CHAPTER EIGHT
"I got it!" Alison called, picking up Lilly before answering the door. Upon opening the door, she saw three figures standing before her.
"Who is it?" Benny asked.
"I don't know – looks like your friends, but I'm not sure." Alison answered, adjusting Lilly's position in her arms.
"Alison, why are you being like this? Let us in!" Maureen pleaded.
"Ali, come on." Benny said. Alison rolled her eyes and let the girls inside. Maureen and Joanne hugged Alison, Benny and Lilly, while Liz stood in the corner and watched her family.
"Liz? Kiddo – you okay?" Benny asked. Liz nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
"So, what are you guys doing here?" Alison inquired as they all sat down in the comfortable living room. Liz sat as far away as she could from her mothers and put her ear buds in her ears, ignoring all conversation.
"We sold our house and bought one that was closer to you guys!" Maureen answered, taking a sip of her iced tea.
"What do you mean you sold your house?" Benny questioned.
"I got a better job here, so we sold the house and bought one in a nice neighborhood." Joanne explained.
"What's with Liz?" Alison asked, indicating to Liz.
"She's mad at us. When we moved from New York to Kentucky, she had to leave all her friends and her boyfriend behind." Maureen answered.
"How old is she now?" Benny wanted to know.
"Sixteen." Maureen and Joanne answered in unison.
"I haven't seen her since she was four-years-old." Alison said, handing Lilly to Joanne. Benny, Maureen and Liz went down to the barn to see the horses.
"How are Roger, Mark and their families?" Maureen inquired as they entered the barn.
"They're good." Benny answered, handing the girls carrots as they went to visit Benny's horses. Benny saw Liz put her iPod away and rub one of his horse's noses.
"OMG!" Maureen whispered, looking over at Liz. She had never seen her daughter interact with anyone other than her friends, but it looked like she and the horse were hitting it off.
"That's Trumpin' Charlie." Benny whispered, watching Liz stroke the end of Charlie's nose as she fed him a few more carrots.
"Is she – smiling?" Maureen whispered, shocked.
"I think so." Benny replied, almost as shocked as Benny was.
"Benny, would it be okay if I rode Trumpin' Charlie? I'm a really good rider and I'll be really careful? Please?" Liz pleaded. Maureen looked at Benny.
"If it's okay with you, then it's okay with me." Maureen told Benny.
"Sure, but ride in the indoor arena – it's dark outside." Benny told the teenager. She squealed and hugged both him and Maureen before getting Charlie ready to ride.
Soon, she was in the riding arena, mounted on a beautiful horse. Benny and Maureen watched as Liz walked, trotted and cantered around the arena.
"Wow – she's really good." Benny said as Liz and Charlie soared over a jump in the middle of the arena.
"She rode a Quarter Horse/Arabian mare named Eve at her old riding stable before we moved. She was the best rider in her class." Maureen said, not taking her eyes off her daughter.
After an hour of riding, Liz dismounted Charlie, cooled him down and put him in his stall, Maureen and Benny watching her every move.
"Maureen, I have an idea." Benny said as the three of them walked up to the farmhouse.
"What's your idea?" Maureen asked.
"I was thinking of selling Charlie because of his attitude, but seeing the way that Liz rode him, I changed my mind. How would Liz like him?" Benny inquired.
"I'm sure she would love it." Maureen said, smiling as her daughter went to the truck and sat in the back seat.
Back at Roger's ranch, Roger was having a talk with Angel-Glory about La Vie Boheme.
"Daddy, what was Boheme like?" Angel-Glory asked as Roger tucked her into bed.
"He was gentle, kind and loved to run. He was faster and better than any horse out there." Roger told her, smiling down at his daughter.
"What were his momma and daddy like?" Angel-Glory inquired.
"I don't know, sweetie, but I do know his half-brother named Trumpin' Charlie."
"Charlie was Boheme's brother?" Angel-Glory whispered in total awe.
"Why do you sound so surprised?" Roger questioned.
"I thought that Boheme was an only baby."
"No, honey. He had a brother."
"I know that now, daddy."
Just then the phone rang.
"I'll be right back, sweetie." Roger told his daughter, going to answer the phone. According to the caller ID it was Benny's number.
"Hey Rog, I know it's late, but I have a yearling that would be perfect for Angel-Glory." Benny sounded excited.
"Whoa, Benny – slow down!" Roger laughed.
"I know that La Vie Boheme just died, but I found out that a promising yearling can't run – one of his knees is facing inward. It hurts him to run."
"Benny, can you give Angel-Glory some time to mourn before she gets another horse? La Vie Boheme died three days ago."
"Right. I forgot about that. He'll be down here at the barn if you want to see him."
"Just out of curiosity, which horse is it?"
"Phantom of the Opera."
Roger smiled – Phantom was Angel-Glory's favorite yearling that Benny had.
"Can you keep him at your place and when Angel-Glory is ready, I'll bring her over and she can ride him." Roger said.
"I can do that."
"Thanks Benny." Roger thanked Benny before hanging up the phone. Turning around, he saw Andrew out of bed, looking pale.
"Andrew, what's wrong?" Roger asked, walking over to his youngest. Suddenly, Andrew threw up on the kitchen floor. Roger got a bucket for Andrew just in case he hurled again while Roger cleaned up.
"I don't feel good." Andrew answered, his voice hoarse. Roger knelt down in front of his son and felt his forehead – he was burning up.
"Melina! Savannah! Angel-Glory! We're going to the hospital – Andrew's burning up." Roger called to the girls. Melina exited the master bedroom and walked over to Roger.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"He threw up all over the kitchen floor and he's burning up." Roger told her, trying to keep his voice calm. Melina ran her hand over Andrew's forehead then took his temperature. She looked at Roger, a worried expression on her face.
"He needs to go to the hospital." Melina said, getting the girls into the car.
"That's what I was trying to tell you!" Roger growled as he drove the family to the hospital.
All the way there, Roger and Melina argued, Andrew threw up twice and the girls were crying – they didn't know what was going to happen to the family.
