Wild Horse Spring

by Lisa Williams Kline

  “You think?” he said.

  The mare moaned suddenly and struggled again to get up. When the foal raised its head, its little anvil-shaped head, and nuzzled its mother, I scrubbed the tears off my cheeks. “Why would someone hit a mare with a baby foal?”

  “I don’t know,” Cody said. “Maybe it was an accident.”

  I stood up, barely able to take my eyes away from the mare and her foal. The sounds of the mare’s suffering were burned into my memory forever and kept making me cry. I hated crying in front of Cody. I never cried in front of anyone!

  “Someone will be here soon. We should hide or leave so we won’t get in trouble,” Cody said. We righted our bikes and walked them behind the first dune and crouched in the sea grass. Both of us sat hunched and cross-legged, listening to the mare.

  Even though we’d only waited ten minutes, I got anxious.

  “When is someone going to get here?” Cody said. “Maybe we should just leave.”

  A faint band of early morning sun filtered through the waving sea grass.

  Cody hadn’t said anything about me crying. He’d pretended not to notice. I was grateful he hadn’t made fun of me, and I was starting to see why Stephanie liked him. One thing I had noticed about Stephanie was that she always saw the good in people. I had been in the habit, for a long time, of seeing only the bad.

  And Cody’s smile made a kind of tingle travel up my spine.

  Only a minute or so later, two sets of headlights headed up the beach. They slowed as they approached the mare, and once again she tried to stand, moaning with the effort. A white SUV stopped, and two men jumped out. One had a beard, and the other had a gray ponytail and wore a baseball cap. An officer climbed out of the sheriff’s car.

  “It’s Isabel and her foal!” said the man with the beard. “Someone has hit her.”

  The man with the baseball cap took a few steps toward the mare. “I would have to examine her. Let’s use the darts so we can get close.”

  I realized the man with the baseball cap was a veterinarian. From the back of the pickup truck, he pulled out something that looked like a slim rifle and inserted a brightly colored dart. I was familiar with these from helping the vet with the wolves last summer. He took aim at the mare’s haunch and fired.

  Even though I knew the vet wasn’t shooting her, that he was just sedating her, I still felt my throat tighten.

  The dart took literally thirty seconds to work, and she laid her head on the sand. The vet was able to approach her. The foal stumbled a short distance away and stood there bleating. The vet knelt and examined the mare’s leg and flank, murmuring soft and soothing nonsense words.

  As the sky began to lighten even more, he stood and talked with the other man, and they crossed their arms over their chests, nodding soberly. They glanced at the foal, then back at the mother.

  What would happen to them? Thoughts whirled and buzzed in my head. I knew Cody and I should leave, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene before me. I had heard many times at the barn that usually if horses broke their legs, they were put down. Would that happen to the mare? Oh, please, please, don’t let her die.

  Meanwhile, the officer had started to pace out the tire tracks on the beach. His hair was so short he almost looked bald, and he definitely looked like he worked out. He began to snap pictures of the tread marks, from different angles, then took out a measuring tape and measured the width of the tracks.

  “Based on the size of these, I’d say we’re looking for an ATV,” he said to the other men. “And there’s most likely some damage to the vehicle.”

  “Big surprise,” said the man with the beard. “Kids.”

  “Look,” said the officer. “There are some bicycle marks around here too.”

  I caught my breath and glanced at Cody.

  “We can offer a reward, like last time,” the officer said.

  “Thanks,” said the man with the beard.

  “And I’ll see what the trace on the 911 call turns up.” He shook hands with the other men. “Good luck. I hate to see things like this. Sorry.”

  As the sheriff’s car pulled away and headed back down the beach, a glow spread along the horizon. It was almost daylight.

  “We need to leave,” Cody said.

  I nodded, roughly wiping my hair and the tears from my face, and we picked up our bikes. Before returning to the beach, we walked our bikes through the dunes for almost the length of a football field so the men wouldn’t see us.

  I hated leaving the mare lying there, but we had at least gotten help. As I pedaled down the beach, I whispered over and over, “Please let them save her.” I remembered Stephanie asking me if I believed in God. I had said no. But who else would I be talking to if not to God?

