A Star Discovered

by JoAnn S. Dawson

Jody looked at Mary and Mary looked back at Jody. “Um, well,” Mary began, “um, weelll . . .” she continued for the lack of something better to say. Neither Mary nor Jody could think of what could be wrong.

  “Um, well, nothin,’” Willie snapped. “Was I s’posed to be the one to unload and put away all your show stuff, or was that s’posed to be you?”

  “Oh my gosh, Willie, sorry!” Jody stammered. “We were so excited to see Lady and Gypsy when we got home, we forgot!”

  “We’ll clean it up right now, Willie! Sorry we left it all in the truck!” Mary said over her shoulder, already running to the barn hill where the truck was still parked.

  “Wow, Willie is really mad,” Jody whispered as they linked arms on their way up the hill.

  “I know, and he usually isn’t like that,” Mary replied. “I mean, sometimes he yells at us for stuff, but it’s not usually like that over something like this. Jody, something is bothering him.”

  The girls worked silently then, cleaning the straw out of the back of the pickup truck with a pitchfork and wheelbarrow and then sweeping it clean of every last bit of chaff. Jody grabbed her tack box from the front seat of the truck, while Mary chased after Finnegan to retrieve the unraveled tail wrap from his teeth. When the girls finally walked through the open barn doors of Lucky Foot Stable, Willie was waiting for them there.

  “Put your stuff away and come sit down,” Willie said grimly.

  Mary and Jody were so taken aback by Willie’s tone of voice they could only stand and stare at him.

  “Come on now. I’ve got to go help Roy with the milking,” Willie insisted.

  Mary nervously wrapped the tail bandage around her hand while Jody carefully took the show supplies out of the tack box and placed them in their normal spot in the tack trunk. The girls instinctively moved more slowly than usual in an attempt to put off whatever it was that Willie was about to tell them. Finally, when they could stall no longer, they obediently sat together on a bale of hay. Finnegan lay at their feet, resting his chin on Mary’s boots and whining softly as if he knew something was amiss. Colonel Sanders chose just that moment to come strutting into the stable, ruffling his feathers and clucking to himself. And even Star stopped munching on his pile of hay and hung his head over the stall door, nickering low in his throat as if to say, “Hey, why all the long faces?”

  Willie took off his hat and pulled on his ear lobe. He looked up at the ceiling and cleared his throat. Then he smacked his hat against his knee and shook his head.

  “Well, daggonit, there’s no good way to say what I got to tell you,” he said.

  “What, Willie? What is it? You’ll just have to tell us,” Mary said, her voice quivering. Jody’s heart was suddenly beating so loudly in her chest that she was sure it would drown out whatever it was Willie was about to say.

  “Well, there was a man at the show today . . .” Willie began.

  “I know, Willie, the man I saw looking at Star. What did he want?” Mary interrupted.

  “Mare, let Willie talk, please,” Jody squeaked.

  “Well, that was the man that owned the stable where we took Lady to the horse show.”

  The girls looked at Willie openmouthed but didn’t say a word.

  “And he owns the stallion that is Star’s sire. So when he saw Star, he just knew that he must be related somehow, because he’s built just the same way and of course he’s got the star on his forehead just like the stallion. But he knew that he hadn’t bred the stallion to any mare that had a foal like Star.”

  Willie took off his hat and pulled on his ear lobe.

  “Well, it wasn’t our fault that Lady got in with the stallion that day. And we didn’t even know she got pregnant until she had Star. It was a surprise!” Mary said indignantly.

  “It wasn’t a surprise to me,” Willie reminded her.

  “Willie, what does the man want?” Jody asked in a tiny voice, as the color completely drained from her face.

  “Well,” Willie said glumly, “it turns out that his stallion is one of the top-rated quarter horses in the country . . . not just the country, but the world. He’s won championships all over the United States and overseas, too. Now the stallion’s job is to sire championship foals, and the man gets top dollar for his breeding fees.”

  “So that’s why Star is so gorgeous! His daddy is a champion! I knew it!” Mary said proudly, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation.

  “Mary, the problem is that the man was pretty upset that Star had been born and he didn’t even know about it. He needs to account for all of the stallion’s foals, and he doesn’t want any born without him getting the money that he asks for.”

