Astra (10 page)

“Okay, Dad.”

Devin waited until the adults were gone before he spoke. “I don't think your dad is very happy about having Astra around.”

“Are you sure everything's going to be okay?” Meloney asked. “If he gets too weird about it, you can always bring Astra over to my house.”

“Thanks, Mel,” Lily said. “I hope it doesn't come to that, but you're right. My dad doesn't seem to be getting used to this whole horse-owning idea. Maybe he'll change his mind once he sees what a great horse Astra is.”

Devin untied Jericho from the hitching post. “Just be safe and play by his rules. Your dad's worried about you getting hurt, that's all.” He shrugged. “You can't really blame him after everything that happened with your mom. You'll have to prove to him that you can be safe. Then maybe he'll get off your back about it.”

Lily knew Devin was right. But she
was
following the rules. What more could she do to ease her father's mind?

After Meloney and Devin had left, she headed into the house, breathing in the wonderful aromas of herb-roasted chicken, fresh-baked bread, and maybe, if her nose was right, a chocolate pie. Her grandmother was the best! Lily took her seat at the table.

“Your cheeks certainly are rosy,” Grams said as she passed the platter of chicken. “And that's the most sparkle I've seen in those eyes in a long time.” She turned to her son. “You made the right decision in letting Lily keep the horse, Daniel.”

Lily's father grunted and took a big bite of his chicken. Lily wished he could be happy for her. She knew he was trying, but she wished he would try a bit harder. “The weather is getting warmer,” Lily said. “I saw some new grass popping up. Dad, could you please help me fix that little pasture where Domino used to graze?”

Her father hesitated so long Lily feared he might say no. She saw her grandma shift in her chair, as if she were about to kick him in the shins under the table.

“Sure, Lily. Come get me as soon as you finish your work for the Henleys tomorrow. I'll probably be out in the barn, working on the old lawn mower.”

“Thanks, Dad. I should be home by one o'clock.” Lily smiled. Her father agreeing to help her with horse stuff when she knew he didn't really want to was an encouraging sign.

Mr. O'Neil placed another chicken leg on Lily's plate. “Better eat up, Flower. You're going to need your strength if we're fixing fence on the lower field tomorrow. It may take a little more energy to get the boards on straight this time.”

Lily laughed. Her dad was definitely trying, and she loved him for it.

Over the next several weeks, Astra picked up in appetite and strength. The proud Arabian also grew in spirit. Sometimes it was all Lily could do to get the mare from her stall and out to the small pasture without her breaking away.

Dr. Dale came for weekly check-ups on the horse, each time proclaiming he couldn't believe how quickly Astra had recovered—or that she had recovered at all.

“This is a miracle mare,” Dr. Dale said when Astra's latest blood test showed she was almost back to normal. “I think you can start a light exercise program with her. Just make sure you start out slow and easy and work your way up.”

Lily smiled. She wasn't sure Astra could do anything slow or easy. “Good,” she said. “Because she's about ready to pull my arm out of the socket every time I take her out of the stall.”
Too bad I can't ride her down the road for some exercise
, Lily added to herself. She pressed her cheek against Astra's neck and breathed in the wonderful warm horse smell, then sighed in exasperation. How was she ever going to keep from riding the beautiful Arabian mare when she was right here under her barn roof? But a promise was a promise.

At the end of March, when the grass began to turn green and tulips poked their heads through the soil, Lily started Astra on a longeing program. She began by attaching the twenty-five-foot longe line to Astra's halter and asking the mare to trot in a circle around her. Lily did this for a couple of minutes at a time while Astra's strength improved. Soon Lily worked the mare up to fifteen minutes of trotting. Longeing didn't seem to be enough to take the extra energy out of her.

Lily released Astra into her small pasture. The mare tore around the corral with her gray tail over her back, snorting and kicking up her heels. She ran several laps, then came to a sliding halt and stared over the fence with her ears pricked, gazing into the distance.

