It was Friday, so Charlie knew she had no hopes of seeing Monte until at least Sunday, if he came to church. She wished she could go to
his house after school, and knock on the door, and ask if he was home. He probably wouldn't be, though, and besides, Scott had said she had to go straight
home.
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The next morning, at breakfast, Charlie ate her pancakes and bacon. She had eaten with her usual appetite, and when the family began
to get up and push their chairs into the table, Johnny reached out to tug gently on the end of one of Charlie's braids.
"Go for a ride with me, alright?" he said.
Feeling full of sudden gladness, Charlie nodded and said, "Yes, sure!"
It was while they were saddling their horses that Scott and Teresa came outside, and stood talking to Johnny. Charlie understood that
they planned to all meet at the restaurant in town for lunch.
Scott came to lay a hand on the back of Charlie's head. "We'll see you there, then," he told her.
Charlie nodded. "Are we going to order some pie?" she asked, hopefully.
"We'll see," Scott said.
Johnny and Charlie set out riding, and for a few minutes there was silence. Charlie wasn't sure what to make of that silence. Johnny had
invited her riding, after all, and tugged on her braid as he did when he was teasing her. But, now, his profile was serious, and Charlie wondered
if he was going to talk to her about a punishment he saw fitting.
"Are you going to have pie at the restaurant?" she asked Johnny, as she had Scott, hoping to make him smile.
Johnny turned to look at her, and she thought she saw his eyes sparkle. Just a little.
"I'd say there's a good chance of it," he said.
"Blackberry?" Charlie suggested.
"Maybe so."
After another couple of moments, Charlie asked, "Where are we riding to?"
"Somewhere," Johnny said, vaguely. "I want to show you something."
"Okay," Charlie said, and gave herself up to enjoying the warm morning air, and being with Johnny, who was seeming more as
his usual self.
Instead of riding and then stopping in town, they rode on. They rode so long that Charlie's legs began to ache.
She realized that she hadn't been on this road before during her time in the area. At least she didn't think that she had. She didn't recognize
any of the houses or landmarks.
"Have I been this way before?" she asked Johnny. "I don't remember it."
"I doubt if you have," he said.
After a few more minutes of riding, the road turned narrower, and the houses more sparse.
Charlie wanted to ask questions, but she kept still.
When they rode up onto a small gray house, with a pasture filled with horses, Johnny stopped.
Three dogs came running up, barking. Two small ones, and a large one, all black and furry.
Johnny dismounted, and saw that Charlie was looking at him, curiously.
"You can get down," he told Charlie. "The dogs are friendly."
Charlie slid down from Gurth's back, as a lady who was short and round and dark came out of the small house.
"Johnny," she called out, and bustled across the small yard, as Johnny met her half-way, and swung her up into his arms.
"Lainey," he said, setting the woman on her feet. "Hermosa como siempre," Johnny said.
"Mientes tan bien como antes," the small woman said, beaming up into Johnny's face.
Charlie crinkled her forehead, struggling to understand at least a word or two of the Spanish. She thought
one word might be beautiful, but she wasn't certain.
Johnny beckoned, motioning her to come. "Charlie," he said.
Charlie approached and Johnny said, to the woman, "This is Charlie. Charlie, this is Lainey."
"Hello," Charlie said, politely.
The woman eyed Charlie and instantly Charlie felt warmed by her gaze.
She put out her hand in greeting to take Charlie's. "Hello," she said, in return, and then in unflawed English, she added, "I'm very
glad to meet you, Charlie."
Somehow, the warmth in her eyes, and in her voice, made Charlie believe that the older woman was indeed glad to meet her.
Charlie bobbed her head. "Thank you. I'm glad to meet you." And, she was.
Johnny asked where Louis was, and Lainey pointed into the south.
"He's working. There. He will be in soon for his lunch. Will you stay and eat with us?"
"Wish that we could," Johnny said. "We're to meet the family-in town."
"Si, another time. Soon," Lainey said.
"Si," Johnny said. "Alright if I take Charlie for a walk around the place?"
"Of course. Stop back and have at least some coffee. And Magdalenas."
"Your Magdalenas?" Johnny asked, and kissed Lainey's hand. "You tempt me, Lainey."
"Alright. Go and do your walking, and then come into the house," Lainey said, waving them away.
