Cowboy Up, Cole

By Iris Tuftin

Book 3 of the Double H Ranch Series. The Hollis family is challenged to pry the chip off the shoulder of twelve-year-old city boy, Cole. In spite of what is, at first, his unwilling participation in their lives of rodeo competition and ranch life, Cole quickly develops skills as a rider and roper. However, when Cole’s abusive father defies his court order and reappears to claim his son, heroic action is called for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Iris Tuftin
• Release date: Dec 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311392695

Iris Tuftin

Iris Tuftin, a retired school teacher, has lived the rodeo life. Although she didn’t grow up with horses, she was introduced to them by her husband, Nels, and soon became a knowledgeable and proficient horse person. Over the years, the family involved themselves in gymkhana, 4-H and rodeo.Both sons qualified to the National Finals High School Rodeo and went on to make names for themselves at the professional level, Daren as a bullfighter and clown, and Dean as a team roper, becoming the first Canadian to qualify to the NFR in that event.Iris and Nels have competed in team roping, with Nels claiming a Canadian Senior championship, but Iris’ claim to fame in rodeo proved to be in the barrel racing event. She was a multiple amateur champion, a qualifier to the Canadian Finals Rodeo in the mid 80’s, and a Canadian Senior Pro barrel champion.Iris and Nels live in central Alberta, Canada, hauling their horses south to their Arizona winter home for training.Music has always played a major role in Iris’ life as she played and sang in family bands from a young age and still performs with an all-female band called The Hinge.

Book preview

COWBOY UP, COLE

(Book Three of the Double H Ranch Series)

By

Iris Tuftin

Copyright © 2014, 2002 Iris Tuftin

Smashwords Edition

All Rights Reserved.

Other Double H Ranch Series titles by Iris Tuftin:

Wheelchairs and Watermelon

Heartbreak and Heroes

Reunion

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the many amateur and professional rodeo competitors who travel thousands of miles to pursue their love of rodeo. They are a special breed.

Table of Contents

1 The Call

2 Cole Comes to the Double H

3 Sand Springs Rodeo

4 The Making of a Cowboy

5 Rock Pickin’ and the Rope Lesson

6 The Bucking Barrel and Cole’s Mistake

7 Falsely Accused

8 Cole Takes Charge

9 Surprise Visitors for St. Francis Rodeo

1. The Call

The lanky thirteen-year-old arrived at the bottom of the stairs just as the phone rang. She grabbed it and read the call display. It’s Auntie Marla.

Answer it, would you, please? My hands are full. Bailey’s mother continued to pull ingredients from the cupboards for the cake she was planning.

Hi, Auntie Marla. How are you?

Hi, Sweetie. I’m good. Is school out now? Marla looked out the window at the drizzle and steady stream of cars and pedestrians passing by her downtown Vancouver office. She closed her eyes as if to transport herself to her sister’s quiet, country ranch home in Alberta.

Yesterday was our last day. Are you going to take a holiday and come visit us? Bailey plunked her long frame onto a stool at the kitchen island.

There’s nothing I’d rather do, but I’m swamped here at the office. How was your report card?

You want me to scan it in and send you a copy?

That’d be wonderful, Bailey. I’ll show it to my colleagues and brag about my brainy niece. How’s the new horse going?

He’s great. I might take him to Sand Springs. Bailey glanced up to the wall where a picture of her turning a barrel on a beautiful grey horse hung, and she tensed slightly.

That’s super. He must be going great then. I’m so happy for you. Marla turned towards a framed copy of the same photo, hanging next to her certificates of professional training as a family counsellor. The memories flooded back of the sad time a little more than a year prior.

I’m just hoping for a clean run. He’s still pretty green. You want to talk to Mom?

Sure. Good luck with Skip. Love you.

Thanks. Love you, too. Bailey handed the phone to her mother as she received instructions to complete the cake making.

Tina walked out to the patio with the phone. She had a feeling she’d need to be away from the whirring of the cake mixer. It was the first day of summer holidays, and she knew her twin well.

Hi, Marla. It’s good to hear from you. How are you?

Tina, I know it’s been a while. E-mail is all right, but I wanted to hear your voice.

Marla, I love you, but I know you better than that. I’ve been expecting your call. Who have you got for us this time? Tina tugged on the end of the long brown braid that hung over her shoulder.

You read me like a book. How’s Brayden? Did he go to that steer riding school at the Johansen’s?

Yes, he did. Now he’s even more determined. I can’t bear the thought of him bull riding one day. He’s an amazing little roper. We’re hoping he’ll stick to that. Now, spill, Marla. Have you got a summer ranch hand for us? Tina slipped out of her sandals and curled her feet under her on the padded chair.

Ranch hand! I know you’re joking. As if you ever treated Tiffany or Jessie like ranch hands! You guys could qualify for psychology degrees, and your ranch ought to be one of those high priced treatment centres that the celebrities send their kids to. Marla kicked off her high heels and pulled her feet underneath herself as though she had taken a cue from her sister on the other end of the line

We don’t have any magical answers. We just keep them busy and help them find a goal. The horses do the rest, I guess.

Don’t sell yourselves short, Tina. You guys are magic. The ranch is magic, the clean air, the river, the horses, even Buddy. It all adds up to the best treatment package ever. I’m sorry I can’t get you the compensation you deserve. I can only get the parents to voluntarily send their kids for a holiday on the ranch.

Don’t worry about that. We already had a talk about whether we ought to do this again, and we all agreed. We couldn’t imagine not having had Tiffany and Jessie in our lives.

You’re the best. Okay, here’s the thing, Marla ran her fingers through her shoulder-length auburn hair, the only physical trait that differed from her identical twin. Cole could be the most difficult case we’ve seen here. We’ve been providing assistance to the family for about six months at the mother’s request but without the father’s knowledge. He’s a terrible man. He’d been abusing Cole and his mom for a long time, but she wouldn’t lay charges, and Cole kept saying he could handle his dad.

