High Meadow

by Joan Wolf

  Down below she heard voices in the kitchen. Kate and Ben, she thought, and went to change her clothes so she could go down to join them.

  Daniel came in as the three Foleys were sitting around the kitchen table having oatmeal-raisin cookies as a snack. Molly invited him to join them.

  "Where are your parents?" Kate asked.

  "They had a reception to go to in New York. Some of my father's old diplomatic friends."

  Kate said, "No, you can't have another cookie, Ben. You won't eat your dinner."

  "I always eat my dinner," Ben responded indignantly.

  Suddenly Kate smiled. "You do. All right, one more."

  The three adults talked about the horse show Kate was having on Saturday until Ben left to go and change into his play clothes. Then Daniel said, "How are you doing, Molly?"

  "I got the bad news today, Daniel. It's cancer."

  His face became very grave. "I'm so sorry. You're in for some unpleasant months, Molly, but I'm sure you'll be all right. Did Kate tell you that my mother had breast cancer?"

  "Yes, she did. And your mother is certainly the picture of health today."

  "She is perfectly healthy. And it has been five years since her tumor was discovered."

  Molly and Daniel discussed Victoria's treatment as Kate looked on. It's amazing how comfortable Mom and I feel with Daniel. He really is becoming a part of the family.

  Her mother asked her a question, and she answered.

  How long have we known him? She counted back in her mind. Since the beginning of September. Almost two months. She looked at Daniel's face as he listened to what Molly was saying. It's because he's Ben's father that we feel so comfortable with him. They look so much alike that it's like talking to a grown-up Ben.

  Daniel asked her a question, and she blinked and asked him to repeat it.

  "What is Ben going to be for Halloween?" he asked.

  "A baseball player," she answered wryly. "His soccer coach also coaches baseball, and he gave Ben a uniform to wear for the party."

  "Is he going trick-or-treating?"

  "No. The houses here are much too far apart, and no one wants their kids walking around these narrow streets in the dark. One of his friends' parents are having a Halloween party, and that's where he's going."

  "I never thought of a baseball uniform as a costume," Daniel said with amusement. Absently, he reached for another cookie.

  "Neither did I. But he insisted that was what he wanted to be."

  "I thought that Ben and I might go riding on Saturday," Daniel said, and bit into his cookie.

  Kate finished her coffee and put the cup down. "Saturday's no good, I'm afraid. I'm having a horse show here."

  Daniel swallowed the cookie and stared at her. "You never told me that."

  Kate lifted an eyebrow. "The subject never came up."

  "It didn't come up because I didn't know anything about it."

  Kate said a little impatiently, "It doesn't involve Ben, Daniel. Although he does hang around the caterer's stand for most of the day."

  He was frowning. "How many people are you expecting for this show?"

  "It's just for my own students. It gives them a little competition, and we end the day with a costume show. The owners dress up their own horses, and the lesson kids get assigned a school horse and get together on a costume. It's a lot of fun. Some of the costumes last year were terrific. But I need all of my horses that day. Perhaps you and Ben could go out for a ride on Sunday?"

  Slowly he nodded. "We could do that. Then perhaps Ben could come back with me to my house for dinner. My parents are leaving on Monday."

  "I'm sure he'd like to do that."

  "You and your mother are welcome also."

  Molly said, "Let your parents have Ben to themselves, Daniel. Kate and I will stay home."

  Daniel smiled at her. "You are very thoughtful, Molly."

  This would be so nice, Kate thought, if only Mom didn't have cancer.

  * * *

  16

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  Daniel's phone rang at five in the morning, and he answered it groggily. Kate's voice, sharp and urgent, came over the wire. "Daniel! The judge for my show just called, and she's sick; she can't come. Do you think your father could possibly act as judge today?"

  He answered, his voice a little thick, "If you hold on, I'll go ask him."

