Chapter 70
A PROFUSION OF children and ponies greeted Thumper and Janey as they rode down to Montfair’s front lawn Saturday morning for the season’s second Juniors Day. The sea of bright, youthful faces formed a stark contrast to the troubled, worn appearance of Ryman McKendrick and Nardell Raithby. They rode over from Fair Enough Farm, slumped in their saddles, both showing the effects of some rough nights. Even their horses looked listless.
As Ryman steered Token over toward Bing’s trailer, Thumper intercepted Nardell. There were dark circles under her eyes. Just as Thumper stopped her, she let loose a wide yawn.
“Sorry,” she said. “Didn’t get hardly any sleep last night. Or the night before. Ryman was tossing and turning, mumbling to himself, kept getting up and pacing around.”
“The
