Welcome Home! Read online

  “No, you don’t,” Grandpa huffed, and rushed forward. He grabbed Ben by the arm. “You can’t go in there, not with the horses acting like that.” Grandpa tugged Ben out of the paddock. Willa locked the gate.

  “But she won’t leave Starbuck alone!” Ben looked at the ponies again. Their eyes were still fierce and their ears were still pinned. “She didn’t do anything,” he said, starting to cry.

  “Don’t you worry. We can get her out of there,” Grandpa said, leaning down and looking Ben square in the eye. “But we have to get Annie away first. I made the mistake. I shouldn’t have put Starbuck out there yet. The horses need more time to figure it out.”

  He stood up, his hand resting on Ben’s back. “If you want to help her, how about you and Willa get that grouch Annie to take some carrots.” Grandpa pointed Ben in the right direction and put a few carrots in his hands.

  It was as easy as Grandpa said it would be. Annie lost all interest in Starbuck when she saw the fresh carrots dangled over the fence. The chestnut mare’s ears pricked forward, and she didn’t look like a cranky bully anymore.

  She walked toward the kids. They carefully held out the carrots, one at a time, and Grandpa led Starbuck from the paddock. Then he locked the gate.

  By the time Grandma came home, everything was back to normal. She was upset at first, but then put Grandpa to work right away, fixing the fence for the second field. That field would not only give Starbuck a place to graze, but it would let her get to know the other horses before they shared a paddock.

  Willa and Ben let Starbuck eat grass behind the barn until the sun was high in the sky. Even then, it was hard putting her back in the stall.

  “Grandpa’s still working on the fence,” Willa said. “When he’s done, Starbuck can stay outside all she wants.”

  Willa turned to Ben and looked him in the eye. “You have to promise me you won’t do anything like that again. I know you can take care of yourself, but you have to remember we’re a team. We need to look out for each other.”

  “I know, Willa. I know,” Ben said, and he meant it.

  Chapter 11

  “ARE YOU OKAY?” MOM ASKED, hugging both Ben and Willa as they got out of their grandparents’ truck. She grasped Ben by both shoulders. “What were you thinking?”

  All the way home, sitting in the back of her grandparents’ truck, Willa worried what her parents would do. They already knew about the paddock incident. Grandpa had called as soon as everyone was safe and sound.

  “Amelia, your dad and I have already talked to them,” Grandma explained. “Ben especially understands that he has to use his head around horses. Don’t you?”

  Ben nodded. He pressed his lips together. His parents were both looking at him with concern.

  “I had to do it,” Ben blurted. “I didn’t want to stand there and watch Annie push Starbuck around. Annie was being mean. I just wanted to help Starbuck.”

  Now the whole family was looking at Ben in a new way.

  “I understand why it was wrong. It was dangerous,” he said, his words steady and clear. “I won’t do it again.”

  Mom swept her hand over Ben’s head and pulled him close. “I know,” she said. “That pony is lucky to have you looking out for her.”

  “The kids are good with the new pony,” Grandma said after a moment. “They’ve still got a lot to learn, but she trusts them.” She smiled at Willa, who was holding Dad’s hand. “Starbuck will be just fine. It takes time to get used to a new place and new horses.”

  They all seemed to take a deep breath, and then Dad looked around. “Speaking of new places, we’re about to have company. We still have lots to do.”

  Ben carried two loaves of strawberry bread from Grandma’s car. Willa helped her mom spread a tablecloth on the floor of the deck. “We still need outdoor furniture, but this will work for now,” Mom said.

  When Mom and Dad and the house were just about ready, Grandma called to Willa and Ben. “Come to the front porch,” she said. The kids followed, and she handed a letter to Willa. “This came today in the mail.”

  As Willa pulled out the letter and started reading aloud, she realized it was from Starbuck’s former owner.

  Dear Mrs. Miller,

  Thank you for taking care of my Starbuck. Mr. Worth told me that you seem exceptionally nice and that Starbuck will be happy on your farm. Sorry I didn’t come to drop her off. It was hard for me. My family’s moving for my dad’s job, and Starbuck can’t come. It won’t feel like home without her.

  I’ve sent her papers. She’s a real Chincoteague pony. We got her at the auction when I was eight. I don’t have any proof, but I like to think she could be related to Misty. You know, the pony from the famous book? When Starbuck raises her head and the wind blows through her mane, she looks like real royalty.

  Please take care of Starbuck. She loves to be outside, get brushed, and be ridden bareback. Maybe someday I can come back and visit her.

  With kind thanks,

  Merry Meadows

  Next, they unfolded the certificate and let it all sink in. Starbuck was a real Chincoteague pony, born in the wild on Assateague.

  After a few moments of quiet, Willa carefully folded the papers and slid them back in the envelope.

  Willa had never seen Ben look so happy. Ben had never seen his sister look so happy.

  “I’ll bet Grandma will never give her away now,” Ben said.

  “I hope you’re right,” Willa answered.

  The hens, although not invited, were the first to arrive. They squawked as they made their way to the back corner of the yard.

  Next, Mrs. Starling peeked around the corner with her blue-rimmed glasses. Mr. Starling came close behind. Bess was on his back.

