Calico Horses and the Patchwork Trail (46 page)

“Well…” Shannon hesitated. How could she explain something that she wasn’t even sure about? She wished Carrie would hurry up and figure it all out. “She’s still working on it. We have all these clues and we’re trying to put it all together.”

“So do you think learning about the clues could actually be the mission?”

Shannon frowned. “Huh, how?”

“I mean, usually kids just go about their days riding bikes, playing with toys, and things like that. Here you are trying to figure out things like how you can help people be kinder to animals, and you’re only ten. That’s something even people
my
age don’t usually think about.”

But we haven’t actually achieved anything yet, thought Shannon. What did he mean? She would have to ask Carrie. She waved goodbye to Mr. Anderson, promising to keep in touch, and turned back. The gulls were circling over a bag of chips someone had spilled and she smiled at their celebration. A teenaged girl was screaming as a boy carried her over his shoulder toward the ocean. She was beating him on the back and Shannon laughed as she saw him throw her into a wave. She stopped to watch some people her grandmother’s age tossing horseshoes. She giggled as she heard one of the men holler, “No, no—that doesn’t count!”

School would soon begin and another kid would be sitting beside her on the bus. Her heart did a little skip as she thought of starting the year without her best friend. How would it ever be the same without Carrie? No, it would never ever be the way it was before and she would have to learn to deal with this change. But hadn’t she already been doing this all summer? Months had passed and Carrie was busy learning about art and horses while Shannon was sewing quilts and making new friends. Shannon sighed, thinking of all the summers she had spent with Carrie. Now they were hundreds of miles apart and about to start school without each other for the first time. Surely they would learn new things and meet new people, she thought, kicking a pebble. But they had something special that went beyond friendship…they shared a mission. It was then that she realized that it really was a secret. What could it be?

She stopped and picked up a shell and held it to her ear. She closed her eyes and listened the way she had been taught by her father. “It holds the secrets to the universe,” Dad had said to her, winking. The wind whistled softly and she let her mind drift as she dropped down onto the warm sand. She began daydreaming and a smiling baby came to her mind and behind it she saw a tiny golden foal. The breeze began blowing and the wind seemed to be playing a familiar song in the little shell. Shannon watched as the daydream faded and the faint sounds of the wind seemed to be speaking softly to her. “We are one,” it said.

Chapter 67

After filling the water bucket Milla stood staring at Sue Preston’s newest member in the barn. She was still feeling a bit dizzy about the day’s events; her mind seemed fuzzy as if stuck in a dream. How was she supposed to continue working around the stable, pretending as if nothing had happened? Her stomach fluttered just thinking about the people who had arrived earlier looking for a place to board their horse. Their horse, she thought—how will I ever be able to think of the little palomino as
their
horse? She had been dreaming for months about adopting the foal she had rescued, but that day would never come…not now. Some lucky kid named Allen would call Hope his, while Milla continued to care for her. Allen seemed okay, but he was younger and didn’t know too much about horses. At least he wasn’t changing her name; that would have been unbearable. Milla wiped away the tears as she patted Hope. “You’ve had a long day, girl, haven’t you? That was a long van ride but you’re home now.”

She looked up to see her dad’s jeep pulling into the driveway. Devon waved to Sue as Milla patted the other horses and checked the lock on the gate one last time before getting into the jeep. She looked like she had been rolling in mud and he laughed as he wiped some dirt off of her cheek.

“What?” she asked.

“Look in the mirror.” Milla quickly glanced at her reflection and pulled her hair behind her ears.

“Oh, that,” she said. “I was cleaning horses and stalls all day. What did you expect—and by the way, I’m super-starved!”

“Me, too. Let’s go out tonight.”

“Okay.” She looked over at the clipboard sitting between them. He let out a sigh of relief as he watched his daughter wave goodbye to the little palomino. He had been dreading her reaction, but she seemed to be handling it well…for now, at least.

“Aunt Sue got a new boarder today. Did you know anything about this?” she asked.

“She called and told me about it earlier. I’m sorry about this, Mil, but I really think it’ll all work out. Sue says the family seems nice and was excited to know that you were the one who originally rescued her.”

She stared out the window, thinking of the boy and how gentle he was with the foal…his foal. He was kind of impressed when she told him about the rescue and even took photos of her standing beside Hope to show his big sister. Thinking back on it, Aunt Sue had tried to warn her several times over the past few days, but Milla hadn’t picked up any of the hints. I guess it could have been worse, she thought; Hope could have been adopted by people who lived far away. At least she would be able to watch over her as she grew, and maybe Allen would turn out to be a nice boy. In fact, now that she thought of it, at least she would have someone close to her age to talk to. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Devon watched as Milla flipped through the pages. “Not many applications, Dad,” she said, shaking her head. “There needs to be more people than this.”

“Yep,” he smiled. He marveled at the change in his daughter. She was starting to take an interest in his work and they had been talking about ways in which she could help find homes for the horses at the BLM center. He whistled a tune, thinking of how much easier it was to talk with his daughter now that he had learned her language. Even her drama was becoming easier for him to cope with.

Milla pulled out her backpack and showed her father the collection of artwork she had accumulated during the last week of camp. He watched the road and nodded without paying much attention. They came to a stoplight and her father glanced over, listening to his daughter chatting away. One of the paintings caught his attention and he pointed to it. “What’s this one?” he asked.

“Oh, that’s my calico painting,” she said. “I think Mrs. Burke wanted to keep it, but it reminded me of Grandma so I told her she couldn’t have it.”

It reminded Devon of a quilt. The mountains were painted like patches of fabric with stitches and all. The horses grazing in the foreground seemed to blend into the mountains as their soft edges met in washes of color. “This is beautiful, Milla,” he said. The car behind him honked when the light turned green. He smiled and waved to the driver, who scowled as he slowly pulled away.

