Greener Pastures - Alyssa Brugman [33]
'Maybe he just smiled at you because you were staring at him. Or it could be because he loves you. He could have caught the lovey-ness that you've been sending out on your pheromones.'
Erin frowned. 'You're saying I stinked at him and he contracted a crush?'
'Hence the smiling,' Shelby replied. 'So what do I do about Chad? Do I ring him? Should I wait for him to message me or something?'
'You're asking me? I can't even maintain eye contact with the boy I love.'
'I'll wait till he's online and then I'll just say something casual, like ask him about how his essay went.' Shelby doodled on the corner of her page. 'How do you know he thought it was a date anyway? Did he tell you?'
'He didn't have to tell me.'
'Then you don't know for sure. There could still be some other girl.'
Erin copied the notes from the board and then she chewed on the end of her pen. 'Am I that kid who smells and nobody says anything? Was that pheromone comment your nice way of telling me?'
The bell for the next class rang and the two girls closed their books and packed their things.
'You don't smell,' Shelby assured her as she slung her backpack over her shoulder. 'What do we have now?'
'Art,' Erin groaned.
As they headed along the hallway Shelby saw Lydia. The two girls fell into step with her.
'Hey, how is Chance doing?' Shelby asked, talking loudly over the hubbub in the corridor.
Lydia grinned. 'He's fine! He's great actually. After you left the other day Dr Ross came out. You were right about the clippings. He said not to give them to him as well.'
'That's a relief,' Shelby said.
They climbed the stairs to the art rooms. Erin walked inside. Shelby stayed outside with Lydia for a moment more as all the other students filed into class behind her.
'Anyway, Dr Ross got a proper farrier out to put some shoes on him, and we've got some medication to put in his feed and now he's fine again. I don't have any troubles making him go.'
'You rode him?'
Lydia nodded. 'Just around the paddock for now. Dr Ross said I could start taking him out maybe in a few weeks.'
'Weeks? But Clint said –'
Lydia lifted her chin. 'Yeah, well, my dad said that Clint guy is just trying to create business for himself. After all, Dr Ross is a vet. You know, with a degree? So who is going to know more?'
Shelby's Art teacher poked her head out of the door. 'Will you be joining us, Miss Shaw?'
'Yes, Miss. Just one second.' She turned back to Lydia. 'Remember that if you're giving him painkillers he won't know that he's lame.'
'That's kind of the point, isn't it?' Lydia said.
'Yeah, but just because he doesn't know he's lame doesn't mean that he isn't lame,' Shelby went on.
'Don't worry,' Lydia said, walking backwards down the hall. 'I know you were trying to help, and you did help, in a roundabout way.'
'No problem. We should go on that ride together when he's better.' Shelby hurried in to class and took her seat. She was worried. In her experience things that sounded too good to be true usually were.
18 Prince Blue
Shelby had been anxious about visiting Zeb, Molly and Keisha, but when she arrived that afternoon it was business as usual, and she realised that it had only been a week since she had been there last – not a long time in the scheme of things.
She was also nervous about seeing Chad, but he wasn't there. Molly told her that Chad had come over for a riding lesson the day before, and he'd mentioned going to visit his brother up the coast.
Keisha greeted her warmly. It was obvious that she had no idea that Shelby had been avoiding them. The first thing she wanted to do was show Shelby the new horse that had arrived a few days before.
Shelby had never seen anything like it. It seemed to be a cross between a Welsh Cob and a Clydesdale, but with striking black and white splotches. It had a long, thick mane and massive feathers covering its hooves.
'It's a Gypsy Vanner,' Keisha explained. 'Also called an Irish Tinker. There are only about two dozen in