Calico Horses and the Patchwork Trail (47 page)

Anne opened the envelope and laughed as she pulled out two airline tickets to the Bahamas. “We’re going on a trip?” She jumped up and kissed him.

“Not just any trip. Keep reading,” he said, pulling her into his lap. Anne read the brochure and let out a whoop. “I’ve always wanted to swim with the dolphins! Oh, Walt, are we really going to do this? Can we? How can I leave this place?”

“It’s all settled. I have Jed Carpenter and some of his classmates all lined up. They’re training to be veterinarians, for goodness sakes; the animals will be in good hands.”

Tears of joy fell as Anne hugged her husband. He was right—the stress of worrying about all of the horses was beginning to drain her and she needed a break.

“All I ask in return is one thing,” Walt added.

Anne pulled away to look at him as she reached for a tissue. “There are conditions?” she laughed.

“I don’t want you getting any ideas of starting a Save The Dolphins Camp.”

A truck pulled into the driveway hauling a trailer. Anne started to go see who it was but Walt pulled her back into his lap. “Uh, uh, no way—they’re the people coming to pick up the foals for the rodeo and they don’t need you right now. They’ve been doing this for years and they know exactly what to do…because you’ve taught them. You need to just accept that other people can do this, Anne. Besides, this is our day off.”

He was right, she thought. We can only do so much and then it’s up to others to pass it on. “Thanks, Walt,” she said.

“This trip’s for both of us,” he said, flipping through the pamphlet.

“No, it’s not just the trip. Thanks for reminding me of why I began this center in the first place. You’re right. It’s time to allow others to carry the torch. I’m only one person, but if that little light I created keeps spreading then it really doesn’t matter if I am watching over it. It will continue to shine brightly.”

Chapter 69

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, are you really expecting me to buy into all of this mystical baloney?” Devon said, throwing his hands up as he paced about.

“Calm down,” Sue said. “Brenda’s just trying to give you the facts.”

“Facts? Facts? That her daughter is having visions of calico while we’re being invaded by the Fabric Fairies?” he said.

“We never said fairies.” Sam rolled her eyes.

“Listen, I know it’s not easy to understand, but we’ve been dealing with this for months,” Brenda added, looking around the house at the squares of fabric still hanging from cupboards, shelves, windowsills, and lampshades.

Sue looked out the window at Milla, Carrie, and her two grandchildren carrying the boxes of calico patches they had already collected and were now loading into her van.

“And what about my mother’s picture frame? I have lots of photos all over the house. Why would that just appear like that? I’ll tell you what I think. I think this is some sort of sick joke,” Devon frowned. “Fabric Fairies, my butt.”

“Just hear us out. We’re trying to give you the history so far,” Sue explained. “Your daughter did a painting recently. Have you seen it? She told me it came to her in a dream. Her grandmother was painting with her and the two of them did it side by side. I’ve never seen her paint anything like it. It’s pretty remarkable.”

Devon stopped pacing and turned to look at the three women gathering fabric and lining them up into little stacks. He thought of the painting Milla had showed him in the car.

“She said that?” he asked. “She told me it reminded her of her grandmother but she didn’t say why.”

“There’s more,” Sam said, not looking him in the eyes.

“I can’t take this,” he said, holding his chest. “I can’t breathe, I need air.” He went out the back door and slammed it shut.

“We need to let this filter in a bit,” Brenda said. “He’s not taking it too well.”

“I’m going to take the boxes over to Leah’s sister’s place. I’ve already called her,” said Sue. “She can put them to good use in the Quilts For Tots program.”

Outside, Mac watched Devon stride off down the path toward the Calico Mountains. “Your dad looks upset.”

“He’ll be okay,” Milla replied. “He handles wild horses for a living. He’s tough.”

“I cannot believe what happened here,” Carrie said. “It looks like there’s enough fabric to make hundreds of quilts!”

