by Patricia Fry
"Wait," Savannah called, "you'll need the keys." She handed hers to the boy, then said, "Michael, put your brights on. I think she's right in front of us. Look, she's heading toward the orchard." She opened the door and stepped out, calling, "Peaches! Peaches, come here, girl." When the mare didn't respond, she said, "I'll go get the halter."
"Wait for Adam to bring the flashlight," Michael warned.
"What's going on?" Jimmy called, climbing out of Gladys's car with four others.
"One of the horses is out," Savannah said. She shouted, "Adam, turn on the outside lights, will you?" When she saw him exit the house, she called out, "Bring the light here, Adam. I need to go get her halter or a rope or something."
"I have a flashlight in the RV," Jimmy said. "I'll get it."
After grabbing Peaches's halter and lead rope, Savannah started walking toward Michael and Jimmy, then yelped.
"What?" Adam asked, looking at her.
"Gypsy's corral gate's open too. Dang it!" She handed Adam the halter. "Go give this to your dad. I'll get another one."
"Got them?" Belinda called from the porch a few minutes later.
"Got them," Savannah said as she and Adam led the mares back to their corrals. "Now you stay inside," she said to Gypsy.
"You too, Peaches," Adam said, turning her loose in her corral. "No escaping."
Meanwhile, Michael examined both pens and reported, "There are no broken rails, the latches on the gates work just fine. I can't imagine how this happened, unless…"
"Unless?" Savannah repeated.
"Yeah, unless one of the kids opened the gates," he said. "That's the only logical explanation."
"I can't imagine that they would," Savannah said. "We gave them a tour of the property and explained about not bothering the horses—not coming out here without an adult or permission from an adult. We went through the whole safety drill. Besides, we were all gone." She gasped. "Michael, what if someone came onto our property and let them out?"
"Or someone opened the gates before we left," Michael said. "That's more likely. Maybe we should have another talk with the children."
"Michael!" Ron called. "I think you're gonna want to see this."
"Uh-oh, what?" Michael started walking toward Ron, then changed his mind. "Let me lock these gates and I'll be right there." He told Savannah, "I have some locks in the tack room." Minutes later, he slipped two padlock keys into his pocket and took long strides to where Ron waited. "What's going on?"
"Shine your light over there," Ron instructed.
"Oh geeze," Michael complained.
"What?" Savannah asked walking awkwardly toward him.
"What's wrong with you?" Michael asked, frowning. "Are you hurt?"
"I think I broke a heel."
"Your heel?" he asked, concerned.
She chuckled. "On my shoe. What's going on? Did the horses get into the garden?" She shook her head slowly and complained, "Oh, that would make Antonio so unhappy. He works hard to maintain our beautiful garden."
"Who?" Melanie asked, moving closer.
"Our gardener," Savannah explained. "So did the horses help themselves to some veggies?"
"Probably," Michael said, "and they knocked down the arbor."
"What? Oh no!" she whined, walking closer.
"Dang," Michael said. "This is going to be a bear to repair."
Ron suggested, "If you have hammers and nails, we should be able to fix her up in time for the wedding." He examined the rose bushes. "These are all torn to heck, though. Can you get two more of those climbers before the ceremony?"
"I don't know," Savannah groaned. "It wasn't easy getting these. I'll call Iris and see what she thinks. She was in charge of the arbor."
"Adam, let me see that light for a minute," Savannah said. She shined it around the area and groused again, "They messed up the lawn in a few places and it looks like they stampeded through my shrubs. Darn it!"
"And they pooped," Adam said. "Look, there's horse poop right there on that wooden thing."
Savannah let out a deep sigh. "That wooden thing is our dance floor."
"Well," Michael said, "let's clean up the horse poop and try to preserve that floor. Then there's not much more we can do tonight. I'll see about making repairs in the morning. In the meantime," he said more loudly, "you kids stay away from the corrals, okay?"
"We'll make sure they do," Jimmy agreed.
Melanie put her hand on Aaron's shoulder, and she looked at Misty. "Did you hear Cousin Michael? Don't go near the horses unless an adult is with you."
The children nodded somberly.
Misty pointed. "Vannie, what's wrong with your cat? He's going crazy at the window."
