Chapter Four
I woke up the next morning, feeling a bit better after last night's scare. As I got showered and dressed for the day, I made up a To-Do-List in my head.
Start the morning feeds
Refill hay nets
Empty and refill water buckets
Check the pastures (Make any needed repairs)
Empty and refill water troughs
Groom Spartan and let him out
Groom Storm and let him out
Muck out their stalls
Mix afternoon feeds
Clean and polish tack
Do laundry
Start on afternoon feeds
Ride Spartan
After ride groom him, and put him back in his stall
Do essay for Professor Bailey
Bring in Storm, groom him, and put him back in his stall
Do the evening feeds
The list just kept on going, but, thankfully, Mallory will be helping out.
And also, thanks to Lou's fantastic organizational skills, I got my schedule down to a precise science for each day of the week I thought, thanking God for helping us keep Lou. If it wasn't for her, I don't know what Grandpa and I would have done; with all of the advertising plus business plans, Grandpa can retire knowing that he won't have to worry about losing his home.
I reached up for my hat. As I grabbed my hat from the hook, my hand brushed against the black cowboy hat that hung next to it.
I stared at it, wishing I could take the hat and chuck it into the river. But, for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Shaking my head at my own stupidity, I put my hat on, and left my room to go start on the morning chores.
On my way out, I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the kitchen table, yanked on my boots, and walked out the door. Once outside, I saw that the barn doors were wide open.
"Mallory? Sarah?" I called as I entered the barn.
"Morning!" said Mallory coming out of the feed room with Sapphire's morning ration of feed.
"I'm in here," came Sarah's voice from Sonya's stall. It sounded small and weak.
I walked over to the mare's stall and peeked inside to see Sarah standing next to her mare; the girl's arms were wrapped around the mare's neck and, although I couldn't see Sarah's face since she had her face buried into Sonya's neck, I could hear Sarah's cries, even though she was trying to stifle them. "Hey, how are you holding up?" I asked.
Sarah sniffed and looked up. "It's not fair! I'm eighteen, I can live on my own!" she cried.
"Okay, did you tell your parents about that?" I asked her, thinking that maybe Sarah had been so upset after hearing that she wouldn't be able to take Sonya with her to California, that she forgot about the possibility of moving out on her own.
She shook her head. "No, I didn't," she replied.
"Well today, why don't we sit down and make a plan, after that we'll see what we can come up with," I suggested.
She nods her head. "We only got nine days left," she warned.
"I'm sure we can come up with a reasonable solution," I said. "Come on, let's get these horses fed."
Sarah smiled and came out of Sonya's stall; when she passed me, I closed the door behind her and latched it closed.
For the rest of the morning, Mallory, Sarah, and I worked together to get all of the morning chores done and start on the afternoon feed and hay. The other owners came and took care of their own horses and ponies. It being Sunday, most of the riders just let their animals out into one of the paddocks, while a few of them went out for a ride.
Caleb, thankfully, was no where to be found; today he had specifically requested as one of his days off. Apparently, he had a meeting with someone, but he wouldn't specify who.
Not that it matters, with him gone the atmosphere is a lot more casual than it is tense and uneasy I thought as I finished soaking the last hay net and hung it up to dry.
"So, do you think Sarah will be able to stay?" asked Mallory, as we headed toward the main house to get lunch. Sarah would be joining us in a few minutes so we can look at all of her options; right now, she was spending some time with Sonya.
I shrugged. "I don't know, but at least it will help her look at all of her options first before she does something drastic," I said, entering the small foyer and sat down on the bench to take my boots off.
"Well, from my experience, it will be hard for her the first few months she's by herself," said Mallory sitting down next to me and taking her boots off. "I mean, since it's summer, Lou might not be able to do what she did for me; all of her cabins might be full, so Sarah might not be able to stay here until she can find a place to rent."
"Well we can ask Lou, but I'm sure we'll think of something," I said, pulling off my boots and walked toward the kitchen. "And besides, Sarah doesn't have to worry about boarding fees since she helps out with the horses."
"Well why not give her a job here?" asked Mallory, walking towards the fridge.
"Give who a job here?" asked Lou coming into the kitchen with her laptop.
Before I could open my mouth to reply, Mallory beat me to an answer.
"Well Sarah's thinking about staying here and I was thinking that maybe she could get a job here?" suggested Mallory.
"Because it looks like I don't have a choice," said Sarah's voice from the doorway.
We all turned to look at her.
"I just got off the phone with m mom who talked with my riding instructor; apparently, I have outgrown Sonya and I need a horse that I can still handle, but with more experience in the Adult Division," she explained, coming into the kitchen and sitting down. "So my parents suggested that I come with them and see about finding a working student position or another barn to ride at."
"Did you make the suggestion about moving into your own place?" asked Mallory.
