Holiday Horse Read online

  “Try it without me this time,” she said.

  Carole nodded and kept Starlight moving. Belle rolled her big brown eyes in Stevie’s direction, but she seemed to have figured out what was going on. She kept the lead rope taut between Starlight and herself, which made the gelding’s tail look awfully funny as it stretched straight out behind him, but both horses kept going.

  “Good girl!” Stevie cried in delight. She hurried forward to detach Belle from Starlight’s tail and give her a congratulatory hug.

  “That was great,” Lisa called. “I didn’t think it would work.”

  “Me neither,” Carole said. She smiled at Stevie. “I guess Belle is a faster learner than I thought.”

  Stevie gave the mare a satisfied pat. “She’s brilliant,” she said. “I’ve always said so, haven’t I? Come on, let’s give these guys a good grooming. They deserve it.”

  A SHORT WHILE LATER the three girls met up again in the tack room. One of Pine Hollow’s rules was that all riders were supposed to take care of the horses they rode. That included cleaning their tack after every use. Max said that having the riders pitch in was the best way to keep expenses down. But the girls knew that he also thought it was the best way to make sure his students understood that riding didn’t begin when a person climbed into a saddle and end when he or she climbed out.

  Luckily, cleaning tack allowed the girls to talk to each other while they worked. That meant it was usually a good time for a Saddle Club meeting.

  “Okay,” Carole said as she picked up a sponge. “Time to figure out what to do about New Year’s Eve.”

  Before the other two girls could respond, a frantic voice came from the hallway outside. “Max? Are you in here?”

  A second later Max’s wife, Deborah, poked her head into the room.

  “Oh, hi, girls,” she said. She was carrying her seven-month-old baby, Maxine—already nicknamed Maxi—in an infant carrier, a sort of reverse backpack that nestled against her chest. The baby looked perfectly content to be riding that way. She was smiling and sucking on a pacifier. Maxi’s mother, on the other hand, looked more than a little frazzled.

  “Hi, Deborah,” Lisa said. “Hi, Maxi.” She jumped to her feet and reached out to tickle the baby. Maxi gurgled with delight, spitting the pacifier onto the tack room floor. “Oops,” Lisa said, reaching down for the pacifier. “Sorry about that.”

  Deborah didn’t even seem to notice. “Have you seen Max lately?” she asked.

  The three girls shook their heads. “Is anything wrong?” Carole asked.

  Deborah sighed. “Yes. No. I don’t know.” She threw up her hands in exasperation. “There’s a potential new riding student due to arrive here any minute. Max is supposed to be here to talk to her and check out her ability, but there’s no sign of him.”

  “Oh,” Carole said. That didn’t sound like much of an emergency to her. Why was Deborah so upset? “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll turn up soon.”

  “I hope so,” Deborah snapped. “The last thing I want to do is carry Maxi around on a stable tour. I don’t think the new rider would be very impressed with that.” Suddenly her voice changed from annoyed to upset. “Besides, I can’t judge anyone’s riding ability. I just don’t know enough.”

  The three girls exchanged looks. Deborah seemed very agitated. In fact, she was clearly on the verge of tears. And even if they didn’t understand exactly why she was getting so upset about nothing, they had to try to help.

  “It’s okay, Deborah,” Stevie said quickly. She stood up and tossed the saddle soap she was holding into the bucket by the door. “I’ll go see if I can rustle up Max. Or maybe Red.” Red O’Malley was the head stable hand at Pine Hollow. If Max couldn’t be located, Red would be able to take over with the new student.

  As Stevie rushed out the door, Carole stood, too. “I’ll go tack up one of the horses,” she offered. “Maybe Nero, if he’s in his stall. That way he’ll be all ready when the new student is ready to ride.” Within seconds, she disappeared, too.

  Deborah seemed slightly stunned by The Saddle Club’s quick response. “Thanks, girls,” she said, even though Lisa was the only one left in the room.

  Lisa looked at Deborah more carefully. She could see that Deborah had black circles under her eyes. It was obvious that she was on the edge of exhaustion. Suddenly Lisa remembered that Max’s mother, known to one and all as Mrs. Reg, had departed a couple of days earlier for a week’s visit to friends in California. Mrs. Reg helped Max run Pine Hollow, taking care of many business matters and lots of paperwork, in addition to other stable jobs.

