Across the lawn and separated from the yard by dark red crepe myrtle trees sat several big metal barns. Past the barns stretched pasture that seemed to go on forever. She did not see the first sign of a cow. Or a dog, for that matter. They must have dogs to move the cattle. She’d have to keep a close hold on Tom. If a strange dog tried to herd him, he’d probably get one of Tom’s sharp little hooves across his nose. Taking a chunk out of one of the owner’s cattle dogs was not the best way to make friends with her host.
She parked at the foot of the front porch. She could move the car later if there was a designated space for guests. The second set of keys in her luggage guaranteed she would not be trapped if she mislaid the first set, which she frequently did.
“Okay, Tom, my man, here we go,” she said and slid out from behind the wheel.
Vince came out of the front door, jumped off the porch steps, ran to her, caught her in his arms and kissed her.
What a kiss! It was as though he’d been saving up every atom of missing her to expend in this first mind-blowing kiss.
If this was what Mississippi did to him, she was all for it. For the short term, at any rate.
Finally, he released her, stepped back and said formally, “Welcome to Peterson Farms.” He moved aside. “Mary Alice, this is Anne MacDonald, Victoria Martin’s trainer. Anne, Mary Alice Peterson, my stepmother.”
Mary Alice’s small, soft hand was engulfed by Anne’s large, rough one. Anne was glad she’d done her nails. Not a fancy salon manicure, but the polish wasn’t chipped yet.
“Now, I must meet the mini,” Mary Alice said.
Tom agreed. From his position halfway over the front seat, he was humming in anticipation of exploring new grass and loving on new people.
“He is adorable.” Mary Alice scratched his withers.
Not new to horses, Anne observed.
“I assume you want to settle him before you settle yourself. Animal people always do.”
“Yes, ma’am, if it’s all right. He’s had a long ride.”
“So have you, and it’s Mary Alice.” She slipped her hand under Anne’s elbow. “Vince, please look after Tom, then you can take Anne’s things upstairs to her room.”
Vince winked at Anne. “Yes, Mary Alice.
* * *
ANNE’S ROOM WAS large and airy with French doors onto a balcony that overlooked the barns at the side of the house rather than the lawn at the front. The canopied bed was tall enough to require a set of stairs to climb into it. The smell from the barns was of clean cattle, an odor Anne wasn’t as familiar with as essence of horse. She kind of liked it.
Dinner was served at a round oak table that might have come down from Minnesota with the original Yankee carpetbagger ancestor. She was surprised that in a house this big she had seen no servants.
Nor had she seen or heard from Thor Peterson. There were only three places at the table, so apparently he wasn’t joining them, but must still be taking a tray in his room.
“Do you have plenty of help?” Anne asked after they were seated at the table and relishing the pork tenderloin, hot biscuits and fresh vegetables. “Surely you don’t try to handle your husband by yourself.”
“Thor loathes having strangers in the house. I do have one of those quick cleaning teams once a week. I guess I’ll have to hire somebody to look after Thor, even if he does put up an almighty fuss. You’re right. I can’t handle him alone. The boys help, but Cody and Joshua work all the time as it is. Either Cody’s Nicki or Joshua’s Nell comes over, so I can run to the grocery and do my errands. It’s not that easy to find somebody out here in the country.”
“I’ve already got some feelers out to find somebody for you, Mary Alice,” Vince said. “I still know people who know people. While I’m down here, I’ll help handle Daddy. You aren’t cooking anything for the barbecue, are you?”
Mary Alice sighed. “The boys are doing the barbecue like always and we’re having the rest catered. After Thor’s accident I wanted to cancel, but the local politicians see it as the highlight of the campaign season. It’s a chance to shake hands with all the cousins they haven’t seen since last year’s reunion. Everybody’s a cousin when they’re campaigning for reelection. I had to go ahead with it.”
