Willow King (10 page)

“He must have knocked himself out when he hit his head,” Jan said.

King took one step toward his dam, then broke into a coughing fit. Blood flowed out of his nose, and Katie went into a blind panic. “Oh, no, what do we do?” She reached beneath Grey Dancer's saddle and tore loose the saddle blanket. She tried to use it to stem the flow of blood, but it didn't work. “Jan, ride as fast as you can to the house and tell my mom to call the vet!”

Katie had to step out of the way as the mare crowded close, trying to mother her baby. King took several shaking steps forward. Grey Dancer fell in at his side and led him slowly back toward the barn. Each step of the way, Katie expected him to drop, but he continued to walk, following his dam's footsteps.

The vet got there soon after they got back to the barn. Most of the blood flow had stopped, but there was still a small amount dripping out of King's nostrils.

“Will he live, Doc?” Katie tried to keep her voice from shaking, but it was a useless effort.

“I can't say right now. He's lost an enormous amount of blood.” Dr. Marvin prepared several shots. “I'm going to give him something to help stop the bleeding. The best thing we can do right now is get him into a stall and keep him quiet.”

Katie unsaddled the gray mare and brushed her off while the veterinarian finished his work. When he was done, they turned the pair loose in the stall. King immediately lay down to rest. The bleeding had stopped and he was exhausted.

“What do I do, Dr. Marvin?” Katie asked as her mother stepped beside her to put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Katie smiled her thanks, then turned her attention back to the vet. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“All we can do now is wait and watch. You'll have to keep him quiet and watch him closely. I'll stop by later today to give him more medication. If the bleeding starts again, I want you to call.” He scribbled his number on a piece of paper and handed it to her mother.

Mrs. Durham stepped forward. “Doctor, we can't thank you enough for coming so quickly. I can give you part of the money today, but the rest will have to wait until payday. We hadn't planned on this extra expense,” she said apologetically.

Dr. Marvin gave her a warm smile and ruffled Katie's hair. “I tell you what. You make sure I get a copy of the win picture for that big Futurity race that this colt is going to win, and we'll call it even.”

Katie reached out and shook his hand. “You've got a deal, Doc.”

Eight

King slowly recovered. By the time school was out, he was ready to romp and play again. On the first morning of her vacation, Katie saddled Grey Dancer and led King to the back pasture. This time he was more manageable. He still jumped around and kicked up his heels, but he didn't rear or try to jerk away from her.

When they reached the pasture, Katie threw the tack into a storage shed her father had built on the far acreage, and slapped the mare on the rump. She watched as the two horses streaked away. King was only four months old, but he kept up with his mother's even strides.

Katie was so busy watching the wild antics of the horses that she didn't hear the approach of another rider. It wasn't until Grey Dancer's head snapped up and the mare snorted a warning that she realized they were not alone in the tall grass. The mare and colt cocked their tails in the air and pranced over to the fence to greet Jason's horse.

Katie turned to leave. She still couldn't face him.

“Katie, please wait,” Jason called as he stepped off his horse and tethered him to a post. “This may be the last chance I have to speak to you for a while.”

She turned on shaky legs and walked to where Jason stood. The blood pounded so loudly in her ears that she could barely hear him speak.

“My uncle in Oklahoma had a heart attack, and I'm going to move down there for a while to help out.”

Katie reached out to stroke the gelding's nose. Her hand shook so badly that it reminded her of a butterfly in flight. Jason expected her to speak, but she wasn't sure the words would come if she opened her mouth. She knew he was talking about his favorite uncle. Jason must be hurting pretty badly right now.

She was hurting, too. But for Jason she would put aside her burden and try to make his a little lighter. He was staring at her, seeming to will her to speak. She'd stick to a safe subject. “I'm sorry to hear that. I hope he'll be okay. How long will you be gone?”

“Probably a year.”

Her heart dropped. A whole year! “What about school? You can't just drop out of school.”

“I'll enroll down there. Gee, by the time I get back, you'll be in high school.”

