Free Nothing But Horses by Shannon Kennedy

you get
here.” I fed Summertime, then the two ditzy palomino mares that
lived across from the rescued Arabians. “Honestly, all this hoopla
makes a person believe Scrooge was right. Bah, humbug.”
    Spirit pulled out a mouthful of hay, chewed
and flicked her golden ears at me. She was the next on Vicky’s list
to train and should be pretty easy to break. Born and raised here,
the five-year-old didn’t have a clue that people could be cruel.
She figured they all came armed with treats. Still eating, she
stuck her blazed face over the door, so I could pet her.
    “Carrots later, little girl. Not now. Your
sib is further up in the barn telling me to feed her before she
starves.”
    I stepped back and began pushing the
wheelbarrow up the aisle, passing out chunks of hay as I went. It
really didn’t take long to feed the twenty horses in this barn. I
wasn’t mucking or watering, just giving them hay. The heavy work
came later at the end of the day. It would be time-consuming
tonight. With the snow, I couldn’t turn the horses into paddocks
for a few hours. I’d have to put different groups into the indoor
arena while I did the barn. That meant once the stalls were done, I
had to scoop up the horsy poop in the riding ring. If Santa could
have spared a few elves, it would be great.
    I left the lights on to melt the snow on the
roof, and then walked out of the barn. Autumn and Queenie slogged
through the drifts to meet me, Grandpa behind the duo. “Hi
there.”
    “Grandpa and me fed lunch in the other barn,”
Autumn said. “Grandma was starting to make sandwiches when we came
outside. Grilled cheese and tomato.”
    “Sounds yummy.” I glanced around the yard at
the snow on the roofs of the barns, the thick white layers on the
pine trees that lined the driveway. The place looked like a farm on
a greeting card. It would have been majorly awesome if we didn’t
have horsy chores three times a day. Having Grandpa and Grandma
here made everything so much easier this time around, not like the
storm three weeks ago when Mom, Autumn and I did everything.
    “Lunch will be ready for us now. Let’s go,” I
said. “After that, do you want to help me decorate the garage?”
    “Why?” Grandpa asked. “There’s just the shell
of that old car in there.”
    “I know. Bill can’t tow it down to Marysville
and Robin’s house today. He’s arranging for her to come and see
it.”
    “Okay, I’m in,” Grandpa said. “I’ll help. I
want to see the girl’s face when she gets the outside of a car, one
without an engine or transmission.”
    “It has nice seats,” Autumn said. “I helped
Bill shine up the Mustang. He promised to tell Santa that I’m a
good kid.”
    “Oh, I’m sure Santa already knows.” Grandpa
winked at me, but hid his amusement from my sister. “Sierra and
your mom must have shared the news.”
    “Yeah, but it’s December and I need all the
help I can get,” Autumn said, blue eyes concerned. “I was naughty
this year.”
    “You? My little Autumn angel?” Grandpa
struggled not to smile. “I don’t believe it.”
    “I really was, Grandpa.” My sister began to
list all her crimes from not keeping her room clean to refusing to
do her spelling test three times at school, to sassing Mom to
locking Meredith in the customer’s bathroom during tack-up.
    Grandpa listened sympathetically, and then
suggested she help me put together the big surprise for Robin. We’d
see to it Santa got the word that Autumn had changed her wicked
ways. When we reached the mud-porch, she was the first one to
remove her boots and outdoor gear and head into the kitchen. Once
she was out of earshot, he touched my shoulder. “Is that why
Meredith wasn’t at the party this weekend? Did your momma finally
lose patience with the woman?”
    “I did.” I shrugged out of my coat and hung
it up on a hook to dry. “Meredith really hated the contest idea.
She was so angry when we started signing up new students in the
pre-owner