“Ten guests,” Sierra said. “Sixty bucks.”
We high-fived each other. That meant thirty dollars each. I so loved this place. And we’d only done one ride. We still had another one to do.
“Break time,” I said. “After lunch, I’ll tack up Aladdin.”
“Sounds good.” Sierra led the way to the office. She pulled sandwiches out of the fridge. “Egg salad or roast beef.”
“Egg.” I took mine and sat down at the table in the far corner.
When I finished eating, I grabbed a handful of carrots and my helmet. I went to the indoor arena, pausing to grab the saddle and bridle for Aladdin on the way. It didn’t take long to groom and tack him up. He’d grown accustomed to the work we did. I heard Rocky finishing her lesson in the ring. Awesome. Now, I could warm him up inside before I took him out to the big corral.
I picked up the longe lines on the way by the tack room. Then, I led Aladdin into the empty arena. I spotted Rocky in the bleacher area talking to a parent. I went ahead and started the Arabian on his circles. He really concentrated today. He knew the routine. Walk and watch me. When I signaled, it was time to change directions and walk the other way on the right track.
We built up to the trot and then the canter. Halts, backing, and side-passaging. Now, he was ready for driving practice. I hooked the reins to his halter rings, ran the long lines back through the stirrup irons, and sent him forward. More walking and trotting, then we halted and went through backing, side-steps, circles, reverses, and turns. I did figure eights and serpentines, teaching him everything on the ground that I would want him to do when I rode him.
When I stopped him after forty minutes, Rocky was still there. She slowly started to applaud. “You are an amazing trainer, Vicky. I never expected him to be able to do any of those things. What’s next?”
“Sierra and I are going to pony him from Summertime and I’ll ride him while she leads him.” I glanced at my watch. “That’s going to have to wait until after we do the next trail ride. I don’t want to rush him and break the anti-splat rule.”
Rocky nodded. “Well, be sure to give him lots of carrots when you put him away.”
“I will,” I said. “Is it okay if I leave him saddled up?”
“Yes. Let him get used to holding up the saddle and wearing the bridle. Take off the reins so he doesn’t hurt himself.”
“Okay.” I followed her directions and put away Aladdin. I fed him three more carrots. Then, I went up to the office to grab a drink of water before I went to help Sierra with the trail ride.
The ride went smoothly and when we checked the tip jar, we’d made eighty bucks. Woohoo, that meant seventy dollars for each of us. I got some money from my mom, but not much since she was always complaining about how broke she was and how expensive we were.
Lincoln High paid a stipend for me to do my internship at the barn, but I didn’t see a penny of it. I’d made tips working at Shamrock over the summer when I helped with camp and now I was earning more. That was another reason why I wanted a job. I barely had enough to cover my cell, and when Mom or Rick called all the time, they totally used up my minutes. Not that the two of them admitted it. No, they just said I was a teenager and wasted time texting. As if I had the chance.
I took a deep breath. I wasn’t going to think about them. I’d get a drink of water and go put Aladdin together. I needed to warm him up, and he couldn’t focus on the work at hand if I was stressed out. It’d just upset him. I sure didn’t want to take flying lessons. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge outside the office door. It was carrot time and finally I headed down to the arena for Aladdin. He stuck his brown head over the stall door, tossing his black mane.
“Yes, I’m back. Come on, handsome. We’re going places together.” I fed him a piece of carrot. “Let’s go do some work in the indoor arena.”
It was almost four-thirty, and that meant it’d be dark in an hour. We did fifteen minutes on the longe for discipline and then Sierra arrived. She led out Summertime and joined us in the arena. Aladdin looked happy to see his best bud.
“We’re running out of time,” I said. “Let’s stay inside today. Like Rocky says, “The fastest way to train a horse is slow.’”
“You’re probably right. Do you have a competition next Saturday?”
“No, it’s a holiday weekend.” I began to smile. “And that means I can come both days to make up some hours. I’ll ride him outside then.”
“Sounds good. Let’s get you in the saddle now. After that, I’ll mount up and pony you and him.”
