horse decided you weren't out to hurt it. That took patience and understanding. Marcy seemed to have both.

Rex could hear her when she talked to the horse, and he knew her soft voice had a lot to do with the stallion finally walking up to her. Horses used all their senses to sense danger, and a loud voice was sure to send them galloping away. A soft voice made them curious and they'd investigate.

Rex had heard more than Marcy's soft voice though. He'd listened to the words she spoke, words about how she felt about herself. He understood how she felt, because he'd felt the same way before Ed gave him a job. Rex knew just being accepted for how he was went a long way toward getting his mind back on track. He wished he could do the same for Marcy, but that would lead to...

Rex cursed at himself.

Damnit, you dumb ass. All you'd have to do is talk to the woman.

The side of Rex that was still unsure overrode that thought.

Talking to her would mean she'd ask questions and you know where that would lead. It would be the same as when you were with Janice.

Rex was still thinking when he carried a bale of hay out to the pen where the mares were.

Maybe it would be different this time. No, probably not. But maybe she'd understand. She seems to understand the stallion. I didn't, but she seems to. No, she'd never understand and accept me. No woman ever will. Just forget it. Treat her well, but stay away from her. That way you won't be let down again.

Rex had to talk to Marcy after lunch that day. When he bit into the hamburger, he tasted Angus beef, but he also tasted just a hint of something else that made it taste better than Ed's. The fried potatoes were different too. They were golden brown and cooked through. When Ed fried potatoes, half would be burnt around the edges and half would still be hard in the middle.

He didn't say much. He just smiled and told Marcy she was a good cook. Marcy had blushed and said all she did was fry some hamburgers and some potatoes.

"I just did what Mom always does. It's nothing special except for a little Worcestershire sauce in the meat."

Rex chuckled then.

"Well those burgers are better than what Ed or I make. The potatoes too. I could get used to this."

Marcy had blushed, but inside she was having some different feelings. She'd put the Worcestershire sauce in the meat as a special treat for Uncle Ed because he'd always told her mother it made the meat taste better. After Rex had said he liked it too, Marcy was a little dumbfounded. Rex had actually talked to her. It wasn't like when he showed her how to feed Montego. That had been more like when a teacher taught her how to solve a math problem. This was Rex, the person, talking to her. For some reason, that made her feel good as well as a little embarrassed.

"Well, to cook potatoes, you have to do it slow or they either burn or don't get cooked all the way through. It's not hard. It just takes time."

Rex grinned.

"Well, any time you feel like cooking again, you just go right ahead. I won't mind at all, and I'd bet Ed won't either."

Marcy looked at Uncle Ed. Cooking for the men would give her more to do and make her days go faster. In the back of her mind was a tiny little thought that if Rex liked her cooking, maybe one day he could get past how she looked and be more friendly.

Uncle Ed shook his head.

"Marcy, you don't have to cook for us. I didn't let you come here to be a housekeeper. You're doing enough already."

Marcy smiled.

"I'm having a good time here, but sometimes I wish I had more to do. I don't mind cooking all the meals. That would give you guys more time to do the work that has to be done. What if I make up a shopping list for the next time you go to town?"

For breakfast the next morning, Marcy made sausage and pancakes. Rex smiled when he saw them.

"I was gettin' kinda tired of Ed's bacon and eggs. These look really good."

From then on, Marcy cooked breakfast, fed the calves and Montego, and then went back to the house to fix lunch. After cleaning up after lunch, she fed the calves again and then sat with Montego until it was time to fix dinner.

Montego would always come up to the fence to see if Marcy had brought him a horse treat. At first, he'd wait by the manger, but after a few days, Marcy smiled when Montego slowly stretched out his neck and then took the biscuit from her. After that day, Marcy carried four horse treats to him every afternoon, and while Montego happily crunched away, she'd talk to him. There was a difference in what she said now.

