She was watering Solana one afternoon when her father paused next to her. “Penny for your thoughts?” he asked.
“Oh, Dad. I don’t know. It’s just that . . . that Laura and I don’t seem to be really good friends anymore,” Mandy told him.
Dr. Wilson stopped and leaned against the stable wall. “Really? You seem to be everywhere together, always riding, talking. What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. It’s just that Laura seems ... kinda mean about Solana. I mean, I thought she’d be thrilled because I had my own horse. But she’s not. And then there’s David. ..” Her voice trailed off, and Mandy felt herself begin to blush.
If her dad noticed, he didn’t say anything. “Well, honey,” he began, “you and Laura are growing up. You’re both turning into young women. It’s only natural that your interests would change.”
“But I’m still the same!” Mandy cried defensively. “She’s the one who’s jealous!”
“Mandy,” her father said, “how would you feel if Solana suddenly took off with someone else? Started spending all her time with a new friend? How do you think you’d feel?”
Mandy thought hard about it for a moment. “I guess I’d be hurt,” she said.
“That’s right. And Laura will get over it. It’s just too bad she never made more friends than you. Did you ever encourage her to do that? Or did you kind of keep her all to yourself and let her feel that she was the most important person in the world to you?”
Mandy felt a lump rise in her throat. Why, that’s exactly what she’d done! In all the years, she’d never thought to invite any other girl into her and Laura’s summers. It had always been just the two of them. No wonder Laura was feeling left out and lonely.
“Thanks, Dad,” she said. “I guess I never looked at it that way before.”
“I know. It’s tough to be thirteen, honey.” Then he leaned over to her, his eyes twinkling. “That’s why I’m glad I’m creaking along in my forties.”
“Oh, Dad . . .” Mandy laughed and watched him walk away. “Come on, Solana,” Mandy said to her horse, and Solana obediently tagged along behind her. “Let’s find Laura and go for a ride.”
She checked Diablo’s stall. The stallion was there alone, contentedly chewing on some hay. Mandy tied her birthday scarf around her neck, crossed the wide green lawn, and headed for the house. Laura wasn’t in her room, nor was she on the back patio. Then Mandy remembered the lake far off behind the house. Surely, she’d be down there.
“Go on, Solana,” Mandy said, stamping her foot. “Go eat some grass and stop following me.”
Solana pricked her ears forward and then lowered her head and began to graze. Mandy walked toward the lake.
She was just about to call Laura’s name when she heard the sound of laughter. She strained to see around a tree and then stopped dead in her tracks. There, facing the lake, with her back to Mandy, sat Laura. She was holding hands with David.
Mandy had never felt so many emotions in such a short time as she felt right then— surprise, hurt, betrayal, anger, sadness, then the urge to get out of there. But her foot cracked a branch. David and Laura turned at once with the sound.
“S-s-sorry!” Mandy stammered. “I was looking for you, Laura.”
David stood up and pulled Laura up with him. “That’s okay,” he said casually. “I’ve got to get back to work. Thanks for the company, Laura.” Then he strode off toward the stables.
Mandy and Laura stood facing each other. “I thought you were alone,” said Mandy weakly.
“Well, I wasn’t,” Laura snapped, walking briskly past her.
“Wait up!” Mandy called and fell into step beside her. “I’m sorry, Laura. I thought that you didn’t even know David was alive. I mean you’ve always treated him like he didn’t even exist.”
“Look, Mandy, just because you’re jealous—”
“Jealous!” Mandy exploded. “Me? Why, you’re the one who’s moped around here all summer long, treating me like I’ve committed some crime because I got my own horse. And you’re the one who made me feel dumb just talking to David. ..”
“You just stop it, Mandy Wilson!” Laura yelled back. “I could care less about your stupid little horse. I own a real show horse, not some squatty little saddle pony. And as for David ... well, it’s obvious that he prefers me to you.”
Mandy stopped dead, the tears springing to her eyes. “You’re so mean, Laura. I hope that I never have to talk to you again!”
