Sapphire: New Horizons by Heather Brooks Page B

shavings, of hay, of the fresh water in the bucket next to her head. She listened to the sound of his teeth grinding as he began to munch on his hay, snorting occasionally when he got a noseful of dust.
    She smiled and felt herself drift. Just a couple minutes…she’d get up soon…she just needed a moment with him….
    Â 
    Emily was riding Sapphire in the Norfolk Open instead of Rhapsody, and Rhapsody was watching them with this totally sad look on his face, like he knew he’d been replaced—
    â€œEm?”
    She opened her eyes to find her dad squatting in front of her. She was still in Sapphire’s stall, and she was curled up on her side in the shavings. She blinked. “Dad? What are you doing here?”
    â€œLooking for you. It’s late. I was worried.” He scooped her up in his arms and stood. “You had a long day, sweetie. It’s time for you to go to bed.”
    She yawned, too tired to protest being carried, and wrapped her arms around his neck and let her head rest against his chest. “What time is it?”
    â€œAlmost ten.”
    â€œTen?” She must have been asleep in Sapphire’s stall for hours. She yawned and let her eyes fall shut, too tiredto keep them open. “I need to make Trooper’s medal.”
    â€œYou can do it in the morning.”
    â€œYeah…” She sagged against him as he carried her out of the barn, her brain already starting to float. “Morning works…”
    She felt her dad kiss her forehead and smiled faintly when he whispered, “I love you, hon.”
    â€œMe, too,” she mumbled. “Precious?”
    â€œShe’s fine.”
    She nodded faintly, too tired to answer, barely even noticing when her dad set her on the bed and pulled the blankets over her. She just rolled over and snuggled into the sheets and let herself dream of Sapphire…and Trooper…and Precious…and the awful barn with three feet of mud and the horses being hungry and not having enough food and her leg hurting….
    She bolted awake, her heart racing and sweat running down her back. The room was pitch-black, her ankle was throbbing, and she could hear the murmur of adult voices coming from somewhere in the house.
    Voices raised, and she recognized them as her dad’s and Aunt Debby’s. They were arguing.
    About her!
    She nearly fell out of bed in her rush to get to the door to find out what she could hear.

16
    E mily crept down the hall on her hands and knees so her cast didn’t clunk on the wood, pausing at the top of the stairs. The adults were in the living room, and their voices carried up the stairs.
    She stretched out on her belly to listen, then frowned when she realized they weren’t talking about her anymore. They were talking about the farm.
    â€œI don’t care about the money,” Aunt Debby said. “We have to take care of these horses. It’s what we do.”
    â€œI know, hon, but there are forty extra horses in the barn today, and we’re not getting paid for any of them. The stipend we’ll get from the state won’t cover even a fraction of the care. We don’t have the money to pay forthem,” Uncle Rick said.
    â€œWe’ll find the money. We always do.”
    â€œNot this time.” Uncle Rick’s voice was gentle. “Deb, we don’t even own these horses, so we won’t be able to sell them and make our money back. They’re just a money drain.”
    â€œThen we’ll sell Sapphire now,” Aunt Debby said.
    Emily sucked in her breath and nearly fell off the top stair as she lurched for the railing to get closer so she could hear better.
    â€œNo. That doesn’t make sense,” Uncle Rick said. “We’ll get so much more money for him if we wait and get him sharper.”
    â€œWell, what choice do we have? Pa didn’t leave us much money to run this place—”
    Emily’s dad interrupted.