High Hurdles Collection Two (20 page)

“Sure, but …”

“Look, Joe, I know you have first-aid training. I'm not bleeding anywhere, and while I have a bit of a headache, it's nothing like a concussion. My legs work, my mind is clear—come on, give me a break.”

“Patches already did that,” Joe said with a straight face.

“Great, you're even a comedian.”

“You want me to put him away?” Tony led Patches back to the group by the railing. “It wasn't his fault, really. It was that white cat. The other horses spooked, too.”

“I saw it at the same moment Patches did. Not quick enough to grab the saddle horn.” Mrs. Johnson grimaced and turned white around the mouth when Joe and DJ helped her sit up. She cupped her other hand around the injured forearm. “DJ, could you please get me a bag of ice? The more we can keep the swelling down, the easier it will be to set.”

“Sure.” DJ started to leave, but Joe stopped her. “Bring several small bags so we can pack them all around the arm.”

When DJ returned, Joe took off his jacket and fashioned it into a sling before he helped Mrs. Johnson to her feet. “This is silly. You lean against the fence while I go get the truck. Bridget, do you have any aspirin in your first-aid kit? Or something stronger. That will help ease the trip in.”

“This is not your fault, DJ,” Bridget said as the Explorer, carrying Mrs. Johnson in the front seat, drove out of the arena.

“My head agrees with you, but my heart says I should have been prepared.”

“These things happen. Some horses just spook more easily. As you said, Patches is one of those. I will talk with her about selling him and getting something more dependable when she is better.”

DJ was still shaking when she got home.

“Hurry, DJ. We have the boys' open house at school right after dinner.” Lindy turned from the oven and sat a casserole on the counter.

“Do I have to go?”

“No, not unless you want to.”

Robert even cut devotions short and, with the boys at full volume and speed, left the house.

The silence felt as drained of energy and sound as DJ did. She called Joe to find out how Mrs. Johnson was. He said it was a simple fracture. They set the arm, put a cast on it, and he dropped her off at her house.

“Andrew asked a lot of questions,” Joe continued. “You have him in class tomorrow, right?”

“How will he get there? She usually brings him. She can't drive yet, can she?”

“No, but Mr. Johnson said he would take a couple of days off work to make it easier for her. When I left, she was tucked up on the sofa, grumbling about being such a baby. As they say, nurses and doctors make the worst patients.”

“I should have—”

“Darla Jean Randall, if I hear one more ‘I should have' out of you, I'm going to personally tape your mouth shut.”

“Joe Crowder!” DJ heard Gran say in the background.

DJ couldn't help but giggle. Gran sounded horrified.

“Hey, kid, there was nothing anyone could have done, other than keep that cat in the house.”

“I think it was Bridget's cat.”

“Well, there you have it. I'll go yell at Bridget about how to take care of her livestock.”

Instead of her homework, DJ drew a cartoonish picture of Patches looking forlorn, his eyes more like those of a basset hound than a horse's. The caption inside read,
I'm sorry
. DJ signed it
Love, Patches
and
From me, too. Hope you heal fast. DJ
.

She got the academy roster from her desk drawer and addressed the envelope. She was rummaging in the telephone table for a stamp when the twins hit the door, shouting for her as they advanced. By the time they'd given her the hot-fudge sundae they'd brought home, told her all about the school, the clown who made balloon animals, the music, and their teacher, besides the upcoming calendar of events, it was past their bedtime. While Robert and Lindy put them to bed and settled them down, DJ got started on her homework.

Robert and Lindy said good-night to her from the door. “And don't stay up too late,” Lindy added. “You look like you need extra sleep, not less.”

DJ only nodded. “Night.”

They never even asked how my day went
.

DJ must have relived the accident fourteen times in her dreams that night. When the alarm buzzed, she felt like she'd just gone to sleep.

She flunked her algebra test.

At the Academy all anyone could talk about was the accident. No one had been seriously hurt on the Academy grounds for years. DJ escaped to the horses.

“At least you can't talk about her,” she said to Patches as she groomed him for his workout. He snorted and rubbed his forehead against her shoulder, then nosed her pocket for another chunk of carrot.

“Good thing you got hot-walker time, huh?” She patted his neck, already dotted with sweat as he checked out every shadow and movement in the arena. Just jogging him around the oval made her arms tired, the way he pulled at the bit and jigged. Of course, today, every part of her already felt tired. She didn't try to do anything but calm him down for the first half hour until he finally walked flat-footed, jogged, and even loped on an even beat. “I should have kept you out here yesterday to get you over this then.”

“No more ‘should haves.' ” Joe jogged Ranger up beside her.

“Where'd you come from?”

“Oh, I've been here awhile. You were so focused on Patches, you just didn't see me.”

“Fine.” DJ meant it was anything but. She should have been aware of the entire arena. But she knew better than to say
that
aloud.

“What's up? You look like you lost your last friend.”

“I might have. Here Robert has been coaching me and—”

“You're talking about algebra, I take it?”

DJ nodded. “I flunked my algebra test today, and I have to show it to my mother. It'll be a hundred years before I can ride Major again or talk on the phone.”

