by Ann Hunter
Katie planted her forehead against a locker, hugging her books tightly.
“What was he talking about?”
“He’s going to…” Katie mumbled, “If I don’t—” She huffed, squeezing her eyelids tightly together. “It doesn’t matter.”
Although muddled inside, Alex didn’t want to push Katie. A silence walled up between them.
“You don’t have to be afraid of him.” Alex tentatively chucked her on the shoulder. “When I first started going here, he was bullying Carol. I put him in his place. That big guy getting taken down by a scrawny little girl was pretty much the talk of the town for, like, a month.”
“So you emasculated him in front of the entire school. Don’t you think that puts a target on your back?”
“Why would it? He’s nothing but a coward. Call his bluff, and he’ll go running with his tail between his legs like the dog he is.”
Alex ducked her chin, trying to make eye contact. “You know if you had anything you needed to say, you could tell me. Right?” She exhaled. “Secrets, and… stuff.”
Katie shook her head. “We’re late for track.”
She swallowed and pushed off from the locker, hurrying toward the gym, leaving Alex wondering what she had to hide.
HER BOYFRIEND
Alex shook her backpack off at the bottom of the stairs at home after school. Hillary was at the sink washing pots she’d used to prepare an early dinner. She’d been so busy these days, keeping any amount of normalcy for the family was more important than feeling sorry for herself.
Alex was about to start drying dishes for her when Laura and her boyfriend, Johnathan North, stumbled through the front door in an apparent mouth wrestling match of epic proportions. They giggled and stumbled, almost falling onto the stairs.
Hillary threw the dishtowel over her shoulder and grabbed the side-sprayer from the sink, hosing them across the kitchen. “I’d tell you to get a room if I thought it would help,” she quipped. “Break it up.”
Alex snorted behind her fist at the expression on Laura’s face; all damp, and drowning fish like. Johnathan laughed, grabbed Laura’s hand, and pulled her toward the den.
“Bible-width apart you two,” Hillary called after them.
To which Laura whined, “Maaaaawm.”
“Don’t make her come in with the hose again,” Alex chirped.
Hillary wound up the dishtowel and swatted Alex in the flank.
She squawked in surprise, jumping away. “What was that for, Missus Frisky?”
Hillary had a scowl on her face that blared you are not the mom, but saying it would not have helped the situation.
Alex put her fists to her waist. She got it. Hillary was under a lot of stress, but… “I’m the good guy here.”
Hillary opened a cupboard and grabbed a clean plate, passing it to Alex before leaning over a steaming pot on the stove. “Dish up.”
Alex kept her trap shut and did as she was asked, setting the table, and plating a dinner of spaghetti, chicken parmesan, and breadsticks.
Cade came in from work for the day, just as Johnathan excused himself for the evening. Laura looked all pouty when she sat at the table, watching her parents exchange a quick kiss and sit themselves down for dinner.
Alex and Laura glared at each other as Cade offered grace. There was something about a hot meal that always helped settle things in Alex, but she didn’t want to buy into this God thing. How could she when horses just kept getting sick? Where was He in all of this? And was Laura’s glower over John leaving early, or the fact that Alex refused to bow her head?
Laura was still giving her that look when Cade said Amen, and Alex had already spent the last part of prayer winding spaghetti onto her fork to shove into her mouth.
“What?” Alex asked, chewing her food.
Laura shook her head, as if she’d only been in a daze. She grabbed a breadstick and broke it in half. “Nothing.”
Alex shook it off, wanting to believe her. “When will Brooke and Mags be home?”
“Some time tomorrow morning,” Hillary answered. “I wish we could have gotten them here sooner, but Churchill Downs have been pretty strict on who comes and goes from the grounds lately with the Derby coming up. It was a wonder all the tape we had to cut through.”
Laura continued to glare at Alex.
Alex swallowed, glaring back. “What?”
A deadlock of silence creeped up from the floor to the ceiling. Like skipping stones on still water, something had to break the tension. Cade threw down his fork and knife, and wiped his face with his napkin. “Alright, girls. Spit it out.”
