Maple Dale ~ My Forever Home (Maple Dale Series)

by MaryAnn Myers

  Mindy rested her head on the chair back, closed her eyes, and dozed. Known for having some crazy dreams, the one she had at the moment, lasting all of five seconds before she startled awake, was a doozy. She dreamt Leah Oliver was scolding her, telling her to swallow her pride and go find that young man. “Tell him you’re sorry. Tell him you care. Don’t wait till it’s too late.”

  “Oh, Jesus,” she said. “My blood sugar must be low.” She headed to Finney’s for something quick to eat. “I’m fading fast.”

  Finney whipped her up a strawberry smoothie first thing and then made her a guacamole wrap. “Yum!” Mindy said, slurping, slurping, chewing, chewing, slurping, slurping.

  “So what’s going on?” he asked, when she seemed to be “stabilizing.”

  “I don’t know. I ate a good breakfast.”

  “Of what?”

  “Two pieces of toast.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s good.” He scowled. “Healthy as hell.”

  “It was wheat bread.”

  “No such thing as healthy wheat anymore. Eat spelt or oat nut.”

  “What about whole wheat pasta?”

  Finney just looked at her.

  “Okay. On that bright note, I’m outta here.”

  Finney watched as she stood to leave and then promptly sat right back down. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure. Go ahead. Make it quick though. I’m expecting the after-lunch rush any minute now.”

  Mindy smiled. How this man stayed afloat was beyond her, though he did have his faithful regulars. It didn’t make sense why he wasn’t busier with such yummy healthy food. Then again, nothing made much sense to her lately. “How do you know if you’re in love? I mean, really in love?”

  “You’re asking me that, a man who has spent most of his life alone because he couldn’t recognize love from a hole in the ground even when it was staring him in the face.”

  “Yes.”

  Finney laughed. “I’ll tell you this. If it ever walks through that door, I’ll know it. And I’ll do everything I can to honor it.”

  “So you’re saying…?”

  “I’m saying, you need to apologize to your cowboy.”

  Mindy smiled. So he was listening last night when she poured her heart out after the town hall meeting fiasco with Shane. “Thank you. I just wish I knew how to find him.”

  “Can’t you find the number where he works?”

  “Yes. I have it.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  Mindy shrugged.

  “Pride? It goeth before the fall, you know.”

  “Yes, but what if he says no? What if he really doesn’t want to see me anymore?”

  “Then at least you’ll know.”

  Mindy nodded. “Thanks, Finney.”

  The man shrugged. “Hey, I’m like a bartender. I listen. I offer advice. I serve a mean smoothie.”

  Mindy paid her bill, waved over her shoulder, and drove into town to the cellphone store. Upon assessment and a change of battery, her phone was once again up and running, until she arrived back at Maple Dale and attempted to make a call. No dial tone, no lit dial face. No nothing. Dead again.

  She walked to the office to use the phone there and found a note on her desk from her mother. “Call me.”

  Mindy punched in her mom’s cellphone number.

  “Mindy?”

  “Yes.”

  “You received a phone call here at home.”

  Mindy held her breath. Please let it be from Shane. “Oh?”

  “Yes. It’s from Shifting Gears. The woman said they need to move that horse today.”

  “Why?”

  “She didn’t say. Just that it has to be done.”

  “All right. I’ll call Hillary. Thank you.”

  “Mindy…?”

  “Mom, I know. Okay? Don’t be worrying Bethann about this. Please….” Mindy hung up and phoned Hillary, got her voice mail, and sat stewing. “Why would they need to move the horse today?”

  Mrs. Butchling appeared in the doorway, got the rundown from Mindy, and sat stewing with her. “This is so sad.”

  Mindy nodded. “Tell me about it.”

  “I came in to talk to you about maybe paying half his board if we keep him here. Why does he have to be moved?”

  “Until I hear from Hillary I have no idea.”

  “Why not call Veronica or Karen?”

  No sooner said, than in walked Hillary.

