The Gatekeeper's Sons

Chapter 15

She pulled on her oldest pair of Justin Ropers, glossed her lips, and headed down the stairs, her hair loose and flying behind her. The smell of her peach shampoo made her feel fresh. She ran her fingers through her curls. Her dad used to say how he loved her hair and that it was the perfect combination of Therese's mother's red hair and his own mother's curly hair.

"Sorry, Clifford," she said to him at the front door. "You have to stay this time. You're not allowed on the pasture."

Carol was typing furiously on her laptop while she sat on the living room sofa. "I'll drive you," Carol said, jumping up. "I'm not ready for you to walk alone yet, especially if Clifford's not going."

Than appeared at the door to the screened porch. "Hi there. I was wondering if you want to walk up to the Holts' together."

Therese turned back to her aunt. "That okay?"

Carol hesitated, then smiled. "I guess so. Just call me when you get there."

The sun had fallen behind a thin layer of clouds. It usually rained for a few minutes every afternoon, often with thunder and lightning, and Therese wondered now as she and Than turned onto the dirt road from her gravel driveway if it would today. She hoped not. She was nervous enough about riding without adding rain into the mix.

Than hadn't changed from his tight white t-shirt and jeans, but he looked refreshed and clean and, even under the cloud cover, brilliant.

"Thanks again for the salad and the recipe," he said. "I told my sister Tizzie about it. She might go into Durango tomorrow for the ingredients and try to make it herself."

"Be sure to tell her to buy you some tea bags and sugar," Therese said. "You seemed to like that a lot, too."

"Yes. Especially the sugar."

He asked why Clifford wasn't with her, and she explained that he'd want to follow them into the pasture and how that was dangerous for the horses. "Small dogs tend to spook horses. They can handle the big dogs, but because horses have a lot of blind spots, the littler animals tend to freak them out."

"I see," he said, apparently attempting a pun.

Therese shook her head and chuckled. "That was really bad."

"You're right. It was." He chuckled too.

Although she had initially thought him to be arrogant and selfish, she found him easy to talk to as they made their way down the road. He asked her about her hobbies and she talked a bit about swim team and band and the times she liked to spend in the forest with the animals. When she asked about him, he shrugged.

"I've realized these past few days how little I know myself," he said cryptically.

When they reached the ranch, Mrs. Holt, Bobby, and Jen were already in the pen saddling up five of the horses.

"Hey, guys," Bobby greeted them. "Think it's gonna pour?"

"I hope not." Therese put on her long-sleeved shirt.

"Don't worry," Jen said. "The horses love the rain. It won't bother them or anything."

"It'll just make them stinky," Mrs. Holt said. "Somethin' we have to look forward to come mornin'."

"Oh, I'm supposed to call my aunt." Therese turned toward the house.

"Use the phone in the barn," Mrs. Holt said.

Therese found the dusty, old-fashioned dial phone mounted to the wall and called her aunt to let her know she had made it safely. Then she returned to the pen with the others.