Free One Unhappy Horse by C. S. Adler

do what she wanted with her own property. It had sounded as if she wanted to prove that she wasn't totally under her daughter's control.
    "Well, even if she wasn't just talking," Mom said, "you
couldn't let her do it, Jan. She's an old lady and she may not be—you know, all there. It would be wrong to take her money."
    "I know."
    "Anyway," Mom said, "she's probably already forgotten she said it."
    "Maybe," Jan said. But she wondered. Did having spells and forgetting things occasionally mean that Mattie had lost her mind? It seemed to Jan that Mattie made too much sense to be senile. Still, her spur-of-the-moment offer might not have been serious. Or she might have been boasting out of a passing anger at her daughter, and thought better of it later. In any case, they couldn't take her money when Mattie had so little herself—nothing but the ring, not even her own room.
    "I bought another lottery ticket today," Mom said.
    "You're wasting money, Mom."
    "Somebody's got to get lucky. Why not us?"
    "I guess," Jan said. A lottery ticket was a long shot, but it was better than nothing.
    Mom slowed the paint to a standstill and began stroking his neck. "Imagine ... your Mattie offering to hock her ring for you," Mom said. "That lady sure must like you a lot. Even if she didn't mean it, it was nice of her."
    "Mattie is really nice," Jan said.
    "One of these days I'd like to meet her." A smile creased Mom's sun-worn face. "Tell you what. How about we invite her for a cookout?"
    "A cookout?" They never entertained. Jan wasn't even sure what her mother meant.
    "Sure," Mom said cheerfully. "It'll get our minds off our troubles. I'll buy a steak and we can cook it outdoors. We still have that old charcoal grill of your father's. It doesn't have to be fancy. Mattie'd probably be glad to be invited out."
    Jan was sure she would be, especially since her daughter didn't take her anywhere. "That'd be wonderful, Mom. But I think hamburger would be better than steak. I mean, in case she has false teeth or something."
    "Right," Mom laughed. "Hamburger and buns and some salad is enough. Want to invite her for tomorrow?"
    "Tomorrow's Saturday."
    "So?"
    "It's your busiest day," Jan said.
    "You can help me get the horses done early, and we've got to eat, anyhow. How about it?"
    Jan smiled. "Sounds good to me. I'll go invite her right now."
    "Be sure you say that it's only going to be a light supper. I don't want her expecting a gourmet feast."
    "Don't worry. I'll tell her you can't cook."
    "Who says I can't cook?" Mom yelled, but Jan just laughed as she ran off toward the big house. It felt good to be doing something sociable for a change.
    Stella greeted her at the back patio door. When Jan said
she'd come to see Mattie, Stella said, "Mattie's taking a nap. I'm just about to go home for the weekend, but I could leave her a message for you."
    "Well, my mother and I want to invite her for supper tomorrow night."
    Stella clapped her hands in delight, as if the invitation were for her. "Terrific! Mattie'll be in seventh heaven to be invited out. She loves to party. I'll tell the woman who works here weekends to see to it she's ready at...?"
    "Five o'clock?"
    "Perfect. You'll come to pick her up, won't you?"
    "Sure," Jan said.
    "I wish I could see her face when she gets the invitation. She'll be so thrilled," Stella said.
    Jan walked away from the house smiling at how pleased Stella had been for Mattie's sake. Mattie's daughter might not care about her as much as she should, but other people in her life did.

CHAPTER NINE
    Cleaning the house and making a salad in preparation for Mattie's visit distracted Jan from brooding about Dove on Saturday. That morning she had found him lying down again. Mom had wrapped his leg to try and give him some relief, and he had finally risen and hobbled to his feeder to eat.
    "Looks like he hasn't lost his appetite, anyway," Mom said. She patted Dove on his rump and went back to work. Jan had waited patiently for