Finding Luck

by Kristin Earhart

  “Is that true?” Willa asked Sarah.

  “Well, yeah,” Sarah replied. “She does.”

  “That’s huge!” she exclaimed. “I’ll bet Mom would hire her in a second.” With that good news, Willa felt like things would come together. She felt like she and Ben could enjoy a trip to Assateague with Grandma and their friends. She convinced herself that Mom and Dad could take care of the last-minute details by themselves. They were grown-ups, after all.

  “Katherine? That’s great,” Mom said. “I’ll call the Starlings right away.”

  Willa had finally found Mom in Ben’s bedroom, ironing pillowcases.

  “So, Ben and I decided to go to Assateague with Grandma tomorrow,” Willa announced.

  “Oh?” Mom replied. It was not the reaction Willa expected.

  “Sarah and Chipper will be there,” Willa explained. “And I double-checked with Grandma that we’ll be back by evening. I can even probably help with dishes.”

  “Well, I don’t think you’ll need to do that,” Mom said with a slight smile. She set the iron down and took a sheet of paper from her pocket. A list. She made a tiny clucking sound as she reviewed it. “Sweetheart,” she began again, looking up at Willa. “I know you’ve been busy, but there are Popsicle sticks in the craft bin. Would you make markers for all the herbs?”

  Willa couldn’t tell if Mom was giving her silly little jobs just to keep her busy. “But, Mom, I want to really help.”

  “That will be help,” Mom answered.

  As she headed down the stairs, Willa passed Dad on his way up. “Your brother needs a brush so he can make a ‘Wet Paint’ sign for tomorrow,” Dad said. “Can you get him one? He’s in the barn.”

  “Of course,” Willa said.

  “And keep an eye on the corn bread in the oven?” he called out from the second floor.

  “Yes,” Willa replied, making a list in her head.

  First she located a paintbrush in the cupboard under the stairs. She ran it out to Ben, who was looking for leftover wood for the sign. When she came back to the house, she headed straight for the craft bin so she could make the markers for the garden. Then the doorbell rang. It was Katherine Starling, already there to ask about the job.

  Willa called to Mom and heard a scratching at the back door. “New Cat? How did you get out?” Willa wondered as the cat strutted into the kitchen.

  That’s when Dad raced down the stairs. “Did you take out the corn bread?” he asked.

  “Not yet,” Willa said, looking at the clock. “The buzzer didn’t go off.”

  “I didn’t set one,” Dad said. “I told you to keep an eye on it.”

  Willa had been busy doing other things! Didn’t he get that?

  Dad pulled the corn bread out. She could see that the edges were tinged brown, darker and drier than Dad liked. It wouldn’t be good enough for opening day.

  “Don’t worry, honey,” Dad said. “I can make another batch tomorrow. It’s always tastier fresh from the oven anyway.” Dad placed the pan on the counter and pulled off the oven mitt. “Oh, I almost forgot, can you go find your mother? She wants you to show Katherine where we store some of the stuff around here.”

  All of a sudden, things felt very busy. Willa wondered whether she should stay home the next day. But the more she thought about it, the more she didn’t want to. . . .

  Chapter 7

  “RISE AND SHINE. IT’S A big day.”

  Mom gave Willa’s shoulder a shake before opening her bedroom curtains.

  “It’s a big day for you, too,” Willa replied, squinting as light filled her room.

  “You’ve got that right,” Mom said. “Can you wake your brother?” Mom asked. “Grandma needs you two ready soon.”

  Willa’s feet dragged as she made her way to Ben’s room.

  “Wake up, you,” she said, throwing a stuffed hippo at Ben’s head. “We’re going to Assateague, and Mom and Dad are going to open an inn.”

  Ben sat straight up. “So I’m not battling a nest of dragons in the underworld?” he mumbled.

  “Definitely not,” replied Willa. “You need to stop playing video games right before bed.”

  “That’s the only time I’m allowed to play them.” Ben sulked.

  “Get dressed,” Willa said. “And close your door. You don’t want any guests seeing this mess. Why aren’t those clothes in the laundry bin?”

