Gabbie tossed her long dark hair, and her brown eyes narrowed. Gloria was struck by Gabbie’s resemblance to her mother, Corinne. ‘I still don’t see why we can’t ship Bumper out from home, Father.’ She said ‘Father’ in that polysyllabic way young girls have of communicating hopelessness over ever being understood. ‘You let the boys bring that retarded dog and you brought Ernie. Look, if it’s the money, I’ll pay for it. Why do we have to rent some stupid farmer’s horses when Bumper’s back in California with no one to ride him?’
Gloria decided to take a hand and entered the conversation as she closed on them. ‘You know it’s not money. Ned Barlow called and said he had a jumper panic aboard a flight last week, and they had to put him down before he could endanger the crew and riders, and he almost lost a second horse as well. The insurance company’s shut him down until he resolves that mess. And it’s a week into June and Ned also said it would be four or five weeks before he could get a reliable driver and good trailer to bring Bumper here, then nearly a week to move him, with all the stops he’d have to make. By the time he got here, it would be almost time for you to head back to UCLA. You’d have to ship him right back so he’d be there to ride when you’re at school. Want me to go on? Look, Gabbie, Ned’ll see Bump’s worked and cared for. He’ll be fine and ready for you when you get back.’
‘Oooh,’ answered Gabbie, a raw sound of pure aggravation, ‘I don’t know why you had to drag me out here to this farm! I could have spent the summer with Ducky Summers. Her parents said it was all right.’
‘Stop whining,’ Phil snapped, his expression showing at once he regretted his tone. Like her mother, Gabbie instinctively knew how to nettle him with hardly an effort. The difference was that Gabbie rarely did, while Corinne had with regularity. ‘Look, honey, I’m sorry. But I don’t like Ducky and her fancy friends. They’re kids with too much money and time on their hands, and not an ounce of common sense in the whole lot. And Ducky’s mom and dad are off somewhere in Europe.’ He cast a knowing glance at his wife. ‘I doubt they have a hint who’s sleeping at their house these days.’
‘Look, I know Ducky’s an airhead and has a new boyfriend every twenty minutes, but I can take care of myself.’
‘I know you can, hon,’ answered Phil, ‘but until you’ve graduated, you’ll have to put up with a father’s prerogatives.’ He reached out and touched her cheek. ‘All too soon some young guy’s going to steal you away, Gabbie. We’ve never had a lot of time together. I thought we could make it a family summer.’
Gabbie sighed in resignation and allowed her father a slight hug, but it was clear she wasn’t pleased. Gloria decided to change the subject. ‘I could use a hand, you guys. The moving elves are out on strike and those boxes aren’t going to unload themselves.’
Phil smiled at his wife and nodded as Gabbie gave out a beleaguered sound and plodded towards the house. When she was up the steps to the porch, Phil said, ‘I’m probably selling her short, but I had visions of having to fly back to bail her out of jail on a drug bust.’
‘Or to arrange for her first abortion?’ queried Gloria.
‘That too, I suppose. I mean, she’s old enough.’
Gloria shrugged. ‘For several years, sport. I hadn’t when I was her age, but I was raised with the fear of God put in me by the nuns at St Genevieve’s.’
‘Well, I just hope she has some sense about it. I expect it’s too late for a father-daughter talk.’
‘From the way she fills her jeans, I’d say it was about six or seven years too late. Besides, it’s none of our business, unless she asks for advice.’
Phil laughed, a not altogether comfortable sound. ‘Yes, I’d guess so.’
‘Sympathies, old son. Instant parent of teenager was tough. But you’ve done a good job the last two years.’
‘It’s no easier for you,’ he countered.
She grinned up at him. ‘Bets. I’m not her mother, and I remember what it was to be a teenage girl. Look, Gabbie’s not going to be the only one around here throwing temper tantrums if I don’t get some help with those boxes. After combative twins, that clown in a dog suit, and a smug alley cat, it comes down to you, me, and Miss Equestrian of Encino.’
Phil’s face clouded over a little. His dark brown eyes showed a flicker of concern as he said, ‘Having second thoughts about the move?’
Gloria hesitated, wondering if she should share her doubts with Phil. She decided the homesickness would pass once they settled in and made new friends, so she said, ‘No, not really. Just about unpacking.’ She changed the subject. ‘I had a call from Tommy about an hour ago.’
‘And what does Superagent allow? Another movie offer?’ he asked jokingly.
‘No.’ She poked him in the ribs. Tommy Raymond had been her agent when Gloria worked off-Broadway and in Hollywood. She had quit acting when she and Phil married, but over the years Tommy had stayed in touch, and she counted him among her few close friends in the business. ‘He called to say Janet White is opening a play on Broadway in the fall. They’re reviving Long Day’s Journey.’
‘Getting the itch again?’
She smiled. ‘Not since the last play I was in bombed in Hartford.’ Phil laughed. She had never caught on in New York or Hollywood, where she and Phil had met. Phil had taken to calling her ‘the Oscar winner’, and it had become a family joke. She didn’t regret her choice, as she had little desire for fame, but she did occasionally miss the theatre, the challenge of the work and the camaraderie of other actors. ‘Anyway, we’re invited to the opening.’
‘Rented tux and all, I suppose.’
