Sins of the Father

Chapter 6: Old Wounds

It was a nice, clear, crisp Friday when K poked her head into the library to find Tammy and Tyler, who thankfully for her were actually studying their algebra together. She made her way over and totally ignored the little bit of flirting that was going on — the way Tammy was sitting closer than she needed to or the way Tyler kept smiling at her — before she crossed her arms and cleared her throat.

"Do you two want to stay in my riding class?" K asked.

Both of them looked up at her wearing identical expressions of surprise and confusion. "Yes, please!" Tammy said in her usual soft, excited voice, and Tyler nodded his agreement beside her.

"Then let's get going," K said. "You can't keep riding without a few things. You both need boots, and you, mister," she pointed to Tyler. "You need a saddle that fits. Be in the garage in ten minutes." With that, she turned and left them wondering where the heck that had come from.

"Think this is about when I couldn't control my horse riding that trail ride?" Tammy asked in a little whisper once K was gone.

Tyler shrugged. "I doubt it, somehow," he said, though he couldn't exactly answer her any further on the matter when he didn't understand it either.

They took Logan's jeep to head out further from town, away from the city. They drove for several hours before the two kids were looking at each other in a bit of confusion until they saw the first horse and buggy on the side of the road moving along. K narrowed her eyes as she watched it for a second and turned her focus back to the road without a word.

A few minutes later, they spotted two more. "The second buggy. Watch the horses' legs move. It's racking. Only certain breeds can do it. It's like a coasting gear. Somewhere between a walk and a trot." The horse in question moved both left legs together as it pulled the cart, almost looking like a rocking horse as it snorted in the cold air.

"That's pretty cool," Tammy said, though K simply nodded as they kept right on toward... wherever it was she was taking them.

When they got to the half-falling apart barn, they could easily hear the auction happening inside — even Tammy, who didn't have enhanced senses like the other two. K turned toward the kids with an easy smile. "Walk through the barn with me, just for fun — pick out which horse you like best, and we'll stick around if there's not too much going on to see who picks the high-dollar horse."

The barn was darker inside, but both teens picked the prettiest horses they could find. Tammy fell for a palomino that looked like it had been rubbed down with oil — skinny but still very pretty. Tyler picked out a paint horse that looked like it had fallen off the movie screen by its markings. K just shook her head at both of them and pointed out a very sturdy, plain bay with one sock that was calm and steady looking. But the auction was packed, and there were far too many lots going through of dusty old tack and fishing poles and junk, so she quickly re-routed them to the diner near the auction house and got the kids a bite for lunch before they spent a couple hours picking out a saddle and boots.

They were in good spirits, and the kids had actually enjoyed the impromptu trip much more than they'd expected to. In fact, the usually-shy Tammy was starting to come a little more out of her shell, not bothering to hide her excitement as she asked, "Can we go back to the auction? I want to know who won."

K nodded, and the trio headed back toward the auction house. And as an old Amish man held the door open for them with a kind smile, a familiar, unwelcome voice rang out from around the corner. "Field trip? Really? Didn't think you'd bother without takin' someone a little bigger along with you," Victor Creed said as he stepped around the corner of the building with a menacing smile. "Nice little bit of sparkle you're sportin' there."