Black Wings

“Where’s the clydesdales?” Kayse asked.

“Should be in this pasture somewhere,” Whilhelmina said. “Keep an eye out for Orion’s truck.”

“Big black compensator?” Kayse asked, pointing at a matte black, lifted truck with fog lights, a roll cage and a grill guard that appeared to be designed to look like bat wings.

“Hopefully he parked that there on purpose,” Whilhelmina said with a sigh, turning in the direction of the truck.

As they rolled up the side of the gully, a herd of massive black horses came into sight. Orion stood among them as if having a conversation. As the truck came to a halt, Kayse stepped out eagerly searching the herd for a familiar face. Sure enough, a mare with white stars dotting her black face stepped forward, ears raised eagerly.

“Ember!” Kayse gasped, running forward to wrap her arms around the horse's neck.

Ember knickered softly. Kayse drew a shaky breath. It was all she could do not to let the tears gathering behind her closed eyes fall. She didn’t even realize how much she had missed her equine partner in crime until now.

“So, you are familiar with some parts of the ranch then?” Orion spoke up.

Kayse sighed and turned around. “Yeah, Ember and I go way back. Uncle Kal used to joke that he didn’t know who to hobble, me or the horse.” She chuckled. “I got upset one time and I took Ember and rode for what I thought was forever until I found a little sandstone outcropping. I made a little fire, slept with a saddle blanket with Ember laying beside me. By morning I was so sore, hungry and thirsty, I turned around and headed back to the homestead. Found Uncle Kal camped out probably a quarter of a mile away. He was still sleeping, propped on his elbow over his saddle with a pair of binoculars in hand and his horse nowhere in sight.”

“That sounds like Mr. Hughes,” Orion chuckled. “What’d he do to upset you so much?”

“It wasn’t him,” Kayse said. “It was my mother.”

There was a moment of silence as Orion was waiting for her to elaborate. She wasn’t going to and she was more than happy to let him feel uncomfortable.

“Now, Orion,” Whilhelmina broke the tension. “Tell me that your truck is simply parked in that particular spot.”

“It is,” Orion said in a mock tone of offense.

“On purpose?”

Orion paused and then shrugged. “She’ll get out fine.”

“So, what are you doing out here anyways?” Kayse asked.

“Checking on the girls,” Orion explained. “They’re starting to come into season. We put them up in the north pasture and bring the boys in to play.”

“Season?” Kayse asked.

“Heat,” Orion explained. “They’re ready to breed.”

“Oh,” Kayse said. “Do you think… I mean… with things up in the air the way they are right now, should we be planning any more babies?”

“A reasonable question,” Whilhelmina shifted her weight.

“The bloodlines we breed here will never not be worth money,” Orion said. “If you sell this place, you’ll probably have to sell the stock off first. Mares covered by our studs will be worth even more.”

Kayse looked around at the horses. It was strange, but the way they faced the three of them, one could swear they were listening to the conversation.

“Not to mention,” Whilhelmina chuckled, “if they go into heat and we don’t bring the studs to them, these girls will seek out the company of a gentleman themselves. Orion has enough going on without chasing down holes in the fence.”

Kayse nodded, grasping the situation a little better. She looked towards the hills to the north.

“How long will it take you to get the studs?” she asked.

“An hour or so,” Orion shrugged.

“This fence line goes all the way back to the homestead right?” Kayse pointed to a fence several yards to the east.

“Yeah, it does,” Whilhelmina said. “Good idea. You can take Ember and move the girls to the north pasture while he goes and collects the boys.”

Kayse nodded. “I’ll just follow the fenceline back.”

“It’s a solid fenceline but there’s a few pastures between here and the homestead,” Orion argued. “And, it’s a good two and half miles from the north pasture gate.”

“Then you can pick her up,” Whilhelmina suggested.

“I…” Orion sighed. “Yeah, that works.”

“Good,” Kayse said. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

She walked up beside Ember and clicked her tongue. The black mare raised a massive foot into the air, allowing Kayse to step up onto it and throw her leg over her back. Gathering a handful of black mane, she looked down to see Orion peering up at her in surprise. He pulled the brim of his cowboy hat down and turned back towards his truck, muttering something in spanish. Whilhelmina said something to him and cackled, walking back to her own truck. Kayse smiled, feeling a little proud of herself and with a squeeze of her knees, urged Ember to start moving. The rest of the mares fell in line as they made their way up the fenceline towards the north side of the property.

