A Horse for Kate (Horses and Friends Book 1)

by Miralee Ferrell

  Mom had also said it would be all right for her to stop and check out some of the horses along the way. Joy bubbled inside. She might not have a friend yet, but she was going to spend the next hour doing what she loved—making friends with her favorite four-legged creatures.

  Striking out across the parking lot, Kate headed toward home. The new house didn’t really feel like home yet, but she’d spent the daylight hours after school exploring the big barn and picking up the loose cans and bottles littering the ground. If she kept at it, maybe Dad would take a load of junk to the dump so one stall would be empty.

  She’d discovered a pile of sawdust outside under a ragged tarp. The sawdust was mostly broken down and starting to turn to dirt, but she’d found enough that was still good to cover the floor of a stall. Somehow she’d find a way to convince her parents to buy her a horse of her own. Her birthday was next month, and they knew how much she wanted one. Now that Dad had a good job, maybe it would happen this year.

  At that thought, she felt as though her feet had sprouted wings, and she flew across the road. Three bay horses lined the board fence about a half block away, their heads stuck over the top slat. Kate was thankful she’d tucked a bag of carrots into her backpack this morning. Thoroughbreds, I think. All of them were tall—maybe sixteen hands or better.

  Kate slowed her pace and unzipped her backpack. She moved cautiously toward them, not wanting to spook them into taking off across the field. Withdrawing a carrot from a bag, she crept forward, the treat on the flat of her palm extended in front of her. One of the horses nickered and stretched his neck, nostrils flaring. Kate barely contained her joy when the big gelding’s lips touched her palm as he latched on to the carrot.

  “What are you doing?” a voice demanded from behind her.

  Kate spun, nearly dropping her backpack, and placed her hand over her thudding heart. Tori stood a few feet away, her face twisted in amusement.

  Whew. For a minute there, I thought I was busted by the owner and was going to get yelled at. “Feeding the horses carrots. Want to give them one?” Kate dug into the bag again, retrieved a long carrot, then broke it in half and held it out to the girl. “Horses love them.”

  Tori rolled her eyes. “I know that. Just because I’m Mexican doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

  Kate’s cheeks warmed. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.” She lowered her arm and wrapped her fingers around the carrots. “Guess I’d better head home.”

  “Wait.” Tori stepped closer and held out her hand. “ I didn’t mean to be rude. I’d like to feed one if you promise the horse won’t bite me.”

  Kate grinned. “I’ll show you how. Keep your hand flat and don’t curl your fingers up, and they’ll snatch it without any problem.” She demonstrated with one of the pieces.

  Tori giggled as the bay gelding snuffed at Kate’s hair after he’d munched his treat. “I think he wants more, and so do those other ones.”

  “Yeah. I brought a bunch.” She broke several more into pieces and gave them to Tori. “My name is Kate.”

  Tori nodded. “I know.” She peeked sideways at Kate, watching one more time as Kate fed a different horse. “Should I try now?”

  “Sure. Give one to that bay mare.” Kate indicated which horse with a nod. “I haven’t fed her yet.” She watched as Tori carefully extended her palm, keeping it flat. “Way to go! You did great!”

  Tori held out another piece. “Thanks for sharing. She’s pretty, and I didn’t get bit.” She kept her gaze on the horse. “I’m sorry about the way Mia treated you the other day. Not all of the kids here are like her.”

  Kate shrugged. “It’s okay. It was kind of weird, though.” She could have bitten her tongue after she’d blurted the words, and she prayed Tori wouldn’t notice.

  Tori stared. “What was?”

  Kate groaned. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

  “So explain.”

  “I’m not sure how. I guess it’s weird for someone to act like they don’t like me because of my skin color.”

  “Yeah, I don’t especially like it either. But it’s happened to me ever since I was little. I’m guessing this is your first time, right?” Her mouth twisted to the side.

  Kate nodded, not sure what to say. She wished she’d kept quiet. The last thing she wanted was to make this girl mad when she might have finally found a friend.

