Chasing Gold

by Catherine Hapka

  For a second Haley wanted to tell them to move the crate up to her room. But she kept quiet, deciding they were right. Bandit would want to be in the center of the action, and that was the kitchen.

  The boys and Uncle Mike carried Bandit carefully into the house and set him down in front of the large wire dog crate. “Can he walk?” Danny asked, staring at the cast and splint.

  “Doc said he’ll be able to hobble around a bit,” Uncle Mike said.

  “We’re not supposed to let him move around much at first, though,” Haley added. “Just enough to go out and do his business and stretch his muscles. We should get him into the crate now so he can lie down.”

  Bandit was staring around the kitchen with interest. He’d been in the house before, of course—all the dogs and most of the cats came in during blizzards and other bad weather. But it had been a while, and he seemed suspicious of the crate, stretching his neck to sniff at the open door while standing back from it as far as possible.

  “Go on in, Bandit. It’s nice and cozy for you, see?” Haley patted the folded blanket the boys had put in the crate for him to lie on. Beside the blanket were a water dish and a plate of kibble.

  Haley gave the dog a gentle shove to get him started, and Bandit limped into the crate, sniffing at the food. Jake swung the door shut and latched it.

  Bandit whined, turning around and pressing his long muzzle against the door.

  “Sorry, buddy,” Haley said. “I know it’ll drive you crazy to be stuck in there. But it’s for your own good.” She stuck her fingers through the wire, stroking his soft fur.

  “How long does he have to stay in there?” Danny asked.

  Uncle Mike shrugged. “Doc said it’ll take several weeks for Bandit’s leg and hip to heal well enough for him to go outside again.”

  “But the important thing is, he will heal,” Haley added, smiling as the dog licked her fingers. “Bandit will be as good as new eventually.”

  Aunt Veronica patted Haley’s head. “By the way, in case we forgot to say it before, we’re proud of you for the decision you made, Haley,” she said. “It can’t have been easy.”

  “Oh, it was easy.” Haley stood up, watching as Bandit sniffed his water. “I mean, what else could I do? It’s just too bad . . .”

  She let her voice trail off. Why dwell?

  Her uncle cleared his throat. “We’re sorry we can’t help you out with the clinic fee, Haley,” he said. “Normally we’d make sure you could still go, let you pay us back or whatnot. It’s just not a good time right now.”

  “I know,” Haley said quickly. “And it’s okay. But thanks.”

  She turned away, not wanting them to see her face. As hard as she was trying to move on, forget about that clinic, she was still upset about it. But she didn’t want them to think she was upset with them for not being able to loan her the money. Because she wasn’t, not at all. The only one she was upset with was herself. She’d made a stupid mistake, and Bandit had almost paid with his life. She couldn’t blame anyone else for this.

  But I’ll get over it, she told herself, kneeling down to give Bandit another scratch through the wire. Another clinic will come along. Someday. Maybe.

  Haley knew she needed to call and cancel for the clinic. Somehow, though, as Tuesday turned into Wednesday, she found it impossible to pick up the phone and actually do it. She couldn’t quite face that final step just yet.

  By the time she got home from school on Wednesday afternoon, though, she knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. That wouldn’t be fair to the organizers. There was a wait list for riding spots, and they’d be able to find someone to take her place easily enough as long as they had adequate notice. She had to call and tell them she wasn’t coming—today.

  Haley went upstairs and closed her bedroom door behind her. Pulling out her phone, she sat on the edge of her bed and stared at it. Why couldn’t things have worked out differently? She’d worked so hard, gone through so much to earn her spot in the clinic. And all it had taken was one careless moment to see her dreams dashed.

  She glanced at her laptop, lying on the desk nearby. She hadn’t so much as peeked at the Pony Post since posting her news on Monday. Even seeing her friends’ words of sympathy and support just seemed too hard right now. Maybe she should be grateful that Tracey and Emma already seemed to have forgotten about it. At least that meant she didn’t have to talk about it much.

  Leaning forward, she touched the laptop cover, tempted to log on now. Maybe her friends could help her figure out how to tell the organizers she was out.

