Wind Dancer by Chris Platt Page A

her brother that the horse preferred? She really shouldn’t care. He wasn’t her horse. But, still, it picked at her. Danny didn’t even like horses.
    “What did you find out?” her mother asked.
    Ali paused with her brush in midair while she tried to form her thoughts. There was no easy way to say it. “I think Danny has PTSD.”
    Her mother nodded sadly. “Your father and I think so too. But Danny keeps insisting that he’s fine.”
    “There’s an organization called the National Center for PTSD.” Ali grabbed a comb and concentrated on Misty’s mane. “They’ve got a lot of helpful information. I could show you and Dad where it is on the internet. And the Department of Veterans Affairs has a huge website with all kinds of stuff. There’s even a psychologist who wrote a book called
Taming the Fire Within
. She’s giving it away for free online to help soldiers with PTSD.”
    “There’s a lot of help out there,” her mother agreed. “The problem is getting your brother to seek that help.” She rubbed the chain she wore around her neck and stared off into the distance. “I think your brother is … ashamed.” She looked Ali in the eye. “I don’t know what it’s going to take to get him to see that he needs help.”
    Danny had almost killed them yesterday, all because of a backfire from a car. If that wasn’t enough to scare him into seeking help, what would it take? She thought about telling her mom about the incident. She’d promised not to. And she wanted Danny to know he could trust her. But what good was keeping a promise if it didn’t help the person it was supposed to protect?
    “Ali?” her mother broke into her thoughts. “Is there something bothering you?”
    Ali shook her head. “No, I’m just worried about Danny.” If things didn’t get better soon, she’d tell her mom and dad about the trip to the feed store.
    “There’s a local branch of the VA here,” her mother continued. “Your father and I have decided to attend one of the meetings they hold for families. I guess it’s a good place tostart. We’re finally realizing that this isn’t something we can handle by ourselves. Maybe you’d like to go with us?”
    “I think that’s a really good idea, Mom.” Ali tossed the brushes in the bucket and hugged her mother. “We’ll find a way to get through to him. We have to. Even if it’s tough.”
    Her mom kissed the top of her head. “I know you’ve been trying really hard to make your brother feel at home, and it hasn’t been easy,” she said. “But we’ll keep trying. Danny fought for us. Now it’s our turn to return the favor.”
    Her mother opened the gate. “Do you think we should find another person to care for the horses, Ali? Is this too much for us to handle?”
    “No!” Ali was surprised by her sudden outburst. “I promised that I would help these horses. School is almost out. I’ll have more time then and so will Cara. When they’re back in good condition we can talk about finding them another home.”
    But even as the words came out of her mouth, Ali wondered, if the horses made it through this crisis all right, would she really be able to let them go? She hated to admit it, but try as she might to keep her distance from them, Wind Dancer and Misty were working their way into her heart.

Fourteen
    The phone rang as Ali finished her tuna sandwich. Her mother answered it and cupped her hand over the mouthpiece. “It’s Dr. Forrester,” she whispered. Ali waited anxiously to hear what he had to say.
    “Thank you, Doctor; we’ll see you in a few minutes.” Her mom hung up the phone and turned to her daughter. “The electrolyte levels in both horses have dropped, which isn’t good. And Wind Dancer’s results showed some other troubles too. Let’s go outside and wait for the vet.”
    Ali pulled on her boots and followed her mom out to the corrals. She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Misty nickered to them, but Wind Dancer just