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True to Annie’s report, her friend drove up in an SUV shortly afterward. John and Mary Fisher gently helped Sarah into the front seat of the SUV. Barbara, waiting for help, was forced to open the back door and climb in herself.
“Miss Kurtz, we’ll see to it that your daed’s buggy and horse get home. Go with your sister so she can be seen by the doctor.” ordered John. After the SUV left, John turned to Mark and asked him if he had any idea how the accident happened.
Mark frowned in confusion. “It’s funny, sir. As spooked as that horse was, it didn’t look as though Sarah’s sister was really trying to control her. I’d like to be wrong, but . . . I’ve seen how people work to get their horses under control and Barbara wasn’t doing half of what she could have been doing.” As he talked, he walked with John back to the now-still buggy and tired horse.
“Don’t worry, Mark. I know the Kurtz family well. This doesn’t surprise me, not one bit. I’ve watched as Barbara grew up and she’s begun taking an attitude of attitude, almost. She gets that from her mother, who has never been happy with what she and her family have. What I don’t know is why she allowed a spooked horse to run so far after becoming spooked. I will take Brownie home and talk to her father. However, I want to soothe her down a little further before I take her home.”
It was nearly an hour later when John slowly drove Brownie back home, with Mark following in his in own buggy.
“We don’t know how Brownie spooked, or why,” John finished.
“I just talked to Barbara and she told me something ran across the road, frightening Brownie.”
“I have to tell you that a witness saw the whole event as it happened. This . . . witness . . . tells me that your daughter, who is experienced with horses, was not doing everything she could to control your mare . . .” At this point, an angry woman came waddling and huffing down the path.
“And, how do you know? You’re a farmer, not a farrier! My Barbara did everything she could. She told me so.” As she said the last bit, her eyes closed, she crossed her arms and gave a sharp little nod of her round head, causing her double chin to jiggle.
After Mark had squeezed Annie’s hand and left for his own parent’s home, Annie sat cross stitching in the living room. As she worked, she overheard her parents talking about the entire incident. Sticking the needle into a corner of the fabric, she set her work aside and walked into the kitchen.
“Annie, girl, I am glad you are in here. Please sit – we need to talk to you,” said John.
Annie, confused, sat down and asked her father what was happening.
“Annie, I don’t know why Miss Kurtz would have allowed Brownie to run down the road after being spooked. She’s a better horsewoman than that. Wherever you are . . . whoever you are with, Annie, I want you to be careful. Do you understand?”
“Ya, daed. Do . . . do you think she did it on purpose?” Annie asked.
John raised and dropped his shoulders in an expressive shrug. “I don’t know. I just want you to be careful. I know this family, and her mother is just like Barbara. She is not a happy woman, and Barbara is picking up on her attitude.”