Mystery Rider (4 page)

They approached a corner, and Colt called back, “We should see them up ahead, and we might need to slow down so we don't spook them.”

Kate tensed as the corner approached. After the long, sweeping curve, it took a couple of minutes to hit the straightaway on the far side. The light from the moon had increased, and the trees cast long, spiky shadows. Kate could still see the road all the way to the next corner, some distance ahead.

Not a thing moved along the entire stretch. The horse and rider had disappeared like a wisp of smoke on the wind.

Chapter Four

All four bikes skidded to a stop at nearly the same time, spraying gravel from beneath their tires.

Kate balanced one foot on the ground and stared ahead, then peered over her shoulder the way they'd come. “What's going on? Where'd they go?”

Colt pushed his bike toward them from his position in the lead, shaking his head. “Weird.”

Tori shivered. “No, it's not weird; it's spooky. I say we go home.”

Melissa laughed. “You're a bunch of babies if you give up right when it's getting interesting.”

Melissa's mocking words made Kate mad. She sucked in a long breath and let it out slowly before replying. “I don't think Tori is being a baby at all, and Colt is right. It is weird. The horse and rider were ahead of us. We all saw them.” She narrowed her eyes. “Do
you
know where they went?”

Melissa gripped the handlebars so tight, her knuckles whitened. “Why should I? Are you accusing me of something, Kate?” She pushed her bike a couple of inches toward Kate. “You've had it in for me since the day I came to help you paint the fence. If you don't want me here, say so. I'll go home, and I won't bug you again.”

Kate stared at Melissa, hardly able to believe what she'd heard.
She
had it in for Melissa? It had been the other way around from the time they'd met. Anger brimmed. More than anything right now, Kate wanted to throw Melissa's words back at her and say exactly what she thought.

But at that instant, her mother's comment returned:
So it's okay to get even with someone if she wasn't kind to you in the past?

Kate's tense muscles relaxed. “I don't want you to go home, Melissa, and I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I thought you were only hanging around us because you're bored.” She didn't want to admit how much she'd distrusted Melissa's motives. “I mean, it's not like we were ever friends before I let you use Capri in the horse show. You don't owe me anything. I did it because I wanted to.”

“Right. And not because you felt sorry for me because of my mother.” Melissa almost growled the words.

Colt pushed in closer, his bike tire bumping into Melissa's and sidetracking her attention. “So what if we did? What's wrong with caring about how someone feels, especially if she's hurting?”

Melissa's eyes widened. “I don't want your pity.”

Tori gave a slow nod. “Yeah, I get that. I thought Kate was only being nice to me at first because I'm different.”

Melissa scowled. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“You know, I'm not white like you guys. I don't fit in all the time. Kids think I'm a foreigner because my dad is from Mexico, even though I was born here.” Tori shrugged. “Sometimes that hurts, and when anyone goes out of their way to be nice to me, I don't always trust them. Until they prove they really want to know me and be friends.” She lifted her head and smiled. “Like Kate did for you and me.”

Melissa's grip on her handlebars loosened, and her body sagged. “Right. I didn't know you felt that way, Tori.” She raised her chin, and tears glistened in her eyes. “Did I make you feel bad because you're different?”

Tori hesitated. “Yeah. Kind of. Sometimes. But you weren't mean like some of the kids. You mostly just ignored me.”

A tear trickled down Melissa's cheek. “I'm sorry. I didn't realize …”

Warmth rushed over Kate. She set her bike down and reached to touch Melissa's arm. She suddenly got it. All this time, Melissa had been hurting, thinking they'd only been feeling sorry for her and not wanting to be friends. “Hey. What happened to your other friends? Why aren't you hanging out with them? Not that we don't want you, but I'm curious.”

Melissa swiped the back of her hand across her eyes. “They dumped me when they found out we aren't rich. Mom kept it hidden for a long time, but now the bill collectors are coming, and I don't have money to throw around anymore. I guess most of my friends didn't like me for myself, huh?” Her smile wavered. “But seriously, I don't want to barge in on you guys.”

Kate exchanged glances with Tori and Colt, then told Melissa, “Silly. You aren't barging in. We made you the head of our parade committee, remember? We wouldn't have done that if we didn't want you around. Right, guys?”

