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to re-think this. I
don’t want you around those people out there. They’re at least
trash and they might be criminals. Your mother will agree with
me.”
    “Now you’re going to gang up on me? That’s
just great!” Since we had arrived at my house, I jumped out of
Dad’s truck, slammed the door, and stalked up the sidewalk.
Immediately, as I unlocked the door and went inside, my phone rang.
It was Dad.
    “What?” I said.
    “I mean it. You need to think this over.” I
hung up, but the phone rang again, immediately.
    “What?” I said.
    “Do not hang up on me, ever,” said my
dad. “Will you promise me you’ll think about it?”
    “Fine,” I said. “I’ll think about it.”
    “Fine,” he said. “Goodbye.”
    “Goodbye.” And we both hung up. I sighed. Now
what to do?
     

Chapter Eleven
    ~ Visiting ~
     
    As soon as
Mom walked in the door and started puttering in the kitchen, fixing
dinner, I eased in to start giving my side of the horse
argument.
    “Piper, I know what you’re going to say. Your
dad called me on the way home. And I agree with him. That’s not the
right horse if you have to deal with those awful people.”
    “But Mom...”
    “You know we’re right. And they are trash.
Chickie Hyde has a reputation as a ...a supplier of drugs in this
county. Sheriff Martin told me that. And Angel has a reputation for
being cheap.”
    “When were you talking to Harvey Martin?”
    “Oh, I stopped by Sam’s office this afternoon
and he was there. They were talking about how Chickie and his
brother Earl are looking like possible suspects in the recent
break-ins.”
    “Seriously?”
    “Yes,” said Mom. “You know they think Earl
was the one who was working with Jake when they caught him for drug
trafficking.”
    “Is Earl real skinny with long-ish hair?” So
they were brothers!
    “Have you seen him out there?”
    “Maybe,” I said. “Addie and I saw a guy drive
up that looked like the same guy we saw with Jake when we were
saving Dotty.”
    “Another reason not to go out there again.
Piper, find another horse. Please.”
    I had lied a lot in order to save Dotty, but
I didn’t want to lie any more. “I promised Dad I would think about
it, but I can’t believe Chickie is a bad guy,” I said.
    “Well, good, think about it,” she said,
apparently content to leave it at that. Mom went ahead and cooked
some spaghetti, while I set the table and made a salad.
    We ate our dinner while I told Mom how Addie
got hurt. I avoided any more mention of Nickel. I didn’t want to
hear more resistance to getting him.
    After I helped clean up the kitchen, I called
Addie to see how her ankle was.
    “It’s sore,” she said, “but it isn’t broken,
just a little sprain like your dad said. And I don’t have a
concussion.”
    “How long till your ankle’s better?”
    “Dr. Williams said a few weeks. I’m supposed
to stay off it for a day or two. It’s only a month till school
starts and it has to be better then. It would suck to have to
hobble to class with a crutch. Especially my first day in high
school. How would I carry my books?”
    “You would have to find a big, strong guy to
carry them,” I said.
    “Now that’s the best idea you’ve had.”
    “Kidding!” I said. Geez, what if she decided
to do that?
    “I know you were, but I wasn’t,” Addie said,
with a giggle.
    “Yeah, right. Anyway, how are you feeling
about the whole horse thing now?”
    “Well, I hated falling off. She didn’t really
buck me, did she?”
    “No, it was more you jumped off and fell at
the same time Dotty stopped.”
    “So, I can’t blame her. I think I’m still
good with riding Nickel. I felt safe on him, like he would watch
out for me. It sounds dumb, but I think he knew I was scared and
tried to be good.”
    “It doesn’t sound dumb. That’s exactly what I
thought, too. He’s a smart horse and the perfect ride for you.
That’s why we need him. It doesn’t matter who his owners are now.
He’s