The Fame Equation Read Online Free PDF

it.
    “You remember that Melody is closing on her new house on Thursday?” I asked.
    “No, but go on.” Jon’s eyes were now intent on my face. I had his attention, at least.
    “When I saw Melody tonight she mentioned that she had some furniture that she didn’t want to take to the new house and offered it to us.”
    “To us?” Jon asked.
    “Well, to me,” I said, flustered. “I wasn’t sure what you had in here or what you needed.”
    I looked around the small apartment and saw that Jon could probably use a new sofa and coffee table, and a new lounge chair, low bookshelves maybe, for storage, and some end tables. I looked toward the bedroom, but the door was closed.
    Jon noticed the path my eyes had traveled.
    “I’m fine with what I have, Cat,” he said. “I don’t need a thing.”
    “But if you had the option, maybe you would trade up?”
    “Maybe,” he said. But he looked doubtful.
    “Why don’t we do this. I don’t want to force anything on you, but I can take pictures of what she has and text them to you. Then you can tell me if you are interested, or not.”
    “Sure,” he said.
    I also told Jon about finding Robert Griggs at the therapeutic riding center, and that Robert looked a little grayer at the temples but still had the long bangs that went almost to his eyes. Most important, though, Robert seemed calm and happy.
    “Maybe you could come with us on Friday, to tour the center,” I said. “I know Robert would like to see you, and they have done some interesting things in their barn.”
    A series of conflicting expressions danced across Jon’s face, but I knew my comment about the interesting barn would hook him, and it did.
    Finally, we discussed Sally.
    “I’m not ready to admit that she’s psychic,” I said, “but every time she acts weird something bad happens.”
    “Agnes, however, is sure that her Sally Blue has psychic powers,” Jon said, a quirk at the end of his mouth.
    “Well, let’s watch her closely. I want to be sure she isn’t starting to colic.”
    Cat’s Horse Tip #3
    “Horses developed an intuitive nature because they are prey animals. To survive, a horse has to know the intention of every living thing within his or her proximity.”

4
    T HE NEXT MORNING I W AVED Darcy off to school and joined Jon to check on Sally. She was on her back in the center of her stall, eyes closed, with all four feet up in the air.
    “She looks dead,” Jon deadpanned.
    “Except that she is breathing quite steadily,” I replied. “Plus, she keeps opening her right eye to look at us.”
    “There is that,” he said.
    “Maybe she’s stretching her back.”
    “Maybe,” said Jon.
    “Okay,” I sighed. “I’m off to look at Melody’s furniture.”
    “I’ll keep an eye on her. I’m sure it’s nothing. She’s just being Sally,” he said.
    On my way to my truck and through the tall hedge that divides our properties, I glimpsed Carole and her kids raking leaves in their front yard. Carole was pointing out the different shapes of the leaves, and the kids were calling out the names of the trees they came from. The Carsons could easily have shuttled their kids off with nannies, but both took a hands on approach to raising their offspring. The kids attended public school, and Carole made sure her children learned something from everything they did at home. Keith was involved, too–– when he was home.
    “Hey,” I said, pulling a few hedge branches aside and glancing around, hoping for a glimpse of Keith. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen.
    “Hey,” Carole said back. She gestured to the kids. “Teacher in-service day at school.”
    I nodded.
    “Hi, Cat!” Kevin, Keith and Carole’s second oldest, dropped his rake and ran over to show me a colorful leaf he had crammed into his pocket. He had the exuberance only a seven-year-old can have.
    I admired the leaf, which had crumbled some inside Kevin’s pocket, then called to Carole. “I’m heading to Melody’s.