Runaway Pony Read online

  “So we can still see Starbuck,” Ben concluded. “Good.”

  It was good. Their grandmother was very practical about the ponies at the rescue center. Starbuck’s leg was totally healed. The pony didn’t need to stay at the rescue center anymore. If Grandma Edna decided it was time to find Starbuck a new home, Grandma would do it. When she made up her mind, that was that. But the Dunlap kids wouldn’t give up their favorite pony without a fight.

  Chapter 4

  “I DON’T KNOW HOW I forgot about it,” Mom said, sounding concerned, nervous, and guilty all at once.

  “Don’t worry, Mom. We’ll be fine.” Willa handed her mother a notebook, which she placed in her small suitcase. It was the Friday before school started, and Mom had remembered just the day before that she had to go on a trip.

  “I signed up for this bed-and-breakfast conference months ago. I had no idea I’d miss your first day of school.” She looked up at Willa as she zipped her bag. “Sorry, sweetie.”

  “It’s fine. There will be lots of school days,” Willa said.

  “When did you get so grown-up?” Mom asked. She sounded sad.

  Willa was the most organized one in the family. Everyone knew that, so it wasn’t a surprise that Mom had told her she’d need to help Dad. “You know he’s not good at getting you guys out the door in the morning,” she said.

  “Don’t worry,” Willa assured her.

  “Make sure you and Ben are ready for the bus. Be at the mailbox by eight o’ clock.”

  “We will be,” Willa assured her again. They heard the doorbell. “That must be Grandma.”

  “She’s always early,” Mom said. “Especially for the airport.” She tugged her bag behind her.

  Everyone came down to see Mom off. She gave them all hugs. “Take care of one another,” she ordered. “And no more tardies.”

  Mom looked right at Willa when she said that.

  Willa elbowed Ben.

  Dad just smiled. “Learn lots about bed-and-breakfasts,” he said. “Our guests will be here before you know it.”

  Mom blew a kiss and ducked into the car. Grandma Edna waved and backed out of the driveway.

  “What should we do now?” Dad asked blankly.

  Willa sighed. She was going to be busy while Mom was gone.

  On the morning of the first day of school, Willa woke to a horrible clanging. “Did Dad get a new alarm?” she mumbled as she pushed herself out of bed. The clanging grew louder. The house seemed to rattle and shake. Willa stumbled out of her room and followed the sound. It led her upstairs, to one of the guest bedrooms. Her dad was there, kneeling in front of an old metal contraption, which was hissing.

  “What’s going on?” Willa cried over the noise.

  “I think the radiator is broken,” he said. “It got cold last night, so I turned on the heat.”

  A spray of steam sputtered from the pipe. “Watch out!” Dad yelled. “It could burn you.”

  They stood at a distance and stared at the noisy, drippy, feisty radiator.

  “No showers this morning,” Dad announced. “This is an old house, and I think the heat and the plumbing are connected.”

  “All right,” Willa said, heading downstairs to wake Ben, who had managed to sleep through the racket.

  “You should avoid all plumbing,” Dad called from the third floor. “Don’t even use the sink.”

  The morning routine was tricky without running water. Willa and Ben had to brush their teeth with water from the pitcher in the fridge. Willa used that to wash off the apples for their lunches too. Things took longer. Before they knew it, they were running late for the bus.

  “Hurry!” Willa insisted, zipping her lunch box.

  Ben grabbed his backpack and rushed to the door.

  Dad appeared at the top of the stairs with a mop and a bucket. A stream dribbled down from the top step. “Have a great first day, kids!” He was smiling and looking hopeful, despite his soggy pajama pants.

  “Do you need help?” Willa asked. “Should we stay?”

  “No. Everything will be fine,” he said. He held the mop up straight with one hand and saluted with the other.

  Willa laughed as she took Ben’s hand and ran out the door. They could see the bus from the front porch. “Go!” Willa yelled, and Ben leaped ahead. He made it to the mailbox just as the yellow bus’s door folded open. Willa came up behind him. By the time Chipper and Sarah got on at the next stop, Willa had caught her breath.

