Outside, an engine sounded in the distance. It was getting closer. Julia went into the office, scraped a patch of ice off the window, and peered out. A vehicle pulled into the barn driveway, came to a stop, and the driver got out. It was Claude.
Ever so slowly he made his way toward the office, his arms out as he tried not to fall on the ice. She opened the door to let him in.
“What are you doing out here?” he said. His scowling face was red from the cold. She couldn’t tell if he was concerned or angry.
“I came out to check on the horses.” Despite Claude’s sour mood, a smile played around her lips. She had taken care of the horses all by herself.
Claude harrumphed and went into the barn. She followed.
“They’re fine,” she said, hoping she sounded confident. “I broke the ice in the troughs and fed them hay. But thanks for coming out.”
“Just doing my job.” He tromped down to Bonnie Blue’s stall and looked over the door. Julia peered in too. Blue chewed on a mouthful of hay while Samantha nursed, her fuzzy, short tail wagging like a dog’s.
“Any idea when the power will come back on?” Julia said.
Claude shook his head. “Nope, it’s out all over.”
“Do I need to worry about the pipes in the house freezing?”
“If you think it’ll help.”
She furrowed her brow. Why did he have to be so ornery? She was starting to wonder if he had always been a man of few words, or if he had something against her. “Is there anything we can do to prevent it from happening?”
Claude opened the stall door, closed it behind him, and checked Samantha’s navel. “Hope for warmer weather.”
Julia crossed her arms over her chest. If he wasn’t going to be friendly, maybe she could at least get some information out of him. “Can I ask you something?”
Claude ran a hand over Blue’s back and checked her bag. “What?”
“Were you working for my parents when my sister was born?”
Claude straightened and kept his eyes on the horses, but Julia saw him flinch. It was the tiniest of movements, like a quick startle or a wince from a pulled muscle. Someone else might not have noticed. But she did.
He ran a hand under Blue’s neck. “I worked for your parents for twenty-seven years.”
“So you know about my sister.”
Claude came out of the stall, locked it, and started down the aisle. “I heard Mrs. Blackwood lost a child a few years back.”
Julia drew in a quick breath and followed him. “Do you know what happened?”
“Nope.” Claude went into the office, got a bottle of iodine out of the medicine chest, then went back to Blue’s stall.
She went with him. “But you must know something. Fletcher said you and my father were friends.”
Claude entered Blue’s stall, got on his knees, and put iodine on Samantha’s navel. “Did he?” He put the lid back on the iodine, got to his feet, and met Julia’s eyes for the first time since his arrival. “Listen, I worked for Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood for a long time. But I have a policy never to get involved in my employer’s personal business.” He dropped his eyes and opened the stall door, practically pushing her out of the way. “And that includes yours.” He went down to the tack room.
She followed. “I just thought—”
He stopped and turned to face her. “If you want to help with the horses, that’s fine. They belong to you now. I can’t tell you what to do. But I’ve got to get Blue and her filly out of that stall and put in fresh straw. I don’t have time for gossip.”
Blood rose in Julia’s cheeks. Suddenly she felt foolish, standing there in her father’s barn coat and oversized boots, the fingers of her gloves flopped over like a child playing dress up. She searched Claude’s face, trying to think of something to say. His eyes looked guarded. She wasn’t going to get anywhere with him. Not today anyway. She’d have to prove herself first. “All right,” she said. “I want to help.”
He retrieved a miniature halter from the tack room, went back to Blue’s stall, and tried to put the halter on Samantha. At first, she resisted, pulling away her little head and moving backward, her tiny hooves dancing in the straw. Then Claude wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rubbed the halter up and down her neck.
“It’s all right,” he said in a calming voice. “No one’s going to hurt you. See, it’s just a halter.” He moved the halter over her ears and cheeks as if petting her with it.
To Julia’s surprise, he sounded gentle and kind. “What are you doing?” she said in a quiet voice.
“Showing her she doesn’t need to be afraid of the halter by getting her used to the feel of it.” He continued rubbing the halter gently over Samantha’s face while Blue stood watching and eating hay, unconcerned.
After a few minutes, Samantha let him slip the halter over her head and buckle it. Once it was on, Claude let go. Samantha shook her head and pranced around the stall a few times, then pushed her nose beneath her mother’s belly to nurse. Claude clipped a lead line onto Bonnie Blue’s halter, asked Julia to open the door, and led the mare out of the stall. Samantha followed, her tiny hooves clip-clopping on the cement aisle. After Claude deposited Blue and her filly into another stall, he got a wheelbarrow from the far end of the barn and handed Julia a pitchfork.
“Might as well learn how things work from the ground up,” he said.
Julia took the pitchfork and went to work mucking out Blue’s stall. If this was the only way she’d prove herself and get information out of Claude, it was going to be the cleanest stall he’d ever seen.
CHAPTER 17
LILLY
Two days after Cole and Lilly took the bulls swimming in the farm pond, Lilly stood in front of Pepper in the center ring of the big top while Cole watched from a few yards away in the hippodrome, or outer track. Mr. Barlow waited beside him, chewing the end of a fat cigar, his face twisted in irritation. Next to Mr. Barlow, Cole’s father Hank held a bull hook in his hands, just in case.
“This better not be a waste of my time,” Mr. Barlow said.
“It won’t be,” Cole said. “We only need a few minutes, that’s all.” He nodded once at Lilly. “Go ahead.”
Lilly took a deep breath and gazed into Pepper’s eyes, trying to concentrate and silently begging her to do what she asked. If this went as planned, she could quit being The Albino Medium. She’d be working with Cole and the elephants, and hopefully, there’d be less need for training ropes and bull hooks. Pepper looked bored and a little confused. Lilly opened her mouth to give a command, then went over and gave Pepper’s trunk a good rub instead.
“Please don’t let me down, beautiful,” she whispered. “This is for both of us.”
Pepper made a deep, rumbling noise in her throat, snuffled Lilly’s neck and hair, and gave her a big mushy kiss with the end of her trunk. Then she started to sway.
“Okay, I’ve seen enough,” Mr. Barlow said. “The elephant likes her, so what?” He started to walk away.
“No, wait,” Cole said. “Just watch.”
Lilly moved back into position and said, “Up.”
Pepper stopped swaying, lifted her feet, and stood on her hind legs.