We Can Laugh Together Too (Walnut Grove Trilogy) Read online

  We Can Laugh Together Too

  Always Follow Your Heart

  Cindy Baker

  © Copyright 2013 by Cindy Baker - All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and locations portrayed in this book and the names herein are fictitious. Any similarity to or identification with the locations, names, characters or history of any person, product or entity is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

  - From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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  Any copyrights not held by publisher are owned by their respective authors.

  All information is generalized, presented for informational purposes only and presented "as is" without warranty or guarantee of any kind.

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  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to the three most important people in my life: my husband, Colin, with whom I followed my heart, and my daughters Sarah and Anna, both of whom have followed their hearts and found their true loves . . .

  Table of Contents

  We Can Laugh Too

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER ONE

  Livi bolted the barn door and leaned her back wearily against it for a several seconds completely exhausted. For the first time since Will’s death a seed of doubt that maybe she couldn’t after all manage Walnut Grove on her own had crept pervasively into the crevices of her mind.

  She took a deep breath and tried to cast the thought aside. Of course she could manage; she may devote much of her time to working as a writer but she had also enjoyed assisting Will and Jose for fifteen years. She understood the farm and its horses inside out. She had to keep going; she owed it to both of them.

  Resolutely, she brushed an errant strand of honey blond hair from her face and checked her watch. Nearly six o’clock — Christina would have been home from school for more than an hour and probably finished her homework. The thought of her daughter’s sunny, smiling face perked Livi up as she walked across to the house followed closely by her two dogs.

  Livi didn’t know how she could have coped throughout the aftermath of the accident without her daughter. Christina — Chrissy — was mature beyond her fourteen years and had become a solid support for her newly widowed mother.

  The accident had occurred late at night as Will and his foreman, Jose returned after picking up their champion mare from the track. They were bringing her back to embark upon a brand new career as a broodmare. But none of them had made it home to Walnut Grove. The driver of a big-rig travelling in the opposite direction on the interstate had fallen asleep at the wheel, causing his vehicle to veer through the dividing fence and hit Will’s pickup truck and horse trailer head on. There had been no survivors.

  Life can be taken away in the blink of an eye. One minute Livi had her husband, then in a matter of a few seconds her heart had been shattered into a million pieces. One of the two people she cared for most in the world had been torn from her. Six months had passed since that fatal, irrefutably life changing night.

  When the two men had been alive, the farm had run like clockwork, focusing upon breeding quality thoroughbreds which they sold as yearlings. The stock comprised of their own three broodmares plus their followers; they also boarded a mare belonging to a long-time family friend.

  After the accident, Livi put her writing profession on hold. She had also taken the only feasible course open to her with the three mares she owned and sent them away to foal. Normally they would have remained at home, shipping later to the farms where the studs they would be bred to again were housed.

  The boarding mare had stayed at home for her delivery; it was a financial decision since while she remained at Walnut Grove she earned Livi a monthly check for her keep. Livi also had all last year’s offspring to watch over and care for. Collectively, they represented the entire year’s potential earnings for the farm.

  Three weeks earlier when one by one the mares started arriving home again, Livi had begun to fully comprehend the implications of what she was undertaking. Rapidly she had a full quota of stock on her hands: mares and foals plus their last year’s foals, now strapping and rambunctious yearlings.

  Livi knew all too well that her survival depended upon her finding a new foreman quickly. The problem was: how? She had been running ads in several well-read breeding publications but so far there hadn’t been a single inquiry.

  She opened the back door and entered the kitchen. The two dogs made a beeline for their food bowls and set about their dinners with gusto, tails wagging. Chrissy’s schoolbooks covered the table but her daughter was standing at the stove stirring a big pan.

  She was a younger, already taller, mirror image of her mother with the same honey blond hair and expressive hazel-green eyes; a beauty in the making. She had kicked off her shoes and her feet were bare on the Spanish tiled kitchen floor.

  “Hi Mom,” she said. “I guessed you wouldn’t feel like cooking so I’ve started dinner.”

  Livi smiled wearily at her daughter. “You’re a mind reader. Chrissy, I don’t know how I’d manage without you.”

  Chrissy dumped her spoon on the counter and hugged her. “It’s nothing special, just some soup I found in the freezer; I thought we could have it with bread rolls. Oh, by the way, there’s a message on the machine from Doc Blair. He can’t make it out tomorrow but his locum — can’t remember his name — that’s covering for Doc Massey while he’s away on that course, will be out to check on Ultimate Event’s foal late tomorrow morning.”

  The foal, a pretty brown filly with a neat white blaze, had cut her leg while loading into the horse van for her journey home. Doc Blair had checked it and popped in a couple of stitches, and the filly appeared to have healed beautifully.

