Nickel-Bred (7 page)

I could have called my dad and talked to him
about dinner that night, but it was so peaceful and quiet out there
on the farm that I didn’t want to use my phone. I just wanted to be
quiet and enjoy my ride. Dotty and I moseyed along for a couple of
hours. We cooled off walking through the woods, me wondering what
birds made the calls and twitterings I heard. We came out into the
open field and passed an old shed and paddock. That was where Addie
and I had hidden Dotty so her mean owner, Jake, wouldn’t find her.
We had turned around and started home. I was trying to tell from
the sun what time it was. I’m not very good at that, but it seemed
like the sun was straight overhead, which would make it around
noon. My phone rang. It was Dad’s ring tone, so I got my attitude
ready.

“Hi, Dad,” I said.

“Hi, Piper, are you still mad at me?”

“I don’t know.”

“Look, your mom called and told me about her
new job and wanted to know if you could have dinner with her and
Sam and Miss Julie tonight. Do you want to go?”

“Yeah, I’d like to go.” Miss Julie was a
great cook and any dinner at her house would be delicious.

“Well, you go ahead and we’ll have dinner
together another night. Maybe I can trade nights with your mom.
This works out better for me because I have a lot of calls to make
later today.”

“Okay. Thanks, Dad.”

“Have you thought about the horse
anymore?”

“I still want him.”

“That’s what I thought. Listen, we’ll talk
tomorrow okay? I have a herd health meeting in an hour and it’s
pretty important.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow sometime.”

Dotty and I rode into the barn, where I
unsaddled and brushed her. I gave her a big hug for being a good
girl and let her out into her paddock. Willie Nelson sat on Miss
Julie’s back porch like a little ball of gray fluff in the
sunshine. When he saw me, he came mewing, looking for attention. I
cuddled him for a while and told him what a good life he was going
to have here with Miss Julie. I set him back down gently on the
porch and kissed his head goodbye.

Miss Julie’s car was gone, so I didn’t stay.
Instead, I walked back home and fixed myself a sandwich. Mom was
gone somewhere and I was cleaning up the kitchen, when Dad called
again.

“Hi, Dad,” I said.

“That woman is insane! She should be put
away!”

“What woman? Who?”

“Angel. Do you know what she did?”

“Dad, what?”

“She barged into the back room of the clinic,
when I was meeting with Roger Smith about his herd health program.
She walked right in and wanted me to give her a hug in front of him
and his wife.”

“Oh, my gosh! What did you do?”

“I took her arm and pulled her to the door. I
told her to get out, that I wasn’t buying what she was selling. I
didn’t know what else I said, I was so mad and embarrassed.”

“Did she leave?”

“Oh, she stomped out and slammed the doors,
like she’s the one with a reason to be upset. I had to apologize
over and over to the Smiths. I couldn’t believe it. I have never
encouraged that woman. Ever! She’s nuts!”

“You’re right, she’s nuts. I hope she got the
message this time, Dad.”

“Yeah, me too. Well, I had to vent. Listen,
if she calls you again, don’t pick up. I have to go back to work.
Love you!”

I couldn’t believe what Angel had done. I
mean, I believed it, since I had met her and knew she was whacked.
What I couldn’t get over was how she had behaved. Didn’t she have
any sense? Of course I didn’t want my dad to be interested in a
tramp like her, but couldn’t she figure out that wasn’t the way to
get him interested? He liked women to be smart and pretty, not
trashy.

I puttered around the house, not really doing
much of anything, basically wasting the afternoon. I wandered into
my bedroom and collected dirty clothes from the chairs and the
floor. I had just put a load in the washer when my phone rang
again. Angel? Not her number, so I picked up.

“Hello?”

“Piper?” It was a man.

“Yes, who is this?”

“This is Chickie. Listen, if you want that
horse, you better come and get him tonight.”

“I still have to talk my dad into it. He’s
not sure...”

“Hey, kid! I’m tryin’ to do you a favor here.
Angel is mad as hell at you and your old man, I don’t know why. But
she’s borrowing a horse trailer from someone tomorrow morning and
taking him to the slaughterhouse if he’s still here.”

“What? Will they take a nice horse like
that?”

