He was Singing our Song

Chapter 2: The Festival

"Come on, let's go." Lola begged as we were walking to our first class for the day.

School had been in full swing for a little over three weeks and I had managed to stay off everyone's radar. I came to school, ate lunch by the football field, hid in the locker room and then gracefully would sneak to my truck. That was my routine, and after school and on the weekends, I didn't have to worry about running into anyone, daddy kept my schedule packed with new horses in training.

Now though, Lola wanted me to risk it all, she wanted me to put myself out there. Labor Day had passed, and it was tradition in this town to have a fall festival in the small-town square marking the end of summer and beginning of a new season to come. It was always so hot in September still I never understood why they did it so soon, but who was I to judge. I used to love to go with my family, there was always so many events going on, pie eating contest, baking contest, arts show, and then they always had a band, but not just any band, Tyler Macon and his boy's band. I didn't want to do it this year, I wanted to leave it in the past like I had been fighting myself to do for the last little bit.

"Pwease," she purred as she batted her eyelashes at me.

I rolled my eyes, I hate giving in. "Fine, but you have to stay at my side all night." I pointed and gave my most serious face.

"Deal," she hugged me tight before running off to her classroom leaving me to wander on my own and judge the decision I had just made.

That Friday went by like the former days over the last few weeks, I managed to get out unscathed. Dad was waiting on me with the horse trailer when I arrived home that evening.

"Hey Daddy." I greeted climbing out of the truck and throwing my old ratted brown cowboy hat that rode on the dash on my head.

"Hello darling," he said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led me to the trailer.

I peered inside and could see a beautiful black stallion, with a mane so thick and full hanging from both sides that you couldn't see his neck. His tail drug the ground behind him and when he turned his head to look at me, you couldn't see his eyes for the forelock that hung way down his nose. "Who's this?" I asked as I watched him like he was watching me.

"Meet WidowMakers Match."

I just looked at my dad with a blank expression, "Seriously?"

"Yep, that's his name, but the barn he came from called him Satan."

I looked back over my shoulder at the majestic looking creature, he nickered a little bit as if saying hello. "Well, if he is with us, we will call him Widow. Now why is he here and what seems to be his trouble?" Dad had a barn full of stallions so I knew he wouldn't have gone out and bought a new one, and it wasn't time to rotate stock for a new bloodline in the barn just yet.

Dad took his hat off scratching his head before finally sighing and propping himself up on the side of the trailer. "He belongs to the Macon family, they bought him because of his pedigree and have let him stand in a barn and do nothing but breed for the last two years. He is only five and has never had anymore handling other than a halter, stud chain and servicing mares."

"So, they want us to break him?" I growled. I hated when people done that to these animals.

"Yep."

"Well pull in the barn, and let's see what we have to work with." I hugged him as I made my way to the barn. Did dad say the Macon family? No, it can't be, I can't not have a Macon's horse here, no way, that was just asking for trouble. Widow hollered from the trailer, and I remembered I wasn't going to do this for the Macon's, I was going to do this for Widow, he deserved a life other than what he was living, and I was going to give it to him.

Saturday evening came faster than I would have liked it to, and that meant staying true to my word and going to the festival with Lola. She wanted to pick me up, but I insisted I drive in case there was any problems with the new horses in the barn I could get back quick, I had no intention of telling anyone I had a Macon horse in my barn, that would only bring all kinds of brimstone and fire down on my head. Raina was already looking for any reason to lash out at someone thinking they might be after Tyler, so me having his horse would put me first in line.

Pulling into an empty parking spot at the park, a couple blocks from the center of the square I was surprised to see already so many cars everywhere. Walking toward the crowd I laughed at the beat my old worn-out boots made all on their own as they hit the hard pavement beneath me, I even caught myself humming right along with it. The growing buzz of the crowd as I got closer only added to the beat of my own tune.

"You came!" Lola shouted as she rushed to me from, well I wasn't sure from where, she just appeared.

"I said I would." I sung as I allowed her to pull me through the crowd.

We spent two hours going from vendor to vendor checking all the cool arts and crafts out. We both got butterflies painted on our cheeks and enjoyed more than our fair share of cotton candy. The pie eating contest was hilarious, every year everyone came out to beat old man Tuttle, but to this day he had never lost. And while everyone wore some of their pie he walked out without so much as a crumb on his shirt every time. Mom won the baking contest with her homemade apple pie, and of course Lola and I stole a piece before leaving the tent.

The sun had set and only the lanterns and vendors lights lit the sidewalk. The crowd was starting to move toward the inner center of the square, the music was floating through the air like a winter smoke falling from a chimney. I wanted to run, I wanted to stop, but in the end, I wasn't strong enough, I allowed Lola to pull me right along behind her until the stage came into view above the heads of the crowd.

"Up there." Lola pointed to the small wall that wrapped partially around a statue. The ledge was wide and big enough for us to sit on. She took my hand and led us up to the top where we took our seat and had a perfect view of not only the top of all the crowd's heads, but also the stage and what I was sure would be a heart stopping performance. "I can't believe I got you here." Lola snickered.

"Trust me I know; I am still not sure about this."

"Can I tell you a secret?" She bent over whispering in my ear. I nodded my head, but the crowd going wild got both of our attention, and when we looked there, he was, standing front and center, his old cowboy hat, washed out wrangler jeans that should have left him as a model for the company. His navy-blue button up shirt matched his golden skin and black hair perfectly. Even though we were all the way in the back, I could still see that devilishly handsome smile and those dimples.

I painfully tore my eyes away and bent over to Lola, "What secret?"

"You'll see." She smiled, but she couldn't hide the mischievousness behind it.