by Olivia Swift
Shelby grinned, pulled out a sketch pad and with a few deft strokes caught the essence of Sam and his daughter. The two heads captured in pencil looked so true to the models that even Sam was astonished. The artist handed it to Magda.
“I have to frame this. It’s wonderful. Thank you.” Then she asked how many pictures he had to frame for the gallery. “Next week is a craft worker exhibition but the week after that they could be displayed.”
Shelby was overjoyed.
“Gives Bart time to get some publicity as well,” Sam added. “Our reporter friend at the local paper.”
Shelby wanted to know if they would like the sort of thing that he had shown them or if they wanted a few different ones as well. Magda told him to bring all of them and Katie could make the final decision when she came back.
“I don’t know what to say. That’s just wonderful,” the artist said.
“Give me your contact number,” Magda said and put it into her cell phone. “Can I take some photos of these and send them to Katie? The pictures were spread out on the counter and she took some shots. He packed them carefully away in the folder and started to thank them all over again.
Magda said that there was no charge for exhibiting but if he sold anything, they charged ten percent.
“I never thought about putting a price on them before,” he said.
“Let Katie do it. She has learned the hard way that she was asking too small a price,” Rula advised.
“I’ll get Bart to give you a call for background publicity,” Magda said.
“And,” Branston added with a card in his hand, “whenever you want to sketch at the ranch, just call. All publicity is good publicity,” he grinned. “You can borrow a ride as well.”
“Wow. I am -,” he was lost for words.
“Don’t worry,” Sam said. “Branston affects us all like that.” Branston threw a scrunched-up paper bag at him and Magda told them to behave. She had mixed some baby food for Samantha and took her away into the nursery area. She heard Shelby say his goodbyes. Shortly after Sam came to sit beside her.
Samantha held out her arms and Magda handed over baby and baby food to dad. She shook her head.
“Relegated to second place, I am,” she said but kissed the top of Sam’s head as she went back to the café section. Then she smiled and looked at her cell phone to see what was happening to the cats. The camera had been in place for a few months and Crystal always seemed to know when Magda was checking in. The screen came up and sure enough, Crystal was looking directly at the camera.
“Maybe she looks at it all day,” Rula suggested.
“I’m back in the good books. She knows I’m taking care of Samantha. I have no idea how she does, but she does.” She was about to put her phone in her pocket when she noticed that Crystal had stalked over to a side table and swiped her paw across a book which landed on the floor with a bump.
“Little madam!” Magda exclaimed. “She just knocked that book about quarter horses onto the---,"
“Horses!” they all said together.
“She’s ahead of us again,” Mikey laughed. “Whoever thought we would all take notice of a psychic cat?”
“She’s gone to lie on the sofa again,” Magda said. She shook her head.
Sam finished his lunch and handed Samantha back to her mom.
“Hard work without Declan,” he said. “No rest for the wicked. Seven thirty – see you then! Bye folks.”
Merle and Branston followed him out as Magda settled the baby in the little crib she kept at the cafe and rocked her until she drifted into a peaceful sleep. She went back to make another attempt at cinder toffee and cola flavored truffles, but it didn’t work so she decided to go back to the drawing board and start again.
As she helped Rula, Magda asked her what she thought about forgetting the childhood flavors and going with horse shaped truffles wrapped in foil.
“I’m sure there is a shape available somewhere like Easter bunny ones.”
“All things equine,” Rula added. “The local rodeo is coming up soon. It might be a good theme.”
“If the sample mold was big enough, you could add a chocolate saddle and hang a miniature lasso1 on the outside,” Rita joined in.
“That is a great idea. I’ll forget truffle centers and go with solid chocolates for a change.” When things were quiet, Magda went to her tablet and sourced the shapes she would need to do an equine set of figures. There were more than she had expected. She always found a new theme exciting.
They tidied, closed up and she fastened Samantha into her car seat. At home, Crystal was waiting with an approving look as the baby was changed and put into a swing seat where her toes just reached the floor.
Magda picked up the horse book and put it back on the table.
“Yes, we were talking about horses, you little smarty-pants,” she told the cat. Crystal swayed away to the spiral staircase and looked decidedly smug. Magda shook her head and popped a frozen pizza in the oven. Sam came home to a gurgling baby, music in the background, and pizza ready to eat.
“I’m one lucky guy,” he said.
“This will be Samantha’s first séance,” Magda observed. “She can be wrapped up warmly and stay in the stroller.”
They spent a few precious minutes with the baby between them on the sofa and then changed into warm clothes, collected flashlights and popped Samantha into the car seat.
Rula and Mikey had seen the house when a customer who owned it was being frightened. The house had wooden sidings and had been painted turquoise. Rula liked the color but the new paint was a more subtle shade and there were new doors and windows. The path to the front door was lined with flowers and the inside said welcome to everyone who stepped through the doors.
“I love the colors in here,” Magda said. Sam stood with his back to the stove that looked very real but was actually an electric one which looked like a wood burning stove, until Branston came and pushed him to one side.
