More Than a Horse Read online

  "Sassy's very well behaved—at least near people," Leeann said, allowing for Sassy's habit of disappearing from where he was put.

  "Think Sassy would give you both a ride around the ring if I put Joey up in the saddle with you?" Joy's father asked eagerly.

  "Dad's been trying to get Joey interested in horses for years," Joy explained. "He wants the whole family to go trail riding together."

  "Well, we can try," Leeann said. She stepped into the stirrup and pushed herself back until she was seated behind the saddle. Sassy didn't seem to mind, although having a rider in that position had to feel strange to him. Meanwhile, Joy's father came out of the ring and lifted his son up to the level of the horse's back. "Get your leg over on the other side, Joey. No, the other leg, son, the other leg. There you go."

  Automatically, Leeann reached around Joey to hold onto the saddle horn. This turned her arms into railings that held Joey in place. Mr. Childs had the reins; he opened the gate and led Sassy inside the ring.

  "I ride. I ride," Joey squealed, waving his hands in the air. He was wriggling in his excitement and Leeann had to struggle to keep him in place on the saddle.

  "You have to sit still, Joey," she said. "Riders sit still and the horse walks. Can you sit still?"

  "Yes, yes, yes," Joey said. He hunched into himself, clasping his hands against his stomach.

  Mr. Childs was walking alongside his son on the railing side of the ring. Without being asked, Zach came into the ring and took a position on the opposite side of Sassy in case Joey fell that way.

  "How does it feel?" Joy asked Joey.

  "High," Joey said. They all laughed.

  Once around the ring they went, and then again once more. Joey's body began sagging against Leeann. "How you doing, sport?" his father asked.

  "Down," he whined. "Down."

  "He's tired," Mr. Childs said. He reached up and lifted Joey off the horse. "I'll take him up to his mother. Can you kids manage alone here?"

  "We're fine, Daddy," Joy said. "We'll stay in the ring, and you come back with your camera and take some pictures of us, okay?" Her palomino had finally settled down and was walking in line with Sassy around the ring. "Hurry up, Zach," Joy said. "I think this horse likes company."

  "I don't know if Paul'll fit in that ring," Zach said, but he unhitched the Percheron from the railing and heaved himself up into the saddle.

  "Thanks for giving Joey a ride, Leeann," Mr. Childs said. He was holding a weary-looking Joey by the hand. "That was really special. I wonder, could I pay you to bring Sassy over here again to do some more riding with him?"

  Leeann gulped. She explained honestly, "I don't think so. I borrowed Sassy just for today, sort of without permission."

  She waited for him to scold her as an adult to a child, but he didn't. All he said was, "I'll call Don Holden and speak to him about it. Don't worry. I won't give you away."

  Joy's palomino backed around until he was facing Zach's Percheron, who seemed to loom over him. The palomino began tossing his head and fidgeting. Joy squealed. "What do I do now, Daddy?"

  "Let them get acquainted," he said.

  Unconcerned, Sassy dipped his head through the rails to get at the higher grass outside. Paul began plodding around the ring while Zach worked the reins and talked to him. The palomino sidestepped toward the stolid Percheron, who ignored the smaller animal. Finally, Joy got her horse turned around to follow Paul.

  "Mom-my," Joey suddenly began to wail.

  "Okay, feller. I know you're tired. Let's go." Mr. Childs picked up his son and carried him to the house.

  Leeann touched Sassy lightly with her heel, and they fell into place in the ring behind the palomino.

  "I'm going to call him Dancer," Joy said to Leeann when her mount finally settled down and began cooperating with her signals. "You're right; it's a good name for him."

  Carefully Zach got to his knees on his broad-backed horse. When he stood up, Joy squealed, "What are you doing, Zach?"

  "Taking in the view. Anybody want to try it?" He had both arms out for balance. Now he folded them across his chest and just stood there, rocking slightly with the horse's motion.

  "Get down, you fool," Joy said.

  Leeann was amused by Zach's circus performance. But that didn't stop her from worrying about what was going to happen when Joy's father called Mr. Holden. If Mr. Childs slipped and gave her away as he talked about his son wanting to ride Sassy, she'd be in big trouble.

