Galloping Gold by Terri Farley

Jonah said humbly. “Just remember, you get what you pay for.”
    â€œDad’s paying you with pie,” Ann pointed out.
    â€œThat’ll do,” Jonah said. “For that I gave him my all-time best tips. What’s more, I’m putting Darby on the job, too.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” she asked.
    â€œAnn’s your best friend. You go home and dream something up that’ll keep her horse so busy, he won’t have the energy to run off patients.”
    â€œRamona calls ’em clients ,” Ed corrected, “since she’s not a doctor and all.”
    â€œWhatever,” Jonah said, and a few steps later hewhispered something to Ed.
    Darby only caught a few syllables, but a quick glance at Ann convinced Darby that her friend had heard something, too.
    Before they could confer, Jonah said, in a louder voice, “Now, about that pie.”
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    Since Jonah declared that they’d be driving home immediately after dessert, the girls regretfully skipped the apple pie and went to Ann’s bedroom to try to figure out what Jonah had whispered to Ed.
    Ann closed her bedroom door and leaned against it. Her arms were crossed as she said, “I for sure heard the name George.”
    â€œAll I caught was something about your dad changing his mind,” Darby said.
    â€œAnd I don’t know any George, do you?”
    â€œNo,” Darby said slowly. “But changing his mind…that could be good, right? Because your dad was thinking about, you know, getting Sugarfoot off the ranch.”
    â€œWho knows what he’s thinking now? He’s confused,” Ann said. “Mom and I know we can fix Sugarfoot, but Dad keeps switching around.”
    Ann turned on her radio and they both clapped when they heard the dramatic voice of Petra the pet psychic. The woman was channeling a parrot that plucked feathers from his wings each time there was a knock at the door.
    And then there was a knock, on Ann’s bedroom door.
    â€œIt’s me,” Patrick said.
    â€œCome in,” Ann said.
    He did, smelling of peppermint.
    â€œWe didn’t mean to ditch you,” Darby said, biting her lip and hoping they hadn’t hurt Patrick’s feelings.
    â€œI would have left when you did, but I wanted a slab of that pie.”
    The girls laughed when Patrick rubbed his stomach the same way Jonah had.
    â€œSo, what are you doing?”
    â€œListening to the radio…,” Ann said, sidestepping the question.
    â€œYou don’t believe in that charlatan.” Patrick looked aghast as the caller thanked Petra.
    â€œNo,” Ann said.
    â€œBut those peppermints were her idea,” Darby told him.
    With strained patience, Patrick pushed his glasses up his nose.
    â€œI thought you might have been eavesdropping on your father”—he nodded at Ann—“and Jonah. I heard what they said, but I’m in the dark over its meaning.”
    Ann pounced on him. “What did you hear?”
    â€œMy hearing is quite good, you know. Cade may see in the dark like a cat, but I catch word reverberations, like a bat.”
    Darby counted to ten, letting Patrick enjoy hisrhyme before she repeated, “Patrick, what did you hear?”
    â€œWell, Ed said nothing of significance, but Jonah said, ‘If you change your mind, just let me know. I’ll see if I can’t get George to call off his wife.’”
    Darby looked at Ann.
    â€œHmm.” Her friend’s expression turned thoughtful. If Darby hadn’t known Ann well, she’d think her friend was doing nothing more than staring into her bedroom mirror as she bullied her springy red hair into a ponytail holder.
    But Darby would bet Ann was going over all the names on the island, trying to solve the “George” puzzle.
    â€œDo you know a George?” Darby asked Patrick.
    â€œOne,” he said.
    â€œWho!?” both girls demanded.
    â€œGeorge Yoshida at