Keeta's Gift
By Eowyn HorseCrazy

Chapter One:

“Elisabeth Grace!  What are you doing?” My mother opened the door to my room, where I was laying on my bed drawing. 

“What, Mom?”  I jumped up and looked at my mother.  It was after 4:00, and I’d recently finished my school.  Mom put a wet hand on her hip. 

“I’ve been calling you forever!” she said, frustrated.  “What have you been doing?”  She peered over my head into my room, then sighed.  “Drawing again.  Haven’t you heard me?” 

“No, Mom, I haven’t.  I’m sorry,” I replied.  “Now…what did you want?” 

“Yes!”  Mom snapped her fingers.  “I need you to get the little kids ready.  Dad’s taking them to get feed for the animals.” 

We have 12 goats… and I hate them.  “Okay,” I said, walking out of my room.  I got shoes on Josephine, Susanna, Brandon, Taylor, William, and Jonathan and then loaded them up for Dad.  After they left, I went back inside with my sister Adelaide and brother Davy, and we got busy with Monopoly.  After a few moments, Mom handed me the phone. 

“Your friend is on the phone, Beth.  It’s Rachel.  She said it’s urgent...” 

Rachel Devine is my best friend, and her family raises horses.  Since she owns two horses, we go riding almost every day.  My family raises goats, and we have a German Shepherd dog named General.  I wish we could have horses, but Dad says they are too expensive, so I just share Rachel’s horses with her.

“Hello?” I said. 

“Hey, can you come over?”  Rachel asked, sounding really upset. 

“Maybe… what’s up?” I wondered. 

“Just wait until you come over!  Hurry!” Rachel hung up.  I hung up also, puzzled, and tossed the phone on the couch. 

“Mom!  Can I go over to Rachel’s for a while?” I asked, already putting my shoes on. 

“Yes, but be back in time to help with dinner!” Mom replied, walking into the laundry room. 

“Thanks!”  I ran out the door and got my bike, then pedaled down the gravel country road to my friend’s house as fast as I could.  My family of 11… 5 boys and 4 girls… lived in Shady Cove, Oregon.  Before we moved to Oregon, we’d lived in Kamiah, Idaho.  But Dad decided that he wanted to move to Medford, Oregon, because it was all ‘country’ and there were some people there that he knew.  He hadn’t been able to find acreage in Medford, so we moved to Shady Cove.  I still wonder why it’s called Shady Cove, instead of Sunny Cove or Sweaty Cove.  It’s totally hot here, especially in the summer.  

I finally reached Rachel’s house, dropped my bike in their dark green front yard, and knocked on the door.  Mr. Devine always has sprinklers going from 7:30 p.m., to 9:30 p.m., so his acreage is usually really green.  I wished that there was a sprinkler going right then, so that I could soak myself and cool off.  Rachel’s 15-year-old sister, Kirsten, answered the door. 

“Oh, Beth,” she said, her face looking anxious.  

“Uh, Rachel said…” I started, but Kirsten interrupted.

“Rachel’s in the barn with her mare, Keeta.  She said to send you out as soon as you got here.  We think there’s trouble again.”  Trouble?  In the barn?  Keeta?  Keeta is a beautiful Quarter Horse mare, but she suffers from kidney failure.  I raced to the Devine’s big, red barn.  They have 7 horses; Keeta, Spirit, Cadillac, Chokatoy, Towaco, as well as two Shetland ponies; Lightening and Nickers.  Rachel owns Keeta and Chokatoy, both paint Quarter Horses. 

“Where are you?” I asked, running into the stall-way. 

“Over here, Beth!” I heard Rachel say.  “In Keeta’s stall!  Huury!”  I made my way to the stall with the bold letters 'KEETA' in gold on the half-door.

“Hey, what’s…” I started to say as I entered, but stopped short.  Keeta was laying on her side, pawing the hay.  She lay still for a moment.  Her sides heaved with each halting breath, and sweat was gleaming on her beautiful black-and-white coat.

“Rachel…what’s going on?”  I fumbled with the lock, and then knelt beside Keeta.  I love all of the Devine’s horses, but Keeta was my absolute favorite.  Rachel always says that I know her horse better than she does.  Rachel looked at me with a troubled face. 

“Beth, tell me what’s wrong!  She’s not breathing right!  What’s wrong?”

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