Bart and Gina completed the group.
Mikey offered them drinks as he said, “You haven’t seen the cellar.”
“His pride and joy,” Rula added. “Come and see.” She headed to the kitchen and not the front door as expected.
“Back door?” Magda asked but her friend shook her head.
“Didn’t tell anyone. Ta da!” she said and opened what looked like a kitchen cupboard but was a hidden stairway to the rooms under the house.
3
“Wow. That’s great,” Merle said as she followed Mikey down the new steps.
Mikey flung open the door at the bottom and revealed his own personal gym. They were all speechless for a few seconds and then they all started to jabber at once.
“I can’t get a climbing wall in because of the height but we have that at work,” Mikey told them.
“He wanted it done before we told anyone,” Rula added. “I discovered that I actually like the rowing machine.”
“I’ve been dying to try one of these bikes,” Bart said. “Does it connect to a personal trainer? I might get one.”
“Feel free to have a go,” Mikey said. Bart took a seat and Mikey switched it all on for him. It took about five minutes for Bart to admit he had to stop.
“I’m fitter than he is,” Gina grinned. “I could challenge him if we both had one of those.”
“The other room is still storage and stuff,” Rula said as they went back into the house.
“Séance,” Merle told them. They packed Samantha safely into her stroller that doubled as a carriage and they all made their way to the barn. It was quite a way from the house and in amongst a copse of trees. Some of the trees had been cleared to make a wider pathway and there was a new door at the side.
“Not locked as there is nothing inside just now,” Mikey said and led the way in. The floor had been cleared and leveled but was still just a dirt floor. Then they all looked at the staircase. Magda took out her cell phone and found the picture painted by Shelby. She handed it a
round.
“It sure is accurate. You would think that he had been in here,” Branston remarked.
The old wooden stairway was against one wall of the barn. There was a metal handrail attached to the wall and halfway up some grass was growing on the crossbeam of the wall. The wood was faded to shades of grey and green. There were ten stairs in all and the strange thing about them was that it was neither a staircase nor a stepladder. It looked like a stepladder had been leaned against the wall, but behind where there would have been open spaces, a series of boards had been added to give the appearance of a solid structure. At the top there was a sort of screen on the open side.
“What’s upstairs?” Sam asked.
“Nothing but dust,” Mikey said and led the way up to the door that opened into the upper floor.
They all crowded into the loft space which was a good height. Then Gina grabbed for Bart’s hand and pointed. Merle smiled and nodded.
“I see it.”
“What?” the others all asked together.
“A little ball of light,” Gina replied.
“Let’s try downstairs first,” Merle said. “Then, we might have to try up here as well.”
The baby was content, so they brought her into the circle they had made in the empty stable. Merle started her usual routine. They all knew it so well. They were to picture themselves in a blue ball of light for safety. She called for their protection and then looked around.
“Okay everyone?” There were nods all around. She called out to ask if there were any spirit people who would step forward to meet them.
“Is anyone there?” she asked again. “Is there a cowboy here? We all love horses. This will be a stable again soon.”
Branston added his voice to the request and they all heard a horse nicker clearly. Branston automatically raised his hand to stroke the nose of the horse he clearly thought was behind him. It was a reaction to the nuzzle of a soft nose he felt at his neck.
“Ask again,” Merle said and Branston turned his head, saw there was no horse, and asked out loud if there was a cowboy he could talk to.
“Your horse likes me. He’s nuzzling my neck.”
They all heard the nicker again and Gina pointed to the steps.
“The ball of light is over the stairs,” she said.
“I do wish Declan was here,” Merle said. “I think the man is on the stairs, but I can’t see him.”
Magda spoke out and asked if the cowboy was on the stairs. “Bang on the wood if the answer is yes.” There was a pause, she asked again, and this time something knocked on the wooden wall.
“Well, thank you,” Merle said. “We don’t mean any harm. Was this your stable?” There was another tap on the wood. “I feel that the horse here with you is a fine working animal.” Another tap.
Magda asked if the horse was a dark color and there was no response.
“A grey?” Branston queried and heard a tap in response. “I do love a nice grey.”
“Did you work as a cowboy?” Magda asked and there was a wooden tap as a response.
“Will you be happy if this is a stable again?” Rula asked. The response tap came almost before she finished speaking and Branston said that working horses were now called quarter horses1.
“Mikey needs a well-trained one that will ground tie and be proof against anything unusual,” Branston added.
“I’m just a beginner,” Mikey told whoever was on the stairs. The ball of light that Gina, Bart, and Merle could see floated away from the stairs.
“The light is moving,” Gina called out and pointed with her finger to follow where it went. It was heading for Mikey who looked decidedly worried when Gina pointed at him. The little spark of light flew around him and he put a hand on his face as he felt a slight warmth.
“He’s trying to say that he will help you, I think,” Merle said. “Is that right, Mr. Cowboy?” she asked. The light moved and came around her. She could see it and felt the same warmth that Mikey had felt.
“I’ll need all the help I can get, and I’ll be glad if you’re around,” Mikey said.
