The Rescue
Rafael looked around as he and Diablo made the most of their ride together.
Rafael admired the natural beauty of the hills, valleys, and pastures around him and enjoyed the feel of the wind in his long black hair as Diablo accelerated to a canter, it was in moments like this that Rafael felt truly free.
It was a chilly morning as Lisa rode on Prancer's back, Carole rode on Starlight's back, and Stevie on Belle's back.
"There's only one thing worse than getting up on a cold morning and going riding." Carole said.
"And that's not getting up on a cold morning..." Stevie began.
"And not going riding." Lisa finished.
The three girls noticed a campsite nearby.
"What's that?" Lisa asked.
"Who are they I wonder?" Stevie remarked.
"Let's go and say hello." the first girl suggested.
Far off in the distance, Diablo galloped with Rafael on his back.
The girls rode up to the campsite.
When a snake slithered across Prancer's path and spooked her.
"Prancer! Prancer! Prancer! Prancer! Prancer! Whoa!" Lisa exclaimed.
Carole looked back.
"Prancer!" Lisa screamed as Prancer galloped off.
"Help!" Lisa screamed.
"Hang on, Lisa!" Carole called.
Rafael heard Lisa scream out in terror and turned Diablo around.
"Hyah!" Rafael exclaimed, racing after Lisa.
"Whoa, Prancer! Whoa!" Lisa screamed.
Carole and Stevie were also racing to rescue Lisa.
"Lisa!" Carole exclaimed.
"Somebody help! Stop, Prancer!" Lisa called.
"We're coming!" Stevie exclaimed.
"Hold on, Lisa!" Carole called.
"Prancer, stop, please!" Lisa called.
"Lisa, hold on!" Stevie called out.
"We're nearly there, Lisa." Carole called.
"Help! Prancer!" Lisa called.
Rafael rode alongside Lisa.
"Easy, boy! Whoa, boy! Whoa, boy! Easy, boy. Hang on. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, boy." Rafael said to Diablo.
Lisa was breathless.
"You did well to stay on, hi, I'm Rafael." Rafael said.
"Hi, I'm Lisa." Lisa panted breathlessly.
Stevie and Carole rode up.
"And this is Stevie and Carole." Lisa continued to introduce.
"Hi." Carole greeted Rafael.
"Hi." Rafael greeted Carole and Stevie.
"Oh, thank you for what you did just now." Lisa said to Rafael.
"Ah, Diablo needed a good gallop," Rafael said. "and he likes to make new friends."
"He's sure good at it." Stevie commented.
"Actually I-I wonder if you guys can do me a favor." Rafael said to Lisa, Stevie, and Carole.
"Sure." Lisa said.
"Yeah." Stevie agreed.
"Just ask." Carole added.
Rafael chuckled, "I'm looking for work." he said.
"What do you do?" Carole asked Rafael.
"Well I'm-I'm good with horses," Rafael said. "are there any stables around here?"
Now, it was Lisa who chuckled.
Back at Pine Hollow, the Saddle Club told Red about Rafael.
"Yeah, they've been through this way once before." Red told Lisa.
"Are they carnical folk?" Lisa asked Red.
"Yeah, they follow the county fairs and rodeos." Red answered Lisa.
"Steer way clear of people like that." Veronica said.
"People like what?" Stevie asked Veronica.
"They're all crooks, well, that's what my father says." Kristi said to Stevie.
"You were lucky to get away without losing anything." Veronica went on.
"There's a lot of rubbish talked about fairground people, just stupid rumors." Red said.
"I can't believe anybody with a smile like Rafael's could be a crook." Carole said.
"What? Most of them are just thieves, they grab anything that's not nailed down." Neville said.
"Exactly!" Veronica exclaimed with a scoff.
"Guys, you really know how to take the shine off things." Stevie said to Veronica and Neville.
"Word of advice- have nothing to do with them." Veronica said.
"That's gonna be hard," Lisa said to Veronica. "'cause here he comes now."
Rafael came trotting into the yard upon Diablo's back.
Lisa jumped down from her perch and ran to Rafael's side.
"Watch your wallet, everyone." Neville said.
"Hi, again," Rafael greeted. "uh, which way to the, uh, office?"
Lisa pointed Rafael in the correct direction, "It's up the stairs, Rafael." she said.
"Come on," Red said to Rafael. "I'll show you."
"Wish me luck." Rafael said to Lisa.
"What a gorgeous... horse." Veronica said.
"Hey," Neville taunted Rafael. "haven't you got around to stealing a saddle yet?"
A little while later after practicing for an upcoming competition, Lisa, Stevie, Phil, Carole, Veronica, and Neville all found Rafael hard at work in the tack room mended busted tack with Red.
"You've done this before?" Red asked Rafael.
"Yeah, a few times." Rafael answered Red.
"Plenty more of those to keep you busy." Red said to Rafael.
Rafael continued working as Lisa came over to greet him.
"Hey, Rafael." Lisa greeted.
"Oh, hi, everyone." Rafael greeted back.
"Got you hard at it?" Stevie asked Rafael.
"Yeah," Rafael said to Stevie. "it's good to be busy."
"Give it a rest, thought carnival people didn't like work." Neville jeered at Rafael.
"Ever tried pitching twenty tents in one night with all weathers?" Rafael asked Neville.
"So how come you're afraid of holding down a regular job?" Neville asked Rafael.
"Cut it out, Neville." Phil said.
"Don't take Neville too seriously." Stevie said to Rafael.
"I work pretty regular, the last six months as a wrangler play guitar at dances for pocket money." Rafael answered Neville.
