High Hurdles Collection Two (57 page)

Herndon didn't like being rushed. He shifted from side to side when she groomed him and sidestepped all the way to the arena.

“Herndon, stand still.” DJ repeated the command when the gelding took a couple of steps while she was trying to mount. He moved again.

She clamped a hand on the reins under his jaw and glared at him. “You stand still, hear me?”

“He is just reacting to you,” Bridget said as she opened the gate and walked through.

DJ knew she was right. She'd been racing around, doing everything at top speed, and all it cost her was a flighty horse and sweaty armpits. She took in a deep breath herself, let it out, and stroked Herndon's face, down his cheeks, and up around his ears. He tilted his head slightly to the side to make it easier for her to reach his favorite spot and sighed, too.

“I'm sorry, big fella. I know better, but I was running late.” Herndon's eyes drifted closed, and he rested his forehead against her chest.

“Just like magic, huh?” Bridget left the arena. “See you out at the jump in ten minutes. I have some things I can do while you warm him up, now that you have him cooled down.” Her laugh drifted behind her.

DJ mounted with smooth grace and moved Herndon into a walk, then a slow trot. But while she thought they were both calmed down, out in the jumping ring, Herndon ran out. When she brought him up to the jump again, he did the same.

“Okay, we will now go back to the basics.” Bridget put all the bars on the ground, and DJ spent the hour trotting around and around, over the cavalletti and crossrails and around again. If she heard “Focus, keep him between your hands and your legs,” one more time, she thought she might scream. She jogged home after giving Major another treatment just to wear off her frustration. Frustration she didn't dare show when Bridget was around.

“Mom, can I take my dinner upstairs so I can get on the books?”

“I guess.” Lindy took another look at her daughter. “What's the matter?”

“Herndon kept running out, so we did the ‘basics.' ” She put a sneer on the B word. “That horse might drive me to … to … I don't know what.”

“How's Major?”

“That old sweetie, he'd never act like this. He's getting better. He puts some weight on that foot now. I thought you were going for the boys.”

“Mother asked if they could have dinner there so Joe could teach them how to groom General. I'm not sure who is having more fun with that pony, him or the boys.” Lindy looked around the kitchen. “Since Robert won't be home until late, why don't you bring your books down here, and we'll eat out on the deck? Just the two of us. Maria went to see her sister.”

“Okay.”

Comfortable on the loungers, they both read their books while they ate. Queenie crawled up by DJ and stretched out by her crossed legs.

“Darla Jean, you better come in before you get too cold.” Lindy touched her daughter's shoulder.

DJ opened her eyes and blinked, then blinked again. “Oh … what happened?” She looked around for her book and pushed off the throw that now covered her.

“You fell asleep.” Lindy sat down on the other lounger and faced her daughter. “If you are this tired, something has to give. How long since you went to bed at a decent hour?”

DJ shrugged and pulled the fleece throw back up around her shoulders. Queenie licked her hand, so DJ stroked the dog's silky head.

“Okay, this is what I propose. You cut back on classes—”

“But, Mom!”

“Only until school is out. And that Arab show that is coming up this weekend is out.”

“But I told Brad I'd—”

“I already talked with him. He called about the USET thing. He agrees with me that your studies and your health come first. You can take care of the horses and exercise Herndon, but for the next two weeks, only one class a week and the one you teach. That will give you study time, and I want the lights out at 10:00.”

DJ glared at her mother, but the yawn that made her jaw crack lessened the impact. As if a glare would do any good. She pushed back the throw and got to her feet. “Thanks a lot.”

Sarcasm didn't work, either. Lindy stood and, taking the throw from DJ's hands, put it around her shoulders. “I'll bring you some hot chocolate, or would you rather have a soda?”

“Orange soda.” With Queenie Velcroed to her knee, DJ climbed the stairs to her room, yawning twice along the way. She'd slept for two hours.

She glared at the face in the bathroom mirror. “Sheesh, you dope.” But the circles under her eyes made her look like a raccoon, and she knew it.

The days leading to finals fell over each other in their rush to get past.

On Sunday night Brad and Jackie stopped by after he came to pick up the ultrasound machine.

“Thanks so much for letting us use it,” DJ said. “It worked like magic. Major is so much better, I can hardly believe it.”

“Most likely your love and good care had something to do with it.” Brad laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Prayers too.” DJ laid her cheek on her father's hand. “Thank you again.”