  “Don’t be silly,” she said to herself out loud, sitting back. “I can do this. I have to do this.”

  Not giving herself a chance to waver again, she yanked the clinic flyer off her bulletin board. There was a phone number listed there along with the other contact info, and Haley punched in the numbers as fast as she could, then pressed the phone to her ear, taking a deep breath. It rang three times, and then someone picked up.

  “Hello?” a woman’s voice said, sounding slightly breathless.

  “Hi,” Haley said. “Um, I’m calling about the Zina Charles clinic?”

  “This is Zina. How can I help you?”

  Haley gulped. She hadn’t been expecting Zina Charles to answer the phone herself!

  “I—oh! I mean, um . . .” She paused, taking another deep breath. She couldn’t believe she was actually talking to Zina Charles! “Sorry, um, I didn’t think you’d be the one to answer.”

  Zina’s chuckle tickled Haley’s ear. “Yes, it’s me. And you are?”

  “Oh!” Haley felt her cheeks go red and was glad that Zina couldn’t see her. “Um, I’m Haley. Haley Duncan?”

  “Haley!” Zina sounded delighted. “I’m glad you called. I meant to call you an hour ago, but my big doofus of a gelding managed to pull a shoe, and I’ve been trying to reach the farrier and just forgot about everything else. Horses! You know how it is.” She laughed.

  Haley blinked, feeling confused. “Uh—what?”

  “Sorry, I’m rambling, aren’t I? I do that.” Zina chuckled again. “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, your friends got in touch yesterday and told me what happened. Is your dog okay?”

  “My dog?” Haley echoed, more confused than ever now. What friends was Zina talking about? Had Tracey called Zina for some reason? She knew it couldn’t have been Emma, who had a near phobia about talking to unfamiliar people on the phone. . . . “Um, he’s going to be fine. Thanks.”

  “I’m a dog lover too, you know,” Zina said cheerfully. “Always have a pack running around the barn underfoot! I’d be heartbroken if anything happened to any of the little twerps. So of course when your friends told me about the accident—”

  “My friends?” Haley said, her mind spinning as she tried to keep up with Zina’s torrent of words. “Which friends?”

  “Oh! Well, it was a girl named Nina who e-mailed me. Then I spoke to a Maddie on the phone . . .”

  Now things were starting to make more sense. Haley glanced at her laptop again, suddenly wishing she’d logged on to the Pony Post after all. She had the distinct feeling she might have missed something important.

  “Am I talking too fast and mixing things up?” Zina asked. “I do that. Sorry! Anyway, your friend Maddie explained about the surgery and the money and how hard you’ve been working and all that. She talks almost as fast as I do, actually—could hardly get a word in edgewise!” She laughed again. “She and your other friends were already coming up with plans to send me the money in installments and all sorts of other stuff. Took me three or four tries to get through to her and tell her I had a better idea.”

  “You—you did?” Haley pressed the phone to her ear, still totally confused, but also touched and amazed that her Pony Post friends had gone to so much effort to try to help.

  “Yes,” Zina went on. “See, nobody gets anywhere in this sport on their own, right? I had some super-generous people who helped me out along the way, especially
in the early days when I was struggling to get my first horse past training level. I’ve never forgotten about that, and I believe in paying it forward.”

  “Paying it forward?” Haley echoed, feeling a glimmer of hope well up inside her.

  “That’s why I’m making you an offer,” Zina said. “If you’re willing to get there early and stay late and work really hard in between, you can keep your spot in the clinic. No charge.”

  Haley couldn’t believe her ears. “Can you repeat that, please?”

  “I said, you’re in,” Zina said. “You can still ride in the clinic. If you’re interested, that is.”

  “Are you serious? Of course I’m interested! I’ll do it!” Haley exclaimed.

  “Make sure you know what you’re accepting, Haley.” Zina’s tone was serious, though there was a hint of a smile in it. “I’m not kidding about the hard work. There’s going to be a ton to do, and I need someone who’s willing to do it all—jump crew, gopher, groom, manure removal specialist, whatever.”

