High Hurdles Collection Two (46 page)

“But then we have to print more stock.” Amy glanced at her work sheet. “We're down to a dozen packets of foal pictures and ten of photos. Shipping these orders will clean us out.”

DJ groaned. “When? Good thing the printer is open twenty-four hours a day. We might have to be.”

“It'll be easier when school is out.” Lindy glanced at her watch. “We better wrap this up if you've got homework.”

“So when do we talk with Mr. Mann?” Amy asked, gathering up the papers and stacking them.

“Why not tomorrow, or at least ask him about it? I could do that during study hall.”

“We should go together,” Amy said with a nod. “That leaves lunchtime or after school.”

“Or we go in early.”

“You? Early?”

“Thanks a big lot. I don't always oversleep.” DJ rolled her eyes at Amy.
Great, now Mom knows I was almost late
. She waited for her mother to comment.

Amy flinched. “Sorry.”

“So you need to hit the sack early, right?” Lindy said calmly.

“Uh-huh.”
Whew, thought I'd had it there. Mom sure is different lately
.

“Good, then I'll take Amy home and you get on your homework. The boys can come with me.” Lindy pushed back her chair. “You girls have a really good thing going here. It's going to be fun to see what all happens.”

“Thanks for helping us. Oh, and I forgot, Mom said to tell you congratulations.” Amy picked up her things. “You know, I like DJAM, and maybe the Etc. would be a good thing.”

“Fine with me.” DJ glanced at her mother, who nodded.

“So we have a company name, then—DJAM, Etc.” DJ looked to her mother and Amy. “Cool, huh?”

DJ managed to stay awake through her algebra and two chapters of the book due for her report. She almost woke up when her mother turned out the light but not enough to mumble more than “Good night.”

After the final bell on Tuesday, when DJ and Amy talked with Mr. Mann about their business, he invited them to speak with his class the next day. “Bring samples of all your cards and pictures, your ledger, wrapping supplies, anything you have so we can see how we can help. Mrs. Adams told me about your drawings, DJ. She's really been impressed. I'm glad you thought to come to me.”

“My brother John said we should,” Amy said.

“Good, glad you listened to him.” Mr. Mann wrote himself a note. “I'll let your third-period teachers know so you are excused. Okay?”

The two girls high-fived each other as they raced down the concrete walks between classroom buildings. Joe would be waiting.

Once at home, DJ changed clothes and charged back down the stairs to tell her mother what had happened at the meeting, in between bites of a PB&J and glugging a glass of milk. “Where are the twins?” she finally asked.

“At our house. Mel is giving them an art lesson.” Joe had come in to wait for DJ and munched a carrot in the meantime.

“You mean they're smearing paint?”

He shrugged. “Sounded like they were having fun to me. She's making lasagna tonight for us all to celebrate finishing her contract.”

“We should be bringing the dinner.” Lindy shook her head. “Leave it to my mother.”

“That's okay. I ordered an ice-cream cake that says ‘Congrats, Mel' on it.”

DJ still had a hard time getting used to someone calling her grandmother Mel. She was Gran to most everyone else. Besides, Melanie was much prettier. But if Joe wanted to call his wife Mel, that was up to him.

“Let's go, kid, or your students will be there before you are.” Joe heaved himself to his feet. “Thanks for the snack, Lindy. You take it easy, you hear?”

They left Lindy chuckling in the kitchen and Queenie looking sad as they went out the door.

“That dog sure took to you,” Joe said as he slammed the truck door.

“I know, but she plays with the boys all the time I'm not there. I let her sleep in my room a few times, but Mom hit the roof. I think Robert would let her.”

“Robert has always had dogs in the house. Your mother just needs to get used to pets.”

“I've always wanted a kitten, but she said no. Wouldn't that be fun?”

“DJ, you have about as much time to housebreak a kitten as … well, as nothing. Thought you promised not to take on anything new?”

“I did. But I can dream, can't I?”

Joe groaned. “Sure, but your dreams have a way of coming true.”

DJ shivered. She hoped the dream she'd had the night before would never come true. There'd been a fire at the barn, but she woke up before she learned if any of the horses were hurt. She rubbed the scar in the palm of her left hand and shivered again. The thought of fire made her feel like an idiot. No one else she knew went into total frozen-statue mode at the sight of flames, even birthday candle flames.

Chapter • 5

“Okay, listen up. This is our last class before the show.”

The giggling stopped, but DJ had to admit the girls were in a wild mood. Andrew watched them as though they were some strange creatures from a distant planet. He sat on Bandit like he'd been riding for years, a picture that made DJ want to giggle herself. Andrew had come so far from the terrified little boy who used all his courage and then some just to touch the horse.

And people said kids weren't influenced by television. He'd seen someone get seriously hurt by a horse on TV and had been afraid ever since. But no longer. Or at least so it appeared today.

DJ knew how fear could leap out and attack at the oddest moments.

“Andrew, since you're the only one who seems to be listening, why don't you lead out? Circle the ring to the right at a walk.”

