Abandoned (6 page)

When Lauren felt she was ready, Charity
held Trooper by the bridle and Lauren grabbed the stirrup. She took
a deep breath, stood in the stirrup, swung her leg over and plopped
down hard in the saddle. Trooper turned his head and looked at her
and Lauren was sure he was smiling at her clumsiness.

Lauren took another deep breath, trying
to calm her pounding heart. She was riding! Actually riding a
horse. And a beautiful horse at that. His long black mane and tail
accented his golden coat perfectly. She gathered the reins and
Charity let go of Trooper’s bridle. Lauren raised the reins and
shook them. Trooper didn’t move.

“Remember, you have to squeeze your
calves against his sides and say ‘walk on,’” reminded
Kjerstina.

“Walk on,” said Lauren in a small voice
and squeezed slightly. Trooper took a step forward and Lauren
grabbed for the saddle horn.

“He’ll be fine,” said Charity. “You
don’t need to hold onto the horn.”

Lauren slowly released the saddle horn.
“How do I stay on then?” she asked.

“Just stay balanced in the saddle. He’s
not going to run unless you ask him to,” said Charity.

“Okay,” Lauren breathed and sat up
straight. Trooper stepped across the field in slow, measured steps,
as if he knew it was her first ride. When they reached the end of
the pasture, Lauren laid the reins across the left side of his neck
like Charity had done. Trooper made a quick right. Then Lauren
turned him the other way.

“That’s it. Practice makes perfect,”
called Charity.

“We’re going to get Orion and Coyote
ready now,” yelled Kjerstina.

“Okay,” said Lauren and turned Trooper
toward the barn again. She wove him left and right, then said
“Whoa,” shifted her weight and pulled back on the reins. She pulled
too hard and Trooper tossed his head.

“Sorry,” said Lauren and glanced at the
barn. She was glad Charity and Kjerstina were inside and hadn’t
seen. Lauren asked Trooper to walk again, then stopped him, but
this time she used less pressure on the bit. He stopped without
tossing his head and Lauren patted him on the neck.

“You are so amazing, Trooper,” whispered
Lauren to the horse. She smiled when he turned his head slightly
and looked back at her.

His mane
is like ebony silk,
she thought as she ran her free hand
through the thick black hair.
And
he’s so gentle that I don’t feel scared at all anymore.
She
leaned forward in the saddle and kissed the top of his neck. “I
still can’t believe you’re mine. All mine and no one else’s. It’s
so weird. And so wonderful! How could Dad keep you a secret?”

Lauren turned Trooper toward the bottom
of the pasture. His hooves thudded rhythmically on the soft grass
and Lauren revelled in the sway of his body as he walked. When they
reached the fence she turned him around.

Charity and Kjerstina were riding toward
her. Their horses’ shone like satin in the sunlight. The green
field and wooden fences and trees and mountains behind were like
something from a painting. Lauren smiled at her cousins as they
approached.

“You still look like you’re in shock,”
laughed Kjerstina.

All Lauren could do was nod.

“We’re going to take the short
trail through the woods. It goes to this really cool clearing,”
said Kjerstina reining Coyote beside Trooper. “We can’t go far
because we have to be back in a couple hours for dinner, but you’ll
like it. Trooper likes it there too.”

“Yeah,” added Charity. “We took him
there a few days ago when he needed some exercise.”

“It sounds wonderful,” replied
Lauren.

And it was wonderful. They rode along
the road for a short distance, turned the horses into a gap in the
trees and walked single file down the well-worn trail. Huge trees
stretched up out of sight all around them, some with moss and ferns
hanging from their lower branches like miniature gardens high in
the air. The forest floor was brushy and wherever there was a patch
of sunlight, wild pink roses and golden salmonberries glowed in the
light. Kjerstina and Charity talked softly and sometimes Kjerstina
even sang, but the sound didn’t seem to carry far. The thick clumps
of vegetation muffled the noises. Still, between two of Kjerstina’s
songs, Lauren heard a branch break in the distance.