Normally they got along, but every once in a while the hydra of contention raised its many heads.
“Is this about John?” Alex asked. “It’s about John, isn’t it?”
She really didn’t like him. He had these moments of self-importance, like his father’s money gave him station in the world. And anyone who came across him in the barn got the grand propaganda schpiel of why North Oak was better than everyone else. He was all trash talk and lemon pie.
“How is it we can’t have a little fun, but Alex gets the run with Dejado?” Laura asked sourly.
Alex balked. “Say what?”
“Getting all cozy in the barn. Don’t think I don’t know.”
“Horses are getting sick left and right, and all you care about is boys?” Was this really what Laura had her unders in a knot over?
Laura folded her arms and clenched her teeth. The frown said it all. “If your priorities were straight, you’d spend more time at school and less time rolling in the hay.”
“Why, because there’s boys at school?” Alex couldn’t believe it, and yet she kinda could. She shot to her feet, pointing toward the door. “The only boys I care about live in that barn.”
Laura looked away, and something in Alex’s gut growled that this wasn’t about boys at all. What was it, then? What had they always talked about whenever they sat at this table? She wracked her brain, and it wasn’t until she noticed Laura’s plate devoid of chicken parmesan that it occurred to her. “You’re failing, aren’t you? You’re spending all your time with John instead of working at getting into Harvard? Maybe it’s you who has their priorities all screwy.”
Cade shot to his feet. “Enough!”
He looked between his girls, perfectly still.
Hillary cleared her throat. “Laura, did your letter come?”
Everyone looked at Laura, waiting.
She stared down into her lap. Nobody needed to say what was silent; A rejection letter from Harvard. Getting accepted was all Laura had talked about for a year.
Alex placed her hands on the table and leaned forward. “I get to live in the barn because I have no academic ambition and you’re jealous. That’s what you think.” Having lost her appetite, she crossed to the door. “Okay, Harvard. When Brooke gets home, I hope you’ve got your own priorities right. Because you’re going to be needed by your best friend, and not some dumb boy. And Harvard needs you too.”
“Where are you going?” Cade asked.
Alex shut the door firmly behind her. “To see my boyfriend.”
She stormed toward the quarantine barn, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. She hated bickering with Laura, but she hoped her older sister would see light. Laura had her heart set on pursuing a law degree, until she lost herself in dating North’s son. Alex wondered if he even wanted her to chase her dream, or if he was just into her because… well, hormones and penises. He had once told her he loved Laura, scared of losing her even. She was all wrapped up in him now.
Alex sighed when she saw Carol by Promenade’s stall. How could she hang on to anything that bothered her when ol’Violet-eyes was around? But someone else stepped out from behind Carol.
“Sorry. She really wanted to see you.”
Katie gazed back at Alex, as Alex went into Promenade’s stall. “Hi,” Alex said, too frazzled to muster much excitement. She watched Katie’s expression turn from hope
ful to worried.
“Is that Promenade?” Katie asked.
Alex ran her fingers through his pale mane, trying to smile. “Yeah.”
“Can I say hello to him?”
Alex tucked her lip. “It’s probably best you don’t touch him. Maybe another time?”
Katie glanced away. “Oh.”
There was an awkward silence between them. Alex looked to Carol, hoping she’d give a hint on what to say.
Carol cleared her throat. “Katie thought maybe the two of you could go for a run. Clear your head.”
Alex looked back to Promenade. “I— I can’t.”
Carol let herself into the stall. She got close enough to Alex to murmur into her ear, “I really think you need a break.”
“Can’t you show her around the farm or something?” Alex hissed.
“If it’s Promenade you’re worried about, I can stay with him.” Carol squeezed Alex’s arm. “Aren’t you dying to live? Even a little bit?”
Alex shut her eyes, biting her lip. She hated when Carol was right.
“You’re drowning,” Carol whispered. “Time to come up for air.”
