Chapter 41

Amused by what he was doing, Derrick led the little horse using the reigns. Lucy was seated on its back holding onto the saddle horn with white knuckles. She was nervous; feeling like the horse was huge and ready to run away at any moment. She looked over at William and, voice tight with tension, said, "I've never ridden a horse before."

"You don't say. I would never have guessed," William replied with a grin from atop the horse that Derrick had given him. It was a nice quarter-horse of good stock and was a real pleasure to ride.

"It's not funny. This is a monster. Couldn't you have gotten a smaller horse for me?"

Derrick chuckled at the characterization of the horse as a monster and said, "Any smaller and it would stop being a horse."

"Huh?"

"Anything smaller than this is called a pony," he replied considering that at 14.1 hands that if the horse was one inch shorter then technically the animal would be a pony. As it was, he was being generous in calling it a horse since it just barely qualified.

"I thought a pony was a breed and not a size," Lucy said. The horse gave a quick double step and she squeaked.

"It's both. Usually an equine smaller than 14.2 hands is a pony while an equine taller than 14.2 hands is a horse. With Pintos, any equine taller than 14 hands is a horse while less than that is a pony.

The Shetland pony is a breed and runs less than 14.2 hands,"

William answered. His horse, at 15.3 hands, looked huge compared to her little horse.

"It's still big," she said. Of course, when William rode his horse over to walk next to hers it was obvious that hers was a very small horse.

Seeing that William was in position to take control of the horse if it got away from Lucy, Derrick stopped and handed her the reins. He said, "She's a real gentle animal. Don't overwork the reins. Give her a very soft touch and she'll go where you want her to go."

Lucy let go of the saddle horn, grasp the reins and pulled back on them. The little horse started backing up. William put his hand over hers and forced it to a position where the reins hung with a little slack. He said, "That's how you want to keep the reins. Think of it this way, each time you yank the reins you're hurting the horse just a little. The harder you pull, the more you hurt it."

"That's horrible," Lucy said.

"Well, you just hurt Lady's Prize. So take it easy," William explained.

"I hurt the horse?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," William answered. He leaned over to her and said, "Now, if you want to turn right remove the slack on the right rein and put just a little pressure. That will turn Lady's Pride's head to the right and she'll turn to the right. When she's going in the direction you want, let the slack return. Turning left is the same process with the left rein."

Derrick said, "You aren't driving a car. A horse is a living animal and can handle most of the details about how to go from one place to another. Your job is to let the horse know where you want to go."

William watched Lucy ride the little horse around the corral.

Derrick walked beside the horse just in case something happened.

Having the two men watching over her allowed her to relax a little and she started enjoying being on the horse. She asked, "How did you give her the name Lady's Prize?"

"I didn't give her that name. That's her registered name," Derrick answered.

"Oh," Lucy answered not sure what that meant.

William said, "She was given that name when she was born and registered with the Pinto Horse Association of America by the previous owner. You don't change the name of a horse. Lady's Prize is officially a skewbald Pinto horse of stock type with overo markings."

"Oh, I see," she said staring at William. After a minute, she asked,

"What's a Pinto?"

"A pinto is a horse with the kind of two-toned coloration that your horse has. Overo means that the coloration is jagged rather than spotted. Skewbald means that it is a lighter coloration rather than black. Stock type means that it is a western horse with predominately quarter and paint breeding and conformation,"

William answered with a grin.

"How do you know all that?" she asked. Even Derrick looked impressed that William knew that much about Pintos.

"Daddy Ed made sure that all of us kids know our horses,"

William answered. Seeing the expression on Derrick's face, William added, "It was also a favorite horse of the Native Americans."

"Oh," Lucy answered.

"Getting tired?" William asked.

"A little. I guess I'm not used to sitting in a saddle," Lucy answered.

William led her horse to the rail of the corral and tied up the horse.

He climbed off his horse and walked around to help Lucy out of the saddle. She slid down to the ground with a little help from him.

She took a few steps and said, "I feel bowlegged."

William laughed at the expression on her face and said, "That's okay. You don't look it. When we get back to the Carter House, we'll get you a massage and you'll feel a lot better."

"Good," Lucy said.

