Hanta Yo
Well-known member
A friend is writing a novel, this is the first page.....ignore the typos, I think it's very descriptive but I also have more pages......
The wind blew soft from the southeast caressing the winters drifts with it's warm eare&&-Tom smelt it's promise-winter's end coming soon-the promise of all things possible. His sixteen year old body felt the thick blood of winter move to make room for the boil of spring. He's been stuck at the ranch all winter-stuck in the drudgery of feeding cattle and keeping warm-every day the same.Now he'd reaching the breaking point it was time to do something Jack his Dad had rode to town on business and left Tom behind to run the place but Tom was sure he could sneak away for a couple days. Last year at the lease roundupTom hads met Sue Gibbons. She'd rode up with her Dad George to check for strays-Tom could still remember when their knees touched when their horses crowded together-how his heart had lept up to his throat. In fact the thought was never far out of his mind all through the long cold winter. He had to see her again no matter what it took.
The brood mares and the old buckskin stud were running back in the hills about ten miles out-only about twenty miles north of the Gibbon's home place. A day out and a day back on a good horse and he could spend some time with Sue.Tom needed an excuse to visit but he was sure he'd think of something on his way there. As far as his mother knew he was riding to check out some wolf tracks he'd found while fetching wood with the team. He just had to catch one of the geldings and head out. The one he wanted was Ol' Pig-a gooch eyed paint-he was mean eyed and long geared-just what he needed for a long ride in soft snow-if you could stick him he was a mighty horse. Ol' Pig was running in gelding pasture down along the creek so Tom got on one of the old chore horses bareback and gathered them in.
Ol' Pig wasn't born yesterday and tried to run back out with thhe rest but Tom slammed the big rail gate in his face. The old bronc trotted around the horse pen with his tail cocked as if to say you caught me but you still haven't won yet. Tom fetched his Dad's old bronc saddle and got a rope on Ol' Pig. As he felt the lariet tighten on his neck the old warrior wheeled and ran up the rope-lucky Tom was quick as he dodged around the snubbing post and gathered in the slack. Ol' Pig struck out with one massive hairy foot and ripped Tom"s jacket-a little reminder of the power and temper under his spotted hide. Quickly grabbing a second rope Tom tied up a front foot and got the saddle on him. The commotion had drawn Tom's mother Beth from the house.
"Tom-what in god's name are you up too-you know you can't handle that horse"
Tom however was a vastly different boy from the one that had entered the fall-the hard work had added twenty pounds of muscle and the thoughts of Sue had removed what little caution he had.Tom was on the verge of being a man and no woman especially his mother was telling him what he could and couldn't do.
"I can handle him and by god I will you just get that gate open once I get on"
" Your crazy-where do you plan on riding anyways"
"I found wolf tracks up along the river yesterday so I'm going to check on the mares-this is the only horse we got that can outrun that stud if he puts the run on me. I might cross the river while it's still froze and see if those stray yearlings drifted into George"s cows this winter. I'll be back in a couple days."
Beth had been raised with four brothers so she knew there was no use arguing with a blood hot young cowboy-her blood chilled with the thoughts of all the things that could happen and how little he would listen to her.
The wind blew soft from the southeast caressing the winters drifts with it's warm eare&&-Tom smelt it's promise-winter's end coming soon-the promise of all things possible. His sixteen year old body felt the thick blood of winter move to make room for the boil of spring. He's been stuck at the ranch all winter-stuck in the drudgery of feeding cattle and keeping warm-every day the same.Now he'd reaching the breaking point it was time to do something Jack his Dad had rode to town on business and left Tom behind to run the place but Tom was sure he could sneak away for a couple days. Last year at the lease roundupTom hads met Sue Gibbons. She'd rode up with her Dad George to check for strays-Tom could still remember when their knees touched when their horses crowded together-how his heart had lept up to his throat. In fact the thought was never far out of his mind all through the long cold winter. He had to see her again no matter what it took.
The brood mares and the old buckskin stud were running back in the hills about ten miles out-only about twenty miles north of the Gibbon's home place. A day out and a day back on a good horse and he could spend some time with Sue.Tom needed an excuse to visit but he was sure he'd think of something on his way there. As far as his mother knew he was riding to check out some wolf tracks he'd found while fetching wood with the team. He just had to catch one of the geldings and head out. The one he wanted was Ol' Pig-a gooch eyed paint-he was mean eyed and long geared-just what he needed for a long ride in soft snow-if you could stick him he was a mighty horse. Ol' Pig was running in gelding pasture down along the creek so Tom got on one of the old chore horses bareback and gathered them in.
Ol' Pig wasn't born yesterday and tried to run back out with thhe rest but Tom slammed the big rail gate in his face. The old bronc trotted around the horse pen with his tail cocked as if to say you caught me but you still haven't won yet. Tom fetched his Dad's old bronc saddle and got a rope on Ol' Pig. As he felt the lariet tighten on his neck the old warrior wheeled and ran up the rope-lucky Tom was quick as he dodged around the snubbing post and gathered in the slack. Ol' Pig struck out with one massive hairy foot and ripped Tom"s jacket-a little reminder of the power and temper under his spotted hide. Quickly grabbing a second rope Tom tied up a front foot and got the saddle on him. The commotion had drawn Tom's mother Beth from the house.
"Tom-what in god's name are you up too-you know you can't handle that horse"
Tom however was a vastly different boy from the one that had entered the fall-the hard work had added twenty pounds of muscle and the thoughts of Sue had removed what little caution he had.Tom was on the verge of being a man and no woman especially his mother was telling him what he could and couldn't do.
"I can handle him and by god I will you just get that gate open once I get on"
" Your crazy-where do you plan on riding anyways"
"I found wolf tracks up along the river yesterday so I'm going to check on the mares-this is the only horse we got that can outrun that stud if he puts the run on me. I might cross the river while it's still froze and see if those stray yearlings drifted into George"s cows this winter. I'll be back in a couple days."
Beth had been raised with four brothers so she knew there was no use arguing with a blood hot young cowboy-her blood chilled with the thoughts of all the things that could happen and how little he would listen to her.