Snowball's Chance: a Harper's Mill YA Romance

by Summer Donnelly

  January felt Kel stiffen beside her.

  “Mr. Parker, please stay after class.”

  “I’ll be late, ma’am.” Kel looked like a caged animal, desperate to escape. January opened her mouth to confess her crime but Kel shot her a desperate look.

  The bell rang and she sat there, knowing she’d be in trouble. Knowing her dad would be disappointed in her. Knowing he’d want to know why she wasn’t trying her hardest in the new school.

  January wanted to make Harper’s Mill work. Wanted to make it easy for her dad to agree to stay there until after she graduated. But if she got into trouble on the first day, would he be start looking for another job? In another town?

  “Just go,” Kel whispered. “I got this. I’m used to it.”

  January nodded. “Sit with me at lunch?”

  “If I can, sure,” Kel said.

  Wondering what he meant by that, January turned to leave.

  “Think she’s got a chance with Kel?” one of the girls around Billy Light said.

  “Not a snowball’s chance in hell,” he scoffed. “Besides, did you smell her? She smells like cow shit and old horses.”

  Still hearing the harsh words at lunch time, January walked into the cafeteria with none of her usual optimism and pride.

  Shame beat at her. Her clothes were clean. She was clean. How dare stupid Billy Light insult her like that?

  But what if he was right? a small voice inside her head whispered.

  Right now, January hated her small voice almost as much as she hated Billy Light. And the smell of manure.

  Which she did not smell like.

  “January!”

  January looked up and saw Tabby sharing a table with Mickey and Kel. Of course.

  “Hey,” she said as she got near the table.

  “Did you eat?” Tabby asked. “It’s mac and cheese day.”

  “Oh, no, I’m not hungry,” January said just as her stomach let out a large growl of displeasure.

  “Come on,” Kel said, taking her by the hand. “Let’s get you something to eat.”

  They stood in line and January was hyper-aware of everyone walking past her and the slight air waves they stirred up, sending her possible stench to the crowd at large.

  “I need to talk to Miss Harris,” January began. “I really can’t let you take the blame for something I did.”

  Kel shrugged. “I got it covered,” he said. “The teachers find it easier to punish me for not telling them what happened than it is to find out who did it. I’m in detention from now until graduation so there really isn’t anything more they can do to me.”

  “I don’t get it. When something goes wrong or someone misbehaves, they just blame you?”

  “If I’m around, yeah. I won’t tell on anyone so they just punish me.”

  “That’s not fair! I’m totally going and telling her the truth.”

  The line moved forward. “Please don’t. It won’t make any difference,” Kel said. “Besides, I’m full up on detentions and a broken plate isn’t a suspendable offense. It was an accident and I surprised you.”

  January nodded slowly, still concerned. “If you’re sure. But you have to let me make it up to you,” she said. “Do you ride horses? My dad is the barn manager at Farraday Farms. Maybe we could go riding some day?”

  Kel shrugged. “I’ve never been on a horse,” he said.

  “Really?” January smiled. “Oh, I’ll take care of you. I promise. I’ll ask my dad for a good starter horse. Maybe this weekend?”

  As they talked, January could almost forget about the echo of Billy Light’s mocking laughter and hurtful words.

  “I work most weekends,” he said. A sly look came over his face. “I’ll talk to my dad,” he said. “We own and run Chip’s Market in the center of town. Maybe he can give me Saturday off.”

  Understanding lit January’s eyes and she grinned at him. “Saturday? Is that when your friend Billy goes shopping?”

  Kel smiled. “Yeah, he comes in with his grandmother. She’s a real sweetheart but Billy’s got it in for me.” Kel looked awkwardly down at his shoes. “And January?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Billy Light is full of shit. You don’t smell like a horse.” He sighed, blushing. “Matter of fact, you smell real sweet.”

  Saturday morning dawned, clear and crisp. January smiled when her dad opened the door of the bathroom as a billowing cloud of steam followed him out. He wiped his hands through his still-wet hair.

  “Coffee?” she asked, handing him a still-steaming mug.