The wind had settled down to a nice breeze, taking the edge off the heat of the day. The horses plodded along contentedly behind Kayse and Ember. When they reached the gate, Kayse slid off Ember and swung the gate open. The rest of the herd went through eagerly and headed towards the tree line while Ember calmly stepped through and waited patiently for her to close the gate.

As she rode back down towards the homestead, Kayse held tight to Ember’s mane and leaned forward. Taking her que, the mare dropped her head and broke into a gallop. Massive hooves pounded the earth like a great drum as she picked up speed. Kayse’s face broke into a wide smile as the familiar rush overtook her. Suddenly she was twelve years old again, barely a novice rider, abandoning all her worries to a thrilling moment of recklessness. Nothing mattered in that moment. Not the sad reality of how she came to this place. Not the harsh reality of what she would have to overcome eventually. Not even the inherent risk of an inexperienced rider going bareback at such break-neck speeds. This, she couldn’t help but think, was what being able to fly would feel like. Her heart felt as if it was going to explode with joy and excitement as she let go of the black hair and raised her hands into the air feeling the wind blow past her finger tips.

She almost didn’t notice the three black stallions running in their direction. She gave Ember’s mane a gentle tug, slowing her to a trot. The studs slowed for a minute, exchanging whinnies with Ember before moving on towards the hills. Just beyond them, Orion’s black truck, silver horse trailer in tow, came up over the hill. Kayse brought Ember to a stop and dismounted, giving her another hug before walking towards the truck. Ember chuffed and turned around to return to the rest of the herd.

As she climbed into the truck, she found Orion looking at her strangely, his dark brown eyes studying her.

“What?” she asked, slamming the door.

“Oi,” he hissed, “be nice to my truck.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Kayse asked again.

Orion breathed deeply as if thinking hard about what he was going to say next. He began turning the truck around before he responded.

“You’re not going to sell this place,” he said confidently.

“Oh, I’m not?” Kayse scoffed.

“I saw you out there,” Orion said. “You’re not going to keep this place to prove me wrong, or to honor your uncle or for the money. You’re going to keep it and stay here because you’re in love with it.”

“I love Ember, yes,” Kayse began.

“No, no, no,” Orion interrupted her. “You are in love with this life. With the land and the horses and riding.”

“You’re a big cheeseball under all that machismo, aren’t you?” Kayse chuckled. “Look, my mom was a drunk and sometimes, depending on the man she was with, a druggie. Every once in a while, whatever state we happened to be in at the time would catch onto what a piss-poor mother she was before she could leave town. I’d get picked up, usually in the middle of the night, and be dumped here around bedtime the next day. The first few times, I was terrified and traumatized and all Uncle Kal could think to do was put me on a horse. It was novel to me, I’d never even touched a horse before in my life the first time he took me out to the barn and set me up on Ember. I had to have been five or six the first time and he was just trying to distract me from my problems so I’d stop crying. It worked. I guess I learned that horses meant comfort and I got bolder as I got older. I’d follow him around the place and learn what I could.”

“And, you fell in love with it,” Orion added.

Kayse found it hard to continue to argue the point and they both fell silent for several moments as the truck bounced across the field.

Orion finally sighed heavily and spoke again, “I’m sorry about earlier. I guess I forgot that you lost someone too, and a lot has been put on you in a very short amount of time. I didn’t know you had it so rough growing up. I never asked, just kind of always assumed you spent a few summers with Mr. Hughes as a kid and never bothered to show back up.”

“Well,” Kayse shrugged, “I kinda made some assumptions about you too. Whilhelmina set me straight.”

“You can always count on Willie to do that,” Orion smiled softly.

“Truce then?” Kayse suggested.

“Sure,” Orion shrugged. “By the way, shotgun gets the gates.”

He smiled coyly as they rolled up to a gate.

