No Time for Horses (14 page)

I scrolled on down to the bulleted
list of facts. I had to be sixteen. Check. I was sixteen and a
half. I’d have rights and responsibilities most teens didn’t. Okay,
I could handle that. Oops, the very next thing was that I needed a
job to show I could support myself. I had talked to Rocky about
one, and she’d hire me part-time now at Shamrock Stable with
full-time hours in the summer. I needed somewhere to live. I didn’t
have a place lined up, and I was pretty sure that most judges would
frown on me living with Tom. He seemed to be a good guy, but I
didn’t want a relationship with him, at least not a serious
one.

“
What do you think?” I asked
Robin.

“
You’ve got a lot of work to
do to pull this together.” Robin rolled back and forth in her
swivel chair. “I wonder if my folks would agree to let you stay
with us. You could have Felicia’s room. She’s in Pullman most of
the year. And by the time she gets back for the summer, you’d have
an apartment of your own.”

“
It might be a little tricky
for them.” The bell rang and I logged off. “Most adults think teens
that have been together for two years like me and Jack are having a
wild time.

“
You mean you’re not?” Robin
pasted an innocent look on her face. “What a shock.”

“
Very funny.” I elbowed her
in the ribs on the way out the door. “No way. I don’t care what my
mother told Ingrid. There’s no way I’m ready to have a baby of my
own. I want a house of my own first and a puppy.”

“
And a kitten and a horse,”
Robin finished. “Come on. We have to hurry or we’ll be late and
Weaver won’t allow us a future.”

“
Maybe if we didn’t have one,
we wouldn’t have to face the dreaded Monday morning
write.”

“
Don’t get your hopes up,
Vicky.”

* * * *

Tuesday, November 26th, 4:30 p.m.

I curled up in my favorite chair in Ingrid’s
office, sipping a soda. She wore a lavender pantsuit today. I
wondered what would happen if I offered to take her shopping and
update her wardrobe. She crossed to the big center table. She sat
down, organizing pens and a pad of paper. I smiled at her. “So,
where do you want to start?”

“Oh, how about a recap of your week? Then,
you can share what’s on your mind.”

“What update?” I asked. “Let’s see. I took
the kids to daycare a bunch of times, had nice chats with Mr. Diaz,
the kindergarten teacher, whenever they were forgotten in his room,
and called you when my internship nearly got loused up last
Friday.”

“Sounds like I still need to work on that
parenting plan with your folks.” Ingrid made a few notes. “Anything
else I should bring up?”

“Yes,” I said. “I want to get a job that pays
me. How can I when I have to take care of the kids all the time? I
thought you were going to talk to Mom and Rick about it.”

“I have it on my list, Vicky. What else do
you want me to discuss with them?”

“Teen emancipation,” I said. “I’ve been doing
some research, and I understand that I don’t have to wait until I’m
eighteen to be free. I can walk right now.”

“It’s not quite that easy.” Ingrid tapped a
pen on the table. “You need to be able to show the court that you
can take care of yourself. You need a job, a place to live, a way
to buy clothes and food, and a plan to finish school. Do you have
all those things?”

“Not yet. First, I need to stop being the
household drudge. If I can’t get out of my mom’s fireplace, how can
I work for anyone else?”

“Fair enough,” Ingrid said. “So, tomorrow
I’ll talk to your parents about you getting a part-time job. What
do you have in mind?”

“Shamrock Stable,” I said. “I’m going to be a
horse trainer, and Rocky said she’d like to hire me now. I don’t
have my license yet, but Jack will drive me until I do.”

Chapter
Fourteen

Wednesday, November 27th, 1:00 p.m.

Since it was the day before Thanksgiving, we
escaped from school early. The clouds had rolled in and it was
raining, a usual Washington downpour. The windshield wipers slapped
along with the country song Jack had on the radio. He drove me to
the elementary school, but there was no way he could ferry the four
kids to the counselor or daycare without car seats in his
truck.

Since I had the morning off from delivery
duty, nobody had fought the good fight with Lance and he didn’t
have his coat. I peeled out of my letterman’s jacket, actually it
was Jack’s, and wrapped it around him while we waited for the bus.
“Do you know how silly you look, Lancelot?”