That’s terrible. How old is Cole?

He’s only twelve, but he’s had to deal with more than any child his age should ever have to. Unfortunately, he’s made some bad choices. They live in a terrible neighbourhood, and we think Cole has joined a gang. You couldn’t blame him. He had to feel like he belonged somewhere. Anyway, what’s happened now is this. The dad came home one night very drunk and flew into a rage about money. He accused Cole of stealing out of his wallet. That’s possible because the only way they could even get grocery money from him would be to take it when he was passed out. He beat both his wife and Cole badly.

Oh, no! Are they all right?

She’s in the hospital, not just for her physical injuries, but she’s had a complete mental breakdown as well. The only good thing that came of it was that Cole finally called the police. His father has been sent to jail, and Cole has been in temporary foster care until his mom is well enough to go home. But I have the authority, and Grace’s permission, to send him to you for the summer. The sooner I can get him out of here, the better.

Just send us his flight information.

I knew you wouldn’t let me down. But Tina, I’ll be straight with you. He doesn’t want to go anywhere. He thinks he should be allowed to stay home alone. He says he can take care of himself, doesn’t need any help. He tries to put up a big tough front, but inside he’s a lost little boy.

2. Cole Comes to the Double H

Here they come down the river hill. Now remember what Aunt Marla said. Cole doesn’t want to be here. Don’t expect him to be very nice. Tina had interrupted her stew stirring to go peer through the blinds.

If he doesn’t want to be here, then why is Aunt Marla sending him? Brayden said as he laid the cutlery around the pine table.

Because he needs help, Honey. He’s lived in a household with an alcoholic father. We can only guess what some of the abuses he and his mother have endured.

If his father was so bad, why did his mother stay with him? Bailey asked.

Marla says it’s typical. She probably felt threatened and helpless, with nowhere to go. Tina explained, aware that her own children were pretty naïve about such matters.

Well, that’s still no excuse to be nasty to us, Bailey concluded.

Promise me you’ll be patient. We’ll get him turned around. You’ll see, Tina hurriedly added as she went to the door to greet their new guest.

Jay entered first, pulling a large piece of luggage that Tina recognized as Marla’s, no doubt on loan. He removed his signature black felt hat, stood aside on the rubber mat and motioned to the boy to come in.

Cole Linder stared at the ground and hung back, but when he looked up it was into the face of his trusted counsellor, Marla, and he stared, open-mouthed.

Hi, Cole. Welcome to Alberta, Tina said, smiling. I’m Marla’s sister, Tina.

He knew they were twins, just not that two people could be so identical. Not the hair, though. He liked Marla’s better. He stepped in and slipped off his backpack. She hugged him. He stiffened. Only his mother was allowed a hug.

This is Bailey, Jay gestured to the blonde girl at the sink. And that’s Brayden, he pointed to the freckle-faced kid grinning and putting water glasses around the table.

The Hollis kids both said Hi, but Cole said nothing, barely looking up.

‘He’s cute,’ Bailey thought, ‘and tall for twelve. He’s even taller than Jason Keller in my class. Those bruises are bad. How could his own father do that?’

‘He’d better get that cap off,’ Brayden thought, ‘Mom don’t allow no eatin’ at the table with a cap on. ’Specially turned backwards like that.’

‘It must be so hard for Jay to tolerate those pants. One little tug and they’d be down around his ankles,’ thought Tina. Brayden, take Cole up and show him where he can put his bags. Jay will help get the big suitcase up the stairs. Dinner’s in five minutes.

He knew they lived in a barn—what used to be a barn—but he wasn’t prepared to be so impressed. The knotty pine staircase led to the second floor, where he would share a bunk bed in Brayden’s room. He glanced at the posters of the Calgary Stampede and Edmonton Oilers. When he peeked out the window to the west, Brayden was quick to volunteer information about his grandmother’s house and that she was currently gone to Victoria to visit her sister, Great Aunt Katie.

Would you like to see the rest of the place? Brayden offered.

Cole shrugged and thought, ‘You bet. This place is amazing,’ but he followed along behind with an outward expression of disinterest.

Still on the second floor, they stopped by the spacious bathroom with the antique tub, the well-equipped office, and Bailey’s room, which Brayden passed by without entry. Then they climbed another flight of stairs to the top floor, where the master bedroom boasted a king-size bed covered with a colourful quilt—made by Grandma Hollis, Brayden said—private bath, and balcony, which overlooked the entire river flat’s horseshoe shape. Cole stared out at the view. Wouldn’t his mother love to have this kind of space? The sparkling river, the green fields dotted by cattle and horses, the garden and flowers. Wow!

‘Quit it, Cole,’ he scolded himself. ‘She’s not here. Grow up.’ Cole realized that these thoughts of his mother were bringing on homesickness. He determined to shake it off as they descended the stairs to the main floor.

Sit here, Cole, Tina pointed to a spot next to Brayden, across from Bailey. Cole stood with his mouth gaping open as he glanced quickly around the amazing room. A huge stone fireplace stood in one corner. An entire wall was covered with pictures, mostly of family members on horses at rodeos. The kitchen area had an island and, it appeared, every possible appliance. Copper pots and frying pans hung from the ceiling above. There was so much wood and stone and leather, like something out of an old western movie.

Soon, they were spooning in a delicious stew and buttering a warm biscuit. ‘A please or thank you would be nice,’ thought Tina as she offered Cole another biscuit and a refill of his glass of milk. ‘But that’s okay. This might take time, but we can do it. Cole is not a bad boy. He just needs to be convinced of that.’

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