Mary Alice caught Anne’s eye. “Thor is still sleeping a great deal of the time. I’m pouring protein shakes down him, but as Vince has no doubt told you, Thor can be difficult. I’m hoping that the minihorse will stimulate his interest in life. At the moment, he is afraid of falling, but he says the walker makes him feel old. I tell him he is old, so not to sweat it.”
“Let’s hope a horse like Tom will get him on his feet,” Anne said.
“Speaking of Thor, I need to check on him.” Mary Alice excused herself and disappeared toward the back of the house.
Vince stiffened and followed her with his eyes.
When they were finished eating, Vince bussed the table while Anne stacked the dishwasher. He seemed to be listening.
A baritone voice boomed from the back of the house. “I said get me up now. I am not meeting any lady guest in my own house in pajamas and no robe. Move, woman.”
“Uh-oh,” whispered Vince. “Don’t you move. I’ll see to him.”
So that was Thor Peterson. He didn’t sound sick.
Vince’s rumble covered Thor’s baritone, but Anne couldn’t understand most of the words because he was keeping his voice low and calm. Then she heard him say quietly, but with command, “You call yourself a gentleman. Act like one.”
When he appeared back in the kitchen, he said, “Come on, let’s get out of here. I’ll drive you over the farm.”
“But your stepmother’s getting your father up...”
“Go,” Mary Alice said from the hall. “He’s already asleep again, and I will be soon. I need all the sleep I can get these days.”
Vince led Anne out the back door and across the parking lot to a green four-door Mini-Cooper. “Mary Alice’s car. Daddy’s new truck is in the garage with my van. She says if she drives a small car, Daddy will stay out of it.”
“Does he always speak to her that way?”
“Not generally while I’m here. I’ve told her not to put up with it. She’s trying. She didn’t hop to get the bathrobe he asked for. She used to.”
The farm was large and lush, even in the summer. There were cattle guards across the farm roads, so they didn’t have to climb out to open gates. The cows wandered up to check them out, then wandered off again. “I like those red ones,” Anne said.
“Santa Gertrudis.” He pointed across her. “The black ones are Angus. Don’t worry. There’s not going to be a pop quiz.” At the back of the pasture stood a large metal storage shed. “This is where the accident happened. Those are his skid marks. He may never be safe to drive again, but if he had a pair of VSEs to pull a cart around the property, he might feel less imprisoned.”
“Tom hasn’t driven much, and never in a pair.”
Vince stopped the car, leaned on the steering wheel and stared through the windshield at the avalanche of stars above them. “He also needs the same help Becca needs keeping his balance. He’s a big man. A mini may not be strong enough to keep him on his feet. We’ll have to see.”
“Can he be trusted to keep his temper?”
“He generally saves his tantrums for his family.”
* * *
VINCE TOOK HIS right hand off the steering wheel, leaned across and kissed her. “I’ve missed you.”
“You haven’t had time.”
“Want to bet? I’ve got to go back to Williamston soon. Barbara’s losing patience with me. It’s not fair to leave her without help.”
“You do plan to come back to Williamston, don’t you?”
He leaned against the seat, closed his eyes and ran his hand down his face. “More than ever. Mary Alice understan
ds.”
“Have you told your father?”
“I’m dreading it. We haven’t spoken about my staying, but from time to time I catch him looking at me and gloating as though he thinks he’s won. Thing is, if I did move home, he’d discover he’s lost. I would not put up with his crap. With me behind them, none of the others would, either. It’s already happening. Cody made some major changes in the feed for the heifers without asking him first. When he yelled at Cody, Cody walked out on him and left him sputtering. Joshua and the wives are there for Mary Alice, but when they come to the house, they try to avoid him. Mary Alice has got her and daddy an appointment for marriage counseling. He’d get a whole lot more out of life, if he tried a little patience.”
She chuckled and shook her head at him.
“What?”
“This from you, Vince, the most impatient veterinarian in the western hemisphere?”