“Well, that goes double for me!” Laura shouted back. Then she ran toward her house. Mandy stood shaking for a long time after she had left.
Suddenly, the day was a disaster. As she headed back toward the stables, Mandy couldn’t help but feel she’d lost something special.
She found herself back at the stable and then felt a warm muzzle in the middle of her back. With a start she turned around and realized that Solana had been following behind her all along. She buried her face in her horse’s mane and began to cry.
“You’re so lucky, Solana,” Mandy said between sobs. “You don’t know what it’s like to be a person.” Solana snorted.
Mandy remembered Laura’s angry words again. She thought of her mixed-up feelings at seeing Laura and David together. Why should that bother her so much? She and David had talked lots of times, and Laura didn’t seem to notice. This was silly. Could she have a crush on him?
No, she was just mad at Laura, she thought. Absentmindedly, Mandy led Solana into her stall. She turned to fasten the rope door. But her mind was far away. Her fingers fumbled at a job she should have been able to do in her sleep. She turned and walked away, not realizing the knot was only half tied.
Five
“HEY, Solana! Come on, you lazy nag. . . let’s go for a ride.” Mandy began calling to her horse as she walked toward the stall door. There was no familiar answering snort. In fact, the closer she got to the stall, the stranger things seemed.
Solana’s stall was empty. Mandy couldn’t imagine where she was. She remembered roping up the door the day before. But the ropes were untied and Solana was not in her stall.
“Who could . . . ?” Mandy wondered out loud, looking at the dangling ropes. Then she ran out into the yard and began to whistle. From behind the stable Mandy heard a feeble whinny.
“Solana! What are you doing there?” she asked, running around the stable. Mandy stopped suddenly. There was Solana all right, but her head was drooping and she seemed shaky on her legs. “What’s the matter?” Mandy anxiously ran to her horse. Solana could hardly walk. She was limping terribly. It took them almost ten minutes to cover the short distance back to her stall.
Inside, Mandy picked up Solana’s left foreleg and searched the hoof for damage. She could see nothing. No cuts, no thorns. ..but it was swollen. “Stay, Solana!” Mandy cried in alarm. “I’ll go find Dad.”
Dr. Wilson rushed back with his daughter in a matter of minutes. “Oh, Dad, what’s wrong? Can’t you help her?” Mandy began to cry softly.
He examined the horse carefully. “Honey, I’m afraid it’s Laminitis—Founder.” He shook his head grimly at his own diagnosis.
Mandy had been a vet’s daughter too long not to understand what that meant. “Founder! Oh, no.. .” Mandy choked back her sobs. “But that could mean...” Her voice trailed off. She couldn’t say the words.
“That could mean permanent crippling. Maybe even putting her down,” he finished grimly.
“No! Can’t you do something?” But she already knew the answer to that, too.
“Honey,” Dr. Wilson explained, holding her by the shoulders. “You know that this is something that has to run its course. There’s a lot of congestion in her foot right now. The blood flow is very heavy. It’s jammed up and she’s hurting. But at least it’s not infected. We can do something to prevent that. We’ll start antibiotics. I’ll give her a shot of adrenaline, too, in this leg. Maybe that will slow the flow of the blood and help the pain.”
“Isn’t ther
e anything I can do to help?” Mandy begged.
“Yes, there is. You can start applying ice to both these front feet. And plan to spend day and night here, too.”
The rest of the day seemed like a nightmare.
Her father did all he could. Then Mandy began the long nursing process. She brought an ice chest to Solana’s stall and packed ice around her feet every hour. Mandy petted her and encouraged her to eat. Still her horse stood painfully and stared at the floor of her stall.
“Need some help?” She looked up into David’s worried face.
“No, but thank you,” Mandy said. He stood for a while making small talk. His being there lifted her spirits a lot.
It was almost suppertime before Mandy realized that Laura had not come by once to check on her. The thought upset her. Bitterly she changed Solana’s ice. Of course, Laura knew. Everybody on the whole ranch seemed to know. Even Mr. Callahan had stopped by to check on her and comfort her. But not Laura.