The rest of the ride was spent in polite conversation. Orion explained that not only did he train the quarter horses, but he also rode many of them in rodeos. Oftentimes, if a horse performed well, he’d receive an offer for it after their performance. He also rode several of the mares and stallions in rodeo and shows to show off their breeding. Some of the mares had not even been bred yet and there were buyers interested in their foals. Uncle Kalvin and Mr. Ward had a rule that none of the mares were to be bred until they were soundly broken and at least five years old. According to Orion, it ensured that they weren’t turning out any offspring with genetic issues and could determine if the disposition of the mare was worth passing down. The same went for the studs who, Orion bragged, were all so sound that they could be “marched by a row of mares in heat and not so much as snort.”

Kayse had to admit that the quarter horse operation sounded impressive. When she inquired about the clydesdales however, Orion’s tone seemed to shift.

“The clydesdales,” he drew a deep breath. “These guys are from very ancient lines, they trace all the way back to Scotland. They worked for some of the oldest families in the country. Our families both have been raising them for generations.”

“Are they in demand?” Kayse asked.

“You could say that,” Orion said.

Kayse looked at him for some elaboration.

He shrugged awkwardly. “It’s more like we’re working to preserve the bloodline. We breed them, keep them healthy, and protect the integrity of their genetics.”

“So, they’re more like a hobby?” Kayse asked.

Orion nodded, “yeah, you could call it that.”

Kayse had a feeling he wasn’t quite telling her everything, but she didn’t want to push the issue. The homestead was in view now and the sun was starting to set. Whilhelmina’s truck was still parked in front of the house and a light was on in the kitchen.

“I’m going to throw you out and blow through,” Orion said. “I have stuff to do and if I stop, she’ll make me stay to eat. Old girl has a thing about orphans. She thinks we’re all starving. You should have seen how she took care of Brigid when she was a foal. I’ve never seen a baby horse in danger of being obese before or since.”

Kayse had to laugh at the thought of a chunky little foal following Whilhelmina around the ranch.

Orion dropped her off and booked it out of the driveway. She made her way inside and sure enough, Whilhelmina immediately expressed disappointment that Orion did not stick around to eat. She had managed to make pork chops, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and biscuits in the time it took Kayse and Orion to move the horses and get back home. Kayse tucked in, surprised by how hungry she actually felt and trying to remember the last time she had actually sat down to a home cooked meal.

“It was great riding Ember again,” she confessed conversationally as Whilhelmina cleared her plate away. “I hear you have a horse of your own, Brigid?”

“Oh, yes,” Whilhelmina cooed. “Her mother… well, she died when Brigid was still just a newborn. I was lucky to find the little filly before she froze to death. I brought her home and raised her. Far as she was ever concerned, I was her mama. She’s still my baby to this day. She didn’t develop right because of the trauma around her birth, so it’s doubtful she’ll ever be able to have babies. Compared to the rest of the herd, she’s just a whisp of a thing.”

Kayse stared in wonder as she slid a small plate of apple cobbler in front of her.

“You said you were a vet, not a personal chef, right?”

“Oh,” Whilhelmina laughed. “I used to cook for Kal and Gery all the time, at least once a week we’d get together for dinner and cards. I’ve missed it so much these past several weeks.”

Her countenance grew sad as she sat across the table with her own plate of dessert.

“You miss them a lot, huh?” Kayse said, reaching across to give the old gal’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“We spent nearly fifty years working together,” Whilhelmina said. “They were just a couple young, headstrong bucks when I met them. Gery was fresh out of the military and Kal was in college, studying to become anything except a lawyer like his own father.”

“How did they come to become a couple of horse ranchers?” Kayse asked.

“Oh, I think that was my fault,” Whilhelmina laughed. “I introduced them both to the clydesdales and they, well, they fell in love with them. It didn’t take them long to come into the money they needed.”

Kayse thought hard for a long moment. “So, you had the clydesdales first?”

“Yes,” Wilhelmina said. “Just a handful at the time that I had inherited. The original herd came over from Scotland with my family. Since I never married, I had no family to pass them down to. Kal and Gery the closest thing I’ve had to family in a long time.” She smiled softly. “And, now I have you and Orion.”

Kayse felt a strange nudging in her chest. Something was not adding up here, she just could not put her finger on what.