  “Because they aren’t dirty,” Ben answered.

  “You wore them to move the manure pile. Remember?” Willa told him, and stomped out of the room.

  Even though they didn’t agree on how dirty his clothes might be, Willa and Ben did agree that they needed to be home to assist Mom and Dad that night. As Willa was grabbing granola bars for their breakfast, she noticed a stack of long, thin papers next to the sink. More lists, she thought.

  Willa was still thinking about all those lists nearly a half hour later as they climbed out of Grandma’s car. Grandma led them down a sandy path where the trees arched overhead. The path ended in a hidden cove with one dock. At the dock was one small boat. They all climbed in.

  “You ready?” Grandma called out as the engine sputtered. Willa and Ben nodded and smiled, and Grandma guided the boat away from the dock using the handle on the motor.

  Soon they had left the cove and entered the open water. Willa thought it was funny how normally this trip would have filled her every thought. She was crossing the bay, about to see the wild ponies of Assateague up close. Many visitors came to Chincoteague and only caught glimpses of the ponies as they escaped from the beach into the shadows of the trees. Willa knew how lucky she and Ben were.

  She also thought of their Chincoteague pony back at Misty Inn. Before she had left that morning, with a chill still in the air, Willa had made sure to do her barn chores. She had thrown flakes of hay to Starbuck and Buttercup. She had made sure the large metal trough was full of water. The ponies on Assateague didn’t have someone looking out for them every day. It was up to the herd to find grass for grazing and fresh water to drink.

  As they sped across the bay in the cool gray of the cloudy morning, it seemed like most of the world was still asleep, except for an egret soaring in the sky. Things were very different once they arrived on Assateague.

  As soon as they tied the boat to a dock, Willa could hear the whinnies.

  “The cowboys should be just about done with the roundup by now,” Grandma said. She lifted her vet kit from the floor of the boat. “They began near dawn, so they’ll be good and ready for us.”

  Grandma was referring to the volunteers who helped with the roundups. The full term was “saltwater cowboys,” because the cowboys and their horses often had to get in the water during the summer roundups. Sometimes, when the herd swam across the bay, there would be stragglers. It was up to the cowboys to keep the herd together.

  Looking across the bay, Willa thought that Chincoteague looked far away.

  “It’s a shame you two haven’t been to Assateague yet,” Grandma said as they hiked through the sand. “I’m glad you came with me. Your folks are worried that you’ve been working too hard, doing too much work on the inn. I have to agree.”

  Willa and Ben looked at each other. Grandma had a hard time keeping her opinions to herself. But this opinion surprised Willa. Grandma always said that kids should pull their own weight. Willa still worried that she hadn’t done enough.

  “Hey, look what I found!” Ben said, sifting through a clump of sea grass. “A coin! And it’s old.” Grandma and Willa leaned over and inspected the discovery.

  Ben rubbed his finger over the silver-colored coin, brushing dirt and sand from its face. “Maybe it’s from the Spanish shipwreck,” Willa said. “The same one that brought the ponies to Assateague Island.” Willa knew that Assateague wasn’t where the cargo ship had been headed. A horrible storm had sunk the ship, but the ponies had managed to escape and swim to shore.

  “See what wonders the world has to offer,” Grandma murmured, on he
r way again. “Legend has it that you can make a wish on a coin collected from a shipwreck.”

  “A wish?” Ben repeated. It wasn’t like Grandma to believe such things.

  “A wish,” she confirmed.

  “Arrived on island,” Ben stated in a short clip. “Found ancient coin.”

  Willa looked over her shoulder and realized Ben was speaking into his walkie-talkie. There was static followed by a jumble of words. Willa guessed that was Chipper responding.

  “There’s one of the paddocks,” Grandma said, motioning ahead.

  When she looked up, Willa could see Sarah with a small group by a tall white fence.

  Sarah rushed forward, half running and half skipping. “Willa! You have to see this!” Sarah pulled her so close that Willa nearly bumped into her friend’s extra-long, extra-high ponytail as she ran behind her. They came to an abrupt stop at the paddock fence. “Isn’t that foal the cutest!”

