Andi and the Dark Dually

 by Grace Berreth

Chapter one

Andi stood in Shasta’s stall in the barn. The young horse’s pure white mane and tail were so beautiful in the sunlight. As Andi brushed out his tail she heard Riley calling for her, “Hey Andi! You in here?”

“I’m in Shasta’s stall, Riley,” Andi yelled back.

Riley’s head appeared over the top of the door. “Hey Andi, you want to go for a ride? Maybe up to your special spot?”

“Would I ever!”

“Well then, saddle up. Let’s go!’’

Half an hour later Andi and Riley approached the creek that ran through Andi’s favourite spot on the Circle C. A black flash off to the side caught Andi’s attention. The blur took shape as she gazed at it. A black horse with four white socks, a white blaze, and pink nose ran out from under the big tree by the creek. 

The horse’s sudden movement spooked Shasta. He leapt to the side so fast that Andi fell off, hitting her head on a large root as she fell.

The last thing Andi saw was Riley jumping off Dakota before the gelding stopped moving. The last thing she heard was Riley’s panicked voice calling to her. “Andi!”

Then everything went black.

*****

A few moments later Andi woke up to find Riley leaning over her, his worry showing in his eyes.

“Andi are you okay?” Riley asked, concern filling his voice.

“What happened?” Andi slowly sat up with Riley’s help.

“There was a black horse under the tree by the creek,” he told her. “It ran off when we rode up. The sudden movement scared Shasta pretty bad. He practically jumped out from under you and ran off.”

“Where did he go?” Andi asked, trying to understand

“He ran for a while then came back. He’s tied up with Dakota now.” Riley pointed toward a tree.

Andi glanced to where Riley was pointing and saw, thankfully, that Shasta was over by a tree munching peacefully on some grass. Andi was leaning up against the big tree by the creek. Sitting up straighter she asked Riley more questions about the mysterious horse. ‘‘Where did the black horse go?’’

‘‘It ran off into those trees,’’ Riley explained. ‘‘He’s a beautiful horse.”

Andi wanted to go look for the horse, but knowing that Riley would say no, she said nothing.

She heard Riley interrupting her thoughts. ‘‘So, how does your head feel?’’

Andi had almost forgotten about her throbbing head. Trying to be tough, she answered, ‘‘It’s not bad.’’ Andi did not want Chad to hear about this.

Riley had the look of ‘I know exactly what you are doing.’ ‘‘Right. You do know that I have to tell Chad about this?’’

Andi nodded. ‘‘Do you have to tell him today?’’ After a pause she whispered, ‘‘He won’t be happy when I tell him I want to come back to look for the black horse.’’ 

Riley sounded sorry, but when he spoke Andi knew his mind was made up. ‘‘You know I have to tell him today.’’

It was obvious there was no point arguing. Andi sighed. She knew what Chad would say, and she wasn’t excited for it.

Chapter two

After staying a while at Andi’s special spot, Andi and Riley made their way back to the Circle C ranch yard. On the ride back they were silent. Andi was thinking about what she was going to say when Chad told her to stay away from the mysterious horse. Riley had agreed to tell Chad at supper, that way Andi would be right there and could try to change Chad’s mind before it was set.

Andi hoped her big brother Justin would be there. It was always nice to have a calm and sensible brother at the table, especially when Chad and Andi were having an argument.

As Andi and Riley approached the Circle C ranch yard, Andi’s heart leaped to see Justin’s buggy in front of the barn. Obviously, Mother had invited Justin, his wife Lucy, and their little boy Sammy for supper.

Thank-you Lord, she breathed. Andi and Riley rode into the barn, unsaddled, and brushed Shasta and Dakota. Andi hid in the barn as long as she possibly could, trying to avoid supper. She wanted to find that black horse so bad but she didn’t want to go behind Chad’s back either. ‘‘Dear God, please help me tonight at supper.’’ Andi prayed silently.

Eventually, Andi couldn’t avoid it any longer. It was time for supper. When Andi and Riley went into the dining room, they saw that Justin sat at the head of the table. Looking up he said with a smile, ‘‘Hi, Honey.’’

Andi forced a smile for her favourite brother, “Hey.”

