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stopped, the air was warming and beginning to feel humid. I put
on a dry t-shirt and jeans, then fished my cellphone out of my wet
jeans, hoping it wasn’t ruined.
    I checked on Addie. She was brushing Nickel,
who had his head in a rubber feed dish, eating oats. They looked
happy with each other. Addie looked up at me.
    “Hey, thanks for my horse.”
    “You’re welcome. I wonder when you can ride
with your hurt ankle.”
    “I’ll ask Doc Williams. I have to go see him
again tomorrow. Maybe I can ride soon.”
    “Does it still hurt?”
    “Not too much, as long as I don’t jump on it
or anything.”
    I put my bundle of wet clothes in a corner of
the barn. Dotty had a walk-in stall and had come in to see who was
in her barn. She stood with her nose over the stall divider,
sniffing at Nickel who sniffed back. They made gurgling sounds in
their throats as they got to know each other. Horses were herd
animals and liked the company of other horses. I had to smile when
I saw them.
    Since the rain had stopped, I looked at Addie
and we nodded at each other, mentally agreeing it was time to go.
The sky still lit up and thunder rolled in the distance, but the
storm seemed to be mostly over. We turned out the barn light and
walked up to Miss Julie’s house to face the music with my mom. I
was guessing that Miss Julie, Mom and Sam would be the only ones
there. Then, when Mom got over yelling at me, she could call Dad
and break the news to him. Or maybe she wouldn’t yell. Maybe she
would be nice and understanding since Sam was there. I could only
hope. I must have worried out loud because Addie stopped me and
said, “Pipe, what’s done is done. We have to live with it. And so
do they.”
     

Chapter Fifteen
    ~ Trouble ~
     
    We walked
up to the back door. I peered through the window in the door and
was surprised to see Miss Julie, Sam and Mom all standing in a
huddle in the middle of the living room. I was even more surprised
to see that their hands were tied in front of them. Standing near
them and talking to each other were Chickie, Angel and a man I
guessed must be Earl. I grabbed Addie’s arm, pulling her off the
porch and all the way to the barn.
    “What’s going on?” she said.
    “Shhh! Don’t be too loud! The storm is over
and our voices could carry! Chickie, Angel and Earl are in there
and they have Mom, Sam and Miss Julie tied up. They must be robbing
Miss Julie!”
    “What are we going to do?” Addie’s voice
shook.
    “We have to call for help,” I said, taking
out my phone and dialing 9-1-1. Nothing. My phone was dead. “It’s
dead as a hammer. Addie, do you have yours?”
    Addie took out her phone and dialed 9-1-1. No
signal. She walked all over the barn, trying to get bars on her
phone.
    “Stupid phone!” she said. “Stupid cell
towers! I’ll have to go to the road. Once you’re on the main road,
you can usually get a signal.”
    “Okay. I’ll go see if I can distract them
somehow. They won’t be expecting me. Hey, what are you doing?”
Addie was pulling down the halter I had just put up.
    “I’ve got to ride out to the road. It will
take too long to walk and someone could be hurt...or worse, by
then.” She went into Nickel’s stall, haltered him and led him out
into the main area of the barn without hesitating.
    “Addie, are you sure you want to do
this?”
    “I have to, Piper, and I have to do it fast!”
She swallowed. I knew my friend. She didn’t want to think about the
riding involved, she just wanted to start doing it.
    “At least let me do this.” I grabbed a saddle
that we had thought would fit Nickel and threw it over his back,
cinching it tight. “You be a good boy just a little longer,” I said
to the horse, hugging his neck, “and I’ll give you a lifetime of
apples and carrots.”
    Addie swung up onto Nickel’s back, turned his
head with the halter rope, took a deep breath and walked
purposefully out into the light drizzle. I grabbed a plastic
carry-all with a