'Have to say a trip to Miami is sounding good to me right now,' Janie said as she flipped up the lamb's-wool collar on her denim jacket. It took Janie a moment to shake her head. But something about Janie's halfhearted contributions to the discussion worried Elly. They tossed out ideas-a spa day in Jackson, window-shopping and dinner in Casper, a movie marathon complete with all the junk food they could consume- during the rest of their trip back down to the barn. Bill with his vet practice, studying for her veterinary classes, riding in rodeo competitions and caring for her mother made Elly marvel that her friend even stayed upright.Įlly urged Pepper to keep pace with Chica. Just thinking about the hours Janie put in working at the Feed and Grain, helping Dr. Besides, Janie was a hard worker and good at saving her money-with an occasional splurge.Įlly wondered sometimes if Janie let herself make those splurges only to keep her sanity in a never-ending cycle of work. But she didn't show how she felt because Janie was nothing if not proud. 'I'm always in the market for more work.'Įven after all the years they'd known each other, Elly experienced a pang of guilt that she'd been born into wealth while Janie.well, hadn't. 'Well, let me know when you're amassing your minions,' Janie said as she urged Chica, her palomino, into a slow walk. She wanted to make it to the NFR in Las Vegas so much that lately she'd been having odd dreams about competing on a course set up in the middle of a glitzy casino while showgirls cheered off to the sides. Winning the national barrel-racing championship was firmly entrenched in that spot.

She loved it all, every square foot, but adding to the substantial acreage wasn't at the top of her to-do list. The Cottonwood was home to snowcapped mountains, lush valleys, waterways of various sizes, and seemingly endless stretches of rangeland dotted with cattle, horses and natural gas wells. The fact was that everything within her view, with the exception of the far peaks of the Rockies to the west, was Cody land, had been for years even before her birth. 'Yeah, I'm already plotting my takeover of the rest of Wyoming.' She steepled her fingers and squinted as if devising an evil plan of domination. The race to the National Finals Rodeo was beginning to stress her out.Įlly laughed. But when she turned and saw no visible evidence on Janie's face, she dismissed it as a product of less-than-restful sleep the night before. 'Surveying your domain, Princess Cody?' asked her best friend, Janie Hansen, as she stopped beside Elly.Įlly thought she heard an edge of some unfamiliar emotion-resentment?-in Janie's voice. She pulled her horse, Pepper, to a halt at the top of a ridge beyond the Cottonwood Ranch's homestead. Nothing better than a ride on a clear November morning to make her feel alive.

Elly inhaled the crisp morning air, felt it warm as it flowed into her lungs.

Elly by Trish Milburn