“This is Dr. Jones,” said Cassie, “Jeff, say hi.”
“Hi.” Jeff fiddled with the book.
“Hi, Jeff,” said my dad. “So do you like Ray Bradbury?”
“Are you a science fiction fan?” asked Miss Julie. “I have some more of his books at the house.”
“Yeah,” said Jeff. “He’s totally cool. I want to read all of his books. Have you read...”
“Jeff, will you go check in the truck for my wallet? I think I left it in the console,” Cassie interrupted. She turned to the mare and smoothed her hand over the glossy bay shoulder, ignoring Jeff again. Jeff stared at her a minute, then spun and walked out of the barn. Why was she so rude?
“She’s a really mellow mare,” said Cassie to Dad. “I think I’m more nervous about her foaling than she is.”
“So, I get the feeling that you are nervous about the foaling,” my dad said. Cassie stared at my father for a minute, trying to decide if he was making fun of her. “I guess I do repeat myself when I’m worried,” she said.
“Most of us do. How did it happen that she’s foaling in September?”
“Oh, well. She was in with another horse and I didn’t realize it was not a gelding and she then was pregnant. I didn’t mean to breed her yet. Kind of an oops.”
“I guess, an oops.” Dad fished in his shirt pocket. “Was it at least another quarter horse?”
“Yes. It was registered, so my foal will can be registered, too. Daisy and the stallion both have good bloodlines, so I hope you will take really good care of her. She and the baby should be worth a lot.”
“I’ll take care of them the best I can, no matter what they’re worth.” Dad’s mouth went tight—he always hated when people told him how much their horses were worth. “Look, can I come back later today to examine her? I really just stopped by to say hi, and I’m on my way to a farm call. I don’t like to start the day being late. Here’s my card for future reference.”
“Of course.” Cassie took his card. “If I’m not here, just check her without me and leave the bill with Miss Julie for me to get later.”
“Okay, that’s good,” said Dad. “See you around. Piper, I’ll call you. ‘Bye Addie, ‘bye Miss Julie. Oh, and Julie? Will you tell Sam that the mare will also need a small paddock fenced off for her and her foal?”
“Of course, Dan. ‘Bye now!”
Chapter Three
~ Another Spat ~
After Dad left, Cassie turned the mare out with the other two horses. They sniffed and snorted at each other, then settled down to graze as if it was no big deal. Addie and I talked while I filled the water tank, and decided not to ride that day. She had to practice her cheers and also was supposed to help clean their basement. She told me that when she was done, she would come over to my house and hang out. Sandy Davis drove up to collect Addie then, and offered me a ride home. I didn’t feel like riding by myself that day, plus I had some thinking to do, so I turned down the offer and started walking home. Cassie and Jeff drove off to collect their things for moving, passing me in a cloud of dust. It was only a mile from Miss Julie’s farm, but the day was still heating up and sweat dripped off my head. Usually I was fine with hot weather, but this was ridiculous.
When I got home, I flopped on the family room couch, sucking in the air-conditioning. Mom was dithering around the house, getting ready to go to work at Sam Applegate’s law office. Working there part-time was good for her. She was less crabby and had something to think about besides finding a job. Mom needed to be busy, and her not working drove us both nuts. Plus, Mom and Sam were dating. I was okay with that, as long as he didn’t move into our house or anything.
“Piper,” said Mom. “What are you doing later this evening? I want to take you shopping.”
“Shopping for what?” As if I didn’t know.
“Honey! Shopping for clothes. We’ve talked about this before. You’re starting senior high. You’ll meet new people and all your clothes are getting old and ratty.”
“But they’re comfortable, and I hate shopping for clothes.”
“Piper, we’ve been through this before. You cannot go to a new school in those old, ugly T-shirts and jeans. I saw some adorable tops the other day that would look so cute on you. And shoes! Honey, you have to get some new shoes.” Mom and her girly-girl image of me—it was annoying.
“Okay, Mom, if I have to.” I gave in so she would let up on me.