  Cody and I rode down the beach together, in a gray morning world, as a damp breeze from the ocean blew away scraps of the calls of the seagulls flying overhead. I was hoping we could get home before anyone missed us. Our bike tires made a grainy sound against the damp sand, like an old record at the end of the song. Gradually, faint streaks of pale purple shot through the sky and frosted the water. My eyes burned from lack of sleep. We found the wooden walkway to the house and walked the bikes along it as quietly as possible. My heart was pounding hard, and I was hoping Mom and Norm were still asleep and not looking out through the sliding door and seeing us. Cody didn’t try to talk, and I was glad. We put the bikes back where we had found them.

  “How can we find out what happens?” Cody asked quietly.

  “We have to call later.”

  We had witnessed something horrible together. I hadn’t cried in front of anyone in a long time. Even though I hated boys, I felt like I wanted Cody to hug me or maybe hold my hand.

  But he didn’t. With a quick wave, he jogged across the sand toward his house. He passed the ATV parked in the driveway and disappeared around the back of the house.

  I shimmied up the square corner column from the lower porch to the upper one, threw my leg over the back porch railing, and landed on the porch floor. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I tiptoed past the sliding door to Stephanie’s room, peeked in, and saw her dark hair tumbled on the pillow. Still asleep.

  She’d never have to know.

  An inch at a time, I opened the sliding door to my room and slipped in. In only a few seconds I had changed to Dad’s old Heineken T-shirt that I always wore to sleep in and slid under the covers, pulling them to my chin. Fine, grainy sand coated my feet and legs next to the sheets. For a time I lay there catching my breath and staring out through the sliding door at the dawn sky.

  It looked like we’d gotten away with it.

  But every time I closed my eyes, I saw the mare, the one they’d called Isabel, lying on the beach, panting. I saw Dark Angel, the scared little black foal. I thought I’d never sleep again.

  14

  STEPHANIE

  Again, strong morning sun shone through the sliding door, heating my room and waking me up. I had slept later than usual, and my arm had an awful, sore, stinging feeling. It hurt even more when I sat up and tried to pull my T-shirt on. Brownish blood had seeped through the bandage, making it stick to my arm. I tried pulling the bandage off, but it hurt so bad my eyes watered. So I just left it.

  I went out on the back porch to look at the ocean, and below I saw a red fox trot by on dainty feet, its bushy tail hanging low. Before I could call Diana to come see, it skulked through the grasses on the dune, until it wove through a few stalks and disappeared like fog.

  I usually slept later than Diana, so I was surprised when I peeked into her room and saw her still sleeping. One sandy foot stuck out from under the covers along the side of the bed. Then the thought popped into my head like a newspaper headline: Diana snuck out last night.

  I could hear Daddy and Lynn downstairs talking, and I stood and listened for a minute at the top of the stairs before going down.

  “He’s a very handsome boy, and he seems bright,” Lynn said. “It’s no
wonder Stephanie is fascinated by him. He’s different from most of the boys she knows.”

  “Stephanie is too young to have anything to do with boys,” Daddy said with sudden force.

  “Oh, I agree. But you can’t stop her from being interested,” Lynn said. “Once it happens, it just happens.”

  “I can keep her away from them.”

  “No, you can’t, Norm! There are boys in her school, on the teams she cheers for … Boys are everywhere! Are you going to keep her prisoner in a castle turret like Rapunzel?”

  “Yes!” said Daddy, laughing. “I think Rapunzel’s dad had the right idea!”

  “Right!” Lynn said, with a soft chuckle. “And I’m sure Rapunzel and her dad had a wonderful relationship.”

  “Who cares about our relationship as long as she’s safe?” Daddy said.

  “Oh, Norm, you don’t mean that.”

  “No, you’re right, I don’t,” he said.

  “Besides, honey, as hard as you might try, you can’t protect her from a broken heart,” Lynn said. “She’s already been through your divorce and our marriage, and that will make a girl wise beyond her years.”

