Free Astra by Chris Platt Page B

the gait. All thoughts of fence construction disappeared as Lily lost herself in the sight of a horse and rider in perfect harmony.
    It wasn’t until they trotted past that Lily recognized the boy as the new kid, Devin, from the bus stop. That was a surprise. He hadn’t seemed like a horse person, somehow.
    â€œWhoa.” Devin pulled his mount to a halt and turned around.
    Lily stiffened. Was he coming back to speak to her? A freeze-frame image of what she looked like right now flitted across her brain: baggy pants, ratty sweatshirt, dirt and cobwebs all over her clothing. And her hair was a total mess. She never cared what Charlie thought about her. But she didn’t want this new boy to think she was a total loser. She’d looked bad enough this morning.
    â€œHey, it’s Lily, right?” The boy pulled his horse to a stop in front of her and smiled.
    Lily nodded. The black horse poked his nose toward her and she stroked his soft muzzle. “He’s beautiful,” she said. “What’s his name?”
    â€œJericho.” Devin leaned down and patted the gelding’s neck. “We’ve got twelve races under our saddle in southern California. I’m hoping to find some good races here this summer. I’m figuring, since this is the home of the Tevis Cup, that there must be a bunch of smaller races in this area.”
    Lily perked up. Here was something she could talk about and not feel dumb. “Mr. Henley owns a big Arabian ranch down the road. He’s got a nationally qualified endurance mare and a stable full of racers. My friend, Meloney, competes in the fifty-mile races, too.”
    Devin stepped off his horse and pulled Jericho’s reins over his head. Lily gulped. It looked like the boy planned to stay and talk for a while. She wasn’t very good at talking to people she didn’t know that well—especially boys.
    Devin stared at the hammer in her hands and the work belt cinched around her waist. “Building a fence?” He looked at the rickety boards with his brows raised and then back to her.
    The fence looked so pathetic, Lily thought about fibbing, but her parents had taught her that the truth was always best. And she couldn’t exactly deny the hammer and nails she held in her hands. “I, um, thought I could do it by myself.” She shrugged. “But I guess I don’t know what I’m doing.”
    Devin stepped Jericho over the broken fence. “Let me find a place to put him and I’ll help you.”
    â€œReally?” Lily was caught by surprise. “But aren’t you taking your horse out for a ride?”
    Devin grinned. “The trail will still be there tomorrow. Right now it looks like you could use some help.”
    â€œYou can put Jericho in our backyard to graze,” Lily offered. “I’ll get another hammer.” She ran back to her father’s toolshed and got another hammer and more nails. Devin was already pulling broken boards off the fence when she returned.
    â€œLooks like we could replace maybe ten boards and the pen will be good enough to hold an animal.” Devin brushed his blond hair out of his eyes and looked around.
    Green. His eyes were green. Lily had expected them to be blue.
    â€œI don’t see any horses or cows,” Devin said. “What do you plan to put in here?”
    â€œHuh?” Lily realized she’d been staring and not really paying attention. After he repeated the question, she handed Devin his tool belt and the nails. “It’s a long story,” she said. Quickly, she told Devin the short version of the story while she helped him pull the rest of the broken boards off the posts.
    â€œWow,” Devin said. “Sorry about your mom. That’s really sad. But that’s pretty cool about Astra. I can’t believe someone gave you a horse—especially one your mom thought could be a champion.”
    Grams stuck her head out the