Nickel-Bred by Patricia Gilkerson

them both with apples and carrots
    Dad came out and watched me ride, shaking his
head at how I had gotten an extra horse. Mom and Sam spent lots of
time with Miss Julie, partly to keep an eye on her after our ordeal
and partly because they were getting more and more friendly. Miss
Julie spent the time reading or dozing on her porch with Willie
Nelson purring in her lap.
    The day Addie could ride, I had a dentist
appointment and Addie had a swimming class, so we agreed to meet at
the barn after supper. Mom made hamburger casserole and when we had
finished and cleaned up, she drove me out to Miss Julie’s. We got
out of the car and there was Sam, with a big smile on his face. He
hugged Mom and kissed her forehead. Then he hugged me, too. They
walked up to the porch swing and sat there like two lovebirds, Mom
gently patting his cut lip.
    Miss Julie was in her wicker rocking chair
with Willie Nelson on her lap and a big glass of iced tea on the
table next to her. She put down her book and looked at me. “Piper,
do you think you have enough horses now?”
    “Yes, ma’am, I think I do,” I said, grinning.
I turned and walked to the barn to find the tack we would need.
    Addie showed up a few minutes later.
    “Okay. Let’s do this!”
    Some horses were hard to catch when you
wanted to ride, but not ours. Addie walked right up to Nickel and
took hold of his halter. I threw a lead rope over Dotty’s neck, and
then slipped the attached halter onto her head. We led them into
the barn and brushed them both, Addie with Nickel and me with
Dotty.
    “I think I need a mounting block,” said
Addie.
    We pulled a wooden crate over by the barn
door for her to use. I held Nickel’s head while she pulled herself
up and threw her leg over his back. She settled into the saddle,
took the reins and walked carefully around the corral. I opened the
gate, turned and got on Dotty.
    We clicked to our horses and walked past the
old house with Mom, Sam, Miss Julie and Willie Nelson watching.
    “Have fun,” said Sam.
    “Be careful,” said Mom.
    “Don’t get lost,” said Miss Julie.
    “Give me a break!” I said. “Let’s go, Addie,
or they will give us advice till it’s too dark to see!”
    “Where to?” she wanted to know.
    “Down the road,” I said, leading the way on
the pony.
    Waving goodbye to the adults, Dotty and I
walked down the lane and toward the woods, heading west. Addie
followed until we could ride next to each other. We rode side by
side past Dotty’s old shed where we hid her from Ugly Jake. We rode
till the sun got low in the sky and turned the trees to
shadows.
    “You know what, Piper?”
    “What, Addie?”
    “We can always ride together now, whenever we
want to.”
    “Of course we can, that was the point of
getting Nickel. Hey, Adds? You surprised me when you got right on
Nickel to go get help.”
    “Why? I just needed a reason to get on him.
I’m only afraid when I start thinking and worrying, but there
wasn’t time. I knew I could ride him.”
    “Adds, do I boss you around too much?”
    Addie was quiet for a minute, considering the
question. She turned in the saddle so she could look me in the
eyes.
    “The truth, Pipe?”
    “Always the truth,” I said.
    “Truth is, sometimes, yeah. Sometimes you are
too bossy. But that’s who you are and you’re my best friend. And I
don’t have to listen.”
    “Okay, then.”
    “Okay.”
    So my best friend and I rode together to the
best sound in the world, the clip-clop of horses’ hoofs riding into
the sunset.
     

 
    About the Author

    Patricia Gilkerson spent a horse-loving
childhood growing up in Kentucky, and finally got her first horse
as an adult. She began writing books for children at night after
teaching all day. Today Patricia lives on a hobby farm in Minnesota
with her husband Jim, and the current count of three horses. Her
two children are grown with children and pets of their own, so
there are frequently grandchildren and granddogs running around