  What would Mr. Holden and Amos do to her? She imagined Amos's thundercloud face if he found out that she had taken Sassy off the ranch without permission. Amos would never let her near another of his horses.

  "I think I should head home," Leeann said. And when Joy protested, Leeann said, "Really, I have to go-"

  "You haven't even had any punch or cookies."

  "Don't worry," Leeann said with a smile. "Zach will eat mine."

  Zach groaned. "Just because I stole her potato chips at lunch."

  Leeann reached down to open the gate so she and Sassy could leave the ring. Both Zach and Joy seemed disappointed that she was going, but she had lost her appetite for fun. Her urge now was to get Sassy back to Lost River Ranch where he belonged.

  "Bye. Have fun. See you in school." Leeann waved and set off.

  Two cars and a pickup drove past her as she made toward the shortcut. And there came Alan cantering toward Joy's house on a lathered-up Appaloosa. He swept off his cowboy hat and waved it at Leeann as he swerved into Joy's driveway. She had to eat the dust cloud he'd made all the way to her turnoff into the desert.

  The overgrown cactus where she'd stowed the saddle was a welcome sight. She unsaddled Sassy and exchanged the saddle and bridle for the bell Sassy had been wearing that morning to make him easier to locate.

  "Well," Leeann told the horse, who clopped along peacefully beside her, "you made some friends today. But Amos is likely to kill me if he catches me bringing you back." She wondered if he'd believe she'd found Sassy wandering. What was Joy's father going to say to Mr. Holden? The more Leeann thought about it, the more appalled she was at the stupid risk she'd taken just for an afternoon's pleasure.

  No one was in sight at the ranch. While Sassy took a long drink from the water barrel outside the barn, Leeann borrowed a brush from the tack room and gave him a good grooming. Could she really be so lucky that no one had seen her? Leeann asked herself as she let Sassy into the corral. If she were, she'd never try anything like this again. Never. Whatever craziness had taken hold of her was gone for good.

  She found her mother trying out a recipe for banana cake in the ranch house kitchen. Tonight, when they were alone in their cabin, would be the right time to confess that she'd become a horse thief, Leeann decided.

  CHAPTER 7

  Leeann had dinner in the kitchen with Hanna and Rose that evening, but she ate without any appetite. She was still wondering how she had managed to convince herself that "borrowing" Sassy was a minor misdemeanor equivalent to a white lie.

  Amos had told her not to go near the horse, and he was in charge of it. He had every right to be furious with her. How could she have been so willful when she'd always behaved well, as much for her own self-respect as to please her mother? Her brain must have shut down without warning.

  As if she could read Leeann's mind, Hanna asked her, "How's it going between Amos and you?"

  Leeann bit her lip. "Not good."

  "Come on, then. Let's you and me go have our dessert with the cowboys." Over Leeann's protests, Hanna pulled her along to the shed off the kitchen where the staff ate. Rose followed with a large glass dish of peach cobbler.

  "We got to get Amos better acquainted with you, Leeann," Hanna explained on the way.

  "This isn't the best time," Leeann cautioned.

  "Nonsense," Hanna insisted. "Suppertime's always the best time with these guys."

  Once she'd steered Leeann into the shed, Hanna gave a hearty greeting to Amos, who didn't even look up. "Have you fell
as met Leeann?" she asked stringy Robuck and silent Hank. They both nodded and Robuck said, "Hi," then dropped his eyes shyly.

  "So what about the cooking lately? Think Rose here's doing right by you?" Hanna asked with unabated enthusiasm.

  "Good chicken," Robuck said.

  Hanna was still trying to mine compliments for Rose from the silent men when Mr. Holden stepped into the shed.

  "Could I speak to you in private?" he asked Rose.

  "Of course." Rose set down the dish of cobbler and turned to follow Mr. Holden out. Over her shoulder she raised a questioning eyebrow at Hanna, who shrugged as if to say she had no idea.

  Leeann knew. It was her criminal behavior Mr. Holden wanted to see her mother about. She put her fork down without tasting her dessert and waited. What would they say? What would she say? She gulped and looked at Amos, who had finished his cobbler and was reaching for more. His expression was no more hostile than usual. Maybe it wasn't what she thought. Maybe ... but there was Rose in the doorway, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Leeann, would you come here, please."

