Rescue

by Jessie Haas

  But that would never happen. Even if Chess didn’t get sent to boarding school, she and Mrs. Abernathy could never, ever be friends. The most Joni could hope for was that everybody would be okay.

  Archie pricked his ears toward the stall door, and in a moment, Mom appeared. “Hello, you two.” She came in and gave Archie a neck scratch in the place he loved most. “What a day, huh? I wanted to check if you’re okay. Your dad and Olivia said you were pretty upset earlier.”

  Joni said, “I just wish people would answer their phone!”

  “Don’t be surprised if you don’t hear from Chess for a while,” Mom said. “That family has a lot on its plate.”

  “I should have stopped her,” Joni said.

  “Did you know what she was going to do?”

  “No. But I knew she thought they were abused, and I kept not—it just seemed like she was never going to listen to me, so I stopped trying. But she did listen. She tried to keep them from eating too much. So if I’d tried harder—”

  “Like how?” Mom asked. “What could you have said?”

  Good question! “Like—don’t steal people’s horses? I don’t know.”

  “If you think you could have tried harder, I believe you,” Mom said. “But probably you couldn’t have prevented this. Chess is a very strong-minded girl. People like that need to make big mistakes in order to learn, and even that doesn’t always work.”

  “Am I strong-minded?” Joni asked.

  Mom considered. “You know, you are,” she said after a moment. “You’re stable. You don’t let other people knock you off balance. That’s a different kind of strength, and it’s easy to miss because you’re quiet, but Chess is helping you with that. If you stay friends, I think you’ll make quite a pair!”

  Joni liked the sound of that. “We’re friends,” she said. Well, she could say that. She was a friend.

  In her room later, she was nearly asleep, covered in kittens, when the door opened. “It’s me,” Olivia said softly. “Can I get in with you?”

  That was what Joni used to say when she was little and couldn’t sleep, and she went into Kate’s or Olivia’s room. In a moment, she felt Olivia’s warm body behind her and Olivia’s arm around her, Olivia’s breath in her hair. They were quiet. The mother cat hopped onto the bed and nestled on top of them.

  “What did you talk about with Chess?” Joni asked after a few minutes. “In the car.”

  “Her grandmother,” Olivia said. “That is one sad little kid, whatever else she is. I mean, think about it, Joni! Even before her brother was born, their parents were completely focused on him. The grandmother raised Chess—and now they’re separated, totally. That’s half the reason they moved here, to get Chess away from her.”

  “Well,” Joni said. “I mean—a dog crate?”

  “I know,” Olivia said. “It must have been upsetting for them, what happened at the circus. But can you do that to a kid? Move her all the way across the country to keep her away from the person she loves most?”

  “I hope she’s okay,” Joni said.

  “Me, too,” Olivia said. “You are, right?”

  She hugged Joni a little tighter. And that was the last thing Joni knew, until a kitten started licking her ear a little after sunrise.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  On the Bridge

  Mrs. Abernathy called while Joni was eating breakfast to say that Kubota and JD were both okay, and Kubota was coming home that morning. “And, Joni, I won’t embarrass you by thanking you over and over. But just this one more time—thank you! I still owe you a riding lesson. When is camp?”

  “It starts on Saturday.”

  “That won’t work. A lesson afterward, then, to consolidate what you’ve learned? Just remember—look where you want the horse to go. That’s half the battle!”

  After she hung up, Joni dialed the Venturas’ number. She got the robotic lady again. “Hi, this is Joni,” she said after the beep. “The minis are both okay, so …” So what? How should she finish that sentence? “So call me.”

  And the phone did ring, but it was Danae, asking if she and Alyssa could come hear the story. “Sure,” Joni said.

  But how was she going to tell it? It would be easy if she weren’t planning to be friends with Chess. Then she could just shock them, and they could all look down on Chess and talk about how stupid and irresponsible she had been. Now Joni wanted to make them like Chess.

  As soon as they were all in her room, she said, “I’m friends with her again. I think.”

  “Wait, really?” Alyssa said.

  “I don’t care. I’m not letting her near Pumpkin!” Danae said.

