Willow King (6 page)

Katie stared at her mother with her mouth agape, trying to think of something logical to say. Obviously, her mom didn't notice her loss for words because she just kept on talking.

“Would you like to stay for dinner tonight, Jason? We've got plenty to go around.”

Jason's back was to Katie, so she raised her hands, making a no-go motion in the air and violently shaking her head. She quickly put her hands behind her back when he turned to smile at her.

“I would love to join you ladies for dinner. Can I use your phone to call my dad and make sure it's okay?”

“Right this way, dear.” Mrs. Durham turned in the doorway to look back at Katie. “Are you feeling all right, honey? You look a little pale.”

“No, Mom, everything's fine,” she said, though she was dying to shout out her frustration. She hugged herself, trying to calm her rolling stomach. What was she going to do now? Jason Roberts was coming to dinner!

Five

Katie pushed the food around on her plate. Lasagna was one of her favorite dishes, but she just couldn't work up an appetite. Fortunately, her mother carried most of the conversation. Katie couldn't think of anything to say, and all Jan did was sit there with a goofy look on her face and smile.

Katie stretched her foot under the table and kicked her friend in the shin. “Stop staring,” she mouthed. Jan's answer was a return kick, and Jan went back to watching Jason.

How did she get herself into these things? This was one of those situations that her mother would say she would laugh at when she was older. Maybe eons from now, after the mountains had turned to dust and risen again, but not now.

“Isn't that right, Katie?” Mrs. Durham asked and Katie's head popped up like a jack-in-the-box.

“I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't hear what you said.” All eyes were on her. She could feel the color rising in her cheeks.

“I was just telling Jason that you have high hopes for Willow King.”

Now she was going to be forced to speak. She tried for a smile and hoped it didn't look too sickly. “That's right” was all she could manage to say.

“Honey, do you feel all right? You're usually quite the chatterbox. I hope you're not getting sick.”

Katie groaned inwardly. Jason knew she felt just fine. He would attribute her bashful silence to himself—and would probably enjoy it. Well, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. “No, Mom. I'm just a little tired. King and I had a rough day today.” She glared at Jason, daring him to say one word about her trip down the shed row on her stomach.

Jason helped himself to another serving of lasagna. “If that colt's legs ever straighten out, he should be one heck of a racehorse. He's got the body of a runner: large hindquarters, deep chest, long legs, and lots of size.”

Katie grew defensive. “His legs
will
straighten out. You'll see. John says that after a summer of running on pasture, he'll be a whole new horse. John hasn't been wrong about too many things.” She spoke confidently, then said a quick prayer that this wouldn't be one of his mistakes. It couldn't be. King had to make it.

“You're lucky to be able to work with John. My father says he's one of the best trainers around. He's from the old school.”

“What do you mean by that?” Jan said, finally joining the conversation.

Jason picked up the salad bowl and forked some lettuce onto his plate. “My dad says these new trainers are in too much of a hurry to get their horses to the track. They run the legs off them with short, quick workouts, and the horses usually have leg trouble by the time they get to the races. Instead of giving them time off, the trainers patch them up—or drug them so they can't feel the pain—and run them anyway.”

“But isn't that illegal?” Katie was horrified that something like that could happen.

“Not all drugs are illegal. Lasix and bute are allowed at many tracks around the country, including Portland Downs.”

“What are Lasix and bute?” Katie was surprised that Jason knew so much about racehorses.

“Sometimes after a hard race, horses will bleed a little from the lungs or nostril lining. You'll notice a small amount of blood coming out of their nostrils. You can put them on Lasix, and most of the time they won't bleed again. If they do, they're ruled off and can't run anywhere. Bute is short for some fancy medical name. All you have to remember is that it's like a big aspirin. It gets rid of their aches and pains. Of course, in Oregon it's illegal to run a horse on either of these drugs unless the track veterinarian examines the horse and gives you permission.”

Katie looked at Jason with admiration. What a waste that he was seeing a no-brain like Cindy Ellis.

