Finny and the Boy from Horse Mountain Read online

  “Well, lookie here.” Dr. Monie ran a hand down Sky’s neck before stepping back and taking in the whole picture.

  “You got yourself a project, I’m afraid.” Dr. Monie took his stethoscope from his neck and listened to Sky’s heart and lungs. “So far so good. Lungs are clear and no heart murmur.”

  Finny was overjoyed. The doctor continued the practical exam. “Eyes are good, clear.”

  He picked up Sky’s feet, one at a time, and applied the rounded clamps of the hoof tester on several spots on each hoof. Sky jerked his front hooves away from the tester when Dr. Monie pressed them on the toe area.

  He didn’t mind the pressure on his back hooves at all. “His front hooves are beginning to abscess,” Dr.

  Monie said, after putting the tester away.

  “I had to walk him a really long way. I know he wasn’t used to it. Did I hurt him bad?” Finny’s heart sank; she hadn’t meant to hurt her horse.

  “No, sweetheart, he’ll be fine. His front hooves are pretty soft but we can fix that.”

  Next, Dr. Monie moved to Sky’s mouth and examined his teeth and gums. “Here’s the biggest problem. It doesn’t look like his teeth have ever had care. He still has his wolf teeth and he has pockets of infection on his gums. The sharp points on his teeth have cut the inside of his mouth. That’s why he’s not eating—it hurts too much.”

  “Can you help him?”

  “You bet. Hang on, I’ll get my tools.”

  “Sky, you’re going to feel better real soon!” Finny patted Sky’s sorrowful face. Dr. Monie came back and got to work. First he sedated Sky, and then with his electric floater he filed away at the big horse’s teeth. Fifteen minutes later Sky’s teeth were smooth and correct. Next, using a simple pair of surgical pliers, Dr. Monie popped Sky’s wolf teeth out and handed them to Finny.

  “I can’t believe how easily they came out.” Finny rolled the funny-looking teeth around in her hand.

  “They typically do, but his were infected so that helped.”

  Dr. Monie sat on the bumper of his truck and went over the list of things Finny needed to do.

  “Okay, first of all, he has to be on antibiotics twice a day for ten days, for the infection in his mouth.” The doctor handed Finny two large bottles. “Next, he needs to be treated for intestinal parasites every day for five days with these.” He handed her five large tubes of dewormer. “Then he should go on a daily wormer with his supplements. This medication here is topical for the ringworm and this drawing salve is for his feet; it will help pull out the abscesses.” Dr. Monie handed Finny more bottles and containers than she could hold. She went white just looking at all the medicine, which alone must cost more than two hundred dollars. Dr. Monie noticed her reaction.

  “Finny, how much money do you have for the visit?”

  “Two hundred.”

  “Well, that’s lucky, ’cause that’s exactly what all this comes out to today.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked, knowing it couldn’t be true.

  “Yes, I’m sure.” He gave Finny a smile when she handed him the money.

  “Thanks, Dr. Monie. Thanks for everything.”

  “Good luck. Call me if you need anything.” With that, the doctor got in his truck and headed to his next appointment. Finny was certain he was the nicest man she’d ever met.

  Head down and pathetic-looking, Sky was led back to his corral. Finny got his medicine ready, but Sky had no interest in eating anything, much less bitter-tasting medicine. Finny went to the supply cabinet, got a large syringe, and dropped the pills inside. She added water to let the pills dissolve and then put some molasses in to make it sweet. It was a strain to hold his giant head up as she squirted the mixture in his mouth. Luckily, Sky liked the taste and didn’t fight her. Finny let his head drop. It went back to almost touching the ground and now he was drooling, too.

  Finny stepped back and let out a sigh at his state. She had no regrets but was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all her new responsibilities.

  Finny looked for anything she could do for Sky in the few minutes she had left. She fetched the bottle of conditioner she’d brought from home and drenched his tail in it. After a few minutes of massage she could pull some strands free. Happy with her progress, she let Sky’s tail soak while she went next door for her lesson.