  Tori’s face softened. “Don’t let it bug you. I guess there are rude people in all races.”

  Relief hit Kate so hard, her legs wobbled. “Yeah. Thanks.”

  “So where do you live, anyway?” Tori motioned up the road and stepped away from the horses still reaching for treats. “I’m in that house across this pasture. The little yellow one. See it?”

  Kate peered in the direction she pointed but only saw a building a little bigger than a shack. On closer inspection she noted that the windows had curtains and a tiny covered porch extended out front. “You have a big yard.”

  Tori nodded. “My dad’s a gardener when he’s not working at the packing plant. He loves flowers. And my mom puts in a huge vegetable garden in the summer.”

  Kate wrinkled her nose. “You mean a meat-packing plant?”

  “No, silly, fruit. Haven’t you noticed all the orchards between here and Hood River? In a few weeks, the cherry trees will start blossoming, and then the apples and other fruit. My dad’s second job is yard work.”

  “Oh, right.” Kate felt kind of dumb that she hadn’t understood, but Spokane didn’t have all the orchards that Odell and Hood River did. “I live that direction too. About a quarter mile on past you, I think. Want to walk together?”

  “Sure.” Tori waited for Kate to settle her backpack in place and then started off. “Do you have a horse? You know a lot about them.”

  Kate smiled. “I wish. I want one more than anything. We live on a farm and have a big, old horse barn that’s dirty and needs work, but no horses came with it.”

  “So why’d you move to a farm, then?” Tori kicked at a rock on the edge of the pavement, sending it skittering across the road. A car zipped by seconds after, and the girls moved farther onto the grassy area along the shoulder.

  “My Grandpa Cooper died several months ago and left my mom his farm. We lived in Spokane all my life, but my dad lost his job last year. When all the paperwork on the farm got finished, Mom and Dad decided we should move here. He started applying for jobs and found one.” She stopped right before she admitted she wished they’d never moved. Maybe, with one friend on the horizon, she didn’t feel that way as much as she had a few days ago.

  Tori glanced at her. “Did you have a lot of friends in Spokane?”

  Kate nodded. “Uh-huh.”

  “That’s rotten you had to leave.”

  “Yeah.”

  Silence fell as they neared Tori’s house. Kate was surprised how tidy everything was and felt ashamed of her earlier thought. Just because the house was small didn’t mean it wouldn’t be clean or nice. The windows glittered in the early spring sun, a tree swing hung from the limb of a giant oak, and an older-model pickup with gleaming paint was parked in the gravel drive. “Your house is bigger than it looked from a distance.”

  “Yeah. It’s a three-bedroom, but two of them are tiny,” Tori explained. “My little sister and I share, and my younger brother gets one of his own. So not fair.”

  Kate giggled. “I hear you. Maybe you can come to my house sometime? If you want to, that is.” She waited, barely daring to breathe. “If you think your parents would let you, and you won’t get in trouble with your other friends.”

  Tori didn’t respond for a long moment, but then her eyes smiled. “My mom will want to meet your mom first, but if my friends have a problem with it, that’s their deal, not mine.”

  “Cool!” Maybe living here wouldn’t be so bad after all. If God had answered her praye
r and sent her a new friend, maybe He’d be willing to send her a horse too.

  Chapter Four

  Spring was right around the corner—Kate could feel it—and so was her birthday. Only another week and the possibility she’d finally get her dream. She sucked in a shallow breath as she and Tori hiked across the parking lot at the end of the school day. “I’m glad it’s Friday. I thought the week would never end.”

  Tori nodded and kicked a pebble across the asphalt. “Yeah, no kidding. That math test was brutal.” She shuddered. “I sure hope I pass, or my dad isn’t going to be happy.”

  Kate scrunched her face. “Your dad isn’t mean, is he?” Her own father was one of the kindest men she knew, although his Marine Corps training still showed up at times. But he’d never hurt her or scared her like she’d heard some kids’ dads did. As far as she was concerned, he was the best dad in the world.

