Chapter 1
Kristen (Kris for short) sat watching her horse Jasper run through the pasture on a beautiful Montana morning. She had just rescued him from a slaughter house not a month ago and it had taken only a few weeks for him to start bonding with her and listen to her commands. The autumn wind blew through his mane and tail as he ran like a wild horse on the plains. Kris herself had come from a difficult home and if it wasn’t for her foster mom, Annie, she might never have gotten to know Jasper and the better life she lived now. “It would be a perfect time for me to see if Jasper would let me ride him,” Kris thought “Jasper come.” She grabbed the halter and lead rope as Jasper came running towards her. He halted right before he ran into the gait and she let herself into the pasture. She put the halter on him and led him down to the barn to grab his tack. After, Kris decided it would be a good idea to tack Jasper up in a pen rather than in a barn so she had more space just in case that Jasper decided to fight the tacking process. She took him down to the training arena and ground tied him. Jasper eyed the tack and let out a nervous snort. Kris picked up the bridal and Jasper went crazy he took off to the other side of the ring and stood there daring Kris to come closer to him with the bridal. Kris made a mental note to try and track down Jasper’s record of owners due to the possibility that he might have been abused and that is why he hated being tacked up.
Kris decided she should join up with Jasper maybe then he would decide to trust her with the tack. Kris walked up to Jasper and unhooked the lead rope and then walked to the middle of the pen. She sent him around the pen with a flick of his lead rope. After a few laps he gave her the sign she had been looking for he started opening and closing his mouth as if he were chewing. She turned her back and waited. Jasper halted and met her in the center and put his nose on her back. Kris walked off and as if he had a lead rope on him he followed her. She turned around and patted him on the nose and then clipped the lead on and led him to the fence. She ground tied him once again and picked up Jasper’s bridal. This time Jasper didn’t take off running at mere sight of the bridal but he still looked at it nervously. Kris approached him cautiously and raised the bridal to his mouth. “He took it!” she thought excitedly as Jasper let the bit slide between his teeth and over his tongue. Next, Kris tried the saddle and Jasper just stood there like an old pro. After putting on Jaspers tack she sent him around the pen one more time. After his lap she brought Jasper to the center and double checked his saddle to make sure it was tight and then mounted him. She pushed him into a walk and after another lap pushed him through the rest of the gaits. After she cantered for a little while she brought him to a halt. She dismounted and then walked Jasper through the gait. “I think I will take him on the trails for a while” Kris thought. As Jasper left the gait, he started prancing letting Kris know he was rearing to go. That is a good sign Kris thought I can’t wait to see how he does on the trails. As she mounted Jasper suddenly sidestepped violently. Kris’s slipped her foot out of the stirrup and grabbed the reins to secure Jasper from running off. Looking around for what might have spooked him, Kris noticed that her mom had just come out of the house with a white shopping bag. Jasper must not like bags as well Kris thought, sure enough when her mom started coming toward them Japer reared and started to dance violently. It took all of Kris’s strength to not let go of him as he reared and sidestepped to avoid the oncoming bag. Kris hurriedly half dragged Jasper through the open gate and let him go. Before he could bolt through the gate she closed and latched it. “What happened? Are you okay? Kris I have never ever seen him act like that before! Why do think that happened?” “Mom Mom one question at a time!!!!” Kris was in the midst of trying to catch her breath. “I am okay just out of breath. I believe that the bag set him off but I am not sure he just went crazy! Can I see that sack I want to try something!” “Here you go”. Kris took the bag and entered the pen Jasper was nervously eyeing the sack from the other side of the arena. As Kris tried to get closer Jasper took off around the ring. Kris turned around and hid the sack under her shirt. As she turned around Jasper looked at her confused he couldn’t understand why the bag had disappeared. Cautiously, he came toward her and sniffed her hand. As she pulled the bag back out of her shirt he went wild and set off to the other end of the pen. “Mom, we really need to track down a history on him I think he has been abused and I will need to do a lot with him before he is ready to go to a home if we decide not to keep him!!!” “I will see what I can do hun!! I will start at the slaughter house and work my way from there it might take a while but you can test him with certain things around the barn!!! Now that we know that he hates sacks we can start working with him on that and go from there!”
