Astra (7 page)

Mr. Henley thought for a minute. “Lily is a good worker,” he said, nodding. “She could come for a few hours after school, and work the weekends.” He handed Lily a tissue. “Young lady, I think you're going to put a lot of time and money into a horse that won't even be rideable, but I understand her sentimental value to you. The job is yours if you want it, Lily.”

“But there are already so many vet bills,” Mr. O'Neil said, frowning. “From the sound of it, there are likely to be many more. And Lily could still lose the mare anyway.”

Dr. Tison shrugged. “I'm not going to lie to you. If she pulls through, it's going to be very tough going with this horse. And Steven is right. Chances are, Astra might never be strong enough to carry a rider—even one as small as Lily.”

Lily wanted to scream and throw things around the barn. What was the matter with the adults here? Everyone wanted to talk about the worst possible scenario. What about the
best
outcome? What if Astra got well and she
could
ride her? Well, if her father ever lifted his no-riding rule, anyway.

“I don't care!” Lily shouted to be heard over all the discussion. “This was my mother's favorite horse. She was going to make her a national champion. Even if Astra can't do anything more than walk and crop grass, I want her! That's what my mom would want. Don't you understand?”

She stared at each of them in turn. Surely, at least one person here could understand what she was going through? Didn't they see how important this was?

“Lily…” Her father spread his hands in a hopeless gesture.

“If money is the problem, I'll donate the veterinary work,” Dr. Tison volunteered. “Your family trusted me, Dan, when I first got out of vet school. You've been friends and clients of mine for many years. I know how important this is to Lily—and would have been to her mother. It's the least I could do in memory of her.”

“Please, Dad,” Lily begged. If her father didn't say yes, she didn't know what she'd do. “I'll work really hard. You won't have to spend any money on Astra. I'm all she has now. I can't let her die.”

Her father didn't answer. She could see the war going on inside him. He knew how much this horse meant to her, but he also remembered losing his wife in a terrible accident with this same horse. “I don't know, Lily. I just don't know.”

Astra chose that moment to flail her legs and grunt loudly. Lily took two steps, intent on running back to her side, but Dr. Tison put a hand on her shoulder and held her back.

“Not so fast, Lily,” Dr. Tison warned. “She could accidentally strike you with those front legs if she does that again.”

“The doc is right,” Lily's father said. “And this proves my point about the danger of you getting hurt.”

Lily crossed her arms. “That's
so
unfair!” she protested. “I could get hurt riding my bike to the store. I could get hurt walking to the school bus. I could get hurt during gym class at school.” She clamped her lips shut, knowing she'd gone too far, but she was unable to stop herself. She'd managed to holler at every adult there and double the load of worry for her father. Not only was she going to lose Astra, but she was going to be in major trouble later. And she deserved it. Lily hung her head, knowing she'd lost the battle. Would it do any good to throw herself at Mr. Henley's feet and beg him to let Astra live?

Mr. O'Neil sighed. “Give me a few days to get a stall ready at our place,” he said to the ranch owner.

Lily's head snapped up in surprise. Did her father just say…
yes?

Mr. O'Neil turned to Lily. “I expect you to keep up your end of the bargain. You'll be here to help Steven for a few hours after school when he needs you, and on the weekends. And the no-riding rule is still in effect.”

Lily nodded her head vigorously. She felt like one of those bobblehead dolls she'd seen on car dashboards. “I promise!” she said. She ran to her father, threw her arms around him, and hugged him tight. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she exclaimed.

“Well, finish up here and call me when you're ready to come home,” Mr. O'Neil said with a small smile. “You've got school tomorrow. Astra is in good hands here.”

Lily gave her dad one last squeeze and ran back to Astra's side. The beautiful Arabian mare was hers. Really and truly hers!

Eight

Lily spent the next afternoon helping Dr. Tison care for Astra. The mare was awake, but very weak. By eight o'clock that evening, when her dad insisted she come home, the vet declared that Astra would make it through the night. Lily felt horrible having to leave her, but she had confidence in Dr. Tison's diagnosis.

