McKenzie pulled Bailey away from the stable and headed up the hill. When she reached the top, she turned and looked back. The woods looked dark and scary in the fading light.
“Let’s run,” she said, tugging Bailey after her.
McKenzie ran as fast as she could toward Old Towne, her feet barely touching on the dirt street. In the dusk, the stores lining Main Street reminded her of a tunnel. She raced past the general store and the old wooden windmill and didn’t stop until she reached the thicket of trees at the top of the hill.
She bent and placed her hands on her knees, panting as she waited for Bailey to catch up.
Bailey breathed heavily as she slowly climbed the slope, holding her side when she reached the top. “I need to rest,” she said as she pulled her inhaler out of her pocket and took several deep breaths.
“I’m sorry, Bailey, but as soon as you can drive we need to get out of here,” McKenzie said nervously.
“What’s the hurry?” Bailey asked as her breathing slowed.
“I’ll tell you when we get home. Let’s go.” McKenzie hopped on her four-wheeler and steered it onto the dirt track. McKenzie looked behind to make sure Bailey was following; then she sped up the path.
Lightning bugs flickered in the twilight while the beams from her headlight cast eerie shadows along the path. A chilly wind had replaced the heat from earlier in the day, making McKenzie wish she had worn a sweatshirt. Within a few minutes she saw the lights of Sunshine Stables.
Driving into the machine shed, she flipped on the overhead light. When both girls had parked their ATVs, they settled onto some old wooden crates. McKenzie rubbed her arms to chase away the chill.
“Okay, tell me now.” Bailey pulled her knees to her chest and stretched her T-shirt over her legs. “Did you see something? Did you see the ghost rider?”
“Well, I know I heard a horse. It sounded like it was coming from the timber by the dugout. I know we went out there to try to see the ghost rider, but then I decided it might not be a good idea,” McKenzie explained.
“But why?” Bailey looked quizzically at McKenzie. “That was the whole point of going to Old Towne.”
“I know, but if we see the ghost rider and he knows we saw him, he won’t come back. Right? I think there’s a connection between the ghost rider and Diamond Girl’s disappearance. We need to find out more about him and why he’s hanging around Old Towne. If we scare him off, we’ll never solve this mystery.”
“I guess you’re right,” Bailey said as she stepped off the crate. She picked up Cheetah who had wandered into the shed. The cat settled into her arms and closed her eyes. “So, what now?”
“I don’t know.” McKenzie sighed and then added, “Maybe that note you found earlier has another clue on it.”
“Yeah,” Bailey said as she stroked Cheetah’s back. “You put it in your pocket.”
“I sure hope Emma didn’t do laundry this evening.” McKenzie hopped off the crate and headed for the door. “I’d better go find it.”
Within minutes the girls were in the house and racing up the stairs to their bedroom, McKenzie taking them two at a time.
“Oh, good. They’re just where I left them.” She grabbed her jeans off the floor and pulled the scrap of paper out of the pocket.
She unfolded the crumpled paper and turned it over. “All it says is Willow Ridge Horse Therapy Ranch and the phone number. There’s nothing written on the back either.”
She opened the dresser drawer and tucked it under her socks for safekeeping. The note must be important if the man was looking for it. But then she thought maybe it wasn’t even his. Maybe he had been looking for something else.
McKenzie sighed. If the sheriff had no clues to Diamond Girl’s disappearance, would Bailey and she really be able to help? She wondered if searching for clues was a waste of time. It was only a few more days until the rodeo, and then she would leave Sunshine Stables. What if she left before finding out what happened to Emma’s horse? She promised herself she wouldn’t let that happen.
“Do you think we should tell Emma we suspect Derek?” Bailey asked, interrupting McKenzie’s thoughts.
McKenzie frowned. She still didn’t want to think Derek was involved with Diamond Girl’s disappearance. “We were going to ask Elizabeth about that, weren’t we?” she asked
“Why don’t you call her instead?” Bailey asked.
McKenzie agreed and quickly called their friend in Texas, explaining the situation to Elizabeth.
“I don’t think you should mention Derek’s name to anybody yet,” Elizabeth said. “After all, you don’t have any evidence against him, just hunches. You shouldn’t wrongfully accuse him or anyone else.”