  “Thanks, Bug.”

  “I made up a list of groceries we’ll need. I was thinking of making chocolate chip cookies and we need some stuff.”

  “Just put it on the list,” Zach said. He opened the pantry door. “Hey, Bug?”

  “Yeah?”

  “It looks like we have all the ingredients for cookies.”

  January peered over her dad’s shoulder. There was a bag of her favorite chocolate chips, sugar, flour, and vanilla. “That’s weird. Where did that stuff come from?”

  “We must have had them in a box somewhere.”

  “I think I’d remember if we had all the ingredients for cookies.”

  Zach shrugged, closing the discussion. “You coming by the barn this morning?”

  January nodded and blushed. “This boy at school is coming over for a lesson and we’ll take two horses out for some exercise.”

  Zach paused and lifted his coffee cup to his lips. “A boy, huh?”

  January nodded, ignoring her father’s unasked question. “Scrambled good?” she asked, avoiding her dad’s gaze.

  “Scrambled is fine,” he said. Two slices of toast popped out of the toaster and he put them on a plate before putting in two more slices for her. “Tell me about your new friend.”

  “He helped me in cooking class,” January explained. “So, I told him I’d help him learn to ride.”

  “What happened in cooking class?”

  January shrugged. “Nothing much. Just a misunderstanding.”

  She served breakfast and they ate at the tiny café style table in the kitchen. “And then this afternoon, Tabby is going to pick me up. We’re going shopping.”

  Zach grunted. “How much money do you need?”

  “Can I give her some gas money? She’s been driving me all week.”

  “That’s it?”

  “We’re going to her sister’s basement. I guess she got married recently and she and her husband have a lot of furniture and stuff. I thought I’d decorate since we’re going to be here for a while.”

  Zach ate his breakfast quietly and January became acutely aware that maybe staying in Harper’s Mill wasn’t in her dad’s permanent future.

  He stood up and started dishes while January grabbed a clean change of clothes and hit the bathroom. When she emerged twenty minutes later, the kitchen was spotless and her dad stood looking out the picture window.

  “You’re not heading to the barn?” January asked as she braided her hair.

  “I’d like to meet your new friend.”

  “Dad, please. Don’t be embarrassing.”

  “It’s one of the perks of the job.”

  Kel took a deep breath as he steered up the long driveway to the bunkhouse. January and her dad were living in the last apartment on the small row. January didn’t mention anything about how to dress, so he figured jeans, a flannel shirt, and a jacket would be fine. He didn’t own riding boots so he hoped his old sneakers were good enough.

  He knocked on the door of the apartment with trepidation. This was as close as he’d ever come to a date and he hoped he didn’t mess it up too badly. He liked January. She made him want to talk when normally that was the last thing in the world he wanted to do.

  Kel gulped when her dad opened the door. “Sir,” he said. He held his hand out the way his father had taught him. “I’m Kel Parker. January invited me over to go for a ride and help exercise the horses.”


  “Mr. Zielinski,” Zach said, introducing himself. “Come on in.”

  Kel smiled when he saw January. At least he hadn’t been punked. “What a dingy little apartment,” he said. He paused when he felt two sets of eyes stare at him. “I said that aloud, didn’t I? I tend to do that.”

  “No,” January said with a grin. “You’re fine. It is a bit dingy, isn’t it? I was actually just asking my dad permission to paint the walls.”

  “Oh. Good. Mickey’s dad owns a hardware store on Route 46,” Kel said. “Maybe after we’re done we can pick out paint?”

  “Tabby is coming to pick me up. She said her sister has a basement full of furniture so we can update this place.” January looked at what Kel was wearing. “No boots?”

  “No, sorry, I don’t have a pair.”

  “Dad?”

  “What size are you Kel? I’ll go ask around the barn and see if we can find a pair for you to borrow. You can probably get away with sneakers today but you should have a pair of boots. It helps with the stirrups.”

  “Yes, sir. Uh, size ten.”

  January rose from the small couch. “Come on, let me introduce you around the barn.”