Tori and Colt grinned, and Colt patted Melissa on the shoulder. “Now that all the girlie, emotional stuff is settled, how about we decide what we're going to do about this mystery horse?”

Late the next morning, Tori, Colt, and Melissa sat around the table on the Ferrises' outdoor patio. Kate set down a tray of pink lemonade and four glasses filled with ice, then slipped into the empty seat by Tori. “Help yourselves.”

Colt removed the piece of straw from between his teeth and tossed it on the grass, then reached for the pitcher. “Thanks. So what do we do now?”

“I've been doing some checking on the parade rules,” Melissa reported. “Want to hear them?”

“Yeah!” the other three chorused at once.

Melissa sobered. “It's going to cost all of us. There's an entry fee.”

Tori groaned. “I didn't think of that. Great. How much?”

“A whopping two dollars and fifty cents each! Think we can handle it?” Melissa laughed.

Tori gaped at her, then chuckled. “You had me worried for a minute. I thought we'd have to do some kind of fund-raiser or something. Whew! That's great!”

“Yeah.” Kate nodded. “Is that it?”

“We have to fill out a form and tell them if we're entering as individuals or a group, but since we're representing the barn and it would only be ten dollars for the whole group, I figured that's the way to go, right?” Melissa cocked her head.

“For sure,” Colt said. “What else?”

“We give them a description of our entry for the parade announcer, show up at the starting point ahead of time, and stay in line during the parade. It says we can throw candy along the sidewalk in front of the crowd if we want to, or just wave and smile, and that's it. Sounds simple enough.”

Kate leaned back in her chair. “Awesome. I figured we'd have to have a designated pooper-scooper to go behind the horses.”

“I read somewhere that some towns make horses wear diapers,” Tori added. “Can you imagine? That makes a pooper-scooper sound pretty good.”

Colt hooted with laughter. “No way. You're making that up.”

“Am not. Mom found it on the Internet and told me about it when I said we wanted to be in the parade. She was worried about having to make a diaper big enough to fit Mr. Gray, Kate.” Her eyes twinkled.

Kate gagged. “Nasty. Hopefully they won't change the rules for this parade.”

Melissa giggled. “Any of our horses would probably turn into bucking broncos if you tried to strap a diaper under their tails. I'd sure like to see a picture of someone who actually did it!”

Colt sobered. “So, that's all we need to do? Come up with ten bucks, fill out the application, and show up on time?”

Melissa nodded. “But remember, we still need some kind of banner with the barn name on it. Either draped behind the saddle with the words on both sides or on a pole that we carry like a flag.”

Tori winced. “I think I need both hands on the reins. It's going to be scary enough riding Mr. Gray in a parade without trying to hang on to a flagpole. No thanks.”

“I agree,” Colt announced. “I've ridden in one parade, and my horse did great, but not every horse does. We don't want any accidents.”

Tori paled. “Maybe I should stay home. Or I can be the pooper-scooper if they say we need one.”

Kate took a sip of her lemonade, then set down the glass. “No way. Mr. Gray is an old hand. The previous owner said he'd been ridden in several parades.”

“O-kay …” Tori didn't look convinced. “But I'll still volunteer for cleanup duty if we need it.”

Melissa hugged her. “You'll do fine, Tori. We should get back to planning the banner, right? Any ideas?”

They spent another thirty minutes tossing around ideas for material and lettering. Finally Colt heaved to his feet. “Sorry, girls, but this is definitely not guy stuff. I think I'll go hang out with Pete and read to him or something.”

Kate grinned. “You mean you aren't an accomplished seamstress? Sheesh. And here I thought you'd be doing all the work once we figured out the details.” She plopped her elbows on the glass tabletop. “I think we've brainstormed enough. You got any ideas for what we should do now about the Mystery Rider and her horse?”

Colt thudded back in his seat. “Whew. Glad that's over and we can move on. Not that I don't want to ride in the parade, but girl's stuff is, well, girl's stuff, if you know what I'm sayin'.”

Tori poked her elbow into his side. “And you're out­numbered, so you might want to be careful what you say.”

He groaned. “Yes, boss.”

She glanced around the small circle. “Anybody got any ideas?”