“I gotta ‘member my coat because I’m a big
kid. Mr. Diaz said.”

“That’s right,” I told my younger
half-brother.

The bus stopped, and we piled on. I dug the
fare out of my pocket, mentally adding up the cost. I’d get it back
from Mom because I’d ask her for it in front of Ingrid. In fact,
I’d ask for bus passes for all of us. The story was that we
couldn’t afford for me to sign up for Driver’s Ed this semester. It
wasn’t like I could take her old S.U.V. to go get the kids.

When we arrived at the counselor’s office, I
settled the kids in the waiting room. The receptionist provided
them with cookies and juice. “Can they stay here while my boyfriend
drives me to the daycare to get Chrissy?” I asked. “I don’t know
what else to do with them.”

“No, I’m not babysitting them when you’re
walking in the rain because you’re a kid too.” The receptionist
picked up the receiver and pushed buttons. “Dr. O’Hara, Vicky is
here with the older children. Can one of her parents go pick up the
baby at daycare today? It’s pouring out there, and she shouldn’t
push the stroller through that nasty weather. At least one of them
will get sick.”

She listened to the answer then hung up. “Dr.
O’Hara feels that adults should be able to look out windows and
check the weather. She’s sending your stepdad for Chrissy right
now.”

“Oh my Gawd! She’s so amazing.” I grinned at
the receptionist. “If I had a grandmother, I’d want her to be just
like Ingrid.”

“You do have a grandma somewhere.” The
receptionist made a note. “I’ll mention to Dr. O’Hara that she
should ask your mother about your extended family. At sixteen, you
need to make connections with your biological father’s relatives
for health reasons, if not for emotional ones.”

The bell jangled on the door and Jack dashed
inside. “Hey, Vick. Don’t we need to go get Chrissy?”

“Not now,” I said. “Dr. O’Hara handled
it.”

“Okay, then Robin called. She wants to know
when we’re picking her up for your riding lesson. Are you
ready?”

“Mom will freak if you leave us here.” Kevin
came over and handed Jack one of the cookies. “She says we come
first, and your silly horse stuff isn’t important.”

“Mr. Diaz says that Vicky needs to take care
of herself first so she can take care of us,” Linda reminded him.
“She should go ride. We can be good, and you’re big enough to watch
us, Kev. You’re almost eleven.”

“He’s the man.” Jack agreed and crunched into
the cookie. “What do you think, Kevin? If you can’t handle it, Vick
and I will stay here. I’ll call Robin and tell her to cancel the
lesson.”

“If you stay, Mom and Dad will totally lose
it,” Cathy said. “They don’t like you ‘cuz you don’t let them treat
Vicky bad.”

Lance nodded, then trotted over and passed me
my jacket. “You go, Vick.”

“That’s right.” The receptionist threw in her
two cents worth. “You go, guys. I’ll help Kevin out if he needs me.
I don’t mind doing that, but I’m not babysitting.”

With all of them in cahoots, it was an easy
choice to make. I headed for the barn with Jack. On the way to get
Robin, we had time to stop for lunch at our favorite hamburger
place. Oh yeah, I had so much to be thankful for this year, more
than I’d ever thought possible. And I’d also have an opportunity to
talk to Rocky about working part-time as a barn manager.
Yippee!

* * * *

Wednesday, November 27th, 7:00 p.m.

We’d dropped Robin back at home before Jack
drove me to my house. It meant we could have some much needed alone
time. I pulled out my phone and checked my calendar. “Okay, so
Rocky and I talked about my hours. I’m caught up on internship. She
and Dr. Danvers had a discussion about my working part-time, and
it’s a go.”

“Makes sense to me,” Jack said. “Danvers told
my class that an internship can lead to a full-time job if you take
it seriously. How many hours are you going to work a week?”

“Ten to twenty, starting this weekend. Rocky
says she’ll pay me a bonus for each horse I train, and since she
has eight youngsters that need to be ready for next summer, it’ll
mean major bucks. I had to promise to wear a safety vest and
leather gloves, as well as my helmet.”

“I’m glad she’s making you practice what she
always calls, ‘good safety.’ Young horses can do stupid
things.”

“I know. I know,” I said. “They want to run
first, look second and think last.”