After Jasper had calmed down, Kris decided to try again taking him out on the trails. She got him out of the gate and ran him down the first trail towards the river. Once at the river Kris allowed Jasper to get a drink as she dismounted she didn’t want to try to take Jasper through the water on his back just in case he panicked and she needed to calm him down. After they got through the river, much to Kris’s surprise with no problems, she mounted again and then turned Jasper towards the ridge that overlooked her house. They ran up the hill and halted at the top of the ridge.
Kris loved this view, her house down in the valley and the beautiful snow capped mountains in the background. She decided to dismount Jasper and enjoy the scenery. Looking at her watch she noticed that she might be late to dinner and with a sigh she decided she would enjoy the scenery a little longer before heading home. Annie never minded her being a little late for dinner unlike her birthmother would have. Kris had come a long way since she was taken by the state because her mom and dad were inadequate to take care of her. It had been her mom that had beaten her before both parents were taken but had her dad been home Kris knew he would have helped in the abuse she received from her mom. Kris vividly remembered the days leading up to when her mom and dad were arrested and she was put into the foster care system. She had come home, always hoping that she had beaten her mom home. She would sneak a snack (her mom never allowed snacks it was 3 meals a day and nothing else) and then go to her room locking the door to do her homework as fast as she could. Once her mom came home it was a good idea to vacate the premises. Her mom had no problem, especially when she was drunk or had a bad day, finding something to hit and beat Kris about if one thing was out of order.
Three days before Kris was taken by the state, she had come home just like usual and done what homework she could do in such a short amount of time before her mom got home. She had decided to skip a snack because she had a big lunch. Finishing her calculus homework, she heard the door open, “Damn she is early,” Kris thought, “I hope she had a good day and that she isn’t drunk.” Man was she wrong!!! “KRIS GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!!!!!” Kris ran down the stairs hoping that she would receive a slap or something that wouldn’t leave a bruise that she would have to explain later.
As Kris rounded the corner her mom grabbed her by the sleeve of her shirt and pushed her into the corner of the wall. Shooting pain shot down her spine as she hit the wall. After her mom had pushed her into the wall she let go and Kris sunk to the floor not being able to move. She was hurt and wished she hadn’t come downstairs. Before she could fully recover enough to stand her mom threw a kick that landed straight into her ribs. After being beaten for what seemed like a long time, Kris wobbled back to her room and cried her eyes out. Her mom hadn’t been drunk this time she probably was taking her frustration from work out on her. How was she going to explain this at school the next day? She was bruised everywhere except her upper arms, face, and lower legs.
She failed miserably at finding an excuse to tell her teacher why she was in pain. She was sent to the nurse’s office and after the nurse took one look at the bruises and stepped out of the room. The next thing Kris knew time had stopped and the police were there, dragging her down to the station, and all the while asking her to confess to the abuse that her mom and dad had been giving her. When she couldn’t take the questioning anymore she broke down and told them what was happening at her house. It had all gone so quickly from one day being worried what was going to happen to the next being at a place she didn’t have to worry. The one question Kris couldn’t get out of her mind was, “How long will my happiness and being in this good home last?”
After an hour of enjoying the scenery and thinking about her past, Kris was ready to go home. She checked Jasper’s saddle and then mounted. She rode him back to the barn with no problems, which was a good thing because she really was in a daze and not paying attention to what Jasper was doing. When she got back she noticed Annie walking towards her. “How was your ride? Did he do okay?” “Yes, He did fine and the ride went smoothly. Did you call the slaughter house?” “Yes Kris, I did, they don’t have a record for him but said that they got him from an auction and gave me the auctioneer’s name so I will call him in the morning. It is time for dinner so cool him down and come on in and eat.” “Okay mom.” Kris wasn’t too hungry her appetite was nonexistent due to remembering her past which had made her sick to her stomach. Why had her mom and her dad treated her that way? What had she done to deserve a mother and father that abused her so much?