“Aren’t you even a little excited to start senior high? I saw Sandy Davis yesterday and she said Addie is jumping up and down.”
“Yeah, well, Addie just wants to see new cute guys and flirt with them in her new eye makeup. She’s going to try out for football cheerleader. We argued about it and I told her I thought she was dumb to do it.”
“Oh, Piper...” Mom sounded very tired. She had to hear a lot regarding Addie’s and my arguments.
“It’s okay. I apologized and we’re still friends. And I guess I am a little buzzed to start school. I hope it’ll be fun. But all I really need are jeans and western boots. And maybe some sandals, if it stays hot. Could we go tomorrow? Addie and I are planning to go to a movie tonight.” Well, we might have. That wasn’t really a lie. It could have happened.
“Will you promise to go tomorrow? I’ll get off early, so we could go have lunch and then shop. Does that sound okay?”
“Okay, Mom.” She shut the door. I could hear her as she backed her blue Bronco into the street, turned and drove toward downtown. I went in the kitchen, made myself a peanut butter sandwich and watched some television. I was halfway through the noon news when Addie tapped at the door and poked her head in.”
“Are you here?” she called.
“Come on in,” I said from the family room. “Want a sandwich or something?”
“I’d love a Coke. I’ll get it.” Addie checked the refrigerator for a cold can. Popping the top, she came in the room and flopped beside me on the couch. “Wow, is it hot! Our air-conditioner is not working right and it’s stifling in our house. But it feels great in here.”
“I know, right? Hey, it didn’t take long to clean your basement.”
“The shop vac broke and Mom got disgusted and said to forget it for today. So I tried on my new jeans and then came over. Hey, what do you think of Jeff?”
“What are we going to do about him? I don’t want to get stuck taking him around everywhere.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“When Cassie said she had a kid that would be new to our school, I thought it was a girl, so I volunteered to show her around town. Then I found out it was a guy, but she was so excited he’d have some friends that she didn’t give me a chance to take back what I said.”
Addie thought for a few minutes. I waited because sometimes she acted a little spacey, but came up with brilliant solutions. Not this time.
“We’ll just have to take him around.” At least she said we. But she said it with a grin.
“I don’t want to!” I knew I was being childish, but this was going to spoil my last days of summer vacation. “He’s two years ahead of us, and he probably doesn’t even like horses. He won’t want to ride.”
“He’s a senior? Wow! But his mom has that mare.” Addie took a big swig of her Coke. “He might like horses. He might ride.”
“You met him—he didn’t care about the horses one bit. Besides, Daisy is pregnant and ready to foal soon. Riding her is out. I don’t know what to do. And besides, he was anti-social, weird, and not interesting at all.” I twisted my bracelet made from Dotty’s hair. That’s what I did when I was worried.
“He’s cute, though. He likes to read, and so do you.”
“You think every boy is cute! And what’s up with his T-shirt? Who the heck is Robert Johnson, anyway? You are not getting my point.”
“Pipe, you’re making too big a deal of this. We’ll just do it. No sweat.”
“Yes, sweat! You’re not helping me,” I said, getting really ticked off. She is suppo
sed to agree with me, always.
“Not true! You’ll notice that I am willing to do it with you. I wasn’t there when you said you would show him around. But I’m going to do it anyway.”
“Okay, I appreciate that you will help, but we have to get out of doing this, somehow. Labor Day! What if I have to smile and chat with him at a family picnic?”
“You don’t have a family picnic.”
“We are this year. Mom and Sam and Miss Julie are planning that we all cook burgers and hot dogs out at the farm. I’m sure Cassie will be there with Jeff, since she lives there now.”
“Oh, maybe not. Anyway, what if he is there? Who cares? We can do it. I’ll come over and help. It will be just fine. You might even find out you like him. All boys are not icky and gross.”
“Why can’t you ever see my side of it? I never said all boys are icky and gross. I only said I don’t want to be responsible for his social life, when he doesn’t even want one. He is weird, and I don’t think he’s cute, even if you do. You probably want to make your hair all special and try that lipstick I saw you buy last week, and flirt with him.” My voice shook as I stood up, twisting my bracelet like crazy and glaring at Addie.
