No Time for Horses (24 page)

We talked our way through all the rules.
Ingrid didn’t say that I actually had a pretty good deal at my
mom’s. Okay, it had its downside, but it also had some major points
too. Maybe I didn’t have any pets, but we were rid of Rick and
things would continue to change for the better. I knew it.

Tom drove me home after the group meeting.
I’d shared the story of my sleepover, so I shouldn’t have been
surprised when he brought it up. I still was. “So, what’s the big
deal about a slumber party?”

“I don’t care about that.” He shrugged one
shoulder, keeping most of his attention on the road. “Next time
you’re sending up a crew to Shamrock Stable, call me. I’ll go.”

“I didn’t think you knew anything about
horses or even liked them.”

“I don’t know if I like them or not,” Tom
said. “I haven’t been formally introduced, but I can still shovel
out stalls if it means Sierra gets a break.”

“Really?” I eyed him when he parked his car
in front of my house. “She couldn’t make it to group tonight
because her mom hates driving downhill in the snow. I think you
better come ride with me on Sunday.”

“And how is Jack going to feel about
that?”

“I have no idea,” I said. “I’ll tell him
tomorrow. If you want Sierra to notice you, then you’ve got to
learn to ride. And you can’t do it on Jack’s horse. Nitro only has
two speeds, fast and faster.”

“I thought if you pulled back on the reins,
the horse stopped.”

“Not Nitro. He’s a former racehorse. If you
go for contact, he adds on the speed. No, you want a horse with a
brain, so I’ll teach you to ride. Bring lots of long, skinny
carrots on Sunday.”

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Wednesday, December
11
^th
, 3:15 p.m.

We were on the way up to Shamrock Stable in
Jack’s pickup. There was still some scattered snow on the sidewalks
and streets, but he’d swung through the Co-Op and picked up ten
bags of grain. The added weight meant more stability for the rear
of the rig. My phone went off in my purse. There was a big sigh
from Robin and then she dug out my cell, handing it over.

“How much do you want to bet it is Daddy
Dearest, bailing on his kids again?” Robin asked. “Want me to
answer and tell him where to go?”

“I’m not betting anything.” I looked at the
screen then answered. “Hello, Rick. What’s the emergency now?”

“People still need snow tires, and the
store’s swamped,” Rick said.

“Of course it is,” I said.

“I can’t get the kids.”

“Nobody expected you.”

Absolute, utter silence and then Rick said,
“I won’t be there today.”

“We know that,” I repeated. “You’re at the
store. You have a new girlfriend. She’s pregnant, and you’ll have
new children to replace the ones you don’t want anymore. We got it,
Rick.”

“How did you know about Tessa?”

“Why wouldn’t I know?” I asked. “My mom was
pregnant at least five times in the past ten years, not counting
when she thought she was and then wasn’t. Your girlfriend is
constantly puking her guts out. How long did you think it’d take us
to notice? If she had a brain, she’d get a clue that’s all you
wanted, a new brood mare.”

Sudden silence that almost deafened me and he
was gone. “Oops,” I said. “Ricky went bye-bye.”

“I have a feeling this is permanent,” Robin
told me. “He won’t be calling you again.”

“I was just starting to enjoy picking on
him.” I heaved a sigh. “I’ll have to find a new hobby.”

“I have faith in you,” Jack told me. “I’m
sure you’ll have one before tomorrow.”

“If not, then on Sunday,” I said. “Tom wants
to take riding lessons so he can impress Sierra.”

“No way,” Robin said. “You aren’t teaching
him, are you?”

“Of course, I am.” I snuggled closer to Jack.
“I believe in ‘twue wuv’ as they say in
The
Princess
Bride
. The least I can do is help Tom learn how to ride a white
horse so he can save Sierra’s day.”

“I don’t think they have any white horses at
Shamrock.” Robin giggled. “We’ll have to find him a gray
charger.”

“Works for me.”

We signed in at the office and then headed
for the barns. Jack unloaded the grain in the feedroom for Rocky
before he came down to watch me work Aladdin. He couldn’t help
since the bay Arab had gender issues and wanted to stomp every guy
he saw. Jack got enough of that crap from Robin’s rescue horse. He
didn’t need it when I was training.

