Hoofbeats on the Trail Read online

  “Really?”

  “Well, in a good way, I guess. But I don’t like all her rules. Or her Jesus stuff.”

  “She’s a Christian?”

  “Yeah. Big time.”

  “I’m a Christian too.”

  “Really.” Jeff didn’t sound pleased. He whacked the reins on the horse’s neck, and she pitched into a full canter.

  Ally thought she’d like to meet Jeff’s aunt. She sounded fascinating, to say nothing of the fact that she was of like faith. As they rumbled along, Ally prayed that she might get a chance to witness to Jeff when the time was right.

  They reached the end of the street, and Jeff pulled up Snowbird. He led the horse down into the trees to a narrow trail just wide enough for horse and rider. A moment later, they came out in the cornfield of the Matthews’s farm.

  Jeff found a line between the furrows and steered the horse through the corn, walking.

  “So where are we going now?” Ally asked.

  “Wherever you want,” Jeff answered, his dark hair riffling in the breeze. Ally’s hair blew across her face, and she let go with one hand to brush it out of her eyes.

  “Thick forests with trolls under rocks. Meadows with deer that will eat out of your hand. Castles with moats and…”

  “Okay, okay,” she said laughing but enjoying Jeff’s imaginative answer. “Just take me for a little ride to the farmhouse and back.”

  They reached the edge of the corn, and Jeff stopped Snowbird for a moment. “I always wondered what happened to that house.”

  “I’ll tell you about it someday.”

  “I used to see the owner on this big brown thoroughbred.”

  “Colonel,” Ally said. “He was wonderful. He’s somewhere in New Jersey now, I think. Sarah and her mother had to sell him.”

  “Too bad. He looked like a real racehorse.” Jeff was silent for a moment, then said, “Hold onto your hat” as he kicked the horse. Moments later they were galloping around the edge of the property.

  “Don’t…fall…off!” he called.

  Snowbird’s gallop was smooth, with just the bumping and thumping of her hooves disturbing the quiet of the afternoon.

  When they had circled around the burned-out farmhouse and barn, Jeff led Snowbird back into the rows of corn and out to Ally’s street. He stopped in front of her house, and Ally climbed down.

  “Whew! That was nice,” she said.

  “Why don’t you come on over to my aunt’s house tonight? We can play a game or something.”

  Ally glanced at her house. “I’ll have to ask my mom.”

  “That’s okay. Your friend Nick too. Why don’t you both come over?”

  “I’ll give him a call. What’s your phone number?”

  Jeff reached into a pocket, dug out a slip of paper, and pulled a pen from his back pocket. He wrote down his number and handed it to her with a wink. “I just have to take Snowbird back and will be home in about half an hour.”

  “I’ll call,” Ally promised as Jeff clucked Snowbird up the street. She turned to enter the house, then suddenly stopped. How did Jeff know this is my house?

  “Another mystery about him,” she said aloud as she reached the door. She turned back to see Jeff disappear from sight through the covered bridge at the end of the street. Maybe Jeff’s not so bad after all, she thought. At least if Nick’s with me, it will be all right. In any case, Ally brightened, I want to meet Jeff’s aunt.

  “Mom,” she called from the foyer. “Can I go somewhere tonight?”

  Three

  Games and Something More

  “So he took you on the horse?” Mrs. O’Connor asked Ally, who was filling in her mom on her adventure with Jeff.

  “It was fun,” she said, looking to Nick, who’d come by the house that evening with his little sister, Molly. Their parents, the Parkers, and Ally’s folks had planned an evening out together, and the kids typically ended up at the O’Connors’ when their parents went out. This night, Ally had asked Mrs. O’Connor to give them permission to visit Jeff and his aunt. But first Mrs. O’Connor wanted to know what kind of boy Jeff was.

  Ally looked at her mom. “Jeff’s a little…different.”

  Nick scoffed. “He thinks he’s Sir Lancelot.” He took a bite of the frozen pizza Mrs. O’Connor had made for the kids.

  Molly, who was eleven and just starting to think of boys—but more about storybook heroes—flashed Ally a hopeful look. “I have to meet this guy.”

  Mrs. O’Connor put another piece of pizza on Nick’s plate. “I think I need to meet his parents before any of you start hanging around him.”