  Daniel got out of bed, thrust his feet into an old beat-up pair of slippers that he loved, went down the hall to his parents' room, knocked, and pushed open the door. His father instantly leaned up on an elbow, and Daniel beckoned to him. Rafael, wearing a pair of burgundy pajamas with his initials embroidered on the pocket, came out into the hall.

  "I have Kata on the phone. The judge for her show is sick, and she wants to know if you could take her place." ,

  Rafael frowned. "I am a certified dressage judge, but Kate does not teach dressage."

  "It's just a show for her students, Papa. It doesn't count for points or anything. And she's really in a bind."

  "Where is the telephone?"

  "Come and use the one in my room."

  Rafael followed his son back into his bedroom, and Daniel handed him the phone. "Of course I will be your judge," Rafael said to Kate. 'At what time should I be there?"

  There was a minute of silence. Then Rafael said, "I am happy to be able to help you, Kate. I will see you a little before nine."

  He hung up the phone.

  "That was nice of you, Papa," Daniel said.

  "Kate is family. Of course I will help her."

  "That's how it feels, doesn't it?" Daniel said a little dismally. "Like we are all family."

  "Yes. I think it is very nice."

  "And that's how Kate regards me. As family."

  Rafael sat on the side of the bed. "Do you want to be more than family to her, Daniel?"

  "Yes."

  Rafael looked sober. "You should think about this, my son. If you become romantically involved with Kate, and it doesn't work out, there could be bitterness between you that would not be good for Ben. It might be easier to stay as just family."

  Daniel made an impatient gesture with his hand. "But I'm not her brother, or her brother-in-law, and it's simply impossible for me to feel that kind of a relationship to her."

  There was a small silence, then Rafael said slowly, "I have spent some time with Kate during and after our lessons, and she is not like most other women her age. In some ways she is still extraordinarily young."

  Daniel went to sit next to his father on the bed. "She's clueless about sex, you mean. I know that. How she has ever managed to remain so impervious in a society that worships sex, I will never know."

  Rafael smiled. "Her world has been her horses and Ben. She is very focused on her job, Daniel, so focused that there has been no room for romance."

  "You would think she would show a little awareness that I am a man!" Daniel said.

  "She has Ben, so her maternal needs are being fulfilled, and she has not yet discovered physical passion. But when she does, I think she will become singularly focused on the man who awakens her. Which is why I say go carefully, Daniel. Kate is not someone to play around with. With her, it will be very serious."

  Daniel stared at his slippered feet. "I think it might be serious with me, too, Papa. She is unlike any woman I have ever met. And my feelings for her are different from what I've felt for other women."

  "Are you thinking of marriage?"

  "I might be." He turned to look at his father. "It would be the best thing for Ben."

  Rafael shook his head. "Don't marry her for Ben's sake, Daniel. It has to be for your sake, or it will be a disaster."

  Daniel sighed. "I hear you, Papa."

  "Very well. Now let me go back to bed to get a few more hours' sleep before I have to judge this horse show."

  Daniel accompanied his father to the show and when they pulled into High Meadow, the stable yard was overflowing with cars, and cars were startin
g to be parked along the driveway as well. There seemed to be dozens of girls of all sizes and shapes, wearing jodhpurs and riding jackets, running purposefully between the outdoor riding ring and the barn.

  'A busy place," Daniel remarked to his father.

  "Yes. Let's find Kate and let her know we're here."

  They found her talking to an attractive blond woman and a little girl who looked to be about nine. As soon as they came up to her she broke into a smile. "Rafael! I can't thank you enough for doing this. I was at my wit's end when, suddenly, I thought of you."

  "We'll go and register then," the blond woman said.

  "Yes. Jean will have a list of all the classes I've entered Ashley in."

  As the woman and the child turned away, Rafael said, "What kind of classes are you having, Kate? And do you have a set of judging rules to give me?"

  "It's just equitation classes, Rafael. I've grouped the kids by ability, and it's just a matter of who looks like the best rider to you. There are eight ribbons in every class, so most of the kids will get some kind of a ribbon. If someone's been left out, I'll let you know so you can award her a ribbon in their last class."

