“Well, it’ll be at least two and a half years until she can ride him.”
“But I’ll need to wait another year before Tessie’s ready to start anyway. And then Ravie can have a rest for a year or so. Dad won’t want to sell the perfect pony just because there’s no one to ride him for a little while. Thanks, Robbie.”
“Anytime.” Robbie was already heading toward the house when Joanna heard another word slip from his mouth. She couldn’t help but laugh. She wasn’t one hundred percent she’d heard right, but the single word sounded a lot like, “Partner.”
Even though she was exhausted, Joanna had a hard time getting to sleep. In her imagination, visions of a beautiful grey filly named Silver Tresses – soon to be her Tessie – galloped and pranced and cavorted beside a small dark pony. Sometimes she imagined she was riding Raven, but most of the time she was astride the sleek grey. The three of them leapt over fences and swam in the lake and raced through flowery meadows, totally consumed with joy.
When she finally fell asleep it was like falling down a dark well. She didn’t even dream, she was so tired. And then there was a beeping noise…
The alarm clock. She rubbed her eyes before checking the time. It had been going for two hours already, and she hadn’t heard it. And no one had told her to get out of bed.
It’s Sunday, she remembered. The day of rest on the farm, at least for the ponies. There would still be stalls to clean and ponies to feed and groom, but no riding. No training.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” said her mom when she walked into the kitchen.
“Why didn’t anyone wake me?”
“Robbie said he’d cover your chores this morning. He’s feeling energetic, I guess.”
Joanna yawned. “I told Cally I’d come over this morning. Her parents are getting back today and then she’ll be gone.”
“Who’s Cally?”
“You know, Mr. Thomas’s granddaughter?”
“I thought you said her name was Kathy.”
“Oh yeah,” Joanna said and blushed. “Well, I just got her name wrong the first time I met her. Can I go over?”
“Sure. In fact, why don’t I take you?” her mom replied. When Joanna opened her mouth, her mother quickly added, “No, no. I insist. It’ll be nice to have a few minutes together, without any ponies to intrude. And besides, we have church this afternoon. You won’t want to spend all your time walking over there.”
“That’ll be great, Mom.” What else could she say? Well, there was one thing. “Mom? Can Robbie have his own pony? I know he wants one, one of the bigger ones, but he doesn’t want to ask Dad.”
“Really? Well, I’ll talk to your dad about it.”
“Just don’t tell him I said anything, okay? Let it be a surprise.”
Mom smiled. “Another surprise. I love surprises.”
The ride to Mr. Thomas’s house seemed ridiculously long considering they shared a property boundary. They had to go almost to the highway before turning onto a side road that then branched off onto another road.
“There’s a police car behind us,” said Mom, glancing at the speedometer. “I hope I wasn’t speeding.”
Another quarter mile and the police car turned into a driveway – Mr. Williams’ driveway. Joanna looked back to see the car stop in front of Mr. Williams’ house and two officers get out.
“I wonder if something’s wrong at the Williams’,” said Mom.
“Maybe Mr. Williams is a bad guy,” Joanna suggested, as she turned to face the front.
“I wouldn’t be too surprised. He has shifty eyes.”
Joanna laughed. “He has nice horses though.”
“I suppose. I know they make him lots of money.” As usual, when the topic turned to horses, her mom sounded bored. Bad luck for her that she’d fallen in love with a man who loved horses, and then two of her kids were horse crazy – and her granddaughter too, if Joanna had anything to do with it.
“You’re awesome, Mom, even if you don’t like horses.”
“So are you, princess, even though you do.”
Minutes later, they turned into Mr. Thomas’s driveway. A shiny red car was parked beside his beat-up old pickup. Bonnie and Breeze were grazing on the overgrown lawn, and Cally sat on the porch steps, watching the horses. She stood when Joanna and her mom drove into the driveway, her face pinched and white. A look of immeasurable relief flooded her expression when Joanna opened the door and jumped out.