“You know what? I’m going home, even if it is too hot. You’re doing it again and if you’re going to just keep on griping at me, I don’t want to be here. I have cheers to practice. And remember when you asked me this morning if you were crabby? Yes, you are!” With that, my best friend picked up her soda can and walked out the door.
Chapter Four
~ Making Up Again ~
It turned out that our argument was for nothing, because when I went to the farm the next day, which was Saturday, Cassie stopped me on my way to the barn.
“Piper, thanks so much for offering to show Jeff around, but he won’t be back here until Monday night, and school starts Tuesday.”
“Oh, okay,” I said. “He won’t even be here for the Labor Day picnic?” I wanted to turn cartwheels and cheer.
“He wanted to hang out with his old friends for a few more days, so I drove him all the way back last night to stay with one of them. They have a band or something. I guess you’ll see him when school starts. I probably won’t be here for the picnic, either, I have a thing to go to. Oh, and while I’m talking to you, would you mind checking on Daisy after school when you come out all next week? I’m looking for a job and won’t get home till after 5:00.”
“Yeah, sure, Cassie. I can do that. But can’t Jeff look at her, too?”
“He’s a guy. He’s all wrapped up in his own self, reading or playing his stupid guitar. He won’t be much help. I can never count on him.”
“All right,” I said. “What should I look for?”
“Just anything out of the ordinary. If she looks uncomfortable, or has some milk dripping, or anything. You can call my cell phone and let me know.”
“Okay, no problem. But I’ll also call my dad.” I was happy to help out with her horse, but I absolutely did not want to be the one who was responsible for the foaling. I also hadn’t realized she didn’t even have a job. Where was her money coming from? She must have money saved in the bank. I had heard of adults that did that sometimes, unlike my mother. Cassie read me her cell phone number as well as Jeff’s, while I entered them into my contact list.
“Thanks a lot. See you.” She turned and climbed into her truck, driving up the road to town.
I really did need to call Addie and first, apologize for being a butthead again, and second, tell her the good news. She didn’t answer her phone, so I left a message: “Adds, it’s me. I’m really sorry for picking an argument with you. I will try to mend my evil ways. And, the pressure is gone--Jeff won’t be in town till the night before school starts, so we’re off the hook. Call me.”
Would she call back? The ball was in her court now. I mentally crossed my fingers that she would call soon. Then I realized: cheerleader tryouts were today. Agh! I hadn’t even asked about them. Some friend I was. I dialed Addie’s number and left another message: “Me again. How were tryouts? Let me know.” Would she still want to hang out with me if she had a bunch of real cool cheer friends, or football player friends?
After Mom got home from work, I let her take me to lunch and shopping at the nearest mall. We found some shoes, some jeans and, okay, I let her talk me into a couple of tops that were not too fluffy and frilly. One was a lightweight green cotton, but my favorite one was tan with a kind of fringe on it that looked western. They were both actually pretty cute and looked good on me. I successfully argued against the cargo pants and gave in on a sweater for when it got cold. Addie didn’t call.
That evening, I went over to my dad’s for dinner, since it was his night to be fatherly. We had baked chicken breasts with rice, one of my favorites. It’s usually delicious, but nothing tasted very good to me. Dad and I talked a lot about senior high and how I was expected to keep my grades up. That didn’t help my nervousness. Addie didn’t call.
When I woke up the next morning, I lay in bed staring at my old collection of Breyer horses. It included a quarter horse, an appaloosa, a thoroughbred, and an arabian. There was also a shetland pony foal and a paint. Addie and I were making our own collection of real-live horses; we had Dotty, Nickel and now Daisy, even though she was Cassie’s. Soon there would be a new foal. Today was Sunday and I had to talk to Addie. This would be our last weekend of freedom and we hadn’t even ridden once. We also needed to get things cleared up between us before school started. I took a deep breath and called Addie on my third cell phone in that many months.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey, Adds,” I replied. “Did you get my message?”