She laughed. ‘I suppose. Assuming Janet can survive the out-of-town run.’ Tugging on her husband’s arm, she said, ‘Come along, handsome. Give me a hand, and once we get things under control, you can run out to McDonald’s or the Colonel’s for dinner, and when the kids are in bed, I’ll scrub your back, then show you a few things I didn’t learn from the good sisters of St Genevieve’s.’
Kissing her cheek, Phil said, ‘Just as I suspected. Scratch a good Irish-Catholic schoolgirl and underneath you’ll find a dirty old woman.’
‘Complaints?’
‘Never,’ he said as he kissed her on the neck. Giving him a hug, Gloria put her arm through his and they walked towards the old house that was their new home.
• Chapter Two • (#ulink_91d9872c-44c8-5499-939c-6a222d0deb2a)
Sean and Patrick marched along the little stream, wending their way among the rocks as they followed the tiny rivulets of water. The gully deepened and Sean, the more cautious of the two, said, ‘We’d better go up there.’ He pointed to where the bank began to rise on the right.
Just then Bad Luck came galloping down the creek bed, red tongue lolling and tail wagging a furious greeting. He circled around the boys, then began sniffing at the ground.
‘Why?’ asked Patrick, contemptuous of anything resembling caution.
‘’Cause we could get caught down there,’ Sean answered, pointing to where the gully dropped rapidly into a dell, his voice sounding thin and frail over the water’s merry gurgle. ‘Besides, Mom said not to go too far.’
‘That’s dumb; she always says stuff like that,’ was Patrick’s answer as he tugged on Bad Luck’s ear and set off to follow the water. His catcher’s mitt hung by a thong from his belt and his Angels cap sat upon his head at an aggressive angle. He carried his Louisville Slugger over his shoulder as a soldier carries his rifle. Sean hesitated a moment, then set out after his brother, struggling to keep his beat-up old Padres cap on his head. Twins they might be, but Sean just didn’t seem to have Patrick’s natural confidence, and his timidity seemed to rob him of grace, causing him to slip often on the loose gravel and rocks.
Sean stumbled and landed hard on his rear. He pulled himself upright, all his anger at the tumble directed at his brother. He dusted himself off and began to negotiate the steep drop of the gully. He half scrambled, half slid down the incline, his baseball glove and ball held tightly in his left hand. Reaching the bottom, he could see no sign of Patrick. The gully made a sharp bend, vanishing off to the right. ‘Patrick?’ Sean yelled.
‘Over here,’ came the reply. Sean hurried along, rounding the bend to halt next to his brother.
In one of those moments the boys shared, they communicated without words. Silently they voiced agreement, This is a scary place.
Before them squatted an ancient grey stone bridge, spanning the gully so a trail barely more than a path could continue uninterrupted as it rambled through the woods. The very stones seemed beaten and battered as if they had resisted being placed in this arrangement and had yielded only to brutish force. Each stone was covered in some sort of black-green moss, evidence of the presence of some evil so pernicious it infected the very rocks around it with foul ooze. Overgrown with brush on both sides above the high-water line on the banks, the opening under the bridge yawned at the boys like a deep, black maw. Nothing could be seen in the darkness under the span except the smaller circle of light on the other side. It was as if illumination stopped on one side of the bridge and began again only after having passed beyond its boundaries.
The boys knew the darkness was a lair. Something waited in the gloom under the bridge. Something evil.
Bad Luck tensed and began to growl, his hackles coming up. Patrick reached down and grabbed his collar as he was about to charge under the bridge. ‘No!’ he shouted as the dog pulled him along, and Bad Luck stopped, though he whined to be let loose.
‘We better get back,’ said Sean. ‘It’ll be dinner soon.’
‘Yeah, dinner,’ agreed Patrick, finding it difficult to drag his eyes from the blackness under the bridge. Step by step they backed away, Bad Luck reluctantly obeying Patrick’s command to come with them, whining with his tail between his legs, then barking.
‘Hey!’ came a shout from behind, and both boys jumped at the sound, their chests constricting with fright. Patrick hung on to Bad Luck’s collar and the Labrador snarled and spun around to protect the boys, pulling Patrick off balance.
Patrick stumbled forward and Sean fell upon the dog’s neck, helping to hold him back from attacking the man who had come up behind them.
The man held out his hands to show he meant no harm. Bad Luck struggled to be free. ‘Stop it,’ shouted Sean and the dog backed away, growling at the stranger.
Both boys looked the man over. He was young, though not recognized as such by the boys, for anyone over the age of eighteen was a grown-up.
The stranger examined the two boys. Both had curly brown hair protruding from under baseball caps, deep-set large blue eyes, and round faces. Had they been girls, they would have been considered pretty. When older, they would likely be counted handsome. The stranger smiled, and said, ‘Sorry to have scared you boys and your dog. It’s my own damn fault. I shouldn’t have shouted. I should’ve known the dog’d be jumpy.’ He spoke with a soft, musical voice, different from what the boys were used to hearing.
Seeing no immediate threat to the boys, Bad Luck stopped his growling and reserved judgement on this stranger. The boys exchanged glances.
‘Look, I’m sorry I startled you guys, okay?’
The boys nodded as one. Patrick said, ‘What did you mean about Bad Luck being jumpy, mister?’