  “So that means that people with mares pay him to breed the stallion to their mares so they can get nice foals, right?” Mary asked, while Jody sat wordlessly biting her fingernails.

  “That’s right. And he didn’t get any money at all for his stallion fathering Star. Do you understand?”

  The girls didn’t speak for a minute. Mary stroked Finnegan’s head and stared off into space. Then Jody finally found her voice.

  “So, Willie, what does the man want?” she whispered.

  Willie looked out the back door. He scratched the side of his head and rubbed a gnarly hand across his eyes. Then he looked at Jody and swallowed hard.

  “He wants Star,” he said.

  11

  No Hope?

  MARY’S MOUTH OPENED wide and a gut-wrenching wail came from deep within Jody when Willie finally made this terrible announcement. Finnegan whined helplessly and put his paw in Jody’s lap, then he stood on his hind legs and licked the tears from her face. Colonel Sanders flapped his wings and hopped up on the bale next to her. Still she didn’t speak. But Mary, when she finally found her voice, had plenty to say.

  “But, Willie! He can’t do that! He can’t! How could he just come and take Star away? He’s half Lady’s, isn’t he?”

  “I’m ‘fraid he can,” Willie said, turning his hat slowly in his hands. “He wanted to load him up and take him right then from the show, but when he saw how Jody was so taken with him and doin’ such a good job showin’ him, he said he’d give it a month.”

  “A month!” Mary exclaimed, while Jody sobbed with her hands over her face. “But, Willie, why did you tell him that Star was sired by that stallion? How could he prove it? Just because Star has the same star on his forehead doesn’t mean . . .”

  “Did you want me to lie to the man?” Willie asked sharply.

  “Well, nooo . . . but, but, Willie, what are we going to do?” Mary wailed.

  “What are we going to do about what?” Mrs. Morrow’s voice came suddenly from the doorway. “How did Star baby do in the show?” she continued, then saw the stricken faces of Willie and the girls.

  “What in the world is wrong?”

  Mary jumped up from her seat on the bale and wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist. “Mom, the worst thing in the whole world has happened!” she cried.

  “What is it?” she asked, looking from Willie to Jody. “Jody, did you get hurt? Are you alright?”

  “No, mom, she’s not hurt . . . well, yes, she is hurt. Her heart is hurt.” Mary rubbed her eyes with her balled up fists and stepped back. “A horrible man at the show wants to take Star away! His stallion is Star’s father, and he says Star should belong to him!”

  Mary’s mother looked at Willie questioningly. “Willie, is that true? Is that possible?”

  “I’m ‘fraid so, Mrs. Morrow,” Willie answered. “Except that he’s not such a horrible man; he just wants his champion stallion’s progeny, that’s all.”

  “But . . .” Mrs. Morrow began, then she sat down on the bale and put her arm around Jody.

  “Oh honey, I am so sorry,” she continued. “But, Willie, there must be something we can do!”

  Just then it was Jody’s father who came striding through the back doors of Lucky Foot Stable. “Hey, guys . . . sorry I’m a little late picking you up . . .
hey, what’s going on? Jody, what’s the matter? Did Star misbehave at the show?”

  Jody had not been able to say a word through the lump in her throat, but when she saw her father, she jumped from the bale and threw her arms around him. “Oh, Daddy,” she sobbed, her voice strangled by tears.

  When she saw her father, she jumped from the bale and threw her arms around him. “Oh, Daddy.”

  “Mr. Stafford, we got some bad news at the show,” Willie explained wearily. “The man was there who owns Star’s sire, and he was pretty mad about the fact that Lady was bred without him knowin’ it. Turns out the stallion is a world champion quarter horse, and his owner wants the colt.”

  Mr. Stafford was silent, letting the information sink in before he spoke.

  “Wants the colt? Can he do that?”

  “As far as I know, he can,” Willie repeated. “We can check into it, but he sounded pretty sure of himself. Now, he did say one thing . . .”

  At this, Mary stopped crying and stared at Willie, and Jody turned from her father’s grasp.

  “What do you mean, Willie, he said one thing? What did he say? Something good?” Mary prodded.