  “I just got word we have to move the horse today,” Mindy said.

  “I know. I just got the news too. I hate this.”

  “What’s the problem anyway?”

  “Well, apparently there’s this horse theft thing going on in the county, and….”

  “Yeah, but it’s unrelated.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I just do. Think about it. This is only one horse. The thieves have stolen eight in the past month and they’re not buying them, they’re stealing them. It can’t be related.”

  “I wonder if we could take him down to Sassie Susie’s,” Mrs. Butchling suggested. “She’d probably let us hide him out there for a while.”

  Mindy shook her head. “She’s so frail since her hip replacement. She’s not going to be able to handle him jumping fences and breaking out of his stall. You can’t even turn him out and trust that he’ll stay put.”

  “That’s true.” Mrs. Butchling nodded.

  Hillary stared at the floor. There was something about the look in her eyes. “Are you okay?” Mindy asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “Come on. What? What’s the matter?”

  Hillary sighed. “When I got here I thought you might have been in the barn and I walked down to check on him. He’s so happy here.”

  “Really? Then why does he keep breaking out of his stall and jumping fences?”

  “I don’t know. He doesn’t know. He’s a horse. He has issues. Cut me some slack. If he doesn’t know, how am I supposed to know?”

  The three of them laughed, though not one of them thought it was particularly funny in a serious sense.

  “So what are we going to do?” Mrs. Butchling asked.

  “Maybe we should go talk to Veronica and Karen,” Mindy said.

  “That’s probably not a good idea. Veronica is having a cow worrying about how much she’s involved you both already. The last thing she’d want is for anyone to see you there or God forbid follow you home.”

  Mindy sighed. “All right. Let’s get ‘em on the phone.” She handed Hillary the office phone.

  “That’s okay. I’ll use my cell, “Hillary said. “Veronica doesn’t want any record of calls here.”

  Mindy nodded. “So that’s why she called my house. You know, she’s going to have a heart attack one of these days worrying so much.”

  “Well, when you’ve seen just about anything that can happen, actually happen, by the time you get to be our age you can’t help but worry,” Mrs. Butchling said.

  “Yeah, but worrying doesn’t change anything.”

  “Easy for you to say. You don’t have issues yet. I’m going to venture to say a lot of things have gone wrong for this horse and that’s why he is the way he is today. Did you know that in a horse’s lifetime….”

  “Is this going to be a lecture?” Mindy asked, smiling. In years past, Mrs. Butchling was good for at least one lecture a week, maybe two.

  “Sort of. Yes. The fact is the average dog has two owners in its lifetime. A lot of them are lucky and have just one their whole life. Horses however, on the average, have five owners in their lifetimes and their last home is usually for the shortest duration.”

  “Seriously?” Hillary asked.

  “Yes. And the fact that they are so trusting in spite of that is a testament to their indomitable spirit, to their hopes for a better life. The fact that they are so trusting at all is an amazing testament to their species. Out in the wild when a field no longer has grass a horse moves on, the herd mo
ves on, trusting there will be grass just over the horizon.” Mrs. Butchling sighed. “I’d like to think that horses choose us much the same way they choose a pasture mate or herd mate. Again, even in the wild, they pair off. They mourn one another’s passing. They care. And here we go, sending them down the road when they no longer meet our needs. Not us, per se. But sadly, the majority of horse owners, the sum total. It’s sad. The horse’s feelings are almost never taken into consideration. Their attachment to their owners or the children who ride them, their pasture mates, the other horses in the barn – they don’t seem to matter. It’s sad.”

  “That guy was here last night,” Mindy said.

  “What?” Hillary said. “You’re kidding?”

  “Nope. We got him on surveillance video. We know who he is. We even have his license plate number.”

  “Really?” Mrs. Butchling said. “We have surveillance now?”

  “Yes. Can you believe the nerve of him to come here?”

  “What’s his problem anyway,” Hillary asked. “So he missed out on a horse. It’s just another horse to him. What’s the big deal?”