Savannah winced. "Gads, I just wonder what he's been doing inside there while the horses were out."
"What do you think he did," Jake asked, "pee all over the place?"
Savannah laughed. "I hope not, but he might have knocked things down trying to get to the horses." When the others continued to watch Rags, she said, "He has a great relationship with Peaches, and he knows the horses aren't supposed to be out unattended."
Jake burst out laughing. "He does, does he? And how do you know what the cat knows?" he asked skeptically.
"It's the way he rolls," Michael explained. "He's an unusual cat." He said to Savannah, "Why don't you take Rags out to the corrals so he can see that the horses are okay?"
"Good idea," she agreed. "Otherwise, he might terrorize us all night." She invited, "Want to come with me, Adam? What about you, Misty and Aaron?" She looked around. "Where's Joshua?"
"In the RV with Belle," Belinda said. "She fell asleep in the car. Hey, I want to watch the cat. Can I go with you?"
"Me too," Melanie said. "Want to go, Mom?"
Rose looked at Gladys and said, "Actually…"
Gladys took her sister's arm. "Yeah, let's go inside. We can take the littles in with us. Come on, Teddy and Lily," she urged.
"He's running," Adam said, trying to keep up with Rags as the entourage made their way to the corrals. "He's super excited to see Peaches." To the cat, he said, "She's okay, boy. We promise."
"Look at that cat!" Jimmy said. "He jumped right up there on that corral railing."
Melanie squealed. "Yikes! Here comes the horse. Is she going to push him off there?"
"No," Adam said. "She won't hurt Rags."
Melanie tilted her head. "Don't tell me she likes the cat as much as he likes her."
"Oh yes," Savannah said. "They have quite a love affair going."
Everyone laughed when Peaches nickered and nuzzled against Rags.
"Oops," Adam said, steadying the cat after Peaches knocked him off balance. "Are you going for a ride?" he asked. "Here she comes. I think she wants to take you for a ride, Rags. Hop on."
"No way," Jake said. "That cat's not going to get on that horse's back."
"Yes, way," Adam said. "Watch."
Most of the onlookers uttered remarks of surprise when Rags leaped onto Peaches's back, then climbed up her neck until he was lying between her ears.
"Now that's something I've never seen before," Ron said, "and I grew up with horses."
"Really?" Belinda questioned. "So Rags is a different kind of cat, huh?"
"I'm afraid so," Michael muttered.
Melanie laughed. "Why so glum, Michael? He must be a laugh a minute—constant entertainment. I would have gotten a cat a long time ago if I knew they were so interesting."
"Oh, Mel," Michael said, "you may be changing your tune come along Sunday when it's time for you to go back to your calm, life in LA."
Everyone laughed.
"Well, come on, Rags," Michael said, lifting the cat off Peaches. "Let's get some sleep." He looked into Rags's eyes. "You should be able to sleep now that you know your friend's okay, right?"
Jake shook his head. "I can't believe you folks talk to your cats. It's like talking to a little baby that doesn't know anything yet. They can't understand you," he carped.
Michael faced Jake and said gently, "How do you think the child or the animal learns things if no one talks to them?"
****
"Hi, Iris," Savannah said into her phone early Friday morning. "Where are you—home or at the inn?"
"At the inn. I wanted to be here for breakfast with our wedding guests. You know, we have four families staying here—some of Brianna's friends from LA. What's up?"
"I'm afraid it's not great news. The horses got out last night and did some damage."
"What kind of damage?" Iris asked guardedly.
"They wrecked the arbor and pretty much ruined the roses. They also walked across the dance floor. I imagine we'll have to forfeit our deposit on that. It has some scuffy hoof marks on it."
"Oh no," Iris said.
"That's not all," Savannah said. "They ate most of those beautiful greens from the garden that we'd hoped to use to dress up the serving platters."
Iris hesitated before saying, "Well, it doesn't sound like anything we can't fix. I'll call the nursery and see if they have more climbing roses. If not, I'll ask Damon to bring mine to you. They're in really good shape. Is the arbor destroyed?"
"I'm not sure," Savannah said. "Some of the guys are getting ready to go out and work on it."