  “He lives with his aunt,” Ally said. “His mother is dead, and his dad is…well, kind of a mystery.”

  “Well, where is his dad?” Mrs. O’Connor said, looking somewhat alarmed.

  “Jeff didn’t say.”

  “What’s the big deal about this guy, anyways?” Nick said. “Who cares?”

  “Look,” Ally replied, folding her arms over her chest, “if you don’t want to go over to Jeff’s house, just say so. I’m not dragging you along if you’re going to act like that.”

  Mrs. O’Connor threw her daughter a “what’s this?” look, eyebrows raised.

  “Well, I’m trying to get Nick to be friends with this guy,” Ally said in answer to the look. “Who knows? Maybe we can invite him to church with us. Everyone’s for that, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, of course,” Mrs. O’Connor said. “But I’m still not sure about letting you go over to his house.”

  “We’ll just be down the street,” Ally reassured her mom. “And I promise I’ll get Jeff’s aunt to come by and meet you. Or better yet, invite you over to her house.”

  “Just don’t let him pull anything on you,” Mr. O’Connor said. “We’ll meet his aunt in due time.”

  “The sooner the better,” Mrs. O’Connor added. “Before you go, Ally, the dishes. Nick, Molly, help her.”

  “Oh, man, I thought I was a guest,” Nick said.

  “You, sir, are no guest,” Mrs. O’Connor said, smiling. “You practically live here. So clean up. You too, Molly.”

  Nick sighed, and Ally smiled at him. “Come on. I’ll show you how to really clean off a table right. I’ll clean, Nick. You put the dishes in the dishwasher. Molly can clear the table.”

  “Aye, aye, sir,” Molly said.

  But Nick just stood there. “Come on, Nick,” Ally prodded. “You know what to do.”

  “Naturally, I get the crummy jobs,” Nick said morosely.

  A half an hour later, they stood in front of the door of Jeff’s house. It wasn’t one of the biggest houses in the development, but it looked neat, with a well-manicured garden and a green lawn. Ally used the knocker.

  “Are you sure about this?” Nick said as they waited.

  “Jeff’s harmless,” Ally replied.

  “What about his aunt? Maybe she’s really a zombie.”

  “Oh, come on,” Molly said. “I’m sure everyone is normal here.”

  At that moment, the door opened, and a tall, smiling woman answered. Her face almost glowed from her questioning smile. She was attractive, though her nose was a bit on the large side.

  “Yes?” she said.

  “Is this where Jeff Reynolds lives?”

  Before the lady could answer, Jeff appeared behind her. “Hey, Ally, you came.” He eyed Nick and Molly, smiling.

  The lady said to Jeff, “These are your friends?”

  “Yeah, we’re going to play some poker.”

  “Poker?” Ally and Nick exclaimed at the same time.

  Jeff’s aunt looked exasperated. “Uh, Jeff, we talked about that, didn’t we?”

  “Just kidding,” Jeff said with a slight scowl. “Sheesh. Monopoly, anyone?”

  Jeff’s aunt held out a bony but firm hand. “Since Jeff has obviously forgotten his manners, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Jeff’s aunt, Barbara. Most people call me Babs. My last name is Kruck.”

  Ally took her
hand and pressed it. Miss Kruck’s shake was firm and dry. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Kruck. I’m Ally O’Connor, and this is Nick Parker and his sister, Molly.”

  Miss Kruck then shook hands with Nick and Molly. “Okay, these are the rules,” she said after the introductions. Jeff sighed heavily behind her, but when she turned to him and said, “Now that’ll be enough of that,” he shrugged. “Jeff has to get his beauty sleep. So please, no later than 9:30. Otherwise, the house is yours. The fridge has some nice lunch meat in it.”

  “Oh, we just ate awhile ago,” Ally said.

  “If I know kids,” Miss Kruck said, “at about 8:30 you’ll want another feast. So feel free. Now Jeff, show them around the house, and then you can all play in the family room. I’ll disappear for the duration.”

  “Thanks, Aunt Barbara,” Jeff said.

  The house was musty, with old, ornate couches in the living room, tall, shining wooden tables and hutches in the dining room, and a cozy setup in the family room with rich, red leather chairs around a tea table.