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
He kissed her again, deep and sweet. And held it until his phone rang. “What now?” he said when he answered it. “Yeah. Be right there.” He hung up. “Even the people I like drive me nuts when I’m down here.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Mary Alice needs help getting him into bed. He’s being difficult. Tomorrow is Joshua’s turn to get him up and dressed. Tomorrow while everybody else sets up for the barbecue, you can show Daddy how to work with Tom.”
She nodded. “And keep him out of your hair.”
“You got it.”
* * *
ANNE TOOK CARE of Tom before breakfast without waking the rest of the household. She had brought his oats along, since changing feed could cause colic. He had made friends with the big walking horse mare in the stall beside him and leaned against her side of the stall when Anne went in to look after him.
Anne helped with breakfast and carried Thor’s tray to him. At least Thor didn’t need to use a ladder to climb into his king-sized bed. He could raise and lower his bed frame. She was surprised that both sides of the bed had been slept in. Mary Alice could not be comfortable sleeping beside a man wearing a cast. She’d suggest to Vince that they bring in another bed for her. The room was huge.
Thor was not quite awake when she delivered his tray and did not ask who she was. She didn’t remember which son was in charge of getting him up, but he hadn’t arrived yet. Thor’s short gray hair stood up on his head and his beard was solid white.
“Hey, Pop, sorry I’m late,” came a voice behind her. “Oops, sorry, ma’am. You must be Anne. I’m Josh.” He stuck out a broad hand. She expected a squeeze, but he touched her gently, and gave her a lovely smile. “I’ll get Daddy settled before I go back to work.”
Vince had told her Joshua was the smallest of the Peterson boys. He was nowhere near small by Anne’s standards. He was dressed in starched chinos and a short-sleeved white dress shirt with a red power tie that proclaimed, I am not a farmer. I am a CPA.
After Mary Alice left to drive to Cody’s house to help with the barbecue, Anne got Tom tacked up and walked him back to the front porch. Thor sat in his wheelchair. Joshua rocked at his side.
Anne shook hands with Thor. His smile was wide and friendly. If she hadn’t known better from Vince, she’d have found him attractive.
He took one look at Tom and roared with laughter. “You can’t be serious, young lady. That thing can’t hold up a big man like me. I’d be prone on the ground before we start.”
“It’s called a face plant, Daddy,” Joshua said. “As in falling flat-out on your face.” He snickered.
In an instant the charming old gentleman was replaced by an ill-tempered curmudgeon. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Thor snapped. “You all wish that truck had’a killed me, so you could do whatever you want with the place. Sell off the land to a developer, more than like.”
Anne was appalled. She expected Joshua to come out fighting. Instead, he stood, turned on his heel, walked around the corner of the house and out of sight.
“Come back here. I’m talking to you.”
Joshua did not reappear.
“Hate to have a pretty lady like you hear that.” Back to charm. “They think ’cause I’m hurt they don’t have to listen to me. Once Vince moves back in...”
“Mr. Peterson, can you stand on your own?”
“Of course I can. Walk, too. Couple of steps right now, more later. This is set up to be a walking cast. Not a bad break in the first place. Don’t want to fall if I lose my balance. You think that bitty horse can keep me on my feet?”
Vince came out the front door. “I can, if Tom can’t. Come on, Dad, up you go.”
While Vince lifted his father to his feet, Anne set about getting Tom in position to forward.
Tom held back. At first, he didn’t want to walk up the ramp.
Once he did walk to the head of the stairs, he refused to go near Mr. Peterson. He moved behind Anne and peered around her like a kid hiding behind its mother’s skirts.
“He’s never acted like this before,” Anne said. He had to pick today to revert to behaving like an untrained donkey. She felt her impatience grow. “Tom, cut this out. Forward. Right this minute.”
He gave a high-pitched neigh. It was answered from the barn. That mare must be distracting him.
“Shoot, you sure this thing’s a gelding?” Mr. Peterson snickered, then smacked the back of his wheelchair and guffawed. “He’s fallen in love with my mare. Can’t do anything about it unless we stood her in the basement and him in the attic. Vince, I told you when you wanted to bring this boy down, these little ponies are worthless.” He raised his eyebrows and grinned an alarmingly triumphant grin at Anne.
