Trickster

Author Laurie Halse Anderson
Originally Published © 2000 Laurie Halse Anderson
ISBN 1101562889
 

Chapter One

David parks the broom against the wall of the clinic. One waiting room, totally swept. Can they leave now? Brenna Lake turns around and says no. They have to wait until Mr. Quinn calls. Brenna and David are on cleaning duty today at Dr. Mac’s Place, the veterinary clinic across the street from David’s house. David always knew he’d end up working here. He’s great with animals and people love him. It took a few years of pestering Dr. Mac, the vet, but eventually she caved in. Ever since the clinic was overrun with sick puppies a few months ago, David, Brenna, Zoe, Sunita, and Maggie have been regular volunteers.

While learning about the medical details is cool, cleaning isn’t. But today, they’re taking a field trip to Quinn’s Stables to visit horses. They’re going to ride, groom, and more! Brenna doesn’t think it’s a big deal. She thinks it’s just shoveling manure and “bouncing along on old horses.” But Sunita says Brenna is just teasing David.

Sunita is the quietest, and probably the smartest, of the bunch. Brenna is one of those natural kinds of girls who wears old jeans and work boots and tries to save the whales.

David tells them that Mr. Quinn has tons of good horses that are fast. But he’s picking up a quarter horse in Maryland today, and that one is reserved for David. Quarter horses are strong and fast, and they need to be smart to do roping and barrel racing in rodeos. Brenna points out David won’t be allowed to ride a fast, expensive horse—not with his history. She’s referencing last year, when David was riding with others at Quinn’s Stables until suddenly he took off. It took half the police force to find him.

But to David, it was more complicated. That happened at the end of fourth grade, right when his dad left. Dad taught him how to ride. He went to high school with Mr. Quinn, and they’d been good friends ever since. Dad had David on a horse before he learned to walk. Riding was their thing together. That day, he was thinking about Dad. He and Mom separated a few months earlier, and despite Dad’s promises to visit, he hardly ever made it. David was just lost in his own thoughts, until he looked around him and the group was gone. He tried a few shortcuts to make it back to the others, but none worked.

That was the end of horse riding for David. Until today. So that’s why David wants to make a good impression. Maybe if David makes a good impression, Mr. Quinn will let David ride again.

David sweeps the fur balls on the floor behind the potted plant. Nobody will see them there. He’s eager to finish the chore so he can go to the stables faster.

Zoe peeks her head through the door that connects the clinic to Dr. Mac’s house. Zoe is Dr. Mac’s granddaughter, and she’s staying here while her mom is in Hollywood. She never sees her dad. She’s a little high-strung, but she’s cool. David thinks living here has been short of a shock to her.

Zoe says David’s mom called for the fourth time. He should probably call her back. Just then, the door to the Doolittle examination room swings open and Maggie walks out, followed by a college-age guy named Erik holding a ferret’s cage. Zoe dashes back inside the house; she doesn’t like rodents, and the ferret’s beady eyes remind her of them. Sunita has told her that ferrets are related to weasels, but it doesn’t matter to Zoe.

After Dr. Mac and Maggie release Erik and his weasel, Dr. Mac wonders aloud where Lucas (Mr. Quinn) is. It’s getting late. David suggests he’s already at the stables waiting for them. Maggie says that’s not possible. He’s not the type to stand around waiting for anything.

Dr. Mac asks David if he’s excited to ride again. It didn’t take much convincing to Mr. Quinn to give David another chance. Dr. Mac even heard that David can ride bareback. David confirms he can a little, and Mr. Quinn was even teaching him how to jump before his side trip. Dr. Mac firmly says that was in the past. If David uses his head and is responsible, Mr. Quinn will be glad to have him around.

Brenna squints out the front window, and says someone driving a blue pickup truck with a dent in the side is pulling up with a horse trailer. David rushes to the door, exclaiming that they were in an accident. There’s a long crease running down the side of the truck and the shiny silver horse trailer. The glass window on one side of the trailer is smashed to bits.

By the time David rushes out of the clinic, Mr. Quinn is already out of his truck. The horse in the trailer neighs. It sounds freaked out, hurt, or both. Mr. Quinn shouts for the doc.

 

Chapter Two

Dr. Quinn explains to Dr. Mac that they got hit on the turnpike by a swerving car. The fool took off, too. Didn’t even stick around to see what happened. Dr. Mac says at least the trailer didn’t flip. But it did lean, and it knocked the horse around.

Dr. Mac says they have to get him out of the trailer. He’s panicking. Mr. Quinn says he seemed fine at the accident, but on the way home, he started to tear it up. Dr. Mac says he’ll need a sedative.

David says that he probably feels trapped. He may be afraid something else will hit him. Just then, there’s a clanging from the trailer. Dr. Mac says they can unload him into the fenced backyard.

As Mr. Quinn maneuvers the trailer so it’s facing the fence, the volunteers rush inside the house to the deck to watch. Dr. Mac and Mr. Quinn are already in the backyard, and Mr. Quinn says he untied his halter from the ropes in the trailer. As soon as they open the gate, he’ll be free to come out. Sunita asks David what he thinks will happen. He says definitively that the horse will run out as if shot out of a cannon.

Mr. Quinn unlocks the back gate, lowers the loading ramp, and scurries out of the way. The horse stops stomping and whinnying for a second, and then cautiously backs out of the trailer. As soon as his hooves touch grass, he twists in the air and gallops to the end of the big yard. It’s awesome.

The horse is a rich chestnut, brown color. He mane looks like someone combed fudge through it. His leg muscles ripple under his shiny coat. It’s the most amazing horse David has ever seen. He vows under his breath that he’s going to ride that horse.

As the horse wheels around and gallops toward them, his eyes are wide with fear and his ears are pinned back. David can see he feels threatened. His gait is awkward, too. One of his hind legs is bothering him. He runs another lap before he slows down and relaxes a bit. Dr. Mac quietly tells David to bring out a bucket of water.

David cuts through the kitchen to the clinic and grabs a bucket from the supply closet. He doesn’t want to miss a thing. The water sloshes on Zoe’s shoe as he passes on the deck. David can see the sweat on his chest. His eyes and ears sweep the yard, as if he’s expecting something else to come along to scare him.

David reaches the bottom of the steps, and the horse begins to walk towards him. David doesn’t move to avoid startling the horse. The horse does have a limp, and it looks like it’s painful for him to put full weight on his hind right leg. David can see a stream of blood and a cut about two inches long over his right hock.

David asks what his name is. When Mr. Quinn answers that it’s Trickster, he whinnies, stops right in front of David, nostrils flaring. David shifts the bucket to his left arm and holds out his hand for Trickster to smell, and then introduces himself to Trickster. David knows they’re going to be friends someday.