  "Is it all children?"

  "This morning it is. After lunch we have the adult classes. I have two divisions, Pleasure and Hunter under Saddle. Each division will have three classes; the Hunter under Saddle has one jumping class and the rest are flat. Just pick whoever looks the best to you."

  "Do I have to give each rider a written score, like in dressage?"

  "No. But keep your notes so that if someone asks you why they got the ribbon they did, you can tell her."

  "All right."

  So far Kate had not spoken a single word to Daniel, and now he said, "Hello."

  "Oh . . . hello, Daniel. Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you." She gave him a polite smile. "Did you come to watch your father judge?"

  Girls had been chasing Daniel all of his life. He looked at Kate's face, at the clear modeling of her cheekbones, the fine line of her eyebrows, at the politely smiling mouth that looked as if it had been drawn by an artist's brush, and he thought, Damn it, stop looking at me as if I was your cousin or something. Out loud he said, "I came to see if I could help you."

  Her face lit up. "Do you think you could organize the parking? There will be more cars coming in, and I need someone on the driveway to direct them to park on the lawn. If the driveway gets blocked up, we're in trouble."

  She wanted him to stand on the driveway and park cars. "All right," he said.

  She picked up something in his voice, because she hastened to assure him, "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm sure I can find something else for you to do."

  She made him sound like a petulant child who had to be kept occupied. "Don't be foolish. Of course I will direct cars for you."

  A grateful look was his reward.

  But I don't want gratitude from you, Kata. I want something very different.

  A man's voice called "Kate!" and Daniel turned to see a tall, thin man with an incredibly weathered face, approaching them.

  "George!" Kate said. "Thanks for coming."

  The man's light blue eyes were focused on Daniel. "Introduce me, Kate," he said abruptly.

  "George Murray, this is Rafael Montero, who is going to be our judge, and this is Daniel Montero, Ben's father."

  George held out his hand first to Rafael and then to Daniel. As he shook hands, Daniel could feel the older man assessing him. "Pleased to meet you," George said. Then, to Kate, "I thought Pam Jenkins was going to judge for you."

  "She called me at four o'clock this morning to say she was sick. I didn't want to ask you to substitute because you judged the last show, and I think the kids should have a variety. So I called Rafael and he accepted."

  "Kate tells me you're a dressage trainer and rider," George said to Rafael.

  "Yes. But she assures me that all I have to do is pick the riders I think do the best."

  Daniel said, "If I am to help park cars, I had better get out to the driveway."

  She gave him a quick smile. "Thanks a million, Daniel."

  "Not at all," he said, and went on his way to do the most boring job at the whole show.

  He wasn't alone for long. Gradually a stream of people came out to the driveway holding their programs and asking him to autograph them. In between showing people where to park, he obliged. Ben also spent fifteen minutes with him, talking nonstop about the Halloween party he had gone to. But he eventually got bored and went back to the show.

  As the flow of traffic slowed, one of the adult riders lingered to talk to him, and Daniel allowed her to engage him in conversation. Her name, she told him, was Nancy Kakos, and she was riding in the adult division later in the afternoon. She asked him all the usual questions about what it was like to be the Yankees' top pitcher, and he responded by asking her what it was like to be Kate's student.

  "She's a wonderful teacher," Nancy said. "She's very demanding, but she also understands your limitations. And she's honest. For example, the horse I have now is too much for me, and Kate is going to sell him, and not charge me a commission, because she was the one who bought him for me in the first place. Most trainers would charge a commission on the sale of the horse and the purchase of the new horse, but Kate won't do that."

  She should, Daniel thought. She's supposed to be a businesswoman for God's sake.

  They continued to chat. Nancy was a pretty woman, with hazel eyes, brown hair, and a warm smile, and Daniel allowed himself to bask a little in the familiar sunshine of feminine attention.