I belly-flopped into the saddle. Sierra guided my left foot into the stirrup, and I slowly swung into position. I gathered up the two sets of reins. One set was attached to the bit, and I’d barely use those. I’d hooked the gaming set onto the halter. If I needed to, I’d be able to pull firmly on those lines. Aladdin was accustomed to the pressure from a lead rope, and I had one of those too. He wouldn’t freak if I signaled him for a stop the usual way.
Sierra swung into her saddle and rode over to me. I passed her the rope. She turned Summertime so Aladdin was on his right side. She tightened the tension on the lead until Aladdin had his nose up by her knee, and he walked next to Summertime as we began to circle the arena.
Again, it was the way I generally began our lessons, and this way, he’d stay calm. I remembered watching the Clinton Anderson video about how and why leading a young horse from an older one was an effective training method. He’d said that ponying taught green mounts about cueing, yielding to pressure, and moving forward. It would also desensitize Aladdin to having another rider and horse nearby.
I reached down and scratched his neck in front of the saddle. “Good job, big boy. You’ll be a ‘real’ horse before long. If this keeps up, we’ll really be able to go to the Shamrock Stable Holiday Party on horseback in three weeks.”
“Everybody needs goals, but remember there’s no rush. If you two don’t make the Christmas party, there’s always the one at Easter,” Sierra said.
“Yeah, but all I want is for Santa to bring Aladdin a good horsy future.”
Chapter Thirteen
Sunday, November 24th, 6:00 p.m.
It wasn’t much of a surprise to see Rick’s Jeep in the driveway when Jack pulled up. I grimaced. “How much do you want to bet he hasn’t fed them supper?”
“Not at all. How do you feel about the Colonel tonight?”
“That he’s my second favorite guy.” I leaned over and kissed him. “Thanks, Jack.”
“For what?”
“For not being a jerk about my family and my responsibilities.”
“You have enough jerks in your life. You don’t need one more.” He stroked my hair. “Go save the day, Gunga Din. I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
Another kiss and I was out of his old truck, walking up the drive. Kevin jumped out as I approached. “Hey, dude. How was your weekend?”
“Awful, and we’ve been waiting forever. Dad’s ticked again.”
“Why? He’s supposed to bring you home in two hours, not now.” I put a hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “Have you guys had supper already?”
“Nope. Tessa’s sick again, and guys don’t cook at Dad’s house.”
“Well, he needs to get over himself if he wants to eat.” I opened the door and began to unbuckle Chrissy from the car seat. “Come on, kids. Let’s go.”
“I don’t appreciate always having to wait for you, Vicky.” Rick turned his head to give me his best martyr look. “You need to be here when I arrive. I have things to do.”
“Well, when you’re early, it creates a problem,” I said. “It’d be better if you stayed on schedule. I’m not dropping out of high school for you.”
That got his attention. “What are you talking about? Nobody says you have to drop out.”
“If Vicky don’t do her internship, she’ll flunk all her classes. Mr. Diaz says she’ll get kicked out of her school,” Cathy said. “And if Vicky gets kicked out, she
can’t go to college. And Mr. Diaz says it’s our job to help her go to college so she can help us when it’s our turn. And we need to go to college to get good jobs when we’re all grown up like her.”
“Who is this Diaz guy?” Rick demanded. “Your mom’s new boyfriend?”
“No, Daddy.” Linda giggled, climbing out of her seat. “Mr. Diaz is our teacher. Don’t you ‘member?”
“How could he?” Lance grabbed their backpacks. “He didn’t come to our open house. Vicky did.”
“That’s enough,” Rick snapped. “You know better than to be rude to me.”
Silence from the twins, and Kevin picked up the diaper bag. “Where did Jack go? Is he getting us pizza again?”
“Not tonight, cowboy.” I boosted Chrissy onto my hip. “What time will you be here on Thanksgiving, Rick? I’ll tell Mom so she has everything ready.”
“Late,” Rick said. “We’re going to Tessa’s family up in Bellingham for dinner.”