Derrick walked over to the horses and said, "I'll take care of the horses while you check out the progress on your house. I'm sure that you'll want to walk through it."

"Thanks, Derrick. I've got to say that you really picked out two nice horses for us," William said running a hand along the flank of Lady's Prize.

"I'm glad you like them," Derrick said tipping his hat.

Looking over at Lucy, William asked, "Do you want to walk over there or take the Hugger?"

"We can walk."

William walked with Lucy the two hundred yards to the entry way of the house. The foreman, Jack Dickles, was waiting for them by the time they reached it. Nodding his head, he said, "Hello, William and Lucy. I take it you'd like to see the progress on your house."

"That's right, Jack," William answered.

Jack handed over a pair of hardhats and said, "You'll have to wear these while you're in the house."

William took off his cowboy hat and put on the hardhat after fiddling with the headband. Lucy took off her baseball cap and put it in her pocket. She put the hardhat on and found that it was riding high on her head. William took her hat and adjusted the headband before putting it back atop her head. It fit perfectly. Surprised, she asked, "You know my hat size?"

"I know all of your measurements," he answered with a wink.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, really."

"What's my bra size?"

"It's perfect," William answered.

"That's not a size," she countered.

"It is as far as I'm concerned. Your breasts are perfect. Your ass is perfect. Your feet are perfect. Your chest, waist, and hips are perfect. See, I know all your measurements," William said with a smile.

"You've been around Happy Harry too much. You're beginning to pitch woo like him," Lucy said with a grin while hitting his arm in a playful manner. Despite her words to the contrary, she didn't doubt that he knew her measurements.

Jack listened to the exchange while thinking that he would have to use that line on his wife sometime when she asked him a question like that. He was sure that answer would keep him off the couch at least one night. Shaking his head, he said, "Let's get to it."

William and Lucy entered the house through the framed doorway at ground level. From the front, it looked like a rather large one story ranch house. Ten paces after stepping through the door, they reached the edge of the first floor balcony. The lower three levels of the house opened up beneath them. In front of them, they could see the canyon through the four story glass window. Taking a deep breath, Lucy said, "It's beautiful."

Jack could understand her reaction. He had that same sense of wonder each time he stepped through the door. He said, "The stairs down to the next level are to the right and left of us. The elevators are still being installed in the shafts behind us. The elevators will be fusion powered electromagnetic lifts. These have the advantage of being completely quiet so that you won't be disturbed by the sounds of an elevator."

Nodding his head, William asked, "The Otis version?"

"Of course," Jack answered.

"Good. They have the magnetic safety locks that engage if the power should ever fail for any reason," William said knowing that he would test them by cutting the power from the fusion batteries.

His sister was definitely making sure that his money was being well spent.

Leading the way down the stairs, Jack said, "This level contains the formal living room, dining room, ten guest rooms, and an open area that can be used when entertaining. There are four readily accessible bathrooms on this level, two at each end of the open area."

Lucy looked around the huge open area. They could have five hundred guests in that area without difficulty. Shaking her head, she said, "It's so big."

"I'm sure that we'll wish it was larger when we have our house warming party," William said with a wink.

Believing that William was correct, Jack pointed to the cement columns that broke up the large area. He said, "The support columns will be encased in a natural stone façade. At the ends of the room, the walls will be finished with a natural stone façade as well. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the formal dining room and formal living room."

William and Lucy followed him to the end of the open area. There were two doors, one close to the front and one farther back along the wall. The door closest to them led to the formal living room. It was huge and provided a view of the canyon.

A door at the back of the living room led to the dining room. There was a work light on the floor that allowed them to see the dining area. This room was not as wide as the living room since it had a smaller room along the side. Jack pointed to the smaller room and said, "That is a service area. There is a dumb waiter to transfer food to and from the main kitchen on the first floor. There will be standard kitchen equipment in there and storage areas for the formal place settings and silver."

Lucy looked in the room, but was unable to see much. She asked,

"Where are the light switches?"

"We haven't finished the wiring yet," Jack said.

William looked around and realized that his sister had designed the room so that there wouldn't be a view of the canyon to distract guests away from the food during meals. He could just imagine the arguments that would have resulted from seating some guests so that they were facing the view and other guests with their backs to the view. Smiling, he said, "My sister is definitely the best."