"Acoustic or electric?" Lisa asked Rafael, she was interested.
"Both, and bass too." Rafael answered Lisa.
"You're all talk, bet you can't even play." Neville taunted Rafael.
"And I've earned some money rodeo riding." Rafael said.
"Wow! Is there anything you're not good at?" Neville asked in mock surprise.
"Putting up with fools." Rafael answered Neville.
Lisa and Carole snickered and giggled by Rafael's answer.
Later that afternoon, the Saddle Club and Rafael were going for a ride.
When the foursome heard some angry yelling coming from nearby.
"No! No! What on earn? You can't just walk onto my land, camp here, casual as you like." a man's voice yelled.
Rafael grunted and raced toward his campsite upon Diablo's back.
"Is that Neville's father?" Lisa asked.
"This is my land, lady, did you ever hear the word 'trespass'?" Bob Cowlin asked.
"Yeah." Carole observed.
"Let's get down there." Stevie said.
Stevie, Carole, and Lisa cantered down to Rafael's campsite.
"But why do you think it's us?" Rafael asked Bob.
"You happen to be on my land the day my prize mare goes missing, that's why!" Bob yelled at Rafael angrily.
"Please, stop shouting." Rafael said to Bob calmly.
"Don't tell me what to do, Sonny, I want answers!" Bob yelled at Rafael.
"But we've never even seen your horse." Rafael protested to Bob as Carole, Lisa, and Stevie rode up.
"Hey, you're way out of line, you hear me?" Bob asked Rafael.
"Mister Cowlin," Carole said. "Rafael has been with us all day, what are you saying he's done?"
"I want you off my land or I'll get the law to run you out of the county, people like you don't belong around here!" Bob threatened.
Bob then got in his car and drove off.
A few minutes later, the Saddle Club met up with Carmina and Rafael.
"So, we can camp at Pine Hollow." Carmina remarked.
"Drew is an all-round nice guy." Rafael said to his mother.
"Drew and Deborah are expecting you, do you want to head on over?" Carole said to Rafael and Carmina.
"Hmmm, sure." Rafael said.
"Where's Diablo?" Lisa asked Rafael.
"Ah, I turned him out to roam free." Rafael answered Lisa.
"But aren't you afraid he's gonna get lost?" Carole asked Rafael.
"He knows this country between here and Sweet Water, it's here I found him running free." Rafael answered Carole.
"Running free?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah, that's the way he likes it." Rafael answered Lisa.
"But how do you find him again?" Carole asked Rafael.
"I always know where he is." Rafael answered Carole.
"How?" Lisa asked Rafael.
"I listen to him." Rafael answered Lisa as Carmina emerged from the caravan.
"You better go and get him now, my son," Carmina said. "before the law arrives."
That evening after the rest of the Moondance clan's circus troup arrived in the other caravans, the celebration of Rafael becoming an adult had begun.
Lisa, Carole and Stevie were standing over by the refreshments, Stevie had shoved a cucumber stick dipped in ranch dressing into her mouth to silence her growling stomach.
The band ended the lively tune they were playing and started playing a slower one.
Rafael started toward Lisa, Carmen grinned at her brother's obvious nervousness.
"Romina never had that affect on you." Carmen teased as Rafael walked by her.
"Oh be quiet!" Rafael replied, rolling his eyes.
Rafael nervously straightened his shirt and hair and walked over to Lisa.
"Don't wimp out, Raff," Carmen hissed firmly. "ask her!"
"L-Lisa," Rafael stammered. "w-would you like-uh... w-would you do me the honor of...I-I mean..."
"My brother wants to know if you'd like to dance." Carmen said, coming to Rafael's rescue.
Lisa blushed a little bit, "I'd love to." she said.
Lisa and Rafael walked out on the dance floor and were about to dance, when suddenly someone yelled, "Come back here!"
Melanie and Ashley came running over and hid behind Drew and Deborah as a group of Pine Hollow students and stable hands came through the crowd.
"Hold it, hold it," Drew said, holding up his hands. "What is going on here?"
One of the group a Megan James spoke up.
"Those two have been spreading rumors about us in their gossip column," Megan snapped. "they said that I've been carrying on a romance with that stable hand, Reese Malloy, and while I've been going out with him, I've been dating Tim Morris from school at the same time!"
"That's what our sources say!" Ashley protested.
"Your sources don't even know what they are talking about!" Reese snapped, stepping forward. "Megan has been helping Tim with his chemistry homework and I have been helping her train for the regionals next month!"
Megan nodded glaring at the two girls.
"Thanks to your gossip column my actual boyfriend won't even speak to me," Megan growled. "and that's just one example of the trouble their gossip column has caused!"
"Yeah," one of the others snapped. "we ought to ring their necks!"
Drew, who had been face palming during the whole story, glared at Melanie and Ashely, then turned to the others, "Will you guys accept a non-violent solution?" he asked.
"We're listening." Megan said.
"First thing tomorrow morning, Melanie and Ashely will print a retraction..." Drew began.
"What's a retraction?" Melanie asked.
"It means you print another article on the front page admitting that your information in the gossip column was not true and you apologize for all the trouble you caused." Deborah explained.
"And after that," Continued Drew, "You are both sentence to much out stalls for one week!"
Megan, Reese, and the other conferred with each other.
"We agree to those terms," said Megan on behalf of the group. "and from now on, Melanie and Ashley are out of the 'news' business!"
Back on the dance floor with Lisa and Rafael, all Carmen could do was silently watch on as they danced.
Am I a good matchmaker, Carmen thought, feeling pleased with herself. or am I a good matchmaker?
