[Snorting]
[Pilgrim Whinnying]
[Whinnying Continues]
Come take a ride with me.
- Can you drive? - [Chuckles] Drive? Not old enough.
Well, it's never too soon to start. Here.
Getin.
Uh, l, I can't.
Come on. I don'thave all day.
Put the key in and turn it on.
- This one? - Mm-hmm.
- [Engine Starts] - Now, the rightpedal is the gas.
The other one is the brake.
Uh, I don't think l, I can with my, uh, with my leg.
Well, there's only one way to find out. Now putitin "D."
Now give it some gas.
[Engine Revs]
Okay, we know you can.
Now you just gotta feel how much.
Now give... Try it again.
There you go.
Nice. Real nice.
Now there's a little road up at the end here. Turn onto it.
Now just follow this. Nothing to it.
I'm gonna kinda close my eyes here for a little while,
so keep goin' till you run out of road.
Uh, l, l, I don't think I can.
It's not a question if you can. You are.
[Tom] Where did you get Pilgrim from?
We boughthim in Kentucky. Me and my mom took a trip down there to see him.
Thatmusthave been special.
Yeah.
Are you afraid of anything,
Tom Booker?
Oh, growin' old.
Notbein' much use.
- Hey, Grace? - Hmm?
What went on out there with Pilgrim?
See, Grace, I got a problem.
When I work with a horse, I like to know its history.
Most of the times a horse, in its own way, can tell you the whole story,
but sometimes they get so messed up in their head that you need more to go on.
Now I don'tknow how you feel about talkin' aboutit,
and if you don't feel like it, I understand,
butif I'm gonna figure out what's goin' on in his head,
sure would help me if I understood exactly whathappened that day.
You know, not today. Whenever you feel like it.
I'll leave that up to you.
Uh-oh.
- The answer's no. - You haven'theard the question yet.
Now, the truth is, you'd be doin' me a real favour.
I got all these young colts thatneed ridin'.
Rimrock here, he's... I mean, he's feelin' kind of left out.
Poor thing.
He'd be grateful, and he'd take real good care with you.
[Sighs] Is this how you're gonna make me pay my phone bill?
No. No, ma'am.
Thatpart's extra.
Oh, brought you a hat.
- Oh, I have a hat. - I know. I've seen it.
I think my stirrups are too long or...
- No, they're fine. Relax your centre. - Yeah.
- Just sittin' in a bucket. - Well, it's all coming back, you know.
I mean, I'll be fine.
Okay, well, then I'll stop talkin' then.
No, I didn'tmean that. l... You know, I've never ridden western before.
Yeah, buthe doesn'tknow that. Just sit the horse.
You have a nice seat, and you're doing fine.
Thank you.
[Whinnying]
[Grunts, Giggles]
- You look good. You feel okay? - Yeah.
- Wanna pick it up a little? - Yeah.
Watch your reins.
Give him some room. Lethim do the work.
- Okay? You okay? - Yep.
Let's go.
[Thunder Rumbling]
I envy your mother.
I do.
Itmustbe great to be her age...
and to be at thatpointin life when you have no more guesswork.
No more impossible decisions to make.
And anyway, it doesn'tmatter because all the worries...
and all the wrong turns that you made are as valuable and as,
as, as cherished as the things that you did right.
[Sighs] Mustbe such a relief.
Mustbe such peace in that.
I don't think you have to wait to be her age to find thatkind of peace.
Yeah, buthow would you know, unless it was all behind you?
- Do you have it? - Sometimes.
Not all the time, but sometimes.
When?
Wakin' up on the ranch in the morning,
knowin' what I'm supposed to do that day.
Knowing I'm home.
Hmm.
I wake up every morning, and I don'tknow a damn thing. Was l...
[Sighs]
Was I right to bring her here, away from what's familiar...
away from her father, her friends?
And the more I try and fix things, the more everything falls apart.
Maybe you should let'em fall.
No, I can't.
Why?
Do you think I was right to come?