Why did Tom have to pick this moment in front of Vince and his family to act up? He never acted up. She avoided Vince’s gaze. If he looked at her as though he was sorry for her or disappointed with her, she’d probably burst into tears. She wanted to climb in a hole and disappear. Tom had been perfect at the nursing home, so it wasn’t being in a strange place. She backed him down the ramp onto the lawn.
“Forward,” she said between her teeth.
Tom looked up at her like his angelic self and walked forward by her side.
“How come he won’t do that with me?” Thor called to her. “Maybe he don’t like men.”
“He likes men fine. Vince, come here a second. Take Tom for a walk over to the crepe myrtles and back, please.”
“Sure.”
Tom matched him step for step on a loose rein.
“Let’s try it again,” Anne suggested. Tom took two steps up the ramp, stopped dead and refused to budge despite repeated commands and pulling him forward with the reins.
“Sorry, Anne, I’d like to stay and help, but I promised the others I’d come help set up the barbecue. Daddy, let me get you back in your wheelchair. Anne, can you roll him inside? He can wait out here while you put Tom Thumb back into his paddock.”
Anne fought tears and hoped her voice sounded normal. “Of course. Thank you, Vince.”
“We’ll try again this afternoon late, okay? Possibly he’s just tired and in a new place.”
She nodded.
While Vince settled his father, she settled Tom back in his stall. Was he getting ready to colic? What on earth was the matter with her angel? Was he getting sick? She had to admit that part of bringing Tom down here was to show off her prowess to Vince’s father. In retrospect, that was silly, but normal to want his family to think she had talents of her own.
Poor Tom. She knew he hadn’t had a great deal of training or been in many strange situations. His reaction was her fault. She’d been arrogant, a show-off. And she’d paid for it.
Vince drove away toward his brothers’ houses as she climbed back onto the porch. She wanted to load Tom up and drive home in a state of total humiliation.
“S
orry, Mr. Peterson. He’s never acted like this before.”
“Too little for any good anyway. Told ya, he’s a gelding. Some of ’em hate real men like me.”
Finally, it hit her. “He likes most men fine, Mr. Peterson. He doesn’t like you.”
“Say what?”
“For some reason, he doesn’t trust you. Maybe it’s because you smell like medicine.” Or maybe he can read you like a book and doesn’t want any part of you.
“You listen, girlie. I been breaking horses since before you were born. You leave that thing down here with me for a month, I guarantee he’ll obey me.”
“Not in this lifetime.”
“I’ll tan his hide good. Tell you what. I’ll buy him. Charge me anything you like.”
“No.”
“I’ll bet Victoria Martin would take some cash money for him. She sells those minis as a business.”
“No.”
“Bring me the telephone. I’ll call her right this minute.”
“Victoria doesn’t own him. I do. You do not have enough money or land or investments to buy one hair of his tail.” She walked behind his wheelchair so that he had to twist it to look at her.
“Get your tail back here, girl. I want that horse. I’ll pay you more money than you’ll see in a year working for Victoria Martin.”
“No, you won’t, because I won’t sell him.”
“Then I’ll get you fired. You try getting a job with horses after I’m through with you. I get what I want when I want it.”
Her laugh started down around her toes. She collapsed into the nearest rocking chair and laughed so hard she was afraid she was having hysterics. She thought about slapping her own face to make herself quit and laughed even harder.
“What is the matter with you, girl?”
“You get what you want? What on earth happened to you to let you think you could treat people—family—the way you do with no consequences? You get what you want? A family? Don’t you believe you have one of those. You don’t. They don’t like you a bit better than Tom Thumb does. You want Vince home? You haven’t got him. You do have a wife who loves you, heaven only knows why, but even she is getting fed up with you. You want to die alone? You’ve got a swell chance of achieving that, but I doubt it’ll happen when you choose.”
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