“There are wild animals around here,
aren’t there?” Lauren asked, suddenly remembering a story Kjerstina
told her last summer about a black bear coming into their front
yard.

“Oh yes,” replied Kjerstina. “There are
lots. Bears and wolves and moose.”

“That’s why we make so much noise,”
explained Charity. “So they hear us and run away. Most wild animals
are afraid of people.”

“Or at least that’s what we hope,” said
Kjerstina with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Then she laughed.
“Don’t look so worried, Lauren. I was just bugging you!”

“I wasn’t worried,” Lauren lied.

“Stina, don’t be so mean,” said Charity,
her voice irritated. She turned in her saddle to look back at
Lauren. “The horses can sense if a bear is near. You just have to
trust Trooper.”

“He’ll neigh if he senses a bear?” asked
Lauren hopefully.

“No, but he’ll act scared and jumpy or
maybe even try to run home. And if he points his ears and acts
interested in something, you should always pay attention.”

“And hold on tight because something’s
going to jump out at you,” added Kjerstina, then snapped her mouth
shut when both Charity and Lauren threw her black looks.

“It just means he’s checking things
out,” added Charity. “Probably just a dog or cat or the wind moving
the leaves, but it’s always good to be aware. That’s all.”

“Okay,” said Lauren and locked her eyes
onto Trooper’s ears. He seemed to be relaxed, as if he were
enjoying their outing.

“Sorry, Lauren,” added Kjerstina, her
voice subdued now. “Really, we hardly ever see any wild animals. I
wish we’d see more but they always hear us and run away before we
even know they’re there. I saw a couple of deer one day, but that’s
all.”

“It’s okay,” said Lauren, accepting her
apology. Kjerstina’s teasing could be irritating sometimes, but she
wasn’t mean. Lauren leaned forward and stroked Trooper’s neck.

“Hey look, we’re almost there,” said
Charity and asked Orion to trot. Kjerstina immediately urged Coyote
forward. Lauren straightened in the saddle. She could tell that
Trooper wanted to follow them, so she squeezed her calves against
his sides and said “trot.”

Trooper sprang forward. Lauren bounced
in the saddle as the gelding tried to catch up to the other two
horses. When she started to slip to the side, she grabbed for the
saddle horn. “Whoa,” she yelled. She wanted to pull back on the
reins but she knew she would fall if she let go of the saddle, so
she just hung on as tight as she could. Trooper slowed a little,
but didn’t stop trotting. Lauren felt herself slip a little more to
the side, then a little more.

Finally, Trooper caught up to Orion and
Coyote and they all stopped. Lauren breathed heavily as she pulled
herself straight in the saddle. “Wow,” she said to her cousins.
“That was scary.”

“Hey, you did better than I did the
first time,” said Kjerstina enthusiastically. “I fell off, but then
Coyote isn’t as steady as Trooper. When I started to slip, he
jumped sideways.” Kjerstina laughed and patted the dark brown neck.
“I’ve forgiven him though. It was a long way down, but it didn’t
hurt as bad as I thought it would.”

“Come on,” urged Charity. “We’re going
to be late getting home if we don’t hurry.” She turned Orion off
the main trail. The new trail was narrow and faint and not very
long. After a few minutes, they rode into a grassy glade surrounded
by a thick stand of brush and trees. A tiny pool of water bubbled
up from the ground in the center of the clearing and trickled off
to one side.

“Isn’t it cool?” asked Charity,
dismounting. “An underground spring pops up here. The water is warm
too.”

“Not many people know about it. We
learned about it from Mom. She discovered it when she was a kid,”
said Kjerstina.

Lauren dismounted and led Trooper toward
the tiny spring. She knelt and tentatively touched the water. The
current rising from the ground made the warm water swirl and bubble
around her hand.
It’s just like a
miniature hot tub,
thought Lauren. Trooper lowered his head
beside her and drank from the pool.