Two important battles had been won today: Astra had survived and Lily's dad had agreed to let her keep the mare.
A double miracle
, she thought as she watched Dr. Tison work.

A car horn sounded outside the barn.

“There's your ride,” Dr. Tison said. He removed the last IV bottle and helped Astra roll into an upright position with her legs tucked under her. “Congratulations, Lily. I'm not sure how things are going to work out for you and this horse, but you saved her life today. Your mother would be very proud.”

Lily smiled broadly. “
We
saved her life today, Dr. Tison. It took both of us.” She shoved her hands deep into her pockets and stared at the ground. “I don't know how I'm ever going to pay you back for all this.” She nodded toward Astra. “I'll work hard, and it might take me until I'm twenty, but I'll get it done.”

The vet laughed. “How about if you start by calling me Dr. Dale? That's what your mother used to do. After everything we've gone through today, I think we can do with a little less formality.”

Lily grinned. “Okay, Dr. Dale.”

The vet finished with Astra and let himself out of the stall. “I meant what I told your father earlier, Lily. I'll donate today's vet work, and the medication she'll need in the coming weeks.”

“I can't let you do that,” Lily protested. She also knew her father's pride wouldn't allow him to accept so much charity. “We had a vet come to our school to talk on Career Day. He told us about all the school loans he had to take out to get his degree, and that it would take him forever to pay them back.”

The vet chuckled. “Sounds like he wanted to scare you kids off,” he said, “instead of encouraging you to go into veterinary medicine.”

The car horn sounded again. This time it was a double beep.

“Better get going,” Dr. Dale said. “Don't worry about the money, Lily. This one horse won't break me. But I want you to make me a promise.”

Lily listened intently. The vet's serious tone told her that this was important.

“In the next few days, we'll be doing more blood tests on Astra to see how all her organs are functioning,” Dr. Dale went on. “If the tests come back saying she has permanent liver damage, or something equally bad, you need to promise that you'll let me put her to sleep—no matter how much you love her. I know it hurts to lose a pet you love, but there comes a time when you need to think of the animal's welfare and what's best for them.”

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and steered her toward the barn door. “It's the adult thing to do, and it's the right thing to do. Do you understand me on this?”

Lily kept her head down, but nodded. She didn't really want to think about it, but she realized she might have to in the near future. “I promise,” Lily said, swallowing hard.

“Get a good night's sleep,” the vet said as he waved to her father in the pickup truck. “We'll take good care of Astra and she'll be here waiting for you in the morning.”

The short ride home was quiet. Lily had the feeling her dad already regretted his decision to let her keep Astra. When she got home, she quickly laid out her clothes for school, then brushed her teeth and prepared for bed. She didn't want to give her father a chance to back out of the deal, so she quickly kissed him and her grandmother good night and went to bed.

Falling asleep was difficult with all the events of the day rolling around in her head, but eventually exhaustion won out and Lily drifted into a deep slumber.

She woke with a start when Grams tapped on the bedroom door the next morning. Lily looked at the clock sleepily. The bus would arrive in fifteen minutes! She must have shut off the alarm. She bounded out of bed, got dressed in record time, and rushed down to the kitchen.

Her first thought was Astra, but her father had other ideas. “Absolutely not, Lily, we can't stop by Henley's ranch and check on Astra. There's no time,” he said as he gathered his lunch bucket and jacket. “Someone would have called if something were wrong. Why don't you call them while I warm the truck up?”

Lily reached for the phone. If Charlie and Jill rode the school bus, she could have asked them in person, but they went to a private school, and their dad always drove them there. She dialed the barn number and Thomas picked it up on the third ring. She sighed in relief when the stable manager told her that Astra was hanging in there. Dr. Tison even thought she was improving a bit.