  “I don’t know. Him being a good ole boy it’s probably his pride,” Mindy said.

  “Really? Like he has any pride considering what he does for a living?”

  “True.” Mindy hesitated sharing the rest. “Judging from his footprints he only got so far and then Malaki must have scared him. Apparently there were some other loud noises, like screaming. When I saw the lights I came down and hid in the bushes. By then he was barreling up the hill.”

  “Screaming?”

  “The neighbor heard it.”

  “That’s weird,” Hillary said.

  “A lot of weird things have happened here at Maple Dale over the years,” Mrs. Butchling said.

  “So what are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know. What I’d like to do is post an ad on Craigslist under Horses for Sale and flag the guy as a kill buyer.”

  “Can we get a photo off the tape?”

  “Probably not. My dad has it and there’s no way he’ll let me. Not with the guy already knowing we’re here.”

  “No, he knows I’m here,” Mrs. Butchling said. “I’m sure he just asked around about my rig. Everyone knows it’s mine. It’s hardly a secret. He knows nothing of you two and we’re going to keep it that way. Understand?”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” both Hillary and Mindy said.

  “I’m going to get him. I don’t know how just yet. But you’d better believe I’m going to get him,” the woman insisted.

  Mindy and Hillary looked at one another. “In the meantime, what are we going to tell Karen and Veronica?” Hillary asked. “If they’re right and we take Rex there the ‘authorities’ are going to almost for sure see him, and….”

  “We’re not taking him there,” Mindy said. “We’re not taking him anywhere. We promised.”

  “Promised who?” Bethann asked, walking into the office behind them.

  All three women turned, surprised to see her.

  “Well?” Bethann smiled at Hillary and Mrs. Butchling then turned her attention to Mindy. “Who did you promise what?”

  “The new horse. We promised him this is his forever home.”

  “As a school horse? A private horse? What?”

  “Yes. All of the above.”

  “Mindy, this is me you’re talking to. Not Mom. Okay?”

  “Oh, Bethann,” Mindy sighed dramatically. “It’s such a long story. Shouldn’t you be home taking care of David.”

  “He’s taking a nap. Benjamin’s watching him. Stop avoiding the question.”

  “All right.” Mindy drew a deep breath. “The truth?”

  “That would be nice.”

  “Well, you know the horse we rescued. Rex.”

  “Yes.”

  “He has to stay here, but Veronica and Karen are afraid we’re going to get in trouble keeping him. We caught the guy on surveillance last night and Bill had him identified. He’s a petty criminal lowlife who writes bad checks. We paid for the horse but he stood to make a lot more off of him and now his nose is a little out of joint. I guess he’s taking this personally.”

  “And you’re leaving this up to Bill and Dad, right?”

  “Uh…right. Except….”

  “Except technically,” Mrs. Butchling interrupted, “I am the only culprit and it should stay that way. I think if your dad and Bill get involved, it’ll be on them. It’ll be on Maple Dale.”

  Bethann nudged Mindy to move and sat down at her desk. “What do you think this guy wants?”

  “I don’t know,” Mrs. Butchling said. “He’s probably just a bully.”

  “Bullies can be dangerous,” Bethann said.

  “Not as a rule. Not if you call their bluff,” Mrs. Butchling replied.

  Bethann sighed.

  “Shouldn’t you go on home now?” Mindy said. “I think I hear David calling.”

  Bethann looked at her sister. “What’s wrong with your cellphone?”

  “I don’t know. I went to the phone store and they got it working and I came home and it stopped working again.”

  Bethann nodded. She’d tried it several times. She gripped her stomach.

  “Are you okay?” Mindy asked.

  “Yes. I just keep getting cramps.”

  “That’s your uterus contracting,” Mrs. Butchling said.

  “Eew,” Mindy said, one of her favorite words of late.

  Mrs. Butchling frowned at her and then looked back at Bethann. “You’re breast feeding. Right?”

  Bethann nodded.

