Astra (6 page)

Her father's words warmed her heart, but Lily frowned anyway. Would she be okay? Losing Astra wouldn't be anything like it had been when she lost her mother. A horse wasn't the same as a parent. But it would be a lot more pain than she wanted to deal with. “We won't have to worry about that,” Lily told her father firmly. “She's going to make it.” She turned back to the barn, waving over her shoulder as her dad put the truck in reverse and backed away.

Once inside the barn, she went straight to Astra's stall. The vet stood outside the door. “How's she doing?” Lily asked, poking her head over the door. She scanned the mare for signs of stress in her breathing.

Dr. Tison let himself out of the stall and leaned on the door with Lily. “Well, with your extra-special care, she's still hanging in there. I'm going to keep trying.”

Lily stood quietly for several moments and then turned to the vet. “They say people in a coma can still hear you. Do you think Astra can hear me when I talk to her?”

“I think she probably can,” the vet said, sounding tired. It was only three o'clock, but he'd been here since five in the morning. “Maybe you should go brush her up and talk to her again. I'll check on some of the other horses. Might as well while I'm here.”

Grabbing the brush bucket, Lily let herself into the stall. “Hey, girl.” She knelt in the bedding beside the mare and ran her hand lovingly down the long, gray neck. It might have been her imagination, but Lily could have sworn that Astra seemed to relax and breathe easier.

She picked up a soft brush, running it over the mare's coat, flicking away the dirt and bedding. What would she do tomorrow when she was expected to be in school? No way would her dad let her skip classes to be with Astra. She placed her hand on the mare's neck. It seemed cooler to her touch. A flicker of hope zipped through Lily's insides. “Dr. Tison?” she called down the shed row.

The vet was by her side in a moment. “What is it, Lily?”

She ran her hands over the rest of Astra's body. Yes, she definitely felt cooler. Did that mean she was getting better? “I think her fever is breaking.”

Dr. Tison took the thermometer from his pocket and took Astra's temperature. He held it to the light to read it. “Yep. Looks like she's come down almost two degrees.”

“What does that mean?” Lily asked anxiously.

Dr. Tison grabbed his stethoscope and listened to Astra's breathing. “Well, without new blood work I can't be sure,” he said. “She might be getting better—or it's possible that some of her organs are starting to shut down.”

Lily felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. “Shutting down?”

“We can do more blood work, but I don't think it'll do any good,” Dr. Tison answered. “Mr. Henley won't put any more money into her, and I don't think your dad would be willing to pay for it, either. Besides, it would take a while for the results to come back. We'll just have to wait and see. In a few more hours, she'll either be better, or she'll be gone.”

Lily knew the vet was right. There was no sense in doing more tests.

“I've done everything I can, Lily.” Dr. Tison began putting his equipment back in the medical bag. “The rest is up to Astra. I'm going to go see some other patients. I'll be back to check on Astra in two hours.”

The veterinarian closed his bag and looked Lily straight in the eye. She felt the weight of his words all the way down to her toes.

“When I return, if Astra isn't better, you need to be prepared to do the right thing.” He turned and walked down the shed row toward the exit.

The right thing?
Lily raised her brows and pondered the vet's words for a moment. Wasn't she doing the right thing now by keeping Astra alive? But deep in her heart she knew what Dr. Tison meant. She tried to prepare herself mentally for the two-hour wait.

She situated herself again so Astra's head lay in her lap. She spoke soft, encouraging words to the horse while running her hands over the mare's perfectly dished face and neck. “Spring is coming, and I know how you love to run through the fields and graze on all that new grass. Just hang in there and get stronger and you'll get your chance to do it again. I
know
you're getting better, girl. Just, please…” Lily's voice cracked. “
Please
give me some sort of sign that you're improving so we've got something to show Dr. Tison when he comes back.”

The door rattled and Lily looked up to see Charlie entering the stall. Her cheeks turned pink when she realized that he'd probably heard her private words to Astra. She lifted her chin and waited for some smart-aleck comment. Instead, he grabbed the feed bucket from the corner and turned it upside down to sit on, looking very sad.