  “What if she steals Archie?” Alyssa asked. “What if she steals your dad’s sheep? They do that, these animal rights people. They, like, open chicken houses and break fences, and let animals out.”

  “She won’t,” Joni said. “She knows she made a big mistake.”

  “So what happened?” Alyssa asked.

  Joni told them, skipping Mrs. Abernathy’s anger and Chess’s crying. She focused on Tobin’s van charging to the rescue, and on Archie. “And I bulldogged JD,” she said. “Just like a rodeo cowboy bulldogging a steer. I just tackled him.” It was pretty cool, actually. She would never have dreamed she knew how to do that.

  After they’d heard the story twice, Danae asked, “Have you started packing?”

  Joni hadn’t, so they got out the camp checklist and went to work. When it came to “Neat, short-sleeved shirt for showing,” Joni held up the shirt she’d worn yesterday.

  “Nope,” Alyssa said. “Time to go shopping.”

  After lunch, Mom took them to town, where Alyssa, a genius shopper, found Joni a great shirt at the secondhand store for five dollars. Then, they went to the food cart for maple ice cream.

  Ice cream. A dairy product. Chess wouldn’t eat it, but Joni wished she were there. She could eat sorbet, anyway.

  On the way home, Mom turned down North Valley Road. It was a bit of a detour. “I thought you might be able to tell if she’s gotten the pony back.”

  “Thanks,” Joni said. She leaned forward, trying to see around the corners and through the trees.

  Several birds flew up from the ground as they neared Mrs. Abernathy’s mailbox. “What are they eating?” Alyssa asked. “Is that cake? It looks like cake!”

  Mom slowed the car down. Joni looked for the minis. Of course, they were nowhere in sight. The car swept toward Chess’s house. Mom slowed there, too, but no one was outdoors.

  Joni slumped back against the seat, and Mom reached over to squeeze her knee. Then she put both hands on the wheel to make the sharp corner.

  “Joni, look!” Danae pointed toward the bridge.

  Someone stood at the rail, gazing into the brook. No, it was two people, side by side with their arms around each other. The taller one, a woman, rested her cheek on top of the other person’s head.

  The second person was Chess.

  “Oh!” Joni said. “It’s her grandmother!”

  “She got here fast!” Mom said.

  Joni twisted in her seat to watch them as long as possible, but Chess and her grandmother didn’t move. They just stayed deep in that long, warm hug.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Equals

  That evening, when Joni called, Chess’s mother answered. “Oh, hello, Joni. I’ll see if Francesca can come to the phone.”

  Joni knew what that meant—see if she wants to talk to you. She heard an unfamiliar voice in the background, and suddenly Chess was there in her ear, saying hi. Her voice sounded small and tentative.

  “Hi,” Joni said. “They’re okay. Mrs. Abernathy called this morning. And Kubota’s home.”

  “I know,” Chess said. “The vet called Dad.”

  Joni listened to the silence. What should she say next? “Goodbye” would be easiest, and it was what she wanted to say, now that she’d actually gotten Chess on the phone. But that was stupid!

  “So, your grandmother came,”
she said. “I saw you guys on the bridge.”

  “Yes,” Chess said. “Joni—”

  “Sorry,” Joni said. “This probably isn’t a good time.”

  “No, it’s just …”

  “I’m going to riding camp in two days,” Joni said. “For a whole week. So, do you want to come see the kittens tomorrow? They’re growing really fast.”

  Chess hesitated. “Would that be okay?”

  “Yes!” Joni said. “Of course!” She sounded dramatic to herself, like Alyssa.

  “I meant, with your parents,” Chess said. “I stole somebody’s animals, Joni. Why would they want me around?” She sounded older, tired.

  “Do you want to come?” Joni asked.

  “I’ll call you back,” Chess said abruptly, and hung up.

  Was that good? Or not good? Whichever, it didn’t happen soon. After waiting awhile, Joni wandered out to the picnic table where they all seemed to live this summer. Dad, Olivia, and Tobin were planning tomorrow’s haying and milking. Rosita was telling Mom about her goal of studying at the CIA—the Culinary Institute of America, not the spy agency. “So if you want to not cook this summer,” she said, “it would be great practice for me. You could go back to your writing retreat—”

  “Or I could do my retreat right here on the farm,” Mom said, reaching out to hug Joni.