  Elsa was in the ring on one of her zillion-dollar mounts. Jeff was training her. Finny saw Sasha, Clara, and Audrey riding in the field, lessoning with Barbara. Even though those girls were Elsa’s friends, she must have wanted Jeff and the main arena to herself today. Finny gave the arena a wide berth so Elsa wouldn’t have the chance to taunt her as she walked to the stable.

  Tank was the horse written next to Finny’s name on the lesson board. She noticed she got the most difficult horse to ride when Elsa was around, and she was pretty sure it was Elsa’s handwriting on the board. Finny went into the tack room and grabbed a halter. Tank was a handful on a good day, but, unbeknownst to Elsa, Finny didn’t mind. She loved the challenge and felt the tougher the horse was, the better the rider it made.

  She grabbed Tank from a back pasture and led him back to the barn to tack up. Finny wondered about Joe and hoped he was okay.

  Jeff was scheduled to teach her group today. When Finny found out, her nerves went on overdrive. She loved her lessons with Barbara, because she kept them fun and challenging, but it was thrilling when Jeff taught. He was demanding, tough, and unforgiving, but also the top trainer in the state and riding with him was a rare privilege.

  From the moment Finny mounted Tank she could feel tension pulsing through him. He felt like a rodeo bronc ready for the gate to swing open and the fun to begin. Finny headed to the cross-country field where Katie, Kayla, and Ivey were warming up. The three girls were two years younger and not up on barn politics. They were sweet, and Finny knew they looked up to her as a rider so she always tried to do her best and help them when she could.

  The only way to the field was to go right by the main ring. Tank jigged under her, tense and wanting to buck. Which he did, right before bolting across the field. Finny managed to get him under control by jerking the rein hard and turning him in a circle, but it was too late. Tank’s antics spooked the horse Elsa was on, causing it to spin and dump her hard in the dirt. The next instant a blood-curdling scream cut the air. Jeff and Barbara ran to Elsa, who caterwauled like she was dying. Sasha, Clara, and Audrey trotted their horses over to the rail to see if Elsa was all right. Finny saw Elsa point to her, then gesture wildly. She knew her goose was cooked. She’d be kicked out of the lesson because she couldn’t control her horse. Finny saw Barbara look her way and shake her head. Finny nodded and turned Tank back toward the barn. She wanted to cry, but didn’t—what was the point?

  Back at the crossties, Finny’s ears were still ringing. She was sorry Elsa had been thrown, but although she had played a part in it, Finny didn’t feel one hundred percent responsible. She also knew Elsa was okay. People who are really hurt don’t have the strength to carry on and holler like Elsa was doing.

  Because Tank was done for the day and no one else would ride him, Finny gave him an extra long curry and brushing after she untacked him. Audrey and Clara had horses in the next crossties. They chatted amicably to each other while they cared for their horses but ignored Finny as usual. Sasha had her groom taking care of her horse so she sat on the bench watching the other girls work.

  Sasha began talking about the upcoming horse show, what classes she was going to compete in, what medals she was going to try to qualify for. The other girls chimed in.

  Sasha knew Finny never got to show and how badly she wanted to, so she brought it up every chance she got.

  Finny had heard enough, so she led a nicely groomed Tank around the back of the barn. She was undoing Tank’s halter to turn him out when she saw someone climbing through the window of the house where Ray and Carl lived. She gasped when she realized it was Joe. She spun around and looked for Ray’s truck, grateful it
was gone. Finny quickly shut the pasture gate and ran to the open window Joe had just slipped through.

  “Joe,” she hissed, “Joe!” From the hall, Joe came back into the room. “Have you lost your mind? Get out of there!” Finny looked back over her shoulder, positive Ray and Carl would be back any minute.

  “I gotta get my money back. It’s all I have.”

  “Joe, if they come back, you’re dead.”

  “Can you watch for them? Yell if they come.” Joe disappeared down the hall.

  “Come on, get out of there!”

  He didn’t answer; Finny heard banging around in the other room. She looked again, scanning the yard for any sign of Carl or Ray. Their house was well hidden by trees and far from the barn, but that didn’t ease Finny’s fears.

  “Joe!” Finny was beginning to panic.

  He came back into the room. “I can’t find it! What am I gonna do?”

