Read Online Astra by Chris Platt - Free Book Online Page B

grandmother good night and went to bed.
    Falling asleep was difficult with all the events of the day rolling around in her head, but eventually exhaustion won out and Lily drifted into a deep slumber.
    She woke with a start when Grams tapped on the bedroom door the next morning. Lily looked at the clock sleepily. The bus would arrive in fifteen minutes! She must have shut off the alarm. She bounded out of bed, got dressed in record time, and rushed down to the kitchen.
    Her first thought was Astra, but her father had other ideas. “Absolutely not, Lily, we can’t stop by Henley’s ranch and check on Astra. There’s no time,” he said as he gathered his lunch bucket and jacket. “Someone would have called if something were wrong. Why don’t you call them while I warm the truck up?”
    Lily reached for the phone. If Charlie and Jill rode the school bus, she could have asked them in person, but they went to a private school, and their dad always drove them there. She dialed the barn number and Thomas picked it up on the third ring. She sighed in relief when the stable manager told her that Astra was hanging in there. Dr. Tison even thought she was improving a bit.
    â€œThanks, Thomas.” Lily hung up the phone with a smile and grabbed her things for school. Her hair was a mess, she hadn’t eaten breakfast, and she wasn’t sure her clothes matched, but it didn’t matter. Astra had survived the night—and she was getting better!
    Lily’s dad swung the door open as she raced toward the truck. “I can tell by the big grin that the news must have been good.”
    Lily nodded and slid into the seat, watching her breath frost the inside of the cab. The weatherman on the truck’s radio said a warming trend was approaching. She sure hoped so. It seemed like winter had gone on forever, and she was ready for some warm breezes. Sunshine and warmth would help Astra, too.
    â€œThomas said Astra is improving.” Lily reached over and flipped through the stations until she found one that she knew both she and her father could agree on.
    â€œThat’s good,” he said, but Lily could see his knuckles tighten on the steering wheel.
    She reached out and touched his sleeve. “Dad, I know this is going to be hard on you. But I think this is what mom would have wanted. I really do.” She watched her father force a smile to his lips. It looked rather pained, but at least he was trying.
    They came to the end of the long dirt road and Lily was surprised to see someone sitting at her bus stop. There were several ranch kids at the stop before hers and a few at the next, but Lily and Meloney were the only kids who used this one. She knew Mel wouldn’t be there today because she had said something about an early dentist appointment. But now, a boy about her age with shaggy blond hair was waiting on the bench, looking a bit lost.
    Lily and Meloney usually sat in the truck with her dad until the bus arrived, but she felt kind of silly sitting in the warm truck staring at the boy, who was probably pretty uncomfortable on the cold bench.
    â€œShould we invite him in here where it’s warm?” Mr. O’Neil asked. “He must be from the family that moved into the old ranch down the way.”
    Lily observed the new boy. He was lean, with high cheekbones and a cute face. Actually, he was very cute. Her face grew warm at the thought and her hand went to her tangled hair. Yikes .
    She wished her dad would drive her all the way to school. Then she could start again tomorrow with brushed hair and a better pair of jeans. But she knew that wouldn’t happen. His job was in the opposite direction from the school. “That’s okay, Dad. I’ll go out and sit on the bench with him.”
    â€œAll right, if you insist.” Her father gave her a peck on the cheek. “I’ll still wait here until the bus comes.”
    Great , Lily thought. Her dad was