I can't answer that, Annie.
Hmm. Well, I'll know soon enough.
If I've made a mistake, Grace will letme know.
She's a strong kid.
She gets that from somebody.
Hmm.
Thank you for all you're doing.
You and your family... letting us stay at the house.
It wasn't gettin' much use.
What was your wife like?
She had reddish hair.
Not, not quite. Almost.
Depended on the light.
She had green eyes.
And when she played, that was it.
Somethin' just went right through me.
I'd never heard music like thatplayed before.
And the way she looked when she played it.
And then one day, she looked atme that way, and that was it...
- [Chuckles] - for both of us.
I knew she didn't want to be a rancher's wife, butl wanted to give it a try.
I thought she could give music lessons to the kids in town... the school...
and that our kids would grow up with my brother's kids and play together.
But... she wasn'thappy here.
"Too much space," she said.
So why didn't you stay in Chicago?
Wasn't enough space.
It just wasn'tmeant to be.
Buthow did you know... for sure?
Knowing's the easy part. Sayin' it outloud is the hard part.
Mmm. Seems so obvious now, doesn'tit?
"We weren'tright for each other. If only we knew then."
I didn'tlove her 'cause it was right.
I justloved her.
[Thunder Rumbling]
For whatever it's worth, Annie, it took a lot of guts for you to come here.
Lift your leg.
[Sighs]
[Horses Whinnying, Snorting]
- [Cow Mooing] - [Moos]
[Whistles] Come on. Come on.
[Mooing]
[Grace] Hey, Joe.
Hi.
Would you letme ride your horse?
Have you talked to Tom aboutit?
Of course I have.
I don'tknow.
You sure Tom said it's all right?
- You gonna give me a hand or what? - You sure?
Come on!
Okay.
Easy. Hold it.
Okay. [Sighs, Grunts]
- [Horse Snorts] - Whoa.
[Grunts] Gotit. Gotit.
I can do it.
Here.
[Whinnies]
Are you okay?
[Giggling]
Hey! You better not say anything!
[Blows Raspberry]
[Frogs Chirping]
[Giggling]
I thought there were too many forks, so I just, um...
[Whispers] Oh, you look really pretty.
Thanks.
Does anybody want something to drink?
- [Pan Clattering] - [Annie] Shit!
- [Giggling] - Shh!
- I better go give your mom a hand. - Oh, yeah.
- Everything under control here? - Um, no, notreally.
Uh, it's been so long since I've done this.
I've forgotten. And I couldn't find any Parmesan cheese.
Well, you got an easy crowd out there as long as it's hot.
Can I do anything?
Uh, justmake yourself comfortable.
I am comfortable.
Well, um, in that case, you can bring in the... pasta.
You missed a button.
Thank you.
You know, I'll have another round of that spaghetti, if I may.
- Oh, of course. - [Frank] Thank you.
l, uh, like the sauce. Maybe I could get the recipe?
It's from a jar.
Oh.
Well, now, you know what.
l, uh, used jar sauce once.
I don'tbelieve it was near as good as this.
- Isn't thatright, Frank? - No.
No. You know, I think you gotta know which brand to pick.
I sure would like the name of this one.
Mm-hmm.
Annie, you've given me a rare night off.
Ooh, you're touchin' on a sore subjecthere.
Diane's got these big dreams in her head about gettin' away to... What was it?
- Greece, Morocco? - Morocco.
[Frank] One of these places where women wear masks...
and everybody's runnin' around in robes and...
[Diane] Well, we could use a vacation.
Well, we're goin' to Branson for the wedding.
-You justhad a turn. -You don'tknow how to play these games.
- Hey! - Yes, I do.
- You do not. - You know, Frank.
You know, Branson, Missouri, is not exactly Morocco.
[Frank] I got family there.
Gotno family in Morocco as far as I know.
- It's my turn. - You had a turn.
- It was not! - Was so!
- Settle down. - You're just showin' off for...