  That must be why Deborah looks so tired, Lisa thought. She’s been doing Mrs. Reg’s job around here, as well as her own job and looking after Maxi. That’s a lot of work!

  “You look kind of tired,” Lisa said hesitantly. “Do you want me to hold Maxi for you for a few minutes? That way you can talk to the new student in case Stevie can’t find Max right away.”

  “Thanks, Lisa,” Deborah said gratefully. “I’d appreciate that.” She started to unhook the straps of the carrier. “This front pack is a miracle. It’s definitely the easiest way to carry a baby, in my opinion. But Maxi is still heavier than she looks.” She grinned weakly. “Max says it’s because she eats like a horse.”

  Lisa laughed and held out her arms. Deborah slid her own arms out of the carrier and attached it around Lisa’s shoulders. Lisa put her arm around the baby, who settled against the curve of her stomach.

  “Neat,” Lisa said, looking down at the tufts of hair on top of Maxi’s head. “It’s like carrying her around in a pouch, like a kangaroo.”

  Deborah chuckled and stretched. “It really is handy,” she said. “The only drawback is that Max keeps threatening to take her on horseback in it.”

  Lisa laughed again. When Deborah had met Max, she had hardly known one end of a horse from the other. These days she was a little better informed. But, as she liked to put it, she still didn’t eat, breathe, and sleep horses the way her husband did.

  “Don’t worry,” Lisa joked. “We won’t tease you too much if your daughter is a better rider than you are by the time she’s four years old.”

  “That won’t bother me,” Deborah said with a wry smile. “In fact, I expect it. I just don’t want her to be able to ride before she can walk!”

  “WHERE’S THE HORSIE?” Lisa cooed. “Where’s the horsie? Here’s the horsie!” She pulled the stuffed toy out from behind her back and wiggled it in Maxi’s face. The baby giggled and reached for the brown corduroy horse with both chubby hands. She hooked her fingers in the toy’s yarn mane, and Lisa let her take it.

  Lisa smiled down at Maxi. “You’re awfully cute. Do you know that?” She suspected that Maxi did.

  It was ten minutes since Deborah had departed to look for the new student. The other two members of The Saddle Club had not yet returned from their respective errands. Lisa was in Mrs. Reg’s office playing with Maxi.

  Deborah entered. “How’s it going in here?” she asked.

  “Great,” Lisa said, looking up with a smile. “I think Maxi likes the present we got her.” The stuffed horse had been a Christmas gift from The Saddle Club. Lisa had been delighted to find it tucked into the side pocket of the infant carrier.

  “She sure does,” Deborah said. “It’s one of her favorites already. Will you come and help me welcome the new student? A car just pulled in, and I’m sure it’s her.”

  “Sure,” Lisa said. She was glad to see that Deborah seemed calmer than she had a few minutes earlier. She stood up, being careful not to bounce Maxi around too much. “Let’s go.”

  “I really appreciate your help,” Deborah said as she led the way toward the front of the building. “All of you girls, I mean. And I’m sorry if I seemed kind of hysterical before.” She sighed. “I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep lately. Maxi kept me up half the night last night.”

  Lisa glanced down at the beaming baby in her arms. She could hardly imagine such
an angelic creature giving anyone trouble. “At least you won’t have any problem staying awake to ring in the new year in a couple of days,” she joked.

  Deborah rolled her eyes. “That’s true,” she said with a laugh. “Who needs a party when you have a baby?” She reached over and tousled Maxi’s downy hair. “She’ll be our own little noisemaker this year. I just hope she lets us get more sleep in the new year than she did in the old one.”

  Lisa smiled. She was sure that Deborah must be exaggerating, at least a little. She knew that babies were a lot of work, but she thought that taking care of a baby must be sort of like doing stable chores. It was hard work, but you really didn’t mind because it was for something you loved.

  Lisa glanced again at Deborah’s tired face. Still, she reflected, I guess even work you love can pile up. Sometimes completing the number of chores around Pine Hollow could seem like an impossible task. Maybe being a new mother was the same way.

  She didn’t have any more time to think about it. They had reached the stable entrance just in time to meet a pair of people coming through it.