Andrew grinned at her and gathered his reins, then nudged Bandit into a walk. The others fell in behind him, shooting DJ smiles that told her they knew what she was doing. Between the three girls and her, Andrew got all the pats he needed.

“Krissie, what's with your hands today? Angie, are you all right? Looks to me like you're having trouble breathing.”

“I am, but it's getting better.” The girl with long brown hair worn in a single braid coughed a couple of times.

DJ beckoned her to the center of the ring. “The rest of you keep walking.”

Angie coughed again, this time what seemed like forever.

“Do you need to use your inhaler?”

“Um.”

DJ took hold of the horse's reins. “Do you have it with you?”

Angie nodded as she fished in her pocket and withdrew the gray plastic inhaler. She coughed again before putting it in front of her open mouth. Letting all her air out, she depressed the button. She inhaled and tried to hold her breath, but the coughing started again.

DJ forced herself to remain calm. Last summer she'd seen Angie go into a major attack because of a beesting, and ever since then, she had a healthy respect for the terrors of asthma. “Take it easy and try again. You're doing fine, Angie, easy now.” She kept her voice in the same gentle singsong she used with panicky horses.

Angie did the routine again and this time managed to hold her breath to the count of five. DJ knew because she counted in her head. “That's much better. Is it helping?”

Angie nodded. “Th-thanks.” She squeezed the inhaler again, and this time her face lost the pinched look. She stuck the inhaler back in her pocket. “What am I gonna do, DJ, if something like this happens while I'm in the ring? Maybe I shouldn't try to show after all.”

“You've shown before and were fine. What happened to trigger this attack?” DJ let her shoulders drop and swallowed her own fear. She felt light-headed from trying to breathe for Angie.
Thank you, God. You took care of us again. Sorry I didn't even get around to asking for help
.

“I don't know. I was fine at the barn, and then when I rode into the ring, I started coughing.” Angie coughed again, but this time she could breathe deeper. “Thanks, DJ.”

DJ looked up to see the other riders in a half ring around them, about ten feet away. Their faces wore the solemn look of concern. “Okay, kids, let's get back to work.”

“Angie going to be okay?” Krissie asked, her blue eyes serious for a change. Her curly blond hair caught the glint of the sun.

“Sure, she's fine now. Get going.” DJ just hoped Angie was as fine as she looked. And everything had been going just great. Now, how could she not worry like a mother hen when the girls went in the ring?

“That sure scared me,” Samantha, the more serious of the three girls, whispered before turning away.

The rest of the class went by without incident. Her students walked, jogged, or in Andrew's case, trotted, and when the girls signaled their horses to lope, he kept on posting at the trot like DJ ordered. They all reversed and on command came to a halt in the center of the ring.

“You all need to wash your horses on Thursday and clean your tack. Samantha, looks to me like your horse needs shoeing.”

“Am … am I going to show?” Andrew's voice trembled.

DJ shook her head. “No, this is a Western show. We have a schooling show coming up in a couple of weeks, and if you want to enter, you can then.”

“We all started in schooling shows,” Angie said with a smile down at the boy on the pony beside her.

“I … I don't have to show if I don't want to.” Andrew patted Bandit's neck.

“That's right.” DJ pointed them all to the gate. “See you later.”

“Thanks, DJ,” Angie called back.

DJ knew the girl was referring to more than the riding lesson. She followed the girls out of the ring and headed to the barn to saddle Major.

“What happened out there?” Joe asked.

“Angie had an asthma attack. Scared me spitless.” Since DJ had already groomed her horse, she saddled him as she talked.

“Couldn't tell. You looked cool as a cucumber out there.” Joe stripped the saddle off Ranger.

“That spitless thing is true, you know. I couldn't even swallow, but then I coulda fainted, I was trying so hard to breathe for Angie.” She stopped after buckling the girth and leaned her forehead against the saddle. “Joe, I was so scared. What if she fell off her horse or passed out? She did one time.”

“I know. But you handled things both times with the best of your ability and God's help.” Joe hung his saddle over the aluminum bars and came into Major's stall. “We'll all just have to add Angie to our prayer lists on show days. If she feels she can do this, we sure don't want to discourage her.”

“I know.” DJ sucked in a deep breath and let it all out so she could relax. Shaking hands never did much for good riding, along with wobbly knees.

“Are you jumping today?”

“On Megs.” She tried to chuckle, and it came out a croak. “Besides, Major and I need some flatwork anyway. Review for the dressage class tomorrow. I've skipped a couple of days, and you know what that does to our strength and suppleness.”

“If it's anything like mine, you are in deep trouble.” He rubbed his middle back. “I've got to watch this muscle. When Ranger zigs, it wants to zag, so it can gripe.”

“Gran gives good back rubs.”

“Don't I know it.” He patted DJ's shoulder. “You better now?”

She nodded and sighed again. “Being a teacher, coach, whatever you call me, is the pits sometimes. Come on, Major, we got work to do.”

And work they did. She had Major trot circles, serpentines, turns on the forehand, and turns on haunches. They did them one way of the ring and then the other. By the end of the workout, they were both dripping with sweat.