  The phone rang. Joni answered, but it wasn’t Chess. A man asked to speak to Dad, who put his eyebrows way up and took the phone out of earshot for a long time. When he came back, he still looked surprised, and thoughtful.

  “Who was it?” Mom asked.

  “Chess’s father,” Dad said. “He wanted to be sure we’re comfortable having Chess here, after what happened.”

  “What did you say?” Joni asked.

  “I said, ‘Sure.’” Dad sounded like he wanted to leave it at that.

  “Daddy!” Olivia said. “That’s so not all he said!”

  “No,” Dad agreed. “I respect him. They’re a family with some things to work out, but he loves his daughter, and he loves his mother-in-law. She got on a plane the minute she heard about this. Got here at two in the morning, with only a toothbrush in her back pocket!”

  “Are you comfortable having her on the farm?” Mom asked.

  “That’s not a question I was asked,” Dad said.

  “But—is Chess coming?” Joni asked.

  Dad said, “I’m not sure. Her grandmother is only here for one more day. Chess doesn’t want to miss any time with her. And I gather her self-confidence has taken a knock. It’s not just about us feeling comfortable. It’s also about her.”

  “Oh, poor kid!” Mom said. “Give her a little time, Joni. I’m sure she’ll work it out.”

  But there wasn’t time. Joni would be gone for a week, and Chess might lose even more self-confidence. It was like falling off a horse. You had to get right back on, or your fears grew.

  Chess didn’t call all day Thursday or all Friday morning. Joni was busy doing laundry and packing. She would have two lives next week—seven thirty to four at riding camp, and the rest of the time at a nearby campground with the 4-H group. She needed riding things, stable things, camping things, and swimming things, warm clothes and rain clothes, and everything else for a week away from home.

  And she needed to play with the kittens because a week was a long time in a kitten’s life. She needed to hang out in the milking parlor with Olivia and Tobin, and help Rosita on the hay wagon, and get extra hugs from Mom and Dad. A week was a long time in her life, too.

  Still, Friday was also long. Danae and Alyssa had helped her pack the tack trunk, so Archie’s things were ready. By the afternoon, Joni was, too. She kept looking down across the big field, hoping to see someone coming.

  Maybe she should ride to North Valley Road. Maybe Chess would be outside, or maybe Joni would just ride up to the door and ask for her. But she didn’t want to get Archie’s tack dirty. She’d cleaned his bridle again this morning, paying special attention to buckle gunk.

  So putting that bridle back on Archie wasn’t going to happen. But as Joni wandered into the barn for the umpteenth time, she noticed a ratty old spare halter on its peg. On the floor was a heap of baling twine. Hmm.

  She put on her riding helmet, haltered Archie, and tied baling twine into the side rings. She’d ridden him in a halter before. It hadn’t gone well, but this time, she was optimistic. She led him to the big rock and slid onto his bare back.

  Archie barged off. The twine dug into Joni’s hands. After a few steps, he shoved his head down and started to eat.

  Okay, this was a less-than-stellar idea! Joni kicked Archie into motion, circling him as she shortened the reins. Look where you want the horse to go. She turned her head toward the barn. In a moment, Archie turned that way, too. Thank you, Mrs. Abernathy! Joni settled into the curve of his back. Now she could use her legs softly to ask him to move. Light tugs on the baling twine kept him from trotting. With every step, she felt less like she was going to fall off, more like she was part of him.

  She rode around back to where Dad was stacking bales. “I’m riding to Chess’s house,” she called.

  “Okay,” he called back. He couldn’t see the halter and baling twine arrangement, which was probably just as well. She rode down the field and entered the woods, where Archie came to a sudden halt.

  Joni clutched his mane with both hands to keep from falling. A dark-haired girl was walking her bike away from them down the brook trail. Archie snorted. The girl turned her head.

  “Chess!”

  “Hi,” Chess said. “I was coming—”

  “You were going!”

