Free Nothing But Horses by Shannon Kennedy Page B

Mustang brought her dad from the house as
well as the rest of us from the barn. She jumped up and down in
excitement, then hugged Bill three or four times before she kissed
him.
    “It needs an engine and a tranny,” Bill
said.
    “It’s perfect.” Robin smoothed a hand over
the left front fender. “Wait until you see it when I finish
it.”
    “You’ll be buying a lot of parts,” John
Gibson told her, “but it will still be cheaper than a restored
classic.”
    “And it’s mine, all mine.” Robin held out her
hand for the keys which Bill ceremoniously handed to her. “I got a
‘68 Mustang and it will be Presidential blue when I paint it.”
    “Is she serious or just trying to make him
feel good?” I whispered to Vicky. “She won’t be able to drive it
forever.”
    “Are you kidding? If you knew Robin like I
do, she’ll have that car on the road by June.” Vicky tucked her arm
through mine and hugged me. “She loves her four-wheeled horses the
way we love the ones with four hooves. I have to say carrots are
cheaper than gas right now.”
    “Yeah, but the cost of hay and grain keeps
going up.” I watched Robin eye her dad speculatively and then start
talking him into paying half the cost for an engine and a
transmission. He wouldn’t have to pay for the labor to install
them. She’d get her boss to help with that at the car lot.
    Laughing, Jack came to join Vicky and me. “He
might as well give up since Princess Robin gets what she wants when
she wants it. He spent more on my truck and Felicia’s Jeep. He’ll
have to rope and hog-tie her to get Robin out of the Mustang Corral
now.”
    I looked at Bill. He had his attention on
Robin who still stroked the fender of the car like I did Nevada’s
neck. Bill glanced at me, grinned and gave me a thumbs-up. He was a
hero today. All at once, Robin squealed. She hugged her dad, and
then hugged Bill again.
    “Told you,” Jack said, smiling. “She got my
dad on her side.”
    He didn’t look upset or concerned about it,
so I asked. “Are you really cool with your dad buying those
parts?”
    “Sure.” Jack winked at me. “My baby sister
doesn’t have a clue how hard she’s going to have to work to get the
new motor into that car, or the transmission. She’ll be buying the
brakes, new tires and all the custom stuff.”
    “Yes, but you’ll help her if she needs it,
won’t you?” Vicky gave him a long, slow look from under her lashes.
“I don’t want Robin to get hurt trying to muscle in that
engine.”
    “Brianna has all the equipment at the car lot
to do the job.” Jack met Vicky’s gaze, then after what seemed like
an age, he nodded. “I’ll offer to help.”
    That apparently didn’t satisfy Vicky. She
didn’t say anything, just kept her attention on him. “Wow, you’re
tough. All right,” Jack said. “Bill and I will be there to do the
heavy lifting. We’ll get Harry to help too, so don’t turn Dani
loose on him. Deal?”
    Vicky gave him a sunny smile, tiptoed up to
kiss him. “You’re my favorite super-hero.”
    “Yeah, well I’m not wearing tights, so don’t
even ask.” He sauntered away to hassle his sister and buddy.
    I laughed, looked down at Vicky. “I bet you
could get him to wear them if you wanted.”
    “Probably, but I’d rather have him keep Robin
safe.” Vicky sighed and looked at the car. “I’ll never tell her,
but I don’t get it. If I had a car, I’d want one I could drive to
school right now.”
    “Me too,” I said. “Shall we go hang out with
the horses and finish the barn?”
    “Let’s.” Vicky turned with me and we started
for the garage door.
    Grandpa, Grandma, Mom and Autumn were
crossing the yard when we left the garage. I waved at them.
“Robin’s drooling over her present. She loves it.”
    “Oh, I’m so glad,” Mom said. “We’ll go let
her tell us all about it.”
    “Yeah, well be careful,” I said. “She’s
already talked her dad into paying for the new engine and