Johnny said, "Come on," to Charlie, and she walked beside him, into a barn, which had seen much better days in its time, where he picked up
a tin box, and then walked on towards a field set away from the rest of the buildings and the house.
There were several horses in the small field, nibbling grass. As Johnny led her towards the field, Charlie said, "Are these all
their horses?"
"Yeah," Johnny said.
"I like the black and white one," Charlie said, her eyes sparkling, and feeling very well, out in the sunshine and being with
Johnny. "He's so beautiful-"
They were nearly up to the edge of the pasture now, where the fence was, when Charlie noticed. She halted suddenly, caught off guard.
Johnny paused, as well, looking at her knowingly. "Come on," he said, again, and bent down to pull up the wire, and crawl thru to the other
side. Then he held the wire up and motioned for Charlie to follow. Charlie crawled thru the opening, and Johnny let go of the wire.
Two more dogs ran up in greeting, one of them with only three legs, though he moved slower than the other dog.
"I've never seen a dog with only three legs," Charlie said, startled at the sight of it.
"Hector does alright," Johnny said.
"Hector? That's his name?" Charlie asked, and at Johnny's nod, Charlie reached out a hand to the dog and gently stroked his ear.
The black and white horse, his front right leg heavily bandaged, seemed to recognize Johnny, and even whinnied as if in greeting.
Johnny stroked the horse's neck, and then crouched down and began to remove the bandage, wound round and round.
As he did that, Charlie came closer. "Did he get hurt?" she asked.
"Yeah. He did," Johnny said.
Charlie began to ask how the horse was hurt, but the bandage was off now, and Charlie saw the wound, angry red patches on the
right front leg. The skin was peeled back as though an onion skin.
It was so ghastly-so horrible looking, that Charlie could hardly bear to look at it. It made her feel sick to her stomach.
"What happened to him?" she asked, in a low breath, horrified.
Instead of answering her question, Johnny crouched down, holding the small tin box, and then setting it aside. He began to
look closer at the wound, touching the edges gently with the tips of his fingers.
"Charlie, come here," he said, intent on his task.
Charlie approached hesitantly.
"Come down here," Johnny said, and Charlie bent down, settling on her knees beside him, in front of the horse.
"Take out that ointment for me, will ya?" he asked.
Charlie opened the metal tin, and took out a tube of ointment. "This?" she asked him.
"That's it. Put some on your finger. "
Charlie hesitated again. "Um, how much?" she asked.
"About an inch or so to start with."
Charlie estimated and swiped the ointment onto her finger. It smelled badly. She held out her finger towards him, waiting for him to
put it on his own.
"You put it on," he said, still touching the wound gently.
Charlie shrank back. The wound was ghastly. It was raw-and red, and Charlie did not want to touch it.
Sensing her reluctance, Johnny looked at her. "Charlie." His tone was quiet. Even. But, his eyes left no doubt that he expected
her to do what he asked.
Charlie reached out to do as he said, then paused, her hand just above the horse's wound.
"I don't wanna hurt him," she said, hoping Johnny would still relieve her of the task.
"Just be real gentle about it. Like you're touchin' a cloud," he said.
Charlie put the ointment on the wound where he told her, trying to keep her touch light.
"Alright, that's good there," Johnny said. "Get a bit more."
Charlie put more ointment from the tin on her finger, and, directed again by Johnny, smoothed it on.
The horse moved, as though in pain, and Charlie jerked back so swiftly that she fell back, hard, on her bottom, but managing to keep her hand raised
out of the dirt.
Unnerved, she looked at Johnny's blue eyes.
"Let's finish up," he said, as though she hadn't just bounced like a ball.
Charlie resettled on her knees again, and put on the rest of the ointment.
Once that was done, Johnny began to rebandage the horse's knee. Charlie watched him do that, smoothing her greasy hand on her
overalls. When he was finished with that, Johnny closed the tin box, and handed it to Charlie. He stood, running his hands over the
horse's flank, talking softly to it.
Charlie got to her feet, as well, and stood, watching him. The horse obviously knew, and trusted Johnny.
"Was he caught in fence?" she asked.
"No," Johnny said, giving the horse a final pat, and turning to look down at Charlie. "He was caught in a trap."
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