  “I’ll do it!” Haley echoed, a smile spreading across her face. “I’ll do anything, I swear!”

  “Good.” Zina sounded pleased. “I’ll text you the details later. By the way, I can’t wait to meet your pony. I rode a Chincoteague once in a lesson barn, and of course I read Misty of Chincoteague and all those other books over and over again as a kid.”

  “Me too.” Haley glanced across the room at her bookshelf, where her favorite horse novels held a place of honor on the top shelf.

  “Listen, I’ve got to go, I think that’s the farrier on the other line. But I’ll see you Saturday, right?” Zina said. “I’ll e-mail you later to confirm times and stuff.”

  “Yes! Okay. See you then. Oh! And thanks so much! This is going to be amazing!”

  “You’re welcome. Bye, Haley.”

  “Bye.” Haley hung up, still hardly believing this was happening—that her dream was going to come true after all. And she had her Pony Post friends to thank for it! With a smile, she wondered who had come up with the idea of contacting Zina directly. Probably Nina—she wasn’t afraid of talking to anyone, plus she met famous and successful people all the time, thanks to her parents’ cool careers. Then again, maybe it had been Maddie, who wasn’t exactly shy herself and was the type of person to jump right in and try to fix things. Or maybe Brooke? She was a lot quieter than the other two, but she was smart and good at seeing possibilities that other people might miss.

  It probably doesn’t even matter, Haley told herself. The important thing is, they came through for me. All three of them. And I’m never ever going to forget it! She knew she should sign on and start thanking them immediately. But she was so excited and happy and filled with energy that she wasn’t sure she could sit still right then. Besides, there was someone else who needed to hear the news. . . .

  Five minutes later she was ducking between the fence boards of the pasture. She raced over to Wings, who was dozing with the other horses in the shade of the pines along the fence line.

  “Wings, guess what?” Haley cried, flinging her arms around his neck. “It’s back on, buddy! We’re going to that clinic!”

  CHAPTER

  12

  “IS THIS IT?” UNCLE MIKE leaned forward over the steering wheel, peering at a sign looming out of the early-morning fog.

  “That’s it!” Haley bounced on the truck’s passenger seat, wide awake despite the early hour. She glanced back at the trailer bumping along behind them. “Thanks again for skipping your fishing meeting to drive me to the clinic, Uncle Mike.”

  He glanced over. “Welcome. Wouldn’t trust anyone else to get that pony of yours here in one piece.”

  Haley smiled at him, knowing there was more to it than that. Her entire family was being so great she could hardly stand it. The boys had woken up early to help her load her tack trunk into the truck and Wings into the trailer, promising to take care of all her chores while she was away.

  “You don’t even have to pay us,” Danny had added with a yawn.

  The host farm was a fancy place with two large barns, a separate dressage court, an indoor ring, and a huge all-weather jumping ring. Behind all that, Haley knew, an extensive cross-country course wound its way through the hills and fields. The farm hosted several recognized events per season, and Haley hoped that one day she and Wings would be good enough to compete there.

  “Looks like this is the place,” Uncle Mike commented, pulling up beside several other rigs. Most of them included large, fancy goosenecks or gleaming aluminum trailers with dressing rooms. But there were a couple of other more humble setups like their own, too. Beside one of them, a willowy teenage girl was brushing a pretty gray mare. When Haley hopped out of the cab of the truck, the teen glanced over, smiled, and waved before returning to her grooming.

  Haley waved back, then hurried around to check on Wings. Moments later she was leading him into one of the barns, following the directions of a harried-seeming young man with a clipboard.

  Soon she’d settled the pony in his temporary stall with a hay net she’d brought from home. When she emerged, the young man was rushing past, carrying a bucket.

  “Um, is Zina around?” Haley called to him. “I should probably check in with her.”

  “You can sign in out by the ring.” The man sounded distracted, verging on annoyed. “The secretary will take your check and get you your info packet.”

  “Wait—but Zina told me I should find her as soon as I got here.” Haley was a little intimidated by the man’s brisk manner, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. “Um, I’m Haley?”