  The barn was an imposing structure of red painted wood against the shining blue sky. Frost rimmed the grass and a few shallow puddles lay in frozen perfection in the shadows.

  The air was full to the smells and scent of a well-run barn. Dust motes full of hay and horse hair danced in the air and the rich scent of fertilizer embraced them.

  The first horse stall they came to held a large bay gelding. “This is Cleveland,” she said as she introduced them.

  Kel smiled and raised his hand to pet the gelding’s elegant neck. “What a pretty boy you are,” he said. The horse huffed a breath and shook his mane. Kel found himself smiling at the horse’s antics.

  “I think he likes you.”

  “You think?”

  January looked confused. “Well, yeah, but I meant it as a joke. I expected you to say something like —he must have good taste. Or something.”

  “Oh,” Kel said, feeling his ears turn red. “Humor is hard for me,” he said. “I don’t understand sarcasm.” He walked away as everything in him struggled to find a neutral subject and to erase the I’m-overthinking-this-to-death frown January wore. “Horses always get treats in the movies.”

  “Shh,” January said, looking around in mock worry. “Don’t let the horses hear you use the T-word. They may all come running. I have two apples in my pockets. We can give them a treat after our ride, okay?”

  Kel nodded. “They’re beautiful,” he said. “I never knew that. I mean, I’ve seen pictures and people riding around town and everything. But I had no idea how magnificent a horse really is.”

  “This is Rapunzel,” January said as they approached a pretty little palomino.

  “Rapunzel of the beautiful hair,” Kel commented. “Aren’t you a pretty little girl?”

  They walked around the stable and January introduced him to the riding horses. “The horses that are being boarded are over there,” she said with a wave.

  As they went back to the mouth of the barn, her dad was leading two horses. “This is Jigsaw,” he said.

  “Jigsaw,” January said with a smile. She hugged the gelding around the neck. “How are you, big boy?”

  “And this is Mozart.”

  Kel eyed the large grey horse with more than a little nervousness. “I don’t see how this is going to work,” he said.

  “Don’t worry about Mozart,” Zach assured him. “He’s generally more interested in walking around in a circle than galloping off into the woods.”

  “Galloping?”

  “Dad, don’t scare him,” January scolded.

  “Don’t scare him, don’t embarrass you. Jeeze, Bug, the pay for fatherhood is pretty weak. It’s the benefits that make it worth taking on.”

  January rolled her eyes. “Maybe we should stick to the circle,” she said. “I forgot everything that goes into a first lesson.”

  “Do you have any painkillers at home?” Zach asked. “Because trust me, ibuprofen is going to be your best friend about an hour after your ride ends.”

  January buried her head in Jigsaw’s mane. “This was the worst idea in the history of bad ideas,” she muttered. She turned to Kel. “We won’t even be riding that far. I promise.”

  “Which one of us is the professional, here?”

  January sighed. “You are, Dad.”

  “Thank you. I wouldn’t risk one of the horses for any reason, January. Now calm down so Kel can feel better. I can feel his nervousness so I’m sure Mozart will, too.”

  “You said Mozart was lazy.” Kel’s panic went up a notch.

  “Oh, he definitely is. But remember, when you’re 6-feet tall and you get on a 17-hand horse, the ground starts to seem pretty far away. That dirt looks soft but I wouldn’t recommend putting that theory to a test. Trust me. You’re softer.” Zach was quiet a moment. “You’ll break first, too.”

  Zach continued his lesson before one of the hands showed up with a pair of worn boots in Kel’s size.

  “Thanks, Cole,” Zach said. “Give these a go,” he said, handing them to Kel.

  Once Kel exchanged his sneakers for boots, Zach showed him how to mount the horse. He adjusted the stirrup length and checked Mozart’s gear. “Tchk, tchk.” Zach clicked his tongue at Mozart and took the lead and as he led horse and rider to the practice circle.

  After they had practiced a few of the basics, Zach grinned up to him. “I think you’re ready now. Listen to January and stay on the trail. Mozart might want to come back to the barn but hold him steady.”