  Sarah slid in beside her. Chipper sat with Ben. Willa sighed. They had made it! Even without Mom. Even with a crazy radiator leak. Even without running water. She was relieved . . . and certain the rest of the day would be a breeze after that.

  Then the bus jolted to a stop.

  “Well, I never,” the bus driver proclaimed. He scratched his graying whiskers and stared out the front window.

  Sarah stood up to look out. “Oh no!” she exclaimed. “Willa!”

  As soon as Willa stood up, she gulped.

  There, in the middle of the road, was Starbuck.

  Chapter 5

  WILLA RACED TO THE FRONT of the bus. “I know that pony. I have to get off,” she declared.

  “Nothing doing, missy,” the bus driver said. “I can’t let anyone off. Only at school or your stop. It’s a rule.”

  “But someone might hit her. She could get hurt.”

  Now Ben was standing next to her. “Please, mister,” he begged.

  “I’m sorry, but it’s my job to get you to school safely,” he said. “Can’t let no runaway pony get in the way.” The bus driver leaned his head and shoulder out the narrow window. “Move along now,” he called.

  The buckskin pony did not move, so he honked the horn.

  “Starbuck, get out of the road. It’s not safe,” Willa pleaded, though not loud enough for her favorite pony to hear.

  The bus driver honked again. All the kids on the bus were now standing and yelling.

  For a moment Starbuck stood her ground. She seemed unfazed. She faced the bus head-on, lazily flicking an ear and swishing her tail.

  “Go on, girl,” Willa whispered.

  Starbuck pricked her ears forward. She tossed her head in the air and whinnied. Then, slowly, she made her way to the side of the road and stopped there.

  “That’s a good horse,” the bus driver said, easing the bus back into gear.

  Willa and Ben scurried to the back row of seats and watched out the window. Starbuck didn’t move. She just got smaller as the bus drove away. Brother and sister pushed themselves against the glass to catch the last glimpse of her. Willa felt trapped. They had to do something! How had Starbuck gotten out? Where was she going? And how would she get back home?

  “I’ve got my walkie-talkie,” Ben said hopefully, but then he remembered Chipper had the other one in the front of the bus. It was part of their master plan to keep in touch, even though they had different teachers.

  “We couldn’t have used it to call Dad anyway,” Willa said, flopping around to sit down. “The house is flooding.”

  Sarah was waiting at the bus door. As soon as Willa stepped to the ground, Sarah’s hand was on her shoulder. “We’ll go straight to the office. Ms. Parker will help us.”

  Willa told Ben to go with Chipper, so the other boy could show him where his class would be. “I promise to let you know as soon as I hear anything.” She bent down to look into her brother’s eyes. He nodded, but didn’t say a word.

  Sarah led Willa into the office of Seacoast Elementary. It looked a lot like the office at Willa’s old school in Chicago. Willa had gone there whenever she was late and had to check in.

  A woman with cat earrings and long, hot-pink-painted fingernails looked up from the front desk. “Sarah Starling,” she said. “Welcome back.”

  Sarah smiled, introduced Ms. Parker to Willa, and explained the situation. When Sarah was done, Ms. Parker sent her on to class. Willa looked at the clock. It was already 8:18. School started at 8:20. She had given Mom
her word: no more tardies.

  “Don’t you worry,” Ms. Parker said. “I’ll take you to class. Your teacher won’t count you late.” She picked up a phone with a long curly cord. “Go ahead and call your grandma. She’ll know just what to do.”

  When Willa hung up the phone, she felt a little better. Grandma Edna was leaving right away to track down Starbuck. She had said she’d call Sarah’s mom to help too.

  “Your grandma is something else,” Ms. Parker said. “My Patsy refuses to go to any other vet.” When Willa looked closer at Ms. Parker’s desk, she noticed a collection of picture frames. All featured photos of a large black-and-white cat.

  “Grandma’s pretty great,” Willa agreed.

  Ms. Parker told stories about Patsy as she walked Willa to class. When Willa opened the door to Room 24, all heads turned to her. Normally, Willa would have been embarrassed, but she quickly located Sarah’s and Lena’s friendly faces. She forced a smile when Mr. McGory pointed to an empty desk. She sat down and tried to pay attention, but she could not stop thinking about Starbuck.