  She followed her mother's plump back. When they were alone in the hall of the main building outside the cave-dark library, which was also the television room, Rose stopped and asked in a whisper, "Did you take that horse and ride it somewhere today?"

  "Yes," Leeann said.

  "Oh, Leeann! If you'd just been patient, Hanna would have done something for you." Rose shook her head and led the way through the library door. Mr. Holden was leaning against the stone fireplace. Two big Hopi Kachina dolls in fierce feathers and paint stood on the mantel on either side of his head. Not a good omen, Leeann thought.

  "Now, Leeann," Mr. Holden began in his high drawl, "a member of my staff told me something about you, and first off, I want to know if it's true. Where did you go this afternoon?"

  "To Joy's house. She's a friend I made in school."

  "And how did you get there?"

  "On horseback."

  "Amos gave you permission to use one of the horses?"

  "No. I—" She was going to say found, but out came the more damning word. "I took Sassy. He likes me. You see, I found him in the wash the day we came here and I brought him back to the corral. Then I found Sassy again when he jumped the fence and wandered off. He always acts like he's glad to see me and he follows me willingly, so I just sort of borrowed him." She took a deep breath and was silent.

  "Borrowing a horse without permission is a serious offense, Leeann," Mr. Holden said. "We can't tolerate that kind of behavior. It undermines Amos's authority and it's just plain wrong for you to mess with a horse you don't own." His fine-boned face had set into grim lines.

  "I won't ever do anything like that again. I mean, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me." Leeann's cheeks felt hot; her mother's were flaming.

  "See, it's tough on me," Mr. Holden said, "because Amos claims he'll quit if he catches you near his horses again, and he's bullheaded enough to do it. I need Amos, Leeann."

  "Yes, I'm really sorry."

  "So you're to forget there are horses on this ranch until further notice. Understand?"

  "Yes." She nodded.

  "All right then." Mr. Holden gave Rose an apologetic glance and said, "I'm sorry. I don't like starting off this way with your daughter. I'm sure she's basically as good a girl as you say. But it's going to take some doing to get Amos to trust her after this. And the fact is, a cook's easier to get than a head wrangler as reliable as Amos." Mr. Holden smiled wryly. "Also, he's due some loyalty after thirty years in my employ."

  "Of course," Rose said, still red-cheeked with embarrassment.

  Leeann wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

  Neither she nor her mother said anything to each other about the situation until they were alone in their cabin. Rose kicked off her shoes and leaned back against the sprung cushions on the love seat facing the kitchen table. Then Leeann asked, "How did Mr. Holden find out?"

  "Seems one of the wranglers was driving back to the ranch, and he saw you riding Sassy down some road miles from here."

  "It's not that far." Robuck or Hank must have passed her on the short bit of road in front of Joy's house. There had been some traffic on that road, Leeann remembered.

  "Well, it's just too bad. I'm sorry, Leeann. I led you to expect you'd get plenty of horseback riding out of my taking this job. And now..."

  "I know. I ruined it for myself, Mama." Leeann shook her head in dismay.

  "Listen," her mother said. "If you're miserable here, and Amos doesn't relent soon, I'll just look for another job somewhere. It's not like being a cook is a career change I'd planned."

  "Don't worry about me," Leeann hastened to reassure her. "At least the kids here are friendly."

  "It's my fault anyway," Rose said. "If I hadn't been such a fool, we'd still have our lives in Charlotte. I should have known Big John was too good to be true." Rose was wringing her hands.

  "I believed in him, too, Mama," Leeann said, and they hugged each other fiercely.

  Lying in bed that night, Leeann thought of how it would be for her here without horses. The cabin was too tiny to spend much time in, but she could take walks through the desert. She could read and watch TV in the library in the main house. She could talk to her new friends.

  Then it occurred to her that she might not have friends without the use of a horse. Everyone in her project was busy with a horse or horses in one way or another. What did she have in common with them now that she was barred from going near Sassy or any other horse on the ranch? Stupid, she told herself. She'd been so stupid she deserved to suffer for it, and she would. No question about that.

  Monday morning Leeann retrieved Zach's saddle and bridle from behind the overgrown prickly pear before the school bus came.