What is she looking at?
Lily wondered. Then, suddenly, she knew. “You miss racing, don't you, girl? You want to be out there on the trails with your friends.” Lily stood still, staring in the same direction as her horse. She wished she could be out there, too.

The next day, Mel and Devin stopped by to see how Astra was doing.

“She looks great,” Devin said.

“Yeah,” Meloney agreed. “Just think, it was only a month ago that Mr. Henley thought Astra was a goner. Who knew she'd bounce back this quickly?”

Lily shivered at the thought of how close she'd come to losing the proud Arabian.

“Yeah, she's pretty amazing.” Lily held out her hand and Astra trotted to the center of the pen where her owner stood. “Good girl,” Lily crooned, patting the mare's long arched neck. She looked back at her friends, who were sitting on the top rail of the fence. “I'm not sure where to go from here,” she admitted. “My dad won't let me ride, but I can't just keep running Astra in circles. Too much of that would be bad for her joints. I've got to do something, though, because she sure is getting restless. Longeing isn't enough for her anymore.”

“How about ponying her?” Devin suggested.

“Yeah, she did okay when we were bringing her home from the Henleys,” Meloney said.

Lily thought for a minute. Ponying meant that a rider rode one horse and led another. It was a good way of getting some serious exercise into a horse without him carrying a rider. Or, if a trainer was breaking a new horse to ride and didn't trust him on his own, the trainer could pony the new horse and rider so there would be less chance of the rider getting bucked off.

“My mom used to do that with me and my old pony, Domino,” Lily said. “When we first got him, he could be a bit of a handful. My mom would pony us down that long stretch of road. By the time we turned for home, he was usually tired enough that I could handle him on my own.” She chuckled at the memory, but it made her a little sad, too.

“Do you want to try it with Astra?” Devin offered. “I'm pretty good at ponying.”

A door banged shut at the front of the O'Neil house and Astra suddenly spun on her heels, kicking up sand as she raced around the paddock, snorting and tossing her head.

“Wooo, look at her go!” Meloney hollered. “That horse definitely needs some more exercise. I think you better take Devin up on his offer, Lily.”

“Sure.” Devin climbed down from the fence. “I'll bring Jericho by after school tomorrow and we can give it a try,” he said. “Right now, though, I've got to get home. If I'm late for dinner, my mom will give me extra chores.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lily told him. “Thanks.”

She called Astra to her side and snapped the lead shank on her royal blue halter. She couldn't wait until tomorrow!

“Why the big rush?” Mr. O'Neil asked when Lily jumped into the old truck after school the next day and waved good-bye to her friends at the bus stop.

Lily dumped her book bag on the floor and latched her seat belt. “Devin and Meloney are coming over to pony Astra today. I need to make sure she's brushed and ready.”

Her father glanced across the seat at her. “Your mom used to do that sometimes when she was getting horses ready to race and she didn't have time to ride them both. Are you thinking about training Astra for one of your friends to race?”

Lily looked up in surprise. “No, Dad. Astra just has a lot of energy now that she's feeling better, and I can't ride her…I thought maybe if I could just—”

She saw the immediate frown on her father's face. “Lily,” he cut her off. “We've been over this before and the answer is still the same.” His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter. “The main condition of letting you keep this mare was that you never,
ever
ride her.”

Lily slumped back against the seat. She should have known better than to say anything. It was so unfair! He knew how much riding meant to her and her mother. She looked down at her hands and picked at her fingernails. “If Mom had survived the accident, would you have forbidden her to ride, too?”

The silence on the other side of the car was deafening. She'd pushed her father much too far. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to see his expression without turning her whole head.
Yep, that's what angry looks like
, she told herself. Coming up was the part where she got grounded for weeks.

Instead, her father gave a long, exasperated sigh. “That will be enough of this conversation, Lily. You know the rules. Please follow them.”

Lily let out her own disenchanted huff. It was getting harder and harder to watch her friends ride their horses and be content just to wave at them as they disappeared over the hill. Every Saturday, the kids went for a workout ride with Mr. Henley. They always left the barn laughing and chatting. She wanted to be out there with them, riding with the wind in her hair and the sun on her cheeks.