  “Carl probably has it on him if he hasn’t spent it already. Please get out of the house.” Much to her relief he came to the window and crawled out.

  “Geez, I’m gonna sound just like my mother, but what were you thinking?”

  “I was thinkin’ I’m screwed without my money.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Finny said as she led him away from the house. “We better get out of here. I need to get my stuff, and then we can go next door. Did you walk all the way here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Your limp looks worse.” She also noticed he’d showered and his worn clothes were now clean. “Did you hurt your knee falling from a horse?”

  Joe nodded.

  “I can ask Vel from next door to give us a ride back to the trailer. She’s really sweet. Wait here just a second,” Finny told him as they entered the barn. “My stuff’s in the tack room.”

  Finny was glad she didn’t have to work on her lesson days. She ran into the tack room and grabbed her bag with her spurs, chaps, and helmet. When she came back outside her whole body went tight. Elsa was standing in front of Joe, talking to him.

  “So are you looking for a place to ride?” Elsa asked.

  Finny noted the tone of her voice and how she was standing and looking at Joe. She was flirting.

  “No, I’m looking for a job.”

  “Oh, you want to work here? I bet I can get you hired.” Elsa was all sweetness and smiles, making Finny nauseous. She knew why Elsa was all giddy. Dirty and bruised, Joe had been handsome. Now, cleaned up, he was even more so.

  “Joe, I got my stuff.”

  Elsa turned her gaze to Finny; her eyes narrowed. “He’s a friend of yours?” She asked as if it were unfathomable.

  “Yes, he’s my friend. Joe, we better get going.”

  “Wait a minute, so if you guys are friends, that means you’re not dating?”

  Joe’s eyes went back and forth between Finny and Elsa.

  “No, Elsa, we’re not dating,” Finny said.

  “Great! Joe, here’s my number.” Elsa wrote it on a slip of paper she took from her purse and handed it to him. “I think you and I should go out sometime.” Joe took the paper and nodded.

  “Elsa, we gotta go,” Finny said, trying to keep her voice steady.

  “Looking forward to it, Joe,” Elsa said.

  Finny led Joe toward Azure Hills, her insides twisting. The thought of him dating Elsa all but made her sick. Finny was a bit surprised at the intensity of the feeling. She glanced at Joe and wondered what he was thinking. Elsa was beautiful; Joe probably already liked her.

  By the time they slid through the fence at Azure Hills, she felt like crying. Finny knew she was being a dope and did her best to think reasonably. After all, she hardly knew him. She was just helping him. That didn’t mean he couldn’t like Elsa.

  “I never been asked out on a date before,” Joe stated out of the blue.

  “Oh . . . uh, are you going to call her?” Finny asked, as calmly as she could.

  “No,” Joe said with a shake of his head.

  “How come?” Finny was glad, really glad, but curious too. Joe shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t much of a reason, but it was good enough for her.

  The teens made their way though Azure Hills’ pastures. In the barn aisle, Finny got a chair for Joe. He sat and rubbed his knee.

  “I’ll show you my horse. Please don’t be shocked, I just got him.” She grabbed her halter and went to get Sky, grateful he wasn’t still drooling. Joe stood when Finny brought her horse to him. He ran a hand down Sky’s long neck.

  “When he’s fat and better, he’ll be beautiful. Look how good his conformation is. Neck arched and set right on a good shoulder. All four legs are straight, short back, and long hip. He’s built to be an athlete.” Joe’s eyes were wide with honesty; he wasn’t just trying to be nice. Finny’s heart leaped.

  “You think?”

  Joe nodded.

  “He’s twelve and has never been broke.”

  “Shouldn’t be a problem.” Joe continued to study the horse.

  “Do you know about breaking horses?”

  “I’ve broke a ton of horses,” Joe said, then went a little pale. He sat back down.

  “You okay?”

  “Yes, sorry.”

  “Vel should be here any minute. Maybe she can take you to a doctor for your knee.”

  “I know I should go. I think it’s broken. I’m just afraid if they know my age, they’ll call the police.”

  “You said you didn’t run away from home. But you’re only fifteen so you had to run away from something.”