“Why would someone run an injured horse?” Jan inquired.

“For the money,” Katie answered. “I've heard John complain about people who abuse their horses for the sake of a paycheck.”

“Are you sure you want to go into this business, Katie?” Jan asked.

“It's not all that bad,” Jason offered. “Most people treat their horses very well. A racehorse is a big investment, and most of them are pampered. It's just that a few bad people always manage to spoil things and give the sport a bad name.”

“I'll never let that happen to King,” Katie vowed.

The rest of the dinner was occupied with small talk, and finally Jason pushed back from the table and rose to leave.

“Thanks for the great meal, Mrs. Durham. You've saved me from another night of TV dinners. With my mom gone for another week, that's about all my dad can cook.” He peered out the window. “The sun's starting to go down and I've got to get my horse home before dark.” He nodded to Katie and Jan, then reached for his jacket.

“Katie, dear, why don't you see your friend to the door while Jan and I clean up the dishes? Jason, it was so good to see you again. Tell your folks I said hello, and come back and see us again real soon. Katie talks about you, but she never invites you over. Feel free to drop in anytime.”

“Thank you, I'll do that.” He turned and looked at Katie with a knowing grin.

Katie about died on the spot. Why did her mother have to tell him that she talked about him? All she ever told her mother was how helpful and encouraging Jason had been lately. She looked to Jan, whose eyes were popping out of her head so far you could have knocked them off with a stick, but Jan wasn't any help.

Katie couldn't get the door open fast enough. Jason said his good-byes, and she practically slammed the door on his heels. Then she leaned against the wood and closed her eyes. She had acted like a spineless coward all during the meal. And now, thanks to her mother, Jason would think that she had a big crush on him. She would never be able to look him in the eye again. Life was so unfair.

“I can't believe I sat at a table with Jason Roberts!” Jan squealed when she and Katie were alone in Katie's room. “He was right there before my very eyes. Did you notice he likes Thousand Island dressing on his salad?” Jan was totally enthralled.

“Did you notice what a fool I made of myself?” Katie cried. Who cared what he ate on his salad? Her life was going down the tubes. By Monday, it would be all over school that she had a crush on Jason. How could her mother have done such a thing?

Katie sighed. It really wasn't her mom's fault. After all, she didn't bring many of her school friends home. It was just bad luck that things turned out the way they had. There seemed to be a lot of that going around lately.

“I think he likes you,” Jan said. “You're so lucky. I wish it were me.”

“Don't be dense. Jason doesn't like me. He's already got a girlfriend.”

“Who?”

“Cindy Ellis.” Katie sat down cross-legged on the bed and picked up a stuffed bear, hugging it closely to her. “She doesn't deserve a guy like him.”

“Cindy Ellis? He could have any girl in the whole school. Why would he pick her?”

Katie punched her pillow and leaned back against the headboard. “Why
wouldn't
he pick her? She's pretty and graceful, she wears nice clothes, hangs out with all the popular kids, and her dad owns one of the biggest Thoroughbred ranches in Salem. Of course he would go for Cindy. I don't know why you seem to think Jason would like
me
.”

“Because you're not stuck-up like Cindy. And besides, if I can't have him, it might as well be my best friend who gets him. How do you know he's Cindy's boyfriend? I've never seen them together at school. Did he tell you that?”

“No, Cindy told me, and I saw it with my own eyes. He was at Willow Run the day I took Jester there.”

“Being there doesn't make him her boyfriend, you know.”

“I saw them holding hands.”

Jan chewed at her bottom lip, clearly not believing the information she was hearing. “You can say what you want, Katie, but I don't think he's got a thing for Cindy. I think he's got his eye on you.”

“Yeah, right. Jason likes my mother's cooking, and that's about it. And after everything that's happened this week, he probably thinks I'm a real klutz.”

“What happened this week? We're best friends, remember? You're supposed to tell me everything.” Jan sat forward, eager to hear the latest news.

