Love and Hate

Chapter 18

Coming to Silver Brook

Donatello talked with April about Leonardo.

" Well I have no idea what's wrong with him. But he needs to get out of there. Me and Mike will think of something." April said ok and hung up. Don didn't know what to think or do for that matter. He got up and went to his car.

Vicky was out side her house drinking some tea and looking around when she saw Donatello pull into her driveway. She looked at him get out and come up to her.

" I wanted to ask you something."

" Go a head."

" Well I was wondering who lives in that little cottage about half a mile from here. I know it's your property, so that's why I'm asking."

" Well we used to have a groom that lived there, but he had gone to a home a while back and died. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with that house cause I have no real use for it. Cam and Mike are moving into the house being built and the grooms I have now live not too far from anyway. Why do you ask?"

" I was wondering if someone could use it. My brother.....Leonardo who lives in New York is going through some problems. We have human friends named April and Casey and they just adopted this little girl who is in love with horses. I wanted to know if maybe they could come down or something and live there." Vicky took into mind what he was saying.

" Well now.....I'm not sure. I wouldn't mind I guess. Well I am going up to New York tomorrow anyway to purchase a horse being privately sold to me, so I could talk with them. They may as well get to know me before we make any kind of decision."

" You would?"

" Ya just leave the address and I'll drop by."

" All right." He quickly wrote down the address and handed it to her. She took it and he left quickly. She got up and went into the house. Her things were packed for one day of stay and she had everything she needed to travel with the horse. She would be taking a private plane with a built in stall to travel. Raphael sat on the couch and gazed at her.

" What's wrong Raph?"

" Nothing. I've just been thinking about Mike lately. It's so nice that he's getting married and all, but he still thinks I'm dead."

" I know. Maybe you should..."

" No! I can't." Vicky looked at him strangely.

" You know, your brother Donatello just dropped by." Raphael looked up at her. She came and sat next to him.

" I know this is going to be difficult for you, but Don asked that I allow your other brother Leonardo and his friends to move down here." Raph jumped up.

" To this house?!"

" No! No! I have a cottage about a half a mile from here that a groom of mine used to live in. According to your brother, Leonardo is apparently having a hard time with things. He is losing it so to speak and he needs to get out of New York. He lives with April and Casey who have just adopted a little girl. Don asked about that cottage so that they can get away from it all. It will do them some good to stay there. Raph please say that it's ok. I need your permission."

" Why? It's your house."

" Raphael. This has to do with you. I know that they are still trying to deal with all that happened. I want to know if it would be all right for him to come down here."

" Yes it's all right."

" Are you sure?" Raph looked like he was considering it. Then he slowly nodded his head. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

" I love you babe. I have to get ready to go. My flight leaves early in the morning."

" Do you always travel?"

" How do you expect me to get horses? You wouldn't want to live in that cave again, would you?"

" No."

" Well horses make the living here. I have to make sure my money doesn't go down."

" Babe, you have over 70 millions bucks. How much more do you need?"

" As much as it takes to make this a happy home for me, you and the horses." She kissed his cheek and went upstairs.

Victoria arrived in New York at 9 a.m.. She had talked with the owners of the colt she was purchasing and considered him. She ran her hands over his legs expertly and checked his body for signs of illness or lameness.

" Well, he looks good."

" Yes he is a very good horse. I hope that he will make a good racer. We are not sure of it so that's why we wanted to sell him at a decent price. I know for sure that he has the body to become a jumper, but you are into the racing business."

" That's all right. If he doesn't run well then I can train him in eventing or have my friend Angel do that. I can always think of something. But I'll take him." The owner smiled and Vic signed the papers. She took one last look at the chestnut colt. He was a lovely looking horse and she would see if he ran like one or if he was meant to be a jumper. She told them where to drop the horse off and when for the flight and she left.

Vicky pulled out the paper that Don had given her and a map. She made her way to the apartment address and pulled into the driveway. She made her way to the door and took a deep breath before knocking. A woman came to the door and looked at her curiously.

" May I help you?"

" Hi, I'm Victoria Pena and I was looking for April O' Neil."

" I'm her. Victoria Pena? The owner of that racer that was injured?"

" Yes. I wanted to talk with you."

" Oh well....ok." She invited her in and Vic looked around. She saw the little girl and smiled at her.

" Nice looking kid."

" Thanks." They sat down at the table and April made her some tea.

" Well, what is it you're here to talk about?" April asked.