Patches sidestepped and snorted, his ears nearly meeting at the tips.

“Now what?”

The horse backpedaled in hyperspeed. “Come on, Patches, there's nothing there.” DJ stopped him and stroked his neck until he calmed down. When he went forward at a walk, she turned again to Joe, who had waited for her.

“On one hand, I hope she sells him and gets a more dependable horse, but on the other hand, I'll really miss this clown. He's going to be a really good horse when he settles down.”

“Thanks to you.”

“Yeah, right.”

After putting Patches up and working with Omega, still on the lunge line but now bridled and under a saddle with the stirrups removed, she took a few minutes with Major. “Joe said he would ride you, but he had to go home to help Gran with the boys.” Major nodded and snuffled her cheek. “Sorry I can't take you out.” He leaned against her, inviting her to scratch up around his ears. She did so, calling herself all kinds of names at the same time. When she screwed up, she did it big time. If only there was some way to get out of algebra.

“Hey, DJ,” Angie called. “Guess what?”

DJ plastered a smile on her face. “What?”

“They got me on some new medicine that is really working. I haven't had an asthma attack for weeks.”

“Hey, cool!” DJ gave Major a last pat and left his stall. “The dust from your horse doesn't even bother you?”

Angie shook her head. “Nope. I can breathe.”

DJ gave the slender girl a hug. “Now you won't have to miss so many lessons.”

“I know. And someday I'll be able to ride like you.”

I just hope your mother doesn't ground you from riding like mine does
. The thought brought a small spurt of anger.

Krissie and Samantha were tacking up their horses when DJ stopped to talk with them. “Anyone seen Andrew?”

They all shook their heads.

“Did his mom really break her arm in a fall?” Krissie's blue eyes were round.

“She was thrown.” Samantha looked to DJ. “Right?”

DJ nodded. “Accidents happen. That's why you have to concentrate on your horse and all that's going on around you at the same time.”

“That cat.” Sam shook her head, setting her long, thick braid to swinging.

“DJ?”

DJ looked up at the male voice calling her. “Hi, Mr. Johnson. Hi, Andrew.” She left the girls and joined the man and his son. “How's your mom, Andrew?”

“Her arm hurts bad.”

“It'll get better soon.” He wore that shuttered look from back when she began working with him. “Come on, let's get Bandit tacked up. The girls are all ready.”

“I've gotta run,” Mr. Johnson said. “Have a good class, Andrew. I'll pick you up in …” He looked toward DJ.

“Oh, about an hour and a half.” She waved back and put an arm about Andrew's shoulders. “You groom Bandit, and I'll help you.”

DJ turned to face her waiting students. “You girls go on out to the arena and keep it to a walk until I get there.” After the incident the day before, she wasn't taking any chances.

But Andrew's grooming speed would have lost him a snail race.

“Come on, we're late.”

“I don't want to.” Andrew looked up at her, his brown eyes dressed in fear.

“Once you are mounted, it'll be okay.” DJ adjusted the saddle girth.

“No”

DJ stopped and stared at him.
Now what?
She took in a deep breath. “Okay, tell you what we'll do. You stay here with Bandit, and I'll come get you after the girls' lesson. You and I will work together, just us again, okay?”

Andrew stared down at his hands.

“Andrew?”

“Okay.”

Even Krissie of the never-ending giggles paid close attention to everything DJ said through the next hour. While DJ missed the banter, she kept a close eye on the girls, the other horse and rider in the arena, and the surrounding area.

“Let's review a bit here,” she said, calling them into the center. “What do you do if your horse spooks?”

“Hang on tight!” Krissie clamped her hands around her saddle horn.

“Pull back on the reins and tell your horse to stop,” Angie added.

“Keep your legs firm, your rear deep in the saddle, and …”

“Don't panic,” the three chanted together.

“How can you get your horse to stop running?”

“Pull on the inside rein so he has to go in a tight circle,” Sam answered.

“Good. And what's most important?”

“Don't panic!” all three said with wide grins.

“And something else: When your horse has spooked at something, make sure you take him up to it again—lead him if you need to, but show him there is nothing to be afraid of. The sooner you do that, the easier it will be.”

“Like getting right back on if you fall off?”

“Exactly.” DJ smiled up at them. “You guys are so smart. Now, I've got a new drill for you. Line up down there on the edge of the arena. Then one at a time, I want you to run your horse down to me and pull him to a sliding stop.”

“Hey! Way to go!”

One by one, they did so, going from a slow stop to sliding after several run-throughs.

“Good. How did that feel?”

“Fun!”

“More fun when you do it right.” Sam rubbed her inner leg where she'd clobbered it against the pommel.

Angie's eyes sparkled. “And the dust didn't even bother me.”

“Good. Go ahead and circle the arena at a walk, then head for the barn.”

DJ watched them, then held the gate for them to file through. She left them with their mothers and headed to Bandit's stall. She still had to exercise Bunny's horse, too. Maybe she should call and leave a message for her mother that she would be late.

“Andrew?”

Bandit looked up from munching the hay in his manger. His bridle and saddle hung on the stall door. But no Andrew.