Sundancer by Shelley Peterson Page B

waved goodbye and drove away.
    Hector had slipped into the house when he thought no one was looking. Now he was curled up as small as possible on the dog bed in the kitchen. Bird pretended not to see and hoped that Hannah wouldn’t notice. Hector used to be an outside dog, but he was getting old, and Bird was happy to have him in the house.
    Hannah gently tucked Bird into bed. “I’ll be waking you every couple of hours, Bird. You’re going to hate me, but we have to do it. What signal do you want to make so I know you’re totally awake?” Bird sleepily placed her two thumbs on either side of her head and wiggled her fingers. She laughed silently, along with Hannah.
    â€œWell, you haven’t lost your sense of humour. Now get some sleep, and I’ll call your mother,” said Hannah as she turned off the bedside lamp and made her way to the door. “I spoke to her earlier and she’s worried sick.”
    Yeah, right, thought Bird.
    Bird waited until she heard Hannah pick up the phone in the next room. She turned her light back on and reached out to grab the card that Hannah had placed on the nightstand; Alec’s card. Bird opened it with shaky fingers. On the front there was a picture of a fully bandaged person in a hospital bed with both legs in traction and a thermometer sticking out of a gauze-wrapped head. The caption read, “The other guy.” Alec had drawn horse ears, a tail, and hooves into the picture, making the figure in the bed look like a bandaged horse. Bird smiled. Inside, Alec had written, “Next time, stay on. Get well quick, Alec.”
    Bird smiled broadly. She loved his sense of humour, and she was more than a little relieved that he wasn’t angry about the other day. He’d just made everything okay. Bird flicked off the lamp and put the card under her pillow. She would sleep on it. Maybe forever.
    Suddenly, light from the hall spilled into her room.
    Hector, what are you doing here? Didn’t the stairs hurt your legs? Hector looked up into Bird’s face and cocked his head. His ears stuck out straight on either side. I’m here to protect you, Bird girl .
    Thank you .
    I won’t give you a lecture, but I warned you .
    I know you did .
    That horse cares about you, girl. I learned that today .
    Thanks for telling me that, Hector .
    But be careful he doesn’t hurt you again. He won’t mean to, but he might. Sleep tight, girl .
    Now that you’re here, I will .
    Satisfied, the old yellow dog flopped down on the floor mat and slept.
    IT WAS ONE WEEK after the concussion, and Bird felt her old self again. She was dying to get on Sundancer, but Hannah had forbidden her from riding Sundancer, at least for the time being. Bird knew that Hannah was nervous, and that the numerous reports of Sundancer’s crazy behaviour were very much on her mind. Hannah had worked him every day for the past week on the lunge line, but she felt he wasn’t ready yet for a rider. Also, she’d told Bird that she wanted to get on him first, to try to figure him out. It was certainly true, Hannah always said, that you can’t read a horse until you’re on his back.
    Bird agreed, but she had a secret. And she’d keep it from Hannah until the time was right.
    SITTING AT THE KITCHEN table, Bird watched as Hannah put down the phone. Eva had called to say that she and Randy and Julia had taken an earlier flight. Instead of waiting for Hannah to pick them up, they’d rented a car and were on their way.
    So. It was really happening. Eva was coming to visit. Now. With another boyfriend.
    Bird shuddered. Over the years, Bird had seen many different sides of her mother, but the one that was the hardest to accept was the person Eva became when she was with a man. Better to just let things unfold, thought Bird, than to think about the visit too much. At least she’d be happy to see Julia.
    Hannah was just as upset as she was. She stood,