  “Well, not really. I wasn’t gonna bring it up to you girls, but now that your parents are here, maybe it’s something to think about . . . but I don’t see how,” Willie mumbled, wishing he hadn’t brought up the matter at all.

  “Willie, what is it? We’ll do anything!” Jody cried.

  “Well, he said if we could come up with the breeding fee—that’s the money he gets from owners of mares who want to breed to his stallion,” Willie explained for the benefit of the parents. “If we could pay that, then he’d let us keep the colt.”

  “Willie! Why didn’t you tell us that before? You made it sound like there was no hope!” Mary squealed. “We’ll just have to work really hard and raise the fee!”

  Willie and the girls’ parents traded looks of grim understanding.

  “How much is the breeding fee, Willie?” Mr. Stafford asked quietly.

  “It’s more than these girls could raise in a month of Sundays,” Willie said matter-of-factly.

  “But, Willie, we saved up almost forty dollars in one week when Mr. McMurray paid us to mind the roadside produce stand for him,” Mary said proudly. “He said we sold more vegetables that week than he had the whole two weeks before. Maybe he’d let us mind it again.”

  Jody nodded hopefully at this suggestion, but she stopped when Willie spoke again.

  “The breeding fee is over two thousand dollars,” he said.

  Mary opened her mouth but no sound came out. Mr. Stafford looked at Mrs. Morrow without a word.

  Jody sat down on the bale and buried her face in Finnegan’s neck. Willie rubbed his hand across his eyes and turned to Star, scratching him on that special spot on his shoulder. Then Mary looked at her mother pleadingly.

  “Mom . . .” she began.

  “Honey, you know we don’t have any extra money. It’s hard enough for me to pay the bills every month. I wish I could help, but . . .”

  “Dad, what about that special fund you told me about? Can we use that?” Jody begged.

  “I’ve just started to put aside some money for college, Jody. I am not going to touch that. And besides, it’s not even close to what you’d need for this,” Mr. Morrow said firmly.

  “But I don’t care about college!” Jody wailed. “I just want to keep Star! I can’t give him up!”

  “Willie, do you think Mr. McMurray would lend us the money?” Mary asked hopefully.

  “You know Mr. McMurray just had that heart operation, Mary. That’s why you were watching the stand for him, remember? He’s got a lot of medical bills to pay. I heard him say the other day he was even thinkin’ about sellin’ the farm,” Willie said, then he clamped his mouth tight, immediately regretting his words.

  “Selling the farm?” Mary shouted in a sudden panic. “Willie, he’s not selling the farm, is he? What would we do with Lady and Gypsy and Star if he sold the farm?”

  “Now, thinkin’ ain’t doin’,” Willie reassured Mary, although he wasn’t feeling very reassured himself. “Now look, there’s no use mopin’ around here right now tryin’ to figure this out. Star needs feedin’ and turnin’ out, and you girls need to go home and get a good night’s sleep. Maybe tomorrow will look better, and we’ll work on some ideas.”

  “Sleep? Willie, we won’t be able to sleep. I’m never going to sleep again!” Mary declared.

  Just at that moment, as if he knew he was needed, Walter Pigeon sailed in through the back doors of Lucky Foot Stable, hung in the air for a moment, and then landed squarely on the top of Jody’s head. For the first time since Willie had delivered the bad news, Jody smiled through her tears and Mary even chuckled just a little.

  “Willie’s right, Jody,” Mr. Stafford said gently. “Why don’t you girls tend to Star and I’ll wait for you in the car. Mary’s still sleeping over at our house, isn’t she?”

  When Jody nodded, Walter went winging through the air and landed on his roost on the top board of Lady’s stall. The Colonel strutted over and flapped up to join him there. Mary’s mother walked out the back of the stable with Jody’s father, murmuring low in conversation. Willie put on his hat and headed to the big white dairy barn to help finish the milking. It almost seemed like a normal afternoon at Lucky Foot Stable.

  But it wasn’t.

  12

  News Travels Fast

  CONTRARY TO MARY’S prediction, both she and Jody fell asleep from exhaustion the moment their heads hit the pillows at Jody’s house. When they awoke the next morning, they decided to clear their heads by taking a ride around the farm on Lady and Gypsy. They had been so busy in the previous months getting Star ready for the show that they had almost neglected their two ponies.