 

Chapter Three

Trickster stretches his neck. His eyes are warm and friendly, and David can tell he’s smart. The hairs on his muzzle tickle as he moves his nose across David’s hand. It feels good to David to smell a horse again. It reminds him of how he and Dad smelled after they came home from the barn.

David offers Trickster some water, and he pauses for an instant, and then he plunges his muzzle into the bucket. A wave of water soaks David’s shoes. Trickster probably did that on purpose. When he comes out of the water, his eyes scan the back of the house, the clinic, the girls on the deck, and the fence line. He doesn’t seem frightened.

Dr. Mac steps closer to Trickster to check him out. Mr. Quinn says he’s a chestnut gelding. A gelding is a male horse that’s been neutered to prevent him from fathering foals. Five years old, fifteen hands high. His previous owner described him as smart and playful. He’ll be very fast.

Dr. Mac tells David to stay where he is during the examination. It seems like Trickster’s taken to him. Dr. Mac uses a stethoscope to listen to Trickster’s lungs and heart. She says his heart rate is a little high, but not scary. He’s still a little nervous. She feels over his back for swelling. He’s fine until she gets close to the cut above his right hock. Then, his skin quivers and he snorts. Dr. Mac says she can already feel the swelling and bruise. She’s not concerned about the cut itself.

Dr. Mac asks David to take the lead rope to walk away from them slowly. She wants to see him walk. David knows that he has to do exactly what he’s told when around this horse, especially when Mr. Quinn is watching. When they make a wide circle to turn around, David looks behind him. Trickster is still limping.

Brenna and Dr. Mac go inside to get some items to take an X-ray. Dr. Mac gets a portable X-ray machine, and Brenna brings out a box. Dr. Mac and Mr. Quinn don heavy aprons lined with lead to block the radiation from their bodies. David offers to help, and so he grabs an apron, too. It’s heavier than it looks. David holds the lead rope while Mr. Quinn places a wooden box with the X-ray film behind Trickster’s sore joint. Dr. Mac holds the X-ray machine, aims at the hock, and pushes a button. It beeps once. She replaces the X-ray film and takes another X-ray to get a new angle. After four X-rays, she takes the films into the clinic to process.

When she comes out, she looks relieved. There’s no fractures. He probably lost his balance in the accident and twisted his hock a bit. Dr. Mac prescribes rest, cold packs, and some anti-inflammatory medicine. He shouldn’t be cooped up in a stall, or he’ll go nuts. A moderate amount of gentle walking will help. And he’ll get a mild sedative to help calm him down for the trip home.

Mr. Quinn looks at his watch. Given the time, perhaps the kids can come over tomorrow, on Saturday, bright and early. When David asks if he can help with Trickster, the walking, exercising, etc, Mr. Quinn says he’ll think about it. They’ll talk tomorrow.

 

Chapter Four

The next morning, Dr. Mac drives the van past the wooden sign that reads “Quinn’s Stables.” David feels good to be back. Green pastures stretch out on both sides of the road, surrounded by white fences. There are horses of every color and size. The volunteers ooh and aah at the beautiful animals grazing in the fields. At the top of a long hill, a collection of smaller buildings circle around a large, modern barn. The Quinns’ house sits off to the east.

Nothing has changed since David was last here. When he gets out of the van and takes a deep breath, it smells familiar. A tanned woman in jeans walks up to Dr. Mac and introduces herself to the group as Linda. David steps forward and introduces himself, too. He briefly explains that the others haven’t been around a lot of horses, but he’s had lots of experience.

Zoe speaks up to correct him, saying that she knows how to ride. She even won first place at horse camp last summer. She shrugs, saying she doesn’t like to brag about it. Linda smiles, and says that it doesn’t matter if someone is new or veteran. They have more than forty horses here, and there’ll be one that’s just right for everybody.

Linda begins to lead the volunteers away for a tour. David says he doesn’t need a tour. He’ll just help Mr. Quinn with Trickster while the others do the tour. Linda shakes her head and says Mr. Quinn has asked them all to stay together and run a shovel this morning.

This is not what David planned.

David glumly follows the others into the largest barn. When Zoe asks if Mr. Quinn owns all of the horses, Linda explains that he owns about half. Six are his prizewinners. The most famous one is Starfire. The others are used for lessons. The other twenty are boarders, so their owners pay Mr. Quinn to look after and house them.

The volunteers follow Linda down the concrete aisle in the middle of the barn. Stalls line both sides, and each stall is about twelve feet wide and ten feet deep, and has a barred window to the outside. They pass a teenage boy, Jared, pushing a heavy wheelbarrow filled with straw and manure. Linda says she wishes they had more like him. Extra hands to keep things clean. Which is why it was so nice of the volunteers to come help.

Another stable hand comes by leading two old friends of David’s, Gus and Gertie. He walks up to Gertie and pets her shaggy face, explaining she was his favorite when he was little. Linda shoos the volunteers to the side so Gertie and Gus can pass by. The volunteers stop at the center of the barn, where they can see a shorter hall. That’s where the wash blocks, grooming stalls, feed room, cleaning supplies, and office are. The tack room, where saddle and riding equipment are stored, is upstairs. The other end of the short hall is the exercise ring.

Linda leads the kids to a room with shovels. It’s time to clean the dirty stalls. Linda explains each stall must be cleaned out, since there’s a couple days’ mess in there. Maybe David can show the others how it’s done. This isn’t the type of activity David would normally pick for show-and-tell, but he’s trying to do everything right today. He demonstrates how to push the manure and dirty straw to the front of the stall and scrape the floor clean. Once all manure is in the center aisle, then somebody can come along and dump it into the wheelbarrow. That’s the worst job. It’s heavy and smelly.

David turns to Linda and asks if Jared is going to do it. Linda grins, and says Mr. Quinn specially requested that David be in charge of the dumping. Linda assures them that after this, they’ll get in the saddle.

As they work, David finds it’s impossible to keep up with four stall shovelers. When the wheelbarrow is full, it has to be pushed outside, around the barn, past a toolshed, and through the parking lot to the manure pile. He feels like his arms are about to fall off. They don’t need him; they need a superhero.

During his fourth load, he has to stop to take a break. If only the manure pile was closer to the barn. He looks over his shoulder and doesn’t see anybody watching. He quickly dumps the muck behind the toolshed. He’ll deal with it later.

When Linda comes back, she’s surprised to see all the stalls are clean. She asks David if all the muck was dumped out back. He nods curtly. Brenna says she should check behind a truck or look under a rug. David’s the best corner-cutter they have. Before David can think of a witty reply, Linda interjects. It’s time to head to the tack room. They each need a helmet, safety vest, and gloves.