Mother, Chad, Mitch, Melinda, Lucy and Sammy were all at the table. Andi sat down beside Justin and Sammy.  Riley sat down across the table from Andi, between Chad and Mitch. 

After Justin said the blessing and they all started to eat, Riley worked up the courage to tell Chad about what had happened that afternoon. As they were talking about it, Andi’s head started to ache.

At first everyone was worried about Andi, but after Riley explained everything and Andi insisted that she was fine, they relaxed. Then came the part Andi had been dreading all afternoon.

Chad, seeming to read Andi’s mind, told her to stay away from the mysterious horse. Taking a deep breath, Andi told him what she wanted to do.

‘‘Absolutely not!’’ Chad yelled across the table. Andi wished Ellie was at supper with the family. The young school teacher’s presence  always kept Chad’s yelling and fist pounding on the table to a minimum.

‘‘Why not?’’ Andi asked, trying to reason with her brother.

‘‘Because I said so!’’ Chad was still yelling.

‘‘He never did anything wrong!’’ Andi yelled, her own temper flaring. 

‘‘You are going to stay away from that horse, and that’s final!’” Chad finished and went back to eating. Conversations swirled around Andi as her family avoided the topic of the unknown horse.

Chapter three

The next morning, Andi went to look for Riley. She wanted to ask him if he would help her look for the mystery horse. She had thought about it all night and decided to go ahead with trying to find the black horse. As she walked across the yard,  her thoughts swirled. What if Riley refused to help her go behind the bossy boss’s back?

Andi looked in the barn and saw Riley walking toward her. Seeing her, he called out in a cheerful voice. “Hey Andi, what are you doing out here?”

“I need to talk to you,” Andi told him. “I want to go find that black horse. Will you help me?”

“Andi, I can’t go behind my boss’s back.”

“Please Riley, I need your help. I won’t tell Chad. Besides, he won’t fire you. You’re his favourite. He’ll know that I talked you into it anyway, please . . .” Andi urged again.

“Well . . . ” Riley thought for a moment. Andi could see him weakening under her pleading. “Well, I suppose I will help you. But I don’t like it.”

Andi smiled, “Thanks Riley.’’ With that, Andi gave Riley a hug and went back to the house for breakfast.

That afternoon Riley and Andi rode up to her special spot, both keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of the black horse. When they got up by the creek, they looked around but didn’t see anything. After searching in the brush, they headed home unsuccessfully.

On the way home, Riley and Andi talked about what they were going to do when they found the horse. “Tomorrow we’ll bring up some fencing supplies and build a corral for him. We can leave some oats in it and try to trap him.”

“Sounds good,” Andi said in agreement to Riley’s plan.

The next day Andi and Riley went up to her special spot to build the pen. When they were done with the corral, they hurried home so Chad wouldn’t notice they were missing from the Circle C ranch yard.

The next day, Andi and Riley went up to her special spot. In hope of finding the black horse, they tied Shasta and Dakota and quietly walked up to the corral. “Dear Lord, please help us find that horse.” Andi whispered to herself. They walked along in the bush, hoping to sneak up to the gate. Andi’s heart leaped. The black horse was in the pen munching on some grass! Once they were at the gate Riley jumped out and closed it.

“Thank-you Lord,” Andi whispered.

“Well, we got him,” Riley said.

Andi smiled. “Thanks for helping me.”

Riley grinned. “Well, when you set your mind to something there’s no changing it. So now what do you want to do?”

“Um….” Andi thought for a second.  “Do you think he knows anything?”

Riley shrugged. “Let’s bring the horses up. I’ll get my rope and find out.”

After they brought Shasta and Dakota up to the coral they tied them up to a tree. Riley grabbed the rope off his saddle and climbed over the fence, talking softly to the horse.

“Hey boy.” Riley walked up to the horse and started petting him. Then he put the rope around the horse’s neck and looked at Andi. “He’s a friendly guy once you have him in a pen,” Riley said with a smile. “He’s definitely not wild.”

Andi climbed over the fence. “Hey, buddy,” she said as she walked up to him. As Andi started to pet him she said with delight in her voice, “You’re beautiful!”

