Helping Hands Read Free Page B

Wrenches and Roses First Annual Pony Ride is officially open,” I shout. “Who’s first?”
    Sophie sprints across the parking lot before I can say another word, and David helps her onto Babe’s saddle. Sophie is singing as loudly as she can. I hope David’s grooming made Babe happy enough that she won’t mind the off-key tune.
    I hang back, unsure what to do.
    â€œGo ahead,” David urges. “That little guy at the front of the line, I think his name is Malik. He was in my sister’s class last year. Pick him up and put him on Buster.”
    â€œRight,” I say, trying to look more confident than I feel.
    I wave Malik over, and he runs to the corral and jumps up onto the mounting block. Buster stands perfectly still while I help Malik into the saddle. He shuffles his feet a bit as the little boy pats his neck.
    David has already walked Sophie and Babe halfway around the corral. “Go ahead,” he calls. “Take his lead.”
    I lead Buster and Malik slowly around the corral. Both boy and pony seem to be having fun. So far, so good.
    David and I lead the pony rides for the next hour, while Gus sleeps in a folding chair with his hat over his face. Jules helps by entertaining the kids in line. The kids are all happy, and their parents are smiling. I cross my fingers and hope that means they’ll turn into Wrenches & Roses customers.
    â€œSo when was the last time you rode a horse?” David asks, once we’ve both settled into the routine.
    â€œUm . . . never,” I admit.
    â€œNever?” he asks. “
Never
, as in, not once in your entire life?”
    â€œYeah, that’s usually what ‘never’ means.”
    â€œMan”—he pats Buster’s neck—“I don’t know if I could handle that.”
    â€œIf you’d never been on a horse, you probably wouldn’t think it was such a big deal,” I point out.
    â€œI can’t remember a time when I wasn’t on a horse,” he says. “My dad was supposed to go to the Olympics, but it got canceled that year. We have pictures of me riding with him when I was two years old.”
    â€œMy dad taught me how to play soccer,” I say, even though it isn’t exactly the truth.
    â€œThat’s cool,” David says. “Dad and I are going riding tomorrow. He’ll be on King’s Shadow. When my dad is riding him, it looks like the two of them are flying.”
    â€œI help my dad with the store a lot,” I say. “You know, the family business.”
    I’m secretly wishing that my dad could afford a horse, or that he had the time to take me to the stables, or a soccer field, or anywhere.
    â€œYou have to work here a lot, don’t you?” David asks.
    I’m saved from the need to answer him by Maggie and Zoe, who walk up to the corral, grinning and checking out our work with the ponies. They’re both granddaughters of Dr. Mac, our town veterinarian and the leader of the Vet Volunteers. Maggie’s lived with Dr. Mac since she was a baby, and now Zoe lives with them, too, since her mom is an actress working in Hollywood.
    â€œLooks like you have this under control,” Maggie says.
    â€œThanks to David,” Jules says. She’s left the line of kids under the watchful eye of a mom with a baby in her arms.
    Zoe rolls her eyes. “Don’t say that too loud—you’ll make his head swell even bigger.”
    That makes David laugh. Babe swishes her tail like she’s joining him.
    â€œDid you guys hear about Ranger?” Maggie asks.
    â€œMr. Fedor’s dog?” I ask. I haven’t met him yet, but the other volunteers say he’s a nice old man whose dog, Ranger, is always getting into trouble.
    â€œWhat happened this time?” David asks.
    â€œHe tried to make friends with a porcupine,” Maggie says.
    I wince. “Ouch!”
    â€œTotally,” Zoe agrees.
    â€œPoor