Mystery Rider (2 page)

Melissa gazed from one to the other, her mouth agape. “Are you guys like this all the time?”

Kate snickered. “Pretty much. We can be serious when we have to be though.” She probably should say she was sorry, but after Melissa's stuck-up comment about not looking cheap, the words would have choked her. Apparently some of the old Melissa was still hanging around. “Let's get back to business. Colt suggested a bake sale. What else?”

“A car wash?” Melissa offered.

“Or maybe some kind of raffle,” Tori added.

Kate set her soda glass on the table. “That might work. I could talk to Mom about raffling off a riding lesson.”

“But you'd have to pay the trainer for the lesson, right? Would it be worth it?” Melissa asked.

“If enough people bought a ticket, we'd raise more than the lesson cost. But it might not be the best prize. We probably need to think about that a little longer.” Kate leaned against the couch.

Colt drummed his fingers on the coffee table. “Yeah. Having a good prize would get a lot more buyers.”

At that moment Kate's attention was drawn to a slight figure in the doorway to the hall leading upstairs. Her little brother, Pete, stood there, clutching his blanket. He shuffled his feet toward her.

Kate jumped up. “Pete. Why aren't you in bed? Are you looking for Mom? She's in the TV room with Dad.”

He didn't respond and kept his eyes averted.

She walked across the room. “What's the matter, little guy? Can't sleep again?”

He hunched one shoulder.

Kate knew better than to draw him into a hug like she wanted to do. Her six-year-old, autistic brother didn't like to be touched unless it was his idea. “Want me to take you back to your room and tuck you in?”

“Want a drink of water.”

Melissa suddenly appeared at Pete's side and touched his brown hair, but he didn't pull back. “I can get it for you, buddy.”

Kate glanced at the girl, then at her brother. It had amazed her the first time she'd seen this soft side of Melissa with her brother, and it still had the ability to surprise her. Not that she wasn't glad. Melissa could as easily have been mean to Pete. So many people didn't understand kids with problems. “Thanks, Melissa. But I'll take him.”

Melissa gave a short nod. “Okay.” She headed back to the couch and sank into the cushions.

“Pete?” Kate's mom stepped into the room. “There you are. Come on, honey, let's go.” She extended her hand, and Pete moved to her side but didn't reach out to her. “You kids go ahead with your planning, and I'll get this little guy back to bed.” She touched Pete on his back and urged him toward the hallway.

Kate called after them, “He wants water, Mom.”

“I'll take care of it. Thanks, Kate.” Mom disappeared around the corner.

Silence fell over the group. Then Melissa got up. “I'd better go. Mom said she'd be waiting outside at seven thirty, and it's twenty-five after now. Thanks for inviting me. I hope you have fun the rest of the night.” She smirked slightly.

“Bye, Melissa,” their voices chorused as Melissa headed out the door.

“Keep thinking of ideas,” Kate called after her.

Colt grabbed the remote. “Want to watch a scary movie?”

Tori groaned. “I hate scary movies. They scare me.”

“That's the idea, silly.”

Kate elbowed him. “We don't even own any scary movies. What did you guys think about Melissa?”

Tori sobered. “What do you mean?”

“I don't know. She was helpful and everything, but she seemed … odd somehow. I can't explain it.”

Colt rolled his eyes. “You're imagining things, Kate. If anything, she's more normal than we are.” He grinned.

Tori huffed. “Colt, sometimes I want to smack you.”

He shrank away as though scared but grinned again, wider.

“Seriously, I didn't notice anything weird about her,” Tori reasoned. “Except for the comment about not looking cheap, but that didn't really surprise me. Maybe she was worried she wouldn't fit in. We're not exactly the crowd she runs with, you know.”

Kate thought for a moment. “Well, it kinda bugged me. I guess it's still hard for me to believe she wants to be our friend after the way she acted toward us for so long.”

