Secondhand Horses (3 page)

“No, it wasn’t going to be that. Your mom would make sure you knew I was no angel. In fact, Sunny, they used to call me—”

Dark blond Esther ran up to the truck, pulling the edge of her shirt down over her jeans. “Hi, Mr. Martin. Hi, Sunny. Carnival at night! By ourselves, right? Can’t wait!” Her hazel eyes were beaming.

Her mother approached the truck to meet Uncle Dave—to make sure he didn’t look like a criminal, Esther whispered to Sunny.

At Vee’s house, her mother and stepdad, Bill, waved from the front step as black-haired Vee barreled toward them, stuffing folded money into the front pocket of her jeans. She was smiling a smile that only showed up for rocko-socko events. Her almond eyes, so deep brown, sparkled. “Hi, Mr. Martin. Hi, Squaders! Aren’t you glad we all live so close? Just one more stop for Aneta. I want to ride the swings.”

“I want to do the Death Drop!” Sunny bounced after buckling her seat belt. She turned to the girls in the backseat, who were also buckling themselves in.

“You won’t get Aneta on that, for sure,” Esther responded seriously. “I think I’ll have to keep her company so she doesn’t get snatched by someone while you two are on the wild rides.”

Trust Esther not to admit
she
didn’t want to ride a wild ride.

As the truck turned into Aneta’s gated community, Sunny told Uncle Dave the gate code. He punched it in, hit the P
OUND
sign, and the gate swung inward. She saw him take in each large house, many of which had its own pool. “Fancy,” was all Uncle Dave said.

“Aneta’s mom is a lawyer,” Sunny said as they pulled into the driveway. “She is going to give you the third degree when you’re driving her daughter anywhere.”

“She met me at that barbecue after the Great Cat Caper, remember? Besides, my honest face will automatically convince her.” He contorted that face into a monstrous expression at the same moment a cool, professional voice sounded next to his left ear.

“Mr. Martin? You are driving the girls to the carnival and back to your ranch tonight?”

Startled, he turned, his face still twisted. Aneta’s mom jumped back, equally surprised. Dave’s face fell into the crinkly rat-a-tat laughing face Sunny and her family loved. Aneta’s mother’s face, on the other hand, transformed into the no-nonsense lawyer face the girls had seen in their very first adventure. Sunny wasn’t a criminal, so it didn’t scare her. Okay, so maybe it scared her a little. Who she really felt sorry for was Uncle Dave. He had looked like a dope in front of pretty Margo Jasper.

“—and so I’m at Uncle Dave’s for two weeks to practice finishing things!” Sunny took a bite out of her hot dog and then inserted a wad of blue cotton candy. Uncle Dave’s surprise carnival money was a nice treat. The girls sat at a picnic table just inside the chain-link fence to the carnival.

Aneta nearly choked on her own cotton candy. “Your mouth and lips are
blue
, Sunny. Are mine?”

After swallowing, Sunny nodded, and stuck out her blue tongue.

True to his word, Uncle Dave had paid for their tickets and gotten “lost” as he promised so they wouldn’t be treated like little kids. “You won’t see me or hear me,” he said. “I hear a candy apple calling my name. If you want to watch someone walk off with two armfuls of stuffed animals, come find me. Plus,”—he patted his phone—“I need to talk with people about getting the ranch going. I’m set until it’s time to take you to the ranch.”

Esther pushed her hair behind her ears. She pulled a wispy strand of pink cotton candy off the puffy mass and laid it on her extended tongue. The girls watched it melt and turn her tongue and lips a neon pink. “If it had been me forgetting things, I would have been grounded for life,” she said around the melting pile. It came out sounding like “whee forwetting hings, rounded—
swallow
—for life.” She cocked her head at Sunny. “Although usually they ground me from the computer. That’s a killer for me.” Esther was the computer whiz of the group and figured anything could be found on the Internet.

Leaping to her feet, Sunny fluffed her curly hair until every hair was spinning on its own. “Everybody done? Let’s go find fun!” She began to spin until Esther grabbed one arm as it rotated past and held fast. She was short, but she was solid. Sunny stopped.