  One of the strangers was a girl about Lisa’s age. She had short reddish brown hair, big hazel eyes, and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. The woman with her looked so much like the girl that Lisa knew they had to be mother and daughter.

  “Hi there,” Deborah greeted the newcomers. “Welcome to Pine Hollow.” She introduced herself and Lisa.

  “Nice to meet you both,” the woman said with a wide, friendly smile. She shook Deborah’s hand, then turned and gave Lisa’s hand a hearty shake as well. “I’m Joanne Lynn. This is my daughter, Brittney.”

  “Hi, Brittney,” Lisa said, turning to the girl.

  The new girl gave Lisa an uncertain smile. She scanned Lisa’s face for a second with apparent interest, then quickly looked down at her feet. Lisa noticed that those feet were clad in a scuffed, well-worn pair of riding boots. “You can call me Britt,” the girl said in a voice that was little more than a whisper.

  Meanwhile, Britt’s mother was leaning forward to get a better look at Maxi. “What a cute baby,” she said, tickling Maxi under the chin. She glanced at Deborah. “Is she yours? I think I can see a resemblance.”

  Deborah smiled. “Yes, she is. Her name is Maxine. I believe you spoke to her father on the phone—Max Regnery.”

  “Right,” Ms. Lynn said. “Max and I chatted yesterday. He sounds like a lovely man.” She smiled even more brightly at Deborah, then turned to include Lisa in her frank, friendly gaze. “Britt and I just moved to this area, and she’s dying to find a new stable. She’s a terrific rider—she’s been doing it since she was knee-high.”

  “Really?” Lisa said, looking at Britt. “That’s great. You must be really good.”

  Britt shrugged. “I like to ride,” she said. Then she looked down at her feet again.

  The new girl seemed uncomfortable being the center of attention. Lisa could already tell that Britt was very shy. I wonder how she turned out that way with a mother like that? Lisa thought. Ms. Lynn was so cheerful and likable that Lisa felt comfortable with her already. Her daughter, on the other hand, seemed remote and withdrawn.

  Maybe she’s just timid around new people, Lisa speculated. What could Lisa do to make her feel more relaxed?

  Before Lisa could figure out what to say next, Carole arrived. “Hi,” she said breathlessly. “Nero’s ready. He’s waiting in the indoor ring.”

  “Thanks, Carole,” Deborah said. She introduced Carole to the Lynns. “Carole and Lisa are two of our best young riders,” she went on. “I’m hoping they’ll help me give you two a tour of the place.” She gave Ms. Lynn an apologetic smile. “I’m afraid I can’t seem to locate my husband at the moment. But he’ll be along soon, I’m sure.”

  “No problem,” Ms. Lynn said. “We’re in no hurry. Right, Britt?”

  Britt nodded silently.

  “Great. How about that tour?” Ms. Lynn turned her bright smile and twinkling hazel eyes on Carole, who automatically grinned back.

  “Let’s start at the tack room,” Carole said. “Come this way.” She touched Britt on the elbow. The girl jumped in surprise, but she followed obediently as Carole led the way down the hall, pointing things out as they walked.

  Lisa dropped behind a little, watching Britt. She could tell that the girl wasn’t doing much more chatting with Carole than she had with her. But she did seem very interested in seeing the stable. She even asked Carole a question or two, although she spoke so quietly that Lisa couldn’t quite make out what she was asking.

  After a moment, Ms. Lynn fell into step beside Lisa. “Have you been riding here long, Lisa?” she asked.

  “Not as long as my friends have,” Lisa said. She looked around at the familiar scene. It was hard to remember a time when she hadn’t come here, although it really wasn’t that far in the past. “But long enough to know that this is the best stable around. I’m sure Britt will love it here.”

  “I hope so,” Ms. Lynn said. Her smile turned a little wistful and she lowered her voice. “In case you haven’t noticed, she’s a little shy. But only with people, never with horses. She loves them all.” The woman glanced down one of the long rows of stalls as they passed it. “She must get that from my late husband. She sure doesn’t get it from me. I never even saw a horse up close before Britt started taking lessons.”

