Nickel-Bred (2 page)

“How old is it?”

“Nine months. Is that bad?”

“That horse can’t even be trained for riding
yet. It’s too young. We have to find an older horse that won’t be
excitable and dump you.”

“Yeah,” she said. “No dumping! Here’s one.
Ten year old paint gelding, experienced rider. What’s a
gelding?”

“It’s a boy horse that can’t make babies. But
you don’t want that one.”

“Why not? I like paints.”

“’
Experienced rider’ means it’s a
tricky horse to handle. Keep looking.”

We scanned the cards.

“Here! Look, Adds! Twelve year old gelding
free to a good home. Kid safe.”

“What does that mean?”

“That means it’s old enough to be calm and a
safe ride even for a little kid.”

“But I’m fifteen.”

“So?” I said. “Even better. If a little kid
can ride it, then so can you.” I tore the ad off the bulletin board
and jammed it in my shorts pocket. We would have to check this one
out. We found Sue, said goodbye, and headed home.

Chapter Three

~ A Free Horse ~

The next
morning, I slipped out of the house quietly, while Mom was talking
on the phone. I knew from the giggling that she was talking to Sam
Applegate, Miss Julie’s son. I didn’t want to interrupt. Mom was
pretty cool with me coming and going from the house since getting
Dotty, but I didn’t want her to ask me where I was going this
time.

Addie and I met up in her backyard, as
scheduled. To go check out the free horse, we would have to ride
our bikes because the address was three miles out of town. We could
have walked, but I was in a rush to get there and see the horse. I
had called the owner, who said he would be there all morning and we
should stop by any time before noon.

As the sun beat down, we pedaled our way out
of Serendipity Springs and through the rolling hills and red dirt
of Western Kentucky. It was pretty poor farming country, not like
the bluegrass part of the state with the big horse farms. It was a
long ride and on the way, we talked about next summer when we could
get our driver’s licenses and not have to walk or ride bikes
everywhere.

At the top of a long hill that wore us both
out, we found the driveway. Addie gave a whoop and I gave a sigh
and caught my breath. We turned in and carefully rode down a twisty
gravel lane, being careful not to turn our wheels and crash our
bikes. Neither one of us had worn our helmets.

We pedaled up to a seedy house next to a
tumbled-down barn. In a small pen by the barn was a freckled gray
horse chewing some weeds. It looked at us with interest as we
parked our bikes in the shade of a maple tree and walked over to
it.

“He looks big,” said Addie.

“Yeah, but he has a sweet face,” I said,
mentally measuring him. “He’s probably 15 hands.” The animal came
over to the fence and sniffed at us. The long whiskers on his
muzzle tickled my hand as I reached out to pat his small, velvety
nose.

“Hands?”

“A hand is 4 inches, see? Like how wide
across your hand is? Okay, a grown-up hand. You measure at their
withers, where their neck meets their shoulders. From there to the
ground. Fifteen hands is a good sized horse, and he looks taller
because he holds his head high. He’s got a pretty face, doesn’t
he?”

“How would I get up on him?”

“You use a wooden box or something. It’s not
hard. I’ll help you.”

A scarecrow of a man walked across the yard
from the house. He was possibly the skinniest man I’d ever seen,
and what little hair he had was pulled back in a gray ponytail. He
was about my dad’s age, wearing a dirty orange tank top and
jeans.

“Hey, ladies,” said the man.

“Hi, mister, we’re here to look at the free
horse. I called earlier. Is this him?” I said.

“Yeah, this is him. I thought you were older
on the phone.”

“Well, I’m not, but I’m still interested in
the horse. Why are you getting rid of him?”

“He was my mother’s horse. I’ve had him since
she passed last year, but I can’t afford to keep him anymore.”

“So you’re giving him away?” I asked.

The man rubbed his face and I got a big whiff
of cigarette smoke and beer. “People say there’s no market for
riding horses and I got no papers for him. We need the space in the
barn. My girlfriend wants me to sell him for slaughter, I owe her
some money, but jeez...I had a pony when I was a kid and I loved
that pony. This guy here was my mom’s and I guess I want him to go
somewhere better than here.” He rubbed the horse on the neck.
“Yeah, I’m givin’ him away.”

