by Olivia Swift
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 beautiful,” 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.
1 The compact body of the American Quarter Horse is well-suited for the intricate and quick maneuvers required in reining, cutting, working cow horse, barrel racing, calf roping, and other western riding events, especially those involving live cattle.
2 Stetson is a brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company.
Founded in 1865, John B. Stetson Company began when John B. Stetson headed west and created the original hat of the pioneering American West, the “Boss of the Plains”. This Western hat would become the cornerstone of Stetson's hat business and is still in production today.
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.
“I can see why you would like to paint
at The Panhandle,” Mikey said. “These ones are striking. The mountain background appeals to me.” He laughed. “I’m a better climber than a horseman.”
“Did you ask him about the cowboy?” Magda said to Mikey who shook his head.
“I’m ahead of you,” Shelby said and pulled out the last picture from the box. He stood it against the counter, and they all stood back to see it. It was large.
Magda gasped and looked at Mikey. “I’ll get Rula.” She actually ran back through the cellar and called for her friend.
“Hold the thought, Rita,” she said and tugged at Rula to come to the gallery.
“Is this urgent?” Rula asked as she was pulled toward the cellar doors.
“Yes,” Magda panted, and they ran up the steps into the gallery. Magda pointed at the painting.
“Oh, my Lord in heaven above,” Rula said and dropped down beside the picture as it stood on the floor.
She touched it gently with her finger.
“We have to buy this, Mikey. It can go in the gallery, but we have to buy it. He belongs in our house.” She was almost tearful, and Mikey pulled her up and held her hand.
“Thing is,” Magda told Shelby, “we did have a séance last night and there was a cowboy on the stairs, but we couldn’t see him. We asked Rula to describe what she saw in that slight flash of time when she thought she saw him.” She looked at the painting. “She said well-worn, normal Stetson, red checkered shirt and jeans.”
“So, you see why he belongs there,” Rula added.
“What else happened?” Shelby asked and they told him about the sound of the horse nickering and Branston thinking that he felt it nuzzle at his neck.
“By questions and guesses, and his reaction to what we said, we think he rode a large grey working horse,” Magda replied, and Mikey added that maybe Branston would find a similar horse for him to buy.
The repairman came to say the machine was working again and left his invoice on the kitchen counter. He walked back to look at the railroad cellar before going on to his next call.
“Let’s take these up to the storeroom,” Mikey said.
“Then we can have proper coffee again,” Magda added. The four of them carried the paintings up the stairs to the first floor.
Mikey ran back down to answer a query at the counter and the two girls took Shelby to the café.
Rula helped Rita as the lunchtime customers were rolling in and Sam arrived for his usual sandwiches. Instead of which, he fed the baby while Magda served at the counter. Shelby told him what had happened with the paintings as the baby ate spoons full of lunch and dessert. Then Sam expertly warmed the bottle in the microwave to finish his daughter’s meal.
“You like doing that, don’t you?” the visitor asked, and Sam smiled.
“Never thought how it would change my life.”
Magda came in with his sandwiches and relieved him of the baby.
“So, the séance was successful?” Shelby queried.
“Yes, it was friendly, and we all felt good about it. No doubt the cowboy will be glad to see his stable in use again,” Magda answered. “We will do another séance next week when Declan and Katie are back. Declan actually sees spirits and would be able to say if the man really is on the staircase.”
“Is this in town?” Shelby asked.
“Orchard Boulevard is where Rula and Mikey bought the house. There is a fair-sized piece of land behind it and it was probably ranched once upon a time.”
“That is on the western edge of the town?” Shelby queried.
“You are welcome to join us next week,” Sam said and wondered why the man was smiling.
Rula came to join them and the artist stood up.
“I do believe in fate,” he said. “I rather think that the land behind your house was once owned by my great-grandfather and his friend. They bred horses.” He paused, “I don’t know for certain, but I have always thought that this man I saw in dreams meant something, but I didn’t know what.”
“Good Lord,” Rula said. “My cowboy might be your great-great-grandfather.”
“More likely his friend,” Shelby said. “We do have some early photographs of my great-great-grandfather. He doesn’t look like the cowboy in the picture.”
“But we will be able to find their names and ask the spirit if he’s that man. It’s so exciting. I have to call Branston,” Magda said and pulled out the cell phone. She talked to her cousin and brought him up to date with the latest piece of information. He stopped her short.