“I’ll come pick you up in two hours,” Mom said before Joanna shut her door, then she unrolled the driver side window and leaned out. “Hi, Cally. I’m Joanna’s mom, Mrs. Taylor.”
“Hi, Mrs. Taylor. My parents are with my grandpa right now, or they’d love to meet you,” said Cally. She hardly smiled as she spoke.
“Is everything okay with your grandpa?” asked Mom, noticing Cally’s drawn expression.
“He’s sick.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, dear. Is there anything I can do?”
“I don’t think so. But thanks, Mrs. Taylor.”
Joanna’s mom nodded. “You let me know if I can help, okay?”
“Okay.”
“See you later, Mom,” said Joanna. She couldn’t wait to ask Cally what was happening.
Finally, her mom backed out the driveway, and was gone. Joanna and Cally wandered to where the two horses grazed and sat on the grass together.
“I saw a police car at Mr. Williams’ house when we drove past,” said Joanna.
“That’s good,” Cally said, but she didn’t sound overly enthused.
“What’s happening in there?” Joanna motioned toward the house.
“I don’t know. They haven’t told me anything. I’ve been sitting out here, just dying to know, for ages. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” said Joanna. “Let’s groom the horses while we wait, okay?”
“That sounds awesome.”
He was so embarrassed. How had he done such horrible things? Stolen horses from his neighbours! The couple that owned the black mare were even his friends. He’d been totally out of his head, stealing any horse that superficially resembled his long-dead racehorses.
And then there was Cally, and his thinking she was Kathy. Sure, they had the same curly, strawberry blonde hair, the same green eyes. But Kathy had grown up long ago. How could he have forgotten that?
“Dad, please, tell us what happened.” Kathy’s voice was soft with concern. “You can’t keep quiet about this. Cally already showed us the horses, and you’ve had enough time to rest.”
And now they were asking him these questions. But how could he bear to tell them what he’d been doing these last days? Impossible even to form the words, because even if he forced himself to speak, he couldn’t stand for his daughter and son-in-law to see him for what he really was – a weak-minded fool. He’d already been enough of a disappointment to Kathy.
But they had to know if he was going to make it right.
“Dad?” Her hand was warm on his shoulder.
“I’m fine, Kathy. I’m just thinking, that’s all.”
His daughter deserved better than him. Always had.
Beware of your pride…
Now where had that come from? Almost like a voice. Oh yes, the dream. The voice that had brought him back to his senses, the being who’d given him a few priceless minutes with his old friends. Any presence with that power must know what it was talking about. But how was he being proud? All he wanted to do was avoid humiliation. That wasn’t pride, was it?
But really, if he were honest, there was a deeper reason he didn’t want to tell them. He didn’t want to admit he needed help.
And he did need help. The being had given him a certain clarity of mind, but it wasn’t much more than what had existed just a couple months ago, a few weeks before Cally came to stay with him. If he didn’t tell them now, would he have the courage to tell them later when the clarity faded? Or would he do the same as he had the first time and keep silent? Would he
allow himself to start stealing horses again? Put other people in danger again? At least throwing Graham into the old cellar had been a dream. He didn’t think he could stand himself if it hadn’t.
But what if next time he did grab some innocent fellow and try to exact his revenge? How would he forgive himself then?
And the horses! He’d galloped them over asphalt and kept them crowded in a shed large enough for only one horse. Something could easily have happened to one of them, a broken leg, an aborted foal, anything…
Most of all, he couldn’t bear to think of how his actions might have harmed Cally. He’d trapped an energetic, frightened Thoroughbred stallion in a small space with two strange horses and then sent his inexperienced granddaughter into the shed to groom them!
He groaned.
“Dad, please, you have to talk to me. Tell me what happened.”
The voice was right. He’d been too proud to admit he needed help back then – but he’d been given a second chance. He had no choice but to disappoint Kathy yet again, burden her once more with his failure.