  Sarah was right. With its deep brown eyes and wispy mane, its knobby white knees and sloppy splashes of chocolate brown on its neck and back, the foal was the cutest. It also looked like the loneliest. “Where’s its mother?” Willa asked.

  “The cowboys are trying to find her,” Sarah answered. “She’s not in this paddock or else she’d be with the foal, right?”

  “Sure,” Willa said, nodding. She put her elbows on the top rail of the fence and searched the paddock. It made sense that the mother would be with such a young foal. So if the mare wasn’t in the fenced-in area, where could she be?

  Chapter 8

  “WHAT DO YOU THINK, EDNA?”

  Mr. Starling and Grandma Edna were talking. All the kids were listening in. They were worried about the tiny foal, standing alone. Grandma had gone into the paddock to take a look. Now Mr. Starling wanted to hear Grandma Edna’s opinion.

  “I don’t think they’ve been separated long,” Grandma said. “The foal seems healthy and not too hungry, but he won’t stay that way. He’ll need milk soon.”

  Willa looked at the sweet foal. His eyelids drooped and then sprang open as he fought sleep.

  “Someone’s got to locate that mare,” Mr. Starling said. “And fast.” He looked at his son and daughter. He then turned to Ben and Willa. “Don’t suppose you kids could help?”

  “Yes, Daddy, please,” Sarah begged.

  “We can do it,” Chipper agreed, and he handed his walkie-talkie to his dad. “Just call Ben if you need us.”

  Ben touched his own walkie-talkie, which was hanging from his belt. Willa realized that her brother had been quiet since the discovery of the little colt.

  “I’m happy to give you all a job and get you away from the yard,” Mr. Starling said, “but you can’t go on your own. It’s not safe.”

  With two other vets at the roundup, Grandma volunteered to go with them on the search for the mare.

  “What’ll happen if we can’t find her?” Ben wondered out loud as the group marched off toward the trees.

  “Well”—Grandma hesitated—“that little guy is young and still needs his mom’s milk. He’ll get thirsty and weak without it.” Grandma walked at the lead, the kids jogging to match her pace. “But let’s hope it doesn’t get to that.”

  They first took a couple of loops around the area where the horses were corralled. Grandma thought the mare might be nearby. When they didn’t see her, they headed deeper into the woods. Grandma planned to go back to where the cowboys had first spotted the herd that morning.

  The island was a big place. The beach stretched for miles. There were docks and roads for tourists. Willa knew that the north side even had campgrounds, but there was also a lot of natural space. Tall pine trees shaded and sheltered the herds from the weather.

  “How are we going to find a single pony?” Sarah asked after they had been hiking around for more than an hour. “She could be anywhere, especially if she darted off when the cowboys came through.” Sarah said what the entire group was thinking.

  “I don’t know,” Grandma admitted, “but the bugs have already found me.”

  The bugs had found everyone, and everyone was waving and swatting their hands. It made it hard to stay focused.

  “What about the lighthouse?” Willa suggested. “Maybe we’ll get a better view from there.”

  “Top-notch thinking,” Grandma said. “Anyone have a compass?”

  “I do,” Chipper said. No wonder Chipper and her brother had quickly become such good friends. They both loved gadgets. Grandma checked Chipper’s compass, changed direction, and kept swatting bugs.

  They all stepped from the trees into the full light of the midday sun. They had snacked on their hike, and now they all stopped to drink water.

  “It’s just over there,” Willa yelled, pointing to the tall red-and-white-striped brick tower. In front was a small building that looked like a one-room schoolhouse. Willa took off. Sarah ran close behind her, and the boys followed. Grandma continued at her well-paced walk.

  When the girls arrived, they bolted up the two short steps to the house. Willa fumbled at the doorknob and found it was locked.

  “No!” she moaned, pulling at the door.

  “I thought it was always open,” said Sarah.

  Ben kicked at the sandy path.