"Montego, do you suppose Rex might like me a little? He seems to, sometimes. At least he'll talk to me now. I don't think my face looks quite as bad as before. I still have scars, but they aren't quite as pink.

"Maybe if I put on some makeup...no, I don't want to do that. I might do that again, someday, but not just for Rex. He'd think I was trying to get close to him or something. No, if he decides to do that, I want him to do it like you did -- because he wants to.

"I do like Rex. He doesn't talk much, but he's a good-looking guy and he seems to be really nice. I don't think Uncle Ed would keep him around if he wasn't a nice man. I just wish he'd sit down with me sometime and just talk about stuff. He's never asked me what happened to me. Maybe Uncle Ed told him and he thinks it would be bad to ask me himself.

"I'd like to know more about him too, like where he grew up and what he likes to do. The way it is now, the only time he says anything to me is when I've done something he likes. I'd do more of what he likes if I just knew what that was.

"He's a lot like you, I think, except Rex could tell me what he likes and you can't."

Marcy held up the last biscuit, and when Montego reached for the biscuit, without realizing what she was doing, she stroked his nose. Montego's nostrils flared open as he inhaled, but he didn't run away. Marcy laughed.

"Maybe if I gave Rex a cookie and rubbed his nose, he'd be like you and want more. If I thought that would work, maybe... Montego, I'll see you when I feed you tonight. Right now, I'm going to bake some cookies for dessert."

From where he stood by the window of the haymow, Rex had heard every word Marcy said. Did Marcy really want to know him better? If that was true, it would be the first time in a long time a woman felt that way about him. Did he want to know her better? No...yes...maybe. There were things he couldn't tell her, but maybe if he opened up a little, they could be friends.

He smiled to himself. Maybe destiny had planned all this out, all the way from what had happened to him to what happened to Marcy to her coming to the ranch to stay. Then, he frowned. There was no such thing as destiny. What had happened to them both had just happened, that's all. Things like that happened to people every day. It was just a coincidence that Marcy happened to be Ed's niece and had come to stay at the ranch to hide.

He knew that's why she was really there because he'd heard her say so. He also understood because that was why he was still working for Ed instead of getting a better job. He was hiding too. Maybe it was time he stopped hiding, at least from Marcy. It was nice having her around, and not just because she was a good cook. It just seemed like having a woman in the house was the natural way things were supposed to be. It didn't matter if he'd wrestled steer calves all day and was dead tired, or if he'd had to unload the feed truck that brought feed to the ranch once a week and his arms ached. When he went to the house for dinner, he always felt as if all that was gone as soon as he saw Marcy.

Marcy was making headway with the black stallion. If he showed her more about taming horses, they'd at least have something to talk about.

The next morning, Rex waited in the barn for Marcy to get the sweet feed for the black stallion. When she came in, he apologized.

"I'm sorry Marcy. I got behind and didn't get your hay bale out there yet. You get your sweet feed and I'll go get the bale."

Marcy was standing by the fence and stroking the stallion's nose when he walked up with the bale. It surprised him that the stallion didn't run off when he got closer. Rex put down the bale and chuckled.

"Marcy, I think you've tamed that horse a little."

Marcy turned and smiled.

"He was just afraid, that's all. I didn't do anything except just sit here until he decided I was OK.""

"Well, that's what it takes sometimes. Any ideas about what you're going to do with him next?"

Marcy shook her head.

"No, I don't know anything about training horses except what you told me about the round pen. I don't know if I can get him in there or not, and besides, I told Uncle Ed I wouldn't go in the pen with Montego."

Rex took off his cowboy had, scratched his head, then put it back on.

"Montego? That's what you call him?"

Marcy nodded.

"I think it fits him. It kind of means black mountain. He's not as big as a mountain, but he's black and he's a lot bigger than I am."

Rex grinned because he couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"Yeah, you ain't no bigger'n a minute. If you were riding him, he'd probably not even know you were up there."