“I love horses,” Liz said as she stepped back out of the stall. “We’ve got several out in Claude that have been put out to pasture. They’re too old for the carnival and I spend a lot of time with them in the winter.”

“Vanners? You have Vanners?” Colleen asked.

“Six mares,” Raylen answered for her. “Fancy stock, let me tell you. They use them for pony rides, believe it or not. Dewar is going to drool.”

“I might drool with him,” Colleen said. “I didn’t see them when I was there.”

“The pony rides are at the far end of the carnival. Past the Ferris wheel. We keep them in a portable round pen. Blaze and Aunt Tressa take care of them. Blaze is really good with them. Knows his horses well. He and Aunt Tressa flew to Pennsylvania last February to buy a stud. Brought home Sweet Diamond Jessie. Poppa is of the opinion the Vanners are too fancy for carnival work. He wants us to leave them home next year.”

“I agree. Shetlands can do carnival work. Rocky Mountains should be royalty,” Colleen said.

Raylen threw open the stall door next to Danny Boy’s. “Welcome to the babysitter’s quarters.”

Liz was amazed to see an army cot and two folding chairs. One chair held a laptop computer and one a baby monitor. She raised an eyebrow and Colleen laughed.

“There’s one taped to Danny Boy’s stall wall. We can hear him if he burps or whines,” she explained.

Raylen tugged on her hand. “Sit by me.”

Liz sat down on the cot, and he settled close to her. Colleen sat in the other metal chair and fidgeted with her fingers, lacing them together, then wringing them. She looked at the computer screen and then back at Raylen and Liz.

“I took a few days off work,” Colleen said. “I figured I’d better come home and help with Danny Boy. When Mama called, she was frantic. Now I see y’all have it under control.”

Raylen reached across the space and patted Colleen’s knee. “Thank you. You calm Mama’s nerves more than any one of us kids. You need some time off anyway, and this is the week that Liz is having her big party. You’d hate to miss that.”

Colleen shook her head. “I’ve got four weeks paid vacation coming. I took a week of that.”

“How did you get that much vacation?” Liz asked.

“I’ve been there six years now. It builds up. So did y’all get the carnival torn down and ready to move things onto your place tomorrow?” Colleen asked.

“We did,” Liz answered.

From the look in Colleen’s eyes, Liz figured she wanted to know more about Blaze than she did about tearing down the carnival.

“I’d forgotten how much fun going to the carnival was,” Colleen said, “and I really had a good time the other night. How about you, Raylen? I heard you’d been down there every night.”

“Whole different view of carnivals now that I’ve helped get one ready to open. What time will they be here tomorrow? You going to light the place up for them?” Raylen asked Liz.