Addie and I looked at each other. We both
wanted to save this horse and not let him go for slaughter. The
horse was rubbing his nose on the man’s arm now.

“Can we ride him?” I asked.

“Sure, just gimme a minute. I have a halter
in the barn. There’s no saddle, though.”

As he went into the barn for the halter,
Addie and I consulted with each other. We agreed that I would ride
on him first and, if that worked out okay, then Addie would
try.

The man held the halter while I clambered
from the fence to the horse’s back. His coat was very rough and
needed brushing badly. His silver mane and tail were full of weeds
and knots, but he stood quietly in the small pen. I asked the man
to give me the lead rope while I rode and I guided him around with
only that. This was a nicely trained horse. He walked smoothly and
I could balance easily. We trotted, then we loped a little, but it
was hard to stay on with no saddle; horse hair was pretty slippery.
I got off and helped Addie scramble on. She didn’t want to go
alone, so I led her around the pen. The horse stopped and started
gently and looked at us with big brown eyes full of
intelligence.

“What’s his name?” I asked.

“Name’s Nickel,” said the owner.

“That’s a good name,” said Addie. “He’s a
kinda gray like a nickel.”

“Well, he was steel gray when he was younger.
Actually, my stepfather named him that because he said he was a
nickel-bred son of a...gun. Sorry, I forgot you’re just kids.”

“Huh?” said Addie.

I had heard the term before from my father.
“It means his parents were not expensive horses, and that you are
mad at the horse,” I said in a low voice to Addie.

“His mother was an Arabian that jumped the
fence and got in with some cross-bred colts that hadn’t been gelded
yet. My stepfather was really PO’d.”

“Can I go around again by myself?” asked
Addie.

“Sure,” said the man. “Take all the time you
need. And so you know, he’s had months of work with a professional
trainer.”

Addie took the lead rope and clicked her
tongue at Nickel, who began walking sedately around the little
corral. Addie soon got into the rhythm of his gait and smiled.

“He’s great!” she said, beaming. “This is
fun!” She clicked again and touched him with her feet and Nickel
started a slow, collected trot. Addie stayed on as they went, her
face set as she concentrated on keeping her balance. She pulled on
the lead rope to stop him as she came up to us. He put his head
down and stopped like a gentleman.

“He’s great!” she repeated. “We have to have
this horse! I don’t want any other one.”

“Okay, then,” I said, not really knowing what
else to say. We still had to convince our parents. “So... we’d
better get going.”

“Piper, I want to keep riding.”

“Sorry, kids, but I have to get into town and
meet a guy,” said the man. Addie scrambled down off of Nickel, who
began rubbing his head on her shoulder. She grinned and hugged his
neck.

“So do you want the horse?” asked the man.
Addie and I looked at each other with smiles and shining eyes.

“We want him. But we have to make
arrangements,” I said.

“Well, decide pretty soon. I’d hate to sell
him to a slaughterhouse, but my girlfriend is really on my case
about it. Call me when you know. And what’s your names?”

“I’m Piper and this is Addie. And yours
is...?”

“Charles Hyde. Chickie. You’ve got my phone
number. Call me in the next few days if you want him.”

Chapter Four

~ Finding Allies ~

Addie and I
were very excited as we left Chickie’s place and could hardly steer
our bicycles down the bumpy drive to the highway. As we turned onto
the blacktop, an old tan beater car with dents all over it turned
in. I got a look at the driver and stopped my bike. The car raised
a cloud of dust all the way to Chickie’s house.

“What are you doing, Piper?” asked Addie.

“I can’t believe it,” I said. “Remember the
creepy guy that hung out with Nasty Jake? When we saved Dotty? The
one we thought was one of his drug guys? I’m sure that was
him.”

“He’s going to Chickie’s. Do you think
Chickie is a criminal, too?”

“I don’t know. He does look like one, but he
sure has a nice horse.” I took a deep breath. It was time to talk
to the grownups and I thought I already knew what they would say.
They weren’t usually reasonable. So I called my friend and ally,
Miss Julie, first.

“Piper, hello,” she said on the phone. “I
haven’t talked to you for days, I’ve been so busy. Why do you sound
out of breath?”