“Do you like it, Dad, really? It’s not like anything else I’ve ever done. See how all of my other paintings are more realistic?”

Devon hardly heard what she was saying; he was thinking about her artwork and how much it reminded him of his mother. He thought back to the stories she had told of the Calico Mountains. In one simple painting Milla had captured something special and he knew without a doubt his mother would agree. It was magical.

They showered and dressed and headed to Reno, where they enjoyed a fancy meal followed by a bit of school shopping. Milla was amazed that her father didn’t complain once as she tried on lots of shoes. He even helped her choose some outfits. They drove home singing along with the radio, her father belting out loudly and off key as usual. They dumped the packages onto the kitchen table and Milla went to brush her teeth and put on her PJs. The moon was shining brightly and in the distance a coyote was crying and a little band of horses huddled closer together. Milla switched off her light and waited in the darkness, listening for those familiar footsteps. She heard the sound of trashcans being jostled in the front of the house and the back door being shut and locked. He finally came and kissed her goodnight and she sank into her covers thinking about her special evening with her father. It had been a fun night and Milla was so happy she couldn’t stop smiling. She thought back to her dad looking at skirts and leotards and she buried her head laughing into her pillow. Soon school would begin and with it the end of summer. The calendar may say summer ended in late September but every kid knew it was officially over when the school bell rang. But this season was different, Milla thought; it had truly brought her the unexpected. A new friend named Carrie, a new Aunt named Sue, and a deeper love for her dad. She closed her eyes and held her pillow closer as she hugged every thought of her father and fell asleep.

The morning sun slowly crept across the room, touching each drawing and painting scattered on Milla’s walls. She opened her eyes, not quite awake, and saw what appeared to be a glow around the photo of her grandmother, pulsing like a heartbeat. She yawned, breaking the spell of the moment, and the glow disappeared. She blinked and looked at the photo again. Could it be? She pushed back the covers, walked over to the purple suede frame, picked it up and carried it back to her bed, sitting there utterly perplexed. Surrounding her grandmother’s smiling face was a frame made of patches of calico fabric. She held it close, thinking it might change back to purple suede, and went to show her father, bumping into him in the hall.

“I was just coming to find you,” he said. “What the heck were you doing in my room last night? Why would you do something like this?” He grabbed Milla’s hand and pulled her toward his room. Everywhere she looked were squares of calico fabric. Hanging on the lampshade, dangling from a mirror, and even sticking out of her father’s boots. “Oh, wow! This is unreal!” Devon realized instantly that he had been wrong and Milla knew nothing about the calico squares that stormed his room. They looked at one another in astonishment. Milla held up the photo of her grandma. “Look,” she said, “I thought maybe you did this.”

Devon examined the frame, shaking his head. The squares had been sewn together and quilted. He felt the fullness of the batting and ran his fingers along the stitching. “Of course I didn’t do it! Who put these things here and what does it have to do with us? Why would your grandma’s photo be framed in a patchwork quilt? And how did anyone get into our house without me hearing them?”

“It’s just like the ones at the B&B,” Milla said. “Only they never had quilted frames appear.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked. “Wait. I need coffee. I definitely need strong coffee.” Milla ran to pick up the phone and just as she heard Carrie’s voice, her father let out a scream.

“AHHHHH!”

“What was that?” Carrie asked.

“My dad’s freakin’ out, and so am I,” Milla said.

“Why, what’s the matter?”

The girls listened as Devon banged cabinets, yelled at the top of his lungs. “Where did these things come from? It’s like patches of fabric have invaded us. They’re in the refrigerator, for gosh sakes!”

“Um, let’s just say I am definitely a part of the mission,” Milla said.

“Why, did you get a message in a dream or meditation?”

“Message, yes. Dream, no. I’ll tell you when I see you; I gotta go calm my dad down.”

“Okay, don’t forget to ask him about going to the rodeo this weekend.”

“Yeah, okay, but there’s a bull in our kitchen right now, so I gotta go.”

Chapter 68

Lollapalooza Labor Day Rodeo - Saturday, August 31, 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM - Saddlecrest Fairgrounds, NV - Steer Wrestling - Saddle Bronc Riding - Team Roping - Bareback Riding and More.

Anne Burke slid the newspaper across to her husband, Walt, and sighed. “I begged them to add a note about the foals needing adoption but it’s not in the ad.”

“Well, you know these organizations, Anne—if they mention you then they have to put everyone else in, too. Do you know how many people are selling horse supplies and merchandise at this event?” he said, getting up to pour himself more coffee.

“But we’re different. Our team is a non-profit group trying to find homes for horses and burros.”

“Come on, Anne, it’s our day off. Can we not talk about this right now?” Anne nodded and looked out the window to watch Candy and Roxie playfully nipping each other. Two little foals were stretching their necks under the fence trying to nibble on some weeds. Forget about them, she thought—how? My entire life is dedicated to finding them homes.

“Listen, I’ve been thinking and I’ve decided it’s time we took a break from all of this,” Walt announced.

“What are you talking about? I can’t take a break; foals come in every week and I just launched a new fall schedule for the camp.”

“Yes, dear, I know all about that. But guess what? All of this won’t matter in the least if you’re not healthy enough to continue doing it.”

“But…”

“Hold on,” Walt said, raising his hand. “I’m talking about this winter when your camp is closed.” He retrieved an envelope that he had hidden in a drawer and, smiling, handed it to Anne. “Happy Anniversary, sweetheart. I’ve been dying to give you this for weeks.”

She laughed and shook her head, “But our anniversary isn’t until December.”

“I want you to have something to look forward to,” he said, leaning back in his seat.