“Okay!” Esther said as Sunny staggered a bit. Pointing Sunny’s arm forward, she said, “That’s the direction we go!”

“What’s in that direction?” Aneta wanted to know. Of the four of them, she was the one who didn’t like diving into adventure. She’d rather have the adventure explained first. If she couldn’t have that, she waited until the other three were waiting for her then would smile nervously and join in.

“We’ll find your fun!” Vee said, leading the way. “We won’t stop until we find it!”

Esther hurried up next to the long-legged Vee. Sunny shook her head and slung an arm around Aneta’s shoulders. Those two. Always wanting to be first. Each of them thought they were the smartest S.A.V.E. Squad girl. Sunny knew they were both smarter than she was. Aneta was, too. For a moment, Sunny’s delight in the night dimmed. Were they smart because they finished stuff? And if they were, did that mean she was
dumb
?

E
sther and Vee were waiting at a corner next to a sign pointing right: P
ETTING
Z
OO
. The two girls danced around the sign, sweeping their arms toward it like game-show girls.

“This is for us!” Vee said.

“Perfect for the S.A.V.E. Squad!” Esther agreed with a happy bounce.

“Petting zoo!” Aneta squealed.

Sunny snapped her fingers and spun. “Let’s go!”

A few more steps and they saw the large pen surrounded by little children. Inside waddled a goose that made Esther laugh with his disgust for some things he picked up, bobbled around in his beak, and then spit out.

“Do you see what I see?” Vee was frowning.

“Yeah,” Sunny said. “The animals are dirty, and the pen needs new sawdust.”

Aneta pointed out a brown-and-white pygmy goat and a small boy nearby. “Look what that boy is doing. He will get bit if he keeps doing that.” Nearby, a large reddish pig with floppy ears seemed to snuffle in agreement.

A sandy-haired boy about C.P.’s size—C.P. was a neighbor boy who was always eating and who had helped the girls out before—was jabbing a cotton-candy paper cone at the goat. Whenever the goat went to grab it, the boy would laugh and jerk it away. The goat stamped its foot, rising up on back legs silently, as though shadowboxing with the pest.

“C.P. would never do that.” Esther placed her hands on her hips.

Sunny glanced at Vee and Aneta, who nodded and made faces. When Esther planted her hands—or worse—her fists on her hips, you’d better watch out.

A horse, standing in the middle of the enclosure, was a perfect miniature of a horse in Western movies—a dapple gray, a showy silver tone.

“Oh, look, Esther! A miniature horse.” Sunny tried to distract her.

The little horse swished its tail and waggled its head to dislodge a pesky fly. Sunny’s brows slammed together. That horse should have a flowing full mane and tail. His coat should shine. It would if it were brushed, but the tangled mane and tail held wisps of hay and small clods of dirt. The horse was quietly chewing a mouthful of hay from a meager pile on the ground near a half-empty bucket of gunky water. The horse’s gaze flickered over to Sunny, bobbing its head in a friendly way.

It was too late, though, to sidetrack Esther. “Hey, kid!” Esther marched over to the boy. “Don’t do that. It’s mean.”

“Mean!” Aneta echoed. She was right behind Esther, and, as the tallest Squader, towered over the boy. About the only thing that would make Aneta leap in without thinking was someone being mean to animals. That’s what made her such a good S.A.V.E. Squader.

“You’re not the boss of me!” The boy poked the goat again.

“I’ll distract the goat, and the kid will leave.” Sunny grabbed an oversized red bandanna tied to a rail on the metal corral. She would flap the bandanna like a matador with his cape. The mini horse raised its head and neighed, the cutest miniature neigh Sunny had ever heard.

“Aww! You’re just the cutest.” Sunny dropped the red kerchief on the ground as she slipped through the fence to pet the little horse. She stroked the small velvety nose and whispered, “I wish you could live in my backyard. Hey, why not my room?”

Large brown eyes, fringed with heavy eyelashes, looked up at her. The horse ducked its head—in agreement, Sunny was sure—then stamped its foot right on Sunny’s.