  Lisa laughed as she and Ms. Lynn paused outside the tack room. Carole, Britt, and Deborah had already disappeared inside. “Don’t worry, the horses here are really friendly,” Lisa assured the woman. “And the people are almost as nice.” Maxi wiggled a little in the carrier, and Lisa helped the baby find a more comfortable position as Ms. Lynn peeked into the tack room. Lisa could hear the sounds of one of Carole’s enthusiastic horse-related lectures heating up inside.

  Ms. Lynn pulled her head back and looked at Lisa. “Sounds like they’re having fun in there.”

  “I’m sure Carole is,” Lisa said. “I just hope she doesn’t get so caught up in what she’s saying that she won’t let Britt get a word in edgewise. She gets that way sometimes when the subject is horses.”

  Ms. Lynn laughed. “Don’t worry,” she assured Lisa, leaning back against the hallway wall. “Britt is a good listener. She could listen to horse talk all day and be as happy as a clam.” Maxi reached out toward the woman, and Ms. Lynn offered the baby a finger to grasp. “Do you go to school here in Willow Creek, Lisa?”

  Lisa nodded. “I go to the public school in town.”

  “That’s where Britt will be going when classes start up again in January.” Ms. Lynn shook her head. “I really hated to pull her out of her old school in Ohio in the middle of the year, but I didn’t have much choice. I work for a politician who was just elected to Congress in November. She asked me to move here and work for her; her term starts this January.”

  “That’s really great,” Lisa said sincerely. Willow Creek was within commuting distance of Washington, D.C., so she knew a lot of people, including many of her parents’ friends and a few of Max’s adult riders, who worked for the government in one capacity or another. She was always interested in meeting the people who had moved to the U.S. capital from all over the country—even all over the world. It made her sleepy little town seem much more exciting.

  “This way,” Carole called over her shoulder, hurrying out of the tack room. She almost bumped into Lisa. “Oops. Sorry about that. I was just going to take Britt to meet some of the horses.”

  “Good idea,” Lisa agreed. She smiled at Ms. Lynn as Carole hurried off with Britt in tow. “Nobody knows the horses around here better than Carole. Just don’t tell Max I said so.”

  The woman chuckled. Deborah, who had just emerged from the tack room and joined them, laughed, too. “I’m afraid Lisa is right about that,” she admitted. “Carole is certifiably horse-crazy.”

  “The best kind of crazy,” Ms. Lynn said. “At least that’s what Britt tells me.”

  Lisa glanced down t
he hallway at Britt’s departing back. The more she heard about the new girl, the better she liked her. At least in theory. It was just too bad that Britt wasn’t as friendly and outgoing as her mother.

  “What kinds of horses did Britt ride at her old stable?” Deborah asked as she, Lisa, and Ms. Lynn strolled down the hallway after Carole and Britt.

  “Actually, she had her own horse,” Ms. Lynn replied. “His name is Toledo. She boarded him at the stable. Unfortunately, he was already quite old when she got him a few years ago.” She glanced forward at her daughter’s back. “We decided to let him retire and stay in Ohio rather than trying to move him here with us. He’s got a beautiful little pasture at the stable there. But Britt misses him terribly already, as you can imagine.”

  Lisa nodded sympathetically. She couldn’t imagine leaving a beloved horse behind in another state. But it sounded as though Britt had made her decision based on what was best for her horse. That was another big point in her favor, in Lisa’s book. She was sure her friends would agree. “That’s tough,” she said softly.

  Deborah nodded. “Poor girl. I hope we can help keep her busy so that she doesn’t feel too sad.”

  At that moment, Britt came hurrying back toward them. “Hey, Mom,” she said. Her voice was still soft and quick, but now she was smiling. Her face glowed with excitement. “Come here and see. There’s a horse here who looks a lot like Toledo.”

  Ms. Lynn allowed herself to be dragged away down the aisle. Carole walked over to talk to Lisa while Deborah wandered around the corner to look for Max.

  “Which horse is it?” Lisa asked curiously.

  “Romeo,” Carole said.

  Lisa nodded. Romeo was a boarder. He was a good-natured brown gelding that belonged to Polly Giacomin, a girl in The Saddle Club’s riding class. “Britt seems nice, doesn’t she?”

  “Nice and shy,” Carole agreed. “But she seems to know a lot about horses.”