High Hurdles by Lauraine Snelling Read Free Book Online Page B

at DJ’s face. “He’s not worth getting all mad over.”
    “He doesn’t call you names.” Without being told to, DJ held the horse while Amy picked its hooves. Since this one had a habit of reaching back to nip once in a while, they took extra precautions.
    “As your Gran says, ‘sticks and stones . . . ’ ”
    “I know what she says, but words do hurt. I can’t help my green eyes. Nobody else has cat’s eyes. He’s right.”
    “So that makes you special.”
    “Ames, sometimes you sound just like Gran.” The two giggled together.
    “So, what are you doing for your birthday?” The two were ready to head home.
    “I thought maybe you could come over and we’d go out for pizza and then a movie. Maybe my mom and Gran will go, too.”
    “You don’t want a party?”
    DJ shook her head. “Not this year. I think we’re going to get enough of birthday parties as it is.”
    “Hey, Mom and Dad might hire us for Danny’s party on August tenth.” Amy swung her leg over the seat of her bike. “Great, huh?”
    DJ nodded. “Flier is almost done. You want to come eat at my house so we can work on it?”
    “I’ll ask.” The two pedaled hard up and down Reliez Valley Road, coasting down the last hill to their houses.
    Sure hope Gran doesn’t ask me about James , DJ thought when she braked into her garage. She put her bike away and closed the garage door. She’d been extra careful lately. This was not a good time to get her mother mad. But then when was? The thought made her smile. Her mother was due back from another trip tonight. They’d talk about her birthday then.
    What if her mother gave her a horse for her fourteenth? Wouldn’t that be unbelievable? The thought stopped her from getting a drink at the sink. She closed her eyes, imagining what having her own horse would be like. But when she opened them, reality took hold. The day Lindy Randall bought her daughter a horse would be the day the sky fell.

    That evening the girls took their flier to the copy shop and ran off five hundred copies.
    “Guess we’re in business, partner.” Amy stuck out her hand.
    “Yup.” They shook and grinned at each other. This one would be a winner.
    DJ fell asleep that night with twenty-dollar bills flitting through her mind.
    Her birthday dawned with gray skies but brightened considerably when James’ nanny called to say he wouldn’t be at the Academy that day. DJ rushed through her work, cleaning stalls at top speed and grooming horses like a robot set on super fast.
    “DJ, can you come here a minute?” Bridget called as DJ finished snapping her last horses on the hot walker.
    “Sure.” DJ trotted across the dusty parking lot and into the office.
    “Surprise!” All the kids who worked at the Academy yelled in unison. A chocolate frosted cake with the words Happy Birthday, DJ took up half the desk.
    Bridget finished lighting the candles. “All right, everyone. Let us sing! ‘Happy birthday to you!’ ” The song filled the room and traveled down the aisle.
    DJ looked from face to face, sure that her grin mirrored those of her friends. Amy stood right beside the cake, singing the loudest.
    “Okay, make a wish and blow out the candles.”
    DJ crossed the room and bent over. Panic squeezed her throat shut. She couldn’t blow.

Chapter • 7
    For a horrible moment, all DJ could see was flickering fire. Her heart pounded louder than any drum. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the burning candles in front of her.
    DJ licked her lips. They were so dry.
    One hand curled around the scarred palm of the other to protect it. She remembered the sensation of the fire searing her hand, remembered thinking she would never escape it. She was lost again in the terror of that day.
    “DJ! DJ!”
    DJ heard a voice. Someone was shaking her. Bridget!
    “The fire.” Her words croaked past a throat burning from smoke. DJ shook her head. It was a birthday party. Just a cake. She was to blow out the candles. She looked