When her father arrived with a take-out hamburger dinner, Mandy was still fuming. She didn’t say anything to him, but ate in silence.
“Founder is a funny thing,” he began, thinking her silence was worry. “A horse can recover from it as quickly as that.” He snapped his fingers. “It goes as fast as it comes. Yesterday, Solana was fine—today Founder—tomorrow, perfectly well. What troubles me is how she got it. I know how careful you are with her, honey.”
“What are some of the causes?” Mandy asked.
“Excessive work. Can’t be that though. We all know how you spoil that filly. Idleness and lack of exercise, too. Couldn’t be that either. Improper shoeing... but Solana doesn’t even have shoes. Digestive disturbance is a big cause. You know, too much protein-rich feed.”
Mandy’s heart fell.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
“Dad, when I came this morning, Solana wasn’t in her stall.”
“Where was she?”
“Wandering out back.”
“Did you check the feed bin?”
“No. ..I never thought. ..”
“Mandy!” Her father was angry. “She got out of her stall and got into the sweet feed. I’ll bet you anything. Mandy, how could you have been so careless? What could you have been thinking of when you put her in her stall last night?”
Mandy hung her head and began to cry. It was all her fault! If she’d had her mind on Solana yesterday instead of Laura and David, this never would have happened. Oh, poor Solana, Mandy thought. Suffering so much and all because of me.
“I’m sorry, Mandy,” her father said gravely. “But this is very serious. I gave you a horse because I thought you’d be old enough to handle the responsibility.”
The more she cried, the worse she felt. Her father reached over and put his arms around her. “Mandy, I’m sorry. I know you love Solana. I shouldn’t have come down so hard on you. Look, you’ve been a real nurse today. You keep wrapping her feet tonight and I’ll bet she’ll be fine by morning.”
Mandy wiped her eyes. “Sure,” she said. “Did you bring my sleeping bag?”
“Right here,” he told her, gesturing to the corner of the stall. “Listen, the Callahans are letting me sleep up at the house tonight. If you have any problems, you come get me.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Mandy smiled weakly. Then she kissed him and watched him head up toward the house. She sighed and turned back to Solana. Mandy rolled out her sleeping bag. But she was certain that she wouldn’t sleep tonight.
Six
MANDY watched the stars come out in twos, fours, and then in clusters. They twinkled brightly and coldly down at her. Over and over, she iced down Solana’s swollen forefeet. Her heart soared when the horse nibbled on a little bit of feed.
“Good girl!” she said encouragingly. The lights were out at the Callahan house, and Mandy lost all track of time. Then she heard a scraping noise from farther down the stables. She bravely stepped out of Solana’s stall to investigate and came face to face with Laura.
“What.. .?” she began.
“Oh, you startled me!” Laura exclaimed.
“Well, I’m spending the night here to keep an eye on Solana,” Mandy explained. “I thought you were coming down here to check on us.”
“I’ve been very busy. ..,” Laura started lamely.
“Busy?” Mandy asked coldly. “I would have come to see you if it had been Diablo.”
“Oh, for goodness sake,” began Laura haughtily, “it’s not the end of the world. Why, I heard your dad tell my dad tonight that he thought your horse would be fine by morning.”
“I’ll bet that really bugs you.” Mandy was angry.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’d just love it if Solana would be crippled! Even put to sleep!”
“That’s not true!” Laura shouted back.
“It is so! You’ve hated me having my own horse.”
“And I always thought you were my best friend,” Laura said, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Well, I’m NOT!” snapped Mandy. She was sorry immediately. But Laura turned and ran away before she could say anything else.
“Oh, Mandy ...,” she yelled at herself, “how mean and rotten you are!” She knew she was mad at herself for neglecting Solana and letting the horse get sick in the first place. And she also knew that she was really just hurt and angry at Laura for not being her friend when she needed her. How different this day and night would have been if Laura had been here nursing Solana with her!
