Astra

by Chris Platt

  Lily’s dad swung the door open as she raced toward the truck. “I can tell by the big grin that the news must have been good.”

  Lily nodded and slid into the seat, watching her breath frost the inside of the cab. The weatherman on the truck’s radio said a warming trend was approaching. She sure hoped so. It seemed like winter had gone on forever, and she was ready for some warm breezes. Sunshine and warmth would help Astra, too.

  “Thomas said Astra is improving.” Lily reached over and flipped through the stations until she found one that she knew both she and her father could agree on.

  “That’s good,” he said, but Lily could see his knuckles tighten on the steering wheel.

  She reached out and touched his sleeve. “Dad, I know this is going to be hard on you. But I think this is what mom would have wanted. I really do.” She watched her father force a smile to his lips. It looked rather pained, but at least he was trying.

  They came to the end of the long dirt road and Lily was surprised to see someone sitting at her bus stop. There were several ranch kids at the stop before hers and a few at the next, but Lily and Meloney were the only kids who used this one. She knew Mel wouldn’t be there today because she had said something about an early dentist appointment. But now, a boy about her age with shaggy blond hair was waiting on the bench, looking a bit lost.

  Lily and Meloney usually sat in the truck with her dad until the bus arrived, but she felt kind of silly sitting in the warm truck staring at the boy, who was probably pretty uncomfortable on the cold bench.

  “Should we invite him in here where it’s warm?” Mr. O’Neil asked. “He must be from the family that moved into the old ranch down the way.”

  Lily observed the new boy. He was lean, with high cheekbones and a cute face. Actually, he was very cute. Her face grew warm at the thought and her hand went to her tangled hair. Yikes.

  She wished her dad would drive her all the way to school. Then she could start again tomorrow with brushed hair and a better pair of jeans. But she knew that wouldn’t happen. His job was in the opposite direction from the school. “That’s okay, Dad. I’ll go out and sit on the bench with him.”

  “All right, if you insist.” Her father gave her a peck on the cheek. “I’ll still wait here until the bus comes.”

  Great, Lily thought. Her dad was going to sit there and watch her struggle through uncomfortable conversation with the new boy. She reached down for her backpack and cringed when she noticed her mismatched socks.

  She managed to get out of the truck without falling on her face. The boy nodded his head politely and moved over on the bench to make room. Lily thought about her unmatched socks and decided to stand. She didn’t want them peeking out if her jeans rode up when she sat. “Hi, my name is Lily,” she said. Immediately she felt like a dork.

  “I’m Devin,” the boy said as he shoved his hands deep into his jacket pockets. “My family just moved into the big tan house down the road.” He grinned. “We’re from southern California so I’m not used to this cold weather.”

  Devin seemed friendly as well as cute. Lily dropped her backpack at her feet and pulled on her gloves. “Yeah, it gets kind of cold here in the winter, but the weather’s supposed to warm up soon. Spring’s always pretty nice here up North.”

  The sound of the bus chugging up the hill saved Lily from any more conversation. At least now she wouldn’t have to worry about making a fool of herself by saying something totally stupid. She turned and waved to her dad, then waited for the bus to come to a complete stop. The bus driver smiled as she stepped onboard. Lily took a seat three rows back while the driver motioned for Devin to sit up front. She wanted to give him the no-monkey-business-on-my-bus speech.

  When they reached the school, Lily braced herself for what she knew would be the longest day of the year. All she wanted to do was get home and see Astra, but she had a lot of classes to get through before she could do that. She tightened her grip on the strap of her backpack. The sooner she started, the quicker she’d get home.

  No amount of clock watching would make time move faster. After what seemed like a twenty-four-hour school day, Lily finally stepped off the bus and into her grandmother’s car. Devin hadn’t taken the bus home, and she hadn’t seen him in class. Lily thought he might be a grade or two ahead of her. She pulled off her gloves and settled her backpack at her feet.

  The weather had warmed to fifty-five degrees. She decided it would be a perfect time to start working on Astra’s stall and paddock. But first she wanted to get to the Henleys’ as fast as possible and see her horse.

  Her horse.