  “Did you try knocking?” Grandma asked.

  At once, all four kids knocked. They were still knocking when the door swung open.

  “Yes?” It was a park ranger, wearing a dark-brown hat, a tan shirt with badges, and sturdy boots.

  “Please, sir, you have to let us in. We have to find a pony,” Willa said.

  “I don’t think there are any ponies in here,” the ranger replied, smiling to himself.

  “No,” Ben continued. “We need to use the lighthouse as a lookout. The pony is lost somewhere on the island, and her foal needs her.”

  The ranger’s expression quickly changed. “I see,” he said. “We’re usually not open right now, but it sounds like an emergency.” He stepped aside and motioned to the stairs.

  It was a spiral staircase.

  “You guys know it’s haunted, right?” Chipper said, staring up.

  “That’s not true,” Sarah said. “Even if it were, we have no choice.”

  “I’ll wait for you here,” Grandma said.

  With that, Willa started climbing. The red metal steps seemed to go on forever. When she looked down, she felt dizzy. The clanging of four sets of feet rang in her ears. But she kept going. This was their best chance to find the mare. She thought of the hot sun and how thirsty the foal must be by now.

  It was 175 feet straight up, and luckily the door to the metal deck was open.

  “Be careful,” Willa warned, holding Ben back from the railing.

  The four friends looked out at the island. In places it was wooded; in others, pure sandy beach; and still others were filled with large patches of marsh grass, sprouting from the water like giant lily pads.

  Willa noticed Ben take the coin out of his pocket. She realized he hadn’t even shared it with Chipper. Her brother rubbed his fingers over the carved face. She wondered if he was making a wish.

  “I think I can see your house!” Sarah announced. She had binoculars that the ranger had loaned to her.

  “Really?” Willa asked.

  “Yeah,” responded Sarah. “I can see the ‘Grand Opening’ banner.”

  Willa had not thought about the inn for hours. Now she pictured her parents rushing around, Mom tending to last-minute details, Dad probably chopping vegetables.

  “Where would she be?” Chipper asked under his breath.

  Willa tried to answer Chipper’s question. But it only made her think of questions of her own. Why would the mare not be with her foal? What could have happened? Was she okay?

  Chapter 9

  “WE FOUND HER! WE FOUND her!”

  Then came a frantic race down the winding staircase.

  “It was Ben!” Sarah said when she reached the bottom. “Ben saw her first,” Sarah explaine
d to Grandma.

  “She’s not moving!” Chipper said, leaping down from the third step.

  Willa and Ben were right behind the Starling kids.

  Grandma quickly thanked the ranger. As they left, the kids tried to give her all the facts: The mare was not far, she seemed to be awake, and she was up to her knees in some mucky water.

  “Mucky water?” Grandma said, thinking it through. “Sounds like she might be stuck. The wet sand can get slippery around here.”

  “Like quicksand?” Ben asked.

  “Yes, in some ways,” Grandma said.

  Willa gulped. Quicksand did not sound good.

  “Now, when we get there, I need you all to stay calm,” Grandma advised. “She might very well be frightened, and you need to help her feel safe. So you stay safe too.”

  “She doesn’t seem scared at all,” Sarah observed.

  The mare did not seem alarmed. Her breath was steady. Her head hung low. She didn’t even try to move away when the group approached. She stood still as the salt water rippled around her legs.

  “Stay where the grass is thick,” Grandma softly said, handing Willa a halter. “So you know you have solid ground. Nice and easy.”

  The pony barely blinked an eye as Willa latched the halter behind her ears. Her coloring nearly matched that of her foal.

  Next Willa, still on a patch of sturdy marsh grass, attached a lead and clicked with her tongue. She tugged on the lead.

  “That’s right,” Grandma encouraged. “Try to get her to get out of it.”

  The pony stretched out her neck, but she wouldn’t take a step. Willa tugged harder. “Come on,” she pleaded. The mare laid back her ears and strained against the halter.

  “I don’t think this pony is wild,” Chipper said. “I think she’s lazy.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Grandma replied.