Excerpt
twomonths, Tanya and Joel had also been supporting each other in
their efforts to maintain sobriety. At best, they had been going to
town for a meeting once or twice a week. It was a long drive to Great
Falls for the meetings, especially at the end of a work day, but they
knew that it was always worth it. The trips into town had become
the highlight of their week. They really enjoyed their new friendship,
and the members’ wealth of wisdom which they so generously
shared gave plenty for Joel and Tanya to think about back at the
secluded ranch. The two friends were becoming each other’s best
supporter. And, their lifestyle change had an amazing effect on
Harry, who, over the last couple of weeks, seemed to have taken a
keen interest in sobriety. Harry was having a tough go of working
toward sobriety. He would stop drinking for a day or two and then
he would be back at it. Just that morning before Joel and Tanya left
for the show,Harry told them that he had not had a drink in a week.
Both Tanya and Joel jumped for joy, slapped him on the back, and
shook his hand. Harry was a pretty quiet guy so he looked mighty
uncomfortable with all of the excitement, but you could tell that he
was proud of his accomplishment.
After locating Barn D and then stalls 167 and 168, Joel and
Tanya opened the back gate of the trailer and unloaded the
horses. Both the stocky buckskin gelding and the pretty palomino
filly unloaded easy, and with a quiet calmness about them,
they took in their new surroundings.
The next hour or so was spent parking the trailer and hauling
supplies into the barn. Joel and Tanya worked together, and after
countless trips, they had all of the hay bales, feed buckets, water
pails, and tack boxes set up in the alley outside of the stalls. The
excessive heat of the day left them both soaked in sweat and
exhausted—they had worked the other horses back at the Circle H
before they made the hot journey to Great Falls, and the tire that
blew a flat before they even hit pavement hadn’t helped either.
So here they were. The Montana State Fair. Tanya had convinced
Joel that if he wanted to get top-dollar for his horses, he
needed to get out of the ranch and promote them at shows.
Libros Libertad 