Broken Horse Read Online Free Page B

we’ve done for her has made no difference at all. She still looks awful.”
    Stevie put an arm around her friend’s shoulders and drew her inside. “Don’t worry, Lisa,” she said. “Judy said it would take time, remember?”
    “That’s right,” Carole put in. “Medical miracles don’t happen in an evening, you know. You have to give her time to heal. With a safe place to recover and good people helping her, she’ll get better. But Judy’s right. It takes time.”
    “Sal had time,” Lisa said. “He didn’t get better.”
    Stevie and Carole exchanged glances. “We can’t think like that,” Stevie said sternly. “We have to believe in her. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
    Lisa didn’t reply. She just shrugged again.
    Stevie decided it was time to change the subject. “Carole and I were starving, so we already ate. Do you want a piece of pizza? I’ll heat one up for you.”
    “No thanks,” Lisa said. “I’m not really hungry.”
    Carole could tell that nothing they said was going to make Lisa feel better. It had been a long day, and they were all tired. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m exhausted,” she said. “Maybe we should just call it a day.”
    Stevie and Lisa agreed, and the three girls went upstairs and straight to bed.

L ISA FELT A LITTLE better the next morning, and right after breakfast The Saddle Club headed to CARL to check on the mare. When Mrs. Lake dropped them off, the girls hurried over to the corral. The mare was there, standing in the middle of the small bleating herd of sheep and goats, her head hanging low. It was immediately clear to all three girls that her condition hadn’t changed.
    Carole bit her lip. “I hoped a good night’s rest would help. But she doesn’t look any better, does she?”
    “Not really.” Stevie paused as a dog started barking loudly from somewhere inside the CARL building. When the barking stopped, she continued. “And no wonder. Could you get a good night’s rest around here? I wonder if it’s this noisy at night.”
    Meanwhile Lisa was perched on the lowest rung of the corral’s fence. The mare had lifted her head a fraction and was watching the girl suspiciously. When Lisa leaned forward a little, the horse shuffled back a few steps until she was pressed against the far fence.
    Lisa hopped down from the fence and rejoined her friends. “She really distrusts people,” she said. “That hasn’t changed a bit, either.”
    “We’ve got to have a plan,” Stevie said. “This definitely qualifies as a Saddle Club project. What can we do to help this mare get better?”
    Lisa watched as a small black goat wandered by a little too close to the mare. The horse turned her head and nipped at it, sending it scurrying across the corral. “I think the first thing we have to do is convince Judy that the mare would be better off in a private stall at Pine Hollow, with us taking care of her,” she said.
    “What a great idea!” Stevie said.
    Carole nodded, but before she could speak the girls heard footsteps approaching. They turned and saw Nicholas coming toward them from the direction of the CARL building.
    “Hi,” he greeted them. “You’re here early today.” He glanced at the mare. “Checking on the patient?” He leaned over the fence to get a better look. As he did, the mare tossed her head and skittered to one side, eyeing the young man nervously.
    “Wow,” Carole said. “She seems to like you even less than she likes us, if that’s possible.”
    “I wonder …,” Stevie said thoughtfully.
    “You wonder what?” Nicholas asked.
    Stevie didn’t answer for a second. Then she gestured to Carole. “Let’s try something,” she said. “Carole, why don’t you walk around the corral toward the mare. Go slowly, and maybe talk to her a little. See how close you can get before she moves away.”
    “Why?” Carole asked, puzzled.
    “I’ll tell you in a minute,” Stevie promised. “Just try it, okay?”
    Carole