McKenzie knew Elizabeth was right, so they chatted a few more minutes. She was just hanging up as Emma called up the stairs. She had popped popcorn and invited them to watch a movie with her before bed. The girls readily agreed and scampered downstairs.
During the first commercial break, McKenzie planned to ask Emma about the dugout at Old Towne, but when she glanced over at her instructor in the recliner, she noticed Emma’s eyes were closed. Her breathing was soft and regular. McKenzie knew Emma was exhausted, so she dimmed the lights and turned off the TV. She put her finger to her lips and motioned for Bailey to follow her upstairs.
When the girls woke the next morning, Emma had already gone to the stables to prepare for the last day of Kids’ Camp. After a quick breakfast, McKenzie and Bailey headed outside to help feed Sahara and the other horses that weren’t used for camp. When the young campers arrived, they fed and groomed the horses they used for camp.
At two o’clock the campers went home. Emma had told McKenzie and Bailey they could ride the fourwheelers across the meadow to Cedar Creek Ranch to watch the roping class. The girls arrived early, hoping to walk through the stables and see Maggie’s horses. They were eager to see if the beautiful spotted horse was in one of her stalls.
After parking their four-wheelers, the girls spotted Maggie outside the stables.
“Hi, Maggie,” McKenzie called out as they approached Cedar Creek’s owner.
“Hi, girls. You’re early. The riders won’t be here for another twenty minutes,” she said, glancing at her watch.
“We know,” McKenzie replied. “We were wondering if we could look at your horses.”
Maggie hesitated but then said, “I suppose that would be okay, but I don’t have time to take you on a tour. I have to get the calves into the corral for the couple coming to practice. You can go by yourselves if you keep out of the way of my workers.”
The girls promised they wouldn’t bother anyone and set off toward the stable. McKenzie led the way inside and headed down the first aisle, glancing in the stalls as she walked. They passed quarter horses and paint horses with beautiful white splotches on their coats. They saw spotted Appaloosas and sturdy Morgans. She recognized Maggie’s black mustang in a stall at the end.
“This is Maggie’s prize horse, Frisco.” McKenzie stepped aside so Bailey could see in the stall. “She’s almost as fast as Diamond Girl.”
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “Maggie made it clear yesterday that Emma always beats her.”
McKenzie nodded. “But second place is really good, too.”
“You don’t know what it’s like to always come in second, or worse. I never win anything.” Bailey frowned.
At first, McKenzie didn’t know what to say. She knew how Bailey felt. “Bailey,” McKenzie finally said softly, “you’ll win lots of things. It’s just that I’ve been riding a lot longer than you have, and I’m older. I did awful at last year’s rodeo, so I do know how you feel. But you have lots of talents and abilities. I’ve seen some of your drawings and they’re great. I can’t draw a good stick man.”
Bailey sighed but didn’t answer. The girls continued down the aisle as McKenzie pointed out several breeds of horses to Bailey. She hoped to see the beautiful spotted horse they had seen in the pasture, but it wasn’t in the first row of stalls. When they walked up the second aisle, they saw no sign of her there either.
Disappointed that they hadn’t seen the unusual horse, McKenzie began to wonder who owned it. And why was the rider on Maggie’s land if the horse wasn’t stabled there? McKenzie was puzzled as she glanced at her watch and moved quickly through the stable.
The girls arrived back at the arena as Maggie turned the calves into the ring. McKenzie climbed the fence and sat on the top rung, while Bailey stood beside her.
A pair of girls, a little older than McKenzie, sat on a brown stallion. They chased a calf around the arena, the rider in front holding a lasso. As they approached a calf she flung the lasso, catching it around the calf’s neck. Then she jerked the rope flinging the calf to the ground.
Bailey jumped and cried out, “Doesn’t that hurt the calf?”
“Nope, not at all,” McKenzie assured her as they watched the girls slip to the ground and loop the other end of rope around the calf’s legs. “Just wait a sec and you’ll see.”
Moments later, after the calf laid still, Maggie stepped out and loosened the rope. After Maggie removed the lasso, the calf hopped up and ran around the arena unharmed.
“Maybe I could do that,” Bailey said with a grin. “Now that I know it doesn’t hurt the calf.”
“Great,” McKenzie said. “Maybe I can find an old rope around here, and I can practice throwing a lasso.”