“He was called Cody Jones,” Branston said. “I know about him and his friend.”
“Wow,” Magda said and told the others. Shelby agreed that his great-grandfather’s friend was called Cody Jones. Magda handed her cell phone over to the visitor and he and Branston talked about the history of horse breeding in the area. Magda served some customers and then took back her phone.
“When Katie comes back and we plan another séance, we’ll let you know when we plan to do it. If we know you are a descendent, heaven knows what we will find out.” Then she told him they would lock the paintings in the storeroom if he was happy to leave them.
“We’ll have a lot more folk around next week with the craft exhibition.”
He said that was fine and he had better get back to work.
“I’ll bring Bart up to date. I bet the newspaper has something about this cowboy. I’ll let Katie and Declan know as well.”
“Go back through the gallery and tell Mikey what we found out,” Rula called. The man raised a hand and disappeared into the cellar doorway.
“Win, win,” Magda said. “His pictures are excellent. He found the cowboy and Branston already knew about it.”
“If it’s horse related in this area, Branston would know. I wonder why he didn’t put two and two together before,” Magda added and took delivery of the shapes for the chocolate horses.
When they were unpacked, Rita and Rula came to look.
“The saddle is already in the shape,” Rita remarked.
“I love the one rearing up,” Rula added.
“And quite a large headshot. I’ll try them out and see how they look,” Magda said and took them to the work surface. The huge chocolate vat in the center of the kitchen had melted chocolate all of the time and stirred itself slowly.
Magda covered both halves of each shape with tempered chocolate and moved the tray to the fridge to cool. She packed away the other shapes in a cupboard.
When the rush died down, Magda went into the gallery and took the baby stroller. Mikey was free to go and see to his climbing shop. It was calm in the gallery with one or two people browsing and she sat with Samantha in her arms and answered queries.
One man bought two of the paintings that Magda did not like. She put the baby back in the stroller and carefully wrapped the purchases. Two ladies came through on their way to the café and stopped to see the baby. A young boy came through from the cellar and asked her for a model from the shelf. She left the two ladies cooing over Samantha and went to bring the model. The lad did not want it wrapped and went back through to the café. The ladies followed him.
“I get to sit down in here, Samantha,” she said to her daughter. Then she stood up and found two more paintings to replace the ones that were sold. Mikey came back and took over and she pushed the stroller back to the café.
The chocolate molds were solidified. She carried them carefully to the work surface, ran a small blow torch over the containers and the halves of the new chocolates slid onto the counter. The three women clustered around as Magda softened the edges and stuck the halves together.
“They are pretty big,” Rita said.
“And stand up nicely as well,” Magda added. “Should I leave them hollow or fill them?”
“Try one filled tomorrow. Today we can wrap these in gold foil and see if we can add some decoration,” Rula replied. All of the people in the café, including the men, were now used to the making of truffles, chocolate shapes, and decor
ations but Katie was the best at it.
“A little lasso,” Magda said and went to find something that would look like a mini rope as Rula found the foil and carefully covered the first horse. The legs were part of the stand that let the chocolates remain upright which made it easy to do.
“I’m pleased with those,” Magda said. “We can keep on making them to have a supply for the rodeo.”
They tidied and locked up. Mikey had already locked up the gallery and they all set off for home. Magda found that Sam was already there and had a meal on the table. He carried the baby inside and expertly changed her diaper.
Magda smiled and sat at the table.
“This is wonderful. Thank you.” She quickly dove into the vegetable curry which was Sam’s specialty. “I sold two of those splattered paint pictures and made some chocolate horses.”
There was a bang from the living room and Magda jumped up and went to see the source. Crystal was pacing around the floor and there was a book on the floor about parenting.
“Crystal, we’re doing our best with Samantha,” she grumbled and put the book back on the shelf. Crystal went and sat on the sofa with her back to Magda. Magda shook her head and went back to her curry.
“Talking about horses has made me want to go out riding again. We haven’t done that for ages.”
Sam told her that being pregnant did sort of restrict that a little bit.
“We can ask Alison to babysit and see if the ranch has a couple of horses we can borrow,” he added.
“Sounds good,” she said. The cell phone rang, and Bart told her to follow the link in her messages.
“Found him - Cody the cowboy.”
5
They both flicked on tablets and followed the link which Bart had sent to everyone. There was silence as they read the archived pieces he had found.
“Do you think Shelby knows that his great-great-grandfather’s friend founded Jonesville?”