  She loved the sound of those words. Her mother would be so excited for her. “Grams, can we go straight to the barn, please? I want to see Astra.”

  Her grandmother smiled. “I would’ve been surprised if you’d wanted to go anyplace else.”

  Lily sat back in her seat and put on her seat belt. “You’re the best, Grams.”

  Her grandmother glanced into the rearview mirror and pulled onto the road. “Yes, dear, I know.”

  Mr. Henley was standing in the driveway, holding a horse for the shoer, when they got to the ranch. “You just missed Dr. Tison,” he said. “But he gave Astra good marks. Says she’s getting stronger.”

  Charlie came out through the barn door with a loaded wheelbarrow. “Hi, Silly Lily. Dr. Tison says Astra might be able to stand by tomorrow.”

  Silly Lily? That was even dumber than Lil-pill. Lily shook her head. Some things never changed. Charlie would always be a bonehead. But at least he had good news.

  She helped her grandmother down the aisle, guiding her along to Astra’s stall. “Hiya, girl,” she said as she opened the stall door and knelt beside the gray mare. It was so amazing to see her respond by flicking her ears and reaching her nose out to touch her shirtfront.

  “Isn’t she beautiful?” Lily said to Grams proudly. “I’m going to go home and build her a nice pen and a stall so she can live with us as soon as she’s strong enough to walk.”

  Gram raised her eyebrows. “Really?” was all she said.

  Lily hung around and fussed over the mare for a few more minutes. Then she and her grandmother hurried home so Lily could get started on her project.

  “Honey, have you ever built a fence before?” Grams asked when they pulled into the driveway.

  Lily got out of the car and walked with her grandmother into the house. “No, but I’ve seen Thomas fix fences at Whispering Pines. It didn’t look that hard.” She frowned at the knowing chuckle her grandmother tried to cover up.

  “Maybe you should wait for your father,” Grams suggested. “He did say he’d fix her a stall.”

  “He’ll get home too late,” Lily said. “I’ve only got a few more hours of daylight left and I don’t want to wait. Besides, he doesn’t really like Astra. It’ll be better if I do it.” She kicked off her shoes and went to her room to change. Old, torn jeans and a ratty sweatshirt were the order of the day. She didn’t want to damage her good clothes by catching them on a nail and ripping them.

  The sun felt warm on Lily’s cheeks as she stepped off her back porch and walked toward the old barn. It had been a while since she’d visited the place. Memories of her beloved pony still lingered in the empty structure. Ever since her father had torn up the fences and taken down the walls of most of the stalls to make room for equipment, she’d been avoiding it.

  She threw the barn doors wide, letting in the light so she could see what was still usable. The stall on the end was still intact, with only a few boards missing. And the paddock off the stall had escaped her father’s destruction derby when he was making room for his equipment. There were a lot of boards missing from the fence line, and a post or two that looked questionable, but all in all, if she could make the repairs, Astra would have a good home.

  She smiled when she thought about the beautiful Arabian mare coming to live with them. She could have stood there and daydreamed about it for hours, but she had a fence
to build and limited hours of daylight.

  Peering inside her dad’s toolshed, Lily had her first inkling of doubt. The shed held many tools, most of which she couldn’t even name, let alone figure out how to use. But all she needed were a hammer and nails.

  She found her dad’s tool belt and strapped it around her waist. It had pockets for nails and a place to hold a hammer. After a little more digging, she found a box of two-inch nails and the hammer. With a few boards off the woodpile she’d be in business.

  Lily stepped out the door, feeling pretty proud of herself. Her grandmother might have doubts about her ability to build a fence, but Lily felt sure she could do it. After all, it was just a matter of nailing up a few boards, right?

  Nine

  Okay, so maybe fence building wasn’t as easy as she’d thought. Lily stood back and surveyed her work. She’d only nailed on a few boards, but they were hopelessly crooked and the nails kept bending. She wiped her hand across her cheek, trying to push back the stray hairs that stuck to her face. She looked at the pile of boards still waiting for her to hammer them on. Maybe she should have waited for her dad.

