The Challenge(10)

He was finishing the slice of pie with vanilla ice cream when Peter and his friends walked past their table. Peter stopped to talk to Juliet again, and she introduced her father.

“Hi, I’m Peter. We’re just going up to a lake not far from my house. I’ll give her a really quiet horse.” He turned to Juliet then, looking hopeful. “Can you come?”

Her father answered for her. “I’ll give your mom a call tonight,” he said pleasantly. “It’s nice of you to invite her. It’s been a little dull around here for Juliet with only me for entertainment.”

“Do you play video games?” Peter asked her.

“Sometimes,” she said cautiously. She wasn’t crazy about them. That was a boy thing. She played chess masterfully though, and could beat her father now, even though he had taught her. They’d been playing every night since she arrived. She had missed doing things like that with him.

“See you tomorrow,” he said, looking happy, and turned back to Tom. “Nice to meet you, sir,” he said politely, and hurried off to join his friends, who were waiting for him in the doorway. Tom noticed a truck pick them up a few minutes later, with a woman driving. That reassured him too. Clearly, they kept a close eye on their son, as he did with his daughter. They all seemed young and innocent.

“They look like nice kids,” Tom commented as they left the restaurant and got in his truck. He called Peter’s mother when they got home. Anne answered the phone herself, and she sounded young and busy. All four boys were in her kitchen making s’mores and eating ice cream.

Tom explained why he was calling. “Your son very kindly invited my daughter to ride to a lake with him and some of his friends tomorrow, to have a picnic.”

“That’s true,” she said cheerfully. “As far as I know, there are four of them going. I know all the boys well, they’re like my own kids. They’re always together and they’re a pretty tame group. It’s what Peter said, a picnic lunch and a swim at the lake. We don’t let them ride any of our livelier horses, although they’re all good riders. Your daughter can ride?”

“She can,” he assured her. That had concerned her. She didn’t want to take a risk with a girl who couldn’t ride falling off one of their horses, getting hurt, and her parents suing them. She didn’t know Juliet or her parents.

“Peter tells me you just moved here a few months ago. You’ll have to come out and visit us sometime. Fishtail can be a little lonely before you meet some folks.” She sounded friendly and warm.

“I’ve been enjoying just exploring and getting to know the place, and recovering from New York.”

She laughed. “That’s a big change for you! Well, I’ll look forward to meeting Juliet tomorrow. I’ll be here when they take off. They’ll only be gone a few hours. She’s welcome to hang around when they get back, if she isn’t sick of the boys by then.” She sounded easygoing and pleasant. He gave Juliet his seal of approval when he hung up, and she beat him at chess again that night. She looked happy to be joining the others for the ride to the lake and the picnic the next day. Tom was impressed that he would be meeting the Pollocks. He’d been hearing about them since he’d moved to Fishtail. They were practically considered royalty in the area, and thanks to Juliet, he would be meeting them now. Kids always had a way of meeting up, no matter who they were or where they were from. Juliet wasn’t impressed. But her father was.





Chapter 3


Tom Marshall got directions at the local gas station about how to get to the Pollock ranch. It wasn’t complicated. “Just stay on the highway out of town, look for the stone posts and the sign, take a right into their driveway and keep driving. You’ll get there eventually,” the attendant said. Tom had noticed the sign before, but hadn’t paid much attention to it, since he had no reason to go there. You couldn’t see the Pollocks’ barns or pastures or the main house from the road.

The driveway seemed to go on for several miles and then he found himself in the middle of a compound with enormous immaculate barns around him, signs to the breeding barns, private roads going in several directions, and a large rambling stone house in a separate area with tall, old trees around it. As he approached, he saw a beautiful big pool behind the house, and several small outbuildings. It appeared to be a huge operation. There was an administration building where both Anne and Pitt had their offices.

Anne was standing on the front steps of the house herding the four boys when Tom pulled up, and he and Juliet got out of the truck.

“You’re just in time,” she said, smiling at Tom, as Peter introduced Juliet to his friends. They were all talking at once. Peter and Matt were carrying the saddlebags with the lunch Anne had packed for them. She was busy talking to Juliet’s father, and reassuring him again.

“The boys know the area like their back pocket, and the lake isn’t far. It’s just a few miles up the mountain in the foothills, and it’s an easy trail.”

Tom and Anne followed the boys to the barn then so they could mount up, and as they got on their horses, Pitt came out of the barn and greeted Tom warmly.

“Happy to meet you. You’ll have to come to a barbecue some Sunday night.” He looked like he was in a hurry and left them a few minutes later, after asking Anne to come to his office once the kids left. Tom watched Juliet get up on a sleepy-looking horse who was as docile as Peter had promised.