“I don’t know much about family,” Kayse said. “But, I feel like I owe it to Uncle Kalvin to at least give this a fair shot. And, what can I say, I love those horses.”

Wilhelmina’s blue eyes sparkled knowingly. “I better let you get settled in and get some rest then.” She began to clear the plates away. “Tomorrow we’ll start training you to be a real rancher.”

After Wilhelmina left, Kayse went into the livingroom, sitting at the desk. She remembered being a little kid, watching movies on the couch while Uncle Kalvin worked at this desk. She reached for the middle drawer on the right side, as she had often see him do and found it locked. Remembering the keys she had received, she went to the hook by the front door and retrieved them. Sure enough, there was an old school brass key on the chain that fit in the lock of the desk drawer. Pulling it open, she found sections labeled by year and manila folders labeled with different names. She spotted Ember’s file and lifted it out.

Princess Ember

Born: 1993

Dam: Solstice Hearth

Sire: Emyr

Foaled: 1998

Colt

Foal: Agni Royal

Foal’s Sire: Sargon

Foaled: 2000

Filly

Foal: Nuria Royal

Foal’s Sire: Sargon

Foaled: 2022

Filly

Foal: Hestia Of the Keep

Sire: Henrich

The list continued on and on until the year before last. The same two studs seemed to be the only ones she bred with, mostly Sargon.

“Wow, Ember,” Kayse muttered. “You’re like a great-great-great grandma by now.

She felt a little sad thinking about how old her beloved friend must be now and how much time she may or may not have left. She sighed and shook the thought from her head. She slid the folder back in the drawer and locked it. She’d have to familiarize herself with these later. Sleep was calling her name.

The next day, Kayse woke up early, stirring stiffly against the hard mattress in her old room. The smell of coffee reached her nose and she knew instantly that Wihelmina was already bouncing about the kitchen. Opening her suitcase, Kayse selected a pair of jeans and a tee shirt she didn’t care much about. She made a mental note that she would have to go shopping for some suitable clothes. Her wardrobe from SoCal was not going to cut it here on a ranch in Wyoming, especially with winter moving in soon.

As she made her way down the narrow steps, she was surprised to hear a familiar man’s voice. The lawyer who had tracked her down in California was sitting at the table, making polite conversation with Wilhelmina.

“Ah, Kayse,” Charlie stood up as she entered the room. “Good to see you again.”

“You remember Charlie, right,” Whilhelmina said cheerily.

“Yeah,” Kayse nodded. “Kinda hard to forget.”

Charlie sat back down, “I’m sorry again for your loss.” He said. “I told you when we were in California there were more matters to discuss, finer details and what not. I was hoping we could do that today.”

“That would be great,” Kayse said. “If…” she looked to Wilhelmina “I have time.”

“You’re self employed now, sweetheat,” Wilhelmina turned back to the stove. “You have all the time you want.”

“Good,” Charlie said, reaching under the table and extracting a suitcase. He popped it open and extracted several folders. “I’ve taken the liberty of transferring the titles and deeds to the land, farm equipment and vehicles to your name. Let’s face it, when the snow starts flying, that little matchbox car you have in the drive isn’t going to cut it out here. The water rights and mineral rights are also in your name, you never know. You wouldn’t be the first rancher to stumble upon gold or coal on their property.” He set one folder down in front of her before continuing.

“This is all his accounts and holdings,” he lifted up a second folder. “Most of his financials were done through a bank here in town. Your uncle certainly had a mind for money. All his financial for the ranch were on one account. Any debts associated with the ranch, of which there were few, have already been paid off through that account per his last wishes. It was his habit at the end of the quarter to move an estimate of his tax obligations to one account. Twenty percent of his profits went into the business savings account, saved his neck a few a times. Of the remaining profits, an additional twenty percent went to his personal checking account and fifteen percent into a savings account at a larger banking branch with a location in Cody. He’s had a few good years, so all the accounts are well in excess of the ranch’s needs.” He set the folder in front of her. “The accounts have all been transferred to your name. The online log-in information for each of the accounts and latest account statements are also in there. As well as a letter from you uncle.”