  The sound of a whinnying horse broke the silence. Lily cocked her head, trying to determine where it had come from. The thud of hoofbeats seemed to be approaching from her left. She gazed down the narrow trail that ran behind their house.

  A boy trotted down the path on a beautiful black horse with a big white star in the center of its forehead. As they drew closer, Lily could see that the horse was an Arabian. Its dished face, fine muzzle, and long elegant neck showed the horse’s fine breeding.

  Lily moved closer to the fence to get a better look. The horse moved out with long, sweeping strides and the rider posted in perfect time to the gait. All thoughts of fence construction disappeared as Lily lost herself in the sight of a horse and rider in perfect harmony.

  It wasn’t until they trotted past that Lily recognized the boy as the new kid, Devin, from the bus stop. That was a surprise. He hadn’t seemed like a horse person, somehow.

  “Whoa.” Devin pulled his mount to a halt and turned around.

  Lily stiffened. Was he coming back to speak to her? A freeze-frame image of what she looked like right now flitted across her brain: baggy pants, ratty sweatshirt, dirt and cobwebs all over her clothing. And her hair was a total mess. She never cared what Charlie thought about her. But she didn’t want this new boy to think she was a total loser. She’d looked bad enough this morning.

  “Hey, it’s Lily, right?” The boy pulled his horse to a stop in front of her and smiled.

  Lily nodded. The black horse poked his nose toward her and she stroked his soft muzzle. “He’s beautiful,” she said. “What’s his name?”

  “Jericho.” Devin leaned down and patted the gelding’s neck. “We’ve got twelve races under our saddle in southern California. I’m hoping to find some good races here this summer. I’m figuring, since this is the home of the Tevis Cup, that there must be a bunch of smaller races in this area.”

  Lily perked up. Here was something she could talk about and not feel dumb. “Mr. Henley owns a big Arabian ranch down the road. He’s got a nationally qualified endurance mare and a stable full of racers. My friend, Meloney, competes in the fifty-mile races, too.”

  Devin stepped off his horse and pulled Jericho’s reins over his head. Lily gulped. It looked like the boy planned to stay and talk for a while. She wasn’t very good at talking to people she didn’t know that well—especially boys.

  Devin stared at the hammer in her hands and the work belt cinched around her waist. “Building a fence?” He looked at the rickety boards with his brows raised and then back to her.

  The fence looked so pathetic, Lily thought about fibbing, but her parents had taught her that the truth was always best. And she couldn’t exactly deny the hammer and nails she held in her hands. “I, um, thought I could do it by myself.” She shrugged. “But I guess I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  Devin stepped Jericho over the broken fence. “Let me find a place to put him and I’ll help you.”

  “Really?” Lily was caught by surprise. “But aren’t you taking your horse out for a ride?”

  Devin grinned. “The trail will still be there tomorrow. Right now it looks like you could use some help.”

  “You can put Jericho in our backyard to graze,” Lily offered. “I’ll get another hammer.” She ran back to her father’s toolshed and got another hammer and more nails. Devin was already pulling broken boards off the fence when she returned.

  “Looks like we could replace maybe ten boards and the pen will be good enough to hold an animal.” Devin brushed his blond hair out of his eyes and looked around.

  Green. His eyes were green. Lily had expected them to be blue.

  “I don’t see any horses or cows,” Devin said. “What do you plan to put in here?”

  “Huh?” Lily realized she’d been staring and not really paying attention. After he repeated the question, she handed Devin his tool belt and the nails. “It’s a long story,” she said. Quickly, she told Devin the short version of the story while she helped him pull the rest of the broken boards off the posts.

  “Wow,” Devin said. “Sorry about your mom. That’s really sad. But that’s pretty cool about Astra. I can’t believe someone gave you a horse—especially one your mom thought could be a champion.”

  Grams stuck her head out the back door and hollered, “Lily, your friend is here!” She saw the black gelding grazing in the backyard and stepped onto the porch. “Whose horse is this?”

  Lily motioned for Devin to step around the side of the barn. “Grams, this is Devin. His family just moved into the valley and he goes to my school. He rode by on his horse and stopped to help me fix the fence.”