She nods her head. "Yes, but my parents have already made the arrangements and, they want me there to help out and keep an eye on my two sisters," she said. "And my mom told me that after today, I am no longer going to be taking care of Sonya."
"Yeah, you mom called and told me," said Lou. "I"m really sorry Sarah; if you had been allowed to stay, I would have helped you, since we're going to be needing another stable hand soon."
"What? Why?" I asked, going to the fridge and taking out two Hot Pockets to heat up in the microwave.
"Well apparently, Caleb's meeting went well and he is going to be traveling on a year-long rodeo thanks to a sponsorship he received," explained Lou.
"Oh? When is he leaving?" asked Mallory, sounding just a little bit too cheerful.
I shook my head, placing the two Hot Pocket onto a plate, and putting them in the microwave.
"He's leaving this Friday, so hopefully we'll find someone by then," she said. "I've already written up a job classified ad, I'm just gonna print it and hang it up on the notice board at Maggie's."
"Just make sure that Sonya goes to a good home," said Sarah.
I nodded. "We will, don't worry," I said, as the microwave beeped, letting me know that the food was done cooking. "Hey, I was thinking about riding Spartan after lunch, why don't you join me?"
She smiled and nodded. "Sure," she said.
I looked over at Mallory. "What do you think, Mal? You want to join us?" I asked.
"Sure, if there is a horse for me to ride, I want to give Sapphire a break today after her performance last night," she replied.
"Yeah, you can ride Jasmine, she needs to be ridden by another rider for a few days to see if she really has been cured," I explained. "If she passes with you, she'll be ready to go home," I add thinking of the sweet mare who has a problem with being ridden by different riders.
Jasmine, a chestnut Quarter Horse mare with a blaze on her face, a sock on each leg, and stands at fifteen hands high, had been brought to us from the local riding school. Apparently, Jasmine had been bought by the school to be used for lessons, but, as they often are, Jasmine was confused at having to be ridden by different riders, and so, she began to develop bad habits. So far, she was alright with me riding her, but I needed to see how she would do with a different rider before I can send her home.
"All right, but don't forget about . . ." began Lou looking straight at me.
"The essay, I know, I know, I've already got it written down and corrected, I just need to type it and print it," I replied, finishing the sentence for her.
"All right, now if you girls will excuse me, I need to get these printed and head into town," said Lou and left.
Sarah stood up and went over to the fridge to make herself lunch.
As we ate, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen. I couldn't explain it really, but I felt as though Lou's ad for a stable hand will be bringing something . . . or someone . . . back from the past.
Oh get over it already, nothing bad is gonna happen said the voice.
Yeah, you're right I said to myself, taking a deep breathe, preparing myself to have some fun on our ride since this would Sarah's last day here. Nothing is going to happen. We're going to have some fun and make Sarah's last day here enjoyable.
Too bad my heart didn't feel the way I wanted it to feel.
I sat in a quiet corner of Maggie's Diner, nursing a cup of coffee after eating lunch. Looking around, I almost couldn't believe that no one recognized me; even after five years, you would think that someone would see me and automatically call me out.
Especially since this is such a small, tight-knit community I thought, watching as a black SUV pulled into the parking lot. I didn't pay much attention until I saw the driver step out of the vehicle and I recognized the driver as Lou Fleming.
Oh crap I thought, ducking my head down.
I heard the jingle of the bell and peered up through my bangs to see Lou enter the diner and walk over to Maggie. She said something that I couldn't hear, but from the way she held up a flier, it looked as though she wanted to pin something onto the notice board. The notice board was the place to find all sorts of information: livestock for sale or missing, horses for sale, places for rent, equipment to buy or sell, and the like.
Maggie nodded and went to go help another customer.
Trying to remain unseen, I watched as Lou walked over to the notice board, grabbed a thumbtack, and pinned the flier to the board before leaving.
As soon as she left, I stood up calmly, left a tip for the waitress, and walked over to the board to see what Lou had put up.
Need a Job?
Then come work at Heartland!
One of our stable hands is going to be leaving for a year to go ride the rodeo circuit, and we need someone to take his place. This could be a one-year position, or it could be permanent, your choice. No experience necessary, we will offer free paid training.
For more information, please call Lou Fleming-Morris at (941) 493-4785.
Lou Fleming-Morris? When did she get married I wondered, taking out a small notepad and pen. I didn't need to look at or write down the number since I still remembered, having tried to call I don't know how many times.
As soon as I wrote down the information, I walked over to the counter where Soraya was accepting a customer's payment for his meal.
"Thank you, come again!" she chirped, as the customer left and I stepped forward to pay for my meal. "Hello, did you . . ." she began, but gasped when she looked up and saw my face. "Ty?"
I let out a nervous chuckle. "Uh, hey Soraya, how's it going?" I asked, scratching the back of my head.
Next thing I knew, she slaps me across the face.