McKenzie glanced behind her, looking for Maggie. She heard voices coming from an old garage, so she tugged on Bailey’s arm and headed in that direction. As they stepped inside she saw stacks of cardboard boxes, with the contents written with black marker on the outside. Two workers carried the boxes out the back door and loaded them into a trailer parked nearby. They paid no attention to the girls but continued hauling the boxes out.
McKenzie turned to Bailey and whispered, “I wonder what’s going on in here.”
Bailey pointed to the men cleaning out the garage. “Where do you think they’re taking all that stuff?”
“I don’t know, but it looks almost like they’re getting ready to move.” McKenzie eyed all the busyness around her. “Surely Maggie’s not moving. Emma hasn’t said anything about it.”
“I bet they’re just cleaning out the garage,” Bailey said as she stepped away from the garage.
“Could be,” McKenzie said skeptically. “They look too busy to help us find a rope. We should probably head back anyway, but I need to find Maggie and thank her for letting us come over.”
McKenzie glanced around the arena looking for Maggie. She was nowhere in sight, so the girls headed toward the stables to look for her. Stable hands were doing nightly chores. McKenzie pulled Bailey into the supply room to let two workers pass with wheelbarrows full of hay.
McKenzie turned and noticed the shelves were nearly bare and cardboard boxes lined the floor. All of them were filled with horse supplies.
She jumped at a harsh voice behind them. “What do you need, girls?”
McKenzie turned to see Maggie standing in the doorway. The woman drained the last of her diet cola can and tossed it into the trash can.
“Uh, we just wanted to thank you for letting us come over,” McKenzie stammered.
“Yeah, it was really nice of you,” Bailey agreed. “I think I can do the calf-roping thing after watching those girls. Will you be at the rodeo to watch us?”
Maggie shooed the girls out of the room. She smirked at Bailey and replied, “Oh, I think I’ll be there, all right.”
“Are you moving, Maggie?” McKenzie asked as she glanced at the boxes.
Maggie hesitated and peered around as though to see if anyone was standing nearby. Then she pulled the girls closer and said in a near whisper, “I have someone coming over to look at the place and want it to look nice, so I’m cleaning out some junk. Nothing is definite yet; so don’t say anything about it, not even to Emma. Okay?”
The girls looked at each other but agreed not to say anything. McKenzie wondered why in the world Maggie wanted to keep it a secret, especially from Emma. She thought the two women were friends. Another thought crept into McKenzie’s mind. Maggie acts like she’s got something to hide. Would she have stolen Diamond Girl to keep Emma from winning the rodeo?
Then Maggie motioned for the girls to step outside and continued, “I’m glad I could help you girls, but you better go home.” Before the girls could respond, the woman turned and started to walk away.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Maggie said. She turned back to the girls and pulled a folded newspaper page from her back pocket. “Would you give this paper to Derek? I circled an ad I thought he might want to see.”
McKenzie assured Maggie she would give the paper to Derek, and minutes later the girls headed for home. After parking the ATVs, McKenzie unfolded the newspaper and glanced at the ad Maggie had circled in bright red ink.
“Look at this, Bailey.” McKenzie pointed to the ad. “Maggie wanted Derek to see this ad about a stable for sale in northern Montana.”
Bailey skimmed the ad. “I thought he wasn’t going to buy a stable until he’d saved more money.”
“I thought so, too,” McKenzie agreed.
Bailey was silent for a moment. Then she spoke softly. “Maybe he sold something worth a lot of money.”
McKenzie looked up. “You don’t think Derek stole Diamond Girl and sold her, do you?”
“I know you like him, McKenzie,” Bailey said. “But he has a reason to steal her. He wants money to buy a stable. Remember the other day when he said certain thieves knew how to disguise a horse. He knows how to do all those tricks with horses. Maybe he’s disguised Diamond Girl.”
McKenzie knew Bailey was right about one thing. She did like Derek. He had always been so nice, helping her feed and groom Sahara. He always seemed happy to have her around the stables.
Though she hated to admit it, he did have a reason to steal Diamond Girl. But that didn’t mean he was the thief, did it? More than anything, she wanted to prove Derek was innocent, but she didn’t know how. All the clues seemed to point toward his guilt.
She felt torn inside. What if she accused Derek and he was innocent? Could she forgive herself? But more importantly, would God forgive her?