If people thought her mom was crazy, they would think her dad was a different kind of crazy. Thinking of her dad made Kris shutter just as much as thinking about her mom did. What he had done to her had made her afraid of older men probably for the rest of her life. When Kris was young and didn’t understand that what her dad was doing was wrong, her dad made excuses and told Kris that where he was touching and playing with her was what every dad did to their daughters to make their relationships stronger with each other. When Kris had entered into middle school she learned that what her dad had been doing had been wrong and she confronted him about it. That confrontation started the raping and more violent sexual abuse that Kris had experienced in the following years up until her dad was arrested. She had told friends what her mom had done to her but she had never confessed, until the confession to the police, what her dad had done to her. It was the fear of being judged as a whore that made her never confess to what her dad did to her.
Kris couldn’t express how happy she was to have Anne as a foster mom. It was so good to be out of the house she grew up in and away from her abusive mother and father that had hurt her for so long ago. In so many ways she understood what was going through Jasper’s mind. How could she trust any adult again? Why should she ever trust an adult again? It had taken her long enough to start trusting Anne and like Jasper the trust was there but only because of being in her home for several months. Now the only thing she was missing in her life was a boyfriend and a father that she could trust. She had longed to have a father to be apart of her life and often wondered why she was never lucky enough to have one that was good to her. After cooling Jasper down Kris went into eat and then after getting the chores and homework she had done for the night she settled in for a long nights rest.
Chapter 2
The following days for Kris were filled up with school and working with Jasper. Anne had called the auctioneer but had no response and Kris was wondering if he was intentionally not calling them back for fear of what he had to tell them. On Friday morning, as Kris was getting ready to leave for school, the phone rang and Kris ran to answer it. “Hello?” Kris listened and heard a man on the other end of the line. “Hi my name is Gabe Santiago. I am the Auctioneer at Colby Auction House and got a note that an Anne Montoya called to ask about a horse I sold a few months ago. Is she around? I would like to speak to her” “No sir she is at work but I am her daughter and I am the one working with Jasper… what information can you give me on him?” Kris’s heart skipped a beat while she waited for the man to answer. “What is his number we stamped in his mouth so I can pull up his records?” The auctioneer asked. Kris thumbed through her files and found Jaspers file. “Sir the number is 5P719H8” Kris told Gabe. “Ok my files indicate that this horse was a nationally recognized jumper named Sunny Takes it Home. He was sold to us because the owner was not able to afford to take care of him any longer and couldn’t control his spooky horse. When we got him he was very skinny and he had what looked like whip marks on his flanks. A Marty Nolan, one of our frequent buyers was the only bid on Sunny he runs the slaughter house.” “Do you have any information on the owner that gave him up? Specifically a number I can reach him at I really need to get more information.” Gabe hesitated, “I am technically not supposed to be giving the number out but if you will let me know what he says I will be willing to give you the number. I agree the abusing a horse is not a good thing…ok his number is 406-523-6798.” Kris looked at her watch “damn," she thought "I am late… Gabe I have to go I am late for school thanks again and I will keep you updated.” After hanging up with Gabe she ran to the bus that just pulled up and headed off to school.
After the school bell rang, Kris ran to the bus. It had been hard to get through the day knowing that she was in reach of understanding why Jasper was the way he was. She also couldn’t wait to tell Anne what she had learned from the auctioneer. When she got home she ran inside. Anne was sitting in the kitchen talking on the phone so Kris ran upstairs to change into her barn cloths. When she came down Anne was off the phone so Kris sat down to talk to her. “The auctioneer called this morning before school,” Kris was so pumped that she couldn’t sit down any longer. “Oh he did what did he say?” Kris continued telling everything that the auctioneer had told her and even that he had given her a phone number to call. “Kris we will call tomorrow ok I want to be here when you do because I want to be able to talk to him as well.” “Ok Anne, will do, I am headed out to the barn to work with Jasper some more.” With that Kris headed out the door and headed to the barn.