She smiled bashfully and nodded, stuffing her jittery hands into her jeans. “By the time you get back, King will be old enough to break.”

“I'd like to help—if you need me.”

She could feel him studying her face.

“Katie, I never meant to hurt your feelings. I'd like to part as friends.”

She saw the honesty in his face and felt like a spoiled brat for treating him the way she had. How could she make him see her as mature when she acted like a child?

Katie looked up into his eyes. This would be the last time she would see him for a while. She didn't want to blink and miss a moment of the way he looked. “Sure, Jason. I'd like that.”

He extended his hand over the fence and they shook on it. “You're special, Katie Durham. I'm glad we're friends. You keep that colt growing, and we'll get him to the races when I come back.”

Jason put his foot in the stirrup and mounted up. He smiled and waved good-bye, then gave his horse a poke in the sides. He jetted off across the pasture, glancing once over his shoulder before he disappeared over the hill.

“Just like in the movies,” she told Jan as they sat at the kitchen table, sipping milk and eating chocolate chip cookies.

“I told you you were wrong about him, Katie.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “You never give up, do you?”

“Boy. No Jason for a whole year,” Jan said.

“We wouldn't see him anyway. He's going to high school, remember? We'll be stuck in junior high.”

Jan perked up. “But when he comes back, we'll be in high school, too.”

“Yeah, but that seems like forever away.” Katie sighed and looked out the window.

“I still can't believe Cindy had the nerve to lie to you about Jason being her boyfriend. Why would she do that? She had to know we'd find out the truth,” Jan said as she reached for another cookie.

“I think she had every intention of making him her boyfriend. How many guys do you know who wouldn't jump at the chance to have Cindy for their girlfriend? I think her plan just kind of backfired somehow.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm glad he didn't fall for her.”

“Me too,” Katie agreed. “Do you know she still acts like they're going out? I want to laugh at her every time she says something about Jason.”

“I don't know why you put up with her,” Jan said between bites of her cookie.

“I need the money her father pays me. Raising a colt isn't cheap. Every dime my mom makes goes to pay bills. I have to come up with the money for King. It won't be long until it's time to wean him. Then the feed bill will really go sky-high.”

“Money or no, she's going to make you look like a fool when you ride into that show ring on the back of that flea-bitten old Appy.”

“He's really not so bad.” Katie put down her cookie and smiled mischievously. “I've got ten days to work on him.”

Jan sat up in her chair. “What is it? You've got that look in your eye. I've got a feeling it has to do with Cindy, and I think I'm going to like it. Count me in.”

“I was just thinking. That old Appy is three-quarters Thoroughbred. He looks like a racehorse with spots. They keep him in good shape—it's just that they never care for his coat. I bet if we cleaned him up, he'd look passable.”

“What are you getting at, pal?”

“He's got a good mouth and smooth gaits. I bet if I worked with him a little, we could make a pretty decent showing for ourselves.”

Jan smiled. “Good enough to beat Cindy on Jester?”

“Maybe. Jester is well trained, and Cindy is doing much better with her equitation, but when she gets upset about something, sometimes she slips back into her old habits. Jester is good, but he can't win on his own.”

Jan clapped her hands. “I love it! When do we start?”

Katie picked up the dirty dishes and stacked them in the sink. “We'll have to get him over here so I can work on him, but I don't want Cindy to suspect anything. We can't let her know that he's gone from the farm.”

“You could tell Mr. Ellis that the gray mare is sore and you need the Appy to pony King. Cindy has dancing lessons tomorrow. You'll have an extra two hours after school to get the horse out of there. You told me they were breaking in a new pony horse, so they don't use the Appy that much. Once he's gone, Cindy will never miss him. She doesn't pay much attention to the racehorses anyway.”

“Brilliant!” Katie hugged her friend. “We start tomorrow.”

Old John delivered the Appy the next afternoon. When Katie's mother saw the trail of dust the horse van kicked up as it came up the drive, she called her daughter.