  “Hey! Where’s Ben?” Chipper called out. He was still barefoot, but he was far less shy than when they met him the first day. Sarah and their big sister, Katherine, were several steps away.

  “Hello!” Mom said, getting up. “Thanks so much for coming.”

  Mrs. Starling was carrying the same casserole dish that the oysters had been in. “Let’s get that to the kitchen,” Mom said. “It’s time to eat!”

  There was a full spread on the island in the kitchen. Mrs. Cornett, the owner of the chickens, brought egg salad and deviled eggs. There was a fresh platter of Mrs. Starling’s fried oysters. Dad pulled a big batch of macaroni and cheese from the oven.

  “Did you get the new stove to fit?” Grandpa asked, looking around at the changes.

  “No,” confessed Dad, “but this old one is pretty good. We’ll keep it until it conks out. Maybe we don’t need a new one after all. We’ll see when the inn opens in September.”

  People spread out to eat—some outside on the deck. Inside, guests sat at the long table.

  The kids all sat together and ate faster than the adults. Chipper was telling Ben about the puppies, but Sarah paid more attention to her potato salad than she did to Willa.

  When Ben was done eating, he asked Chipper, “Want to go in the barn? Willa and I are making it into a fort.”

  Willa followed the boys, and once they were in the barn, Chipper and Ben were knee deep in the straw pile. Willa climbed up to the hayloft and opened up the wooden window. She was thinking about Starbuck and how much she still missed Kate when she heard someone climbing up the ladder.

  It was Sarah!

  “This could be an awesome fort,” she said quietly.

  Willa couldn’t believe Sarah was talking to her. She especially couldn’t believe Sarah had climbed the old ladder in her sundress.

  “You know, Willa,” Sarah continued, “I’m sorry I wasn’t very nice to you the first day. And then when we saw you at Four Corners.”

  Sarah sat down next to Willa. At first she didn’t say anything, and then she said, “There was another family that lived here for a while before you. They were from the city too. There was a girl our age.” She paused and looked up at Willa, then focused on her hands again. “They only lived h
ere for a month before heading back. I thought you all would leave too.”

  At once, Willa realized what Sarah was saying. Building a friendship would take trust and time. “If you’re worried that we’re going to move, don’t be. My parents just ordered the sign for the bed-and-breakfast, and my grandparents are here,” Willa explained. She counted the reasons why they would stay on her fingers. “My mom’s going to help me plant a bunch of herbs soon, and we’ve adopted New Cat. We’re not going anywhere. And,” she said, “we just found out that a new pony at my grandma’s is a real Chincoteague pony! Just like Misty!”

  “Really?” Sarah asked. “That’s awesome, Willa. Do you think I can go with you one day?”

  Willa nodded. “Maybe tomorrow. I’ll have to ask my grandma.”

  Things were slowly starting to come together.

  “Hey, Ben. Chipper. Come on up to the loft. You have to see this!” she called down.

  The boys climbed up, and all four kids gazed out the loft window, which looked out to the bay.

  Down in the yard, Bess Starling was chasing New Cat.

  New Cat was chasing Mrs. Cornett’s chickens.

  Mrs. Cornett’s chickens were chasing one another.

  All the adults were eating dessert and laughing.

  Chipper yelled out, “Save some cake for me.”

  Then he looked over at Willa and Ben and said, “I’m glad you guys moved here.”

  And for the first time since they arrived in Chincoteague, Willa and Ben felt exactly the same way.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to everyone who helped make this book happen. Karen Nagel is as wonderful an editor as a friend, and that’s saying something. Fiona Simpson grants free laughs, books, cat stories, and advice. The rest of the Aladdin team is just as generous and talented. Thanks to Mara Anastas and Kayley Hoffman, and to Laura Lyn DiSiena for the book’s lovely design. Tremendous gratitude to Serena Geddes for illustrating the characters with such pluck and charm. Going way back, I offer my parents extreme appreciation for nurturing my love of horses in every way. And all my childhood affection to my pony, Moochie, and my horse, Wendy, who took that love and ran with it.

  KRISTIN EARHART grew up in Worthington, Ohio, where she spent countless waking and sleeping hours dreaming about horses and ponies. Eventually she took riding lessons and had her own pony . . . then her own horse. They were two of the best friends a girl could have. These days she lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and son, who are also good friends. She has a sweet and surly cat—but no horse, at least for now.

  The Marguerite Henry’s Misty Inn series is inspired by the award-winning books by MARGUERITE HENRY, the beloved author of such classic horse stories as King of the Wind; Misty of Chincoteague; Justin Morgan Had a Horse; Stormy, Misty’s Foal; Misty’s Twilight; and Album of Horses, among many other titles.

  ALADDIN

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  Read all of

  MARGUERITE HENRY’S

  books!

  #1 Welcome Home!

  #2 Buttercup Mystery

  And coming soon:

  #3 Runaway Pony

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN

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  First Aladdin paperback edition June 2015

  Text copyright © 2015 by The Estate of Marguerite Henry

  Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Serena Geddes

  Also available in an Aladdin hardcover edition.

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  Designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena

  Jacket designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena

  Jacket illustration copyright © 2015 by Serena Geddes

  The text of this book was set in Century Expanded.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2014958549

  ISBN 978-1-4814-1414-2 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-1413-5 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-1415-9 (eBook)