  January mounted up and with a twist of her reins, clicked her tongue and she and Kel set off down the riding trail.

  “You can probably relax that white-knuckle grip on the reins,” January said after they’d been riding a few minutes.

  Kel nodded.

  “And if you grip any tighter with your knees, you’ll leave bruises.”

  “On him or me?”

  “Both?”

  Kel nodded and took a deep breath. The air was crisp and clean, especially this far away from the barn. As he realized nothing bad was happening and Mozart was a well-behaved gentleman, Kel felt himself relax. “I can’t believe how high up this feels.”

  “I love it. Dad always wanted me to compete but this is what I like best. Enjoying the view. Being one with the horse.

  “Have you ridden all your life?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Do you own a horse?”

  January shook her head, brown hair slipping out of her ponytail. “No, that was never in the cards for me. Maybe one day. I’d like to have a few acres. Maybe a horse or two. Some chickens.”

  “That will be a lot of work.”

  “Do you always say what’s on your mind?”

  “Not always,” Kel said. “Only when I open my mouth.” His eyes grew distant and January felt for a minute that there was something he wasn’t telling her.

  She frowned. She hated being the new kid. Hated there were town secrets and knowledge she didn’t know, yet. “There’s a turn-around over there,” she said. “We’ll hit the jug handle and head back to the barn.”

  “So soon?”

  January shrugged as she reined Jigsaw into the turn around. “Your legs and bottom will appreciate a short ride. Trust me.” He nodded and followed her lead.

  “Loosen the reins a bit,” January said when they were almost back to the stable. “Let’s let them stretch their necks and just cool down.” When they got back to the barn, January broke down the new set of tasks.

  She showed Kel how to remove the bridle and replace it with a halter and lead shank so they could tie the horse. She smiled when Cole came by to give them a hand. January frowned, looking for her father but didn’t see him anywhere.

  Odd. He liked to check the horses after a ride.

  “Thanks, Cole,” she said as the hand watered Jigsaw
and Mozart. “You always want to give them some water after a ride. We didn’t ride hard or long but it’s still a good habit to get into.” Jigsaw shook his head and his mane flew in the cold early winter air. “I know,” she said softly to the horse. “You did a great job, big boy.”

  “Once the horses are secure, we need to rinse off the bit, wipe off the sweat and dirt from the saddle and girth, and place the tack out of the way. We’ll clean everything later, but this this will help will save time in the long run.” Kel nodded and watched her steps for a minute before following her lead.

  “Tack?”

  “Oh, sorry. Yeah, tack. That’s what we call all the collected horse equipment — saddle, stirrup, bridle, halter, reins, bits, harness, and breastplates.” She stood by the horse and touched each one in turn so he could see it visually and hear its name. “When we get a horse ready, it’s called tacking up.”

  “And all of it is stored in the tack room,” Kel said with a nod.

  “Exactly.” January beamed. “You always groom your mount after the ride,” she said and handed him a curry brush. “Check for problems. Look for rubs or chafing from the bridle, saddle, girth, and other tack. Run your hands down the horse’s legs to feel for cuts, bumps, or rubs from boots. As you get more experience, you’ll want to watch him stand and walk, noting whether he’s bearing weight equally on all legs and is moving freely.”

  “Let’s put them in the paddock for a few minutes of free time while we clean tack. They can finish cooling off and stretch out before we put them in their stalls.”

  “There’s really a lot to this, isn’t there?” Kel asked.

  Kel

  Horse and man eyed each other over the side of the paddock. Tack was cleaned and put away, horses were watered, and January had even showed him the proper way to offer a treat. “That’s it,” her calm voice said, “put the treat in the middle of your flat hand and think about pushing it slightly toward the horse’s mouth rather than withdrawing your hand as he reaches toward it.”

  Mozart had enjoyed the apple he offered up and had even made him laugh as he searched his pockets for a second one. For the first time in his entire life, Kel felt at peace. Mozart pulled Kel’s inherent truthfulness out of him and responded in kind.