“That’s right.” Jack chuckled, then said,
“Felicia’s all excited about shopping with you and Robin on Friday.
She’s lined up my mom’s car. If you need me, you can always
call.”

“That’s a major sacrifice,” I teased. “I know
you’re looking forward to having serious game time with Nitro since
the doctor released you. We’ll be fine. Besides, how can I shop for
you if you’re there?”

“Now you know the real truth why I want to
tag along.” He parked in front of my house and leaned in to kiss
me.

I always trembled inside when he touched me.
I threaded my hands in his night-dark hair and pulled his head even
closer. His lips were soft on mine. Several kisses later, I slid
out of his arms. “I have to go.”

“I don’t want you to ever go.” He traced my
mouth with his thumb. “Do you know how I feel about you?”

“The same way I love you.” I arched up to
kiss him again, a quick, light touch. “We’ve got a plan,
right?”

“Yeah.” He smoothed my hair. “High school,
college, and our own training barn in six years.”

“That’s right.” One last kiss and I was out
of his pickup. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to go further than
kisses. I was human, and I knew he was too. I just didn’t want to
start having babies before I had a career to support them. And like
I’d told Ingrid, Jack got me. He understood who I was and what I
wanted, and he shared that dream.

Inside, I heard voices, and I headed for the
kitchen. I found my mother and Darby cleaning up. There was no sign
of the kids and that meant they had to be playing in their rooms.
They weren’t hanging out in the family room watching TV. Mom
glanced at me as I came in the door. “Where have you been?”

“It’s Wednesday,” I said. “Riding lesson,
remember?”

“I don’t appreciate you leaving your brothers
and sisters with a stranger.”

“Oh, here we go again.” I shifted my sports
bag. “You were just down the hall. Dr. O’Hara’s receptionist said
it was all right, and the kids were being great.”

Darby held up a hand before Mom could really
start ranting and raving. “This doesn’t concern me so I’m going to
my room. I have the late shift tomorrow, and your mom invited me
for the holiday dinner. I’ll be happy to help fix it.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “Night, Darby.”

Mom barely waited until the other woman was
out of the room. “You had no business refusing to pick up
Chrissy.”

“Hello, do you even listen to your own
shrink? Did you actually want me to bring Chrissy seven blocks in
the rain so she was soaking wet by the time we got there? She’d
have been sick by tomorrow. Do you even care?” I put down my bag.
Obviously, we were going to have another one of our big arguments.
“Are you her mother? Or have you been replaced by a pod person?
It’s not the kid’s fault that Rick threw the screaming
heebie-jeebies when he had to get his own daughter. And it’s not
mine.”

“I never said it was.” Another glare before
she subsided against the counter. “I don’t know how to talk to you
anymore, Vicky. You keep acting like I’m the enemy. I’m not.”

“Okay, so now we’re going to have the ‘poor
you’ routine. It gets old, Mommie dear. The only things I have are
school, the horses, and Jack. You’ve been trying to take all of
them away for the past six months.”

“I need a partner.” Mom dropped the dishcloth
in the sink. “I know all of this is hard on you, but how do you
think I feel? My husband left me because I didn’t want another
baby.”

“Whoa.” I made a ‘T’ with my hands. “Too much
information. I don’t want to know about that.
You
married
Rick. Not me. Your relationship is between the two of you. He
already cut me off six months ago. It took a while for me to figure
out that I don’t have a father. Never did, never will. It’s not my
fault.”

“I didn’t say it was.” A tear streaked down
her cheek. “Now, Ingrid says I have to tell you about your
biological father so you can reach out to his family. She’s taking
you away from us.”

“Don’t go there! This started way before you
lied to her.”

“I didn’t lie to her.”

“You told her that I was Chrissy’s
mother.”

“She assumed it, and I didn’t have time to
straighten things out before you threw a major teenage fit.”

“Bull. She’d been thinking it for weeks
before she suggested I switch schools. How stupid do you think I
am?” I took a deep breath and then lifted my chin. “You drove me
out of this family when you and Rick decided I was your servant.
I’m trying to connect with the kids so they see me as their older
sister, but it’s not working. They keep seeing me as their parent,
and it cuts deep when they call me ‘Mama Vicky’. They may not know
they have a mother and father, but
I
do.”