  The ride to Lucky Foot Stable on their bikes was a silent one, each lost in her own thoughts and unwilling to share them. Jody was almost afraid to see Star with the possibility in the back of her mind that she might soon be parted from him. And Mary’s brain was working overtime trying to come up with a plan to prevent just such a thing from happening.

  As they pedaled up the gravel driveway of the farm, Star’s cheerful whinny of greeting from the paddock gate made Jody burst into tears again.

  “Oh, Mary, what are we going to do?” she whimpered as the girls parked their bikes just outside Lucky Foot.

  “Now, first you’ve got to stop crying,” Mary said cheerfully, trying to keep from crying herself. “We can’t be morose. I looked that up, and it means, ‘having a gloomy disposition.’ Now, we’re going to get Lady and Gypsy out of the pasture and get them ready to ride. We haven’t even told them what’s happening! Maybe if we talk about it some more, we’ll get some ideas.”

  The last thing Jody wanted to do was talk about it, but she knew Mary was right.

  So the girls made sure that Star had plenty of hay and water in his paddock, grabbed two lead ropes and a carrot, and ran out to the big pasture. There they found Lady and Gypsy, who were taking a long refreshing drink from the creek.

  “Lady! Gypsy! We’re here!” Mary called. “We know you’ve missed us!”

  Lady and Gypsy responded by turning their heads in unison with water still dripping from their lips, and their ears pricked up at the sight of the girls galloping toward them. Mary and Jody slowed to a walk when they drew near the ponies and Mary broke the carrot into two equal pieces, handing one to Jody. At the sight of the carrots, the ponies nick-ered softly and trotted over to receive their treats.

  “Just like old times,” Mary murmured. Jody felt tears welling up once more in her eyes as Lady munched happily on the carrot. She shook her head and wiped them away, determined not to be morose.

  As they led Lady and Gypsy to Lucky Foot, the girls shared the whole story of the dilemma with them, and although the ponies could offer no solutions, of course, it did help a little to talk about it. Once inside the stable, the girls gave them a quick groo
ming job—a lick and a promise, as Mary put it. Then they bridled them up and were off on their tour of the farm.

  “Let’s ride up to the house and see if Mrs. McMurray is around,” Mary suggested. “She’s always in a cheery mood.”

  As the girls rode up the gravel lane, they saw up ahead a little towheaded boy playing in the sandbox in the tiny front yard of the house trailer where Annie lived with her family.

  “Look, Mare, isn’t that Heath out there all by himself?” Jody asked.

  Just as the words escaped Jody’s lips, Annie appeared in the doorway of the trailer with a bottle of juice in her hand.

  “Mare, I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t really feel like talking to Annie right now,” Jody whispered from the corner of her mouth. “Let’s just trot on by and wave.”

  “I know, she might ask how Star’s doing or something, and I don’t really want to tell her about it just yet,” Mary agreed.

  So the girls clucked to the ponies and picked up a trot just as Annie came out into the yard to give Heath his juice.

  “Hey, Annie, how’re ya doin’?” Mary called out as they trotted past, waving merrily as if it was just another ordinary day.

  “Hey,” Annie replied and waved back. Then, as the girls continued trotting up the gravel drive, Annie yelled, “Sorry to hear about Star!”

  Mary and Jody slowed to a walk and looked at each other in surprise. “Well, I guess she already knows,” Mary said dryly. “I guess Willie must’ve told Annie’s dad, and he must’ve told her. But now I really don’t feel like talking about it.”

  “Hey, there’s Mrs. McMurray!” Jody exclaimed, eager to get off the subject of Star.

  Mrs. McMurray was busy hanging Mr. McMurray’s overalls on the clothesline in the side yard of the big stone farmhouse, but she stopped and waved as Mary and Jody trotted up.

  “Good morning, girls!” she called out in her lilting brogue. “Why, I haven’t seen you riding for ages! And aren’t the ponies looking fine!”

  “Thanks, Mrs. McMurray. Willie says it’s all the good grass they’re getting in the pasture. We really appreciate Mr. McMurray letting them go out with the cows,” Jody replied, hoping Mrs. McMurray would say it was OK for Star to go out there too. But Jody knew that decision was really Mr. McMurray’s.