Colt kicked off his shoes, leaned into the couch, and planted his heels on the coffee table. “Ah, she's all right. I don't think she's a Christian, though. I guess it's up to us to do the right thing and make her feel welcome.”

Kate hesitated. “I just don't want to get burned. Know what I mean?” Melissa seemed decent enough now, but was she only playing a game, maybe because she was bored? Would she then go back to her old self?

The other two were quiet, as if thinking.

Finally Tori announced, “But we should give her a chance, right?”

“Right,” Colt said swiftly.

Kate chimed in with her agreement a bit more slowly. “I wonder what else she had to do tonight. A little late to be heading to another friend's house, and with school out, there's no homework.”

Colt drew in a deep breath and blew it out, his eyes closing. “If you don't want to watch another movie, maybe I'll take a little nap.”

Kate waved a hand in front of her face. “Remember what we said about your stinky socks? We weren't kidding!” She placed her foot next to his ankle and pushed. “Ugh. Boys are gross.”

Colt sat up. “Aww! You've stuck a knife right through my heart.” He chuckled. “I probably should head home too. Mind if I use your phone and give Mom a call?”

“Go ahead. You know where it is. You sure you don't want any more popcorn first?”

“Not me.” The answers came in unison from Colt and Tori.

Colt's long stride took him out of the room in a couple of seconds, but a short time later he hollered over his shoulder, “Hey, come see this. Weird, if you ask me.”

Kate bolted into the kitchen first, with Tori on her heels, and said, “What's up?”

Colt moved to the sliding glass door and pointed. “A black horse. That's not a big deal, but the rider looks strange.”

Tori crept up beside him. “The horse is gorgeous!”

Colt grunted assent. “But what's the deal with the person riding him? You can't tell if it's a man or a woman, and it's awful warm to be wearing a full slicker with a hood.”

Kate shaded her eyes against the glass. “I wish it wasn't dusk, so we could see the rider better. Look, they're trotting now and moving on up the road. I think the rider's a woman or a teenager. Doesn't look big enough to be a man, and she's all hunched over the horse's mane. Do you think she's sick or something?”

Colt slid the door open. “Maybe we should make sure the rider is okay.”

Kate and Tori slipped outside, with Colt following. He nudged Kate in the side. “You going to holler or just stand there?”

Kate made a face at him but took a few steps toward the gravel road that ran behind her house. “Hey,” she called toward the horse and rider, “are you all right?”

The horse slowed for a second. Then the rider bumped him in the side and they took off at a fast trot.

Tori stepped up beside Kate. “That was rude. She had to have heard you, but then she ignored you.”

Kate nodded. “It's a mystery. I've never seen that horse before, but maybe we should ask around and see what we can find out. It sure seemed like the rider had something to hide.” She faced Tori and Colt. “The person was the same size as Melissa. You don't suppose that's why she had to hurry home? But why wouldn't she stop and show us her new horse?”

Colt scrunched his brow. “It doesn't make a bit of sense. I say we keep a close eye out tomorrow night in case the rider comes back. What if she stole that horse?”

Chapter Two

Kate, Tori, and Colt sat in Kate's backyard for the third night in a row, but they still hadn't seen the mysterious horse and rider again. Kate's parents didn't mind them keeping an eye out for the new horse in the neighborhood. However, none of the trio thought it was a good idea to share their suspicions with Mr. and Mrs. Ferris that the rider could have been Melissa.

Tori settled back in a lawn chair. “I feel kinda stupid. There's no reason for Melissa to ride a new horse past your house right before dark. I don't know why we ever thought it was her to begin with.”

Colt plucked a long blade of grass from where he lay stretched out on the lawn and stuck it between his teeth. “Me too. It's not like she threw eggs at the house or anything.”

Kate had struggled with some of the same feelings for the past couple of days. “I'm the one who started us thinking that way … all because she smirked before she left. Lame, huh?”

Tori stared at her. “Seriously? Melissa smirks at stuff all the time. That's nothing new. I figured she'd done more than that.”