Tracy was tired of gathering patches. “Let’s go play in your room.”

“Not today,” Milla replied as she watched her father pick up a rock and throw it.

“Are you going to the rodeo tomorrow?” Mac asked, clearly ready to change the subject.

“Yep,” Carrie said.

“Not sure,” Milla replied.

“So what about the photo frame?” Brenda asked. “Did you ever have anything like that appear in the B&B?”

“No, I have to admit, that certainly adds a new twist to all of this,” Sam said, sealing up some boxes.

Sue added, “I think we all just need to take a few deep breaths. We need to just settle ourselves and meditate about it.”

“I agree,” Brenda said. “I’m not saying we’ll find an explanation for all of this, but surely we’ll be able to keep a positive perspective on it.”

“Do we include the kids?” Sam asked.

“Absolutely,” said Sue.

“Of course,” Brenda added.

“And Devon?” Sam raised her eyebrows.

“I’ll work on Devon,” Sue said. “Let’s just let him cool off for now.”

“Well, I think we got them all boxed up,” Brenda said as she carried another carton to the van. Sam opened the back door and hollered out to the children, who were watching a band of horses grazing nearby. “Hey, we need a few hands in here. This is the last load, I promise.”

Devon turned back toward his house just as Sue’s van pulled away. This couldn’t be happening, not to him. This was like something out of a science fiction movie. Why now? He thought of his daughter’s face as she held out the photo of his mother. He stopped and looked up at the blue sky with its puffs of cotton clouds.

“What’s going on here, Mom?” he yelled. “I have enough to deal with!”

A rabbit raced across his path and startled him. He watched as it disappeared behind a rock. Carrie and her visions, Milla and her dreams, Sam and Brenda and mysterious swatches of calico appearing from thin air. This is nuts, he thought, yet they seem perfectly calm…and now I’m talking to myself, he thought. What next?

Milla scribbled a note for her father and slipped it under a magnet on the refrigerator. “You think he’ll be okay with you coming with us?” Brenda asked, glancing about the room checking for any stray patches.

Milla grabbed her backpack. “He’ll be cool.” Sam and Carrie stepped into the living room, closing a door behind them.

“Are we good to go?” Brenda asked.

“All clear. We did a clean sweep,” Sam replied.

“No more fabric fairies,” Carrie grinned.

“Nope, just a bewildered ogre,” Milla sighed.

Chapter 70

“A shell spoke to you? You actually heard it speak?” Carrie asked.

Shannon was annoyed. “I said it did, okay. I’m not making it up!”

“A baby and a golden foal, are you sure?” asked Carrie. Milla put her book down and moved a little closer to the phone.

“Yes, yes!” Shannon exclaimed. “This is what I’m trying to tell you. And then a voice that said,
We are one
.”

“That’s exactly what the horse spirit said to me in my meditation,” replied Carrie.

Milla, straining to hear both sides of the conversation, was trying to keep things straight. “A golden foal? What golden foal?”

“What do you think it all means?” Shannon asked.

Carrie scratched her head. “I don’t have a clue. Shan, I’m still trying to figure out my own meditations and dreams.”

“Oh, man, now she’s finding talking shells?” Milla whispered.

“Shh,” Carrie said, covering the phone. “I’ll tell you in a minute.”

Milla rolled back a little too far and tumbled off the bed. She fell against the napping Flannel. The dog jumped up and trotted toward the door in search of a sunbeam where she could lay undisturbed.

Carrie held the phone close to her mouth. “I’ll think about it and call you back soon. I’m glad you got to hang out with my dad, though. Thanks for telling me.”

“No problem. Okay, well, you better figure out this mission soon so we can get started,” Shannon said.

“I will, and I’ll think more about your shell message and see how it fits. Bye.”

“Bye, bye.”

“Hey, girls, can you come down here, please?” Brenda hollered up the stairs.

