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“A sleigh? You mean like Santa Claus’s sleigh?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Just let me get my flashlight out of the Jeep.”
With the high-powered flashlight showing the way, they walked around the house to the ramshackle barn. On the way, Cooper told Jess about Trevor’s idea.
“So he wants to work on it?”
“That’s what he says. He even seems excited about it.”
“But why? If it were something like a motorcycle or a classic car, I’d understand. But a sleigh—it’s like this fairy tale thing.”
“I know, but I’m willing to go along with anything that gets him interested.”
“It’s not a bad idea, as long as he stays with it. But you can’t just turn him loose. He needs to follow through.”
“I agree. But for now we’ll just have to take this one step at a time.”
They found Abner and Trevor already in the barn. They were lifting a canvas tarpaulin off the object beneath.
“Here it is,” Abner said. “Give us some more light, and you can see it better.”
With the canvas swept aside, Cooper directed the beam of his flashlight onto the object underneath. He gave a low whistle.
He’d expected to see some kind of oversized sled, or maybe a remodeled wagon with runners. But this was like something out of a Russian fairy tale. It was a realsleigh.
The bed, its base and sides cut from a fine, dark wood that looked like mahogany, was longer than the typical cutter-style sleigh, with a high bench in front for the driver and a more commodious seat for passengers in the rear. But the sleigh, stunning as it was, was far from finished. The wood needed several coats of waterproof varnish. The runners and the hardware for the reins were missing, and the seats lacked upholstery.
“Where’s the rest of the sleigh?” Cooper asked.
“I’ve got everything. It originally came as a kit, and the smaller parts are stored in the cellar. My brother and I bought it decades ago when we lived in Wisconsin. We planned to put it together and make extra money taking folks for sleigh rides around our farm. We’d gotten this far when he was killed in a construction accident. I never had the heart to work on the sleigh after that. But years later, when my wife and I moved to her family’s old place in Texas, I knew I couldn’t leave it behind. I stored it here in the barn, where it sits to this day. Didn’t see much sense in spending time on it. We’re lucky if we get one or two storms in a season.
“But if your boy wants to work on it with me, maybe I could at least put it up for sale when we’re finished. I’ve seen sleighs on eBay going for good money.”
“Please say you’ll let me help, Dad,” Trevor said. “I could learn a lot doing something like this.”
“What do you say, Abner?” Cooper asked. “After all, you caught this young hooligan hiding in your barn. Do you trust him to work for you?”
Abner nodded slowly. “I’m willing to give him a chance—but only one chance. If he starts slacking, gets in more trouble, or falls behind on his schoolwork, I’ll wash my hands of him.”
Cooper fixed his son with a stern look. “Do you hear that, Trevor? It means you’ll have to finish what you started.”
Trevor nodded. “I understand. But I’ll need a way to get here. It’s too far to walk from town.”
“If you’re talking about that new bike I promised you on condition that you behave, that’s on hold until you earn it. For now, I’ll take you and pick you up. So when do we start, Abner?”
“I’ve got plans for the weekend. But if Trevor can show up early next week, we’ll start by getting the barn cleared out and some lights strung in here. Shall we say early next week? I’ll let you know for sure. So have we got a deal?”
“Have we, Trevor?”
“You bet!” Grinning, he accepted Abner’s handshake.
Cooper had made a commitment, too—and found one more reason to buy the neighboring ranch. He couldn’t delay much longer, or the place would be sold, and he’d be out of luck. But he couldn’t make an offer until Trevor was on board with the move.
Tomorrow was Saturday. He would take Trevor out here in the daytime, show him the ranch, and make a final decision.
* * *
Jess had left her Taurus parked at Cooper’s house. She held her tongue on the way there, knowing that Trevor, sitting behind her, would hear and judge anything she said. She wasn’t here to comment on his behavior or to give him any ideas about her and his father. Best to say nothing.
