How To Trap a Parent. Joan Kilby

was coming through the trees and shining on his face. He looked really handsome.” Mary Kate paused thoughtfully. “I thought maybe she was keeping it to give to me someday, but when I tried to look at it, she pushed it out of sight and sent me off to finish packing my stuff.”

      “Wow,” Stephanie said. “That’s so romantic.”

      “It is kind of, isn’t it?” Mary Kate hadn’t thought of it that way before.

      Stephanie glanced ahead as they emerged from bush into a meadow. “Want to race to the end of the field?”

      A race? Mary Kate gulped. She didn’t want to tell Stephanie she’d only cantered once before. “Sure, why not?”

      With a whoop, Stephanie dug her heels into Magoo’s belly. The dapple gray tore off at a gallop. Cherry leaped forward, almost jolting Mary Kate out of the saddle. She clung on, trying not to drop the reins. The wind whistled in her ears and the pounding hooves seemed to vibrate clear through to her chest. She leaned forward, low on Cherry’s neck, and forgot to breathe. Magoo’s gray rump was mere inches in front of Cherry’s outstretched nose.

      The trees on the far side of the meadow rushed closer at an alarming rate. Mary Kate started to pull back on the reins but she needn’t have worried. As Stephanie slowed Magoo, Cherry automatically dropped to a canter then a trot. Mary Kate bounced lopsidedly in the saddle, then, grinning from ear to ear, she righted herself.

      “Wow! That was better than the roller coaster at Six Flags,” she exclaimed.

      Stephanie laughed. “Don’t tell Dad we galloped. I was supposed to take it easy with you the first time.”

      “Can we do it again?” Mary Kate asked eagerly.

      “No, we’d better walk the rest of the way,” Stephanie said. “It’s not far and the horses need to cool down.”

      Mary Kate fell in behind Stephanie as they entered a thinly wooded section where grass grew between widely spaced trees. Beyond the trees was the paddock at the back of Stephanie’s house.

      They came to the fence, and Stephanie leaned over and unlatched the gate, skillfully maneuvering her horse so that the gate swung open and Mary Kate could pass through on Cherry. Stephanie closed it again and they rode across the paddock to the stable. Cherry quickened her pace to a trot as she neared home. Mary Kate gripped with her thighs this time and tried to lift herself off the saddle with every step the way Stephanie did.

      They came to a halt and Mary Kate flung her leg over the back of the saddle and dropped to the ground. Her legs felt all wobbly as she staggered around to the front of her horse.

      “You’ll be sore tomorrow, but a few more rides and you’ll be fine.” Stephanie looped Magoo’s reins over the fence and showed Mary Kate how to remove the saddle.

      They groomed the horses and put their halters back on. Mary Kate helped carry buckets of water to fill the old bathtub that served as a water trough. Then she and Stephanie put away the saddles and bridles.

      The heavy hollow clump of hooves sounded on the wooden stable floor strewn with straw as Cherry and Magoo came into their stalls looking for food. Stephanie peeled off two flakes of hay from an open bale and handed one to Mary Kate to throw into the manger for Cherry. Cherry whickered softly and bobbed her head before getting down to serious munching.

      “I wish I had a horse,” Mary Kate sighed, running her hand over Cherry’s glossy reddish-brown neck.

      “You can ride with me anytime,” Stephanie offered. “Dad only rides on Sundays and even then he doesn’t have time every weekend.”

      “Cool.” Mary Kate touched Stephanie’s arm as they turned to leave the stable. “Remember what I said about that photo Mom kept in her underwear drawer? Don’t say anything to your dad. Mom would have a fit if she knew I’d told you.”