"Tell them to hold off. If we have to use my roses, they're on wide trellises. They'll need to just line them up and put a top on it. Hey, I'll take a picture of what I have for Michael."
"Good idea," Savannah agreed.
"I'm going out to my gardens now to take a picture," Iris said.
"And I'm walking out to the yard to show it to the guys when it comes through."
Iris asked, "So what happened?" She chuckled. "I guess you had a problem with horses getting out when you were boarding all those horses, but yours usually stay put, don't they? How did they get out, anyway?"
"I don't know. It's a puzzle to us, unless one of the kids opened the gates and didn't latch them back up."
"Both horses?" Iris asked. "You keep them in separate pens, don't you?"
"Yes. Weird, isn't it? And a little unnerving," Savannah said.
****
By eleven that morning, a new arbor had been constructed with an even greater abundance of blooming roses intertwined on the trellises, more greens had been purchased from a nearby produce stand, and Roxy and her family had arrived.
"Vannie," Roxy said, joining her in the living room where the small children played among a gathering of adults, "I want you to come see my dress."
"I'd love to," Savannah said. She looked at Melanie and Belinda. "Have you two seen it?"
"Only in pictures," Melanie said. "It's really nice."
Belinda stood up. "I want to see it."
"Me too," Melanie said. She reached for Misty's hand. "Want to see Aunt Mel's dress, sweetie?"
"Can I come, Mommy?" Lily asked.
"Sure, honey-bun." She took Lily's hand and started toward the staircase with the others.
"Why do people spend money on new clothes that they're only going to wear once?" Jake asked, straddling a straight-back chair just inside the archway to the dining room. "Doesn't make sense to me."
"It's a woman thing," Roxy said. She laughed. "If you don't get that concept, Jake, maybe that's why you're no longer married." She stopped and asked, "What are you wearing to the wedding?"
"You'll see," he said coyly, "but you'd better believe it's not something I went out and bought for the occasion."
Roxy looked at his jeans and his rather tasteless t-shirt. "No, I don't imagine it is." She held back from the others and asked, "Hey, what happened to your face? Did one of your bimbos do that do you?"
"No," he insisted. "Just had a little accident."
Roxy shrugged and skipped to catch up with the others.
Meanwhile, Melanie looped her arm in Savannah's. "What are you wearing, Vannie?"
"Nothing new. Bri went through my closet and picked it out."
"You're the matron of honor, right?" Belinda asked.
Savannah nodded. "Yup. There wasn't any competition, so I'm it by default."
Melanie glanced back at her sister, who was lagging behind with Belinda. She whispered, "Didn't I tell you Roxy had gained weight?"
"Oh my yes," Savannah said quietly. "What happened?"
"She says it's a thyroid problem. She's on medication, so maybe she'll get her figure back eventually."
When they reached the room Roxy's family would be using, the others stopped and let Roxy go in first. She waved her arm flamboyantly toward the bed, saying, "There it is!"
Momentarily stunned, Savannah ran into the room and carefully lifted Glori off the garment. "I'm sorry, Roxy. I guess our kitty likes your dress, too." She released the cat to the floor and picked up the dress, brushing at a few strands of cat fur. "It really is beautiful, Roxy. It'll look great on you."
"Yeah," Roxy said, grimacing, "as you can see, I've gained a little weight. I'm not happy about that." She took the dress from Savannah and spun around. "But I am happy with this dress. It's so soft and flowy, and it hides most of my sins."
"Your sins?" Melanie repeated, draping one arm across her sister's shoulders. "Sounds to me like your thyroid is the culprit. You'll be down to your skinny self soon, Sis, now that you're on medication."
"Is that Nate's outfit?" Savannah asked, pointing to a small plaid shirt with a bow tie.
"Yes." Roxy giggled. "Isn't it adorable? Look, it matches Blake's shirt, and he's wearing a bow tie, too."
"Oh, that's so cute," Melanie said. "My little nephew will be the most handsome dude at the wedding." She chuckled, "Well, he and my Aaron, of course, and Teddy."
Meanwhile, Belinda continued to admire Roxy's dress. "I love this. If I'd seen it first, I would have bought it. I'm not all that happy with the dress I brought. That's probably because I'm still carrying so much baby weight."
