The Trail Home by Bonnie Bryant

Author:Bonnie Bryant
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781497653863
Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween

TWELVE

There was a pleasant feeling of normalcy around Pine Hollow the next morning. Carole worked industriously at the computer, stopping occasionally to answer the phone, switch horse and pony assignments, or solve a problem.

By midmorning, she’d made a list of horses for the farrier to check on Monday, she’d set up another computer file, she’d answered half an hour’s worth of questions from a potential boarder, and she’d successfully avoided any further conversations with Ben Marlow. A morning well spent, she teased herself.

Callie and Emily were working together again that morning. Carole had helped them by carrying PC’s tack to his stall and had then stopped to check on Fez, who did not seem one iota better. Nor did he seem any worse, and that had to be considered good news.

Carole could hear them working together outside her window. Denise McCaskill was helping them as well, taking the lead rope. Now that Mrs. Forester had satisfied herself that it really was safe and that the people at Pine Hollow—including her daughter—knew what they were doing, she was off the hook as general supervisor of all things therapeutic and was spending the morning at the beauty parlor.

The sounds from Pine Hollow’s mini–therapeutic riding center were positively giddy, even if it was clear that they didn’t mean a lot of progress was being made.

“Hey, this is neat,” said Callie. “You’ve trained this old boy to verbal commands, haven’t you? I can just say ’left’ or ’right’ and he does it without any other aids.”

“Yep,” Emily said. “And if we were working to strengthen your vocal cords, that would be a good exercise for you. But …”

Callie laughed. It was a happy and relaxed sound. “Left … Right … Left … Right,” she intoned.

“You’re making me dizzy!” Denise complained.

“Straight,” commanded Callie. “There, is that better?”

“Much, unless that includes walking into the fence.”

“I think I know what PC stands for,” said Callie. “Perfectly Compliant?”

“No, I think it’s Probably Crazy,” Denise offered. Emily, who claimed to have named her horse, also claimed that either she didn’t know what PC stood for or that whatever it stood for changed frequently.

“Nope, you’re both wrong. For now it’s Properly Chastised, which is what he deserves to be for dumping you the other day.”

“He didn’t mean to,” Callie said. “I’m sure it was my fault, and it doesn’t matter anyway because it’s hardly a problem at all. Now, go left, PC, left.”

“Use your leg as much as you can,” said Emily. “Good. That’s right—I mean correct.”

It pleased Carole to hear the light and happy chatter while they worked. They might be joking, but she knew they were also working hard. Hard work could be fun, especially when it had to do with horses.

Ben was showing the beginner class how to groom a pony. Under Max’s instruction, he was introducing them to currycombs, dandy brushes, hoof picks, rags, and sponges. It was a complicated business for the beginners, and teaching them was a lot of work.

The phone rang again, and Carole turned her attention back to the job at hand.

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