The following day Kris and Anne sat down to call Jaspers owner. “Hello, Jesse speaking how may I help you?” “Hi my name is Anne Montoya and my daughter Kris Montoya is on the line as well we have some questions for you about your former horse Sunny Takes it Home.” “Um… how did you get my number? Was it that lousy auctioneer? He isn’t supposed to give out my number!” Kris was stunned at how mad the guy was. “Sir we just need to know the history he is so frightened at everything and is a liability waiting to happen if you could just tell us what he was like before you gave him for auction that would be a big help.” Jesse seemed to calm down a little, “Well he was a great jumper he won me a lot of ribbons but then he became too high stung and finicky and I couldn’t train him out of it.” Kris was confused, “Just like that? Did he have an accident or anything? What made him like that? It is very unusual for a horse to become that way out of the blue.” Jesse hesitated, “Yes ma’am we went to the nationals and at that competition he spooked before going over the last wall jump…he had never done that before… we crashed over the wall I broke my collar bone and he pulled most of the tendons in his front right leg. After he healed he was never the same horse and I just couldn’t ride him anymore.” Kris and Anne looked at each other, “What spooked him do you know?” Jesse started to get mad again he didn’t like to play 20 questions, “I have no damn idea ok I have to go I hope you can figure Sunny out because I don’t think he is worth anything but horse meat and glue! Have fun with him and don’t hold me responsible for him hurting you if he does!” And with that Jesse hung up without a goodbye. This left Anne and Kris stunned. Kris was so mad at Jesse that she wished she could go and hit him in the head and knock some since and understanding at how much Jasper was suffering. She turned to Anne with tears in her eyes. “Anne I don’t think he is telling us everything about him. It was either him or a ranch hand that put fear of different things in his mind… a horse doesn’t just start fearing, for example a white sack, for no reason what so ever.” Kris had hoped that he could give her a lead to what might have happened with Jasper so she could help the horse she had learned to love and care for.
After talking with Jaspers owner, Kris was in need of getting her mind off of the conversation. Kris headed to the barn and tacked Jasper up then headed out for a ride. Jasper didn’t fight her but seemed to pick up that she was upset and that she needed to calm down. He did everything she asked him to do and the entire ride was good. After an hour out on Jasper Kristen headed back to the ranch, untacked Jasper, and went inside to do some homework. Her ride had clamed her down and while doing her homework she thought more on what she could do to help Jasper. She wanted so bad to go up to his owner and give him a piece of her mind but decided that it wasn’t worth the risk she would be putting herself in. Why did he not care? The following day Kris called Jesse again just to see if she could get some more out of him. “Hello, Flying C Ranch, Ty speaking…how may I help you?” Kris was excited she was guessing she had gotten a ranch hand on the phone and decided to see if he knew anything. “Yes, Ty this is Kris Montoya speaking… I have a horse of Jesse’s that I bought at an auction and am trying to rehabilitate. I have some questions have you ever worked with Sunny Takes It Home?” “Yes…I have…but I am sorry I am not supposed to speak to you bosses orders” “Please Ty if I could just have a moment of your time even if it means going to get coffee or going for a ride I have a lot of questions that I need answered to help Sunny…Please!” “Ok, Ok I will meet you on the Ridge in about an hour would you mind bringing Sunny?” “Actually, I was thinking about that maybe it might make him a little bit happier. I will see you in an hour!” And with that she hung up.
Kris ran down the stairs and told Anne what had just happened. She was so excited that she couldn’t sit still for the hour and when it finally came time for her to tack up Jasper he was feeding off her excitement and was rearing to go. Anne came out of the house carrying turkey sandwiches one of her and the other for Ty and after sticking them in her saddle bag Kris was off to meet him. She got to the Ridge first and without any problems from Jasper. She dismounted and tied Jasper so that if he spooked at the sight of Ty he couldn’t get away. 30 minutes went by and Kris was just getting ready to give up on waiting when Ty rounded the corner on a beautiful paint. He dismounted and came towards her. “You must be Kris…nice to meet y…” Kris noticed he was looking at Jasper. “Oh my goodness…he is looking so good…can I see him?” “Yes Ty just go slowly I don’t want him to spook.” Kris watched Ty approach Jasper. She noticed the look in Jaspers eyes soften as Ty came near him. She was pleased that at least Ty was not the culprit behind Jaspers fears.