“You are very welcome.”

“How about staying for dinner. It'll be ready in just a few minutes.” Lindy invited. “Robert will be barbecuing.”

So as dusk fell, they were all sitting out on the deck, Gran and Joe included. Talk turned to summer vacation and how they were going to work it all out.

DJ went upstairs and came back down with a paper in her hands. “I wrote down how I think my summer ought to go. You want to hear it?”

“Sure.” Robert moved the table lamp over to where she'd sat before.

“As soon as school is out, Amy and I are going to your house for a week, right?” She nodded to Brad and Jackie, who both nodded. “Okay, then I'd like to go to summer school at Mount Diablo Community College for their art courses like Gran suggested. That would be for six weeks in the mornings. I have three shows in those weeks also, including the Arab show you talked about over the Fourth of July weekend.” Again DJ nodded at Brad.

“Sounds good,” he said.

“Then there is that A-level show in Sacramento, if Herndon and I are ready for it.” She glanced back at her paper. “Then I want to go to the class Ms. Gant is teaching. I could take BART in for that every day.”

She glanced at her mother, wondering what she would think of DJ's riding the Bay Area Rapid Transit alone. But Lindy just nodded and ran the tip of her tongue around her cheek.

“And after that the USET.” She looked from Robert to her mother and back again. “I know you want us all to take a vacation, and I thought maybe the week before school starts again would work.”

DJ laid her paper down on the table. The boys were giggling, Queenie yipping at them off in the grass by the jungle gym set Robert had built for them. A bird made a sleepy call in the tree up above, and sprinklers ratcheted in the neighbor's yard.

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Robert said, nodding and reaching for the paper at the same time. “I can tell you put a lot of time and thought into this.”

Now it was DJ's turn to nod.

“Doesn't look to me like there is much time here for kicking back.”

“No, it sure doesn't.” Lindy looked over Robert's shoulder at the list. She looked up at DJ. “You aren't going to try to go on the wilderness pack trip?”

“Can you see Herndon on a trail?”

That
brought chuckles from everyone.

“Besides, even if Major were well enough, which I doubt, I just don't have time.” While she and Amy had talked about going for the last couple of summers, and two of her girls and their families were going, DJ knew it wasn't for her. At least not this year.

“You'll need time for your card business, too,” Lindy reminded her.

“I know. And I want to teach the boys how to ride right, but I can do that in the early afternoons.” DJ looked around the group, then lifted her paper up. “So is this all right with everybody?”

“I hope you can spend some more time with us,” Jackie added, “although I know we get show times together. Maybe a few days after USET?” She looked at Lindy and Robert for permission.

“Could be.” Robert looked over at DJ and nodded. “I think you've done a good job on your plans. Maybe I should hire you in my business.”

“Robert!” Lindy play-punched his shoulders.

“Just kidding.”

DJ slept around the clock after finals were over on Thursday. She staggered over to the barns to care for the horses that afternoon, returned home, crawled into bed, and slept through the night.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” her mother said the next morning when DJ entered the kitchen.

“What day is this?” DJ stuck her head in the fridge for something to eat. “I'm starved.”

“I'm sure you are. I think you forgot to eat last night. When I went up to call you, you were sound asleep again, so I left you alone.”

DJ stood up and looked back around the refrigerator door. “If it's Friday, how come you are home?”

“I'm taking a couple of vacation days.” Lindy stretched her hands above her head. “That's part of my three-week notice. In fact, I only have one more week in the office.”

“You what?”

“I quit my job.”

“You did?” DJ slammed the door and did a jig step over to her mother. “Really?”

“I decided you kids needed me at home and I needed to be here. So Maria can have a few extra days off this summer if she wants, and I plan to start my book on young entrepreneurs. You and Amy and that business club have inspired me. Mr. Mann is excited about sharing kids from the last few years with me, too.”

“I can't believe this!” DJ put the back of her hand to her forehead. “God, do you hear me? This is like super way cool wonderful.”

“Maybe I'll even make a baby quilt for the little one here.” Lindy patted her barely rounded belly.

DJ grinned.

Brad picked up DJ and Amy, along with Herndon, on Sunday afternoon. By the time they arrived at Gladstone, his ranch north of San Francisco in Santa Rosa, they'd talked about showing, plans for the summer, USET, and how the card line was coming.