“I was thinking we need to go up the road and look for horseshoe prints leaving the road and going into the woods,” Kate suggested. “They couldn't have vanished during the night. It's not like they're ghosts or anything.”

Tori shivered. “I sure hope not.”

Melissa laughed, but her tone was kind instead of her usual mocking laugh. “If it is a ghost, we'll protect you, Tori.” She sobered and faced Kate. “I think that's a really good idea. I'm not sure the horse is shod, but if it went off the road and onto any dirt, we might be able to find tracks. When do you guys want to try?”

Colt and Kate both jumped to their feet. “Right now,” they echoed.

Kate motioned toward the house. “I'll check with Mom and make sure it's okay. Since it's daylight and not far away, I don't think she'll mind.”

She rushed into the house, excitement battling with nervous apprehension in her heart. They still hadn't settled the question of what they'd do if they ever found the horse and rider.

Chapter Five

Kate and her friends parked their bikes against two trees right around the corner where they'd last glimpsed the Mystery Rider in the distance. “Are you sure this is a good idea, leaving our bikes here?” Kate asked no one in particular.

“Yep,” Colt said casually. “No one is going to steal four bikes at once, and they'll be in sight all the way up the road. If we find where the horse turned off, we can come back and get them. But it's going to be hard to see any prints if we're riding. We need to walk and keep our eyes on the ground.”

“Okay, I guess that's smart.” Kate edged to the side of the road. “So do we split up? Two of us on each side?”

Melissa crinkled her nose. “I didn't think about that. I'm not sure why I assumed they'd turn off this direction, but you're right, Kate. They could as easily have crossed the road and disappeared on the other side.”

“Right.” Colt beckoned to Tori. “You want to come with me, and Kate and Melissa can check this edge?”

Kate threw him a questioning look. He knew Tori and she were best friends, and that until last night, she'd been struggling with trusting Melissa. Was this some kind of test, or didn't he want to walk with Melissa? Either way, she couldn't very well say no. They'd already made Melissa feel like she wasn't wanted recently, and Kate couldn't do that again. “Sure. Come on, Melissa. You might be right, and we'll be the ones to find where they left the road.”

Melissa grinned at Tori. “Or sprouted wings and flew over the treetops.”

Tori smacked Melissa's arm. “We didn't see any wings on that horse, so I don't think that's gonna happen.”

Melissa smirked. “I was thinking of something a little spookier.”

“Like I'll be scared. Dead people don't come back to life anyway.” Tori exhaled dramatically. “Come on, Colt. Let's go check out the other side of the road and see if we can solve this mystery.”

“What's with her?” Melissa retorted. “I was only joking. Besides, my mom said reincarnation might be true. She's been checking out different religions lately and telling me some of what she's learned.”

Kate's stomach lurched. She hadn't expected that they would talk about stuff like that. What should she say—that Melissa's mom didn't know what she was talking about and was listening to people who didn't know God? That might offend Melissa. But Kate couldn't lie and pretend she didn't care or didn't have an opinion, when she agreed with Tori.

As they started along the edge of the road, Kate was thankful they needed to keep their eyes on the ground. “She was only telling you what she believes.”

“Yeah, well, how is it any better than what anyone else believes?” Melissa stuffed her hands in her jeans pockets and scanned the hard-packed dirt.

“She and I, and Colt too, believe that the Bible tells us what's true. It says that once a person dies, they don't come back. They either go to heaven or hell. Except Jesus did, and there have been people raised from the dead, but I mean it's not normal.”

“So what … you guys are religious nuts? I always knew there was something different about you.” Melissa's tone had drifted back to its old snideness, but somehow Kate sensed curiosity as well.

“No, we're Christians, that's all.”

“So, religious nuts. Kooks,” Melissa said in a sly voice, as if testing to see if Kate still wanted her around.

Suddenly Kate got it. All this time, she'd been thinking about herself and her friends, worried that Melissa was out to get them, when God had sent Melissa to them so they could tell her about Him. Wow. That was cool! Kate couldn't help it. She laughed.

Melissa jerked to a stop and glared. “So now you're laughing at me? Maybe I'll head home.”

Kate tried to control her giggling. “No. I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. I admit, it does seem funny that you'd want to hang out with kids you think are kooks, but that's not it. I was laughing at myself for being so stupid.”