“He sure is.” Riley answered, looking at him.

“Do you think he’s trained?” Andi asked.

“I don’t know, but he sure is friendly.” Tomorrow we’ll bring a halter for him and find out.”

The next day, they went back up to see the black horse.

“Hey, fella,” Riley said as he walked up and put the halter on him. While Riley did some ground work with him, Andi thought of name suggestions. After a little negotiating, they agreed on Dually.

 “He’s a well-trained horse, that’s for sure.” Riley was saying. After a while they threw a saddle on him, and Riley hopped on. “He is a well trained horse,” he said.

Andi was tired of watching. She wanted to ride. “Can I ride him now?” she asked impatiently.

Riley smiled “Sure, he’s really gentle.”  

Andi ran over to Dually as Riley jumped off and held him for Andi to climb on. She rode him around for a while then came back to Riley. “He’s such a nice boy!” Andi said with a smile.

“I know. Someone has put a lot of time into him., Riley said in agreement.

Andi jumped off and led him to the gate to put him away. As they were unsaddling,  Riley told Andi that they needed to tell Chad about the horse now that they found him. “We don’t have to do it now but we should do it soon.”

Andi replied slowly, “I know, but he’s going to be really mad.”

“Well, we have to tell him sometime,” Riley said determined.

Andi just sighed.

After they unsaddled Dually, Andi and Riley made their way back to the Circle C ranch yard. The next few days, Andi and Riley went up to see Dually every day. They would go for a ride, Andi riding Dually and Riley riding Dakota.

Andi loved Dually. He was such a beautiful and gentle horse, and a dream to ride, but this particular ride was not as enjoyable.

Chapter four        

Riley insisted Andi had to tell Chad about Dually tomorrow, and Andi knew there was no point arguing. The next day, Andi asked Mother if she could invite Ellie over for the afternoon and supper. She was trying to find a way to control Chad when they brought Dually to the ranch.

“Sure Andrea,” Mother said with a smile.

Andi smiled. “Thank-you Mother,” She said and ran off to saddle Shasta and head to town to invite Ellie over that afternoon.

When Andi got home it was almost lunch time. She hurried to unsaddle Shasta so she wouldn’t be late for lunch. After lunch, Andi and Riley left to go get Dually. On the way, Andi told Riley that Ellie would be there to hopefully keep Chad calm.

“Sounds good.” Riley replied.

Once they got Dually, Andi rode him while Riley ponied Shasta for her. On the way, Andi was thinking about what Chad might do. Telling him about something you want that you know he won’t like is one thing, but showing him you did it anyway would be another. “Dear Lord, please help things to go well,” Andi prayed.

In the yard, Andi and Riley jumped off and tied Shasta and Dakota up to the hitching rail. While Riley held Dually, Andi ran to find Ellie before Chad arrived. She found Ellie, Chad, and Mother all sitting in the parlour.

“Hey Ellie,” Andi said as she walked into the parlour. “Could you guys come with me?” Andi asked.

“Why?” Chad asked impatiently.

“Just come.” Andi didn’t feel like explaining just yet.

As soon as they were all out the door and Dually was in  view, Andi heard Ellie gasp. “That’s the horse Jem sent me!”

“What?” everyone asked in shock.

“Jem sent me a letter a while ago saying he was going to send me a horse for my birthday. In the letter was a picture of the horse. But when the horse arrived and was being unloaded from the train, some boxes fell over and spooked him, so he ran off,” Ellie finished leaving everyone stunned.

“So you mean Dually’s yours?” Andi asked in shock.

“Well, Jem said I got to name him, so yes!” Ellie finished with a smile.

Chad started to speak, looking directly at Andi. “So this is the horse you went behind my back to find?”

Andi looked at the ground. “Yes.”

“Well in this case I’m glad you did.”

Andi looked up. “What?”

“If you hadn’t, Ellie wouldn’t have him now,” Chad finished, smiling at Andi.

Ellie looked over at Andi too. “Thank-you for finding him!”

Andi smiled, “You’re welcome.”

Riley was smiling too. They all walked over to Dually as Andi went to Riley and gave him a big hug. “Thanks, my friend, I couldn’t have done it without you!” she said softly.