BooksBarbecue
Back Come Again No More
Chapters (55)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover
  3. Title Page
  4. Contents
  5. PART I 
  6. 1.
  7. 2.
  8. 3.
  9. 4.
  10. 5.
  11. 6.
  12. 7.
  13. 8.
  14. 9.
  15. 10.
  16. 11.
  17. 12.
  18. PART II 
  19. 13.
  20. 14.
  21. 15.
  22. 16.
  23. 17.
  24. 18.
  25. 19.
  26. 20.
  27. 21.
  28. 22.
  29. 23.
  30. 24.
  31. 25.
  32. 26.
  33. 27.
  34. 28.
  35. 29.
  36. 30.
  37. PART III 
  38. 31.
  39. 32.
  40. 33.
  41. 34.
  42. 35.
  43. 36.
  44. 37.
  45. 38.
  46. 39.
  47. PART IV 
  48. 40.
  49. 41.
  50. 42.
  51. 43.
  52. 44.
  53. 45.
  54. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  55. Touchstone Reading Group Guide

Neither of them saw it coming. On the fourth circuit around the corral, Nitro crow-hopped three times and then shook loose like a saddle bronc at the Cheyenne Frontier Days. Ben was so surprised that the gray almost threw him. He lost a stirrup, fumbled for it with a booted toe, found it just as the horse went into a tight, spinning turn. Ben had to grab for the saddle horn to stay on. As he did, the horse slammed into the corral fence, wedging Ben’s knee between the horse’s weight and an unyielding, creosote-soaked railroad tie set three feet down into the hardpan. Ezra heard Ben shout with pain and yelled at him to jump clear, but Ben was not willing to give up. The gray reared as high as he could go and came close to going over backward, but Ben’s weight on his neck was enough to bring him down. Another series of crow hops jolted Ben’s spine, but he hung on and managed to rein the horse away from another collision with the fence as he fishtailed across the corral and brought him to a splay-legged halt, the lathered stallion with his head down between his legs and white foam around the curb bit in his mouth.

Ben eased to the ground and winced when he put his weight on the leg that had hit the post. He got the saddle and bridle off the horse and limped over to where Ezra was perched on the rail.

“Doggone. He like to broke my leg.”

“Maybe I ought to take you into the hospital.”

“Naw. It’ll be sore as hell for a few days, but I’ll be all right. I’ll have to go at him slow. I can’t figure why he went off like that. What happened? He was goin along real easy and then all hell busted loose.”

“Damned if I know. Maybe he had that in mind all along and he was just playin possum.”

Ben grimaced. “Just when you think you’re gettin to know horses. I didn’t see it comin at all. Feel like a damned fool.”

Ben got a halter on the horse and led him around until he cooled down, curried and brushed him, turned him loose in the corral. It hurt to put his weight on the knee, but he pressed all around it with his thumbs and it didn’t feel like anything was broken. They spent the rest of the day working horses that were a whole lot easier to handle before getting cleaned up for the party at the main house.