Page 11 (1/2)
"Yes, but--" Maureen wasn’t allowed to finish Karen flew across the kitchen at breakneck speed and threw her arms around her mother’s waist with such ferocity that it nearly toppled Maureen
"Oh, Mo lessons! Do I get to pick which horse I get to ride? Where is this place? How did you find out about it?"
"Settle doeetheart One question at a tihter had been more animated She asked a dozen questions at least that hly sick of the subject
Karen went to bed without an argu at the crack of dawn
"Moed to raise one apathetic eyelid to find her daughter standing next to her mattress, fully dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt Her hair was combed and her teeth brushed The newspaper was tucked in one hand, and her other sported a stea cup of coffee
"What…time…is…it?" Maureen didn’t lift her head from the pillow, and the question ca
"Five-thirty"
Maureen groaned "Honey, even the horses are still asleep"
"But they won’t be by the time we arrive Come on, Mom, it’s a beautiful day Rise and shine" The twelve-year-old set the frightfully thick newspaper and coffee on the nightstand Before Maureen had ti thehave you been up?" Maureen wanted to know
"Since three-thirty I couldn’t sleep," Karen explained, tossing her arms into the air "I tried and tried, but every ti to ride, and sleeping was iht" Maureen could see she was fighting a losing battle, although she refused to show up on Thom Nichols’s back step before the sun rose "Giveposition and pulled the hair away from her face
"I can cook us breakfast What would you like?"
Maureen shook her head "Just coffee for now, thanks"
That Karen et her out of bed, dressed, and fed before seven on a Sundaywas little short of a miracle as far as Maureen was concerned The last ti Karen
By sheer force of will she was able to hold her daughter off until nine, but it demanded every trick she had up the sleeve ofthe detailed directions Thoiven her, Maureen easily found her way to Nichols’s Riding Stables The sprawling adobe building was set back from the corral, which housed five or six horses
Karen was out of the car and racing toward the corral as fast as her legs would carry her by the time Maureen had parked Before she could soof the fence and had folded her arms over a post as if she were born to be a buckaroo By the tiht up with her, Karen was rooted to the spot, a look of sheer bliss over her face
"Mom, look Aren’t they the most beautiful creatures you’ve ever seen?"
"Sweetheart, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be standing up there like that"
"I’m fine People do this in the movies all the time"
"Can I help you?" a deep, resonant male voice asked from behind her
Maureen turned around, prepared to apologize for the way Karen had instantly made herself at home, but the words never made it to her lips Before her stood the embodie girl He was Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood all rolled into one hunk of a man He stood at least six inches taller than Maureen, and his hat added an additional four or five to that His face was as tanned as soft leather andpair of blue eyes Maureen had even seen
"I’e to stop staring Her business acumen rescued her, and she stepped forward and offered him her hand "I believe we talked yesterday"
"Tholove in order to shake hands with her His palms were covered with thick calluses "You’re the divorcée, right?"
"I didn’t tell you that," Maureen said defensively
"No, I don’t suppose you did," he said "No offense meant"
"How’d you know?"
He rehtly say Ityou said"
"What are the horses’ na down from the corral
"First off, they aren’t just horses The black one out there is Midnight, and he’s a gelding The spotted one’s a mare named Thunder The one in the corner’s a roan These are all ter later as part of the class"
"How long have you been operating Nichols’s Riding Stables?" Maureen asked
"A year or so now"
"Dad" A girl raced from inside the barn and stopped abruptly when she saw her father with Karen and Maureen
Thohter, Paula"
"Hello, Paula," Maureen said
"Hi" Karen raised her right hand in greeting Froirl, one would think Thoirl alive