- [Joe] Shut up, stupid. - You're the only one who's stupid.
[Twin] Lettin' her go and fall off your horse.
[Joe] You little turd.
[Twin] I saw them. Her tryin' to get on Gonzo.
- You turd! - Joe!
- Did you go riding? - [Twin] No!
- [Frank] Get up off the floor. - [Diane] Out you go. Now!
- [Joe] I didn't startit. - [Diane] Rightnow. Come on.
Annie, I'm so sorry. They're just tired.
We should get them home to bed. Say good night and thank you.
- Annie, dinner was delicious. - Thank you so much.
- Say thank you. - Thank you.
Joe, did Grace try to ride?
I expect you should talk to Grace about that, ma'am.
If I did anything wrong, I'm sorry.
Mm-hmm.
Don'tlether turn you away.
[Knocking]
Grace.
Is everything all right?
- Did you try riding again? - Yeah.
Does thatmean I'm cured?
Nobody's trying to cure you.
Look, I just wanna say I think it's great that you're riding again.
And I think I know why you needed to...
Yeah, you know everything.
Stop it. Why won't you letme talk to you?
Why are you so angry with me?
Whatever I do, it's wrong. Whatever I say, it's wrong.
Yeah? Well, now you know how it feels.
Look, I know that I'm hard on you sometimes.
- Right! - Sorry if thatmakes you feel this way.
Butif I push you, it's only because...
Because if I'm your perfect daughter, thatmakes you the perfectmother?
I don't deserve that! I don'tpush for me.
I push for you so that you don't spend half your life...
notknowing where you belong.
Yeah? Well, you've done a great job.
Yeah.
[Sobbing]
Who's ever gonna wantme like this?
[Sobbing Continues]
Oh.
Who's ever gonna wantme like this? Nobody will.
It sometimes doesn't seem this way, butl do understand what you're feeling.
When I was your age and when my dad died,
I feltlike I'd lost everything and I'd be all alone.
And... butl've got you.
I used to pray every night...
that you and Dad would have another kid,
so I wouldn'thave to be so... special.
I know.
[Kisses]
And I know how... how hard itmustbe to have lost your best friend...
and have your body be different than from how you'd like it to be.
But one day...
somebody will look at this extraordinary woman that you're becoming...
all they'll see is how much they love you.
That's all I see.
[Cow Moos]
[Nickers]
[Phone Ringing]
-Yep? -Hello, this is AT&T Conference Service.
- Is this Annie MacLean? - Yes.
I have a conference call scheduled for you with Mr Gottschalk and Mr Felton.
Mr Felton. Hold on, please.
Okay, I'm ready.
[Tapping]
- [Grain Falling On Metal] - [Nickering]
[Nickering Continues]
[Nickering]
[Gate Latch Clicks]
[Nickers]
I've been waiting for you to come back.
You hungry?
Judith was, um, telling me about this boy.
I never even gothis name.
We were gonna go around the railroad bridge.
We were laughing about something. I don'tknow what.
And, um, her horse fell,
and Judith's foot was caughtin the stirrup.
And she was so scared.
And nextl saw this truck coming around the turn.
And it was honking, trying to get us to move.
And l... I tried to grab her reins and...
to gether horse to move out of the way.
And the truck started to skid.
And there was no time to do anything and...
Itran rightinto Judith.
And she just disappeared.
And then it came atPilgrim and me.
And Pilgrim reared up at the truck.
And I fell off.
But Judith... Oh, God, Judith.
- I'm so sorry, Judith. - Grace!
[Sobbing]
Now, I'm not gonna tell ya it's gonna stop feelin' this bad.
Butl will tell you you didn't do anything wrong.
Same thing could have happened to me or to Frank or to Joey.
And it doesn'tmake any sense to try to figure out why these things happen.
There was a boy from the Blackfeetreservation.
He used to do some work around here for a while. Sixteen, strong kid, good kid.
He and I were really, really good friends.
One day he went swimmin' and dove headfirstinto the lake.