Alex looked at her, then to Katie. Carol bumped into Alex softly.
“Go on.”
Alex sighed, then stepped forward. “C’mon.”
Once outside of North Oak, Alex pointed into the distance. “There’s a farm down the road. We could run there and back.”
Katie tightened her laces. “Okay.”
They started at a jog, and while Alex’s mind lingered on Carol and Promenade, it soon started to focus on the run. She took in the high trees that seemed to go on forever, hugging both sides of the highway. She began to wonder why she’d never done this before.
Katie kept stride with her, matching her breathing. There was something about it that was cathartic. Almost like being on North Oak’s training track for morning workouts. The way hearts and breaths synched as Alex rode.
Matter of fact, Alex was pretty sure this was the first time she’d actually set foot on the road. Before, it had always been riding the bus, or heading into town with Cade. She realized she wasn’t being chased by her own personal demons either. It was freeing.
When they reached the outskirts of the neighboring farm, breathless and glowing, Alex pointed out the farmer’s piglets in the distance.
“Baby bacons!”
“Did you really just go there?” Katie asked.
“Yeah, bacon’s delicious. Don’t you eat hog?”
“No, turkey bacon.”
Alex’s face went askew. “What are you, some kinda vegan?”
Katie stuck out her tongue. “Turkey bacon’s not vegan.”
“You should meet my sister, Laura. Oh, she’d loooove you. She’s convinced she’s going to Harvard because she doesn’t eat meat.”
Katie snorted a laugh.
“Should we head back?” Alex asked.
Katie leaned forward on the fence, staring into the distance. Alex figured that was a no. She leaned beside her, catching her breath, and allowing herself to take in the scenery. She looked at Katie.
“We should do this more often.”
A smile played at the corner of Katie’s mouth. “I’d like that.”
She turned her head to Alex. The look Katie gave her was familiar and overwhelming all at once. “Do you, uh… have a boyfriend?”
Alex looked at her funny. “Yeah, he’s dark, handsome.” She grabbed a breath, raising her hand to about as high as Promenade’s shoulder. “Yea tall.”
Katie giggled as she caught on.
“Super athletic,” Alex added.
Maybe it was the run that pinked Katie’s cheeks.
Alex swatted Katie in the arm, dashing off to avoid dealing with more emotion than she had courage to face right now.
“Race ya back.”
***
Watching Morning Glory back off the trailer was painful to see. She’d lost tone in her hind end muscles quickly, and her gait was wobbly at best.
Brooke turned the filly around. Neither of them held their head high. Brooke kept her hand on Mag’s neck, and Alex noticed the same wince from Brooke that she had done each time she’d found another North Oak horse with a fever.
Alex had never seen either of them worse.
They followed Hillary to the far end of the quarantine barn, where Morning Glory could be stabled several stalls away from Promenade, so as not to make things worse.
As Mags passed Promenade, he whickered to her. Alex smiled with the hope that it really meant he was getting better. She went with Brooke, waiting outside the stall as Hillary ran a quick exam on Morning Glory. Alex folded her arms, and bowed her head, pretending not to hear the words they exchanged quietly. She offered a smile to Hillary as she made her way out, then turned to Brooke.
Alex wanted to say something nice like welcome home, or tell a joke to ease the mood. Neither felt right. Brooke stood with her arms around her filly’s neck grimly.
Alex knew that look. She’d stood with Promenade where Brooke was standing with Mags. Honesty seemed like a good place to start.
“I’ve been where you are.” Alex took a deep breath, hoping it was the right thing to say. “I know the sleepless nights you’re facing, and the heartache. I think it’s one of the hardest things I’ve been through.”
Brooke nodded slowly. “That’s a lot, coming from you.”
“It super sucks,” Alex admitted. She glanced in the direction of Promenade’s stall. The colt eyed her from down the aisle. Alex scuffed her toe against the ground. “But I think there’s light at the end.”
Brooke rubbed Mag’s face gently. “Here’s hoping.”
