Cutting Horse by Bonnie Bryant

this morning?” she inquired.
    Frank held out the front section for her to see. “Yes, there is: the weather. The rain’s supposed to hold off for another day. I was hoping it would hold off until these people pack out of here, but that’s probably wishful thinking. If everyone and everything gets drenched, it’s going to be even more work for the staff.”
    Stevie saw her opportunity and seized it. “Speaking of more work …”
    “Yes, Stevie?” Frank asked.
    “We all think there’s one person on your staff who’s working harder than anybody else,” Stevie said.
    Frank didn’t look surprised by the comment. “I don’t have to ask who that is,” he said. “I can’t get John to leave the stables at night, and he’s out there at dawn. Then he spends the whole day doing Hollywood chores … well, we all do that, but somehow he’ll never quit. It’s as if he’s trying to prove something to someone.”
    Frank’s words gave Stevie a sudden insight. Of course! Part of the reason John was working so hard was probably to impress Lisa. He wouldn’t have admitted it, but it was true. But instead of being impressed, Lisa felt bad that the movie was taking up so much of his time.
    “So, what do you suggest I do to give the boy a break?” Frank asked.
    “We’ve got the perfect solution. We really need him on the technical advisory team. There are more problems with the horses than we expected, and John would be a huge help,” said Stevie.
    “He sure would. If he can’t solve a horse problem, I don’t know who can,” Frank responded.
    “So, can we have him?” Stevie asked eagerly.
    “You’ll get no objection from me,” Frank answered. “I’m more than happy to let him go for a couple of hours a day. It will be good for him to be with you girls and enjoy himself. He’s been working much too hard. Tell him I said it’s an order, all right? Now, what do you say we get some oatmeal while it’s hot?”
    “You’ll get no objection from me,” Stevie said.
    A FTER BREAKFAST AND Stevie’s thumbs-up report, Lisa approached John. She found him in the feed room dumping sacks of grain into the trash cans where it was stored. She was a little nervous about how he would react after what had happened the night before, but John was apologetic and seemed embarrassed about their argument. “You mean we help out whoever needs it?” he asked, when she had finished describing their job.
    Lisa nodded. “Right. Anyone who needs horse-related help, that is.” She specifically didn’t bring up Skye. John could find out later who needed their help most.
    “Okay, count me in,” John said.
    “Great, then come on. We’re all going to watch the morning shoot,” Lisa said.
    John hesitated a minute, looking around the room.Then he gathered up the empty grain sacks and stacked them neatly by the door. “All right. Why not? One of the other hands can take over from here.”
    “Even Frank Devine thinks you’re working too hard,” Lisa told him shyly, as they left the barn. “He said to order you to come have fun with us.” Lisa hadn’t been surprised to hear that John had been putting in more hours than any other employee. He had such a strong sense of responsibility that he would do whatever jobs needed doing instead of finding someone else to share the work. Lisa had been more like that herself before meeting Stevie and Carole. Through them, she had learned that it was pointless to tackle huge projects alone. Now she willingly enlisted their help in almost everything she did.
    John and Lisa met Stevie and Carole on the viewing platform where they had sat before. This time none of them had trouble getting past the security guards. “I think they’ve noticed that we have friends in high places,” Stevie remarked, with a nod in Skye’s direction.
    “Yeah, you can’t get much higher than the
Skye
, can you?” John teased.
    Lisa did a double take. Had she heard correctly? John? Making a joke about Skye?