Small Town Filly (Sandbar Stables Cozy Mystery Book 1) (7 page)

              "Stop! Everybody stop and stand still!" Lance's voice was calm but commanding.

              Alex halted Ginger. She twisted around in the saddle and saw that all the other horses had stopped, too, and that Lance had leaped down from Jet and was running towards the water.

              But—Sunrise! She twisted back to face the front and saw the little pinto mare trotting rapidly down the beach as though heading for home.

              "Lance! What happened?" She could not see him, since he was on the other side of the group of horses.

The peaceful ride had turned into chaos. Sunrise was trotting down the beach all alone. Jeannie was still hollering. "I told you! I told you so! Now look what happened!" To Alex's horror, Fanny took off like a shot after Sunrise.

"Fanny! Sunrise! Come back!" She started to send Ginger after the horse and the dog, but Lance's shout stopped her.

"No! Don't! If you chase her, she'll just run faster! Keep everybody here. She'll turn around in a minute."

Alex quickly steered Ginger over in front of Pearl, over to the edge of the water, and there she saw Mary Turner sitting in the wet sand at the edge of the white surf, crying, while her mother yelled and all the horses moved around nervously.

Lance was at Mary's side. "Alex," he said, "I'll take care of her. Just wait right there."

"But I've got to go catch Sunrise!" Alex cried, her voice shaking. "There are other people out on the beach–"

"Alex, listen to me. Walk Ginger across the beach towards the road. We're still a good ways from the barn. I think Sunrise will come back when she realizes the other horses are staying here and she sees Ginger. Go. Now. Mary's all right."

Alex looked from Sunrise to Mary, momentarily panicked. "Go ahead, Alex," said Lee Ellis. She looked over and saw him sitting on Swifty, holding Jet's reins. "Mary's all right. Just ride across so Sunrise can see you and she'll probably come back."

"Okay." Alex swung Ginger around and urged her away from the group, making her walk out across the sand towards the buildings.

"Sunrise! Hey, Sunrise! Come back here! Come back!"

Alex called out to her, but the little mare continued to trot down the beach with Fanny running after her. No doubt Sunrise had been startled and confused by the sudden disappearance of her rider, and like all horses, her first instinct was to run away from anything strange or frightening.

But just then, Alex got a little unexpected help. Fanny ran around in front of Sunrise and blocked her. The dog adopted a playful pose with tail up and elbows down on the sand. She barked at the horse a couple of times, ran towards her a few steps, and then went elbows-down again.

Sunrise stopped, startled, and looked at the dog. Fanny barked again and ran towards her. This time, Sunrise swung around towards the other horses and broke into a trot.

Fanny ran after her, barking some more and staying close to her heels. Just then, Ginger, who was standing with her head high and ears up, let out a loud whinny to her stablemate. One of the other horses—probably Moonrise—did the same. Sunrise answered and came trotting quickly down the beach.

              Alex moved Ginger to intercept the wayward mare, and was able to catch hold of the trailing rein and bring her to a stop. Fanny stayed close, as though she wanted to make sure her target didn't get away again.

              "Okay," Alex said, breathing a sigh of relief and guiding both horses over to Lance. "What on earth
happened?
"

              Lance stood at the edge of the surf with Mary, who was on her feet but half-covered with wet sand and still sniffling. "She fell off!" Jeannie yelled. "That horse threw her off!"

              Alex looked to Lance. "She was holding on with her heels," he said. "Once we turned around and headed for home, Sunrise finally broke into a trot. Mary bounced off into the edge of the water."

              "That crazy horse threw her!" Jeannie yelled again. "This whole place should be shut down! This is not the first time my poor little girl fallen off a horse here!"

              Lance ignored her and turned to Mary. "Okay," he said, "we've got your horse back for you. Let's get you on so we can go home."

              Mary backed away from the little pinto mare. "No! I don't want to get on again! I don't like falling off!"

              Lance bent down to Mary's level and smiled gently at her. "Tell you what," he said. "You only fell off because the horse trotted and you weren't expecting it. This time, Alex will lead your horse for you. That way, you can hold on with two hands and Alex can keep her at a walk. Okay?"

              Mary looked down the beach, and realized it was a long way back to the stables on foot. "Okay," she whispered, sniffling again.

              Lance was able to get Mary boosted up into the saddle again, and this time he gave both reins to Alex. "There you go, Mary," he said, smiling at her. "Now you can relax and enjoy your ride back."

              Mary nodded. Jeannie kept on grumbling. The other riders were quiet and kept their horses still, much to Alex's relief. Then Lance led Jet over to a low retaining wall near the buildings and stood up on it so he could slide back onto the very tall mare, and finally they were all heading back to the barn.

              Fanny brought up the rear, keeping a close watch on everyone until they were safely home.

***

As the group of riders walked their horses up the lane that led from the beach to the stables, Lance slid down from Jet and opened the gate for them. "Everybody go back inside the ring, and wait for us to help you before you get off."

All the riders did as they were asked, and in a few minutes everyone was safely back on solid ground. Lance and Alex slipped halters back on over the bridles and tied the horses to the fence posts once again.