  Meloney came around the corner in time to hear the introduction. She lifted a curious eyebrow and silently mouthed cute behind Devin’s back. Lily felt her cheeks grow warm.

  “What a nice young man,” Grams said. “Thank you, Devin. And now that there are three of you, I bet you can get that fence fixed in no time. I’ll make some snacks and bring them out in a bit.”

  Lily found an extra pair of gloves for Meloney, and with Devin’s fence-building skills, the job went quickly. They even patched up the stall. Just as they finished putting the tools away, Grams came out with a plate of small sandwiches.

  “Awesome. Thanks!” Devin said as he grabbed a sandwich and stuffed it in his mouth.

  Melony and Lily each reached for three sandwiches.

  “You eat like a girl on a diet,” Meloney teased Devin.

  He blushed and took a couple more of the little sandwiches. “I was just trying to be polite.”

  “Just don’t tell your father I wrecked your appetite, Lily,” her grandmother laughed. “You’d better eat all your dinner or I’ll be in trouble.”

  Devin took one more sandwich, then went to bridle his horse. “Thanks again, Mrs. O’Neil.” He led his horse from the yard and mounted up. He looked back at Lily and Meloney. “Guess I’ll see you guys at school tomorrow?”

  “Guess so. And thanks a lot for your help,” Lily said. “You, too, Meloney. I couldn’t have done it without you guys.”

  “Sure you could have,” Devin said. “I bet it would have been an interesting fence, too.” He grinned as he wheeled his horse and cantered off.

  “Nice guy,” Meloney said. “Plus he’s a serious endurance rider. It’s going to be a lot more fun riding with him than pain-in-the-neck Charlie.”

  Lily felt a twinge of jealousy. “For you, maybe.”

  “I’m sorry, Lily. But hey, you’ve got a horse now, after your dad said you could never have another one. Who knows? Maybe someday soon you’ll be able to ride again, too.”

  Lily’s grandmother grabbed the empty sandwich tray and headed into the house. “I didn’t hear anything you just said, Miss Meloney. So I can ignore everything that I didn’t hear.”

  The girls laughed as they walked to the fron
t of the house to get Meloney’s bike.

  “Your grandma’s great,” Meloney said. She picked up her bike and pointed it for home. “Call and let me know how Astra is doing after you go see her tonight.”

  “I will,” Lily promised. She waved good-bye to her friend and went into the house to wash up, just as her father’s truck pulled into the driveway. She hoped he’d be happy about the work they’d done on the fence and stall. Maybe even happy enough to take her over to see Astra after dinner.

  “Slow down, Lily,” her father scolded as she ran down the barn aisle.

  Thomas stepped from the tack room. “Lily, wait a minute. I’ve got something to show you and I think you’re going to be really surprised.”

  Lily and her father fell into step behind Thomas. He led them to Astra’s stall and opened the door. Lily gasped. Astra was standing in the middle of her stall. The mare nickered when she saw Lily. She ran to the mare and threw her arms around her neck. “You’re better!” Lily cried, burying her nose in Astra’s mane.

  Mr. O’Neil shifted from foot to foot and frowned. “Maybe you shouldn’t be in there, Lily?”

  Thomas waved him off. “It’s her horse now, and Astra loves her. Some extra attention from Lily is just what this mare needs.”

  Mr. O’Neil did not look convinced.

  “So is she completely okay now?” Lily asked.

  “She’s very weak,” Thomas said, “but she wanted to stand a little while ago, so Steven and I helped her up. She’s shuffled around a bit and eaten a few wisps of hay.” He offered the mare a handful of grass hay and Astra lipped a few strands from his palm. “All of these are very good signs, but she’s a long way from being well. Dr. Tison took another blood sample earlier. He’ll compare it to the one he took this morning and see if anything has changed.”

  Lily planted a kiss on the mare’s soft muzzle. “Can I make her a hot bran mash? Won’t that help make her stronger?”

  Thomas shook his head. “Doc’s orders. Nothing but plain ol’ grass hay for the first twenty-four hours. When she’s eating with a healthy appetite, we can try her on something with a little more protein content.”