A Star Discovered (7 page)

10

Bad News

THE RIDE HOME to Lucky Foot Stable in Willie’s pickup truck was much quieter than the ride to the show had been. Mary and
Jody spoke softly to each other about the judge’s comments, the good and bad qualities of the other yearlings at the show,
and about how surprisingly good Star’s behavior had been. But Willie was silent throughout the ride, lost in his own thoughts.
Mary was dying to ask what those thoughts might be, but somehow she knew it wasn’t the right time and that Willie would share
them when he was ready.

Finnegan was waiting in the driveway when the trio arrived home, and he greeted them by barking ecstatically and turning in
circles. Mary and Jody unloaded Star on the barn hill and took him to his stall, where they fawned over him and gave him pieces
of carrot for a treat. Then they flew out to the big pasture, Finnegan nipping at their heels, to tell Lady and Gypsy all
about the show. They found the two mares dozing under the weeping willow tree, switching flies with their tails.

“Lady! Look what Star won! You would have been so proud of your baby!” Jody yelled, running across the pasture waving Star’s
ribbons over her head. Lady, not the least bit impressed by this pronouncement, simply shook her head and began grazing. Jody
hugged Lady around the neck and Mary gave Gypsy a kiss on the end of her nose. Then the girls flopped down on the soft grass
beneath the tree as Finnegan rolled around on his back between them.

“Lad, the judge in the conformation class said that Star was going to grow into a fine looking horse,” Jody continued to Lady,
“and he asked me your name and the name of Star’s sire.”

“Did you tell him it was the Black Stallion?” Mary giggled.

“No, I was honest and said I didn’t know his name. We never did find out anything about his father after that day we saw him
at the show.”

“Wait, Jode, did you say the judge said he would be a fine looking
horse
?” Mary asked.

“Yes, he asked me how tall he was, and I said fourteen hands, and he said he would probably grow at least another hand or
so. So, Lady, he’ll be taller than you!”

“Well, his father was huge, remember? Or maybe we just thought he looked huge because he was rearing up and being so mean,”
Mary recalled.

As she made the comment, Mary happened to look toward the pasture gate where she saw Willie gesturing for the girls to come
over. Even from a distance, she could see he didn’t look very happy.

“Uh-oh, Jode, Willie wants us for some reason,” Mary said, bouncing up from the grass and pulling Jody up by the hand. “I
wonder what’s wrong.”

“I was wondering what was wrong the whole way home,” Jody said as they walked to the gate.

“Well, I don’t know, but there was this man at the show that was watching you and Star and talking to Willie about something,”
Mary said hesitantly.

Jody stopped in her tracks and turned to Mary. “Watching me and Star? What do you mean?”

“Well, he was just watching you in the show and nobody else. And he didn’t look too happy, and then he was talking to Willie
for a long time, and Willie wouldn’t let me listen . . .”

“Mary! Why didn’t you tell me this before? What did he want? What did he look like?” Jody said in a sudden panic.

“Well, I didn’t have a chance, and I don’t know what he wanted, and why are you getting so upset before you know what it’s
all about?”

“I don’t know, I just got a really bad feeling all of a sudden, that’s all,” Jody said. “We have to ask Willie!” And she took
off at a trot toward the gate with Finnegan right beside her.

“Wait, Jody, I think Willie will tell us soon enough,” Mary called after her. “You know he doesn’t like it when you ask him
questions. Let him tell us when he’s ready,” she continued wisely, picking up a trot herself to keep up with Jody.

By the time the girls reached the gate, Willie was tapping his foot impatiently and looking more unhappy than ever.

“Willie, what’s wrong?” Jody asked, fearful of what the answer might be.

“Well, why don’t you think a minute and tell
me
what’s wrong?” Willie answered, stone-faced.

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.