“Well, how did you sleep, Aunt Winnie?” Penny asked the next morning.-“Did you have any ghostly encounters last night?”-Penny and Ed still found it astounding that she would be so enthused about their ghosts.
“No, I’m a little disappointed, actually.-There was no supernatural activity at all.-But I’m still hopeful that I may make contact if you invite me back again.”
“You’re welcome anytime at all Aunt Winnie.-We have all enjoyed your visit very much.”-About then the twins came rushing into the kitchen, breathless from excitement and exhaustion.
“We rode by ourselves, Mama!” they shouted almost in unison as they so often did.
“Johnny rode beside each of us one at a time so that if we didn’t do something right, he could fix it.”
“Now we’re going to try it without Johnny.-Please come watch!-Please, all of you!”
Everyone hurried out to the yard to watch the proceedings.-Penny was actually a little nervous but she kept her fears to herself except for holding tightly to Ed’s hand.-
Johnny helped each of the kids onto a horse.-Andy had just about adopted Fritter and Candy preferred Jolene.-After a few last-minute instructions were repeated, the twins began walking the horses toward Johnny and Chrissy’s house.-As instructed, they walked only a short distance and then, managing the reins as they had been shown, they turned the horses and started back toward the watchers.-They returned to the starting place and Johnny helped them dismount and grinned in approval when they went running to get hugs and accolades from the waiting family.
“You did great!-Just splendid, as a matter of fact!-We’re so proud of you!”
Candy remembered her manners.-She walked sedately over to Wilhelmina and then hugged her enthusiastically.-“Thank you, Aunt Winnie, for bringing the horses for us to ride.”
“Do we have time for one more ride before we need to unsaddle them so you can take them home?”-Andy asked as he, too, thanked her for the wonderful experience.
“Why on earth would I take your horses back to my house?” she asked innocently.
Never had she seen such wide-eyed wonder on the faces of two kids.-In fact, she had never had many dealings with children at all.-Almost all of her adult life had been spent in adult company, first in the Army and then with the woman who seemed almost like a mother to her and who was the mother of the only man she had ever loved.-Only now she was beginning to realize some of what she had missed.-But maybe with these kids she could make some of it up to herself.
The twins were speechless, but Penny finally found her tongue.-“Aunt Winnie, you can’t possibly mean that you are—that these horses—that you want to leave the horses here for the children to ride.”
Ed was equally flabbergasted.-Even though he had noticed her remark earlier when she said, “They’re yours.-Do it any way you want to.”- He didn’t know what to do or say.- “Aunt Winnie, that is too generous—way too generous.-You can’t just go around giving away beautiful horses like Fritter and Jolene.-No one had any idea you were thinking about—I mean it’s just too much.”
Finally, Candy picked her chin up off the ground and whispered, “Do you for sure mean for these horses to be ours forever?”
“Are you saying we can keep them here and ride whenever we want to?-Just like they were ours?
Wilhelmina was having the time of her life.-She was smiling so big, it seemed her face might almost split.-“Do you have room for them?”-Everybody nodded dumbly.-“Will you take care of them?”-Again all serious nods.-“Can you afford to feed them?”-Everybody looked at Ed and again he nodded.-“Then the horses are yours unless you don’t want them.”
“Oh, Aunt Winnie, that’s just too wonderful for words.”
“We will enjoy them, Aunt Winnie, more than you can imagine.”
“Do you have to leave?-We would love for you to stay.”
“I do need to get back to the ranch.-There are some things I need to be doing.-But I’ll come back sometime if you want me to.”
“Oh, yes, please come back any time you can.”
“Okay.-Those ghosts and I have some unfinished business, too.-Johnny, can you unhook the horse trailer from my truck?-And, Ed, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate some help with my suitcase.”
“You mean you’re leaving the trailer, too?”- Ed was still incredulous.
“It’s a package deal.-If you don’t take the trailer, you can’t have the horses.”
“Oh, please, Dad, let us keep the trailer, too.-The horses are so beautiful, especially Jolene.-Please, Dad.”-Candy sure didn’t want to give up her horse.
Ed grinned.-“Aunt Winnie, I swear we’ll never be able to show enough gratitude for all this.-But thank you so much.”
“You are welcome and if you weren’t, I wouldn’t have done it to begin with.”