Charlie stayed there for several moments, not saying a word. He just stared at the prone mare, unwilling to meet Lily's eyes. Lily shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't sure what to say to him, either, so she let the silence stretch out between them.

“I'm really sorry, Lily.” Charlie's voice was so quiet, she could barely hear it. “Astra is going to die, and it's all my fault. I know she's your favorite.” He grabbed a stem of hay out of the feeder and picked at it, still refusing to look at Lily.

Lily wasn't quite sure how to react. Part of her
did want
to blame him for all of Astra's woes, but she knew better. “I already told you, it's not your fault,” Lily said.

“Yes, it is.” Charlie rose to his feet. “My dad told me not to let her eat over by the marsh. But when Astra started tugging me that way, I was lazy and just let her go.”

Now Lily was even more surprised. This was a new side of Charlie. She couldn't believe he'd volunteered himself as the scapegoat. She wanted so badly to blame him for Astra's misfortune. She didn't like the boy very much. It would be so easy to heap all the blame on him. Astra was lying there, maybe only an hour away from death, all because he'd been too lazy to steer her away from a bunch of bad grass.

She gently moved the mare's head from her lap and stood, brushing the bedding from her jeans. “Maybe there were some things you could have done differently, Charlie, but who knows? It might not have made a difference. Astra could've just as easily eaten something in her hay that caused the trouble. We'll probably never know.”

She didn't know why she was being so nice to him.

Charlie attempted a smile. “You mean you don't hate me?”

Lily had to think pretty hard on that one. But she remembered her mother saying that she should never hate anyone. Hate was such a strong word. No, she didn't
hate
Charlie, but she sure didn't like him a whole lot, either. His apology helped some, though. If Astra made it through this, she'd be willing to forgive him anything. “No, Charlie, I don't hate you.”

“Thanks, Lily.”

Charlie shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her that cute grin that made him popular with the girls at school. Lily had never been dumb enough to fall for it.

“I always thought you were kind of a, you know…” Charlie hesitated, looking for the right word. “Well, a loner and kind of a dork,” he said. “But you're really not so bad.”

Lily fought the urge to pick up a road apple and bounce it off Charlie's head. “You should have just stopped at
thanks
,” she told him. She shook her head, moving toward the stall door. But a loud groan, followed by a rustling of bedding, stopped Lily in her tracks.

“Whoa,” Charlie said, his eyes widening.

Lily turned in time to see Astra's eyes open for a brief second, then close again as the gray mare took a deep breath and exhaled with a loud puff.

Lily felt a surge of hope. She wasn't sure what this change of circumstances meant. But one thing was for certain: between the fever subsiding and Astra opening her eyes, she could definitely argue for giving the mare more time.

Seven

“Charlie, call Dr. Tison!” Lily ordered as she stumbled to Astra's side and dropped to her knees. She ran her hand over the mare's large cheekbone and Astra's eyes flickered open again for a brief moment. “Good girl.” She spoke softly, encouraging the horse to come back to her.

Astra took a deep breath and let out another long groan. “Easy, girl,” Lily crooned, her heart breaking at the thought of the mare being in pain now that she was awake. Lily looked up to see Charlie still standing there, gawking. “What are you doing? Get going!” Lily practically yelled. “We need Dr. Tison here now!”

Charlie ran from the stall and pounded down the barn aisle. Lily could hear him talking excitedly to someone in the tack room, most likely his sister or Thomas. A few moments later, Jill let herself into the stall and settled in the bedding beside Lily. “Is it true? Did Astra really open her eyes?”

Lily nodded. “Twice, and now she seems to be breathing a little heavier. I think the medication is wearing off. She seems to be having some pain.”

Jill reached out and smoothed Astra's tangled mane into place. “I called Dr. Tison. He's on his way.”

“Thanks, Jill.”

They sat in silence, waiting for the vet to arrive. Charlie hovered outside the stall, kicking at stray pieces of hay and tossing pebbles down the barn aisle.