  When it was time for her first class she invited him to come and watch. As there had been no cars by in the last fifteen minutes, Daniel decided that he had done his duty for the day, and accepted.

  The adult classes were being held in the outdoor ring, and Daniel found a place along the rail and looked for Kate. His father came out of the barn carrying a clipboard and when he saw Daniel, he waved. Daniel waved back.

  A group of women and one man on horseback gathered outside the gate that led into the ring.

  Where is Kate?

  At last he saw her, coming around the side of the barn with George. The two of them were deep in conversation.

  Kata, Kata, Kata, he thought with rueful amusement.

  What do I have to do to get you to see yourself as a woman and me as a man?

  There was a microphone set up in the indoor ring, but the outdoor ring didn't have any. As Daniel watched, George ducked into the ring and went to stand next to Rafael in the middle. "Riders in the ring, please," he boomed in a voice that reached everyone in the immediate vicinity.

  Someone opened the gate, and the riders came in single file. Most of them began to trot around the perimeter of the ring, warming up before the class started, and Daniel looked assessingly at Kate's students and their mounts.

  The horses were lovely. Nancy was riding a particularly striking bay Thoroughbred, and he wondered if that was the horse she had said was too much for her.

  He felt Kate come up to his side. "Thanks a million for parking the cars, Daniel. I know it's a thankless job, and I appreciate your helping me out."

  He bent to give Cyrus a friendly pat. "Not at all. Where is Ben? I saw him for about ten minutes before he got bored and went away."

  "The last I saw of him he was eating a hot dog. My mother is in charge of him for the day, so I really haven't been keeping track."

  "How is your mother doing?"

  "She's amazing. She's just carrying on as if nothing had happened. By the way, they scheduled her operation for Tuesday, and they're going to keep her overnight. The hospital is going to send her to a hotel where they have a nursing unit, and the room has two beds so I can stay with her. Do you think you could take Ben for Tuesday night?"

  "Of course. I would be delighted to have him."

  She rewarded him with a smile. "Thanks, Daniel. You're a brick."

  A brick? She thought he was a brick? He didn't wan
t her to think of him as a brick. He wanted her to think he was a sexy guy whom she wanted to go to bed with.

  She was going on, "You can stay at our house if you like. That way the school bus will pick Ben up. If you stay at your house, you'll have to pick him up at school on Monday and take him to school on Tuesday morning."

  "I don't mind driving him to school, and I would like him to stay in my house."

  "Fine."

  As they were talking, the riders in the ring had gone from a walk to a trot to a canter. Nancy Kakos came cantering by on a horse that looked as if he'd like to gallop, and Kate said in a low voice, "Take your leg off him, Nancy. You're pushing him forward!"

  Nancy nodded and swept by.

  "I was talking to Nancy for a while, and she told me that this horse is too much for her."

  "Yes, he is. I love him myself, but Nancy gets nervous when he gets going, and she grips with her legs for security, but it only results in the horse going faster."

  "What kind of a bit are you using with him?"

  She gave him a delighted smile. "You do know something about horses."

  "I do," he returned modestly.

  She laughed. "We've tried a whole succession of bits, and what she has for the show is a kimberwicke. When I ride him I ride him in a snaffle, and he's just fine. But Nancy can't control him with the lighter bit."

  He changed the subject. "Can you come with Ben and me on a ride tomorrow?"

  She hesitated. "I thought you might want him to yourself."

  "I would like a family outing even better."

  Her face lighted, and he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. 'All right then. What time do you want to go?"

  "Whatever time is best for you."

  "One in the afternoon?"

  "Fine."

  The class was over, but the riders stayed in the ring for the second class in the division. Everyone watched Rafael, as he made notes on his clipboard. Then he gave the board to George, who called out, "The blue ribbon goes to Marissa Canty on Leopold."

  "Good choice," Kate said, as a rider on a sleek gray went out to take her ribbon from George. "Marissa is one of my best students."

  "Second place goes to Tom Helvia."