Hitrightinto a rock and snapped his neck.
Paralysed him.
And after the accident,
I'd look in on him from time to time.
Buthe wasn't there.
Like his mind, his spirit, whatever you want to call it, just disappeared.
The only thing left was just anger.
Sort of if the boy I once knew just went somewhere else.
I know where he goes.
I know you do.
Don't you disappear.
You do whatever you have to do to hold on.
I'll tell you one more thing.
You know when Pilgrim reared up against that truck?
You know whatl think?
I think that damned horse loved you so much he was tryin' to protect you.
That's whatl think.
[Whinnies]
[Whinnying]
[Whinnies]
[Thunder Rumbling]
[Annie] How'd you getlike this?
No, no, no. Get up. Letme show you.
- Wanna see it again? - Yep.
- Can you do it without smiling? - Yep.
No, you can't. Notpossible. I can feel the muscles...
- Try me. - I can feel the muscles...
- [Laughs] - [Laughing]
Itmustbe nice to have a few days off work, huh?
Yeah. Yeah.
It's more than a few days though. I'm not an editor any more.
First time I said it outloud.
They fired ya?
No, no, it's more like a...
Yeah. They fired me.
You don't seem too upset aboutit.
It's delayed shock or maybe not.
I'm sure I can talk my way back in there or get another magazine someplace.
Butmaybe I don't... I'm just not sure l... I'm not sure I want to.
Well, I guess you don'thave to figure it out till you gethome.
[Tom] See, when you hit like a windmill?
It's not gonna do any good.
Butif you hit down, like you hit a golf club...
You come back, down. Down into it.
Did you always know this was the life you wanted?
Well, I was a rancher's daughter.
I guess it's not too far to go to becomin' a rancher's wife. Yeah.
Huh. Frank's a good man.
Oh, they don't come better.
I don't deny there are times I think about all the things I won'thave.
Maybe I'll get to see Morocco. Probably not.
Did Tom have many girlfriends after his divorce?
Hey, look, Annie, I'm not good at this sort of talk.
Goes round and round somethin' and never gets to it,
so let's just say whatitis.
Tom means so much to this family.
Don't you go lookin' here for whatever itis you're lookin' for.
Don'tmake thatman go through somethin'...
that took him so long to see his way clear of in the firstplace.
I don't think Tom would do anything he didn't want to do.
Yeah. He's a good man.
Ooh, he's got a gift. Comes from heaven above, I swear.
Buthe's still just a man.
¶¶ [Guitar]
¶ Bitter raindrops glisten ¶
¶ On the painted Injun flower ¶
¶ Honey child, the moon ¶
¶ Loves you true ¶
¶ The muddy road is brown and still ¶
¶ As far as you can see ¶
¶ Honey child The noontime is ¶¶
Couldn't, um...
There's something I need to know.
Are you sure?
Gotta getback.
Dad?
Dad!
Diane. It's a pleasure. Welcome.
- Diane. - Hello.
- Frank. - Hello, Frank.
- This is our oldestboy, Joe. - Hi, Joe.
- And this is Mr Booker. - Tom.
- Hi, Tom. - It's a pleasure.
And I want to thank you for the way you took in my girls here.
I can already see a difference in them. Very grateful to ya.
Dad. Dad, did you notice? No cane.
I know. Thatis amazing.
- Could we show him Pilgrim? - You bet.
- Let's go get your bags. - [Frank] Need a hand, Annie?
[Robert] See ya later.
[Robert] So at this point I'm pretty sure I'm lost.
So I stop by this general store and ask if anyone knows the Booker ranch.
This nice, uh, older gentleman with a bandage on his head gave me directions.
- [Laughing] - Sweet Jesus.
That's Henry Vanoker.
I'm surprised you didn't wind up in Mexico.
Well, once when, uh, Dad was in India, he gotlost...
way, way up in these mountains.
When he finally found his way back, everyone said he discovered a new route.
And they redid all the maps.
Well, now, how'd you end up in India, Robert?