  Tori shook her head. “Nothing like that. He’s cool. But he gets awful disappointed if I don’t do well. He came to the US when he was seventeen and had to learn the language and find work. He married Mom a few years later, and he’s always wished he could have done more with his life than work in the fruit-processing plant or spend his free time gardening. He and Mom want me and my brother and sister to go to college, but I’ve got to get good grades. There’s no way I can go unless I get scholarships.”

  “You’re smart. I bet you’ll get lots of them when you’re older.” Kate hadn’t even thought that far into the future. She had no real idea what she wanted to do after high school. Right now, making it through middle school seemed like enough. She hitched her backpack around and settled it more securely on her shoulders. “I don’t even want to think about school this weekend. Want to go feed the horses again?” They’d made it somewhat of a ritual the past two weeks, and the horses were almost always waiting at the fence.

  “I found a horse that I want you to see.”

  Kate swiveled and walked backward, keeping her eyes on Tori’s face. “What do you mean, you found a horse? Not one we’ve been feeding?”

  “Nope. This one’s all by itself in a smaller pasture, and I think she’s kinda sad and maybe hungry. I thought we could give our carrots to her this time.”

  Kate stopped and clutched Tori’s wrist. “How far is it? Poor thing. I hope she’s not starving. So it’s a mare, not a gelding?”

  Tori shrugged. “I didn’t look to be sure. I still feel funny trying to figure it out, even after you showed me. But it has such a pretty face, I figured it has to be a girl.”

  Kate giggled. “I know what you mean. Come on, show me!”

  Tori turned the corner and launched out across a field dotted along the edges with wild purple crocuses. “Be careful, there’s an irrigation ditch not far ahead. You’ll wreck your shoes if you fall in.”

  The girls jumped the ditch, shrieking and laughing, then raced across the weed-infested pasture. Tori slowed as she made her way down a narrow gravel road. After covering a block or so, she halted.

  “There she is.” Tori pointed toward a ramshackle, three-sided lean-to enclosed in a small paddock behind a single-story house. The open side of the lean-to faced the road, and a chestnut horse stood in the opening. The sun grazed her thick, dull coat as she poked her head outside.

  Kate placed her hands on top of the three-rail fence that surrounded an area as big as Tori’s house and yard but was completely bare of grass, except along the edges. “She’s eaten everything down to the dirt, and I don’t see any signs of hay.”

  “She’s pretty woolly, and her mane is a tangle of knots.” Tori leaned over the rail, peering at the horse.

  “Yeah. It’s early for her to shed out yet, but I can see her ribs even under that thick coat.” Kate placed her backpack on the middle rail and unzipped it. After grabbing the bag of carrots, she tossed the backpack on the short grass behind her. It looked like the horse had stuck her head through the rails and grazed as far as she could reach. “Come here, girl—if you are a girl, that is,” Kate crooned. She placed a carrot on her palm and extended it over the top rail. “I’ll bet you’re hungry. Want a treat?”

  The horse snuffed the air, her nostrils flaring, but didn’t budge from her station.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Tori took another carrot out of the bag where Kate had placed it and held the carrot out. “She’s not sick, is she?”

  “She doesn’t know us. She’s probably a little skittish. Give her time to get used to us. Talk soft and don’t make any sudden moves. I think she’ll come around.”

  They waited in silence, palms extended. Kate barely dared to breathe. Finally the mare dropped her head a little and inched forward. One step. Two. She halted and raised her head again, her eyes wide.

  Kate smiled. “I don’t think she’s been handled in a while, but she wants to trust us.”

  Tori giggled. “Or she wants the carrots.”

  Kate grinned. “That too. Look.”

  The horse edged closer and stretched her neck to its limit. Her lips twitched, and then she took another step and snatched the carrot from Kate’s palm and retreated. Munching so fast that Kate feared she would choke, the mare then moved toward Tori and snaked out her neck.

  Kate kept her arm extended through the bars and slipped next to Tori. As the horse stretched for the last carrot, Kate stretched a little farther and stroked the furry neck. The horse skittered sideways but quickly returned and grabbed the treat.