The first race of the season was only a few weeks away and the others had been working steadily to prepare their horses for the fifty-mile trial. Lily thought back over her father's words.
Could she train Astra for a race without ever actually riding her
? And was the mare even healthy enough now to start? If ponying with Devin and Jericho worked out, that might be a way to get Astra in shape without technically setting foot in her stirrups.

Lily imagined Astra winning a race. She sat up a little straighter on the truck seat. Astra had been in pretty good condition right before she fell ill. Maybe if Lily took things slowly and let the horse set her own pace, the mare would be able to race again someday soon. She deserved the chance to prove herself. Just because Lily couldn't ride was no reason to keep the beautiful Arabian from her destiny.

Twelve

“So,” Meloney said, “you're really going to train Astra for the races?” She followed Lily toward the mare's pen.

Lily nodded. “I know it sounds crazy, but Astra seems to be making a comeback. And before she got sick, she was close to being race fit. It shouldn't take that much to get her back into condition again—if she really feels as good as she's been acting.” She grabbed Astra's halter off a fence post and went to get the mare. Devin was waiting for them atop Jericho in the paddock.

“But what happens when she's in race shape?” Meloney said, catching up with Lily. “How can you race Astra if your dad won't let you ride?”

Lily stopped and turned. “I'm not sure.” She fidgeted with the halter and lead rope. “But Astra acts like she wants to get out there and run. Every time she sees you guys go out for a training ride, she stands at the fence and whinnies and paces the fence like she wants to be there with you. For Astra, and my mom's sake, I've got to at least try. I'll worry about the other stuff when I get there.” She continued on to her horse's pen.

Astra lifted her head and nickered when she saw Lily approach.

“Hey, girl.” Lily entered the corral and Astra stepped forward, sticking her nose into the halter and lipping Lily's shirt as she fastened the buckle. “You're funny,” Lily said, and gently pushed the mare's muzzle away. The gray lifted her tail and arched her elegant neck as they exited the gate, prancing proudly on the way to meet the other horses.

“Easy.” Lily pulled on the lead rope, trying to keep Astra under control. She handed the rope off to Devin, hesitating a moment before letting go of the lead. What if the feisty Arabian got away from him and ran off into the mountains, or even worse, injured herself? What if it was too soon to start training like this? Dr. Dale said Astra was fine and could begin more serious exercise. But what if she wasn't up to it after all and the harder work set her back?

“Geez, Lily, you look so worried.” Devin pulled Astra into position at his horse's shoulder. “Lighten up. She'll be fine. Meloney and I will take good care of her.”

“We'll be back before you know it,” Meloney reassured her friend.

Lily patted Astra and stepped back, allowing Devin to swing the horses into a wide circle while he positioned Astra where he wanted her. He stopped to adjust his hold on the lead rope.

“I sure hope she's ready for this,” Lily said.

At that moment, Astra snorted and kicked up her heels. The black gelding danced to the side and pulled at the bit.

“Whoa!” Devin laughed as he got both horses under control. “You've got nothing to worry about, Lily. Besides, this is going to be a really easy day for us. We're only doing three miles of easy walk and trot to loosen up our horses. They had a hard workout the other day. Astra will be fine.”

Lily sighed. She had to stop worrying so much. The only way to find out if Astra was in shape was to start training her. She forced a smile. “Have a good ride. I'm going to head over to Whispering Pines and help Thomas and Charlie muck out a few stalls and set up the night feed. I'll see you guys when you get back.”

Lily climbed onto the top rail of the fence and watched until her friends disappeared over the ridge. Her shoulders slumped. She felt more alone than she had in a long time. She felt another twinge of jealousy toward Meloney. But Mel was her best friend. She couldn't be mad at her for loving horses.

Maybe someday her dad would stop being so overprotective and stubborn and see how much riding meant to her—and how it was killing her not to be the one to train Astra. Lily pushed the negative thoughts away and focused on getting to work. Climbing down from the fence, she fetched her bike and pedaled to the Henley ranch.