Free Golden Filly Collection Two by Lauraine Snelling Page A

kinda fun.” Rhonda settled back in her seat, grinning from ear to ear.
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “Well, I mean…we might meet some new guys.…Who knows?”
    If only my dad were here, Trish swallowed the thought. He’d be teasing Rhonda and me right now. She drove into the restaurant parking lot. More guys were clustered around Brad and David’s car.
    “See?” Rhonda nodded at the scene. “Red convertibles attract guys.”
    Trish spotted a familiar station wagon on the other side of the parking lot and pulled in next to it. She didn’t want the extra attention.
    But she couldn’t turn off the congratulations of the Prairie High students who were gathered inside. She glued her smile in place until she could hide behind a hot fudge sundae.
    “What are you gonna name it?” Rhonda licked her spoon and stared at Trish’s puzzled look. “The car, silly. You have to give it a name.”
    They hadn’t come up with a good one by the time Trish dropped Rhonda off at home.
    That evening Marge called a family meeting. “I think we need to lay some ground rules about the cars,” she said as they gathered around the dining room table.
    Trish tried to ignore the empty place where her father always sat. Patrick occupied the chair beside her. She listened with only half an ear, because she already knew what the rules would be. No picking up riders, no speeding, no crazy driving—as if Trish would do any of those things. She nodded in all the right places.
    “Now, about the summer…” Marge folded her hands on the table in front of her. “What do you think of taking the summer off and not racing anywhere until Portland Meadows opens in the fall?”
    Trish shrugged.
    “Maybe my opinion’s out of place,” Patrick said carefully, “but it’d be a shame not to race those three. They’ll be ready in a couple of weeks.”
    “Dad had planned on Longacres,” David put in. “We could go up just for the races we enter.”
    “There’s always California,” Patrick spoke again, not sure of his place in the decision. “You know Adam wants Trish to come down there.”
    “Trish promised to take a class at Clark College this summer to make up chemistry,” Marge spoke in her my-mind’s-made-up tone.
    Trish felt like an invisible child. Everyone seemed to be talking around her, as if they all knew what was best for her.
    “Well, we could just ship the three horses to California, and let Adam take care of them.” David rubbed the bridge of his nose. “That would make it easier for everyone.”
    Trish jerked alive. “ I ride our horses.” She stood up so fast her chair fell backward. “Where the horses go, I go.” She stalked out of the room.

Chapter
08
    T rish felt like kicking her bedroom door shut.
    Her eyes burned. Her throat felt tight as if she were being strangled. When there was a knock at her door she muttered, “Leave me alone.”
    “Trish…” Marge tapped again, then opened the door.
    “I said, leave me alone.” Trish stared out the window, her knuckles white as they gripped the sill.
    “I’ve tried that; it isn’t working.” Marge sat down on Trish’s bed.
    Silence hung in the room, like the oppression before a summer storm.
    “Tee, I…”
    “Don’t call me that!” Trish whirled around. “That was Dad’s name for me. And he’s not here!”
    “I know, Trish, but…”
    “I can’t stand it! You all talk as if nothing’s happened. ‘Trish is taking chemistry. We could ship the horses to California.’” Her voice rose as she spoke. “I can’t take any more of this.”
    “It’s not easy for any of us, Trish. You aren’t the only one affected.” Marge straightened up on the bed, trying to control her own emotions. “We’re all doing the best we can with a situation none of us likes. Do you think your father wanted to die and leave us all?”
    “Well, he did, didn’t he?” Trish turned back to the window, unable to face the tears streaming down her mother’s face. The