Most of the group stood around talking about the ride and how much they'd enjoyed it, but Mary and Jeannie were already walking to the gate.

"Mrs. Turner!" Alex called, and hurried over to the two of them. "Mary, I'm so sorry you had a fall. How are you feeling now?"

"Okay," she mumbled, rubbing her hip.

"Of course she's not okay!" cried Jeannie, making a great show of brushing the last of the dried sand from her offspring. "She got thrown off into the Gulf of Mexico!"

"Mary, I'd like to make it up to you," said Alex quickly. "If you'd like to come out for a month of free lessons, I'll bet we can teach you how to not fall off again."

"You think I'd bring her out here? This whole place should be shut down! Permanently!"

Alex ignored Jeannie. "Just talk to your mother after you get home. If she'll let you come out, we'll start you out on Starfish."

Mary's face lit up at that. "Oh! You mean that pony? The real little one?"

Alex nodded.

"I'd like that," said Mary, looking much happier.

Jeannie only scowled. "Come on, Mary," she demanded. As they walked away, Mary turned and gave Alex a little wave.

The three members of the Lowe family all thanked Alex and Lance for a fine time, and Mr. Ellis patted her arm as they left. "I certainly enjoyed that," he said. "Nice horse. And I still want to buy this place. Let me know."

She grinned back at him. "I'll do that, Mr. Ellis." Then she noticed that Lisa Bell was walking around and feeding sugar cubes to all the horses, and sweet-talking and petting them.

At least somebody was happy.

"Alex?"

The timid voice came from behind her, and she quickly turned around. "Oh, Sue! I hope you enjoyed the ride."

"I did! I enjoyed it so much. And…and I thought about what you said. About maybe taking lessons on beautiful Pearl."

"Well, we'd love to have you anytime. Just let me know."

She nodded. "I'll…I'll talk to my husband and get back to you. Thank you again for today."

Alex watched her go, hoping that her awful husband, Chuck Wood, would at least allow her to come over and have a little fun riding a horse once in a while. And if he didn't, Alex could only clench one fist and look over at the marina next door where Chuck and Sue lived, and hope he was not the one who'd turned her horses loose.

Eventually, Lisa finished feeding all of the horses and saying good-bye to them, and she and Stuart Gray walked out together. "Did you all enjoy the ride?" Alex asked.

"Oh, honey, that was wonderful!" said Lisa.

"Very good time," added Gray.

"So I guess you can both see why I want so much to keep this place open," Alex said.

Both of them laughed. "But now we each want to buy it more than ever!" said Lisa. "Now that I've seen an entire mile of that gorgeous beach, I want more than ever to see a two-hundred-room hotel right here so that even more folks can enjoy it!"

"That's right," said Gray. "But a first-class little boutique hotel will fit here even better." He turned to Alex. "Thank you so much for the ride. My buyers are going to be thrilled."

"See you later!" said Lisa. "We're headed off for some sweet tea!"

With that, the two of them started walking back to their cars. Alex could only watch them go and hope her little plan hadn't just backfired in a very big way.

              With their guests gone, Lance and Alex worked together to get all of the horses put back into their proper stalls. First they moved Violet and Snowflake out of the paddock and back into the barn, and then got all of the rest of them unsaddled and their backs rubbed dry and clean.

              Alex watched Lance working. She noticed again that some things seemed to be difficult for him to do, such as lifting anything too heavy or swinging up on a horse. Yet she had seen no one who was harder working, or better with horses, than Lance Donovan. She didn't know what she would have done here without him.

              She sat down on the hay bales outside the tack room, glad for a moment to relax now that the ride was over and had gone pretty well—for the most part.

In a moment, Lance walked out of the tack room and closed the door. He gave her a brief smile. "Well, everyone survived," he said. "Sorry about the little girl falling off. I tried to help her, but she just wouldn't stopping hanging on by her heels."

              "Did Sunrise really 'throw her off,' like Jeannie said?"

              Lance snorted. "No. Of course not. As I said, the kid had her lower legs dug into the horse's sides the whole time, and when we turned around and were headed home Sunrise finally broke into a trot. That's all she did, but the girl bounced right off."

              "That's what I thought. Sunrise seemed pretty steady to me. I'm just glad Fanny was able to help bring her back! That was some display. But how would she know to do that? Do you think she's been trained for it?"

              Lance shrugged. "She may have been. But remember, she's a border collie—some of the finest herding dogs in the world. She'll have a powerful instinct to keep a herd of creatures together. Some people say they'll even herd your kids in the back yard, if you let them."

              Alex grinned. "I'll tell you one thing, we're not going on any trail rides without her!" Then she looked up at Lance, and her voice became more serious.

              "Tell me something, if you don't mind…where did you learn what you know about horses? You're as good as any professional."

              He looked away. For a moment, Alex thought he was going to walk out of the barn. Then, to her relief, he sat down on the other end of the hay bale.

              "I had an uncle who was a trainer at a show barn in Texas," he said quietly. "Saddlebreds. That's how I recognized Pearl."

              She nodded, not wanting to interrupt him.