Zoe and Maggie dash off, and Brenna and Sunita follow a little slower. David really wants to ride, but he wants to see Trickster first. He approaches Linda and asks how Trickster’s doing. She’s busy washing the shovels, but explains Mr. Quinn and Dr. Mac are with Trickster. They shouldn’t be bothered right now.

David asks if he can go to the bathroom. It’s embarrassing to say, even if it’s a lie. She nods, and David waits until Linda goes up to the tack room before he hurries to the far end of the barn. He has to see Trickster.

 

Chapter Five

Dr. Mac and Mr. Quinn are standing watching Trickster munch on hay. David approaches and asks how Trickster’s leg is. He lifts his head, nickers, and shakes his head. Dr. Mac turns, surprised, and says his leg should heal without any problems. David eagerly asks how soon until he can ride him. Or… how soon until he can be ridden. Dr. Mac says she isn’t sure yet. If he’s let loose in a pasture, he may reinjure himself. If he’s kept in a stall, that’s a risk, too.

Mr. Quinn says he doesn’t have the staff to walk him. David says he’ll walk Trickster. The words popped out before he even knew what he was saying. David volunteers to come as soon as school gets out, staying until dark, and coming in the morning. Dr. Mac raises her eyebrows. Mr. Quinn crosses his arms. He asks what David gets out of it.

David bluntly states that he’ll get to ride him. David will do whatever Trickster needs, and when he’s better, Mr. Quinn will let David ride him. There’s a moment of silence, and then Dr. Mac says that David has been very helpful at the clinic lately.

Mr. Quinn sternly explains that he’ll need to be walked forty-five minutes each morning and night, and he shouldn’t get too warm. David would be responsible for reporting back if his leg swells or he limps or trips. David nods and says he’ll do whatever Mr. Quinn needs. And he won’t wander off again.

Mr. Quinn relaxes and chuckles. David reminds him of his father. David doesn’t know how to respond. He doesn’t like to talk about his dad with anyone. Finally, Mr. Quinn says they have a deal. If David proves himself with Tricker, he’ll ride him later. But no fooling around, and no shenanigans.

Dr. Mac says the first thing is that he needs a walk. No trotting or no kicking up his heels. Mr. Quinn says they can do it now. David should follow the girls with their horses and observe how he reacts to other horses.

By the time David gets to the exercise ring, the girls are standing next to their horses, all of whom David recognizes. Maggie with Gus, Zoe with Claiborne, Sunita with Gertie, and Brenna with Blitzen. Farrah is standing next to them, saddled and ready to go. David is sad for a second that he won’t get to ride, but that’s okay. Trickster will leave Farrah in the dust when he’s better. Wait ‘til the others hear the news.

David climbs on the gate and hollers out that he’s going to ride Trickster! Blitzen snorts and skitters sideways. Brenna clutches his reins, but Blitzen bumps into Gertie’s rear end. Linda demands everyone stay calm. She tells David not to pull any more stunts. David apologizes, saying he was just excited. He’s not riding today because Mr. Quinn is going to let him work with Trickster.

Linda, unphased, simply responds he looks like a fun horse. She tells them all to mount up. Zoe mounts perfectly. She places her left boot carefully in the left stirrup so she doesn’t poke the horses’ side, hops straight up, freezes for an instant to let Claiborne get used to her weight, and swings her right leg over the side. After both feet are in the stirrups, she sits lightly int he saddle. She wasn’t kidding. She has ridden before.

Maggie struggles a bit more, but pulls herself into Gus’ saddle. Linda helps Sunita and Brenna up and shows them how to put their feet in the stirrups and lean forward.

Linda stands in the middle of the ring and guides them all in squeezing their heels to get their horses to walk. Nice and slow, to allow them all time to get to know the horse, and to give the horse a chance to get to know them. Horses are sensitive creatures. They can tell when their rider is nervous, happy, or sick. They should relax.

Under her breath, Brenna whispers it’s easy for the horse—the horse is standing on the ground. If David didn’t know better, he’d guess Brenna is nervous. But Brenna’s not afraid of anything, not even snakes, which David hates.

Maggie says it’s not so bad. When can they gallop? Maggie can do anything athletic.

Linda has the riders practice starting and stopping and lets them circle the ring. Then, she opens the gate that leads outside and swings herself onto her own horse. He’s a heavy build, maybe with some Clydesdale blood in him. He certainly wasn’t built for speed. It’s time to head onto the trail. Linda will go first, followed by Sunita, Maggie, Zoe, Brenna, and David last with Trickster.

Brenna hangs back a second. David asks if she’s okay. Brenna mutters that of course she’s okay. She’s not afraid of anything. She urges Blitzen forward, and David follows her out.

Trickster is waiting at the gate with Mr. Quinn. Mr. Quinn hands the lead rope to David, and tells him to take it slowly. Follow directions, and be careful.

They all begin walking, and Trickster picks up his feet quickly, as if he wants to trot. David puts his hand on Trickster’s shoulder and tells him they’re not running today. Trickster snorts. David can’t blame him. After being cooped up in the trailer and the stall. And it’s a perfect day…

But nope. No running today.

 

Chapter Six

The girls all look relatively comfortable, even Brenna. Zoe has the best posture, and Maggie is doing well, too. Sunita and Brenna are getting bounced a bit. They climb up the long hill behind the barns. David can see Mr. Quinn mount Starfire and begin their jumping exercises in the ring. He and Starfire look like they’re one animal, turning, cantering, leaping, and landing.

Linda stops at the top of the hill and says they’re going to continue along the top and down the other side. It’s a gentle slope. Zoe asks when they’ll get to jump, and Linda says it’ll be a while. All the horses start to follow Linda’s horse as he steps forward. Brenna’s horse doesn’t move. Blitzen stays put.

David teases that maybe she should say please. David and Trickster step closer, and Blitzen flattens her ears and skitters sideways. She stares at Trickster, swaying her head to look at him. David moves to tie Trickster up. He’s making Blitzen nervous. David steps a few steps away and looks for something to tie him to, but there’s nothing nearby.

Brenna suggests getting Linda. But David confidently says he’s got this. He leads Trickster to a clump of grass and tells him to take a munch while he helps Brenna. Trickster snorts and lowers his head to nibble.

David goes back to Brenna, and Blitzen steps sideways again. He laughs, and says Blitzen just likes to walk sideways. Brenna says she doesn’t want to go sideways, she wants to go forward. David shakes his head and retorts they don’t need Linda. They just have a stubborn horse. It’s a perfect match. Brenna scowls.