  Mother and daughter ate a quiet supper, and afterwards Livi went into the little TV snug intending to watch the news. Five minutes after collapsing onto the sofa she was sound asleep; her two Dalmatians snuggled close to her.

  ♠ ♠ ♠

  The following morning Livi was up as usual at six o’clock and while the coffeemaker bubbled cheerfully on the counter-top, filling the kitchen with a tantalizing aroma, she and the dogs checked on the horses and fed the mares a scoop of oats each.

  She loved the possibilities each new day bestowed. In spite of everything, all the trials of the past six months had not managed to destroy her inherently tough streak. She was by nature an optimist and
she always faced each morning as a challenge to be met head on. She had a perceptive sense of humor and was fond of saying precisely what she thought. Most people who met her were impressed by her candor and gentleness, particularly with the animals in her life.

  She and Will had met at a birthday party. He had instantly been attracted to the English girl with natural good looks and tumble of honey blond hair, while happy-go-lucky Livi had liked his quiet demeanor and surprising insightfulness. At the end of the evening he had asked her out and they had been together ever since – until his premature death. Livi was just thirty five when he was killed; she’d been desolate at first finding herself such a young widow, but she’d made up her mind it wouldn’t beat her; Walnut Grove would continue exactly as it had with Will at the helm.

  Back in the house, Livi popped two slices of wholemeal bread into the toaster and poured a cup of coffee. Upstairs, she could hear water splashing as Chrissy showered. She checked the big clock on the kitchen wall – her daughter would have to hurry, the school bus passed their driveway a few minutes either side of seven each morning. Before the accident had turned their lives irretrievably upside-down, Livi had always driven her daughter to school, but this indulgence was no longer practical; it ate up far too much precious time.

  After turning out the horses, Livi set about the arduous business of mucking out the eight stalls they occupied. It was a repetitive, mind-numbing task, and every morning she silently thanked Will for his fore-thought in mechanizing it as much as possible.

  She was using the mini Bobcat he had bought to push all the dirty straw out through the back door of the barn and onto the muck-heap, and so absorbed was she in distant thoughts, she failed to hear the pickup truck when it arrived at the barn’s front entrance. And she didn’t see the man who climbed out and walked into the building until he stopped alongside the Bobcat and spoke loudly enough to make himself heard above its noisy engine.

  “Excuse me – I’m looking for Mrs. Leonard . . .”

  Livi jumped, startled by the pleasantly resonant voice. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. I’m Livi Leonard.”

  The stranger extended his hand. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Doctor Allen -- Matt Allen. Doc Blair asked me to stop by and check the foal he stitched up a couple of weeks ago.” His handshake was cool and assertive.

  “Oh, my goodness, I should have kept them in but I completely forgot you were coming,” Livi confessed. “The foal’s out with her mom in the paddock over there.” She switched off the engine and jumped down from the Bobcat.

  The newcomer smiled. “No problem. Shall we go and take a look?”

  Livi grabbed a handful of carrots and a lead-rein from a hook as they left the barn. While they walked down the track to the paddock gate she cast a few surreptitious sideways glances at the newcomer. He was certainly attractive, handsome even. She estimated him to be about forty years old, a little less than six feet tall, with a friendly, good natured face, bright, inoffensive blue eyes and curly hair the color of brown sugar.

  He turned suddenly and smiled as he caught her looking at him. Livi blushed self-consciously and returned his smile. “Sorry, you’re so different from old Doc Blair or his partner. . .”

  Matt regarded her quizzically for a moment. “Do you normally apologize this much Mrs. Leonard, and do I detect a faint English accent?”

  She burst out laughing. “Touché, and please call me Olivia -- Livi. I don’t think Doc Blair has ever called me ‘Mrs.’ since I’ve known him. Yes, I was born in the UK, my parents moved here with me and my older brother when I was twelve. The phone message said you’re here locuming?”

  “That’s right. His partner’s away on a course, then he’s on vacation for a month. I’m probably going to be around for nine or ten weeks.”

  They reached the gate, which Matt unlatched then he stood back to allow Livi to enter the paddock ahead of him. The four mares raised their heads and considered them with curiosity. Two of the foals were flat out in the grass asleep.

  Matt swiftly inspected the foal’s leg and declared it healed. He produced some scissors and an antiseptic spray from his pocket and removed the stitches.

  A few minutes later they were back at the barn next to his truck. Matt extended his hand again, but Livi was reluctant to let him go that easily. Most days passed without her ever having another human being to chat with and she was appreciating this variation in the routine, no matter how brief it might be.

  “Do you have time for a coffee?” she asked a little tentatively.

  Matt considered, and then a quick smile flashed across his face. “I’d love one.”