  Just before lunch, there was a knock on the classroom door. It was Ms. Parker. She had a piece of folded pink paper in her hand. “A message for Willa Dunlap,” she said.

  Whispers flitted all around as Willa opened the note.

  Your grandma called to say Starbuck is safe back at Miller Farm. You can visit her later. I let your brother know too.

  Ms. P.

  She had drawn a cat face next to her name.

  Starbuck’s escape was big news at the lunch table. “It’s not a coincidence,” Lena insisted.

  “What does that mean?” Sarah asked as she opened her sandwich tin.

  “Two ponies and two escapes in two weeks?” Lena said, waving her pretzel rod in the air. “They have to be connected. I suspect foul play.”

  “You always suspect foul play,” Sarah retorted.

  “I agree that it’s weird,” Willa said. She was still too nervous to eat. “But I don’t think anyone is letting them loose on purpose.”

  “Maybe not,” Lena admitted. “But why do you think Starbuck wandered so far from the farm? The other pony didn’t do that.”

  Willa had been wondering the same thing.

  “Maybe Starbuck wants to be free,” Sarah suggested, “to go back to Assateague.”

  Willa turned to her friend, horrified. She never would have thought of that. The very idea hurt Willa’s feelings.

  Sarah didn’t seem to notice. “Remember how Phantom, Misty’s mother, swam back to Assateague to be with the wild herd?”

  Of course Willa remembered. Willa had read the famous book about Misty several times by now. She was fascinated by the fact that wild ponies lived on Assateague Island, a thin sliver of land that lay between Chincoteague and the open sea. “But Phantom had been wild for a long time,” Willa argued. “Starbuck hasn’t lived on Assateague since she was a foal. Her old owners told us so.”

  Sarah shrugged. “It looked like she was going somewhere. I was just trying to figure out where.”

  Willa didn’t have a reply. She was so fond of Starbuck. She wanted the pony to be happy. Willa hoped she wasn’t running away from Miller Farm.

  Chapter 6

  IT HARDLY FELT LIKE THE same day when they arrived home after school. They soon found their dad on the third floor. Willa was relieved that he wasn’t still in his pajamas, but his jeans and T-shirt were sopping wet.

  “How was your day?” he asked.

  “Anything but typical,” Willa said. Ben agreed with a firm nod of his head.

  “Mine was about the same,” Dad replied. “Homework?”

  “A little,” Willa replied. “I can do it after dinner.” Ben nodded again.

  “What did you think about the other kids? Did you meet anyone new?”

  “Kind of,” Willa answered. A picture of Ms. Parker, with her nails and old-fashioned phone, popped into her head. But the secretary wasn’t a kid! “I mostly hung out with Sarah and Lena.”

  “Ben?” Dad asked.

  “Same,” was Ben’s answer. Willa noticed his hand move to touch the walkie-talkie hanging from his belt. She felt bad that Ben and Chipper weren’t in homeroom together. It wasn’t easy making brand-new friends.

  Even though Willa had been nervous about the first day—new school, new kids, new challenges—that had all gone smoothly compared to the Great Starbuck Escape fiasco.

  Willa noticed a stack of dry rags right next to a pile of wet ones.

  “Do you need help?” she offered, even though she had hoped they’d be able to go to the farm.

  “Not really,” Dad said, surveying the puddle that surrounded the radiator. “Your grandfather came by with one of his friends who is a plumber. He fixed the leak. I just have to clean up now.” He sloshed the mop back in a rubber bucket. “Besides, I think you two might want to check in on that pony Starbuck. I’m sure you want to get the rest of the story from Grandma.”

  “Yes, yes!” Willa’s face brightened. She reached to hug her dad with both arms, but he tried to pull away.

  “I’m all wet, sweetheart,” he said. “You’ve got your good school clothes on.” Willa squeezed tighter. She was sometimes surprised how adults didn’t think about what really mattered. Her clothes could always go in the wash.

  Dad fixed them a huge after-the-first-day-of-school snack. They filled him in on the thrilling bus ride and all the events that had followed. He gave them a play-by-play of how the radiator sounded when it started to spout water like a fountain. Ben almost choked on his cheese and crackers. Their dad could be pretty silly when he wanted.