“I'm sorry, I was going to call you, but between taking care of the colt and doing some grooming at the Ellis place, I've been so busy I haven't had time to sit down. And since we don't have any classes together this year and you've got second lunch.…” Katie shrugged her shoulders.

“Okay, I forgive you. Just give me the latest scoop.” Katie pulled up another pillow and stretched out on the bed. Jan did the same.

“The first time I ever spoke to Jason was just after King was born. I rode Jester over to give him to Cindy, and Jason was there.”

“Doesn't that kill you to see her riding your horse? That girl couldn't ride the Greyhound bus without a seat belt!”

They had a good laugh, and Mrs. Durham poked her head into the room. “What's all the giggling about? Sounds like you're talking about boys. I'm sure I know who the center of the conversation is.”

“Oh, Mom.”

“Don't be embarrassed, honey. He's a very nice boy. I'm glad you finally brought him over.” She set a couple of glasses of soda on the nightstand. “I'll go now and leave you girls to your talk.”

Katie waited until the door closed before she continued. “After John brought King here, I went out to the back pasture to check the fence.”

“What are you doing with the back pasture? You've got plenty of good paddocks around the house.”

“Mr. Ellis doesn't want this colt anywhere that he can be seen. That's part of the deal. He's afraid someone will recognize Grey Dancer with King and start asking questions. He doesn't want anybody to find out his stud threw a crooked-legged foal.”

“Hmph!” Jan snorted. “He'll be sorry he gave this colt up when he wins all the big races.”

“My feelings exactly. Anyway, so I'm out in this pasture trying to nail up boards, and guess who happens by?”

Jan sat up and drew her arms around her legs. “Jason?”

“You got it. I was having a hard time, and he started laughing at me, so I picked up a pinecone and chucked it at him.”

“You didn't!”

“Yes, I did. I bounced it off the top of his head. I still can't believe I did it. I was so embarrassed.”

“It's a good thing you didn't mark up that gorgeous face, or all the girls at Glendale would run you out of town.”

“He helped me with the fence and asked if I would invite him over for dinner sometime. I didn't see him again until today. This time, when he walked in the barn, I was taking a ride down the shed row on my belly. I tell you, Jan, I just can't seem to do anything right around the guy. How could he like somebody like me? I feel like such an ugly duckling when I'm around Cindy. She's so popular and pretty. She always wears the latest styles, and she never has a hair out of place. How can I compete with that? Especially with this,” she said as she touched her bad leg.

Jan patted her shoulder. “Don't be so hard on yourself. How could he not like you? You've got everything over that dumb old Cindy Ellis. You've got a natural beauty—you don't need tons of makeup and new hairstyles to look good. And when it comes to horses, Cindy is like a parakeet with its wings clipped, and you soar like an eagle. If he chooses her over you, then I say let them have each other. Anybody with that much bad taste isn't worth having—no matter how gorgeous he is.”

They finished their sodas, and Jan went home. Katie made one last check on the colt and settled in for the night.

The next morning, Katie got up early and spent some time brushing Willow King before she set out for Willow Run Farm. “I'll be back later and we can go for a nice walk,” she promised King as she threw the currycomb into the brush box and exited the stall.

In keeping with her agreement, she was to spend at least two hours a day, three days a week, helping around the Ellis farm. Katie was glad of the opportunity. There was a lot she needed to learn about racehorses. Things she hadn't paid much attention to before were now vitally important.

Her responsibilities at the farm included holding a horse for the groom to tack. Then, while the horse was out for his run, Katie cleaned the stall and put in fresh feed and bedding. This had to be finished by the time the horse returned so she could be ready to help with the washing and cooling of the animal.

A Thoroughbred was never put back in his stall until he was completely cooled down from his workout. Willow Run Farm had several automatic hot-walkers. These were large metal machines with a central pole and four arms to which the horses' halters were hooked. The arms rotated, walking the horses in a circle, cooling them off after their run.

Every few minutes Katie would stop the hot-walker and give the horses a small sip of water. John cautioned her against giving them too much at once. If a horse was excessively hot and drank a lot, he could get colic and become extremely ill.