Free Astra by Chris Platt Page A

walk.”
    Gram raised her eyebrows. “Really?” was all she said.
    Lily hung around and fussed over the mare for a few more minutes. Then she and her grandmother hurried home so Lily could get started on her project.
    â€œHoney, have you ever built a fence before?” Grams asked when they pulled into the driveway.
    Lily got out of the car and walked with her grandmother into the house. “No, but I’ve seen Thomas fix fences at Whispering Pines. It didn’t look that hard.” She frowned at the knowing chuckle her grandmother tried to cover up.
    â€œMaybe you should wait for your father,” Grams suggested. “He did say he’d fix her a stall.”
    â€œHe’ll get home too late,” Lily said. “I’ve only got a few more hours of daylight left and I don’t want to wait. Besides, he doesn’t really like Astra. It’ll be better if I do it.” She kicked off her shoes and went to her room to change. Old, torn jeans and a ratty sweatshirt were the order of the day. She didn’t want to damage her good clothes by catching them on a nail and ripping them.
    The sun felt warm on Lily’s cheeks as she stepped off her back porch and walked toward the old barn. It had been a while since she’d visited the place. Memories of her beloved pony still lingered in the empty structure. Ever since her father had torn up the fences and taken down the walls of most of the stalls to make room for equipment, she’d been avoiding it.
    She threw the barn doors wide, letting in the light so she could see what was still usable. The stall on the end was still intact, with only a few boards missing. And the paddock off the stall had escaped her father’s destruction derby when he was making room for his equipment. There were a lot of boards missing from the fence line, and a post or two that looked questionable, but all in all, if she could make the repairs, Astra would have a good home.
    She smiled when she thought about the beautiful Arabian mare coming to live with them. She could have stood there and daydreamed about it for hours, but she had a fence to build and limited hours of daylight.
    Peering inside her dad’s toolshed, Lily had her first inkling of doubt. The shed held many tools, most of which she couldn’t even name, let alone figure out how to use. But all she needed were a hammer and nails.
    She found her dad’s tool belt and strapped it around her waist. It had pockets for nails and a place to hold a hammer. After a little more digging, she found a box of two-inch nails and the hammer. With a few boards off the woodpile she’d be in business.
    Lily stepped out the door, feeling pretty proud of herself. Her grandmother might have doubts about her ability to build a fence, but Lily felt sure she could do it. After all, it was just a matter of nailing up a few boards, right?

Nine
    Okay, so maybe fence building wasn’t as easy as she’d thought. Lily stood back and surveyed her work. She’d only nailed on a few boards, but they were hopelessly crooked and the nails kept bending. She wiped her hand across her cheek, trying to push back the stray hairs that stuck to her face. She looked at the pile of boards still waiting for her to hammer them on. Maybe she should have waited for her dad.
    The sound of a whinnying horse broke the silence. Lily cocked her head, trying to determine where it had come from. The thud of hoofbeats seemed to be approaching from her left. She gazed down the narrow trail that ran behind their house.
    A boy trotted down the path on a beautiful black horse with a big white star in the center of its forehead. As they drew closer, Lily could see that the horse was an Arabian. Its dished face, fine muzzle, and long elegant neck showed the horse’s fine breeding.
    Lily moved closer to the fence to get a better look. The horse moved out with long, sweeping strides and the rider posted in perfect time to