Maris Soule - Paternity Lessons

“I won’t ruin him,” Lanie said defiantly, the tears gone. “I love him.”

“And now we’ve gone full circle. You say you love him. I haven’t seen it. Come on.” She nodded in the direction her truck was parked. “I’ll take you home. You can think about this. If you’re willing to do as I ask, then show up tomorrow. If not, have your dad find someplace else for Magic.”

Lanie didn’t move. “You’re not being fair.”

“Then what do you think I should do?”

The question seemed to startle the little girl. Lanie stared at Shaunna, then finally answered, “You should let me spend more time talking to Magic.”

“Okay. I will.” Why not? She’d seen that Lanie knew the basics about horses. She didn’t need slave labor, no matter what Lanie thought. And Magic had calmed down enough that he might start responding to Lanie. “Are you ready to go home now?”

Shaunna started heading toward her truck and hoped Lanie would follow. For a moment, she feared she hadn’t succeeded, then she heard Lanie’s footsteps. The girl walked slightly behind her, but she did go with her toward the truck.

“And I think I should bring him carrots,” Lanie said. “He always liked carrots. I used to bring him one every time I went out to see him.”

“Okay.” Shaunna didn’t particularly like feeding horses treats by hand, but if Magic was used to getting them from Lanie, it might help. “Only don’t try feeding him by hand right away. Until we’re sure he remembers it’s you, I don’t want to chance his biting your hand off.”

“He won’t bite my hand off.”

Shaunna stopped and looked at the girl, simply lifting her eyebrows and saying nothing.

“Okay,” Lanie said, unable to return Shaunna’s gaze. “I won’t feed him by hand. Not right away. But someday I will.”

“Someday,” Shaunna agreed, and began walking to her truck again.

Tyler paused at the entrance to the building. Just down the street, he spotted Shaunna and Lanie. Shaunna pulled open the door of a battered blue truck, then glanced back at Lanie. For a moment, the girl stood where she was, then she walked stiff-legged around the front of the truck.

He decided not to call out to them. Shaunna seemed to have the situation under control. She’d said she would take Lanie home. He would call his neighbor and have her keep an eye on Lanie until he got there. By then, maybe he’d have come up with an idea of how to handle this situation.

Shaunna let out a quiet breath of relief when Lanie buckled herself in on the passenger side. “When you first got Magic,” she asked casually as she turned the key in the ignition. “What was he like? What did you do with him?”

As Shaunna drove toward the section of Bakersfield where she knew Tyler lived, Lanie talked, describing how she and her mother had first picked Magic out from all the other Mustangs being offered up for adoption, how they’d trailered him to the barn behind their house and how her mother had had someone come over and break him. Shaunna shook her head, cringing when Lanie went on to tell her how the man had tethered Magic to a post and sacked him out, then tied up one of the horse’s hind legs so he couldn’t buck when the saddle was put on.

“I don’t break horses that way,” she said when Lanie was finished. “And I don’t train horses that way. I want a horse’s cooperation, not his submission.”

“My mother said—” Lanie started.

Shaunna interrupted. “We’re not talking about your mother, we’re talking about me...me, you and Magic.” She pulled up in front of the address Tyler had given as his residence when he signed the papers to board Magic at the stable. “This where you live?”

Lanie stared at the house and for a moment said nothing, then she looked back at Shauna, her expression cold. “My mother broke Magic the right way.”

“Your mother probably broke Magic the way she knew. A lot of horses have been broken that way. But there are a lot of horse people who now don’t think that’s the best way, don’t believe in forcing a horse into submission. I’m one of those people. We don’t think of horses as being stupid and we don’t think of them as being the enemy. We believe a horse will be your partner if you let him...and if you understand what he’s trying to tell you.”

“My mother broke Magic the right way,” Lanie repeated defiantly.

Shauna shook her head, unsure of how to get her point across without upsetting Lanie even more. “I don’t know what your mother did, or taught you. I only know that I don’t believe in punishing a horse if he makes a mistake. If you train a horse that way, he may comply, but he won’t really be working with you, and you’ll never know when he might rebel. You will always have to be on guard. My way, they do what you want because it’s their choice.”

“My mother knew more about horses than you’ll ever know.”

The girl’s anger tore at Shaunna, and she wished she knew how to take it away. She remembered herself as a teenager, after she’d run away from home. She’d been that angry, even angrier. She’d been ready to take on the world. The chip on Lanie’s shoulder was sawdust compared to the one Shaunna had carried. It was Betsy Helman who had found the patience to blow it away.

“Your mother’s gone,” Shaunna said softly, knowing the words would hurt. “And Magic needs help. It’s your choice. You’re the one who has to decide what to do. Think about it tonight. If you don’t want to do it my way, have your dad find someone else to work with Magic.”

“Yeah, right.” Lanie snorted in disgust. “Like he cares what happens to me.”

“He cares,” Shaunna said, knowing Tyler did. She’d seen him just before they got into the truck, standing near the entrance to his office building, watching them. He cared enough to let Lanie work this out. Shaunna liked that.

Lanie swore, and Shaunna lifted her brows. “That’s another thing. I don’t allow any swearing around my barn. I don’t want to hear any more.” Again, Lanie swore, and Shaunna nodded toward the truck door. “It’s time for you to go inside. Think about what I’ve said. You’re a smart girl. Very smart. I think you’ll make the right decision.”

Lanie let loose with another string of swearwords, then pushed open the door and got out. She slammed it shut and headed up the driveway toward the house.

Shaunna saw a woman come out of the house next door and also make for Tyler’s place. Lanie looked her way and swore at her. Shaunna shook her head and started her truck again, a backfire reminding her that she needed to get the poor thing into the shop. But to do that, she had to figure out if she had any money in the bank account, and that was the problem.

The sun was setting when Tyler drove into the stable yard. It had taken longer for him to get away from Lanie than he’d expected. Three vehicles were in the parking area, a green van, a red compact, and the blue truck he’d seen Shaunna get into earlier that day. He pulled in next to the van.

His neighbor had agreed to come back and sit with Lanie while he came to the stable to talk to Shaunna. He’d listened to Lanie’s side of the story, sprinkled amply with swearwords. Now he wanted to hear Shaunna’s version.

He went to the house first. After knocking twice, Maria came to the door and directed him out to the barns. It seemed stable owners didn’t work eight hour days. More like daybreak to dark.

Two dogs joined him en route, begging for his attention but never barking. Before he reached the first barn, he noticed a horse and rider in one of the arenas and decided to check it out first. He knew Shaunna gave riding lessons in the evening.

There were three riding rings behind the barns: a small, round pen, a larger, rectangular-shaped arena, and a sizable, show-type arena. The horse and rider he’d seen were in the largest arena, and the moment the rider faced him, he realized it was Shaunna. Stopping where he was, he stood back where he could watch but not be noticed.