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let me talk to Hawk if I hadn’t been in the room. “Okay.”
    I jogged to the workshop. “Dad, Madeline’s on the phone. Should I tell her you’re too busy to—?”
    He brushed past me in his rush for the phone. “Winnie, see if you can get those screws out of the shower door while I talk to Madeline.”
    â€œOkay. But I have to do barn chores first.”
    â€œAll done,” Dad said, picking up the phone.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI asked Lizzy to do them so we could get down to business.”
    â€œOur Lizzy did barn chores?” Lizzy would happily hold snakes, lizards, and bugs. But she sweats if she gets within 10 feet of a horse.
    â€œShe wasn’t crazy about the idea,” Dad admitted. “But once I explained our urgency with your invention, she agreed to help. Geri too.”
    Unbelievable.

    For the rest of the morning Dad and I raided junkyards, which Dad called “discovery centers.” We found hoses and showerheads, not to mention dead raccoons and live skunks.
    Dad kept up a steady stream of dialogue. “Did you know, Winnie, that in the 1500s, whole families bathed in a single tub of water? The man of the house got to bathe first. Then he left his water for his wife’s bath. When she finished, the children took turns in order of their ages. Last, the baby was given a bath. Hence the expression ‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.’ We have come a long way, but you and I are about to bring the American family the rest of the way.”

    Back in the workshop, Dad kept me busy cleaning showerheads. He answered all phone calls. We didn’t even break for lunch. Lizzy and Geri brought in lime milk shakes and fried-egg sandwiches.
    It wasn’t until Dad was wedged behind the shower stall, blowtorch in hand, that I was able to escape the workshop. The phone rang, and I dashed out to get it before he could stop me.
    â€œHello?”
    â€œWinnie! Where have you been? And how can you not have an answering machine?”
    â€œKaylee? I’ve been waiting for you to call. How’s—”
    â€œMe? You were supposed to call me back! I’ve been waiting all day. Didn’t your dad tell you?”
    â€œHe’s so into this invention stuff he must have forgotten.” But I knew Dad hadn’t told me on purpose. “I’m sorry, Kaylee. Go on! What happened at Happy Trails?”
    â€œWinnie, it was awful!” Kaylee broke down. I could hear her choking on her tears. “Bandit wasn’t there. And, Winnie, they said the buckskin never existed!”

Kaylee’s words echoed over the receiver: “They said the buckskin never existed.”
    â€œW-wait,” I stammered. “Who said Bandit didn’t exist?”
    â€œThe big man with the honking nose!”
    â€œLeonard?” I asked, remembering what Pat had said about Lazy Lenny.
    â€œHe’s a horrible man, Winnie! He acted like I was crazy. Then he brought out this horse that was kind of the same color as Bandit, but it wasn’t Bandit. And my parents believed him! They couldn’t tell the difference.”
    I didn’t like it that Leonard would lie about the horse and say the buckskin never existed. If he’d sold Bandit, why wouldn’t he have just said so?
    â€œWinnie, I’m at Summer’s. For her party, you know. Will you come get me? I have to go back to Happy Trails and look for Bandit.”
    â€œWinnie!” Dad shouted from the workshop.
    â€œKaylee, I don’t know if I can—”
    â€œPlease, Winnie!” She sounded so desperate.
    â€œHang on. I’ll be right there.”
    It wasn’t easy to convince Dad to give me a break from inventing. I had to promise to work all night if he needed me.
    Lizzy and Geri were feeding Annie Goat when I walked into the barn.
    â€œIs this goat always so crabby?” Geri asked.
    â€œPretty much,” I