High Hurdles Collection Two

by Lauraine Snelling

  “Easy for you to say.” He drew her close to his side. “One thing’s sure, you look a lot better than you did two months ago.” His shudder said it all. “Let’s go see your friend. I told Herndon you were coming, and he put on his best suit.” Letting go of her, he slid the barn door open. They stepped into an aisle that ran the length of the barn, with foaling stalls near the door and individual stalls farther down. Shavings covered the dirt floor, and brass nameplates glinted on the stall doors.

  DJ whistled even though Herndon had most likely forgotten. But a whinny, not a nicker, let her know he heard—and remembered. His fine head reached out of the stall door, and he banged a hoof in impatience.

  DJ felt her throat clog. “He remembers me.”

  “He’s not such a snob anymore. I think that fire scared the snob right out of him,” Jackie said.

  “Did he get burned anywhere?”

  “No, you got him out first before the fire spread too far. He fared better than some of the other horses, but they all lived thanks to you and your quick thinking.”

  DJ stopped in front of Herndon and let him snuffle her arms, face, and hands before he nudged her chest. “Yeah, big man, I brought you treats.” DJ fumbled in her sweat shirt pouch and brought out a horse cookie—Herndon’s favorite. He took it from her palm and, even while munching, leaned into her fingers as they stroked his cheek, his ears, and down his long neck.

  When Brad opened the stall door so she could go in, Herndon moved over but not away. He even lowered his head so she could reach more easily.

  “He’s never been like this before.”

  “I know. I told you, we have a different horse here than we did before.” Jackie joined them in the stall. “After he calmed down—for a while any noise startled him—he let this mellow side show. I’ve been riding him so he doesn’t get rusty, and he’s pure pleasure to ride now. You want to try him?”

  DJ held up her hands. “I still have to use the foam rubber on the reins and can’t grip tight enough, so I guess not.”

  “You think we’d let something like that stop you?” Brad showed her the fat reins on Herndon’s bridle. “Jackie has ridden him with the new bit so he won’t be surprised. You don’t have to, but …”

  How could she say no? DJ swallowed the butterflies that had suddenly woken up and started their aerial show.

  What if he runs away with me? Can I stop him? DJ hoped her fear didn’t show on her face. But Herndon would sense it anyway.

  “How about we put him on a lunge line for you. That way you can get the feel of him again without having to worry about controlling him.” Jackie took the bridle off the hook and set about tacking him up.

  “Yes, please.” Now, why didn’t you think of that? DJ had hoped her resident nag had stayed home. No such luck. “I’ll have to use a mounting block. Can’t pull myself up yet.”

  “No problem. There’s one in the arena. You want to ride inside or out?” Brad handed Jackie the saddle.

  “Inside, I guess.”

  “You got a horse for us to ride?” Bobby or Billy asked.

  “Shh.” Lindy reminded them that the question wasn’t polite.

  “Sure do, but she’s bigger than your General.”

  “That’s okay.” But when the boys started to jump, Robert laid a heavy hand on each of their shoulders.

  “How about we let DJ ride first, and then we’ll saddle up the old girl for you,” Brad suggested.

  “What’s her name?” chimed the Bs.

  “We call her Queenie because she’s been around the longest.”

  “Like our dog! Is she black-and-white?”

  “Nope, dapple-gray.”

  While they chattered, DJ felt her shoulders tense, along with the muscles down her back. Herndon was acting like her long-lost friend right now, but he might switch personalities and go back to who he used to be right quick.

  “You ready?”

  “I guess.” DJ knew her reply was barely lukewarm, but it was all she could manage at the moment. Oh, God, please don’t let me fall off.

  Chapter • 14

  Riding Herndon was like floating on a cloud.

  “He feels good, doesn’t he?” Jackie kept turning with the lunge line, watching DJ and grinning as if she’d just won the lottery.

  “He sure does.” Gone was that tight, I’m-about-to-explode feeling she’d always had with him before. He walked flat out, loose and relaxed. After several circuits, at DJ’s signal he picked up an easy trot. DJ posted with scarcely any effort. When she fumbled with the reins, he flicked his ears back and forth but kept an even stride.