" Well I was hoping that I might talk to you, Casey and Leonardo." April seemed surprised that she knew them, but nodded and called Casey out of the room.

" Um....Leonardo is a bit...strange."

" I know what he is." April nodded and called him out also. Leo sat down at the table uncertainly and looked at Vicky.

" All right. Now I am friends with Michealangelo and Donatello. Don has told me that he would like to have you leave here and move down there with him. He said that it would be good for all of you. To save the trouble, I already know what happened over 15 years ago and that's why he said to come down. I um....have a cottage that he asked about. He would like it if you moved in there."

" All of us? Is there enough room?" April asked. Still, shocked at what she was hearing.

" Yes. The cottage is actually larger than most cottages are. Any house or barn built on my property....I usually make them large so that the occupants are comfortable and happy. It has four bedrooms. A large living room, two bathrooms, a large back yard. Actually an extremely large back yard. The house is really large, but is a single floor. I also am to understand that the little girl loves horses..." Sarah looked up with interest.

" I have over 30 horses there and some are kid safe. The house is in good condition so it's prepared to be moved in at any time."

" What about Michealangelo? I mean does he mind?"

" No. I think he is looking forward to having you move down. That's another thing I came here to talk about. You know my jockey Cam Russo right? The one who rode the horse that fell in the race?"

" Yes. I remember her."

" She and Mike have been friends for a long time and she just recently found out what he was. It was a few days ago that he proposed to her and she accepted. The wedding is going to be at Silver Brook. You all are defiantly invited." April, Casey and Leo starred at her in shock.

" Married? Mike?" Leo said shocked. He couldn't believe that any of them would even be lucky enough to befriend a human more or less marry one.

" Yes. The area is being set up and I'm not sure what day they are planning on. I think they are waiting on you."

" Wow! This is all a shock for us. I mean.....I never thought about moving over there."

" Trust me. It's nice. The area I live in is really private. The cottage is about half a mile from my house. The barns are about an eighth of a mile from the house. I have a house being built for Cam and Mike and it's about a quarter of a mile from my house also. The cottage and Mike's house are very close together."

" There aren't any wild animals, is there?" April asked. Vicky briefly remembered the coyote that Raph had killed but didn't want to mention that.

" No not really. There are some coyote's, but they normally don't attack. Not even the horses. I am also having electric wire put on the paddock fences so that none can get in, but they don't come by the houses. None ever had."

" Ok...are the horses dangerous for children to be around?"

" Well I have to admit that some of the horses can be. Most of the stalls with dangerous horses are marked with a warning sign. The yearlings can be dangerous, but not on purpose, it's just cause they are young. Most of the horses I have are nice. You would just have to know how to ride some of the high-strung ones I have. I have a few suitable for children though."

" Well....I guess...we'll take you up on the offer if these two agree." Casey nodded his answer and Leo nodded his as well.

" All right then." Vicky smiled. April and Casey went to packing their things, which wasn't really a lot. Sarah seemed to be a lot more cheerful, but didn't speak much. She went over to Vicky who was sitting calmly looking at a magazine. She came and looked at her.

" Hey there Sarah. I hear you like horses." She nodded shyly.

" Well, now that your moving down there on my farm, you can see them every day. Just ask me when you want to ride and we'll find a horse for ya." She smiled and nodded her head before heading back to the room to pack. Leo came out and set some things on the table. One shiny piece of metal caught Vicky's eye. She lifted the three pronged weapon carefully. Leo looked at her, but didn't say anything.

" This was your brother's?"

" Yes. Do you know which one?"

" I believe it was....Raphael." Leo nodded silently.

" Doesn't this sai come in the pair?"

" Yes. He lost this one when he jumped in the water. The other I guess is still with him or lost somewhere in the ocean."

" Oh." She felt so guilty about not telling them that their brother was actually living at her house and alive. She set the sai down and looked back at her magazine. Everything was packed. The furniture would be left and sold. There was nice furniture at the cottage already and many other things they could use. They were all ready to go.

" We are going to have our manager sell that junk of a van for us. We'll get a new car when we get down there. Do we head to the airport now?" Casey asked.

" Sort of. We are going on a private class A plane. It is constructed to have a stall in it so that I might be able to bring my new horse down with me."

" A horse? On a plane?"

" Yes. The plane was built to accommodate one." They nodded and were defiantly impressed and walked out the door. It would be their last time seeing this apartment.