  In the big, cozy kitchen, Livi busied herself with the coffeemaker while Matt sat at the table watching her. Eventually he spoke: “Are you really running this place single handed?”

  Resigned to relating a full account of her circumstances, Livi hunted through her pockets for a tissue, blew her nose, and sat down opposite him to begin with the fateful, life changing knock on the door six months earlier.

  Matt listened attentively without interrupting. During her story, she poured them both a cup of coffee, and when eventually she finished, she spread her hands expressively. “So there you have it. I’ve been advertising for help but so far no-one’s shown the slightest interest.”

  Matt sipped his coffee thoughtfully. At last, he said, “I may have a solution for you. Before this contract I was a locum for a practice further north and one of their clients had just sold his farm to a neighbor. Unfortunately, the new owner wasn’t interested in keeping any of the staff.

  “It isn’t a farm like this, mostly organic beef cattle, but the guy kept a few quarter horses and a Hispanic called Isidoro took care of them. He seemed good too, very conscientious. He has a wife, Rosa, if I remember correctly. The last time I spoke to Isidoro he didn’t know which way to turn because he was about to become jobless and homeless.”

  Livi stared at him, wide-eyed with hope. “Do you really think he might be interested? Hang on though -- does he speak English? My knowledge of Spanish extends to just a few basic words and phrases. Jose was Hispanic but he was totally bilingual.”

  “His English is fine,” Matt assured her. “Heavily accented maybe, but perfectly understandable.” He frowned, “but how about accommodation? As I said, he has a wife and I believe they have a daughter.”

  Livi nodded. “Jose, our foreman lived in a little house on the other side of the farm. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t set foot in the place since the accident, but I know the police went through it pretty thoroughly, trying to find evidence of any relatives. They could have saved their time because I told them he had no-one.”

  Matt read the distress in her face. “Would you like me to try to track Isidoro down?” he asked gently. “Don’t get your hopes up though; it’s been a month since I last saw him. He may be long gone by now.”

  “Oh, yes please” Livi replied emphatically, fetching the coffee pot to refill their cups.

  ♠ ♠ ♠

  Several days passed, and Livi heard nothing further from Matt. Then the following Friday, just as she was bringing the horses in for the night, his pickup truck turned off the road onto the driveway. She quickly put the yearling she was leading into his stall and hurried to meet him outside the barn door.

  Matt climbed out of the driver’s side of the vehicle and a slightly built Mexican with an apprehensive expression appeared from the passenger side.

  Matt greeted Livi warmly, and formally introduced her to Isidoro Garcia as Mrs. Leonard. The two shook hands gravely, the diminutive Mexican looking as nervous as Livi. Matt explained that he had tracked Isidoro down quite literally in the nick of time. His wife, Rosa, had already taken their daughter to Southern California to stay with a cousin, while Isidoro remained where they had been living, still looking for work.

  Livi liked him immediately. He seemed serious and respectful and he impressed her by the way he squatted down on his heels to fondle her two dogs. They
accepted him immediately and pranced around him in tongue-lolling welcome. Nevertheless, she needed to see how he handled the horses. “Let’s finish fetching them in,” she suggested.

  It was like old times, the three of them leading in the horses; first, the remaining three yearlings, followed by the four mares with their bouncing, playful foals. Matt led in Ultimate Event and paused to take a quick look at her foal’s leg, which he pronounced as ‘fine.’

  Livi already had the evening feeds mixed. These were quickly distributed, and then the three of them repaired to the big kitchen, the two dogs trotting along with them, filling the place with their black and white coats and waving tails. Chrissy hastily cleared her schoolbooks from the table, and assumed the role of hostess, offering everyone refreshments.

  Matt accepted a beer, and sat down, instinctively making a fuss of the dogs, but Isidoro insisted upon nothing stronger than a 7-Up. Livi sipped a peppermint tea.

  Isidoro’s eagerness for the job meant there was virtually nothing to discuss. He was so grateful that he’d almost certainly found employment plus a home for his family, he would very likely have accepted the position on almost any terms. But Livi was determined to be fair and offered him the same wage as Jose had received. She then searched through a drawer for a bunch of keys, and asked Matt if he would mind showing him the house.

  Matt regarded her shrewdly for a moment; he appeared to understand exactly why she couldn’t face doing so herself.

  They finalized everything in under an hour. Isidoro loved the house and undertook to move in there and then; quick to point out that he was, after all, beholden to no-one else. In fact, he volunteered to spend that night there and report for work the next morning. Livi simply could not believe her sudden reversal in fortunes.

  She walked back outside with Isidoro and explained how he could follow a dirt track between the paddocks to and from his new home without needing to use the main road, and after thanking both of them effusively, he set off with a jaunty spring to his step and a huge smile on his face.