  “Haley?” Suddenly the young man’s entire demeanor changed. He smiled at Haley, still looking harried but now also relieved. “Why didn’t you say so? Thank goodness you’re here! Here—take this to Zina.” He shoved the bucket at her. “She’s up at the house.”

  Haley hurried toward the large, imposing brick house behind the barn, following the sound of voices to a propped-open door leading into a spacious country kitchen. Inside, Zina was leaning against the counter sipping coffee and talking to several other adults. She looked just like she did in all the pictures and videos Haley had seen of her. She was around thirty, with dark-brown hair pulled back from her round, cheerful face in a short ponytail. Her boots and breeches were clean, but there was a smudge of dirt beneath one eye and several pieces of hay in her hair.

  “Haley!” Zina exclaimed when Haley introduced herself. “I’m so glad you’re here! Guys, this is the girl I told you about.”

  The other adults surveyed Haley with interest. Most of them looked like riders too. They ranged in age from slightly younger than Zina to almost as old as Haley’s grandparents. Zina introduced them, talking so fast that Haley only caught about half the names and forgot even those almost immediately. She settled for smiling and saying hello, and that seemed to be fine.

  “Okay, let’s get started.” Zina set down her coffee cup and clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Ready to work, Haley?”

  “Ready!” Haley said with a smile.

  The next hour or two passed in a crazy, confusing, strenuous, wonderful rush. Haley stayed busy helping horses and riders settle in, finding lost bits of tack, hauling hay and water around, picking out stalls, running paperwork back and forth to the house, and fetching coffee.

  The clinic was divided into three different sets of riders grouped by experience. Each group would spend almost three hours with Zina, learning more about dressage, show jumping, and cross-country in turn. The first group was the most experienced, and the horses and riders took Haley’s breath away as they warmed up for their dressage lesson.

  “Haley!” The harried young man, whose name Haley had learned was Archie, rushed up to her. “More coffee.”

  “Got it.” Haley sprinted toward the house, returning moments later with a travel mug of steaming-hot coffee.

  Zina was already in the ring, watching the riders warm up. “You’re a lifesaver!” she
exclaimed, reaching for the mug. “It’d be awfully embarrassing if I fell asleep during the first session.”

  Several of the riders were close enough to hear her and chuckle. Haley laughed too. “What do you need me to do now?” she asked Zina.

  “Catch your breath and watch for a bit, why don’t you,” Zina suggested. “Keep an eye on the woman on the big chestnut over there—she’s ridden with me before, and they really know their stuff. Used to compete in straight dressage before they got bored with that and joined the dark side.”

  Haley nodded. “Are you sure? I’m supposed to be working to earn my spot, so . . .”

  “Don’t worry.” Zina chuckled. “You’ll be back to work soon enough. But I always learned almost as much by watching as by riding myself, eh?”

  Haley nodded and smiled her thanks. Zina took a sip of her coffee, then strode to the center of the ring and called for attention.

  “All right, everyone, welcome!” she said loudly. “If everyone’s warmed up, let’s get this party started. . . .”

  “Excellent!” Zina exclaimed as a stout woman on an even stouter Morgan cross mare sailed over a vertical jump made up of red-and-white-striped rails. The intermediate group was halfway through its show jumping session. “Now let’s put the final element up a couple of holes and try it again, everyone. Haley?”

  “Got it!” Haley sprang into action, rushing over from her spot on the rail. She quickly adjusted the fence, pulling out the jump pins that held the cups in place on the standards and replacing them two holes higher. Then she stepped back as Zina signaled for the first rider in line to begin.

  Haley had no idea what time it was, though Archie had shoved a sandwich and a soda into her hand sometime between the intermediates’ dressage and show jumping sessions. She had gulped down the food as fast as she could and gone right back to work, setting up the gymnastic exercise Zina had described to her. Her mind was buzzing with everything she’d learned so far just by watching the other riders between tasks. Seeing the advanced group on cross-country had been amazing! Zina had driven herself and Haley out there in a golf cart, and Haley had been in charge of stomping down any divots the horses’ hooves left in the carefully manicured turf.