Word traveled quickly and soon Mr. Henley poked his head into the stall. “Dr. Tison just pulled in. So Astra's waking up?” He eyed the still form of the mare dubiously and looked Lily straight in the face. “This isn't another stalling tactic, is it?”

For a brief moment, Lily felt insulted. But she knew that if they did insist on putting Astra to sleep, she'd come up with every excuse in the book to give the mare more time. She couldn't blame Mr. Henley for asking.

She opened her mouth to answer, but Jill intervened. “Charlie saw her open her eyes. She's fighting hard to live, Dad.”

Lily heard footsteps coming down the barn aisle, and Mr. Henley opened the stall door for Dr. Tison.

“So, she's coming around, is she?” The vet knelt beside the mare and pulled his stethoscope from around his neck, listening to Astra's heartbeat. Then he moved his stethoscope to several other spots, checking out Astra's heart and lung functions.

“She opened her eyes,” Charlie said. “And she groaned really loud.”

As if on cue, Astra grunted and twitched an ear. Everyone gasped in surprise.

Dr. Tison finished his examination and stood, pulling the stethoscope from his ears. He looked at Lily and smiled. “Her heartbeat is stronger and steady. Her breathing rate is elevated, but at this point, that's a good thing.” He winked at Lily. “I guess we can probably do that blood test now. It looks like Astra might live long enough for us to read it.”

The mare's eyes fluttered open again and she looked about the room. This time she didn't close them immediately. A murmur of appreciation went up from those gathered around the stall. Astra was improving!

“I'll go get the things I need to draw the blood sample.”

Lily listened to Dr. Tison's footsteps recede into the distance. When he returned, someone else was with him. Lily was surprised to see her father's concerned face peering over the door.

“How are things going?” Mr. O'Neil asked.

“Well, Dan, this brave little mare seems to be doing better.” He quickly drew the blood sample and slipped the vial into the protective carrier. “She's not out of danger yet, and I'll know more once I run this sample. But at the moment, I'd say she's got a decent chance of pulling through.”

Mr. Henley looked doubtful. “The question is, will she ever be good for anything? Her liver is probably so damaged that she'll never be strong enough for work. And she might need continual medical care. If it were my horse, I'd still have her put down. It's really the most humane thing for her.”

“She
is
your horse, Steven,” Lily's father said quietly. “I didn't want to say anything earlier because my daughter was so upset. It was a generous offer, and we thank you, but we can't accept this horse. We don't have the money to care for her, and we don't have any stalls set up at home. You're going to have to take her back. Lily can bring you the registration papers later.”

Lily jumped to her feet, which was a big mistake. Her legs wobbled so badly, she nearly toppled over. She felt like she'd just gone over a tall jump and her horse had dropped out from under her.

“
No!
” she cried, when she finally found her voice. She turned to her father. “We can't give her back to Mr. Henley. He just said he'd probably put her down.” She grabbed her father's arm. “Dad, Astra has fought so hard to stay alive. She's waking up now. We can't let her be put to sleep.”

Mr. O'Neil breathed a heavy sigh. “Lily, we have nowhere to keep this horse, and no way to pay for her care.”

It was almost as if she were on stage, with all eyes directed at her. Lily didn't want to cry in front of all these people, but a tear trickled down her cheek. She knew it would be followed by many more. She hated being a crybaby. “But, Dad,” she whimpered. “This was Mom's favorite horse. She's
my
favorite horse. We can't just let her die—not after she's fought so hard to live.”

“You can keep her here until you get a stall fixed at your house,” Charlie volunteered.

Lily's father shook his head. “That still wouldn't solve the money issue. Times are tough in our household. I don't have the money to spend on a horse…especially a sick one.”

“I can work,” Lily said, amazed that her voice still worked. Tears gathered in her throat, making it difficult to speak. “I'll get a job mowing lawns or babysitting or something. I can pay for Astra's feed.”

Jill hooked arms with her father, anchoring him to the spot as if she were afraid he might flee. “We could pay Lily to work for us. We're losing a groom next week. Lily could take his place.” She poked her dad in the ribs for good measure.