EPIDEMIC
That night in Promenade’s stall, Alex fell asleep on Dejado’s shoulder again. Ever the gentleman, he kept his hands to himself. What woke her was a thumping noise close by.
She opened her eyes, aware of this awkward closeness. Dejado was still asleep. Alex wondered if he had a crick in his neck like she did. The thump drew her gaze to the corner of the stall. Promenade was on his feet, face deep in his feed bucket.
Alex busted out into a grin. She moved to him so quickly, Dejado fell over.
“Bloody Hell,” he muttered, rubbing his neck.
Alex ran her fingers through Promenade’s mane. His coat felt cool beneath her touch. Her heart swelled. “Hey, boy. You hungry?”
“Well, yeah, I’d love some black and white,” Dejado said.
Alex looked over her shoulder. “Not you.”
“Kippers then.” He grinned at her ruefully.
“What is it with you and weirdo stuff?”
Alex hurried to the feed room with Promenade’s bucket to spill a scoop or two of grain into it. When she brought it back to him, he was already at the stall door waiting for it.
He dove into the bucket, making it super hard for Alex to hang it back up where it belonged. Dejado got to his feet, reaching for the bucket.
“Here, let me.”
He took it from her arms, and coaxed the colt to the corner, all the while being mauled by a very hungry equine teenager.
Alex actually giggled. Girlie-like and everything. She bit into her knuckle just as Dejado dusted off his hands.
Promenade polished off the offering just as fast as a racer fresh from a workout. Alex couldn’t help but run her hands over his body. Was she dreaming, or was he really on the mend?
Right on cue, Hillary showed up. She was nose deep in a manila folder when she looked up.
Alex hoisted a thumb in the colt’s direction. “He barreled through it.”
Promenade rattled his bucket, searching for more.
Hillary’s face lit with surprise. She seemed to struggle for words. “That’s excellent.”
“He’s cooled down a lot, too,” Alex informed her.
Hillary looked between Alex and Dejado. “And you two are… warming up?”
Dejado rubbed the back of his neck, blushing.
Alex rolled her eyes, sputtering, “Please.”
Hillary watched Dejado leave, as he promised to bring Alex some breakfast.
“I just got blood work back from the vet at Churchill,” Hillary said. “Morning Glory has the same strain of EHV that came out of Oaklawn. They’re lucky they caught it so soon. It would be catastrophic if Churchill Downs got shut down right before the Kentucky Derby.”
“What happens now?” Alex patted Promenade’s hip. “Is it safe to quarantine her with Promenade?”
“Comparing her panel with his, they’re very similar.” Hillary smiled at the colt, obviously feeling encouraged by seeing him up and more active. “I think we have a shot to set her right.”
Knowing Promenade was in good hands during the day made going to school a little easier on Alex. At least she was able to focus on her work. When she got home, the quarantine barn was the first place she visited.
She let herself into Promenade’s stall and fed him baby carrots, and gave him a good dose of scritches all over his body. He still seemed to be getting better, and Hillary had said with symptoms subsiding, he could possibly return to regular training in twenty days or so. In the meanwhile, Alex could start hand walking him around the quarantine barn lawns.
She grabbed a leadline and clipped it to his halter, leading him out into the mid-April sunshine. She kept a firm hold of him, until they got to the edge of the grass where she let him have more length. He dropped his head and cropped the bluegrass. Sunlight glinted off his white tail as it swished at a fly.
It was nice to feel like there was some sense of peace again. A knot between Alex’s shoulders eased. Life would regain normalcy soon.
While he was at it, Promenade dropped to his knees and had a good roll. Belly up, he sort of looked like a bizarre chocolate sundae, with his long legs kicking and curling close to him in a whirl of white. He braced himself when he rose, planting all four feet in a splayed rectangle, and shook like a dog out of water.
Alex smiled. “We good?”
The colt blinked at her, yawning. They headed back into the barn. Promenade nickered to Chauncey in the stall across the aisle from him, but Chauncey just stood with his head in the corner away from them. Alex chewed her lip, worried for him.