“I got it.”
“Well...why didn’t you call?”
“Piper, I...we just keep having these arguments and you get mad and I get mad and you apologize and I do, too, and then we do it all over again a few days later. I don’t want to keep doing that.” Addie sounded so sad and sort of defeated. What was wrong with her?
“I know. I don’t want to either. Maybe if we go for a ride together, we can talk about it? I’m not mad anymore and I really don’t know why I got so mad before.” Please agree, I thought. You’re my best friend. You’re my only friend.
“Okay, I’ll meet you at the barn in an hour. But please don’t say I’m flirty and boy-crazy anymore.”
“I won’t. See you later.” Rats! I forgot to ask how the tryouts went.
I was at the barn in thirty minutes, brushing Dotty, waiting for Addie.
Early morning breezes blew through the big open door and swirled clumps of horsehair around. Addie rode her bike into the barn and parked it against a hay bale.
“It’s a perfect day for a ride,” she said. “It’s cooler today.”
“I put Nickel in his stall for you,” I said, hoping to see her smile.
“Thanks, Pipe.” She let herself into Nickel’s stall with his halter. She fixed it around his head, led him out into the large open area in the middle of the barn and tied him to a post. She began brushing his silky freckled white coat in long, easy strokes. He turned his head to nose at her hair. Nickel liked to smell people’s hair.
“My mom says I can have all day. She says it’s the last weekend of the summer and we should enjoy it.” Addie slipped Nickel’s halter over his neck and replaced it with the bit and bridle.
“Your mom is smart. I agree with her, but I have to be back by three o’clock to help Mom bake for tomorrow,” I said, as I saddled Dotty and led her to the door. “Mom is going crazy making pies and potato salad and there are only going to be four of us, I think.”
“Oh, your mom just likes to make a big production on holidays. Remember last Christmas, when she made the prime rib for all of us and got a nosebleed? That was exciting!”
“Yeah, and a little scary.” We’d had to go to the emergency room, and when we got back, we had cold prime rib and mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner. Mom liked a big production, but I don
’t think her blood pressure did. When I told Dad about it, he just shook his head, like he had heard it before. I think Mom has been overdoing holidays for a long time.
I mounted Dotty, who tucked her head down and sidestepped a few paces. Her back twitched like she was going to buck, but I pulled her head up again and said, “Settle down, Dotty.” I was learning to deal with her antsiness. We walked slowly around in circles as we waited for Addie to get Nickel saddled up. In a few minutes, she came out of the barn on him and we started down the lane toward the woods.
“Are you still using the stool to mount him? I forgot to watch.”
“I am,” said Addie. “He’s too tall. I can’t reach the stirrup without a boost. But it doesn’t matter. If I have to get off him while we’re out, I’ll just pull him close to a fence or a stump to get back on.”
“Or I can help,” I said.
“Yeah,” she replied.
We rode along for a while, the sun shining, a gentle breeze blowing our hair. I tipped my head back and felt the warmth on my face. Dotty was feeling good and wanted to go fast, but I held her back. Nickel kept a steady pace, as always. He turned his head side to side a lot, making up for the blindness in his one eye. He was a perfect, quiet ride for Addie. As we rode in silence, there was something my best friend needed to say, and I knew not to rush her. We must have ridden for thirty minutes when Addie spoke up.
“I didn’t make cheerleader.” She started to cry.
“Oh, no! I’m sorry.” I brought Dotty to a halt. “Were there lots of kids that tried out?”
“Not too many. That’s what makes it even worse.” Addie pulled Nickel up and wiped her eyes on her shirtsleeve. “I wanted it so bad.”
“I know you did. You would have been really good, too.”
“Well, the teachers didn’t think so, the ones who decided.” Addie clicked at Nickel and started him walking again. “I think they only wanted kids who get A’s. That way parents can’t gripe that cheering interferes with schoolwork.”
The Horse Rescuers Page 13