  “You sure you have enough energy to ride to your grandparents’?” Dad asked.

  Willa and Ben were sure. Amos was too. The puppy yipped happily as Ben placed him in the carrier on the front of Willa’s bike. Ben lingered there, scratching Amos behind the ears. “You think she’s okay?”

  It took Willa a moment to realize what her brother was asking. “Starbuck is fine,” she answered. “Grandma would have let us known if something had happened. She’d have told Grandpa to tell Dad, then Dad would have told us.” Willa knew that much for certain, but she had other concerns. What if Starbuck was trying to get free, like Sarah had said? What if Grandma decided the beautiful buckskin was too much trouble and needed to go to a new home right away? Willa didn’t have answers to those questions, so she rode her very fastest to Miller Farm. Ben struggled to keep up.

  When they arrived, Starbuck trotted over right away. The pony looked as good as new. Maybe better.

  Willa lifted Amos from the crate, and the puppy waddled right into the field. He touched noses with Starbuck, his tail wagging like a windup toy. Then he moved on to make friends with Fancy. He ran between the two ponies, making figure eights, stopping from time to time to give them each a sniff. He often did the same thing to Buttercup, back home.

  Ben reached his arm over the top rail of the wooden fence and stroked Starbuck’s velvety ears. The pony’s eyelids fluttered closed. She looked peaceful. “Maybe she wasn’t trying to run away,” Ben suggested. “Maybe she was trying to find us.”

  Willa took a deep breath and gazed at her little brother. She had been thinking the same thing—hoping the same thing—but she didn’t dare put the thought into words.

  “I think she could track us down,” Ben continued. “I think she’s that smart.”

  All of a sudden, Grandma Edna was right behind them. She had appeared out of nowhere. “Smart? There’s nothing smart about getting loose. Starbuck could have been hit by a car out there. The road is never a safe place for a horse, and it was rush hour.”

  Willa had to hide her smirk. Compared to the city, Chincoteague had no rush hour on its roads. But she still got Grandma’s point. They were lucky Starbuck was back at Miller Farm, safe and sound. “Thank you, Grandma,” Willa said. “For going to get her. We were so worried.”

  “I was worried too. It was definitely out of character for that pony.”r />
  As they spoke, Fancy ambled up next to Starbuck. Fancy gave a low nicker of greeting to Starbuck. Starbuck nickered back to the shiny bay. Then Fancy put her head over the fence, hoping to get a pet as well.

  “Now, Starbuck, you’d best be careful in choosing your companions,” Grandma advised. Willa recognized that tone. It had a hint of disapproval. Willa wondered what Grandma Edna was trying to say. Did she question whether Starbuck and Fancy should be friends? That seemed odd. Ben was glancing back and forth, from Grandma to the two ponies. He was trying to figure it out as well.

  Willa told herself that it couldn’t hurt to ask. “What do you mean, Grandma?”

  “I mean that we can’t have Starbuck picking up any bad habits. Especially not now. She’s good and healthy again, so we should be finding her a new home.” Grandma stepped forward and gave Starbuck a steady pat on the neck. “You be good now, you hear?” she said to the buckskin pony.

  Hearing Grandma mention a new home for Starbuck rattled Willa. She was so flustered that she barely heard what Grandma said next. It was something about how Grandpa had driven to the hardware store to buy a new latch for the pasture gate. “Can’t have any more escape antics,” she murmured as she headed to the barn.

  It was hard to settle down and think about homework after all the excitement of the day. Even though they were in different classes and different grades, Willa and Ben had the same assignment. They had to write a personal essay about what they had done during the summer. So much had happened! Where would they even start?

  Chapter 7

  A FEW DAYS PASSED WITHOUT any Drama at the Dunlap house. Both kids made it to the bus stop on time, and the bus didn’t make any unexpected stops for animals in the middle of the road. The radiator in the upstairs bedroom was fixed, and everyone could take showers again. Mom came back home. She was more excited than ever about the family’s plan for a bed-and-breakfast, which was good. The inn’s first guests were coming in less than a week!