“Okay.” I handed Cathy my keys and closed the Jeep door. “Let us in, sweetie.”
Kevin waited until the other kids ran ahead of us. “He’s not going to show up, Vicky. Tessa was having a big fit about coming back early. She wants to go shopping with her mom and sisters on Black Friday.”
“Well, if he doesn’t make it, you guys will have to go to daycare,” I said. “I’m going shopping with a bunch of my friends too.”
“What is it with girls and shopping?” Kevin demanded. “It’s stupid.”
“Not if you want Christmas, it’s not. How do you think you get all those cool presents? Mom and I always budget out what we can spend. She goes to work, and I go hit all the doorbuster sales starting at four in the morning.”
“Guess I gotta jump in and help.” Kevin groaned. “It means getting everybody up to go to daycare, huh?”
“Only if your dad doesn’t show up.” I paused to untangle Chrissy’s sticky fingers from my hair. “Do I want to know what you kids had for snacks today?”
“Peanut butter and jam on crackers. It was all they had.” Kevin told me. “Tessa told Dad that he had to go grocery shopping, and he got all nasty about it. He said it was a girl job and she totally screamed at him. That was amazing.”
“What was?” I climbed the steps to the front porch. “Her losing it?”
“You and Mom never tell Dad not to be a jerk,” Kevin said. “And Jack says he takes you to the store and helps buy groceries so you don’t get stuck with all the work. He says when the house is a disaster area, he helps muck it like he does the barn. That’s what real men do. They help clean up the mess. They don’t just make it and leave it.”
“Really?” I’d wondered why my brother had started becoming human. Now, I knew. Somebody was teaching him about choices. It should have been me. What had I been thinking? Not about his future. “You’re a good kid, Kevin.”
“And I’m gonna be a good guy like Jack and his dad.”
“Yes, you are.” I stepped into the hall, glanced at the backpacks tossed on the floor and let out a roar. “You guys get back here and clean up your stuff. Dirty laundry in the pantry. Move it, move it, move it! Kevin, give me that diaper bag and watch for Jack. He’ll be back with fried chicken real soon for supper. Please help him get everything inside and set up for us to eat.”
“I knew we’d have something great for dinner,” Kevin said. “I told them when Dad said he didn’t have time to stop at McDonald’s and Linda started to cry ‘cuz she was hungry. I said, ‘Don’t worry. Vicky will feed us soon as we get home.’”
“And Jack.” I glanced through the open door when the neighbor’s dog started barking. I saw a guy on the sidewalk. It looked like Adam Chambers, but what would he be doing in my neighborhood? It didn’t make sense. “Let’s get organized. Right?”
“Right?” Kevin passed a Spiderman backpack to Lance. “You gotta get your stuff in our room. We’re having K.F.C. soon as Jack gets here.”
“K.F.C. K.F.C.” Lance charged back down the hall to his room, chanting. “I love K.F.C. Love it, love it, love it! K.F.C.”
I laughed. “I’m so signing him up for cheer when he gets to middle school.”
* * * *
Monday, November 25th, 7:10 a.m.
Robin and I met at the front doors of Lincoln High. She passed me my latte. I peeled off the cap and tossed it before I sipped. “You should have seen Aladdin yesterday. Sierra ponied him while I rode him for a half hour and he did great.”
“Sounds like he’s turning into a horse in spite of himself, and you’re becoming a trainer. You’ll be able to help Rocky ride Twaziem next spring.”
“Yes, but you have to do more ground school with him.” After a quick stop by our lockers, we walked toward the Commons. “It’s really made a difference with Aladdin.”
We could have talked horses all morning, but we didn’t get the chance. Evie and Tom waved to me, and I led the way over to their table. “What’s up?”
“We need to tally up the donations and deliver the food to Marysville Helping Hands tomorrow,” Evie said. “Ms. Walker says we’ll cut cheer practice to do it. I wanted to give you a ‘heads up’ so you can be there.”
“No problem,” I said. “I have to see the counselor and get my head adjusted so my mom picks up the kids.”