David lowers his voice and suggests that Brenna doesn’t like this. When she doesn’t respond, he asks if she’s afraid. She admits she’s a little scared. But he can’t tell anyone.

David says her secret is safe with him. But she has to act naturally. Hold the reins loosely, look straight ahead, tell Blitzen to walk, and kick a little. Be confident. Brenna, determined, follows his advice. Blitzen takes a couple hesitant steps forward, and then keeps going. Maybe David could teach lessons this summer. Teaching isn’t hard. David says Blitzen’s a good girl, and gives Blitzen a smack on the rump.

Big mistake. Blitzen hunches her back and takes off through the woods, with Brenna bouncing in the saddle. Brenna calls for help. David screams to pull back on the reins. She calls out again. She can’t make Blitzen stop. They’re heading for the woods. David turns around. Linda can’t see them. They’re alone.

Trickster lifts his head, whinnies, and suddenly breaks into a gallop in pursuit of Blitzen. He looks like a turbo-charged horse, running like wildfire. He thinks he’s racing.

Brenna screams for help. One of her boots has slipped from the stirrup and she’s dropped her reins. She’s holding on tight to the saddle horn, but isn’t balanced. If she falls, she could break her neck! What should David do? He can’t catch up to them. He also can’t leave to get help.

David screams for help. Blitzen swerves this way and that way. Trickster tries to follow and stumbles. He keeps running, but not as fast as before. He’s hurt his leg again. David shouts at Brenna to pick up the reins, just as she disappears into the woods. Trickster follows.

Nobody is coming to help. David sprints toward the woods, trying to make his feet fly. He enters the woods and sees Trickster chasing Blitzen. Brenna, miraculously, is still on the horse. Suddenly, David hears hooves thundering behind him and he jumps out of the way just in time to see Mr. Quinn rocket past on Starfire.

 

Chapter Seven

They whiz by, chasing toward Brenna and Blitzen. Mr. Quinn passes Trickster, rides alongside Blitzen, and reaches over to grab Blitzen’s reins. Starfire begins to slow down, and after a brief second, Blitzen does, too. They trot next to each other for a couple moments, and then walk, until they stop completely. Brenna gives Mr. Quinn a wobbly smile. Mr. Quinn slips off Starfire’s back and holds Blitzen so Brenna can dismount.

Trickster has stopped running, too. David reaches to his lead rope before Trickster and do anything else bad. David starts to lead him over to Mr. Quinn, but Trickster flinches and lifts his right hind leg. Mr. Quinn knows he’s hurt again. Strained the hock, maybe even fractured something. Mr. Quinn orders Brenna to go back to the other trail and look for Linda. Linda should get all the horses back to the barn.

Brenna looks shook-up, but Mr. Quinn looks awful. His face looks like someone drained the color out of it. All the friendliness, too. He looks like he’s grinding his teeth, and his eyebrows are pulled into a frown. David saw the same look on his face when he got in trouble last year.

Brenna takes off up the trail. David speaks up and says he doesn’t know what spooked Blitzen. She just took off. Maybe she got stung by a bee or something. Mr. Quinn doesn’t respond.

Mr. Quinn hands David both Starfire and Blitzen’s reins and goes to check Trickster over. David asks if Trickster will be okay. Mr. Quinn doesn’t answer the question, but instead says he was stupid. He thought David was ready, and that he’d done some growing up. Dr. Mac said David was reliable, and Trickster took a shine to David. But David’s not ready to be responsible around horses.

Mr. Quinn heard David holler across the exercise ring. What if that carelessness spooked a horse and caused a fall? He saw David slap Blitzen’s rear end, spooking him. He watched David let Trickster graze without tying him to anything. By the time Mr. Quinn got back on Starfire, Blitzen and Trickster were already heading toward the woods, with Brenna in danger.

David interrupts that he didn’t do any of it intentionally. Mr. Quinn, shaking his head, says that David was careless. Did it seem like too much work? Does he figure nobody would find out? David just doesn’t think. And people who don’t think don’t have business being around horses.

Mr. Quinn orders David to go back to the barn to get Dr. Mac. David knows he should go without arguing or debating. But he has to ask: what about their deal? Will David still get to ride Trickster when he gets better?

Mr. Quinn’s eyes narrow. The deal is off.

 

Chapter Eight

David really blew it this time. Major, big time, blew it. Mr. Quinn will never let David ride. He’ll tell all the other stable owners about it. Nobody will let David near their horses ever again. Even though David wants to go home, he heads for the barn.

David sullenly tells Dr. Mac that Mr. Quinn needs her help with Trickster in the woods. He got away from David and ran. He hurt his leg again. David has trouble admitting the truth. But it doesn’t matter because Dr. Mac grabs an equipment box and blows past David.

Zoe calls out to David when she notices he’s there. She asks if he’s okay, but David doesn’t want to explain anything. It’d all make David look really stupid. He turns to go call his mom. Maybe she can pick him up. Besides, Mr. Quinn won’t let him ride. He’s a danger to horses. He messes everything up.

Zoe gently smiles. David doesn’t mess everything up. David just… messes up a lot. They’ll work on it. Zoe leads David back to where Gertie, Claiborne, and Gus are waiting in the stalls, ready for grooming. They’re each standing between two wooden posts with a rope attached to each side of their halter.

Brenna asks how David is doing. Mr. Quinn looked really angry. Sunita explains they heard what happened. It was brave of David to try to help Brenna. David mumbles that “brave” isn’t how Mr. Quinn saw it.

Maggie confidently says Mr. Quinn just needs to cool off. Sunita suggests they groom. Linda told them what to do, but then had to go do something else. So they all need David’s help. David suggests that Zoe help. She’s been around horses before at summer camp.

Zoe explains it wasn’t that kind of summer camp. They were sent to ride, not clean stables or give horses baths. She can braid manes though.

David might as well help them. That way at least he can do something right today. David picks up the body brushes on the shelf and explains how to brush the dirt off, starting at the neck and moving in the direction the hair grows. He tells them to use muscle. If their arms aren’t getting tired, they’re not brushing hard enough. They need to brush the entire animal. It feels cool to be the one giving instructions, instead of the one being yelled at.

When all four horses are clean, Zoe asks if they’re going to braid their manes. David says that’s not needed. Zoe says it is! Claiborne is an elegant horse. He needs to look his best.

Then, Trickster, Mr. Quinn, and Dr. Mac pass them. His hooves clop on the cement floor in an uneven pattern. He’s limping badly. David’s chest tightens. He’s been feeling so rotten that he hasn’t even given a thought to Trickster. Mr. Quinn is right. He doesn’t think.