Melissa swung around, her mouth pressed in a firm line. “Explain.”

“All this time I've been thinking you hated us and you were mean. Well, maybe you did hate us a little at first, but I don't think you've ever intentionally been mean.”

Melissa crossed her arms over her chest. “What exactly are you saying?”

Kate kicked at a pinecone. “You said your mom is searching and checking out different religions. I'm wondering if maybe you're searching for what makes the three of us happy. You said you noticed we're different. We didn't cut you off when we found out you don't have money, 'cause it doesn't matter to us. We like people for who they are and how they act, not for the stuff they have.” She hunched a shoulder. “And I guess part of that is how we've been raised. But all three of us know Jesus personally—like, He's our friend—so I think it goes past how we were raised, if that makes any sense.”

Melissa dropped her arms to her sides. “Not even a tiny bit. I figured you'd start yelling at me when I said you were kooks. That you'd tell me to get lost and that you don't want me to hang around anymore. I don't get you, Kate Ferris. Not at all.”

Kate looped her hand around Melissa's arm. “Maybe you will if you hang around long enough. Now let's see if we can find those hoofprints. Colt and Tori are way ahead of us, and they haven't found a thing yet, so I think we're going to get lucky soon!”

Melissa at first froze at Kate's touch but then smiled. “Sounds good to me. Let's go.”

They scanned the roadside for several yards with no results. The brush and trees grew thicker in this section, making it harder to see the ground. Kate and Melissa had covered another short section when Melissa stopped abruptly and grabbed Kate's hand. “Look.” She pointed toward the dense brush.

Kate stared but didn't see anything unusual. “What? There's nothing there.”

Melissa released her hold on Kate and gestured. “You're not looking high enough. See that low-hanging branch beyond the brush?”

Kate concentrated. “Yeah. And?”

“There's a small piece of black fabric caught on the end.”

“Wow! You've got great eyes to spot that.”

Melissa ducked her head. “My dad always used to say I could find anything that was lost. We'd better holler at Tori and Colt so they don't get too far ahead.”

“Right. I'll get them. You keep your eyes on that branch.” Kate jogged up the road until she wasn't far from her two friends. “Hey, guys. We think Melissa found something. Unless you've found tracks, you might want to come check this out.”

Colt and Tori ran across the gravel road, and Colt reached Kate first. “What's up? You find hoofprints?”

“No.” Kate pointed. “Maybe something better. The brush was too close to the road, so we didn't see any tracks. Come on, I'll show you.”

They raced one another back to the spot where Melissa waited, then stopped. Tori shaded her eyes against the summer sun peeking through the branches. “What are we looking for?”

Melissa explained and started to walk toward the branch, but Colt held up a hand. “Wait. Let's make sure there's no poison oak or bramble bushes before we plow through this thicket. Better yet, is there an easier way around to where that branch is hanging?” He searched the ground around the clump of brush and grunted. “This way. There's a narrow path past this tangle of weeds. It goes around the big, thick stuff and comes out on the other side, not far from that tree.” He led the way, and the girls followed; then they halted under the tree.

Tori squinted at the branch hanging about four or five feet above their heads. “So you think the Mystery Rider went under here and snagged her hood?”

Kate smiled at Melissa. “Yep. And we wouldn't have found it if it hadn't been for Melissa.”

Colt extended his fist and gave Melissa a fist bump. “Way to go. Now what?”

Kate froze. She'd been so excited about their find, she hadn't thought any further. “I'm not sure. Maybe see if we can find tracks and follow them?”

Tori glanced into the woods that darkened as they grew denser. “Um … really?”

Melissa touched Tori's shoulder. “Yeah. But it's okay if you don't want to, Tori. We'll understand.”

Tori's eyes widened. “Thanks, but if you guys are going, I am too. We're in this together, right?”

Kate grinned. “Right. You're my best friend, and I'm not leaving you behind. I think Melissa's right. I say we follow the path, if there is one, and see where it leads. We'll all watch each other's backs. Agreed, Colt?”

He stared up at the branch with the piece of cloth caught on the tip. “I'm in.” He waggled his brows. “Let's go see what we can scare up. I'm ready for an adventure.”