Kate shifted in her chair, feeling silly. “Well, she's hatched little schemes in the past that were aimed at us. She didn't act like she wanted to hang out with us when we said she could, and she didn't explain what else she had to do that night, so I guess …” All of a sudden the words sounded even more lame than what she'd said earlier. “And when her mom called the other day, it sounded like Melissa thought we weren't important, and that she was ready to leave anytime.”

Colt smacked his leg. “I know. What do you say we flat out ask her what's up? It's not like we've heard from her again, and she's supposed to be the head of our parade committee. Instead of talking about her, maybe we should be up-front about it and give her a chance to explain.”

“Good idea, Colt. I'm embarrassed now that we thought all that stuff about her.” Tori peeked at Kate. “Although I have to admit, she hasn't been the nicest or easiest person to be around in the past, so I get why Kate would be suspicious.”

Kate expelled a sigh. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but I messed up and I know it. I'll call her now.” She swung her legs over the side of the lawn chair and started to stand. “Wait a second. Do you hear that?”

Colt rolled over onto his side in the grass. “Nope. What?”

“Shh.” Kate held her finger to her lips. “Hoofbeats. Coming this way from the same direction as the other night.”

Colt and Tori bounded to their feet, with Kate close on their heels.

Colt tiptoed toward the road but kept behind a fir tree. “Come on. You girls want to see, or what?”

Now that the rider had returned, Kate was suddenly scared. What if it was Melissa, and she didn't answer? Or what if she thought they were spying on her and never spoke to them again? Not that it would be a huge loss. They'd never been friends and had only formed a truce of sorts at the horse show last weekend. But the idea of turning Melissa into an enemy again made Kate sick to her stomach.

She grabbed Tori's hand. “Maybe this isn't such a good idea.”

“Huh?” Tori blinked rapidly. “It's not like we're doing anything bad. We only want to see who it is, right?”

“I suppose.” Kate allowed Tori to tug her toward the fir tree with overhanging branches. “At least it's almost dark again, so she's not likely to see us hiding here.”

Colt didn't reply but stepped out from behind the trunk as the rider came opposite the yard. “Hey, that's a nice horse. What's its name? Can you stop so we can see him?”

The rider pivoted their direction, obviously startled. Kate could barely make out a wrinkled face under the hood drawn over the head. A breeze wafted, and a long strand of white hair escaped the hood and danced in front of the rider's face.

Definitely not Melissa.

Relieved, Kate called loudly, “Do you live around here?”

Instantly the rider touched the horse's side with a heel, sending it into a fast canter. Rocks from the gravel road kicked up behind as the pair disappeared down the road.

Tori groaned from behind the tree. “That went well. Sheesh. Either that person has something to hide or is scared of kids. Don't know which. But at least it's not Melissa. I'm glad about that.”

Kate nodded. “Did you see the white hair and wrinkled face? Creepy, if you ask me. I still couldn't tell if it's a man or a woman. Could you, guys?”

Colt shook his head. “I think it might be a woman because of the size, but some men are really small too, so who knows? I hate to keep saying s
he or they
. If we're going to try to figure this out, we ought to call him or her the Mystery Rider from now on.”

“Cool. The Mystery Rider.” Kate grinned and slapped her palms together. “Now all we have to do is solve the mystery.”

The next day, Kate leaned her hip against a cupboard in the kitchen. “Mom, do you think I should call Melissa? It's so weird that she hasn't come over or called since we first talked about the parade. Tori and I wonder if she's lost interest and ditched us.”

Her mother slid the rack into the dishwasher and shut the door, then faced Kate. “Could something have upset her?”

Kate reflected for a moment. “I don't think so. She overheard us talking about her and the parade in the afternoon, but we explained we wanted her to be part of it and even be in charge.”

Mom's eyebrows went up. “Is that all you were saying?”

“Yeah … well, at least right then.”

Her mom's eyes narrowed like they always did when she was trying to extract the truth. “And what does that mean? What aren't you telling me?”

