“Hiya, Peach. I heard you were back on the rock. How are you?”
Emily reached his side and leaned in for a friendly hug. Percy leaned as well, but stopped just short of actually touching her. “You don’t want to get too close to this. Colette’s had me mucking all day. You know how that goes.”
He was pretty ripe with soil and exertion, so Emily just squeezed his shoulder instead. “I’m great, Percy. How are you?”
“Oh, you know. Same old, same old. You here to ride?”
Emily took a quick glance back over her shoulder to make sure she hadn’t been followed into the barn. The coast was clear.
“I am here to ride, Percy, but I was wondering if you could help me out with a bit of a, oh, let’s call it a prank.”
His eyebrows rose slowly, creating lines of dirt on his forehead. “A prank, you say? Oh, you know I’m always game for something like that. What are you thinking? Setting some manure on fire and leaving it on Judge Murphy’s front step? We sure haven’t done that in a while.”
Emily chuckled. “No, nothing quite like that. Here’s what I’m thinking . . .”
Half an hour later, the five riders stood in the paddock, each wearing a riding helmet. Everyone’s was navy, except for Tag’s. His was a bright neon orange.
“Are you sure this is the only helmet that will fit me?” Tag asked Percy as a stocky teenage girl with pink braces on her teeth led two horses from the stable. One was black with white socks, and the other was a dappled gray covered in spots.
Percy grinned over at Tag, looking a little crazy-eyed. “Yes, sir. Sorry about the color of your helmet, but that’s the only one we have in an extra-extra-large, and I don’t mean to insinuate any sort of insult on your part, sir, but you do seem to have an abnormally large head.”
“Percy, he does not,” Lilly said, frowning at him.
“You don’t think so? Oh, maybe it’s just his forehead then,” Percy muttered just loud enough to be heard. Emily coughed into her hand to smother her chuckle, and Ryan arched an eyebrow in her direction. Percy took the reins of the white-and-gray horse from the girl.
“Thanks, Lydia. After this could you please go get Spirit and Duke? And then bring out Periwinkle.”
Her blue eyes widened. “Periwinkle?”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s what I said.”
The girl looked confused for a moment but then nodded. “Okay, if you say so.”
Percy nodded and motioned to Chloe. “Okay now, princess, let’s get you saddled up first. This here is Lulubelle, and she’s about the sweetest girl we have. You two are going to get along just fine.” Chloe beamed as he gave her a leg up, and Emily smiled, too. That was one of the true joys of having kids, getting to experience something through their eyes. Emily had been around horses all her life and didn’t really care about riding one way or the other, but seeing Chloe’s broad smile and feeling the enthusiasm emanating from her typically hard to impress teen was a refreshing change.
Chloe patted the horse’s thick, speckled neck. “Well, Lulubelle, you are certainly one magnificent mare, aren’t you?” Lulubelle looked around in a decidedly mundane and not-at-all-magnificent way, but Chloe didn’t seem to notice.
“You’re next, Peach. Tilly’s the girl for you.” He grabbed the reins of the other horse as the stable girl went back into the barn. He linked his fingers for her to put her knee into, and seconds later she was settled into the saddle. “You remember how to do this?”
Emily nodded. “I think so. I just put the key in the ignition and press the gas pedal, right?”
Percy chuckled. “Right.” He adjusted her stirrup and winked as he grinned up at her. “I’ll be looking forward to hearing all about your ride when you get back.”
“I’m sure I will enjoy telling you all about it. Thanks, Percy.”
“Oh, you know you’re welcome.”
Lydia brought out two more horses, two dark bays that looked virtually identical. “Percy, did you say I should bring out Periwinkle next?”
Percy nodded. “Yep.”
“Periwinkle.”
He stared at the girl like an owl about to swoop in on a mouse. “Periwinkle,” he said.
“Okay,” she said slowly, and went back into the barn.
“Lilly, how’s about you saddle up on Spirit? I know you know your way around a horse, and if memory serves, you know your way around behind a barn, too.” He did the double-barreled wink-wink complete with sound effects, and Emily pretended to adjust her helmet just so she could shield her smile behind her hands.
Lilly snatched the reins from his hand. “I got this, Percy. Thanks.”
“All right, you there, with the movie-star veneers, you can ride Duke.” Percy motioned to Ryan. “He’ll suit you fine. He’s good with totally inexperienced riders such as yourself. If you can walk a dog, you can manage him, but if he does give you any trouble, just let the reins go real slack and he’ll know just what to do.”
“I have been on horses before,” Ryan said. “I’m not totally inexperienced.”
Percy’s slow nod was condescending. “Oh, well that’s real good news then, but there’s no shame in being a little bit scared. Horses are pretty big.”
Ryan glared at him. “I’m not afraid of horses. I never said I was.”
Percy nodded, his lips pressed in a line. He leaned in toward Ryan’s ear as if to whisper but didn’t lower his voice. At all. “I understand. You don’t want to be shown up by the young ladies here, but a little natural fear is a good thing. If you weren’t a mite nervous, then I’d be worried you did not fully appreciate the magnitude of the danger you are about to partake in.”
Ryan’s mouth opened, then shut, and Emily struggled not to laugh out loud. She’d told Percy to pick on Tag but seemed to be getting two pranks for the price of one.
Chloe glanced her way. “It’s not actually dangerous, is it, Mom?”
Emily shook her head. “No, honey. We’ll be fine.” There was always an element of risk when one was near any animal that weighed north of a thousand pounds, but riding these mild-mannered, mostly resigned saddle ponies was about as dangerous as feeding ducks in a pond. Sure, you might drown, but the ducks were certainly no threat.
Meanwhile, Tag stood and waited in his carrot-orange helmet. His eyes darted around, and he looked a little pale. Emily almost felt sorry for him.