Oh, this was right after college. I was in the Peace Corps.
Well, that's where he metMom.
Hey, tell 'em about when Mom wentlooking for Tubab.
- No, l... - Dad. Come on, Dad.
Well, Mom was a writer, and, um, Dad knows the rest.
She was a journalist for an English periodical.
- What was it called? - Cambridge Monthly.
Right. And she decided to go to India all by herself withoutknowing a soul.
Uh, she had no place to stay.
But she was... she was told to look up Tubab.
- Tubab? - She comes to my door...
suitcase and typewriter...
and asks where Tubab is, and I said, "Righthere."
And she said, "You're Tubab?" I said, "No, my name is Robert.
Tubab means white man, and, yes, I am."
[Robert] And that was how we met.
Small bed. Maybe I should sleep in the barn.
You're allergic to hay.
l... I apologize for the surprise.
But the days only opened yesterday, and I figured that...
You don'thave to apologize.
You have every right to be here.
You were right to bring her here.
Well, there have been plenty of times I wasn't so sure.
You mustbe tired, huh?
Yeah.
And outhere... I'll show you. [Chattering]
- Sorry about that. - Oh, that's okay.
[Robert] I can'tbelieve it's the same horse.
We still have a ways to go.
So... [Clears Throat] How much longer do you think?
Like I told your wife, it's really up to Pilgrim.
Uh-huh.
¶¶ [Fiddle, Guitar]
[Chattering, Laughing]
[Music Stops]
Dad, will you come dance? Please, Dad!
¶ Daylighthas found me ¶
¶ Here again ¶
¶ You can ask me anything ¶
¶ But where I've been ¶
¶ You should know the reason ¶
¶ Why I called ¶
¶ I was lookin' for a softplace ¶
¶ To fall ¶
¶ Lookin' for a softplace ¶
¶ Nothin' more than a small taste ¶
¶ Of a love that ended ¶
¶ Long ago ¶
¶ Lookin' for a place to hide ¶
¶ A warm bed on a cold night ¶
¶ I didn'tmean to hurt you ¶
¶ No, no, no ¶
¶ Lookin' out your window ¶
¶ At the dawn ¶
¶ Baby, when you wake up ¶
¶ I'll be gone ¶
¶ You're the one who taughtme ¶
¶ After all ¶
¶ How to find a softplace ¶
¶ To fall ¶¶
The summer is really very brief.
After I doctor those foals,
you wantme to put them in the upper or lower pasture?
- Well, upper. - [Robert] That's very short.
You grew up here? This is where you're from?
I wasn'tborn here.
- So winter is real... - I asked Annie... She didn'tknow.
That's the time you gotta feed cattle...
and hope the majority of 'em survive.
Is this how it's gonna be now, hmm?
You don't speak to me? We don't speak to each other?
Well, I'm speaking to you now, so say something.
- No. - Why?
- I can't getin the middle of this. - You are in the middle of this.
- He's a good man, Annie. - I never said he wasn't.
- I can't change the way I feel. - You gotta figure out what you want.
- Do you know what you want? - I do know whatl want.
And I'm tryin' real hard not to getlostin this.
I never expected to feel this way again.
Annie, this is where I belong. This is who I am.
Is this what you want?
Yeah.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
Can you tell that to your family? To Robert? To Grace?
If you had a chance to go home and change things, would you?
You can't ask me that. It's not that simple.
Itis.
It's not fair.
No, it's not fair.
[Gate Latch Clicks]
There's something you gotta do tomorrow, boy.
[Nickers]
[Whinnies]
It'll be okay, Grace. Justhang on there a minute or two.
Tom will gethim all right.
[Whinnies]
[Nickers]
- What are you doing? - Gonna have to do something different.
It's not gonna hurthim, right?
Nothin' we've done has hurthim.
Grace, this is Pilgrim's chance, and it's yours too.
Okay.
Lethim get everything ready. Come on, Grace.
[Snorts]
[Squeals]
Come along.