Once I’d groomed, saddled, and bridled him, I
brought Aladdin out to the indoor arena. I started with longeing
then went onto long-line driving. He was back to his focused self,
listening and doing what I said when I said it. Walk, trot, halt,
back, reverse, and do it again. We continued onto patterns,
figure-eights, serpentines, circles. I returned to transitions.
Rocky arrived and sat on the bleachers, talking to Jack while I
took Aladdin through his gaits again.

When I finished, I unhooked the long lines
and switched over to the longe rope. Rocky left the benches and
came into the ring. “Okay, I want you to try riding him.”

“What? Sierra’s not here to pony him.”

“No, she’s not. I’ve been riding him, and
we’ve gotten to the point where he works on his own. Check your
stirrups, and I’ll give you a leg up.”

“Okay.” I did, and she did. Once I sat deep
in the English saddle, I scooped up my stirrups. I collected on the
reins, ready to ride him forward around the arena. “Let’s go.”

“Let’s not.” Rocky picked up the longe line.
“I want some added brakes on him. You ride and I’ll keep the
control. When I think you’re ready, you can do it solo.”

“Sounds good.”

I rode him at a walk, then a trot on the
line. He listened to everything I said, ears flicking. He was
collected, on the bit, and a credit to my teaching. I praised him,
not just with my voice but also by petting his brown neck. He
totally got into that. When Robin and Sierra showed up with Prince
Charming and Summertime, Rocky turned Aladdin loose to follow them
around the arena. He could do everything the big boys did. Oh yeah,
he was amazing!

At the end of class, he stood in the center
by Prince Charming while Sierra cantered Summertime. No problems,
no worries. I dismounted and led him back to his stall when they
put away the other horses. Rocky followed us.

“What do you think of him?” I asked.

“That you’ve earned your bonus,” Rocky
said.

“Really?” I unbuckled the billets on the
saddle, allowing the girth to drop. “I fell off him.”

“Join the club,” Rocky told me. “That wasn’t
your first fall, and if you actually go into this business, it
won’t be the last.”

“I’m going into it,” I said. “No doubt about
it.”

“All right. When you finish with him, come up
to the office. You need to fill out your time sheet so I can pay
you on the fifteenth.”

“Wonderful. I’ll be there.”

* * * *

Wednesday, December 11th, 6:15 p.m.

There was a small Ford sedan in the driveway
when I got home. Jack and I kissed twice before a tall, skinny girl
dressed in Goth gear came out and gave us the evil eye when she got
into her car. I kissed Jack again then slid out of the truck. I
headed into the garage where Mom waited. “What’s going on?”

“You tell me,” Mom said. “That’s the third
person who came to see the apartment today.”

“Wow, Dani’s au-pair came through.” I
proceeded to tell my mother all about the deal we discussed. She
listened, sighed, and then tugged on my braid. I pulled away.
“What?”

“Next time, call and tell me so I’m up on the
deal too. I have references to check now.” Mom pushed the button
and the garage door slid closed. “Will you finish putting dinner on
the table? Did Rick call you? I didn’t pick up when he left a
message that he wasn’t getting the kids.”

“When did he call you?” I asked. “He got me
on the way to the barn.”

“How strange. He called here about noon.”

“Oh well,” I shrugged. “The guy’s a major
jerk.”

Mom laughed and put her arm around my
shoulders. “If I ever decide to date again, I’ll let you pick the
guy.”

“Deal,” I said.

“Meantime, you had a message from some girl.
She wants you to call her back tonight about a story in the
paper.”

“I’ll do it after dinner,” I said. “The
reporters are interviewing all the class presidents. Since it’s my
turn, I guess I better think of a few sound bites.”

Later that night, it didn’t take long to zip
through the interview. The phone call only lasted fifteen minutes.
I still had time to do dishes and get started on the mountains of
homework our teachers dumped on us. Like we’d planned for it to
snow and shut down the entire world. It was majorly unfair, but
there wasn’t much use in complaining, not when I had algebra.

* * * *

Tuesday, December 17th, 7:05 a.m.

Between another snowstorm, more horse
training, Christmas shopping, and tons of homework, the days flew
by. I’d barely remembered to drop off photos of Aladdin for Mrs.
Weaver to give to Adam. Rick was conspicuous by his absence. We had
so much going on that we didn’t miss him at all, especially when
Mom rented the basement apartment to a grad student.