  “They’re stronger then. It’s Mother Nature’s way.”

  “Well, that’s all fine and dandy,” Mindy said. “Now if you’ll just go on home now.”

  They laughed, Bethann included. “You all had better keep me informed. I want to know everything that’s going on here at all times. I had a baby, I didn’t leave the country. Ouch,” she said, gripping her stomach again.

  “Right and I really think you need to run on home now,” Mindy said. “And take your little contracting uterus with you.”

  As soon as Bethann left, Mindy, Hillary, and Mrs. Butchling looked at one another and came to an immediate agreement. “The less we worry her, the better.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Veronica at Shifting Gears was a worrier by nature. She couldn’t help herself. She drove her partner Karen crazy with her constant worrying, but in this case Karen had to agree with her. Nothing Hillary said calmed their fears and she was just about to give up when a thought crossed her mind. “Do you want to know what the horse wants?”

  Both women looked at her. “Of course,” Karen said. “You know that.”

  Yes, she did. But with the two of them consumed with worry about involving Mindy and that devoted old horse woman Mrs. Butchling, they’d lost sight of the horse for a moment. They’d devoted their lives to rescuing and saving horses. They’d risked their lives many times for the horses, but this was a rarity – putting other people in danger.

  “What does he think we should do?” Veronica asked.

  Hillary, honest to a fault, clarified that. “I don’t think a horse has the cognitive capabilities to think about giving advice, but I can tell you how he feels and there is no doubt in my mind, he wants to live at Maple Dale forever. He wants Maple Dale to be his forever home.”

  Karen stared across the aisleway of their barn at Dynamo; a champion dressage horse discarded at the age of seventeen when he could no longer perform his world-renowned passage due to the wear and tear of performing this unnatural gait on the show circuit for over twelve years. He was a permanent resident at Shifting Gears. Twice they found a home for him and both times the horse had to be returned when he went off his feed and his health began to fail. He thrived here at Shifting Gears. Both times they blamed the new owners, thought they weren’t taking good enough care of him.

  It wasn’t until Hillary came on the scene and could sense the horse
’s thoughts and fears that they learned the truth. In Dynamo’s mind, this was not just a place to rest his head for the night, Shifting Gears Rescue was his home. He’d had many owners and performed beautifully for all of them, even at the end of his competition days when his back and hocks were so sore and he was on so much medication. He tried. He tried hard. He took pride in performing.

  Dynamo was never put up for adoption again. He would most certainly die of a broken heart if they ever sent him away again, even when all along they thought they were doing what was best for the horse. Karen and Veronica took on Dynamo’s care, showered him with love, and promised him he would never ever leave, just like the two of them. This was their home. This was Dynamo’s home. It would be forever in his heart, his home. Home.

  “But sometimes….” Karen said. “There is divorce, death. We can’t always have what we want.”

  “That’s why we do everything in our power to make sure we find the right homes for the horses,” Veronica added. “It doesn’t always work out. Sometimes the horse just can’t stay there. In this case, we could be getting two very dear friends in trouble.”

  “Well, see that’s just it. They went into this rescue willingly,” Hillary said. “And now they’re committed to the horse. Not all horses communicate the way he does. Not all horses know their minds. Some can go to a new barn and be perfectly happy. Some even celebrate. This horse, just like Dynamo, knows his mind and knows where he wants to be.”

  Karen shook her head. “What are we going to do?”

  “Nothing,” Hillary said. “Mindy thinks we should just lay low. She doesn’t think the theft investigation has anything to do with the horse.” Hillary decided not to tell them that the man paid a visit to Maple Dale or that he was identified. Why worry them even more.

  “But didn’t you say the horse keeps jumping fences and getting out of his stall?”

  Hillary shrugged. “Yes.”

  “But if he likes it so much there, why is he doing that?”

  “I don’t know. Hopefully someday he’ll tell me. I honestly don’t think he even knows.” Hillary patted Dynamo on the forehead and gave Karen and Veronica a hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Are you going to the sale?”