"Baby weight?" Roxy asked. "Are you expecting again?"
"No. I mean from when I was pregnant with Belle."
Melanie nudged Belinda. "Girl, it's been three years. I don't think you can blame Belle for that muffin top."
"I know," Belinda said. "I really am taking my time getting my figure back." She giggled. "Meanwhile, I'm enjoying my love affair with food too much, especially Mexican food and dark chocolate."
"Speaking of food," Savannah said, "Mom and I put together a green salad, a fruit bowl, and an array of sandwiches, if anyone's hungry."
"Sounds good," Melanie said. "Let me help you serve it."
"Thanks," Savannah agreed, making sure everyone had descended the stairs so she could close the baby gate. "Lunch will be served here in the dining room in a few minutes," she announced as she, Melanie, and Belinda walked toward the kitchen. When she saw Michael coming toward her, she said, "Hon, want to set up the card table and chairs, please?"
"Where?" he asked.
"In the dining room. And let's move the children's table in there, too. Let's see, Aaron, would you like to sit at the small table with Lily, Belle, and Nate?"
"Where's Teddy sitting?" he asked.
"In his high chair. Adam, you and Joshua and Misty can use TV trays in the living room if you want to, or you can sit here at the big table. It's up to you."
Adam asked, "Joshua, Misty, do you want to eat on TV trays?"
They both agreed.
"I'll sit with the kids," Jake announced.
Looking confused, Savannah asked, "At the little table?"
"No, with a TV tray. They come four to a set; surely you have another one," he snarked.
"Oh," she said. "Sure. That's fine. So that leaves ten of us. We can either scrunch around the dining room table or four of us can sit at the card table."
Once everyone had filled a plate and they were seated, six-year-old Nate asked Lily, "How many cats do you have? I saw two and that hairy dog."
Lily held up three fingers. "Three cats, one dog, two horses." She pointed. "There's Buffy in her bed. Glori's probably upstair
s…"
"Does she have to stay up there?" Belle asked.
Lily shook her head. "She can go upstairs or downstairs. It's okay."
"How?" Belle asked, looking at the gate across the bottom of the staircase.
Lily laughed. "She can jump off the side of the stairs." She pointed. "See, there's Rags. That's Rags. He just jumped from the stairs through those sticks down to the floor." She added, "The baby gate's for Teddy. That's my baby brother."
When Rags walked up to the children's table and sniffed the air, Lily shouted, "No, Rags! No! Go away."
Savannah left her place at the main table and approached Rags. "What do you want, Rags? Whatever it is, you can't have it."
"He can have one of my grapes," Nate offered.
"That's nice of you, but grapes are not good for cats," Savannah said.
"Why?" Belle asked
Savannah gently pinched one of Belle's cheeks. "Grapes and raisins could make a cat sick. Cats are supposed to eat cat food."
"Can he have my carrot?" Nate asked.
"Carrots are for horses, huh, Mommy?" Lily said. She added, "And people."
"Right," Savannah said, picking up Rags and carrying him toward the kitchen, hoping that he'd become interested in eating some of his own food.
Before Savannah had gone far, she heard Belle ask, "What's that?"
Savannah looked in the direction the child pointed. "What?"
Nate explained, "That big cat had that thing in his mouth. He spit it out over there."
"Oh," Savannah yelped, walking to where the children pointed. She picked it up and asked, "Hey, did someone lose a sock?" She examined it more closely. "I think there's something in here." She laughed and held it up. "Is this someone's money stash? Who keeps cash in their sock?" When no one responded, she looked inside.
That's when Jake stood up. He trotted to where Savannah stood and snatched the sock from her, saying, "That's mine."
"You keep wooden matches in your socks?" she asked. "Isn't that a little dangerous? I mean, it doesn't take much friction to ignite a bunch of matches like that."
"Well, I don't wear the sock," he declared indignantly.
"Let me see that," Michael said, joining them. He took the sock from Jake and frowned. "Jake, this is no good. Let me get you a box or something to put these in." He looked at the man. "What do you need them for, anyway?" He shook his head. "I'm really not comfortable with them in the house like this."
