Lauren lingered in the barn after Charity and Kjerstina went back to the house. She couldn’t bear leaving Trooper yet. The wonder of owning a horse, a beautiful golden horse, was finally starting to sink in. She swept the body brush over his glistening coat, breathed in his horsey scent, and listened to the chewing sounds he made as he ate his oats. The sounds were relaxing and soon Lauren found her thoughts returning to what she had learned from Charity and Kjerstina.

“Do you think my dad really knows who was following me, Trooper?” she asked. It was nice to talk to someone even if he couldn’t reply or understand. “It makes sense in a way, because Sweetie did seem to notice Big Hat for no reason. Charity and Stina think he knows. But he’s never kept important secrets from me before. I can’t believe he would just send me away and not tell me. Except for you, he’s never, ever kept secrets from me.”

But is that true? How can I know for sure? The question leaped unbidden into her mind. She picked up a large toothed comb and moved behind Trooper to comb his tail. He looked back at her and nickered, then turned back to his oats.

“I’m going to ask him tonight,” Lauren said to the buckskin gelding. “Maybe he’s just keeping it a secret because he doesn’t want me to worry, but if he knows I know that he thinks he knows who it is, he’ll realize I’m already worried and thinking about it and then maybe he’ll tell me.”

She finished combing out Trooper’s tail and leaned on his hindquarters for a moment. “Are you confused yet Trooper? I know I am. That didn’t make any sense to me either, and I’m the one who said it.”

Lauren moved to Trooper’s head and combed his forelock. “You are so beautiful,” she whispered to the golden gelding. “My very own horse. I still can’t believe it.” She kissed Trooper on the nose.

“Lauren,” Kjerstina’s voice came from outside the barn. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Coming,” called Lauren. She gave Trooper one more hug, then picked up the brushes and walked out of the stall.

“Remember the special clip for his door,” said Kjerstina, stepping inside the barn. Uncle Chris was right behind her.

“Hey, Lauren,” he said in his cheerful voice. “Long time, no see.”

“Hey, Uncle Chris.”

“Come give your favorite uncle a hug,” he said and held his arms out.

“But he’s not here,” said Lauren, teasing him. “How about I give you a hug instead, Uncle Chris?” She rushed into his arms.

“Cheeky as ever,” said Uncle Chris and hugged her back. “But you can’t fool me. I know I’m your favorite uncle.”

“You’re my only uncle.” Lauren’s voice was muffled by his hug.

“Aha. My point exactly.” He reached to tickle her on the ribs and Lauren squirmed out of his embrace.

“I’m too old to be tickled now, Uncle Chris,” she informed him.

A look of dismay crossed his face. “Oh, that’s right. Another birthday coming up. What are you now? Eighteen? Nineteen?”

“No! Thirteen.”

“Oh, well I guess you’re not too old then,” he added and grinned.

Kjerstina groaned beside Lauren. “You walked right into that one,” she said. “Hey, come over here. I’ll show you how to use the clip for Trooper’s door. See? It goes on like a padlock, except it doesn’t lock.”

“Thanks, Stina,” said Lauren, even though she’d already figured it out at the gate.

Kjerstina smiled. “No prob,” she said as they walked toward the door where Uncle Chris waited for them. “I’m so glad you’re staying all summer. We’re going to have tons of fun, you know.”

“I know,” said Lauren. “It’s going to be the best summer ever.”

“What do you want to do for your birthday?” asked Uncle Chris, as they left the barn. He shut the door behind them.

“I’m going back home for my party. Dad said he’s coming to pick me up.”

“But that doesn’t mean you can’t have two birthday parties.”

“Oh, let’s do something fun!” exclaimed Kjerstina. “We could go swimming at the lake. And have tons of cake and other good stuff to eat.”

“And go hiking and canoeing,” added Lauren. She smiled. Actually, it didn’t sound half bad.

Dinner was roast chicken and Lauren had just finished dishing up her plate, when the phone rang. Uncle Chris didn’t want anyone to answer, but Aunt April jumped up anyway. “It could be Alan,” she flung back over her shoulder as she hurried into the kitchen.

It was. Aunt April talked to him for a minute, telling him about Lauren’s shocked face when she first saw the horses, then she called to Lauren.

“Why don’t you run upstairs and talk on the phone in our bedroom,” she suggested. “I’ll hang up here when you’ve picked up.”

“Thanks,” said Lauren and pushed her chair back. She ran up the stairs two at a time. When she picked up the phone she was breathing heavily.

“Hi, Dad,” she said.

“Hi, Kiddo.” He sounded happy to hear her. Lauren heard the soft click as Aunt April hung up the phone downstairs.

“You miss me?” she asked.

“More than you’ll ever know. I hear you were surprised. I thought you’d guess after my hint.”

“Soldier? What kind of hint was that? Hmmm. Oh, I know. A terrible hint.”

They talked for a few minutes about Trooper and how wonderful he was, about Lauren’s first ride and the hidden springs, Trooper’s skill in escaping and the fate of Aunt April’s garden. Then the conversation moved to the stalker. Had he found out who it was? He hadn’t. Had he seen the car again? No. What had the police said? They hadn’t contacted him yet. Why hadn’t he called them? He was busy. This last answer sparked the courage in Lauren to ask the question she really wanted to ask. “Do you know who the person is, Dad?”

There was stunned silence on the phone.

“Dad? Are you still there?”

“Yes. What makes you think I know who it is?”

He’s trying to distract me, realized Lauren. “Do you?” she asked again, not letting him sidetrack her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Lauren,” he said, his voice hurried. “I forgot I have an appointment. I don’t have time to talk about it right now, but we can talk about it another time, okay?”

Lauren was speechless. Her dad had never brushed her off before. Kjerstina and Charity were right. He did know who it was. Or he at least suspected. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he wasn’t going to tell her either.

“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay, Kiddo? Bye now.” There was a soft click.

“Dad?”

No answer. He was gone.

He didn’t even wait for me to say goodbye, Lauren realized in shock. What is going on?