  “You did just fine,” Jackie said when DJ slowed Herndon to a walk and turned him in to the center of the ring.

  “Thanks to a lot of hours already on Major and Megs. Bridget hasn’t let me jump yet. Got to get better hands first.”

  “They’ll come. And you know he’s ready whenever you are. I figured the only way you’d see the difference in him is by riding him yourself. He’s faced the worst thing that could happen and survived, and now he’s relaxed.”

  “Have you jumped him?” DJ leaned forward and stroked Herndon’s barely sweat-darkened neck.

  “A bit, and you can tell he loves it. I’ve been doing mostly dressage to keep him in condition. You sure look good on him. I can’t wait to see you in the ring again.”

  “Mmm.”

  “You don’t sound too sure.”

  “Just taking one day at a time.”

  Brad strolled into the arena, leading the gray mare with both boys astride. They waved at DJ and said something to Brad that made him laugh. Robert and Lindy came in behind them.

  “You want to go some more? We can take up more of the line.”

  Sure. Or can I ride him by myself... or not. DJ couldn’t make up her mind. She wanted to—oh, how she wanted to—but … “No, let’s put him away so the boys can ride without any interference. Guess I just don’t want to take any chances … yet.”

  Jackie smiled up at her. “Good enough. Then we’ll get dinner on the table. All I have to do is cook the linguine. I tried a new recipe for clam sauce. Brad says it’s the best ever.” She led Herndon over to the mounting block, where DJ dismounted.

  “Herndon, thanks for the easy ride. Soon we’ll jump again. I promise.” Herndon nosed her cheek and tipped his head toward her so she would rub the tip of his ear. As soon as Jackie had the tack off, DJ took the brushes and, using both hands, brushed him down.

  “You do okay with those, huh?”

  “Big stuff is fine, as long as I don’t have to exert much pressure. But buckles, pencils, paper, narrow straps are all beyond me. I feel like a total klutz at times, but at least my balance is back and I move with the horse again. The first time I rode Major I felt like a stick.”

  DJ used both hands to pick up the cloth and wipe around Herndon’s eyes and down his face. “There you go, big horse. Thanks again.”

  He nickered when they walked away. DJ turned back to give him one more pat and hug. “Guess you really are mine now, aren’t you, big horse?” She could feel tears working their way out. Would she ever get over crying so easily?

  They stopped to give Matadorian, Brad’s foremost stallion, a couple of pats, then ambled out to the pasture, where the last crop of foals grazed and played. As soon as they saw Jackie, they all came trotting up to the fence.

  “Hey, Stormy, I almost didn’t recognize you.” DJ held out her hand to her filly, who sniffed it and went to Jackie for a treat. “I have a bit of horse cookie left in my pocket, if you could please get it out.” She motioned to her pouch. “The piece is too small for me to pick up. I should have brought more.”

  Jackie did so, and DJ held out her hand with the bit of treat on her palm. Two of the youngsters came to inspect, but DJ pushed off the other one and let Stormy have it. The filly munched happily, nodding her approval.

  “You clown.” DJ tried to pet her nose, but the frisky filly danced backward and snorted, her ears p
ricked forward.

  “She loves to play, always teases the others until she can get them running after her. Such fun to watch.” Jackie leaned on the upper fence rail. “I can’t wait until you can come and play with her. Brad wants to put her in a show in early December.”

  “Not a chance I could handle her by then, but I sure would love to.” One of the others came over and let DJ stroke his face. But not Stormy. She’d come just so close, right out of reach, then dance away.

  “She moves like a ballerina up on her toes.” DJ rested her chin on her hands, which were crossed on the top rail. Maybe if she didn’t move, curiosity would overcome her filly. Two others came to inspect DJ, but while Stormy eyed her, she kept her distance. “Silly girl.”

  “Come on, let’s get dinner ready. I’m starved.” Jackie turned away. DJ, with a longing glance over her shoulder, followed.