“Thanks, Thomas.” Lily hung up the phone with a smile and grabbed her things for school. Her hair was a mess, she hadn't eaten breakfast, and she wasn't sure her clothes matched, but it didn't matter. Astra had survived the night—and she was getting better!

Lily's dad swung the door open as she raced toward the truck. “I can tell by the big grin that the news must have been good.”

Lily nodded and slid into the seat, watching her breath frost the inside of the cab. The weatherman on the truck's radio said a warming trend was approaching. She sure hoped so. It seemed like winter had gone on forever, and she was ready for some warm breezes. Sunshine and warmth would help Astra, too.

“Thomas said Astra is improving.” Lily reached over and flipped through the stations until she found one that she knew both she and her father could agree on.

“That's good,” he said, but Lily could see his knuckles tighten on the steering wheel.

She reached out and touched his sleeve. “Dad, I know this is going to be hard on you. But I think this is what mom would have wanted. I really do.” She watched her father force a smile to his lips. It looked rather pained, but at least he was trying.

They came to the end of the long dirt road and Lily was surprised to see someone sitting at her bus stop. There were several ranch kids at the stop before hers and a few at the next, but Lily and Meloney were the only kids who used this one. She knew Mel wouldn't be there today because she had said something about an early dentist appointment. But now, a boy about her age with shaggy blond hair was waiting on the bench, looking a bit lost.

Lily and Meloney usually sat in the truck with her dad until the bus arrived, but she felt kind of silly sitting in the warm truck staring at the boy, who was probably pretty uncomfortable on the cold bench.

“Should we invite him in here where it's warm?” Mr. O'Neil asked. “He must be from the family that moved into the old ranch down the way.”

Lily observed the new boy. He was lean, with high cheekbones and a cute face. Actually, he was very cute. Her face grew warm at the thought and her hand went to her tangled hair.
Yikes
.

She wished her dad would drive her all the way to school. Then she could start again tomorrow with brushed hair and a better pair of jeans. But she knew that wouldn't happen. His job was in the opposite direction from the school. “That's okay, Dad. I'll go out and sit on the bench with him.”

“All right, if you insist.” Her father gave her a peck on the cheek. “I'll still wait here until the bus comes.”

Great
, Lily thought. Her dad was going to sit there and watch her struggle through uncomfortable conversation with the new boy. She reached down for her backpack and cringed when she noticed her mismatched socks.

She managed to get out of the truck without falling on her face. The boy nodded his head politely and moved over on the bench to make room. Lily thought about her unmatched socks and decided to stand. She didn't want them peeking out if her jeans rode up when she sat. “Hi, my name is Lily,” she said. Immediately she felt like a dork.

“I'm Devin,” the boy said as he shoved his hands deep into his jacket pockets. “My family just moved into the big tan house down the road.” He grinned. “We're from southern California so I'm not used to this cold weather.”

Devin seemed friendly as well as cute. Lily dropped her backpack at her feet and pulled on her gloves. “Yeah, it gets kind of cold here in the winter, but the weather's supposed to warm up soon. Spring's always pretty nice here up North.”

The sound of the bus chugging up the hill saved Lily from any more conversation. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about making a fool of herself by saying something totally stupid. She turned and waved to her dad, then waited for the bus to come to a complete stop. The bus driver smiled as she stepped onboard. Lily took a seat three rows back while the driver motioned for Devin to sit up front. She wanted to give him the no-monkey-business-on-my-bus speech.

When they reached the school, Lily braced herself for what she knew would be the longest day of the year. All she wanted to do was get home and see Astra, but she had a lot of classes to get through before she could do that. She tightened her grip on the strap of her backpack. The sooner she started, the quicker she'd get home.

No amount of clock watching would make time move faster. After what seemed like a twenty-four-hour school day, Lily finally stepped off the bus and into her grandmother's car. Devin hadn't taken the bus home, and she hadn't seen him in class. Lily thought he might be a grade or two ahead of her. She pulled off her gloves and settled her backpack at her feet.