Free A Star Discovered by JoAnn S. Dawson Page B

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