David swallows and follows Trickster down to his stall. When Trickster hobbles inside, Dr. Mac and Mr. Quinn notice David behind them. Mr. Quinn stares at David for a moment, and then leaves for his office without a word to David.

Dr. Mac says not to worry about Lucas. He’s got a lot of things on his mind. Dr. Mac kneels down to check the wrap on Trickster’s leg. She says she gave Trickster an injection for the pain. He’ll need to rest completely for a few days. If the swelling doesn’t go down, he’ll need to be taken to an equine clinic for an ultrasound exam. If he’s torn the tendon, that’d mean surgery. It’ll be a while before they know if he’ll run again.

When Dr. Mac leaves, David looks at Trickster. Trickster nickers softly. David apologies.

 

Chapter Nine

David’s mother is waiting for him when Dr. Mac’s van drops him off at home. She doesn’t say a word to him until they’re in the garage. Then she lets fly. Her mouth is tight, her eyes look like they could spit fire. This is a bad time for a smart-mouth answer.

David opens the laundry room door, and passes past piles of laundry into the kitchen. Ashley, David’s five-year-old sister is eating a McDonald’s feast at the table. Brian, David’s older brother, is nowhere in sight. He must be at work. David asks his mom when she needed him.

Mom slaps her hand down on the kitchen counter. She put a note out where David would see it this morning. It reads that David should come home by two o’clock to watch Ashley while Mom went into the office. David was also supposed to take out the trash and start laundry.

David says he never saw the note. He woke up late due to his stupid alarm clock not going off. He grabbed a soda, a handful of pretzels, and ran out the door.

Mom tells him that she called him yesterday at the clinic and he ignored her messages. Mom had to take Ashley into the office with her. Mom sits down and says that she doesn’t ask David to babysit often, so when she does, she needs to be able to count on him. Brian has his own job.

Brian works at the movie theater. He runs the projector, so he basically gets paid to sit and watch movies. Hopefully when he goes to college… if he ever goes to college… then he’ll give David his job.

David studies an orange stain on the countertop. Probably juice or soda. It looks permanent. He apologizes for letting her down. He just can’t do anything right today.

Mom switches topics and asks David how the stables were. David explains that Mr. Quinn has this new horse, Trickster. He’s fast as the wind. Dad would love him. Mom just looks at her fingernails. She doesn’t like talking about Dad. David continues to say that Mr. Quinn promised David could ride him as long as he helped out with Trickster for a few weeks due to his sore leg.

Ashley asks if Trickster ran away. Omitting some details, David admits that Trickster hurt his leg again. Badly. So he won’t be able to ride Trickster for a long time, if ever. Mr. Quinn is pretty upset.

And Trickster is the only horse that David wants to ride. It’s like they’re connected or something. Mr. Quinn hates David and thinks he’s an idiot. He doesn’t even want David around Trickster. Mr. Quinn’s lecture is echoing around David’s head.

In fact, David is going to skip volunteering at the stables for a while. Mom crosses the kitchen to the calendar hanging next to the telephone. That’s good. Mom has to go into the office tomorrow morning. David can watch Ashley. And he owes Ashley something special for today.

Ashley jumps up on her seat. She wants a tea party!

 

Chapter Ten

The next day, David comes to the conclusion that tea parties are cruel and unusual punishment. But he’s stuck. And his mom instructed him to take out the trash and start laundry. David moves the yellow plastic picnic table to the front lawn. Ashley doesn’t want real tea, so he pours her lemonade into a teapot. He grabs some paper cups and the entire cookie jar and a roll of paper towels outside.

Ashley comes outside dressed in her Cinderella costume from last Halloween. She has a dishcloth on as a veil. She points out that David isn’t dressed properly. He needs to dress as a clown. He says they’re having a tea party, not a circus. But Ashley just sticks out her lower lip and frowns. Uh-oh. David has to do something fast.

David runs inside to put on the clown costume. As he goes in, Ashley commands that she wants punch, not pretend tea. David heads to the kitchen and grabs a pitcher and a packet of punch powder. He pours the powder in the pitcher and puts it in the sink to fill with water. Then he rushes upstairs to the clown costume. David puts on the wig and nose and big shoes, but can’t find the shirt and pants. Thank goodness. When he goes back outside, Ashley asks him to go get Baby Sally and Tigger and Oscar, her stuffed animals. David says he’s not having a tea party with her stuffed animals. It’s just them. Ashley threatens to tell Mom.

Just then, laughter erupts from across the street. David looks up to see Maggie, Zoe, Brenna, and Sunita standing at the end of the driveway laughing. Zoe compliments David’s hair, and Brenna’s shoulders shake at the sight of the big shoes.

Ashley asks if they’d like tea. Sunita kneels in the grass and accepts a tiny cup of lemonade. Brenna asks David to juggle, since there’s no entertainment. David picks up a few cookies and tosses them high in the air. They stay up nicely, and everyone applauds. To end the show, David catches a cookie in his mouth and lets the others drop to the ground.

A horn beeps as a blue pickup pulls into the driveway. It’s Mr. Quinn, picking up the volunteers. The girls scramble to their feet and pile into the truck. David asks Mr. Quinn how Trickster is doing, and he responds that he’s improving a little.

Mr. Quinn watches Ashley run into the house to watch a video before asking David if he’s seen his dad recently. David shakes his head. Dad travels a lot for his new job. David says sometimes he babysits Ashley for his Mom, and that’s why he’s dressed as a clown. Mr. Quinn ruminates that she must depend on him a lot.

Just then, Ashley runs out the front door and screams that the kitchen is flooding. David left the water on. Mr. Quinn looks like he might say something, but changes his mind, turns on the car, and pulls out of the driveway.

Mr. Quinn thinks David is an idiot.

By the time David has mopped the kitchen dry, Ashley long left David to go to her friends’, so David is sitting outside on the lawn finishing the cookies. When Mom comes home, he tells her that he washed the towels, and will start the rest of the laundry after. Mom thanks him for his help, and offers to drive him to the stables. David almost says yes before he remembers Mr. Quinn’s face yesterday, and changes his mind.

Mom asks him why he doesn’t want to go. Do horses not matter to him anymore? David explains he saw Mr. Quinn earlier. He thinks David is a goofball. David shakes his head and says he doesn’t want to talk about it. He’s going to the clinic.

 

Chapter Eleven

When David walks through the door of the clinic, Dr. Mac is reading something on the computer. She comments that she saw the tea party he put on for Ashley. That was very nice of him. She looks at him over her bifocals. Why didn’t he go to the stables?