  When Miss Kruck was gone, Jeff said, “Don’t worry about my Aunt Barbara. She won’t bother us.”

  “She’s very nice,” Ally said.

  “Soft on the outside. Hard on the inside.” Jeff said dryly.

  Ally wondered about that comment, but didn’t respond.

  Nick broke the uncomfortable silence. “She kind of reminds me—”

  “Of the witch in The Wizard of Oz?” Jeff interrupted.

  Ally couldn’t stand it anymore. “Good grief,” she said, shooting Nick a disapproving look, then turning to Jeff. “You don’t think much of your aunt, do you? She seems really nice to me.”

  “Just get to know her is all I ask,” Jeff said. “Or better yet…don’t.”

  Ally wanted to change the subject. She didn’t like Jeff speaking disrespectfully about an adult, especially one who seemed, for all purposes, decent and kind.

  Nick met Ally’s glance knowingly. Miss Kruck had given them the whole house and said they could have anything in the refrigerator. His look seemed to say: What more can you ask for from an adult?

  The thought made her smile, and Jeff said, “What are you grinning about?”

  “Nothing,” Ally said. “I like your house. It’s—”

  “Old,” Jeff said.

  “Classy, I was going to say,” Ally answered, annoyed with Jeff’s habit of interrupting and adding nothing but negative comments to the conversation.

  “If you say so.” Jeff led them into the family room, and they all took a seat. Shelves filled with books lined the walls, set off by rich, old leather couches, a love seat, and an easy chair. Ally noticed that many of the books were by Christian personalities she recognized—Billy Graham, Max Lucado, and others.

  Jeff pulled the Monopoly game out from under the couch. “Which do you want?” he asked everyone. “The dog, the car, or—”

  This time Nick interrupted. “I’ll be the car.”

  “I’ll be the dog,” piped up Molly.

  “I’ll be the little hat,” Ally said.

  “Ah yes, a true fashion plate,” Jeff said.

  Ally glanced at Nick and saw his eyes fixed on Jeff’s face with a mixture of jealousy and disgust. “Well, I am a princess,” she said. “So says my mother, anyway.”

  “Yes, milady,” Jeff said. “And I will be happy to beat you in the game of Monopoly.”

  “Go ahead and try.”

  They started the game, and Jeff kept the conversation going about Mrs. Hanson’s horses and the farm and numerous other things. When Ally could get in a word edgewise, she asked, “Do you know about the houses down the street being broken into?”

  “Yeah,” Jeff said. “I heard about it. Probably some bad kid.” He grinned.

  What does he mean by that? Ally wondered, but pressed on. “Well, if it is, I hope they catch him before he hits our house.”

  “Or her,” Nick said.

  “Her?” Ally looked puzzled.

  “It could be a her,” Nick said.

  “Yeah, right.” Ally rolled her eyes in Molly’s direction.

  “Hey,” Molly said, teasing, “I could be a burglar.”

  “Yeah, right, an eleven-year-old burglar,” Nick scoffed.

  Jeff rolled the dice. “It’s probably someone in the neighborhood,” he said. “A neighbor would be in the best position to know when other neighbors are gone.”

  Ally looked at Jeff with interest and respect. “That’s a keen insight.”

  “Right, that’s me, the master of keen insights. Rats, I just landed on your property.”

  “Pay up, buddy,” Ally said, laughing. She flipped through her wad of Monopoly money, remembering how Jeff had known where her house was. “By the way, speaking of knowing the neighborhood, how did you know where I lived?”

  “Good guess. It looked like you. Slim. Beautiful. Colorful.”

  “Thanks for the compliments, but I don’t buy it.”

  “I’ve seen you guys around,” he said. “We go that way when Aunt Barbara takes me to town with her. You spend a lot of time on the lawn.”

  “Football,” Nick said, eager to get a word in.

  “Yeah, I’ve seen you throwing around one.”

  Ally mulled this over. It seemed odd that Jeff would know where she lived, but she decided to forget it. Jeff was probably just curious, like her, to snoop out things like that.

  When the game was over and everyone had eaten a ham sandwich and finished a can of Coke, Miss Kruck appeared with a book in her hand. Ally noticed it was Christy, a novel by Catherine Marshall, one of her favorites.