Kathy pulled her chair so she was sitting immediately in front of him, then took his hands in hers. “Dad.” Her green eyes were so much like his own, so much like Cally’s. “Dad, I love you. I will always love you, no matter what. You can tell me anything.”
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“You will always be my dad, and I will always feel blessed to be your daughter.”
What? She felt blessed? But she couldn’t. He must have misheard. He’d done nothing but fail his entire life.
She must have seen the disbelief in his eyes.
“You were always a great dad to me. I remember all the beautiful, magical stories you told me about Mom, because I was too young to remember her when she died. You told me those stories, though it must have hurt you terribly to talk of her. And I remember how you comforted me when Thunder was taken from us. And you always had time for me. You always encouraged me and supported my decisions, as long as you were convinced I’d thought things through. You are a great dad and a wonderful grandfather. I trust you completely. So trust me this time to be your confidant, okay? Trust me to love you, no matter what.”
Tears pooled in his eyes and he let them tumble down his cheeks unrestrained. She didn’t blame him for Thunder. She didn’t even seem to remember that they never had much money when she was a child. Or that as a single parent, he’d made mistakes. And she loved him, no matter what.
“I…” He could feel them bunching in his throat: the words. Pushing, crowding forward.
“Kathy, I…”
“Yes, Dad?”
“Kathy, I need your help…”
After they groomed Breeze and Bonnie until they seemed alight in the late morning sun, Joanna and Cally sat in the shade next to the house. Joanna wiped the sweat from her brow.
“What a hot day.”
“I love it,” Cally said. “It’s way colder at home. I wish we could live here.”
“Me too,” said Joanna. “That would be awesome.”
Cally wrapped her arms around her knees. “I hate that we’re leaving today. I didn’t even have time to visit your farm. Your ponies last night were so awesome, and Raven is totally perfect.”
“Hey, I forgot to tell you. I know the solution for Raven.” Quickly Joanna explained, then added, “And my brother told me something last night that makes me just tingle all over. But if I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else. No one knows that I know.”
“I won’t tell. I promise.”
“My parents are planning to give me one of the fillies you saw last night. The rose grey with the blaze, the one closest to Breeze in color.”
“Oh Joanna, that’s awesome! You’re so lucky.” She touched her necklace. “Maybe if I ask Angelica, she’ll give me a horse too.”
“That reminds me, another weird thing happened last night too.” Joanna told of Robbie’s hostility and how he’d caught her last night – and how when her fingers brushed the necklace she’d suddenly understood his point of view. “And now we’re like big buddies,” she finished, and then laughed. “Well, maybe not buddies, but at least there’s a truce.”
“If Angelica could communicate with you just by you touching the necklace, I wonder if…. No, it’s silly.”
“What?”
“Well, what if we can communicate too, not just with her, but with the horses?”
“Oh, cool idea. Let’s try. I’ll call Bonnie. You watch her while I concentrate.” Joanna touched the necklace, shut her eyes, and thought, Bonnie, come here.
Beside her, Cally gasped.
“What happened?” The horses looked just the same, grazing peacefully on the lawn.
“She looked up at us, but then kept on eating. It must’ve just been chance.”
“Maybe she didn’t see any reason to come. Remember how she was with David last night? Stubborn. You try, with Breeze.”
Cally put her fingers on her necklace and closed her eyes. Breeze raised his head and looked right at them, then nickered and ambled toward them. With a resigned sigh, Bonnie followed.
“Cally, it works!”
“We’re horse whisperers now. Cool!”
The two girls leapt to their feet and greeted the horses with hugs and soft words, then Joanna said, “Let’s take him for a ride. We can tell him where to go through the necklace.”
“This is so awesome. Give me a boost, then you can use the steps to get up.”
Just as Cally settled on Breeze’s back, the front door opened. Cally’s mom and dad walked onto the porch.
