Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken Page #2

and he thinks I'd make

a perfect diving girl.

- That's what he said, huh?

- Uh-huh.

And he said you're supposed

to explain the show to me.

Sure. Come on.

The show is real exciting.

And that's the tower.

Okay. Fine.

Thank you very much. Oh.

You dropped this.

So, now I'm a baby-sitter.

You're not afraid

of heights, are ya?

Who, me? No.

- How do you get the horses to jump?

- We train 'em.

- Don't they get scared?

- Nope.

If they show any fear,

we don't let them near the tower.

What do you do,

push them off?

No, they jump on their own.

And we don't use

any kind of devices, either.

- Do the horses ever get hurt?

- Nope, just the riders.

It's rough. You travel from

town to town, barely getting by.

The old man, he's tough.

He'll push you till you break.

Go back to wherever you came from.

You don't want to be a diving girl.

I have a glorious idea

for a new poster.

Full-length shot of me,

standing next to the horse,

and in the corner,

inside an oval frame,

a picture of my face.

- Smiling.

- I'll think about it, Marie.

I know it'd sell lots of tickets.

Maybe the Movietone people

will come by,

take a moving picture

of me diving.

- I'll think about it, Marie.

- Hi!

We're not buying pencils today,

thank you.

Did you miss your bus?

I told you I wasn't going

to leave until you gave me a job.

This young lady

wants to be a diving girl.

That's a wonderful idea.

She could bring glamour to the act.

- What you doin'?

- This way he gets used to my smell.

That's right.

Indians used to do that on the plains.

- Really?

- Hmm.

I thought I just made that up.

Can you handle a wheelbarrow?

Are you kidding?

I was born handling a wheelbarrow.

- Can you shovel manure?

- Manure happens to be my "speciality. "

I believe that.

What about your family?

- They lookin' for you?

- Nope.

I'm not gonna give you

a job as a diving girl.

But we're leaving

tomorrow for Virginia.

I could use a good stable hand.

You interested?

- Yeah! Let's go to Virginia.

- All right.

Virginia.

I couldn't believe my luck.

I'd never been

to another state before.

I was really seeing the world now,

even if my view was more where

we'd been than where we were goin'.

But I wasn't gonna complain.

I finally had a real job,

helping Dr. Carver with the horses

during the off-season

at the farm he rented.

I was gonna be staying in the

most beautiful house I'd ever seen.

Things were looking up.

From here on, my life

was gonna be just swell.

You wouldn't mind

giving me a hand, would you?

Come on.

We gotta get them horses ready.

Hurry up. Everybody's

a cow tail around here.

We got a lot of work to do.

Lord knows, we'll take the bunch.

It's okay.

I got everything under control.

Sonora!

Come get this horse, please.

Wash him down.

Make sure he's dry.

Think you can manage that?

Yoo-hoo! Hi, Al.

How ya doing?

Whoa, Red Lips.

- Easy, whoa!

- Hold him! Hold him!

Hold the horse.

Marie, come get this horse.

Get him in his stable.

Get him in there.

If you can't handle the animal,

don't go near him.

Nice horse, huh?

That horse is spooked.

Where'd ya get him?

I won him in a poker game.

Full house, queens over threes.

- Looks loco to me.

- All he needs is training.

Do what you want.

Just keep him away from people.

I don't want anybody hurt.

Come on.

Just one little bite. Come on.

Come on.

I better get to know these horses

if I'm gonna be a diving girl.

Think you can do it?

Sure, if Dr. Carver

gives me a chance.

He's not going to give you

a chance, unless...

If you rode up

on this horse, he might.

- We could train him.

- What are we waiting for?

No, not now. We'll go out

first thing in the morning.

- All right.

- The old man can't know.

- It'll be our secret.

- Okay.

Psst. Al, get up.

Al, we're supposed

to start training!

What?

Oh, right.

Give him some room.

- Easy, boy.

- Whoa.

Easy, boy.

Whoa, whoa. Whoa!

Good boy. Whoa.

What's this horse's name, anyway?

- I don't know.

- You don't know?

- He's gotta have a name.

- How about Clarence?

Clarence?

That's no name for a horse.

You're so smart, you pick it.

Lightning.

Stay behind.

Get your whip on the ground.

Stay behind him.

Come on. Go, go, go.

Come on.

Let him see the whip.

Come on.

Easy, boy.

Here, you take him.

Take that line.

What's your secret wish?

My secret wish.

Yeah, what did you

always want to be?

When I was a boy I wanted to be

a showman, just like my dad.

But not anymore.

What do you want to be now?

Anything but like him.

What's your secret wish?

To get to Atlantic City,

where all your dreams come true.

You believe that?

With all my heart.

It says so right here.

See?

It's the greatest showplace

in America.

And someday

I'm gonna be there.

What happened

to your parents?

Died.

They got the fever.

What about you?

Where's your mom?

- She's gone.

- Where?

I don't know.

She left a long time ago.

It was my dad.

She left because of him.

Now, just sit there.

- Don't rush it.

- You worry too much.

- Are you hurt?

- No, I'm fine.

He's got ticklish flanks.

You should never use your heels.

I figured that out

as I was flying through the air.

He's doing good, though.

So are you.

Come on. We got a lot of work to do

before the old man wakes up.

Nice and easy.

Good boy.

Do you like the movies?

Like them?

I'm gonna be in them someday.

How are you gonna do that?

Be discovered, of course.

Diving horses is great exposure.

You're pretty enough

to be in the movies.

You sure look nice tonight.

Thank you. Al's taking me

dancing at the Silver Palm.

- Dancing?

- Yes, Al's a terrific dancer.

Smooth as hot honey.

That's nice.

You poor thing.

Who does your hair?

Well, I do.

You should take extreme care

with your appearance.

Having no natural beauty of your own,

you really need to...

...help yourself.

Have a good night.

Don't tell me

how to run my business.

All I'm saying is you should

think about selling the show.

Running all over the country

for ten cents a ticket?

- Gravy, Al?

- Yeah, sure.

It's old and it's tired.

Times have changed.

It's 1932.

We got the Empire State Building,

airplanes crossing the ocean,

women are voting.

Is that too much gravy, Al?

This cowboy stuff is old-fashioned,

like that fringe jacket you wear.

That jacket is a gift

from Buffalo Bill Cody.

That's what I mean.

It's from another century.

Would you pass the peas, please?

Sonora, I see you

got your hair... done.

Did you do it yourself?

I walked down the road

to the Clip 'n' Curl.

Would you pass the peas?

Good pork chop, Marie.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

- I like your dress.

- Oh, you scared me.

Sorry.

It's a hot night, huh?

Good night to go swimming.

Who? You and Marie?

No, you and me.

No, thank you.

Come on.

I know the perfect place.

I'm not going swimming.

Hey.

Come here.

I gotta go. I'm sorry.

- Sonora, wait.

- Sorry.

- Sonora.

- Good night.

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