              "I did all right with it. Liked it. Thought I'd be a professional, like he was. I especially liked starting the young horses and driving them, then getting them going under saddle. I guess I've got the patience for it." He smiled a little, looking at something far away. "A few of them went to be pretty successful at a lot of shows.

              "Anyway, things happened. I ended up joining the service. Got hurt. Couldn't ride so good anymore—at least, not good enough to school a fast-moving, high-powered show horse or risk getting on a flighty colt."

              Alex nodded again. "It's very hard to have a part of your life taken away like that. I can see that a life with horses meant a lot to you."

              He shrugged. "Plenty of people have it rough. Things could be a lot worse. Besides," he said, looking around the barn, "I thought I might fit in here. Most of these horses have a few dings on them, too, but they manage all right."

              She smiled up at him. "We're all glad you're here. I am, and these horses are, too." She paused. “So you like riding bareback.”

              "Yes." He sighed. "It's more comfortable for me without a saddle. I can sit back and stretch out my legs. That's why I like to ride Jet. She's so big and round, with such a nice jog, that it's like sitting on a big ol' cushion."

              "Well, then," said Alex, getting to her feet, "I hereby declare that at Sandbar Stables, the mare known as Jet shall be reserved for Lance Donovan from now on."

              He turned and looked at her, blinking, as though he thought she might be making some kind of joke at his expense—but then he seemed to understand, and his expression softened. "Thanks," he said. "Thanks very much."

Then he turned and walked away, leaving Alex feeling quite pleased that she'd been able to do something for him—even something as small as this.

***

              The morning after the beach ride, Alex felt more hopeful about the future of Sandbar Stables than ever. Everyone had enjoyed their time very much, the day had been beautiful, and the horses had been very well behaved.

              Three of the riders—Jonni Lowe, her cousin Bobbi Lowe, and Mary Turner—had signed up to begin riding lessons just as soon as Alex was ready to begin scheduling them. Besides getting the horses ready, she'd have to look into getting a qualified instructor out here to teach the lessons.

Lance couldn't do everything. He couldn't train the horses, take care of this place and teach riding lessons all at the same time. She'd have to talk to him about where to find a riding teacher, and how to persuade them to move out here in the middle of what was not exactly classic American horse country.

              As she walked through the barn that morning, she pictured Ginger, Pearl, Moonrise and Violet all working in the ring to teach the local people to ride. She especially liked the thought of them giving modern kids a chance to get away from their screens and cell phones for a little while and interact with the genuine magic and power of a real live horse.

              Out in the yard, Alex looked over towards the gulf, and listened to the rushing of the waves and the calling of the gulls. She could envision the other horses, like Tank, Truck, Seaweed and Sunrise, patiently carrying their riders on what would be, for many, the once-in-a-lifetime experience of riding a horse on a beautiful beach.

              She felt proud to be able to offer these things now in this modern, computerized age, just the way they'd first been offered right here close to a century ago.

              It made her feel like she had something to offer, like she belonged…and that made her feel very happy.

***

              But Alex's happiness turned to complete shock the next morning. She walked inside the barn, looking forward to another day of working with the horses in the ring to prepare them for the riding lessons, when she saw Lance walk out of one of the end stalls leading Sunrise.

              "Good morning, Lance! Good morning, Sunrise. I take it you want to ride her first this morning? Or maybe I could—she's the perfect size for me, since she's not much more than a big pony herself."

              Lance turned the mare around so that Alex could see the other side. Alex stopped, frozen in horror.

              Sunrise's chestnut-and-white pinto coat was streaked and splattered with bright blue spray paint. Even her mostly white tail had a long blue stripe in it. As she managed to step closer, Alex saw that there was actually a word painted across the horse's rump:
KNACKER'S
, it said in scrawled letters.

              Alex was speechless. She looked at the horse, and then at Lance, and then back to the horse again. "What–”

              "I found her like this about an hour ago," said Lance. "I did the feeding and let her eat."

              "But—don't we have to get that stuff off of her?" cried Alex, her voice shaking. "It's got to be toxic. It might even leave a burn!"

              "I think it's mostly on the hair," Lance said with deliberate calmness. "And in any case, we have to show it to the cops before we wash it off."

              "Maybe I should call a vet," Alex said, still hardly able to believe her eyes.

              "You can, but I don't think it's necessary. Sometimes people do spray-paint horses deliberately, like to mark them with a phone number if there's a big storm coming and the horses get loose."

              She nodded, letting his quiet voice calm her down.

              "And I've seen some folks spray-paint the word
horse
in bright orange on them if the animals have to be turned out in fields where there might be hunters."

              Alex took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll call the cops right now. And then I'll do a search on the best way to get spray paint off of a horse."

              She reached out to stroke Sunrise's defaced red-and-white coat. "We'll get you taken care of," she murmured, running her fingers over the stiff lines of paint stuck to the soft hair. "And whoever did this to you is going to pay a price."

              The small mare moved around a little nervously, but seemed well enough otherwise. Alex looked up at Lance. "Thank you for taking care of her," she said. "I'll be back very soon."