Lucy was the last person to view the rooms,
the one I’d seen when I came home with Jack. She might dress like a
Goth, but the kids adored her. Between her schedule, Darby’s, mine,
and Mom’s, we had it covered. And Mom was happy back at Sink-A-Sub
because her boss gave her the original schedule. She worked the
lunch and dinner shifts. She might not have the tips that she’d
gotten at the casino, but like she said, there was no guarantee
with those. Her hourly wages were higher at the restaurant.

I settled down at the table in the cafeteria
to wait for Robin. It was my turn to buy our cups of coffee, and
hers waited across from me. I peeled off the lid on my latte and
sipped. It felt as if someone was staring at me. I glanced over my
shoulder and saw Evie.

I waved and she came over, looking like a
super cheer captain in her blue and gold sweats. “Hey,” I said,
“how’s it going? Are we set up for this Saturday?”

“Yes. How are you? Is everything okay?”

“Sure,” I said. “Couldn’t be better.
Why?”

She gave me a long, weird look. “Just
checking in on you. That’s all. You’d let me know if you were
feeling overwhelmed, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would. Don’t get all
touchy-feely on me. I count on you to keep me flying.”

She smiled at that. Before she could tell me
what was on her mind, more of the cheerleaders arrived. They hung
out talking up a storm then it was some of the people from the
cross-country team. Finally, Jack and Robin arrived. She picked up
her mocha. He stood behind me, a hand on my shoulder.

I glanced up at him. A muscle twitched in his
jaw. Something irritated him, but it wasn’t me or he’d have said
so. “Okay, what’s going on? Everybody’s acting strange.”

Robin hesitated and eyed her brother. Then
me. And then him again.

“Spill it.” I told her. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re not going to like this,” Robin
said.

“I don’t know what this is,” I said. “Tell
me.”

She reached into her backpack and pulled out
the latest issue of the school paper. The first page showed a
student council meeting in session. The caption read, ‘Meet your
class presidents and find out the real truth about who represents
you.’

“What’s the big deal?” I asked. “We knew it
was my turn to be interviewed.”

“Look inside,” Robin said.

I opened the paper and saw a two-page photo
spread. Picture after picture of me. Okay, so one was with Aladdin,
another was of me with the squad at a football game, a third at a
basketball game, more at the cheer competition, in class, at the
council meetings. Adam had outdone himself following me around the
school, but he hadn’t stopped there.

I recognized the one of me at the grocery
with a full cart of food, another of me buying the Christmas tree,
walking my brothers and sisters to and from school, pushing the
stroller with Chrissy, hanging laundry outside last fall because
the clothes dryer died, and yanking Lance back on the sidewalk when
he’d nearly been flattened by a car during the snow storm. But, the
photos of me doing chores and being busy around school weren’t that
bad. The worst ones were of Mom pitching a fit at the food
drive.

My gaze fell on the answers to the questions
I’d been asked. ‘Vicky Miller says she enjoys hiking, fishing,
horseback riding — undoubtedly she meant she has to ride herd on
her younger brothers and sisters, hike after them and fish them out
of trouble…’

I took a deep breath then looked across the
table at my best friend. “I guess we can’t hang Adam by his camera
strap for showing the school the truth about my life.”

“He made it look worse than it is,” Robin
hissed, her voice a whisper, “and your mom is doing a lot better
now that she’s come to terms with the divorce.”

“Where’s the news in that?” I asked.

“Good point.” Jack bent closer. “Here come
more of your fans. Drink your coffee and act like nothing’s wrong,
Robin.”

At least now I knew what was going on and why
everyone was trying to hang around me. I managed to smile when
Harry Thornton showed up, accompanied by Dani. Harry grinned at me.
“So, now everybody knows how hard you work and that’s why you’re
the best Sophomore Class Prez ever. My sister always says if you
want something done, pick a busy person.”

“And she is always busy with the Mustang
Corral,” Robin said. “When are you going to finish tuning up that
loss leader so I can find it a home?”

That prompted a squabble about how hard Harry
worked. Dani squelched him by saying when he had to babysit five
kids, he could complain. Meantime, he should get busy on the car.
She’d come along, pass him tools, and tell him what he was doing
wrong. Lots of laughter then, since she admitted that pumping gas
was a puzzle.