“Because I’m riding my bike,” I said. “Here’s
what I need to know. If Addie and I found another horse...a free
one... could we keep it at your place with Dotty, if our parents
say it’s okay?”

“Well, of course, Piper, if it’s okay with
your parents,” she said. “Where did you find a free horse?”

“It was in an ad. I have to talk to my mom
and dad, so please don’t say anything until I get them on my
side.”

“My lips are sealed, honey,” she said. “Let
me know what happens. Bye!”

And that was why Miss Julie was such a
special friend. She was always there for me. I stuck my phone back
in my pocket and smiled at Addie. We had our work cut out for us to
persuade our parents, but at least we had one ally. And this ally
owned a horse barn.

Late that afternoon, I detected that Mom was
getting ready to go out somewhere. She was bustling around, fixing
her hair and fidgeting with a nice blouse she hardly ever wore.
“Are you going out, Mom?”

“I am.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to an early dinner with
someone.”

“Who?”

Mom sighed and turned to look me straight in
the eye. “Honey, if I was going out on a date, would you be okay
with that?”

“Sure,” I said. “But who are you going
with?”

“Sam Applegate. I’m meeting him at the Old
Springs Inn,” she said, smiling. That was the best and only nice
restaurant in Serendipity Springs.

“Sweet! Get the stuffed pork chops,” I said.
“Sam’s really cute. And he’s nice, too. Even though I didn’t think
so at first.” Earlier in the summer, I had been sure that Miss
Julie’s son, Sam, was a horrible person, but I was wrong. He was a
great guy, actually.

“Piper, are you absolutely sure you’re okay
with this? I can wait if you’re not, but I feel like I’m ready to
get on with my life. I’d really like to start enjoying things again
and having some fun.”

“Mom, I’m more than okay with it. I was sorta
hoping you two would get together.”

She looked at me like she didn’t know me,
shook her head and walked into the kitchen. She opened the
refrigerator door and took out a frozen pizza.

“And, are you okay with this for dinner? I’m
in a bit of a hurry and haven’t cooked anything.”

“I’m fine, Mom. Have a good time and tell me
all about it later.”

“I’m feeling guilty.”

“Well, quit,” I said.

“Okay, then. I won’t be late. Call your dad
if anything goes wrong. See you.”

“Oh, hey, Mom!” I called as she walked out
the door. “Addie and I found a free horse. Can we keep it out with
Dotty?”

“Sure, whatever,” she sang, closing the door.
That wasn’t fair. She wasn’t paying attention to what I said, but
it still counted as an okay. I had two adult allies now. Time to
talk with Dad.

I found my dad at his house, getting ready to
eat supper. He lived in a small house halfway between the clinic
and Mom’s house. He always told me he did this on purpose after the
divorce, so he could be near the two things he loves most: his
practice and me. He was making baked macaroni and cheese, with tons
of cheddar on top. It was ooey-gooey, and both of our favorite
dinner.

“Can I have some of that? There’s only frozen
pizza for me at Mom’s.”

“Where’d your mom go?”

“She’s having dinner with Sam Applegate,” I
said.

“Really?” said Dad, filling a plate for me.
“Interesting.”

After I ate a few bites of cheesey yumminess,
I got down to business.

“Hey, Dad. Can I talk to you about
horses?

“What about them? Is Dotty all right?”

“Yeah, she’s great. I’ve been riding her
almost every day.”

“That’s good. That’s what she needed, along
with some decent feed.”

“Yeah, but see, it’s a problem because Adds
and I can never go riding together.” I didn’t want to tell him that
Addie was scared to ride Dotty-- I would have to explain why and
then he would know that she bucked. “So I was thinking, if we could
find another horse, a nice, gentle one, then we could both ride
together and it would be more fun.”

“True. It’s fun to go on trail rides with
other people. But I know Sandy Davis pretty well, and I can’t see
her shelling out the money for a horse.”

I thought about this. Addie’s mom and dad
were divorced, like mine. That was one reason we’d gotten to be
such good friends. Addie’s dad lived in Wisconsin and she didn’t
see him much. She only had one parent to convince.

“But what if we knew of a horse that was
free? What if someone wanted to give it away?”