If Horses could talk…

Sophie, here. I’ll let you in on a little secret. If the horses there on Second Chance Ranch could talk, well, we’d be in a whole lot of trouble. Prince Charming or Charmin’ as I call him, hold more secrets than anyone knows. And I’ll say, he should have a degree in counseling. I talked out more problems with him. Charming is a black gelding, and probably 10 years old. He’s patience, affectionate and loves apples. Of course he has a sweet tooth and love it when I bring him sugar cubes.

My other favorite horse is Brownie, who is used for the younger children.
But Charmin’ has my heart.

View from the DadI’m Ken McClure.

The father of Zach, Ethan and Beth.  Our ranch, north of Albuquerque, has been in the family since the 1880’s.  My grandfather, father and I have been ranchers.  Of course, in this day and age, ranching changed a bit.  But neighbors count and we help each other. 

Best times my kids had was Spring branding and the social that happened afterwards.

My children ran loose on the land, getting into things I don’t want to know about. I’ll say, Zach’s experiences with losing his leg shook us all, but Sophie didn’t cut that son of mine any slack.  That’s what he needed, and I thank the good Lord she brought him up to scratch.

My Viewpoint is….

I’m Lynda McClure, the mother of Zach, Ethan and Sophie. 

I’ve heard a lot of bragging and carrying on, but I’ll said that all my children are blessing.  Now that’s not to say they weren’t a handful.  Boys can be truly challenging, and I prayed that they would grow up to be wonderful young men.  They did, but oh the prayers.

I didn’t know how to handle Zach losing his leg.  I wanted to mother him, but I knew he had to deal with what had happened.  It took Sophie’s straight talk to snap me out of my dilemma.  My Zach needed tough love and Sophie gave it.

Of course, I’m not surprised, because the day Zach stomped into the kitchen and saw Sophie, I knew the boy had a thing for her.  I just wondered how long it would take him to discover that.  I happy to say he finally did.

C’mon Ollie

Zach: Ollie, that’s not true is it?

Beth:Sure it is.

Sophie: Maybe, she’s right, Zach.

Ollie: Stop with all the  hollering.  I’ve never witnessed in all my born days so much horse feathers. 

It was bad when Zach and Sophie were mooning over each other.  Nearly knocked me on my backside.  I’ll give Zach some credit.  When I walked in on him in the tack room after he fell flat on his face side-walking, the man gutted it up.  He threw that self pity out the window and went on.  He wrestled that pride of his down. Not too many men could.

He won my admiration.  Of course all the silly mooning and carrying on, I just had to shake my head.

Sorry, bro.

I can’t let Sophie take the blame, Zach.  It was me, your sis, who set who both up.  I just had that feeling you two were perfect for each other and would hit it off. 

Can’t say you’re the sharpest knife in the drawer, but eventually, you did.

But I’ll say, Sophie wasn’t any better.  She found reasons not to be around you.  I thought you must’ve done something really bad when I wasn’t looking, because she avoided you like a scalded cat.

But it turned out okay.  Don’t you think so, Ollie?

Yeah, and the reason I avoided you was….

Zach here.  I reason I avoided Sophie that weekend is because I knew I’d been set up.  I know a sucker punch when I see one, and boy did I get it.  Those were new boots and it didn’t rain anywhere else on the range.  That thundercloud was for me.

I guess I can laugh about it now.  I felt that connection with Sophie, but I wasn’t going to admit it.  To be bested by your little sister, how humiliating is that?

I often went to see my sister in college, hoping to see Sophie, but I think she was as gun-shy as I was.  She always managed to be unavailable when I was there.

Can you deny it, wife of mine?

I Should’ve Known

Sophie, here.  I want to give my friend Beth McClure credit for my relationship with Zach.  Beth and I were college roommates.  When she took me home that weekend, I didn’t suspect a thing.

I was standing the the kitchen when the back door flew open and a man stomped in. He was dripping wet, grumbling about the “stupid hole, his horse and his new boots.” When he looked up and his eyes connected with mine, the world shifted.  My stomach flipped.  He later admitted he felt the same connection. 

That zing I felt must’ve been felt by everyone else in the kitchen, because Beth had satisfied smile on her face.  So did her mom and Ethan.

The rest of the weekend, Zach avoided me like the plague.  Beth gambled on that we’d fall in love.  She was right, but it only took 10 years.

The Eldest

I’m Ethan McClure.  Zach’s my younger brother and you’ve heard from the baby, Beth.  Now Beth was pretty much a pest growing up, always following her big brothers around and ratting us out.  I remember one time Zach and I slipped out of the house one night after Mom said we couldn’t go to a party.  Beth followed us, then told our folks the next morning.  She’s a persistent soul, but in the end, it was her dog-eared determination that Zach would ride again the brought him to Second Chance Ranch.

Of course, Zach was worse that a wounded wolf, growling and trying to bite everyone’s head off who came near him.  Yeah, he had a good reason, but Beth saw beyond his rotten attitude.  Yeah, sis.  You did good.

I Need to Defend Myself

Zach, again.  I need to defend myself.  Well, I thought I had the right to my anger.  I was wounded and lost my leg.  When I came home, I couldn’t even stay on my horse.  I couldn’t see how my life could mean anything, but  everyone else thought differently.  Beth was a determined soul.  Nag, nag, nag, but I’m glad.  It was the wonderful smells that touched a hunger in me that I couldn’t turn away from.  Even after I fell lat on my face, that desire inside didn’t let me go.

God used that longing in me and I worked and worked.  It was easy, but I’ll say I am a stronger man now than I was when I had two legs.

If you’re wondering about the picture of the horse, that’s Prince Charming.  He’s the horse who stay in there with this stubborn soul.

Agent of Change—That’s me

Hey, guys.  I am Beth McClure.  Zachary is one of my brothers.  The other is Ethan.  Unfortunately, I was the youngest.  I always wanted to tag along with my older brothers, but they didn’t want me any where near them that is until I turned 13.  Suddenly, I had a big brother glued to my side and scaring off any boy who wanted to talk to me.  But that’s water under the bridge.

I was the one who helped Zach out of his funk.  Yes, he had a reason to have a bad attitude.  He lost his right leg from the knee down to a roadside bomb.  It tore all us up.  We prayed for him.  And my parents didn’t know how to act.  Too much would smother him and not enough—

Well, I knew what Zach needed.  My college roommate, who is ex-army herself, was working at a ranch where they wanted to start equine therapy program for wounded veterans.  It was an answer to prayer.  Of course, getting Zach there was not an easy feat.  I had to nag and nag and after about two weeks, he gave up and said he would try one afternoon.  That’s all he needed.  He was hooked.  A cowboy like him couldn’t walk away from the wonderful smells of a stable and horses.  Of course, my prayer life increased ten fold, but it was worth it.