  For Thanksgiving everyone—Gran and Joe; Shawna and her parents, Andy and Sonja; Brad and Jackie—came to their house, bringing all kinds of additions to the turkey that Robert was cooking on the barbecue. They added another table to the one in the dining room so that the thirteen of them, including Maria, could sit together. When all the food covered the table, they took their chairs and joined hands.

  “We have an awful lot to be thankful for this year,” Joe said from the head of the table. “So you all be thinking, and after we eat, we’ll make a family list. But for right now, let’s bow our heads.” As soon as everyone was quiet, Joe began. “Dear Lord, we come before you with thankful hearts for all you have done for us. We thank you that we live close enough together to be able to enjoy each other’s company, to share our sorrows and joys. Thank you that DJ is recovering so wonderfully fast and that soon we’ll have a new baby in our circle. For the food before us and our time together we thank you, and most of all for sending us your Son to take away our sins. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.”

  Everyone echoed the amen, Billy’s the loudest. DJ and Shawna swapped rolled eyes and giggles at the boys’ antics. But when DJ looked up at the adults, they all had shiny eyes. Joe’s prayer had brought that old familiar lump to her throat, too.

  DJ looked across the table when she was passing the mashed potatoes and saw her mother frowning. When DJ raised an eyebrow to ask what was wrong, her mother just shook her head and turned to answer a question from one of the boys. But later when she saw her mother frown again, she began to wonder. Is she mad about something? This is weird.

  Andy got to teasing the girls, and pretty soon everyone was laughing too hard to pay much attention to anything else. Then Bobby spilled his milk, and Queenie had half of it licked off the floor before Maria could bring the towel.

  By the time they finished eating, DJ couldn’t tell if she was too full of food or too full of laughter.

  “I vote for dessert later.” Joe leaned back in his chair and patted his middle. “What I really need right now is a nap.”

  “I thought we were going to play football.” Andy tried to frown, but his eyebrows wouldn’t cooperate.

  “Yeah, let’s play football in the pasture,” the boys began to chant.

  “We clear the table first.” Sonja raised her hands to stop the general exodus. Everyone groaned but began hauling plates and bowls into the kitchen.

  “Maria, the dishes wait until after the football game, you hear?” Robert set the turkey platter on the counter. “We’ll just put the food away now.”

  “Sí, Señor. I watch the game, too.”

  “Where’s Mom?” DJ looked around the kitchen and dining room.

  “Must have gone to lie down a bit.” Robert set the roll of plastic wrap on the counter so they could cover the bowls more easily. “You set them there and I’ll rip.”

  Lindy appeared in the arch of the family room. “No, Robert dear, you won’t be ripping. We are on the way to the hospital. My water just broke.”

  “But the baby’s not due for at least two more weeks.”

  “Maybe not, but it’s coming.” Lindy turned and headed out to the garage, cupping her belly with both hands.

  DJ looked around the room. It looked as if they had all played statue and no one dared move.

  Gran returned from the bathroom. “What’s the matter?”

  “We’re having a baby!” Robert looked from his father to Gran. “Oh my goodness, we’re going to have a baby. I gotta take her to the hospital. Where’re my keys? Someone cover the food.” He stared around the kitchen. “Where’s Lindy?”

  DJ snagged his car keys off the key board by the phone and put them in his hand. “Go! Mom’s already in the car.” Never had she seen him in such a panic.

  Joe started to laugh, grabbed his son by the arm, and hauled him out to the garage.

  When he returned, he was still laughing. “My son, the dithering dad. I can’t believe that.”

  “Well, you better believe it, because his wife is my daughter, and we’re going to follow them. Anyone, did she have her bag with her?”

  DJ thought a moment and shook her head. “I’ll get it.”

  The boys ran in from outside. “When are we playing football?”

  DJ left the room in a rush, knowing someone else would answer the boys. The last time she’d seen the bag it had been on the chair by the door of her mother’s bedroom. How come the baby’s coming early? Does that mean something is wrong? God, please take care of our baby and Mom. DJ breathed a sigh of relief to see the overnighter in its right place. She grabbed it and hustled back to the stairs. Joe met her halfway down and took the bag.