Kate knew that look and that she might as well give her mother some answers now. “Melissa came by and helped us paint the rest of the fence. Her phone rang, and she stepped away for a bit, so Tori, Colt, and I were talking.”

“About Melissa?”

“Kinda … I guess.” Kate shifted uncomfortably.

“Either you were or you weren't, Kate.”

“Okay, we were,” Kate admitted. “But nothing bad. She told her mom she was hanging out with us, but she didn't seem to care whether she stayed or not. I guess that made me feel weird. We were talking about asking her to take part in our parade planning, and then Tori said we should invite her to spend the night. I said that might not be a great idea, 'cause Melissa's never been part of our group and runs with another crowd.” She added defensively, “It's not like she was acting all excited to be with us anyway, and Tori, Colt, and I already had the night planned.”

“Then what happened?” Mom settled into a chair by the kitchen table.

“Melissa walked up and asked if we were talking about her.”

“Uh-huh. And what did you say?”

“That we were, and we wanted her to come over that night to talk about the parade and wondered if she wanted to spend the night.” Kate wished Mom didn't always know when something was bugging her.

Her mother studied her. “But you didn't really mean it, right? You were hoping she'd say no.”

“Only to the overnight part. I didn't care if she came over and ate popcorn and talked about the parade.” Kate intertwined her fingers. “But honestly, Mom, I didn't think she'd fit in with me and Tori at a sleepover. Besides, she said no, so it doesn't matter, right?”

“You tell me, Kate. What if you'd been Melissa and heard other kids talking about you. Would you want to spend the night with them and take the chance of feeling left out or ignored?”

Kate huffed. “We didn't ignore her when she came over. We'd already put her in charge. Besides, it's not like she's been supernice to any of us since she brought her horse to our barn.”

Mom leveled a stern look at Kate. “So it's okay to get even with someone if she wasn't kind to you in the past? It doesn't matter if you hurt someone's feelings … Is that what you're saying?”

Kate wavered between irritation and guilt. Her mother was right, but she hated to admit it. She'd been feeling bad from the moment she realized Melissa might have overheard part of what she'd said that afternoon. But she and her friends had done a good job covering it, and Melissa seemed happy enough when she'd come to the Ferris house. “No, it's not okay, and I wasn't trying to get even. I just didn't think she'd fit in, that's all.”

Mom smiled. “Good. I wanted you to think about how Melissa felt. Have you tried calling her? It might be a good idea to reach out, in case she's worried you kids don't really want her around. You could tell her about the black horse you saw and see if she knows who owns it.”

Relief flooded Kate. Mom wasn't mad at her, and she understood. “Great idea. I'll do that now. Maybe I'll see if she wants to come over this afternoon and walk with me and Tori and Colt. We'll go up the road in the direction the rider headed and see if we can spot the horse in a pasture. If you and Dad don't care, that is.”

Mom nodded. “That sounds like a great idea, and a walk might be fun. But you have to finish your chores before you go, and I'd like you to read a story to Pete while I get some work done.”

“Sure, Mom. I'll read him two or three if you want. Is he taking a nap now?”

“Yes, but he'll be up soon. You know the four of you could take your bikes and cover a little more area, as long as you aren't gone all afternoon. Who knows? You might even uncover the mystery today.” Mom's eyes twinkled.

“Colt thinks the horse might be stolen.” Kate blurted out the words without thinking, then placed her fingers over her lips.

Her mother frowned. “What gives him that idea?”

“I don't know. I guess because the person riding the horse looks like she's trying to hide her appearance, and she only takes him out close to dark. Maybe she needs to ride him and get him ready to sell, so she only takes him on back roads where there isn't much traffic and not as many people are likely to see him …” Kate's flow of words trailed off when she saw her mom's doubtful expression. “You never know, Mom. There could be a horse-stealing ring in our area. We'd better start locking the doors on the barn at night. I don't want someone sneaking in and taking Capri.”