“Will you help?” Rula asked and there was a quick and loud response as the bang sounded from the wooden wall of the staircase.
“That’s great,” Sam said. “We know that Rula was not just imagining things when she saw you on the stairs.”
“Can you remember what he looked like?” Merle asked Rula who thought about it and closed her eyes.
“It was so quick. He was wearing a Stetson,2 but not a huge one like Branston’s. It was a normal one as a working horseman would use.” She paused again and then had a flashback. “Dark red checkered shirt, jeans, and about the same height as Branston.”
“Was she right?” Merle asked and there was a bang from the staircase, but it was starting to fade. “I think his power is going.”
“Maybe he always liked to help folk,” Magda said.
“I get a good feeling from him. There’s nothing nasty or bad here. I guess he loved his horses so much that he stayed with them,” Merle told them. She saw the little spark of light move toward the baby carriage and the sleeping baby. Despite the good feeling she had from this spirit man, she felt a tremor of apprehension as the fading light ball moved around Samantha. Gina pointed at where the light was hovering, Magda gasped and pulled the carriage toward her.
The baby was encased for a fraction of a second in a warm glow and Magda felt it on her face and her hand that held the handle. Samantha smiled in her sleep and the light ball disappeared completely. They all breathed a sigh of relief and Samantha opened her eyes and looked at Sam. He picked her up and she nestled into his arm.
“Daddy’s girl,” Sam said.
They went through the closing down of the circle. As they headed for the door, everyone heard a horse nicker behind them. It was so clear and so real that they all looked around.
“Good lad, River,” Branston said.
Merle turned back.
“Was your horse called River?” she asked and there was a faint answering tap from the staircase.
“I just said it. Don’t know where it came from,” Branston stated. “But I can see a big grey gelding in my head.”
“Warm drinks inside, I think,” Rula said and led the way back to the house. Sam found a seat and held his daughter on his knee.
“I was never really involved before like that,” Mikey said.
“Remember when you smelled the ocean in the whiskey that I received from Scotland,” Magda recalled. “You must be able to sense things.”
“I guess so,” he answered.
Merle thought that the cowboy probably wanted to be heard or contacted. “He wanted to let you know he was there.”
“I suppose he has been wanting somebody to use the place for horses again,” Magda said.
“I bet nobody has ever had a ghost help them learn to ride before,” Bart grinned. “I wish we knew his name.”
“We could ask Shelby if he ever saw a grey horse or a cowboy in his dreams,” Sam suggested.
They sat around chatting about other things and relaxed until the baby needed to be taken home.
As they were leaving, Merle asked, “Shall we see if we can arrange another séance when Declan and Katie are back?”
“Yes please,” Rula said. “It would be good to know if he sees the same man.” She and Mikey stood at the door of their pretty house and watched their friends leave.
“Branston will now be looking for a grey quarter horse for you,” Rula said as they went back inside.
Back at home, Crystal was waiting to oversee the mixing of baby food and sat carefully to one side with tail wrapped prettily around her feet. Sam fed his daughter and expertly patted her on the back. Then Magda changed the baby and made her comfortable for bed. There was a gentle nightlight making pretty patterns on the wall as she rocked the crib until Samantha was contentedly asleep. Sam tiptoed in and put his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“She’s just so beautifu
l,” Magda said with a tear in her eye. “We’re so lucky.”
“Takes after her beautiful mom,” he replied and kissed the brightly colored plum hair that Magda preferred. They gently closed the door and switched on the baby alarm.
“I have so many apps on this cell phone now for cat cameras, model train operators, and baby alarms, that I can hardly make phone calls,” said Magda.
The baby slept through the night until it was morning breakfast time. Sam tenderly kissed his daughter then roared away in the truck. Magda enjoyed the few moments of mother and daughter time before the two left for the chocolate café to start another day.
Rula was having a problem with the coffee machine and they had to call the repairman. Magda rushed about sorting out different systems of making coffee and instant hot chocolate. She gave disappointed customers a free truffle to make up for it. Finally, the man arrived late morning to fix the machine.
Mikey called from the gallery to ask Magda to look at the pictures Shelby Bentley had brought in.
4
Magda had not been in the gallery for a couple of days. She went in via the doors to the cellar as the engine chugged past her. There were sketches, pictures, and prints all over the cellar with little stickers on to show the price. The cellar was like an old-fashioned waiting room and there were all the railroad related items for sale. There was a permanent notice about the model railway society. She knew they were planning another exhibition as their first one some months ago had been such a success. Up the steps into the gallery proper, Katie had added a few new pictures of her own and of other artists just before she left. Some of them were not to Magda’s taste but she knew that there were lots of different ideas out there.
“Hiya Shelby. You did that quickly.”
The artist grinned and admitted that he had bought readymade frames.
“The paper is all standard size.” They spread out the now-framed pictures and looked at them again. Then he brought out some sketches of horses, some line drawings of people like the sketch of Sam and his daughter, and some landscape type pictures which were based on ranches, corrals, and a background of mountains and lakes.