John unloaded the scruffy-looking steed from the van and led him to a stall. He looked in on Grey Dancer and King, sweeping the hat from his head and dusting it off before he resettled it.

“This mare doesn't seem to be off in her footing. Where'd you say she was sore?” He turned with a puzzled look on his face, waiting for an answer.

“Well, er…,” Katie stammered. “She's not exactly sore.” Katie lowered her eyes. She didn't want to lie to John, but how did she explain the truth? Revenge and childish pranks didn't go over well with adults.

John noticed her nervousness, and a small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “This wouldn't have anything to do with next week's show, would it?”

Katie lifted her chin and looked him in the eye. “Yes, it does. I'm supposed to ride this old horse in competition with Cindy.”

“Well, now, is that so?” John tipped his hat to a jaunty angle. “You know, before this horse came to the ranch, he used to belong to a little girl who loved to show. Of course, that was a long time ago, and who's to say he remembers any of it. She sold him when she bought some big, fancy horse, but as I recall, this old boy won a lot of blue ribbons for that little gal.” John smiled as he headed back to the truck. “You just be sure you don't wear him out
ponying
that colt,” he teased, then climbed into the rig and left.

Katie threw a flake of hay into the manger, then went to grab her brush box. She stared in dismay at the horse's mud-covered, burr-infested coat. “We've got our work cut out for us, ol' boy. You just keep munching on that hay, and I'll have you done in no time.” That was laughable. It would take her several hours to get all of the junk out of his mane and tail. She pulled out the currycomb and rubber curry and went to work.

The tiny metal teeth of the round currycomb bit into the dried mud that clung to the horse's coat. When the dirt was loosened, she used the rubber curry in a circular motion all over his body. The old horse heaved a sigh and relaxed, cocking one hind foot into a resting position as he enjoyed the royal treatment.

“They've been treating you horribly since you were turned over to the pleasure horse area of the farm,” Katie said. The Appy's ears flicked back to catch the sound of her voice. “Cindy hasn't been doing her job. I'll have to talk to John about getting you back in the racing barn. Your coat used to be such a beautiful shade of gray. With all of this dirt covering you, you can't even tell you've got a white blanket with black spots. You look all one color.”

Twenty minutes later, she had worked all the mud clumps out of his coat. He was still covered in a thick layer of brownish dust, and so was she, but at least you could see what color he was meant to be. Now came the hard part—the burrs. She reached for the mane and tail comb and started to work on the forelock, beginning at the ends of the hair and working upward toward the roots.

“Katie?”

She had been concentrating so hard that she hadn't heard Jan approach. She set down her comb to take a short break.

“Boy, you can really see the change already. Do you need any help? It looks like you still have a long way to go.”

“Thanks. There's no way I'm going to turn down help on this project. This could be an all-day grooming session.”

They set to work, Jan starting on the tail and Katie finishing the forelock and working her way down the mane. When she was finished with that, she reluctantly eyed the burr-infested hair at the back of his fetlocks.

“Why don't we just cut it off?” Jan said. “We've got to trim that hair anyway.”

“Good idea. I'll go get the clippers. He needs a bridle path cut, and the whiskers on his muzzle have got to be shaved before the show. Might as well get it all done at once. Then we'll just have to touch him up for the show.”

“What's this horse's real name?” asked Jan. “All I've ever heard him called was Appy.”

Katie shrugged. “That's all I've ever known him by.”

“But he's got to have a name. You don't want to have the ring announcer say, ‘And in first place, it's Katie Durham riding Appy!' do you?”

Katie snorted. “Yeah. Like I'm really going to be called for a ribbon.”

“Well, you could,” Jan insisted.

“And pigs can fly.” Katie laughed again. “The main thing I have to worry about is getting him through the class without any major blunders, like running over the judge. I'll call John tonight and see what his registered name is.” She saw the satisfied smirk on Jan's face. “Only because I need a name for him on the entry form.”