she’s dating a guy down at Penn.” Jack looked hard at Gloria. “Gabbie really got ticked?”
“Royally pissed,” observed Gloria.
“Phil, no disrespect intended, but have you noticed your daughter can get a little headstrong and opinionated from time to time? Not to mention fly off the handle?”
“So I have noticed, Jack, so I have noticed.”
Jack glanced at the sky. “I better go after her. There’s only an hour or so’s light left. If she’s not through those woods quickly, it could be a pain finding her.”
Without further word, he put heels to John Adams, heading toward Williams Avenue. Phil began to laugh, and Gloria said, “What?”
“Just I think I like that guy.”
Gloria said, “Me too.”
“Hey, look there.” Phil pointed.
Glancing over to where the boys were still playing, Gloria said, “What?”
Phil chuckled. “Just that Patrick made a hell of a throw to second to get the runner. Kid’s got quite an arm.”
Gloria smiled at Phil’s proud-father act. “Well, let us commence with the victuals, sir. It’s the bottom of the ninth and Mighty Casey’s at bat and, win or lose, we’re about to have some hungry boys descend upon us.”
Phil laughed and put some hot dogs on the fire.
3
Gabbie rode past the shack. Above the door a neatly painted sign proclaimed
Doyle’s Appliance Repair.
She urged My Dandelion up over the dirt curb and past the shack. She knew that a few feet into the woods she would be on the corner of Aggie Grant’s property. She had never entered this way, but had ridden nearby with Jack a few times. She roughly knew where the path that ran toher own farm was, and from there how to get to the Laudermilch farm. Besides, she didn’t want to chance meeting Jack by riding through town, and hacking My Dandelion back to Laudermilch’s place was giving her time to think.
Gabbie’s anger was fading, being rapidly replaced by a sense of loss. She’d never been this jealous in her life and the strange hollow pain in her stomach was something alien to her. Her only other serious relationship had ended badly, but even then she had felt outrage at being lied to rather than this terrible emptiness. Her cheeks were burning and her eyes seemed to tear without reason. She felt miserable. How could he? she asked herself. Easy, she answered. The little redheaded bitch was a knockout, big breasts without being chunky and legs that took a week to get to the ground. Tears gathered in Gabbie’s eyes and she descended into a thoroughly black despair.
Abruptly Gabbie became aware of an odd plopping sound and knew that one of My Dandelion’s shoes had worked loose. Before she could rein in, the horse faltered and her walking rhythm shifted. She was limping.
Gabbie was instantly off the horse, inspecting the left front hoof. A bent horseshoe dangled by one nail. Gabbie swore as she pulled it free from the hoof. Holding it up, she saw that the clench on two of the nails had pulled through the hoof, working the shoe loose. My Dandelion had then stepped on the back of the flopping shoe with her left rear hoof, ripping it away. Ignoring the smear of mud My Dandelion’s leg had left on the brocade of the dress, Gabbie inspected the hoof. There was one big crack where one of the nails had twisted away, and several small holes where the nails had pulled through. Gabbie swore again and considered the likelihood of a bruise. If the crack didn’t go too deep, it could be cross-filed or held together with a metal staple. Otherwise it would continue to split up to the coronet. “Ah, damn!” shouted Gabbie in frustration. “This is one shitty day, world. Thank you very much.”
She held the shoe in her right hand and grabbed thereins with her left. She’d have to lead the animal, for to ride her on this rocky path was to risk further damage to the hoof. She looked back and was relieved to see the horse was not favoring her left front leg. At least there was no sign of damage at this
“Royally pissed,” observed Gloria.
“Phil, no disrespect intended, but have you noticed your daughter can get a little headstrong and opinionated from time to time? Not to mention fly off the handle?”
“So I have noticed, Jack, so I have noticed.”
Jack glanced at the sky. “I better go after her. There’s only an hour or so’s light left. If she’s not through those woods quickly, it could be a pain finding her.”
Without further word, he put heels to John Adams, heading toward Williams Avenue. Phil began to laugh, and Gloria said, “What?”
“Just I think I like that guy.”
Gloria said, “Me too.”
“Hey, look there.” Phil pointed.
Glancing over to where the boys were still playing, Gloria said, “What?”
Phil chuckled. “Just that Patrick made a hell of a throw to second to get the runner. Kid’s got quite an arm.”
Gloria smiled at Phil’s proud-father act. “Well, let us commence with the victuals, sir. It’s the bottom of the ninth and Mighty Casey’s at bat and, win or lose, we’re about to have some hungry boys descend upon us.”
Phil laughed and put some hot dogs on the fire.
3
Gabbie rode past the shack. Above the door a neatly painted sign proclaimed
Doyle’s Appliance Repair.
She urged My Dandelion up over the dirt curb and past the shack. She knew that a few feet into the woods she would be on the corner of Aggie Grant’s property. She had never entered this way, but had ridden nearby with Jack a few times. She roughly knew where the path that ran toher own farm was, and from there how to get to the Laudermilch farm. Besides, she didn’t want to chance meeting Jack by riding through town, and hacking My Dandelion back to Laudermilch’s place was giving her time to think.
Gabbie’s anger was fading, being rapidly replaced by a sense of loss. She’d never been this jealous in her life and the strange hollow pain in her stomach was something alien to her. Her only other serious relationship had ended badly, but even then she had felt outrage at being lied to rather than this terrible emptiness. Her cheeks were burning and her eyes seemed to tear without reason. She felt miserable. How could he? she asked herself. Easy, she answered. The little redheaded bitch was a knockout, big breasts without being chunky and legs that took a week to get to the ground. Tears gathered in Gabbie’s eyes and she descended into a thoroughly black despair.
Abruptly Gabbie became aware of an odd plopping sound and knew that one of My Dandelion’s shoes had worked loose. Before she could rein in, the horse faltered and her walking rhythm shifted. She was limping.
Gabbie was instantly off the horse, inspecting the left front hoof. A bent horseshoe dangled by one nail. Gabbie swore as she pulled it free from the hoof. Holding it up, she saw that the clench on two of the nails had pulled through the hoof, working the shoe loose. My Dandelion had then stepped on the back of the flopping shoe with her left rear hoof, ripping it away. Ignoring the smear of mud My Dandelion’s leg had left on the brocade of the dress, Gabbie inspected the hoof. There was one big crack where one of the nails had twisted away, and several small holes where the nails had pulled through. Gabbie swore again and considered the likelihood of a bruise. If the crack didn’t go too deep, it could be cross-filed or held together with a metal staple. Otherwise it would continue to split up to the coronet. “Ah, damn!” shouted Gabbie in frustration. “This is one shitty day, world. Thank you very much.”
She held the shoe in her right hand and grabbed thereins with her left. She’d have to lead the animal, for to ride her on this rocky path was to risk further damage to the hoof. She looked back and was relieved to see the horse was not favoring her left front leg. At least there was no sign of damage at this
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