“Cally, that’s not safe,” said her dad. “You don’t even have a rope on him.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. He’s okay.” She slid to the ground and Breeze wandered away to graze. “This is my new friend, Joanna. She lives next door.”
“Hi,” said Joanna.
“It’s nice to meet you,” said Cally’s mom.
“We’re glad Cally has a friend here,” said her dad, sounding oddly relieved.
“Where’s Grandpa? Is everything okay?”
“He’s fine, and he’ll be out in a minute,” said Cally’s dad. “We told him we wanted to talk to you first.”
“Can Joanna stay too? She knows that the horses are stolen, so she should know what’s happening.”
Cally’s mom sighed. “Okay. Come sit down, girls.” She sat on the steps and waited for Cally and Joanna to join her.
“We phoned the owners of the two horses. Neither owner is going to press charges, so that’s good news.”
“But what about Grandpa? We can’t leave him here alone and we can’t bring him to the city. He’d hate that so much.”
“We know, honey,” said Cally’s dad. “And we think we have a plan.” He cleared his throat. “What do you think of moving here?”
“What?”
“Now, sweetheart, I know it’ll be tough to move away from all your friends, but you can invite them out to visit. Every other weekend, if you want. However, your grandpa needs us now, so we all have to make sacrifices.”
“But Mom, Dad, it’s not a sacrifice. It’s awesome! It’s wonderful! I love it here. I’ve always loved it here. And if I can invite my friends, that’s even better. They’re going to love it here too. And they’ll love Joanna too. And her ponies. Her ponies are fantastic! Just wait until you see them. And her mom is really nice, Mom. I bet you’ll be best friends, just like me and Joanna.”
Cally’s dad laughed out loud. “And here I was worried about telling you. It seems we’re all excited about moving to the country.” He walked down the porch steps and looked around. “Your grandpa always insisted he didn’t want help, even with the buildings falling down around him. We never wanted to force him, and now that he’s changed his mind, I’m glad we didn’t. We can turn this place back into something special, together, as a family.”
“There’s one thing that would make it all even better,” said Cally. “A horse. Can I have
a horse if we move?”
Joanna noticed Cally’s hand stray to her necklace, and she looked at Breeze in time to see the chestnut gelding raise his head from the lawn grass.
“That’s so odd,” said Cally’s mom. “When we talked to one of the owners on the phone she felt terrible they hadn’t even noticed the horse was missing. She said that it was time to talk to her daughter about selling him so he could go on to live a useful life somewhere else.”
Breeze strolled toward them.
“I think she was the owner of this horse,” said Cally’s dad, amazed. His hand ran along Breeze’s red coat as the horse stepped past him.
The gelding stopped in front of the steps and reached out with his nose to snuffle Cally’s hair.
“I get the distinct impression that he’s trying to tell us something,” said Cally’s mom, and laughed.
“I’m sure he is,” said Joanna. “He’s chosen Cally for his new girl.”
The door opened and Mr. Thomas came out onto the porch. Cally jumped up and grabbed her grandfather’s hand, pulling him toward Breeze. “Grandpa, would you like to have a new horse with me? We could own him together.”
“Why, Cally,” the old man said, his voice subdued. Joanna could see tear tracks on his face. “I… I don’t know.”
Breeze pushed his nose into the air and curled his upper lip in response.
“Look, Grandpa, he’s grinning because he’s so happy to be here,” said Cally. “He wants to live with you too, just like me.” She threw her arms around her grandfather’s waist.
For the first time since their adventure started, Joanna saw a smile on Mr. Thomas’s lined face. It grew slowly, tentatively, bigger and wider, until the happiness touched his eyes, lighting them up with joy. He straightened to stand a little taller and reached to stroke Cally’s curls.
“Well, Grandpa?”
“I couldn’t imagine anything nicer,” he said.
Sampson, my dear. I hear your scream of panic! I am coming.
There is no time to regain my strength. The tornado is too close. Here I will undo your stall door. Now run! Run before it is too late!
Silver Dream Page 10
