With Casey, I used the same pressure points to get him to change directions. I would click my tongue to get his attention and then raise my hand toward his nose to get him to turn towards the fence. As soon as he reacted, I would drop my hand, because you didn’t want to constantly push him. Each time he turned for me, I would praise him.
“That’s a good boy.”
I could tell he was losing connection with me when he was further out from me, so I shortened the distance between us. Zoe came out to find Casey making small circles around me as we got to know each other. Of course, when he saw her, he ignored me and trotted over to the gate.
“You’re going to have to get other people to work with him,” I observed.
“Dad said the same thing. I need to get him to trust me before I’ll let Dad work with him. I see he must like you because he was working with you.”
She wanted me to wash the other horses. They seemed to like the attention, so it wasn’t really a chore. While I did that, Yuri came out.
“We’re going to wash the trucks. Do you want us to wash your car?” he asked.
“Sure.”
“I need your keys so I can move it and clean the inside,” he said reasonably.
I’d just finished washing one of the horses when I heard the rumble of the Demon starting up. Next, I heard the engine rev up, and rocks fly. I chuckled when I imagined Yuri’s surprise at how much punch my car had. My chuckle turned to a frown when I heard it pull out of the driveway and roar down the road.
I put the horse I was washing in her stall and gave her some feed as a reward for being a good girl. Then I stepped out, and sure enough, Yuri, Phil, and Roc were missing.
I debated which one to call. Yuri was probably driving, so he was out. It was a tossup between Roc and Phil. I picked Phil. The phone rang and then went to voicemail.
“Call me right back or prepare to die.”
Phil must have believed me because my phone rang.
“Did you call the police?” he asked.
They must have run through the speed trap. Sometimes God does shine down on us.
“No. I take it you were speeding.”
“He didn’t call them. He said we must have been speeding,” Phil said to Yuri.
“I didn’t think I was going too fast,” I heard Mrs. Pearson say.
Mr. Pearson came out of the house, and I waved him over.
“Your wife took my car and has just been pulled over by the police,” I told him.
A big smile came to his face as he suddenly had a story he could tell on her at church. It looked like he was going to enjoy it.
“Do you think they’ll book her?” he asked, and then his smile got bigger. “Maybe I can get a copy of the mug shot.”
I wanted proof too. Mrs. Pearson was the last person I would’ve imagined would go joyriding in my car. I could hear the police officer, so I put the phone on speaker for Mr. Pearson.
“Do you know how fast you were going?”
I smiled because I recognized the voice: it was Greg’s friend, Billy. Mr. Pearson was loving his wife’s discomfort. Then it got interesting.
“Ma’am, do you have permission to drive this car?” Billy asked.
“Well … uh … not exactly. I’m sure David would be fine with it, though,” Mrs. Pearson tried.
“Phil, hand the phone to Billy,” I said.
“David wants to talk to you,” Phil said.
“Hey, David. Looks like someone stole your car.”
“Listen, can you do me a favor? Can you cuff her and then take a picture of it? I’ll donate some free meals for you and your fellow officers at Granny’s West,” I said, offering him a bribe.
“I can’t really do that,” he hedged.
“Tell her what I offered you,” I suggested.
Not only did Mrs. Pearson go along with it, she did it one better: she had Billy put her in the back of his squad car. I would have to remember the look she had because it was way better than my freezing-wet hound dog face. The woman should be an actress.
Billy sent the picture to me, and I sent it to Mr. Pearson.
“Don’t send it out. I need this one for a later date,” he told me.
A man of experience. I needed to take notes.
It turned out that Roc didn’t think they had the right wax for my car, so he talked everyone into making a quick run to the auto-parts store. His mom happened to overhear their plan and insisted on driving.
◊◊◊
Zoe had brought the other horse she was training to sell in for his bath when her mom and the three bandits came back with my car. Yuri apologized up a storm because he was the one who had asked for the keys. I assured him everything was okay after Mrs. Pearson told me they’d have my car ready for me shortly. I’d learned my lesson, though, and made them give me the keys.
Zoe and I finished up the horses and went to find my car.
“All done,” Mrs. Pearson announced.
I made a big show of inspecting it and then smiled.
“Thanks. It looks great,” I said, which brought smiles to their faces. “I was hoping Zoe and I could go out to dinner if that’s okay with you?”
“That’s fine,” Mrs. Pearson allowed.
“But …” died on Roc’s lips.
The rule had been that for a date, Zoe and Roc had to go with another couple. I’m not sure if it was the thought that he might get the same privilege, or the look Zoe gave him. But whatever it was, he didn’t make his objection.
“I need a shower,” Zoe told me and went into the house.
I decided to go to my farm to talk to my grandma while she did that. Grandma took me on a tour to show me what was going on. She told me to help her pick some vegetables to take home with me. The timing worked out because as I was loading the trunk, Zoe sent me a text that she was ready.
“Where do you want to go?” I asked once we were driving.
“Let’s pick up food and go to your house,” she suggested.
I introduced her to the Mexican place that had burritos as big as your head. Greg and his family would be home with our parents, so I bought a variety of dishes. I had them separate the order for Zoe and me so we could just drop off the food for everyone else.
When we got home, I dropped off the food and produce my grandmother had sent, and the two of us ran up to my apartment. Turned out that Zoe was an evil girl, and her plans didn’t include eating just yet. I did learn something: the burrito was just as good reheated.
◊◊◊
Chapter 29 – Camp David Monday July 25
Peggy wanted to run with me this morning. I offered her cash to take Duke and the boys on a run without me. She made me tell her why, and I explained the mystery woman at the park.
“That just confirms you’re a ‘stupid boy,’” Peggy stated.
“What? Why?” I asked.
“Think about it. One of two possibilities is going on. Either something’s wrong with her because she’s willing to have sex with a complete stranger …”
“Hang on. I’m not bad looking,” I said and flashed her my abs.
“… or she knows it’s you, and she’s setting you up,” Peggy finished.
“That’s why I’m wearing my bodycam,” I said, pointing at my hat.
“Do you have condoms?” she asked.
I showed her I carried one in each sock. It didn’t please me when she made me pay her cash up front. I thought she trusted me more than that.
◊◊◊
To be honest, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to find the girl I was calling the ‘mystery woman’ waiting for me or not. While I was a bit disappointed, at the same time I was a little relieved when she wasn’t there.
◊◊◊
I’d agreed to hold a camp for the football team this week. The plan was to work with different groups each day. Today I asked everyone to come in, and over ninety of my teammates showed up. When you think about it, that’s a lot of boys, given our high school had somewhere around 750 pupils. That meant about a third of the boys came out for football. Sports were a big part of Lincoln High, so it didn’t surprise me.