  "You going horseback riding or to school?" the bus driver asked her in a friendly way.

  "School, unfortunately," Leeann said.

  The driver laughed. "I know what you mean," she said. And Leeann let her think she did.

  Zach walked down the hall toward her as Leeann came in lugging the saddle with her books piled on top of it. "I hope you can find someplace to stow this, Zach. I just realized it won't fit in my locker too well."

  "The secretary will let me stow it in the office," Zach said. "She's soft on me."

  "Really? How come?" Leeann teased as if the reason weren't evident.

  "'Cause I helped her get her car started once," he answered seriously. He took the saddle from her and Leeann retrieved her books from it.

  "Thanks so much for lending it to me. Saturday was fun," she said.

  "Yeah, but what'll you do for a saddle next time you go riding?"

  "No need to worry about that. I got caught. I'm forbidden to go anywhere near the horses on Lost River Ranch."

  "Oh-oh, trouble, huh?"

  She nodded. "Did your father notice the saddle was gone?"

  "Nah. I was lucky. Usually he notices everything."

  "Would he have been mad at you?"

  Zach smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. He gets mad easy nowadays. Especially if it's to do with my mom. But mostly we get along. Pop and I are a good team, you know? I haul my end of things and he'll give a grunt and that means, 'Thanks, Zach.' Two grunts and I feel proud of myself for a week."

  Leeann was thinking that it was just as well she wouldn't be needing the saddle again. She didn't want Zach getting into trouble for her sake. "Anyway," she said. "I can still do the report on Sassy. They can't stop me from watching him and writing up how he behaves."

  Joy came running down the hall in pursuit of Alan, screeching, "Stop thief!"

  Zach reached out and grabbed Alan before he could get by. "What'd he take?" Zach asked as Joy reached them, out of breath with her curly hair in wild disarray. Alan struggled, but he couldn't free himself from Zach's bear hug. Apparently there was strength in those skinny arms

  "He's got my diary," Joy said.

  "Your diary? What'd you bring it to s
chool for?" Zach asked.

  "Well, it's not exactly a diary. It's kind of a journal, but it's got private stuff in it."

  "About me." Alan smirked.

  "And I need it for projects because I wrote up all about Dancer in it. Oh, and Leeann, can you ride over again this afternoon? My father won't let me take Dancer out of the ring and ride him anywhere unless someone goes with me."

  "Sorry," Leeann said. "I don't have a horse to use."

  "Well, but what about Sassy?" Joy asked.

  "I'm not allowed to borrow him anymore."

  "Oh, Leeann!" Joy said. "That's rotten. It's so boring going round and round that ring. I want to go trail riding."

  "I told you I'd go with you," Alan said.

  "Oh, sure! You know it takes you forever to ride from your house to mine. And anyway, Alan, you never do what you promise."

  Without disputing that, Alan asked, "How about talking your father into letting you meet me halfway?"

  Joy sighed. "He'll say no." Her voice rose to a wail. "What's the fun of having a horse if I can't ride it?"

  Leeann was so disgusted at the fuss Joy was making that she said, "Joy, believe me, you don't know how lucky you are to own your own horse."

  "Well, I don't feel lucky," Joy snapped. She grabbed the book Alan was still clutching and turned her back on the three of them. "See you later," she said and walked off toward the girls' room.

  "She didn't ask me to ride with her," Zach complained.

  "She's afraid one of your monsters might step on her precious palomino and squash it," Alan said.

  Zach let go of him. Alan promptly shoved an elbow in his gut. Zach grunted. "Your girlfriend gets worked up pretty easily, Alan," he said.

  "Yeah, well, she's used to getting her own way," Alan said. "She was born a year after her folks had Joey, so they think she's perfect. She is, compared to her brother."

  Leeann suspected she was the one Joy was angry at because Joy ignored her all morning. Once in math class, Joy even turned away as if she hadn't heard when Leeann asked her what page they were supposed to be on in the math book. At lunchtime Leeann didn't know if she'd be welcome at the table where Joy was already sitting across from Alan and Zach. They hadn't left any room for her, and she couldn't tell whether they'd deliberately not saved the space, or couldn't find more in the crowded cafeteria.