Pony Stories (3 Book Bind-Up) (Red Fox Summer Reading Collections) by Peyton K. M. & Fenner Carol & Pullein-Thompson Christine

Author:Peyton, K. M. & Fenner, Carol & Pullein-Thompson, Christine [Peyton, K. M.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781446498958
Publisher: RHCP
Published: 2013-01-31T05:00:00+00:00

5

IN EARLY EVENING, traffic on the dirt road past Holbein Farm virtually stopped. The quiet lengthened with the shadows. The sun eased down behind the woods. There was a comfortable munch from the feed troughs as most of the animals nudged noses to grain. It was the time Faith counted the days left of the summer.

Usually she sat on the back porch, scratching mosquito bites and listening to her sister splash in the tub inside. Gem’s baths were as predictable each evening as the pizza. They were a kind of comfort to Faith. Wolfie always came and plopped down near her by the steps. That was also a comfort. Sometimes Beth came too, and sat quietly with them whilst the pizza baked. Then Faith felt as if she and Beth were connected somehow to the fields and hills, the animals, the softening sky. She forgot to count the remaining days.

Though Beth had finally gotten her television fixed, the girls had gotten out of the TV habit. The few times they did turn it on, the screen images were no longer compelling. The color seemed dimmer. ‘It’s her set,’ said Gem. It’s the horses, thought Faith. Beth herself never stayed awake in front of the TV very long.

Daytimes were a different story. Beth seemed to have endless energy. Activity was everywhere. Neighbors came to help build fences. Their voices and saws and poundings criss-crossed the air. Interesting strangers pulled up in cars to look over Beth’s horses. People came with mares to breed with the beautiful, frenetic Apollo.

Faith observed the horse people with the detachment of an outsider. Serious young riders arrived with their fathers or mothers, wanting a well-bred horse to show at jumping events. Fox hunters from Midwest hunts and lean endurance-ride competitors came looking for horses with stamina. Sometimes they took a horse away, leaving Beth richer and sadder.

But Beth was too busy to be sad for long. She even taught classes on the Fourth of July. Faith and Gem didn’t expect a celebration but Beth grilled hot dogs outside for supper. Afterward they lit sparklers and sat around watching them sizzle and die. Fireflies glowed here and there in the darkness. Faith wondered only briefly if her father had been fussing over his barbequed spareribs all afternoon.

Then Faith noticed Beth had fallen asleep, head on her arms, right where she sat. Beth’s life doesn’t pause for the Fourth of July, she thought. She was touched that this busy woman had made the extra effort to celebrate the holiday. Faith decided right then to find more ways to help at Holbein Farm.

*

There were plenty of things to choose from. Besides the grooming and helping Brady, Faith took over clearing dishes and cleaning up after each meal. She began to enjoy keeping the kitchen picked up. She organized the books and catalogs and magazines into several crates she had found in the unused chicken house. She kept Beth’s mail piled neatly on her desk whether Beth opened it or not.

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