David says he couldn’t leave Ashley alone. He omits the truth about his shame and embarrassment. Dr. Mac says she’s going out as soon as she’s done with the next patient. He can come along. David says he thinks Mr. Quinn doesn’t want him there. Dr. Mac shrugs and grabs a folder. Maybe while she’s gone, he can grab the broom and dustpan. The floor is dirty. She points to the balls of dog hair behind the base of the potted plant.

Oops. So Dr. Mac saw those after all. David kicks the fur balls under the chair. It feels weird around here without the others. David thinks about the others. Who will dump the wheelbarrow today? Probably Brenna, because she’s the strongest. She’ll probably take the manure all the way to the pile instead of dumping it behind the toolshed. That was another stupid thing David did yesterday. Mr. Quinn will find it eventually, and he’ll know exactly who did it.

The bells on the door jingle, and Erik walks in with his ferret. Apparently his ferret got into a sock drawer, and without looking, Erik slammed it shut on his paw. Dr. Mac brings them all into the Doolittle Room and instructs David to wash up. She asks him what the first thing to do is.

David suggests taking his temperature, checking his heart, or letting him out of the cage. Dr. Mac shakes her head and says the first thing is to close the door and latch all drawers and cupboards. Ferrets can squeeze into openings only an inch wide. When the ferret slinks out onto the table, he’s not perky at all. His front paw is swollen and bloody.

Dr. Mac picks the ferret up and examines him. She feels along his backbone and tail, and frowns. Then she moves along each of the bones in his leg. He pulls back and squeaks in pain. Dr. Mac asks Erik when the ferret hurt his tail. Erik answers there’s nothing wrong with his tail. But Dr. Mac says he’s not moving it, and there’s some swelling. It could be broken.

Erik thinks hard. Then, realization dawns on his face. He explains that when he sat in his recliner last night, the ferret screamed and took off. Dr. Mac stops petting the ferret. She says recliners are death traps for ferrets. They nap underneath, and then when someone sits down, they can get squished. He probably broke his tail trying to get out of there.

Erik runs his hand through his hair. He says the guy that sold him the ferret told him it was an easy pet. It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult. Dr. Mac pauses, her right eyebrow way up on her forehead. She calmly says that if Erik wants an easy pet, a ferret is a bad idea. She needs to do X-rays because she’s pretty sure he has a broken tail and some broken bones in his paw.

Erik asks if it’ll be expensive. If he keeps costing him money, he’ll have to turn the ferret loose. David is shocked. Erik doesn’t care about his ferret at all. Dr. Mac says she knows a woman who runs a rescue shelter for ferrets in situations like this. If Erik pays for the X-rays, she can arrange for the ferret to be sent to the shelter. Erik agrees.

After Erik leaves, David exclaims to Dr. Mac that he’s a moron. David is shocked by Erik’s behavior. Erik would rather dump the ferret than take care of him. It’s irresponsible. Dr. Mac writes a note in the ferret’s file and adjusts the water bottle hanging from his cage. Then, she slowly explains that when taking care of the ferret got too boring or challenging, he took the easy way out. It happens all the time.

David nods his head. He understands. Dr. Mac points out that David also sometimes cuts corners. David defensively says that he’d never hurt an animal the way Erik did. Dr. Mac asks about Trickster. Oof, that hurt. David slumps on a stool. He says there’s a piece of him that he can’t even stand. The corner-cutting part. He starts doing things, then they’re boring, and he just… stops. He wishes he could just take that piece out.

Dr. Mac says maybe he needs to grow a new piece. A “do-things-right” piece. David spins on the stool. He was responsible today, taking care of Ashley. He did flood the kitchen, but then he cleaned all of it up. When he wanted to quit, he kept thinking about Trickster, and how his corner-cutting hurt him.

The phone rings. Dr. Mac picks it up. It’s Mr. Quinn. When Dr. Mac hangs up, she rushes to get her things. They’re going to the stables. Mr. Quinn has a sick horse.

When David asks if it’s Trickster, she answers, “No. It’s Starfire.”

 

Chapter Twelve

Dr. Mac drives wordlessly, pushing the van above the speed limit as they leave town. The closer they get, the more David wishes he stayed behind. What if Mr. Quinn kicks him out of the barn? He says maybe he’ll just stay in the car. Dr. Mac just responds that’s just fine. Dr. Mac hits the brakes and grabs two boxes of equipment out of the back.

David wishes he had the guts to follow Dr. Mac. He wants to see how Trickster is doing. But instead, David sits on the bumper of the van. He thinks about his dad. One of Dad’s mottos was to “get back on the horse when you fall off.” Everything was easier when Dad was around.

Mr. Quinn comes out of the barn. He’s trying to lead Starfire to the courtyard, and Dr. Mac is behind him, watching closely. Starfire’s head and tail are down, and he’s walking slowly. He keeps jerking his rope and swinging his head back toward his belly. Starfire is Mr. Quinn’s favorite horse. His most expensive, too. If anything happens to him…

Mr. Quinn says he’s not having any trouble going to the bathroom, but he has had diarrhea for the last hour. Could it be colitis X, the disease that kills racehorses? Dr. Mac assures him that’s a very rare disease. She tells Mr. Quinn she’s going to use an I.V. to replace lost fluids, and that he should be isolated from the other horses.

While Mr. Quinn is distracted leading Starfire to the foaling barn, David slips into the barn to check on Trickster. The barn is clean and empty. The girls must’ve worked hard to get all the chores done. A familiar whinny comes from a nearby stall. It’s Trickster. When David approaches the horse, he bobs his head up and down. His sore leg is wrapped to keep the swelling down, but he’s still not putting weight on it.

David sees that his water bucket is empty, hay is spread all over the stall, and there’s lots of manure and urine on it. Yuck. David leads Trickster into the aisle and ties his lead rope firmly to a metal ring on the stall door. He grabs a shovel and wheelbarrow and cleans the stall floor. Then he refills the hay net and fills the water bucket.

When Trickster is led back into the stall, he takes a long drink of water by plunging his entire nose in the bucket. He lifts his head, shakes his forelock, and then plunges his nose back into the bucket to drink more. David’s never seen a horse drink like that before. David reaches for Trickster’s halter to distract him. But then he looks at Trickster’s face. There’s a bunch of strange bumps on his lips. They look like small, clear, tender blisters.

David hears footsteps. Good. He wants Dr. Mac or Mr. Quinn to see this. But it’s just the girls leading their hoses in with Jared. He asks them why they went riding before cleaning Trickster’s stall. Jared looks puzzled. He says they cleaned Trickster’s stall. In fact, Jared cleaned Trickster’s stall himself. Weird. When David points out the blisters on his mouth, Jared says he’s probably just chewing his own tail. But he’ll get the doc to look at him.