  “I’m almost sixteen. I think it’s great you got this horse and are helping him. A lot of people wouldn’t have thought he’d be worth it.” Finny looked back to Sky and patted him.

  “Way to change the subject there, Joe.”

  Joe half-smiled, then rubbed the back of his neck looking anywhere but at Finny.

  “So, while we wait for Vel, can you help me?” Finny said letting go of the question he obviously didn’t want to answer. She handed him a brush and pointed to Sky’s tail. This was something he could do sitting down.

  “Oh man, this is gonna take a while.” Joe went to work on the lump of hair. Finny got busy with the medications and turning out the horses, then finished mucking the stalls. Joe diligently worked on salvaging Sky’s tail. An hour later, the horses were all cared for and almost half of Sky’s tail was free.

  “Looks like his tail had a perm,” Finny said, trying to smooth down the hair.

  “Just wash it, it’ll go straight,” Joe said, putting the brush down.

  “You’ve seen knots like these before?”

  “All the time. We ran horses in the mountains. We’d bring them down in the spring to break them or take them to the sales. If any looked like they’d go for saddle horses, I’d clean them up as best I could so they’d go for more. I’ve untangled a lot of tails.” The sound of a truck pulling up the drive stopped the conversation.

  “Here’s Vel now.”

  “Finny, I’m thinkin’ we should say I’m a friend from school.”

  “She’s totally cool. She won’t call the police.” Joe shook his head hard. He got anxious as Vel approached.

  “Did you do something bad, like break the law or something?”

  “No, I swear.” Joe’s eyes didn’t waver from Finny’s. “You can trust Vel.”

  “Other than you, Finny, I don’t trust nobody.”

  “Hi kids,” Vel said when she reached them.

  “Hi Vel . . .” Finny looked at Joe, saw the pleading look on his face. “Vel, this is Joe, my friend from school.”

  “Hello, Joe. Glad to see you’re helping out with Sky.”

  “Yes, Joe knows about horses too. He thinks he’ll be beautiful when he’s all fixed up.”

  “I agree with you there, Joe.”

  “I got everything done, Vel. All they need is to be fed tonight.”

  “Finny, you are a Godsend. Thank you.”

  “Hey, Vel, I hate to ask, but do you think yo
u could give us a ride to the trailer park?”

  “The one just up the road?”

  “Yes, Joe hurt his knee and it’s hard for him to walk.”

  “Sure,” Vel agreed, watching Sky closely as Finny walked him back to his corral.

  “Joe, that’s quite a limp,” Vel observed on the way to her truck. “Did you get kicked by a horse or something?”

  Joe nodded.

  “Sorry to hear that. Have you seen a doctor?”

  He shook his head.

  “He’s going tomorrow,” Finny added, not liking to lie, but knowing it would stop the questions.

  “Well, that’s good.” Vel opened the door for Joe. Finny put her bike in the truck bed before climbing in after him.

  Ten minutes later Finny and Joe were settled in at the trailer. Joe, with frozen peas on his knee, leaned back on the couch. “I’ll pay you back for all this as soon as I get a job or my money.”

  “Don’t worry about it, I’m glad to help. Besides, you helped with Sky’s tail.”

  Joe chuckled, then smiled. “I will make it my duty to get the rest of the knot out.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Thanks for not telling Vel anything. She seems nice and all but a lot of mean people start out nice.”

  “She works with disabled kids. She must be nice all the time.”

  Joe got up from the couch and went for what was left of the food. Finny, not hungry herself, sat with him while he ate. “So about your knee, there’s this free clinic in town that can look at it.”

  “You mean like a free doctor? I didn’t know there was such a thing.”

  “My mom and I used them after she got divorced from my dad. But we’d have to be there early and it’d most likely take all day.”

  “We? You mean you’d go with me?”

  “Well, yeah, if you want.”

  “Do you think they’d treat me without a parent or ID?”

  “At the clinic, they don’t ask for ID or anything. It won’t be a problem. If they ask how old you are just say eighteen.”

  “Okay, thanks. And I’ll help you more with your horse than just his tail. I’ll help you break and train him. If you want my help, I mean.”