A Gentle Rain (44 page)

"Ready to ride?" Ben asked. He touched my face with the back of his knuckles. A coarse yet tender affirmation.

I pulled the brim of my pink hat lower over my forehead. "You bet, pardner."

Ben

"Karen and Estrela have got to run no slower than fourteen-five," I told everybody after we were all seated in the stands. "They've got to get their average way up for the two nights."

"Is that the race time I should pray for?" Dale asked.

I took her dark hand in my tanned Cracker one. "Yep. Tell Jesus: No slower than fourteen-five, or they won't have a chance to make the top twenty."

"Fourteen-five, Jesus," Joey said loudly, looking upward.

Dale frowned at him. "You don't have to yell. He heard you."

"Thankyaverymuch," Mr. Darcy said, as if speaking for the Lord.

"Here comes Tami Jo Jackson, the reigning world champion," the announcer boomed.

The crowd applauded. Can't fault people for being polite. But me and my crew, we sat on our hands. Tami Jo and her bay champion galloped into the arena. She and the gelding were color-coordinated; she wore lace on her shirt and a lace band on her western hat; the bay wore lace trim on his saddle pad. "That's a stylish champ," the announcer said. Well, a lacy one, anyway.

Directly across the arena from us, J.T. Jackson applauded in his private booth.

First barrel. Four-seven-seven.

Second barrel. Eight-two-five.

Third barrel. Eleven-six-three.

At the gate. Fourteen-six-eight.

"Fourteen seconds, six tenths and eight hundredths," the announcer yelled. "The best time of the night. Ladies and gentlemen, Tami Jo and Mr. Go Bar Gone's South are number one for the night and the team to beat in tomorrow's finals!"

J.T. Jackson looked over at me, smirked, and raised a finger.

The middle one.

"And now," the announcer said in a deep, dramatic way, "here comes the last contestant of the evening. The can-do `Cracker' mare you've all been waiting for! From dog food auction block to Million Dollar RideOff! Come on in, Estrela, from the Thocco Ranch, ridden by Karen Johnson!"

I shut my eyes for a second. Come on, baby, race like everything depends on it. Because it does.

They streaked into the ring. The crowd started cheering so loud Joey winced. I had to cover his ears. My heart pounded a drumbeat that made my hands shake. I couldn't bear to watch Karen and Estrela; I watched the timer board, instead.

First barrel. Time so far: Four seconds, two-tenths, thirty-four hundredths.

Second barrel. Eight, six, fifty-two.

Third barrel. Eleven, four, twenty-three.

Gate.

The gate.

The final time at the gate.

Fourteen Three One.

"She did it! They're in the top twenty!" I yelled.

Yelling, screaming, jumping, hugging. Possum got down under the seats, cheering. Joey pounded the arms of his wheelchair.

I pounded Joey's ears.

The whole audience got to its feet. The announcer yelled so loud his voice went hoarse over the speakers. "They made it! Ladies and gentlemen, the underdog horse of the century has beaten all the odds. She's run the best time of the n ght, and now she'sgoing to the million-dollar finals!"

Sweet words. Sweet, sweet words.

Kara

We partied outside Estrela's stall. In her stall, Estrela nibbled organic carrots and casually bared her teeth at strangers. Ben lifted a bottle of champagne and poured us all another sip. Joey laughed. "It tickles!"

"How do you say that n-name?" Mac asked me, nodding at the bottle.

"Dom Perignon."

"What's it mean?"

Ben chuckled. "It's French for, `Ifyou gotta ask how much this costs, you ain't got enough money to buy it."' He took another sip, rolled it on his tongue, and sighed. "But it sure is smooth."

Lily clutched her plastic cup of champagne like a prize. "And the man who sent it to us for free is a ... a what?"

"A United States Senator," Miriam explained again, grinning. "He's down here in Florida to play golf with Jeb Bush and he decided to come see the barrel race. Don't that beat all!"

"Here's to Senator Whittenbrook!" Lula said, holding up her cup. "Karen and Estrela got themselves a fat-cat fan! A Yankee one, to boot!"

Cheech, Bigfoot, Possum, Roy, Dale and the rest imitated our toast with solemn care. Lily sniffed the champagne before tasting it.

I looked away furtively. I wished Uncle William had been less generous and more circumspect. Ben watched my reaction, frowning. He tossed his empty cup in a trash can. "Me and Karen are gonna walk around the corner and talk about strategy for tomorrow night, okay? I don't want no reporters to overhear."

"Me and Estrela and Mr. Darcy'll guard your back," Joey said proudly.

Ben and I found a private spot beside an empty stall. "About what I said to you this afternoon," he began.

"Ben, you don't know how much-"

"I know you think I'm a ladies' man who don't want to settle down. I know there's a lot I don't know about you and you don't know about me, but I meant what I said."