  I waited a few heartbeats and then walked downstairs rubbing my eyes like I’d just gotten up. “Morning,” I said.

  “Morning, sweet pea!” Daddy said a bit too enthusiastically. He stood and gave me a hug. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Mmm-hmmm.”

  “How’s your arm?” Lynn asked.

  “It stings, and the bandage is stuck.”

  “I can take care of that.” Lynn sat me at the counter while she got the first-aid kit. With a quick practiced swipe, she yanked off the bandage.

  “OW!” My eyes watered.

  “It’s easier if you do it quickly,” she said, holding my arm gently in her confident hands. She cleaned off the dried blood with warm, soapy water. “It looks better today.”

  The wound felt tender and raw, and tiny pinpricks of fresh, bright red blood appeared. I felt more secure as Lynn placed a new, smaller bandage over it. “By tomorrow, we should be able to leave it open to the air.” She patted my arm. “I can’t believe Diana is sleeping so late. That’s unusual for her.”

  “I know,” I said vaguely. “Weird.”

  “Somebody needs to wake her up. We’ve got a lot to do today,” Daddy said. “I’ve been checking out the websites for both the aquarium and the Wright Brothers Memorial.”

  “Stephanie, do you mind running over to the Clarks’ and seeing if leaving around ten will work for Cody?” asked Lynn. “That will give us time to get Diana up and get some breakfast.”

  “S-sure.” I would have liked a chance to comb my hair before going over there, in case I saw Cody, but after overhearing Daddy’s conversation with Lynn about me and boys, I thought it would be better if I acted like it didn’t matter, so I skimmed down the front steps and headed across the packed sand to the yellow house. I passed the ATV in their driveway and quickly combed my hair with my fingers before knocking on the doorjamb.

  I’d been hoping Cody would come to the door, but it was Mrs. Clark.

  “Hi!” She smiled. Her brown eyes were warm and friendly. The aroma of pancakes wafted from inside the house. Mrs. Clark said she was making sea cookies, one of Cody’s favorites. I asked her if ten o’clock was a good time for Cody to head over to go to the aquarium, and she said yes. I tried not to crane my neck to see if Cody was anywhere in the room behind her.

  “I’ve got to get Cody up,” she said with a conspiratorial smile. “He’s usually an early riser, but for some reason this morning he’s sleeping in.”

  That was funny. Cody and Diana both sleeping in this morning.

  “Okay, see you in a bit!” I said, without commenting or letting my expression change, and turned to run back across to our house.

  And just then, a police car pulled into the sand-packed driveway. An officer got out, slamming the door, and stepped up onto the front porch.

  I stood rooted to the porch. What’s going on?

  “Can I help you, sir?” asked Mrs. Clark, wiping flour off her hands.

  The officer stepped forward to shake Mrs. Clark’s hand. “Morning, ma’am. Sergeant Lloyd Stone. How are you this morning?”

  “Fine,” said Mrs. Clark warily. “Is there a problem, sir?”

  “A horse was hit on the beach late last night by somebody driving an ATV.” The sergeant was stocky and muscular, with almost no hair, and carried a shiny black gun. “I’d like to take a look at this ATV.” He stepped back into the yard and circled the ATV, with his arms crossed, looking real carefully at the tires and body. Then he snapped a few pictures of the ATV using a camera with a long lens.

  “Well, that’s impossible,” said Mrs. Clark. “No one was driving this ATV last night. I’m quite sure.”

  “I’d like to ask you and your family members some questions, if you don’t mind.”

  Mrs. Clark knitted her brow. “Well … I would never let Cody drive the ATV at night. And everyone in our house was in bed by midnight last night.”

  “Someone called 911 from a cell phone in the wee hours of the morning to report an injured horse but hung up before identifying themselves.” The sergeant gave a cell-phone number and said it was registered by Malia Clark. “Is that you?”

  Mrs. Clark put her hand over her mouth. “That’s Cody’s phone. So, you’re saying he was out on the beach last night and made a call to 911?”

  What? Cody called 911 last night?

  “I’m saying that phone was used to call 911. I’d like to speak with Cody, please.”

