Sapphire: New Horizons
Page 12
They passed Trooper’s old stall, and she gave it a small salute. No matter what happened, it had been the right decision.
Sapphire gave her a hard nudge, and she fell on her butt.
He gazed down at her, his nostrils flaring and his ears pricked forward in a completely innocent look, as if he had no idea how she’d wound up on the floor.
Emily laughed and patted his blaze as he snuffled her jeans for food. “I’ll miss you, you know. A ton.”
Her throat tightened, and she shook it off as she pulled herself to her feet and grabbed the end of the sweatshirt. “But first, we need to get you a real lead shank. You’re way too beautiful to be led around by a sweatshirt.”
He followed her happily down the aisle, and she knew that they would be friends for life, no matter where he went.
And she’d miss him forever.
Emily took her time cleaning up Sapphire, knowing it was her last time with him. She was determined to enjoy every last second until he was whisked away. Over three hours later, with Sapphire properly cross-tied and his leg wrapped to keep it from swelling again, Emily was humming to herself and carefully untangling his tail with her hands, one strand at a time, when she felt someone watching her.
She glanced up, then tensed when she realized Aunt Debby was standing in the doorway of the stall, watching her, her face a mask.
Emily caught her breath, then pulled her shoulders back and faced her aunt. “I understand that I broke the rules by riding Sapphire down here, and I know you’re going to sell him to Black Dog Farms because of what I did.” Her voice broke slightly, and she cleared her throat and continued. “I’m sorry I broke the rules, but I knew when I did it what would happen. I…” Her throat tightened up and she had difficulty finishing. “I know you probably want me to say I realize it was wrong, but I would do it again. I owed it to Trooper and I accept the consequences. I’ll miss Sapphire, but it’s how it has to be, and I know that.” She cleared her throat again, digging her fingernails into her palms to keep from crying.
Aunt Debby crooked her finger. “Come with me.”
Emily swallowed and unhooked Sapphire from the cross ties, then carefully shut and locked the door behind her. She limped along after Aunt Debby, trying to will herself to stay calm. Was she going to get yelled at?
Aunt Debby stopped in the corner, next to the biggest stall in the barn, the one that was actually a double stall. She pointed at the door. “Open it and go inside.”
Emily frowned and hobbled over to the door and unlocked it. She pulled it open, then gasped at what she saw.
Precious was standing in the corner, looking exhausted but radiant…and by her back legs was a chestnut foal with an adorable white moon shape on his brow.
Emily dropped to her knees, holding her hands to her chest. “She had her baby!”
Aunt Debby smiled. “She did.”
“He’s beautiful!”
The foal lifted his head to look at Emily, his dark eyes brimming with intelligence. His tiny feet were splayed wide as he tried to keep his balance, and his little tail flicked back and forth. His little pink nostrils flared as he tried to figure out what Emily was. “I can’t believe how small he is. He’s a perfect miniature horse.”
“Isn’t he?” Aunt Debby squatted beside her, her face glowing as she gazed at the baby. “He’s completely healthy.”
“He looks like Trooper, doesn’t he?”
“I thought so, too. What do you think of naming him Trooper Jr., T.J. for short?”
Emily laughed as T.J. tried to take a step and nearly fell down. “I think it’s perfect. Are we going to keep him?”
“You bet. T.J.’s home will be here forever. Your dad said he’s giving T.J. to you.”
Emily’s throat tightened. “Really? To me? Why?”
“Because you saved him today.” Aunt Debby set her hand on her shoulder. “Emily.”
Emily bit her lower lip and looked at her aunt, trying not to cry. “What?”
“Precious was in trouble when we got out there. If you hadn’t gotten to us so quickly, they both might have died.” Aunt Debby smiled, her face the kindest Emily had ever seen. “I saw the UTV in the ditch and realized what happened. That was quick thinking to ride Sapphire back.”
“It was the only thing I could think of.”
“And you know that because you did it, I’m going to sell him.”
Tears stung Emily’s eyes, but she nodded.
“And you did it anyway?”
“I had to.”
Aunt Debby gave her a thoughtful look. “You did have to. I agree.”
She fell silent, and Emily looked back at T.J., smiling when he nuzzled his mommy’s belly, looking for a snack. “It was worth it,” Emily whispered.
Aunt Debby said nothing, and they sat there in the stall for the longest time, watching T.J’.s first moments of life, laughing at his attempts to walk, smiling when Precious gave him a bath with her huge pink tongue.
Finally Aunt Debby turned back toward Emily. “Okay, Emily, you had your chance.”
She looked at her aunt in confusion. “Chance for what?”
“To beg me not to sell Sapphire. To try to justify what you did. To give me excuses. But you haven’t.”
Emily stared at her aunt, her heart sinking. Had she blown it by not asking? “But—”
“You knew the repercussions, and you made the choice anyway. You chose saving Precious over your own love for Sapphire, and you didn’t try to get out of the consequences.” Aunt Debby smiled and ruffled Emily’s hair. “You put Precious’s needs above your own, and that’s what being on a farm is all about. It was the right decision, and it was a mature one. I’m proud of you.”
A warm feeling spread over Emily at the look of approval on her aunt’s face. “Really?”
“Really. Which is why I’m not going to sell Sapphire.”
Emily stared at her aunt in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”
“Today you showed me a maturity that I’ve been looking for. Sapphire stays. You can’t ride him yet, but you can take care of him.”
Hope flared deep inside Emily, but she was afraid to believe it. Afraid to open her heart again. “You mean it? You really mean it?”
Aunt Debby laughed. “I really mean it, and I don’t joke around when it comes to my horses.”
Elation swept through Emily, and she squealed and threw her arms around her aunt’s neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Her aunt hugged her back. “You deserve it, Emily. You did great today, and you saved the lives of both Precious and T.J.”
Emily released her aunt and grinned at her. “This is the best day ever.”
“Because of Sapphire?”
She swept her arm out to indicate Precious and T.J. “Because of all of it. Because this place is the best place in the world.”
Aunt Debby beamed at her. “Isn’t it? I feel the same way.” She raised her brows. “Does that mean you’re going to stay around for a while?”
Emily grinned. “I don’t know yet, but it’s a definite maybe.” She hopped to her feet. “Can I go tell Sapphire the good news?”
“Do whatever you want. He’s yours to take care of.”
Emily hooted with joy and skipped all the way down the aisle, her cast clunking on the cement. “Oh, Sapphire,” she called out, “I have good news!”
He popped his head out the door and pricked his ears toward her.
Waiting for her.
She stopped in front of him and set her hands on her hips. “Just so you know, I love you.”
He snorted, and she knew he was telling her that he loved her, too.
Read all the books in the
RUNNING HORSE RIDGE series
1
Sapphire: New Horizons
2
Hercules: A Matter of Trust
About the Author
HEATHER BROOKS loves horses and the outdoors. She says that nothing can compare to
galloping free over open range—except maybe writing a perfect sentence. She has been riding all her life, and especially enjoys eventing (a sport that includes cross country, show jumping, and dressage). Heather is also passionate about equine rescue, and many of the equine characters in the Running Horse Ridge books are inspired by real rescued horses.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Credits
Cover photo © 2009 Arctic-Images/Corbis
Lettering and logo illustration by Leah Palmer Preiss
Cover design by Amy Ryan
Copyright
RUNNING HORSE RIDGE #1: SAPPHIRE: NEW HORIZONS. Copyright © 2009 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition SEPTEMBER 2009 ISBN: 9780061971754
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