“Yow!” She yanked her foot out from under the mini’s. The horse hopped backward. Teetering on one foot, Sunny collided with the goat who had backed away from the annoying kid. He bumbled into the boy who, by now, had leaned half his body through the middle rail, waving the paper cone. Boy and goat heads connected with a
craaack
.

Sunny winced.
That’s going to leave a mark
. Just like her foot. Flapping her arms, still on one foot, she lost her balance and dropped into the dirty sawdust. The goose, disturbed from its food hunt, flapped its wings, rose up, and dive-bombed the nearest part of Sunny—

Her T-shirted stomach.

O
w! Help!” Sunny immediately exchanged that plea for another one: “Knock it off, goose. We’re trying to help the goat!” The goose appeared not to care, darting in and out at Sunny. “Help! Vee! Esther! SOMEBODY!”

The pig began snorting. It sounded like, well, like the big ol’ pig was
laughing
.

Vee stepped through the rails to shoo away the goose, and as she did, the goose turned its snaky neck and beak toward her. Sunny, whose howls had turned to nervous laughter, saw her friend turn around and dash for the rails, the goose in hot pursuit. Scrambling to her feet, Sunny watched as Vee rolled under the lowest rail. The girl who did not like bugs and other icky stuff was not going to be happy with what had smeared on her back.

The goose followed.

“Oh no!” This was worse. “Loose goose!” she yelled. “Look out—loose goose.”

“I don’t care!” Vee yelled back, getting up and brushing off her knees and elbows. “That goose is mean!” She reached behind her and peeled her shirt from her back. “WHAT IS WET ON MY SHIRT?”

The bandanna lay crumpled and beaten into the ground by animals and girls. Sunny bit her lip. She was supposed to get that goat away from the kid. If she hadn’t gotten distracted, none of this would have happened.

“Hey!” A rough voice at her elbow caused her to jump sideways. A man no taller than herself glared and then gestured to the corral before bending to step between the rails. A very strong smell—a horrible stench—preceded him. “What’s going on? Where’s the goose?” He glowered at Sunny like she had tucked the fowl into her back pocket. He had three teeth in the front, holes on either side of the three, and a big mole on his nose. A dirty, red-striped, long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up hung off his skinny shoulders. He spit when he talked.

Gross
.

Sunny backed up.

“Um, my friends are running after it.” She pointed at the backs of Vee, Esther, and Aneta, who were arranged in a triangle: Vee running backward in front of the goose to halt its forward flapping waddle; Aneta on one side waving her hands to keep it away from the midway rides; and Esther opposite, bending over with her hands out, biding her time to swoop in and grab the thing. Esther was bossy enough to think the goose would be okay with that. The goose was winning. The group disappeared behind a cotton-candy stand.

The creepy carnival guy began mumbling and swung his gaze to the goat, who had calmed down and stood in the middle of the corral chewing something. “Get over here!” he yelled between gritted teeth and took a step forward. The goat stopped chewing and took an equal step away. That seemed to make the creepy carnival guy madder; he lunged for the goat’s head, twisting the tiny horns. The goat struggled silently to free himself.

“Hey! Don’t do that!” Before she had time to think, Sunny yelled, pushing herself between the goat and the man. For a few body-stink, bad-breath moments, his three teeth—bared in a snarl—met the deadeye stare her brothers received when they took stuff from her room. Then he whirled and spat on the sawdust. “I’m through with these stupid animals. I’ll sell ’em all tonight for somebody’s dinner.” He disappeared into the crowd.

The pig laughed. In a piggling way.

When the miniature horse nosed Sunny from behind, she turned, scratched its nose, and frowned. “We have got to
do
something.” Quiet brown eyes blinked. “You need a nicer place to live. That guy is
mean
.”

The Squad would figure out what to do. She ducked between the rails, heading in the direction where she’d last seen them chasing the goose. Moments later she found them.

“Guys!” She slid to a stop, breathless. “You won’t believe this.”

Esther, with a triumphant smile, held the goose who acted as though it had spent its whole life relaxing in the girl’s arms. Silly goose. Esther was panting slightly. When she saw Sunny, her happy smile melted into a frown. “Sunny, if you had distracted the goat like you said, none of this would have happened.”