I stoked his cheeks. "I have so much to tell you-"

"Ben!" Roy bellowed. He raced around the corner and slid to a stop in the soft wood shavings of the stable hallway. "Joey says he can't breathe, and he feels like his heart's trying to run away!"

"We can't go without Mr. Darcy," Joey cried while paramedics loaded him onto a stretcher. "Who'll he talk to? Benji, I don't want to leave him here. Please, Benji, I'm scared of getting in an ambulance alone."

The expression on Ben's face was tragic. "Bro, you'll see him, again. I swear. And there ain't nothing to be scared of. You ain't ever gonna be alone."

"Will you be with me?"

"I'll be with you ever step of the way, every minute, every second."

"What about Karen?"

"I'm right here," I said hoarsely. Just before the paramedics lifted the stretcher into the ambulance I held Mr. Darcy where Joey could touch him with an ashen hand. Joey stroked his wing. Mr. Darcy bent his blue head to Joey's face and gently nibbled his nose.

"Boink," Joey said, crying.

"Boink," Mr. Darcy answered.

I tried to comfort Mac, Lily and the others-all afraid and on the verge of tears-as we huddled in the ER waiting area of an Orlando hospital. Roy, Dale, Miriam and Lula remained at the arena, shooing unsuspecting admirers away from Estrela's snapping teeth. Mr. Darcy was in their care.

When Ben finally walked into the waiting room he looked at me, first. I saw despair and resignation in his face, but then he turned to the others with a smile. "Aw, he's fine. Just a little heart flutter. Give him a couple days, and he'll be good as new Soon as they move him to a room for the night, you can all go see him. He's on some good drugs now, and he's taking a nap."

Lily wiped her eyes and smiled. "See, you all! Karen said Joey would be just fine!" She and Mac hugged Ben. Cheech, Bigfoot and Possum slapped his back and grinned. They believed in good news so easily, and so sincerely.

"Time for dinner," I announced. I nodded to Ben. "Take a break. I'll be back." He nodded and sat down in a chair, staring into space.

I guided everyone to the hospital snack bar, popped our combined spare change into vending machines, and organized a dinner of cold sandwiches, cookies and soft drinks. Then I rushed back to the waiting room. Ben sat with his elbows on his knees and his head down. He straightened as I settled beside him.

"He'll be fine," Ben said automatically. He tapped his chest. "Atrial fibrillation. A racing heart. Irregular, too. But they got it back down to almost normal, already. If they have to, they can put electrodes on him and give his heart a little shock to set the rhythm straight. But so far, so good. Aw, he'll be fine."

I put a hand atop Ben's. I pulled his hand onto my knee and wound my fingers through his. I leaned against his shoulder. With my other hand, I stroked the back of his hand slowly, with just my fingertips. "Is this your `bad luck' secret? Is it about Joey?"

He trembled. A gush of air came out of his lungs. His shoulders sagged. "He's only got a few months left," Ben whispered to me. "I've known since spring. He's dyin'."

I had suspected, worried, and feared as much, but the confirming words were hard to hear. I had always wanted brothers and sisters. Joey had become my little brother, too.

I bent my head to Ben's, and cried.

"Sedge, is there anything we can do?"

"I'm working on it, my dear, and so is William."

Uncle William. I'd misjudged him so many times over the years. I'd always assumed he didn't care about me. I had been so wrong. I turned the cell phone away from my mouth. I was crying.

"My dear," Sedge said gently. "You can't save everyone you love. But you can always depend on your family to help you try."

Chapter 26

Ben

Sunday Morning

Miriam glared at me. A cup of coffee trembled in her hand. The mermaid charms rattled on her bracelet. "How come we're here, Ben?"

"You're gonna have to ask the nearest preacher that question." My voice was a hoarse croak. "While you're at it, ask this one: What's the meanin' of life? And how many angels can dance on the head of a stick pin? And don't forget to ask if Elvis is really dead. Joey says the King's still around, somewhere."

"Ben." She jerked her dyed hair toward the sign over the double doors. "Cardiac Intensive Care. How come Joey's here?"

I faded. "`Cause his heart's in real bad shape and there's not much they can do about it."

Tears slid down her face. "I laiew it. Damn. I laiew it."

I put an arm around her. "Go see about Karen, would ya? She didn't get no sleep all night. Me and her, we sat up in the waitin' room."

"She was on her cell phone in the hall a minute ago. I saw her."

I frownied. "She say who she's talli' to?"

"I dunno. Maybe the World Sports Network folks. Are you giving up on tonight, Ben?"

"Yeah. Me and Karen agreed. We can't run no barrel race with Joey like this."

"I'll tell the rest of the crew. You want me to?"

I felt like I was a hundred years old and tied to lead balloons. "Yeah."