  Mrs. Clark glanced at me, and her face had turned pale. “Stephanie, maybe you should go home. Please tell your parents that the earliest Cody can make it today will be ten–thirty, and he may not be able to make it at all.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I started across the sand, warm now beneath my bare feet.

  “Wait, we’d rather you didn’t leave, young lady,” said the sergeant. “Were you out on the beach with that young man last night?”

  “No, sir,” I said, in sudden shock. A roaring started in my head.

  “You’re sure about that? The voice on the recorded 911 call was female and sounded about your age.” The sergeant loomed closer to me now, taking off his sunglasses and squinting at me thoughtfully in the bright sun.

  “I’m sure,” I said in what I know was a scared voice.

  What happened last night? Did someone use Cody’s phone to call? Was Cody out on the beach? Was he with Diana? Did they hit a horse with the ATV?

  “Where are you staying, young lady?”

  I pointed at our house. “Over there.” The blood had gone to my head, and I kind of felt like I was going to faint.

  “And how do you know this young man?” The sergeant leaned against the car, patiently, holding the camera.

  “We met on the beach, that’s all. We just started talking, and he offered me a ride on the ATV.”

  “You realize that in this county you have to be sixteen to ride an ATV? Are you sixteen?”

  My mouth dropped open. “No, sir. I don’t think Cody knew that either.”

  “What happened to your arm?”

  I cupped my other hand over the bandage. “I scraped it when I fell off the ATV yesterday afternoon.”

  “Some people I’ve interviewed did say that they saw some young people driving an ATV behind the dunes in a somewhat reckless manner yesterday afternoon. Was that you and Cody?”

  Someone told the police that they saw Cody and Diana and me on the path when we fell off the ATV?

  “Well,” Mrs. Clark glanced at me. “That was purely an accident, and this young lady can certainly assure you of that, can’t you, Stephanie?”

  I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. It was an accident. Cody was really sorry.”

  The sergeant regarded me with his narrow eyes. “All right. You go on home, but I’d like you and your family to stay put so we can ask you some questions in a few minutes.”

 
I looked back at Mrs. Clark, and she gave me a nod.

  “And now I’d like to speak with Cody,” said Sergeant Stone to Mrs. Clark.

  “Just a moment, I’ll get him,” she said. “I’m sure this is all a big misunderstanding, and we’ll be able to straighten it out very easily. I know Cody didn’t hit any horse.” She turned to go back inside. I started running back to our house, my heart beating all out of time.

  As I was running, my brain was whirling like crazy trying to figure everything out. Had Diana snuck out last night and somehow ended up hanging out with Cody? I just couldn’t believe it, since Diana had said more than once that she didn’t even like him. And she knew how I felt about him! So why would she do that?

  And if they’d been riding the ATV on the beach last night, it seems like we would have heard them.

  I turned around and looked at Cody’s house just in time to see Mrs. Clark go inside with the sergeant. And he was going to be over here soon, as soon as he talked to Cody. And what would Cody say to him?

  A hot breeze blew, whistling around me, stirring up the sand and whipping the sea grass. My hair stung as it blew into my eyes, and I raked it away.

  I slowed to a walk as I got to the yard at our house. The more I thought about it, the madder I got at Diana. How could she have sneaked out with Cody? And when had they planned it?

  She was so tough to get along with, and I had tried so hard. I’d gone along with what she wanted to do last summer and gotten into trouble with the wolves. I’d tried to be loving toward her, and now look!

  I went inside and quietly closed the front door. Daddy and Lynn were in the great room, facing the ocean, and wouldn’t have seen the sheriff’s car unless they came to the front door and opened it.

  “There you are!” Lynn immediately began cracking eggs into a bowl.

  “Stephanie, what took you so long?” Daddy said, looking up from his computer.

  Diana was sitting at the counter, eating cereal, in that old, faded Heineken T-shirt of her dad’s.

  “Sorry.” I stared at Diana, willing her to meet my eyes, but she was either paying no attention or purposely avoiding looking at me. In that very second, I was almost sure: she had sneaked out with Cody, and she was trying to keep it a secret from me.