  Chess didn’t smile. “I chickened out.” She turned her bike and wheeled it toward them.

  “Well, come on,” Joni said. “We’ll go together.”

  Chess frowned. “I don’t know—”

  “The kittens need to see different people,” Joni said. “So they don’t get shy.”

  That wasn’t exactly true. Once kittens got the idea that people were a source of food and entertainment, they liked everybody. It was puppies that got shy with strangers. But Chess didn’t seem to know that. After a moment, she leaned her bike against a tree and followed Archie back into the field. Joni slid off so they could walk together.

  It was hard to think what to say, though. Actually, it was impossible. They just walked until Chess suddenly asked, “Have you seen her?”

  “Mrs. Abernathy? No,” Joni said. “Not since—no.”

  “I made her a cake,” Chess said.

  “Oh, no!” Joni said. “I saw that. By the mailbox.”

  “I get it,” Chess said. “I’d never forgive anybody who kidnapped Noah! But you could tell her—I’m not doing rescue anymore. I almost killed a horse. I don’t want to make another huge mistake.”

  She didn’t sound un-self-confident. She sounded very sure of herself, just in a negative way. “Some animals need to be rescued,” Joni said, thinking of Patrick.

  “But how would I know?” Chess asked. “I thought I knew before, but I was wrong!”

  “Well—ask me!” Joni said. “And you could join 4-H. Come work at Kalysta’s. Mrs. Abernathy helps there, too. She’s on the Angels list.”

  Chess looked down at the grass under her feet. “I was wrong. About everything.”

  “No,” Joni said. “I mean—those horses were fine, but lots of horses aren’t. Like, there’s this horse at Kalysta’s that was locked in his stall and starved. If you lived next door to him, you wouldn’t have gone, ‘Oh, I guess she’s sold him.’ You would have found out, a lot sooner than his neighbors did!” The moment she said that, she knew it was true. The binoculars and notebook would have come into play, and Patrick would have been out of there before his neck bones started to show.

  After a moment, Chess nodded. “Yes. I guess I would.”

  “You totally would! So come to Kalysta’s. You’ll learn a lot. We even ride the horses sometimes. It helps them get adopted, if Kal
ysta can say that a kid can ride them.”

  “I don’t know how to ride.”

  “You could learn,” Joni said. “Want to get on Archie right now?”

  Of course, Chess wouldn’t—would she? She stared at Archie, eyes wide and dark, biting her upper lip. “Why is it okay?” she asked.

  “Oh, he’s really safe with newbies,” Joni said. “It’s only when people think they know how to ride that he’s bad. And I’ll be leading him.”

  “No. I mean, why is it okay to ride?”

  “Well—he lets me!” Joni said. “Archie’s a lot stronger than I am. If he wasn’t okay with me riding him, I wouldn’t have a chance. I mean—” This was a serious question. What was the right thing to say, the true thing?

  “He tries to get his own way all the time,” she said. “It’s a struggle. But it’s like—we’re equals. Sometimes I win, sometimes he wins, and we’re both okay with that.”

  Chess was biting her lower lip now. “Okay,” she said abruptly. “How do I get on?”

  Joni tried not to look astonished. “You have to put this on first,” she said, taking off her helmet. She helped Chess adjust it and explained how giving a leg up worked. Then she laced her fingers together to make a stirrup. Chess put her left knee into it.

  “Grab his mane,” Joni said.

  “Won’t that hurt him?”

  “No, it’s like—if you grab all your hair in one hand and pull, that doesn’t hurt.”

  Chess reached up and tugged a fistful of her own hair. That hairstyle was looking a little scraggly these days, a little country.

  “Okay.” She took hold of Archie’s mane, and, with Joni pushing, scrambled awkwardly onto his back.

  “Scooch forward,” Joni said. “Feel where his back dips a little? That’s where he’s strongest.” She waited while Chess adjusted herself. “You ready?” Chess nodded. Joni started Archie walking. He had that soft look in his eyes, the way he did with little kids. He was taking care of Chess. “You’re such an amazing horse!” Joni told him. How could he be so completely reliable when it mattered, and such a scamp the rest of the time? She looked back at Chess.