Chapter 3
Kris had Ty come over more that week. Jasper was a different horse around him and she was pleased with the progress he was making. His fears began to subside and seemed to liven up more than he had since he had come to the ranch. Ty and Kris were also becoming more of friends than Kris had ever thought possible. She was really glad he enjoyed hanging out with Jasper and Kris decided it might be time to ask Ty what might have happened to Jasper while at Flying C Ranch.
Kris told Ty to meet her on the ridge on Monday after school. When he arrived, they sat down for a picnic while they let the horses graze. When Kris got the nerve to ask Ty what had happened Ty interrupted her. “Kris will you…um…will you go out with me?” Kris was stunned and didn’t know how to answer. “You ok Kris?” Kris came back to reality, “Um…yes I am ok…and um…yes I will go out with you!” Kris blushed as she answered his question. After finishing their picnic and spending the rest of the time just talking to each other Kris and Ty went their separate ways. When she got back to the barn she realized that she had never asked Ty about what happened with Jasper. Damn she thought but that thought was quickly replaced by the excitement of what had happened on the ridge. After telling her mom what had happened she went and laid down for a nap after the long and exciting day she had.
That weekend when Ty and Kris went out on their first official date, Ty seemed distant. After the first hour of not talking or acting like he wanted to be there Kris decided to go home she was fed up with how Ty was acting. She turned to Ty “I am going home ok it sure seems like you don’t want to be here or at least be here with me!” Ty looked horrified and grabbed Kris’s arm and started to cry. “Kris it isn’t that I don’t want to be here with you… I do and I just can’t seem to show you that! I just have a lot on my mind that is keeping me from enjoying our time together but I don’t want that to seem that it is me not enjoying you being here!” Kris didn’t know how to answer him she was livid that he had too much on his mind to enjoy their date. What on earth could be so important that it would keep his mind off her?” After Ty took her home she cried herself softly to sleep so she wouldn’t wake Anne.
Kristen didn’t see Ty that much the rest of the week even though he kept calling her non stop. He didn’t seem to understand how much she had been hurt by the comment he had made the night before. She went out to the barn and started tacking Jasper up. Jasper somehow sensed she was upset and that made him upset. Her ride was as horrible as the first one she went on with him after she got him home from the slaughter house. After she struggled with Jasper some more she turned him home and rode home. When she had untacked Jasper she went to go to put him in his stall and noticed a piece of paper tapped to his stall door. Thinking it might be from Anne she put Jasper up and opened the letter and started reading the 3 page letter.
“Dear Kristen,
I know I made you mad the other night but it wasn’t because I wanted to. I never meant to hurt you! I asked you out for a reason and that was because I like you!! I had a lot on my mind but knowing many girls I am sure you thought that it was me thinking I had made a mistake!! I never did that!!! I just have a lot to tell you that I don’t know how to tell you… well here it goes… I an x convict. I was put in jail after I was caught stealing at a food market. I don’t know how to explain to someone who doesn’t know what hunger feels like but with my dad if I got a meal it was a good day. He and I just didn’t agree on everything and he didn’t always perform his fatherly duties so to speak. With no mother figure to keep him inline he got away with murder or in my case neglect.
When I stole it wasn’t for my pleasure it was food from the market. My dad knew I didn’t have the money to get food for us to eat when he told me to get us food so we could eat that night. I went to the market knowing once again I wasn’t going to get to eat and ended up having hunger get the best of me. I stole a roasted chicken and some potatoes and as I was walking out I was caught. When the police questioned me I told them my dad was wanting food and I didn’t have the money to get the food. However, when they questioned my dad he said that he had given me money that day to get food and with an adults words vs. a teens words in a court system I ended up serving two months in jail and my job at Flying C Ranch was assigned as my community service.
I hope this knowledge doesn’t change how you feel about me but if it does I won’t hold it against you!!! You are one of few that know and I would like to keep it that way. Knowing I had just asked you out drugged up my past. That is why I was distant. I didn’t want to take the chance you found out from someone else and we fight about it later!!! Kris please call me when you find the strength to call!!! Not before. I know you will need some time to think on all that I have told you just now and that is fine with me.
Ty”