“Honey, they’ll take anything with hoofs.
They don’t care. So if you want him, get your butt over here and
take him. I’d hate to see him get ground up for dogfood. My mom
would not have wanted that, but I’m not getting in Angel’s way when
she’s ticked off.” Chickie hung up.

The phone rang. Chickie again. “By the way,
don’t let Angel see you or she’s liable to come out and mess you
up. Stay quiet and be invisible.” Click.

Now what was I going to do? I tried calling
Addie. No answer. I remembered she was visiting a sick aunt. I
tried calling my dad. It went to his voicemail and I knew he had
farm calls ‘till late, since I wasn’t coming to dinner. No point in
trying him anymore. He didn’t want the horse anyway.

I thought about calling Mom, Miss Julie or
Sam, but if they were all having dinner tonight, I couldn’t ask
them to change plans.

I couldn’t let Nickel become a dog’s dinner.
He deserved a nice home and someone to take care of him. I had to
go and get him. And I had to go tonight, after dark.

Chapter
Fourteen

~ A Wet Ride ~

I had tried
and tried, after we saved Dotty, to tell the truth from then on, to
do what I was supposed to do and follow all the rules. I mean, I
really tried. But I had to tell another lie, a big one.

Miss Julie didn’t pick up her phone, and I
was glad to leave a message. It was easier than lying to her
directly.

“Hi, Miss Julie, this is Piper. I have to go
with Addie to see one of her aunts who is sick. I’ll try to get out
there later, but don’t wait dinner on me. Please tell Mom and Sam.
‘Bye.”

That job done, I walked the mile to the barn,
watching to make sure Miss Julie’s speedy little car didn’t appear.
I couldn’t let anyone see me.

When I got to the barn unseen, I collected a
halter and began the hike out to Chickie’s. I didn’t want to haul
my heavy saddle that far, so I planned to ride Nickel bareback, or
lead him, if I had trouble staying on.

I tried calling Addie again a couple of
times, but her phone went to voicemail right away. She was still at
her aunt’s and had her phone turned off. I finally left her a
message, which was risky because she doesn’t always check her
messages. “Hey, Adds, it’s Piper. Call me right away, it’s real
important.”

The sun began going down as I trudged along
the two-lane blacktop. County Road 5 was not the main road into
town, so very few cars passed me. I made a plan for when someone I
knew stopped and asked where I was going. I would tell them I was
lending my halter to someone. Another lie, but luckily no one
stopped. About the time the wind started blowing my hair around, I
stared at the sky and noticed black clouds on the horizon.

I started whistling and spinning the
horsehair bracelet on my left wrist, while I held the halter slung
over my shoulder. It was kind of awkward, but twisting the bracelet
always calmed me. Whistling was supposed to make you feel braver. I
wasn’t sure it did, but it was worth a shot.

Since an hour-long hike was time enough to
think, I had pretty well planned out what I was going to say to my
mom and dad about Nickel. Same deal as Dotty, right? They were
proud of me for rescuing her, and they should be equally proud of
me for saving Nickel from the slaughterhouse. I was banking on that
reasoning.

It was full dark by the time I turned in at
Chickie’s. I walked slowly down the bumpy, rutted driveway,
watching for cars and headlights. A half moon rose over the
woodland on the far side of Chickie’s property. I didn’t want to
take Nickel through the woods. It would be hard to walk through. At
least there was a little moonlight for me to see by. For now, until
the clouds moved in. The wind was blowing in my face and causing my
eyes to burn.

My phone rang and I hurriedly answered.

“Hello?”

“Piper, it’s me, Addie! I saw you’ve been
calling me.”

“Where have you been?” I was talking in a
whisper in case my voice was carried by the wind. “I’ve been
calling you for hours.”

“I told you, I had to go visit my Aunt Amy.
What’s up?” I explained about Angel harassing my father, about
Chickie’s phone call, and how Nickel’s life was in danger.

“Where are you now, Piper?”

“I’m at Chickie’s, getting Nickel. I’m going
to ride him to Miss Julie’s.”

“At night? In the rain?” Addie sounded
worried about me.

“I’ll be okay, but what about you? Can you
walk?”

“I’m pretty klutzy, but I can do what I need
to do,” she said.

“Can you meet me at the barn in about an
hour? Maybe someone could drive you?”

“Yeah, I can. Mom is going somewhere and I’ll
get her to drop me off. She’ll nag me to be careful on my ankle,
but she’ll do it.”