Meanwhile, can David help the girls groom their horses? They were antsy on the trail. David thinks something strange is happening in the air today.

 

Chapter Thirteen

It takes a while to get the horses into the grooming stalls because they’re acting ornery. Zoe says they were also acting strange on the ride itself. David points out the horses are also all sweaty, despite them walking slowly. They were stressed out. David thinks maybe there’s a bug going around. Starfire is definitely sick at least.

Suddenly, Gertie coughs. Her body quivers and her eyes roll up in their sockets. Her legs shake, and then start to buckle. David pushes Sunita out of the way, and then it’s over. Gertie stops shaking and collapses to the floor, her legs folding under her. David grabs Gertie’s heavy head and tries to release the cross-tie still attached to the grooming poles so she doesn’t choke.

Sunita runs for Dr. Mac as Maggie, Zoe, and Brenna try to help with the cross-ties. They’re lifting Gertie’s head so high that she’ll be angry if she wakes up. When they finally release her cross-ties, her heart is racing.

When Dr. Mac comes, she orders everyone to move away. The volunteers stand in the aisle while Dr. Mac listens to Gertie’s heart and lungs with a stethoscope before moving down to her belly. Then, Gertie’s eyelids flutter and she thrashes her legs. The horse looks dazed, as if she doesn’t know where she is.

Dr. Mac instructs the horse to be brought to the paddock by the foaling barn. David says the other horses aren’t right either. Dr. Mac points at Maggie and tells her to take the others to wait by the van. They’re going home. They don’t have enough experience with horses to help.

The others take off, but David stays behind. He knows he can help. But before Dr. Mac can say anything, she’s calling in backup from Dr. Gabe, the clinic’s other veterinarian. On the phone, Dr. Mac says it could be a viral infection, something in the water, or something they ate. Either way, it’s getting ugly.

When Dr. Mac turns back to David, she emphasizes that these horses might be dying. He should go back with the others, too. It takes a second to sink in… Gertie’s seizure, Starfire’s heart problem, all the horses acting strange. Then he realizes. Trickster’s in trouble, too.

 

Chapter Fourteen

They find Trickster on the ground in his stall, rolling in pain. His coat is sweaty and covered in straw and manure. The stall that was cleaned just half an hour ago. It’s a mess again, and it smells extra awful. When Trickster knows David is there, he twists his head and tries to get up, but freezes halfway through in a seated position.

Dr. Mac says it’s a classic colic sign. His stomach is hurting him awfully, so sitting like that helps. But if he rolls on the ground, it can make his intestines twist, and horses die from that. Dr. Mac instructs to get him out of the stall just as he slowly gets to his feet, legs shaking, eyes rolling in his head, belly spasming.

Dr. Mac enters Trickster’s stall and clips a rope to his halter and leads him out. David goes ahead to guide him. The paddock outside the foaling barn looks like a hospital waiting room. Jared is watching Gertie, Gus, Claiborne, and Elsa (who Brenna rode today instead of Blitzen) graze. Mr. Quinn is in the foaling barn with Starfire. Too many horses, not enough hands.

They bring each horse into a foaling barn stall, just as Dr. Gabe arrives, unloading supplies. With two vets, the examinations go faster. They check the vitals—temperature, respiratory rate, and heart rate—of each horse. Trickster’s heart rate is twice the rate it should be. Whatever this is, it’s more than colic. The stomach pain indicates colic, but they have diarrhea. They’re drinking lots of water, but it’s passing through the other end. It has to be intestinal. They get each horse started on I.V.s.

After that, David points out the bumps on Trickster’s nose. He also mentions he was drinking water strangely by sticking his whole nose into the bucket, and then only lifting to breathe. Also, his stall would be clean one minute, and then thirty minutes later, manure there again.

Dr. Mac looks at Trickster’s mouth for a minute, and then declares cantharidin. Dr. Gabe shakes his head. That can’t be right. Dr. Mac argues and shows him inside his mouth and along Trickster’s tongue. Cantharidin are blister beetles in the hay. It’s a nightmare. Mr. Quinn replies they’ve never had blister beetles before. Dr. Mac checks inside Starfire’s mouth, and sure enough, David can see the same kind of blisters as in Trickster’s mouth. Smaller, but still ugly.

Dr. Mac explains to David that blister beetles live on plants like alfalfa, which is harvested for hay. They have a chemical in their body called cantharidin. This chemical burns body tissues. Trickster was sticking his whole head in the water because it cooled the blisters on his lips. The cantharidin irritated their stomachs, kidneys, and intestines, blistering their insides, too. And all the irritation caused diarrhea.

Linda enters the foaling barn. She must have just arrived because she asks why the horses are still in the pasture. They should be getting ready for their next lesson. Dr. Mac looks up and quickly explains they were accidentally poisoned. Did they get any new hay recently?

Linda responds yes, and it came just in the nick of time because they were almost out. Dr. Mac explains the blister beetles again. But most likely Linda wouldn’t have seen any bugs on the hay. They were most likely all chopped up. Even a couple blister beetles can kill a horse, so these horses didn’t eat very much.

Mr. Quinn comes into the barn after fetching a small sample of hay. He scatters the hay on the ground outside the barn and they all get on their knees. Mr. Quinn points out a small black dot. Dr. Mac warns not to touch it, otherwise his hand will blister. They’ll have to analyze the sample.

Dr. Mac instructs them to order new hay from a different grower immediately. They need to ensure that the horses that haven’t had the new hay don’t have any. They need to notify the grower of the infected hay immediately, and they need to meticulously clean the barn. Every stall must be swept clean.

Mr. Quinn asks what the antidote is. How do they treat the horses? Dr. Mac turns and says there is no antidote. They just have to keep the horses’ fluids up, give them antibiotics, and wait. Dr. Mac mentions they can take Starfire to the equine hospital if he wants. There, they can monitor his calcium, magnesium, and protein levels, too.

David asks if they can take all the horses to the hospital, but he already knows the answer. Mr. Quinn can’t afford to take all the horses. The show horses would be the only ones to go. David can feel something squeezing in his chest. When he looks at Mr. Quinn’s eyes, David can see he feels the same way.

Dr. Mac takes out her phone. She’ll call Brenna’s father to have him take the kids home. David protests. He wants to stay and help. Mr. Quinn turns to David and says that it’s obvious he cares a lot about the horses and his concern is appreciated. But it’s time for him to go home. David protests again, but is interrupted by a whinny and a loud whump from the foaling barn.