“See. He doesn’t even hesitate,” said
Kjerstina in amazement. “He’s so cool. Orion and Coyote won’t have
anything to do with the spring.” To prove her point, she tried to
ride Coyote toward the water. Coyote danced to the side and tossed
his head. Kjerstina slipped from his back and led him toward the
pool. “He’s such a big baby,” she said. “As long as I go first,
he’ll follow. He thinks that if there are any big scary monsters
hiding in that tiny pool waiting to jump out, they’ll get me first
and he can run away.”

Lauren giggled as Coyote walked gingerly
behind Kjerstina, all his attention on the tiny pool of water. “I’m
glad Trooper’s sensible.”

“Yeah, you’re lucky.”

Charity joined them, Orion’s bridle
swinging in her hand. Orion grazed at the edge of the clearing, her
head free.

“Won’t she run away?” asked Lauren,
amazed.

“No, she won’t leave the other horses.”
Charity sat on the soft herbs beside her sister and cousin. “So now
tell us, Lauren. We’ve been dying to know what’s been
happening.”

“Yeah, now that we’ve got you alone, the
questioning begins,” teased Kjerstina. “We overheard part of a
phone conversation Mom had with Uncle Alan and all we know is that
you’re running from something. It’s not the law, is it? Mom seemed
shocked.”

“No, I didn’t break the law,” said
Lauren and smiled at Kjerstina’s faked sigh of relief. “Really,
it’s not that big a deal. Someone’s been following me, that’s all.
Someone in a blue car. And he took some pictures of me.”

“What? Who’s taking pictures of you?”
asked Kjerstina, sounding genuinely confused.

“Start at the beginning,” said Charity.
“Tell us the whole story, okay?”

Lauren started with the first time she
noticed the blue car. As she told her cousins what happened, she
was surprised at how scary it sounded. Especially the part about
the man’s hands rising up and pointing the camera toward her, his
finger twitching over the button as he took her picture.

“That’s horrible! I’m so glad Sweetie
was with you. Do you have any idea who it was?” Charity asked when
Lauren finished her story.

“No.”

Charity and Kjerstina looked at each
other. Then Kjerstina spoke. “Can you keep a secret?” When Lauren
nodded, she continued, “We think Mom and Uncle Alan know who it
is.”

“What?”

“It was just something Mom said on the
phone. As if your dad guessed who was following you. I can’t
remember her exact words, but it was something like ‘Are you sure?
After all these years away? After everything that happened?’ Or
something like that.”

Ice jittered down Lauren’s spine. “I
wonder…one thing makes sense now,” she said, the words slow and
thoughtful. “Dad asked me if Sweetie knew the person. He seemed to
think it was important that Sweetie noticed Big Hat sitting there.
And maybe it was.”

“Do you think she did know who it was?”
asked Kjerstina.

Lauren sighed. “I don’t know now. She
was curious. But maybe she just saw that Big Hat was watching us or
noticed him taking our picture. Dogs are sensitive that way, right?
Maybe she felt threatened or somehow knew Big Hat was after
me.”

Silence filled the glade. Lauren trailed
her hand through the water, deep in thought.

“The thing I wonder is, if Mom and Uncle
Alan suspect they know who’s been following you…” said
Kjerstina.

“Why would they keep it a secret from
you?” finished Charity.

Lauren looked up and shook her head. “I
don’t know.” Trooper moved to stand over her and lowered his head.
Lauren reached to stroke his cheek.
Doesn’t my dad trust me? Is he in trouble? In
danger?

“We should be going home,” Charity said,
interrupting Lauren’s thoughts. “I don’t want to be late on our
first ride with Lauren. Mom won’t let us out tomorrow if we’re
late.”

“Okay, but let’s not trot,” said
Lauren.

“It’s not that hard,” replied Charity,
climbing to her feet. “You just have to grip with your knees. But
not too tight or you kind of pop up like a cork. You can stand in
the stirrups too or you can post, like we do. Here. I’ll show you.”
She slipped the bridle onto Orion’s fine head and settled into the
saddle. She urged the black mare into a trot and circled the
clearing, standing in the stirrups on every second step and sinking
back to the saddle seat in between.