  “Oh, you’re reading Christy?” Ally said.

  “She reads it once a year,” Jeff said in a bored tone.

  “It’s a wonderful book, Jeff,” Miss Kruck said, then turned to Ally. “I’ve been trying to get him to read it, but you know boys.”

  “It’s one of my all-time favorites,” Ally said. “Molly’s too.”

  Molly nodded enthusiastically.

  “Mine too,” Miss Kruck said. “You’ll have to come over and talk books with me some time. You too, Molly. But meanwhile, I think it’s time you kids headed off for home, don’t you think, Jeff?”

  Jeff blew frustrated air out of his mouth.

  “Now, come on,” Miss Kruck said. “You know the rules.”

  “Okay, guys,” Jeff said, giving his aunt a glare, “guess it’s time to go. I had a good time. Thanks for coming over.”

  Miss Kruck and Jeff walked with Nick, Molly, and Ally out to the front door.

  “Can we hang out again tomorrow?” Jeff asked.

  Ally realized he must be very lonely to latch on to her and the Parkers so quickly. “Sure,” she said, noting Nick’s disapproving look.

  “Okay, I’ll see you then.”

  “Really, do come by for a book talk,” Miss Kruck added as the kids filed out the door.

  Ally’s eyes lit up. “I’d like that.”

  “Me too,” Molly chimed in.

  On the way home, Nick tugged at Ally to hang back from Molly for a minute. He looked serious. “This is getting weird, Ally.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “The guy obviously has a crush on you.”

  “So what? I’m not allowed to date till I’m sixteen—and you know that. Can’t Jeff and I just be friends?”

  “I thought we were friends.”

  “We are.”

  “Well, I think Jeff’s going to get in the way.”

  Ally gave Nick a playful shove and caught up with Molly. “Come on, he’s just a lonely guy. I’m not interested in him that way anyway.”

  “Then how are you interested in him?”

  “As a friend.”

  “Plus, his aunt’s really nice,” Molly said. “I already like her better than Jeff. What’s with him anyway? Why is he so mean to her?”

  Ally shook her head. “I don’t know. I get the idea Jeff would rather live somewhere else.”

  “With
his dad, maybe?” Molly asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ally said, then muttered to herself, “But I’d like to find out.”

  Nick sighed heavily as they reached Ally’s house. “Okay, I’ll be friends with him. But don’t expect me to like him.”

  Ally laughed. “Sometimes, you don’t make much sense, Nick. See you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah.”

  Ally turned to Molly. “Are you staying over, Moll?”

  “Yeah, I brought my sleeping bag.”

  “Great,” Ally said. “We can sit up and sip geranium tea and talk about Nick and Jeff.”

  “Ha, ha,” Nick said as he backed away.

  Ally and Molly watched Nick head off into the darkness. Ally grinned. Boys were so crazy sometimes.

  “Come on, Molly. Let’s get to bed.”

  Four

  Visitors

  Molly and Ally lay on the beds in Ally’s room. Molly had her sleeping bag on top of the covers so she wouldn’t have to make the bed in the morning. Mrs. O’Connor always made Ally make her bed neatly.

  The girls talked till past 11:00, but gradually they tired and began to settle down toward sleep. As Ally closed her eyes and listened to the night noises of crickets and frogs, she heard a tapping on her window.

  She popped up in bed. Her eyes were adjusted to the darkness, but she couldn’t make out what was doing the tapping.

  “What’s that noise?” Molly whispered.

  Ally got up and walked over to the window. A strange, almost hideous figure was right up against the pane. It was Jeff. He had his lips and nose pressed up against the window pane, his teeth bared like a werewolf.

  “It’s Jeff!” Ally said, turning to Molly, who had gotten out of bed.

  “Just ignore him,” Molly said.

  But Ally thrust open the window. “Jeff! What on earth are you doing here?”

  “I just wanted a kiss goodnight.”

  “Well, you’re not getting one. Go to bed.”

  “Here? In the pricker bushes?”

  Molly giggled. “Go home, you goofball!”

  Jeff grinned. “I’m always home. Home is where the heart is.”

  “You’re nuts. I think you really better go home, Jeff,” Ally said.