“Now what?” Milla groaned as she and Carrie walked into the living room. It was crowded with Brenda, Devon, Sam, and Sue gathered together. Milla was startled when she saw her father and approached him tentatively. He waved her over and she sat next to him on the arm of the overstuffed chair. Aunt Sue patted her on the back and sat on a chair close by. Sam was sitting cross-legged on the floor, petting Flannel, while Brenda stood in the doorway of the kitchen. Carrie took a seat on the floor and looked at the group assembled in their tiny bungalow.

“We’ve decided that you girls are old enough to understand that we are all feeling a little mixed up right now and we thought it might be a good idea to do a meditation together,” Sue said.

Carrie coughed, trying to stifle a giggle. Milla looked at her father and opened her mouth wide. “Don’t look at me,” he said, his arms crossed. “I’m not getting involved with any of this hocus pocus nonsense. I just agreed to sit here and close my eyes. That’s it—period. I don’t believe in any of this mumbo jumbo stuff, but if it’ll help keep those things out of my house, well, I say go for it!”

“I think it would actually be better to do it outdoors,” Sue said.

“I know a clearing out back that would be perfect,” Sam offered. “I meditate there myself sometimes.”

“Great. Lead the way,” Brenda said. The afternoon sun was beginning to cast shadows across the Calico Mountains as they walked single file along the path, each person quietly deep in thought. A red hawk circled high overhead, watching from above. A gray speckled stallion raised its head, sniffing the wind as his band of mares continued grazing. The little group reached the clearing and settled down on an outcropping of rocks.

Sue waited for everyone to find a comfortable seat before speaking. “I’m going to lead you through a short meditation, just like I do with my students. All we are doing is quieting our minds and finding harmony within ourselves to be able to face the uncertainties of this unexpected…umm….”

“Fabric attack,” Devon finished.

“Da-ad,” Milla said.

“It’s okay, Milla. We don’t really have an explanation for it so let’s just try and meditate,” Sue continued. “I want everyone to close his or her eyes and quietly use whatever method you’re familiar with to ask for protection before beginning the meditation. She waited a bit and then began again, “Now, let’s take some deep cleansing breaths and just relax.”

The group followed along listening to Sue’s directions and soon all of them were breathing slowly in total relaxation. “Now I want you to just float along in your special place of peace and let your mind dwell on this one thought…we are one.” Devon was sitting propped up against a rock with his hat pulled over his face. He peeked out from under it just to make sure there were no swatches of fabric falling from the sky, and seeing none, settled back again. The group sat in silence as the wind whistled around them. The sun hid behind a cloud momentarily and the sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. Sue waited for about fifteen minutes and then spoke again. “Take a few deep breaths and as you inhale, think of it as breathing in nature and all of its beauty and as you exhale think of breathing a part of
you
into
it
and think to yourself,
We are all one
. Breathe in to the count of six, and hold it in…now pausing to absorb this splendor…and then exhale to the count of six. Say your thanks to the universe in your own special way and open your eyes when you are ready.”

Devon yawned and stretched his legs. That was kinda nice, he thought. Not that
I
would ever be caught dead doing it. Milla opened her eyes and looked over at her father, surprised that he was still sitting with them. She thought for sure he would have snuck away as soon as everyone closed their eyes.

Carrie slowly opened her eyes and rolled her neck to loosen her muscles. Brenda stood and stretched her back, reaching her fingertips high up over her head. Sam rubbed her backside, wishing she had brought along her pillow.

“So,” Devon said, “now what?”

“We go back and get something to eat,” Brenda said. “Who’s hungry?”

“That’s it?” Devon asked. “Now it all goes away? Weren’t you supposed to dance in a circle or something? Click your fingers and say a few more words?” They all started walking back up the path.

Carrie was in the lead, with Milla right behind her. The women had stopped to look at a plant, ignoring Devon as he stood waiting for a reply. I don’t think they put much effort into this, he thought. I wonder what I’ll wake up to tomorrow?