She went back inside the stall with a sigh and repacked the ice around Solana’s feet. Mandy slept fitfully. The morning stars were beginning to fade when she awoke with a start.
She was cold. The morning was gray and damp. Immediately she checked Solana’s feet. The swelling was gone. The horse looked perkier, too. “Dad was right. You’re going to be fine, girl.”
Mandy’s legs felt stiff, so she decided to take a little walk. In no time she found herself down by the lake. The morning light made the water look soft and velvety.
“How’s your horse?” It was David’s voice. Mandy turned with a start. “I always seem to be scaring you,” he said.
“Solana’s better.” She smiled. “It was a long night though.”
Silence. Then, “You get any sleep?”
“Not really.”
“You okay?”
“Oh, sure . . .,” she began, but tears started to slide down her cheeks.
“Hey,” David said, putting his arm around her. “Everything’s all right. Solana will be fine.”
He felt so warm and comforting to her, and he smelled like fresh soap. “It’s more than that.” Her voice was muffled into his chest. “I had a big fight with Laura. I said some mean things.”
“Oh.” He continued to hold her and Mandy felt better. She was grateful he had come. The morning sun broke over the edge of the trees.
David started to speak and his voice soothed her. “You know, Laura really is an interesting girl. She told me all about how you two worked to get Diablo ready for all those horse shows. She showed me all the ribbons and trophies she’s won, too.” He paused. “You know, I’ve run track for three years now. It’s tough to win time after time. Laura’s done that. She’s gone into the ring against lots of competition. And more times than not, she’s come out a winner.”
Mandy pulled away from him. She swallowed hard and said, “So you think she’s pretty terrific?”
“In some ways, yes. But don’t you see? She’s had to not care about a lot of other things to stay on top, to be a winner. I’ll bet you’re her only real friend.”
“You mean was her only real friend.”
“Naw. You can patch things up, if you try.”
Mandy looked up into David’s eyes. Her heart began to pound and she felt weak around the knees. He brushed her bangs back and cupped her chin softly in his hand, leaning toward her face.
“Mandy! Mandy!” Her father’s voice cut through the morning air.
The spell was broken. She turned away, her heart pounding in her ears. “Here, Dad! I’m here!”
She ran toward him. “Here I am, Dad! Is it Solana? Is she okay?”
Dr. Wilson caught her by her arms. “Honey, have you seen Laura? Diablo’s not in his stall, and Laura’s bed wasn’t slept in last night!”
Seven
“SEEN her? No! I mean, yes . . . ,” Mandy stammered. “Late last night.”
“What time? Where?” Mandy’s father asked.
“Down by the stables. She came to check on Solana and me. ..” Mandy couldn’t go on. She couldn’t tell him about their fight. Where could Laura have gone? What had Mandy done?
“This is strange. She knows better than to go riding at night alone. It’s very dangerous. Come on up to the house and talk to her parents. They’re worried sick.”
Mandy faced the Callahans and told again of Laura’s late visit to the stables. “I don’t like this,” Mr. Callahan said, shaking his head. “Martha, you call the Sheriff’s Department. Bud, you come with me. We’ll go round up some help and get a search party going.”
“What if she’s hurt?” asked Laura’s mother.
“Don’t think that way. We’ll find her,” Mr. Callahan assured his wife.
Mandy followed the two men out of the house toward the car. “Maybe I can help, too.”
“Honey,” her father said, “Solana’s fine. But don’t push her. Give her light exercise today. And stay put!” Then they were gone.
Mandy paced up and down the stable yard. Solana ate some hay and snorted eagerly to be let out. But Mandy’s mind was in a whirl.
What had Laura been doing out so late last night? Had she really come down to the stables to check on Solana? Was she planning a night ride all along? Or had Mandy pushed her into it with her cutting words?
David was right. Laura was different. Ever since Mandy could remember, Laura had wanted to ride in the show ring. And Mandy had always been there helping her to go after her dream. But this summer, things had really been different. Mandy had spent all her time with her own horse, having fun instead of working and training with her friend.