  “We’ll call as soon as we know anything.” He planted a quick kiss on the end of her nose and raced out the door after Gran.

  “Tell Mom I love her,” DJ called after him.

  “I will.”

  DJ continued down the stairs and back to the kitchen, where Jackie had taken over sealing the plates and bowls with plastic wrap. Sonja was finding room in the refrigerator for the leftovers, and what didn’t fit there, Maria took to the spare refrigerator in the garage. The boys and Shawna were just bringing in the last things from the table.

  “Now, if that isn’t the firecracker ending to a Thanksgiving dinner.” Andy handed his wife a bowl and snagged a pickle from the plate Brad was clearing off.

  “I thought you were stuffed.” Sonja gave him her oh-my look.

  “I am. I’m eating on nervous energy now. After all, we’re having a baby.”

  “We are?!” Shawna let out a squeal that could be heard clear to the Academy.

  “No, dear, not us. He’s talking about our extended family here.”

  “Oh drat.”

  “You can borrow ours,” Bobby said with a totally sober face.

  That set Andy off again, and finally even the boys were laughing, though they had no idea at what.

  “So when are we gonna play football?” The twins now stood in the doorway, hands on hips.

  “We don’t have enough players now.” DJ looked to Brad, who shrugged.

  “No problem.” Brad took the boys by their hands. “Come on, let’s find the football. It’ll help pass the time.” As the boys dragged him out to the garage, he called over his shoulder, “You all better get ready.”

  “I can’t play.” DJ held up her hands.

  “You can cheer for our side.” Shawna got behind and pushed her out to the deck. “Come on, Mom, Jackie. We need all the help we can get.”

  So with Andy on one team and Brad on the other, they chose up sides. Maria played goalpost at one end of the field and DJ at the other. When the score was tied at seven, Brad whispered something to the twin on his team. They went into a huddle with more whispers and giggling.

  “All right,” Andy hollered. “No fair.” Then he bent over and whispered something to his twin. More giggles.

  DJ checked the cell phone she had in her pocket. Sure enough, it was on. But no phone calls. “How long does it take a baby to be born?”

  “Long as it takes,” Sonja hollered back.

  �
��Big help.”

  “Okay, ready?” Brad held the ball. They lined up. On the count of three, people ran every direction. Brad threw the ball to his twin, who ran the wrong direction to score a point.

  “We won.” Andy planted his hands on his hips and puffed.

  “No, he ran the wrong way.”

  “No, he didn’t. The twins switched.” DJ let out a whoop of laughter, and the twins fell giggling to the ground, the ball between them.

  Andy and Brad stared at each other, then at the wives, and they all descended on the boys as Shawna screamed, “Run, Bs, run!”

  The boys took off, Queenie yipping and barking after them, the men in hot pursuit.

  “Best football game I ever saw.” Jackie wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.

  “The only one that I wasn’t bored to death.” Sonja leaned against the fence and flinched as her husband leaped over the dog and landed splat in a fresh pile of horse manure. When she dared open her eyes, she looked the other way and asked, “Is he all in one piece, or are we taking another one to the hospital?”

  “He’s fine.”

  The cell phone rang, and DJ used both hands to pull it from her pocket. “Hello?” She shook her head at the others, who had frozen in place. “Mom’s doing fine, but no baby yet. Thanks, Gran. Tell GJ that Andy fell in the horse poop. That’ll make his day.”

  As they all wandered back to the house, they made Andy walk ten steps behind.

  DJ checked the clock. “Shouldn’t the baby be born by now?”

  “Babies have their own timetable.” Sonja pointed her husband toward the bathroom.

  “I’ll get Andy something to wear.” DJ headed for her parents’ room. On the way back with jeans and a T-shirt, she glanced in the nursery. Soon they’d have a baby in there.

  After eating pumpkin pie and whipped cream, Brad and Jackie gathered up their things to leave. “Now, you call us as soon as you hear anything.” Jackie handed DJ their cell phone number.