Dr. Gabe calls out that it’s Starfire. Mr. Quinn and Dr. Mac run to the barn just ahead of David, but they all see what happened. The beautiful black stallion has collapsed in his stall. His head is stretched limply on the straw, his eyes open and dull. Mr. Quinn kneels, touches the horse’s leg, and turns his face away from the rest of them.

Starfire is dead.

After a few moments, Mr. Quinn quietly tells David to go home. This is not a place for kids. David knows it’s not the time or place to argue again.

 

Chapter Fifteen

Now, it’s midnight, and David can’t fall asleep. He keeps thinking of Trickster. The other horses, too, but mostly Trickster. Is he sleeping? Awake? Is he even alive?

Brian jerks in his sleep and makes a sound like a surprised pig. He still smells like popcorn from his movie theater job. David turns over in his bed. If he was going to go back to the barn, which he’s not, he’d have to do something crazy like ride his bike there. It’s got to be at least five miles. That’s way too far.

David closes his eyes to go to sleep again. But he still can’t sleep. It only takes a few minutes for him to get dressed, write a note for Mom, and head to the garage. He quietly rolls up the garage door, checks the light on his bike, and puts on his helmet. Time to hit the road.

When he finally reaches Mr. Quinn’s, all the lights are on in the foaling barn. David can hear people talking, and their voices sound tense. David leans his bike against the wall. What does he do now?

David peeks in the door, staying in the shadows so no one can see him. The foaling barn is crowded with veterinary supplies and oxygen tanks. Claiborne and Gus are breathing through horse oxygen masks. Elsa is lying in her stall, breathing heavily. Gertie and Trickster are wired up to heart monitors. Trickster’s coat is shiny with sweat and drool leaks from his mouth. His eyes blink slowly.

Suddenly, Gertie throws herself against the side of the stall. The noise startles Trickster, who flinches. Mr. Quinn strokes Gertie’s neck, and wishes aloud that he had taken them all into the hospital, no matter the cost.

Jared glances at his watch, and regrettably says that he should go home. His parents wanted him back at midnight due to a Spanish test the following morning. Mr. Quinn takes a deep breath, nods, and says Linda should go home, too. She needs to get rest because the next morning, she’ll have to be back to give the other horses clean hay for breakfast.

David hides around the side of the barn while Linda and Jared leave. This was a really dumb idea. David should go home and get back in bed. If Mom catches him, he’ll be grounded until he’s fifty.

Just then, Dr. Gabe shouts to watch out. David peeks in the barn and sees Trickster on the ground, shaking violently. A seizure. Without thinking, David rushes into the foaling barn, slides to the floor, and brushes his forelock out of his eyes. When the adults get past their initial astonishment at seeing David, Mr. Quinn sits down next to David and puts his arm around his shoulders. They’re doing everything they can.

Trickster twitches again and snorts. His nostrils flare and his eyelids flutter. Dr. Mac leans over with her stethoscope and reports the seizure is over and his heart rate is slowing a bit.

David asks Mr. Quinn if he’s going to make him leave again. He promises he won’t get in the way. Mr. Quinn nods, and says David can stay. He’ll call David’s mother. Maybe it’s because David’s tired, or because of the dim light in the barn, but it almost looks like Mr. Quinn is smiling.

When Mr. Quinn returns, he’s carrying a six-pack of soda. He says David’s mom says he can stay. She’s not as angry as they thought she’d be. She was mostly just worried about David. In fact, Mr. Quinn hasn’t really spoken to her since David’s dad left.

Dr. Mac asks David to get the wheelbarrow to muck out the mess. It’s getting too smelly in the foaling barn, even for her. Once the stalls are clean, Dr. Gabe sends David for fresh water. After that, it’s unloading more supplies from the van. David does all sorts of little chores so the vets and Mr. Quinn can focus on the patients. The heart monitors beep, oxygen canisters hiss, and horses cough and whinny.

Around three o’clock, Dr. Gabe goes to the office to get some shut-eye. He’ll be in charge of the clinic on Monday, so he’ll need a clear head. David wraps himself in a horse blanket and sits next to Trickster. His heart rate has slowed to fifty-five beats per minute, which is much healthier.

Mr. Quinn and Dr. Mac are sipping coffee talking in the corner about Starfire. Mr. Quinn says that you only get one horse like Starfire in your life. He was the finest animal he ever met. He was stubborn when Mr. Quinn first got him, but he learned, as did Mr. Quinn. David knows it’ll be a long time before Mr. Quinn gets over the loss of Starfire.

David leans against the post to get comfortable, keeping one hand on Trickster. David can feel his strong and steady pulse. Comforted by the thought they’re going to ride together someday, David closes his eyes.

When David wakes up, a bird is twittering overhead. He shakes himself with a jolt. How is Trickster? Dr. Mac chuckles and tells David to relax. David turns to see Trickster standing over him. He bobs his head and nickers.

Dr. Mac says he’s not feeling 100% yet, but he made it through the night. They all did. They’ll need extra attention for a few weeks, but things are looking rather positive.

Mr. Quinn comes into the stable and announces there’s pancakes and sausage in the house for them. The best way to keep good stable hands is to feed them well. With a smile on her face, Dr. Mac leaves the barn, leaving David and Mr. Quinn alone.

Mr. Quinn holds up his hand to prevent David from leaving. He says he’s been thinking. Uh-oh. This can’t be good.

Mr. Quinn explains that he and David haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. He doesn’t have any kids of his own, and watching David grow up, well, he could never figure David out. David replies he understands. He won’t come back anymore. But Mr. Quinn interrupts him. David is just like his father… not listening!

Mr. Quinn clears his throat, and says he’s trying to say thank you. For caring about the horses, and for coming back last night. Having David around made a big difference, to the docs, to Trickster, and to Mr. Quinn. And David didn’t complain, and he did everything he was told. Mr. Quinn is proud of David, and he knows David’s dad would be, too.

In fact, Mr. Quinn wants to hire David. Any time David is free, he can come over and be put to work. Mr. Quinn can pay him in cash or lessons. If he picks lessons, then maybe he can ride Trickster. Trickster’ll need a rider who understands mischief. Mr. Quinn holds out his hand for a shake on their deal.

David reaches for his hand, and then pulls back. First, David should remove the pile of manure behind the toolshed. Mr. Quinn doesn’t want to know how it got there, but cleaning it up will make David feel better. And then he can go eat pancakes and all the sausage Mr. Quinn’s got.

Mr. Quinn laughs so loud it wakes all the horses up in the barn. They poke their heads out to see the commotion. Trickster bobs his head up and down, his forelock falling into his eyes. David smiles. Someday, they’re going to ride.

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