“You sound like Sierra when she says therapy helps her escape from the barn,” Tom gave me a long look then asked, “Have you ever thought about filing for emancipation?”
“What’s that?” I swallowed more of my latte. “The only time I’ve heard about it is in Mr. B’s history class when he’s going off about the Civil War.”
“You’ve turned sixteen, right? Ask Ingrid about going for emancipation. She can help you get out on your own. If you need some place to live, you can bunk on my couch until you have enough money to rent an apartment.”
“She doesn’t need to move out, Tom.” Evie glowered at him. “She just needs to tell her mom to back off and let her have a life.”
“Well, one way to get her mother’s attention is to threaten to apply for her freedom. It isn’t like Vicky couldn’t take care of herself. She could get a job in a heartbeat. And she wouldn’t have to wait until she turns eighteen to flee the family nest.”
“This is all news to me,” I said. “What about you, Robin? Have you ever heard of anyone leaving home before their eighteenth birthday?”
She shook her head. “No. I bet we could find out about it on the Internet. Want to go to the library and see what comes up? We have fifteen minutes before class.”
“Why not? It sounds interesting.” I frowned when I spotted Adam sitting nearby. Had he been listening to our conversation? No, he couldn’t have been. He had his nose buried in his math book. Robin and I strolled toward the stairs, finishing off our coffees on the way.
Upstairs, the computer lab off the library was open. We grabbed two chairs and sat down at one of the stations. I logged on and hit the Internet to do some quick investigating. Teen emancipation popped up right away. Robin and I stared at the screen. The article began by defining emancipation, stating that it was a legal process that granted teenagers independence from their parents or guardians.
I scrolled on down to the bulleted list of facts. I had to be sixteen. Check. I was sixteen and a half. I’d have rights and responsibilities most teens didn’t. Okay, I could handle that. Oops, the very next thing was that I needed a job to show I could support myself. I had talked to Rocky about one, and she’d hire me part-time now at Shamrock Stable with full-time hours in the summer. I needed somewhere to live. I didn’t have a place lined up, and I was pretty sure that most judges would frown on me living with Tom. He seemed to be a good guy, but I didn’t want a relationship with him, at least not a serious one.
“What do you think?” I asked Robin.
“You’ve got a lot of work to do to pull this together.” Robin rolled back and forth in her swivel chair. “I wonder if my folks would agree to let you stay with us. You could have Fel
icia’s room. She’s in Pullman most of the year. And by the time she gets back for the summer, you’d have an apartment of your own.”
“It might be a little tricky for them.” The bell rang and I logged off. “Most adults think teens that have been together for two years like me and Jack are having a wild time.
“You mean you’re not?” Robin pasted an innocent look on her face. “What a shock.”
“Very funny.” I elbowed her in the ribs on the way out the door. “No way. I don’t care what my mother told Ingrid. There’s no way I’m ready to have a baby of my own. I want a house of my own first and a puppy.”
“And a kitten and a horse,” Robin finished. “Come on. We have to hurry or we’ll be late and Weaver won’t allow us a future.”
“Maybe if we didn’t have one, we wouldn’t have to face the dreaded Monday morning write.”
“Don’t get your hopes up, Vicky.”
* * * *
Tuesday, November 26th, 4:30 p.m.
I curled up in my favorite chair in Ingrid’s office, sipping a soda. She wore a lavender pantsuit today. I wondered what would happen if I offered to take her shopping and update her wardrobe. She crossed to the big center table. She sat down, organizing pens and a pad of paper. I smiled at her. “So, where do you want to start?”
“Oh, how about a recap of your week? Then, you can share what’s on your mind.”
“What update?” I asked. “Let’s see. I took the kids to daycare a bunch of times, had nice chats with Mr. Diaz, the kindergarten teacher, whenever they were forgotten in his room, and called you when my internship nearly got loused up last Friday.”
“Sounds like I still need to work on that parenting plan with your folks.” Ingrid made a few notes. “Anything else I should bring up?”
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