“Don’t go to the house. I don’t want Mom or
anyone to know what I’m doing until it’s already done. Once Nickel
is safe, they won’t have the heart to send him back to get
killed.”

“Piper, there are thunderstorm warnings.”

“I can’t help that. I’ll have to get
wet.”

“Okay. Listen, good luck. I’ll be in the barn
with some towels.”

“And a change of clothes.” We wore the same
sizes in everything, which was lucky for me. Addie had lots more
clothes than I did. “Thanks, Adds. See you in a while.”

Wishing I had a plastic bag so my cell phone
wouldn’t get wet, I stuffed it back in my pocket, hoping it would
stay dry enough there. Sure enough, sprinkles began as I let myself
into Nickel’s pen. The horse had seen me coming and was standing
close to the gate. I rubbed his neck and he put his head down. I
remembered that he had liked having his head rubbed, so I ran my
hands over his cheeks and nose. He nickered softly and sniffed my
hair.

I stood on my tiptoes and lifted the lead
rope over Nickel’s neck, catching it from underneath. His head
jerked up and he stepped away.

“Easy, boy,” I said. “It’s time to put this
on.” Still talking softly to him, I slid the halter over his nose
and buckled it up high on his head.

“Good boy! Now we need to get me up on you.
We’re going for a nice walk in the rain.” I led him over to the
fence and climbed to the top rung.

Slam! A door shut over at the house and a
man’s voice yelled something. I froze and crossed my fingers.
Holding the halter with a clenched fist, I crouched on the fence
like a bug. Another voice yelled, a different door slammed, maybe a
car door, and then all was quiet. I counted slowly to thirty and
heard nothing else, until two more doors shut, a car started, and
headlights came on. They pointed at the drive, so I didn’t think
anyone could see me. I stayed in my crouch, hardly breathing as the
car passed Nickel’s pen. I could see several dark shapes in the
beater car, but couldn’t make out who they were. It bounced down
the driveway, turned onto State Highway 5 and headed into town.

Not wanting to waste time, I flipped the gate
open, swung my foot over Nickel’s back and settled myself on him.
Giving a click and a tap of my feet in the drizzly rain, I steered
our new horse into the driveway and walked carefully down the lane.
Riding with a halter and lead rope wasn’t very safe, but it was all
I had. Nickel was a champ and picked his way in the semi-dark and
rain. He seemed happy to go with me. I gripped his wet sides with
my jeans and held on to his mane and the lead rope. So far, so
good. Only three miles to go.

Down the rutted dirt drive, up onto the
blacktop. The wind and rain picked up, blowing harder. At least it
was at my back. I hunched down on Nickel, talking to him the whole
time.

“Good boy. Stay over here on the shoulder,
now. Easy does it.” I think I was calming myself as much as I was
calming Nickel, whose head was down and ears were back as he walked
through the downpour. I patted his wet neck, thinking of all the
times I had wanted a horse when I was little. I didn’t know I would
get Dotty the way I got her, and I sure wouldn’t have known I would
get another one this way.

Crack! The sky lit up with lightning. Great.
An electrical storm. That was all I needed, out in the open, wet to
the core. Nickel shied and moved sideways into the ditch beside the
road. He couldn’t see the ditch because of his blind eye and
clattered with his hoofs, trying to find better footing.

“Whoa, son, easy.” I held on tight and
steered him back to the shoulder where the ground was smoother. My
teeth started chattering as the wind and water chilled me through
my sopping cotton t-shirt. Why hadn’t I thought to bring a rain
jacket? But the sky had been clear when I got dressed earlier and
it was hot. Who knew there would be a storm?

Thunder rumbled, rain hissed on the still hot
blacktop. Nickel and I plodded down the road with our heads down
and rain in our faces. It felt like we had been walking through the
rain for hours, although it only took one. Nickel had a long stride
and walked quickly. He didn’t like the rain, either, and was
probably trusting that we were heading for a nice, dry barn with
plenty of hay and oats.

As Miss Julie’s house and barn appeared in
the downpour, I turned Nickel’s head into the long tree-lined
driveway. The lights shone in the farmhouse and I saw people
inside. It seemed like there were too many cars, but Nickel slipped
a little in the mud and I was distracted. He found his footing
again easily and I aimed him toward the warm, dry barn.