[Squealing]
[Whinnies]
Come on.
That's enough! Stop!
[Snorts]
[Whinnying]
[Pilgrim Moans]
[Pilgrim Moaning]
Grace, this is where you come in.
No.
Come on.
Okay, I want you to get down here, Grace.
Grace. I want you to come over here and sitnext to me.
- But... But why would he letme... - Grace, look athim.
Look athim.
He's okay, and you never did anything to lethim down.
- No... - Grace, listen to me.
- No, I can't. - Grace, you've got to do this.
Trustme just one more time.
Do what?
I want you to come over here and sitnext to me.
Startrighthere where the neck is and the head, and I want you to stroke him.
I want you to rub him and feel him all over.
[Pilgrim Moaning]
That's it.
- [Moaning Continues] - That's it.
That's it. Go on ahead.
[Moaning]
[Moans]
Grace, now we're going to show Pilgrim here how to help you get on him.
Because, you see, there's a point where neither of you is gonna need me any more.
And we're there.
I'm not askin'. Put your leg over the saddle here.
That a girl.
Now we're gonna rock him up.
[Nickers]
[Laughs]
Oh.
- Dad. - Honey, you were wonderful.
Hey there. Gettin' ready to go home, are ya?
Mm-hmm. Is Tom around?
No, he went to Sheridan to get some horses. He leftlastnight.
Um, when's he coming back?
Oh, I don'trightly know.
Letme know when you need some help loadin' Pilgrim, okay?
Yeah.
- What time's your flight? - 12:15.
Bookers want to leave for the airportby 9:30.
Sure you want to drive Pilgrim back?
Well, I already know the way. It's not like I have a job to rush home to.
To tell you the truth, I could use the time alone.
When you planning to start?
Oh, I guess I'll leave when you and Grace go.
May I make a suggestion?
What?
Take your time.
What's the matter? You look like there's something wrong.
I'll tell you something, Annie.
I stood there looking at thathorse,
and I swear I feltlike the same thing was happening to me.
And I have two choices.
I can either fight the way things are...
or accept them.
See, um,
I always knew I loved you more.
Didn'tbother me.
I guess I feltkind of lucky, a little amazed that...
a woman like you would want to be with a man like me.
And I guess I thought if I could do everything right...
If I could... If I was the besthusband I could be, the best father,
even being a good lawyer only mattered because of whatitmeant for us.
If I could do all that, it wouldn'tmake any difference...
if we loved each other the same or not.
I didn't ask for more.
I told myself I didn'tneed any more.
But...
the truth is, you don't know how you feel aboutme.
You don'tknow if you want a life with me any more.
And the truth is...
I don't want you to come home until you do know...
one way or the other.
Okay?
- Thanks, Joe. - Yep.
Bye, Annie. Good luck to ya.
Thank you. And you too.
All right, everybody in. Frank, we all set?
I believe so.
I can'tbelieve he's nothere to say goodbye.
[Frank] Oh, he probably gotheld up is all.
[Diane] No, sweetie, the truth is, he's notreal good at goodbyes.
You know, come to think of it, not too good athellos either.
- You ready? - Just a second.
- Mmm! - When will you be home?
- Oh, in a few days. - I'll miss you.
Well, if I getlost, you know where to send the search party.
- Could be just about anywhere. - [Chuckles]
I'll call you, okay?
- [Engine Starts] - Bye.
Bye.
[Gate Creaks, Closes]
He goin' back inside the trailer or runnin' alongside it?
I just wanted to be here when you left.
I don't want to leave you.
I don't want you to.
[Crying] Just a few more days.
- And then? - Oh.
Why did this happen?
I don't ask those questions, Annie.
And I didn't ask to love you, butl do.
- Oh! - I'll always have that with me.
Tom.
Can we go for one lastride, hmm?
Yeah. I'll saddle 'em up.
[Horse Whinnies]
[Engine Starts]
[Truck, Trailer Departing]
[Chuckles]