  Tori turned a glowing face to Kate. “Cool! She’s not running away.” Her words came out in a whisper. “Got any more carrots?”

  Kate plucked the bag from the ground and emptied it into her and Tori’s hands. This time the mare didn’t hesitate but moved forward as soon as they reached through the bars.

  Tori rubbed her damp hands on her jeans. “I wonder who owns her.”

  Kate stroked the mare’s face as she continued to sniff their arms for more carrots. “You don’t know who lives at that house?” She tipped her head toward the building on the far side of the lean-to.

  “Nope. No curtains at the windows and no car in the driveway either. Maybe nobody lives here.”

  Kate frowned and ran her fingers down the mare’s narrow white blaze, rubbing the soft hair under her forelock. “Do you think someone abandoned her?”

  “I don’t know, but we should ask around. My dad might be able to find out who owns the place. He knows a lot of people in Odell.”

  “Perfect. If someone dumped her off and isn’t taking care of her, maybe I can talk my parents into letting me take her home.”

  Kate hung her head and fought back the tears threatening to tumble from her eyes. After a minute, she lifted her chin and stared at her dad. “Would you at least try to find out who the horse belongs to?” Right now, the last thing she wanted to do was finish clearing the dishes from the dinner table like she’d been told.

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry, honey. I can ask around and hope we can help find a way to rescue the horse, but we’re not in a position yet to buy you one. I’ve only been on this new job a couple of weeks, and it’s going to take time for us to catch up.”

  “But I thought maybe for my birthday …” Kate hated that her voice cracked on the last word. She shouldn’t even have mentioned her birthday. The reminder would only make her parents feel worse than they did now. She could tell from Mom’s sad eyes and Dad’s worried expression that they wished they could do more. What had happened to their family wasn’t their fault, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. She’d set her heart on finding out if that mare had been abandoned and trying to adopt her. “But what if she’s free? Maybe nobody wants her.”

  Pete started to hum, and Kate winced. She shouldn’t have said that about nobody wanting the horse. Things like that often set Pete off. She stepped close to her little brother and lightly placed her arm around his shoulder, car
eful not to hug him tight. “Don’t worry, Pete. Everything’s okay.”

  He didn’t pull away. A good sign. And the rocking didn’t start. Kate sighed and took the last load of dirty dishes to the countertop next to the dishwasher.

  Mom set a mug of coffee on the kitchen table and sank into a chair. “Thanks, Kate. I know you want a horse, and you’re excited about the mare you and Tori found, but an animal like that isn’t going to be free. Even if she was, there’s still a saddle, the feed, hoof care, shots, and everything else that comes with properly caring for a horse. Maybe when you get older and can work part-time to help out …”

  Kate wilted. “At least we need to find out who owns her and make sure she gets fed. We can’t let her starve. If nobody cares about her, she could die.”

  Dad nodded. “I’ll ask around and see what I can find out. I wish we could get you a horse of your own, Kate. I’m not saying it won’t happen sometime, but not until money isn’t so tight. I’m sorry.”

  Kate straightened as hope returned. “Then I’ll find a job.” She smacked her forehead with the heel of her hand. “Why didn’t I think of that before?”

  Her dad glanced at her mother, who barely moved her head to the side. Dad cleared his throat. “You can’t get hired at a real job until you have a work permit, Kate, and that’s not until you’re fifteen.”

  “I could babysit. Kids my age do that all the time.”

  “We’d have to check into that. You’re still twelve, and I think you have to be older before you can legally care for a younger child who isn’t your brother or sister.”

  “I’ll be thirteen in a few days.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to keep the frustration from brimming over into her voice, but it was so not easy. Yet if she’d learned one thing in her almost thirteen years, it was that her parents expected respect. Especially if she hoped to get what she wanted. A twinge of guilt pricked. That might not be a great reason for treating them with respect. But with the frustration she was feeling right now, it was the best she could do.