Wilhelmina placed a coffee cup and a plate with toast, eggs and ham in front of her. “Kalvin was terrible with money. That’s why his business partner and best friend kept him on an insanely tight leash. All of this this was Gery’s financial genius.”

“That’s the other thing I have to tell you,” Charlie said. “The account in Cody is actually a joint account. It seems you share the account with Orion Ward. Have you, uh, had the pleasure?”

“I’ve met him,” Kayse nodded.

“Apparently the purpose of the joint account is explained in that letter,” Charlie said. “I imagine it’s a rainy day fund. Or, judging by the amount in the account, a end-of-times fund.” He scoffed a little. “I should advise you, your uncle paid me a small retainer fee every month. I hope to continue to represent your family and business. The fee also covers my wife’s fee as an accountant.”

“Same price as you charged my uncle?” Kayse asked.

Charlie nodded.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Kayse shrugged.

“This folder,” Charlie held up on more file, “is essentially documents for each horse, stating that your uncle owned them and that upon his passing you took ownership. Also, a few antiques in the house are certified and insured and those all transfer to your name as well. With exception of a few bottles of liquor and an antique musket he willed to Wilhelmina.”

“I set them aside in your uncle’s old room,” Wilhelmina said. “Except the bottle of whiskey he won from me in a poker game several years ago and never opened. I may or may not have gone to his plot and opened it in front of him and drank half of it.”

Kayse gave a chuckle, “I’d have never guessed you had a spiteful side like that.”

“That’s about all there is to discuss,” Charlie said. “If you have any questions, I put both mine and my wife’s business cards in there. If there’s any trouble, I can also connect you to a variety of resources.”

“Trouble?” Kayse asked.

She couldn’t help but notice that Charlie and Wilhelmina exchanged a brief look.

“Things happen,” Charlie said. “Just let me know if there’s anything you need. I worked with your uncle a long time, considered him a good friend.”

He stood up and shook Kayse’s hand. They exchanged polite “thank you”s before he left.

Kayse picked up her coffee, sipping on it as she opened the financials folder. As her eyes scanned the first page, she drew a sharp breath mid-sip and began sputtering. The first page was Kalvin’s, now her personal account. A debit card was paper clipped to the top of the page and the numbers in the checking total was five figures, and the savings total was six. Kayse couldn’t recall the last time she had seen more than a thousand in her own checking account. Her shock only increased as she saw how much was in the business account and the so-called rainy day account was even more impressive.”

“I can’t believe he had this much all this time,” Kayse shook her head. “He… he could have fought my mother for custody.”

“It occurred to him,” Wilhelmina said. “After the last time you were brought here, he assumed you'd be back again within a year. When that didn’t happen, he started trying to reach out to your mother. She got ahold of him once to ask for money, but wouldn't tell him anything about you. He finally went as far as to hire a PI. He was unsuccessful too.”

“And, he hoped I’d come back when I grew up,” Kayse shook her head.

“Why didn’t you?” Wilhelmina asked.

Kayse shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I wanted to leave my childhood behind me as much as possible.”

“Naw,” Wilhelmina said, a knowing glint in her eyes.

“I-” Kayse sighed, picking up the unopened envelope with her name penned in Uncle Kal’s hand writing. “I was just a kid that got dumped on him about once a year for a few months or so. I never understood why he kept accepting me in. I was moody and dysfunctional…”

“You were a child,” Wilhelmina took her hand. “I never heard him speak of anyone the way he spoke of you. You’d think you were his own daughter. He loved the way you approached the horses with absolutely no fear. And, do you remember when he took you to the movies and it dumped a foot of snow while you were in the theater right on top of rain? He said he’d never seen these roads so bad. He almost turned around to go rent a hotel in town. He always told me that you were as cool as a cucumber all the way home, you didn’t even make a peep when the truck went sideways down Two-Mile Hill. He’d no sooner put the truck in park then you burst into tears.”

“I remember that,” Kayse laughed. “He didn’t know it, but I was so terrified all the way home, when the truck finally stopped, I was just so relieved. Poor Uncle Kal was so confused. He carried me inside and wouldn’t put me down until I settled down. Made a pot of hot coco and built a fire in the fireplace with one hand.”