Starlight Christmas Read online

  For a few minutes after she hung up, she reverted briefly to her starry-eyed state. It was New Year’s Eve. She was wearing a strapless dress of aquamarine chiffon, silver sandals on her feet, a diamond tiara in her hair. Phil, in a tuxedo, held her gently as they floated across the floor to the sound of … an oompah band? What was she thinking of? There was no way her mother would let her have a strapless dress. Phil would probably die before he’d put on a tuxedo, and if she wore silver sandals like the ones in her daydream, she’d have a broken ankle long before midnight. And as for the diamond tiara … No, the whole situation called for some serious thinking. Fortunately, she had good friends to help her.

  Stevie reached for the phone again. She had to talk to Carole.

  “You’ve been to dances at the Marine Corps base,” Stevie began as soon as Carole picked up the phone. “Do you have to wear really high heels or can you be comfortable?”

  “Comfortable!” Carole answered automatically. “Suffering for the sake of beauty went out with Scarlett O’Hara!” Then she continued without pause, “I’m so glad you called. Guess what I’m going to do! No, you’ll never guess. You couldn’t, anyway. It’s too wonderful—”

  For a minute, Stevie had the horrible feeling that Carole had found out about the secret. She gulped, and listened.

  “Judy was just here. I wanted her to check Snowball—who is just fine, by the way—and we got to talking and it turns out that she wants me to work with her over the vacation. Can you believe it? Me, an assistant veterinarian! I’ll be helping her with all her horse work and probably the small animals, that means dogs and cats, that she works with in her clinic, but the big stuff is the horses because they don’t come to the clinic—she has to go to them most of the time. Isn’t that fabulous?”

  “Wow!” Stevie said, both relieved that the secret was safe and thrilled for her friend. “That’ll be terrific. Think what you’ll learn!”

  “I know,” Carole said enthusiastically. “Maybe I’ll even get to do some things, like help her with examinations. I can do pulse and temperature, breathing rate, and stuff like that, because of what I learned from her and from Max already. How do you like the sound of Carole Hanson, D.V.M., equine veterinarian?”

  “Equine? We are getting fancy, aren’t we?” Stevie joked.

  “Well, after all, it’s the proper word for ‘pertaining to a horse,’ and it comes from the Latin word equinus.”

  “You’re starting to sound like a dictionary, or a horse-care manual,” Stevie said, a little more sharply than she intended.

  “Doing it again, huh?” Carole asked. This was a common complaint from her friends and, Carole knew, a fair one. “It’s just that I’m excited.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I’d be excited, too. Just don’t get so excited that you think I don’t know what equine means, okay?”

  “Deal,” Carole promised. “Anyway, we start tomorrow after Horse Wise. I can’t wait to tell Dad.”

  “Haven’t you told him yet? He should have gotten home about a half hour ago,” Stevie said. Colonel Hanson had dropped Stevie and Lisa off forty-five minutes earlier, and Stevie knew that it was a fifteen-minute drive from her house to the Hansons’.

  “How’d you know?” Carole asked. “That’s just when he got home. Are you becoming some kind of psychic?”

  Stevie realized then that she was on the brink of revealing part of the secret. There was no way she could let Carole know about seeing her father at the mall. She had to think fast.

  “Of course I’m not a psychic,” she said as calmly as she could. “It’s just that …” Her mind raced. Then it came to her. “It’s just that The Honeymooners started on television half an hour ago and I know your dad never misses it.”

  Carole laughed. “You do know my dad well, don’t you? It’s almost over, so I’m going to talk to him now. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow at the stable, okay?”

  “Right. See you then,” Stevie said, and hung up, letting out her breath. That had been close!

  Secrets were nice. Keeping them wasn’t!

  “LINE UP, NOW, facing me!” Max called out to the members of Horse Wise. Carole, in the lead, brought the line of riders down the center of the ring, stopped at the far end, and brought her horse, Barq, to a halt, facing Max. Stevie drew up to her left. Lisa came next. The rest of the riders did the same until all nine of the Horse Wise members were at attention.

  “This has been a good meeting,” Max said. “I think we’re all learning a lot from Horse Wise.”

  Lisa thought so, too. In a way, the Pony Club meetings weren’t very different from riding lessons, but in other ways, they were very different. Riding lessons, after all, were just about riding. Horse Wise was about everything there was to do with horses, including horse care, stable management, equipment care, and equine health maintenance. Today they had been working on tack, meaning saddles and bridles. They’d learned the different kinds of tack and what a change in tack could mean to a rider. Lisa hadn’t really realized until today that a bit had to be the right size for the horse’s mouth. She’d always thought one horse’s mouth was about the same as another’s. Now, knowing that the wrong size bit could hurt her horse, she was glad she had fitted Pepper’s bit carefully.

  At the end of the tack lesson, the Pony Clubbers had taken a brief trail ride. They had just finished cooling down their horses.

  “I want to talk to you about the Starlight Ride,” Max began. “We will all assemble here at seven o’clock. There will be an inspection at seven-thirty. All horses are to be completely and correctly tacked up, girths adjusted, and ready to go. All riders must have appropriate clothing, including hats, gloves, and scarves. Anybody who is not completely and perfectly outfitted will remain at the stable. A night trail ride is a treat, but it is also very different from the ride we just took. There can be no question of anybody delaying the rest of the group just because he or she hasn’t taken proper steps to—yes, Stevie?” Stevie had raised her hand.

  “Can we bring friends on the ride?” Stevie asked.

  “If your friend is a good, safe rider, and can provide her own horse, yes. But I have to be confident that she can ride well enough.”

  “This is a friend from Moose Hill, the riding camp,” Stevie explained. Lisa and Carole glanced at Stevie. Any friend Stevie was talking about from Moose Hill wasn’t a “she.” Stevie wasn’t giving anything away, though. “This friend is as good as I am—well, almost,” she continued. Everybody laughed. “And this person has another friend who I’m told is even better.”

  “Should be okay, Stevie, as long as these girls have their parents’ permission and obey all the rules.” Max looked at all of the riders. “That goes for all of you. Permission slips are available in my office. Horse Wise dis-missed!”

  The Saddle Club dismounted and walked their horses back into the stall area.

  “This girl from camp,” Carole teased her friend. “Is she somebody we know?”

  Stevie grinned. “Give me a break,” she said. “Phil’s bringing a friend named A.J. We’re going to have a blast. Let’s face it, the only thing better than a moonlight ride on a crisp winter evening is a moonlight ride with a cute guy, right?”

  “Oh, it’s a guy, is it?” Veronica diAngelo asked casually. The Saddle Club exchanged guarded looks. Veronica diAngelo was Pine Hollow’s spoiled little rich girl, who cared more about her expensive riding clothes than her horse. She was not one of The Saddle Club’s favorite people. Veronica sauntered past the girls, yanking the reins on the bridle of her horse, Garnet. “Not surprising you wanted to keep it a secret, though. He’s probably a real jerk.”

  Stevie, Lisa, and Carole answered Veronica’s remark with glares.

  “You know, on a jerk scale—” Lisa began.

  “Don’t even bother,” Stevie interrupted her. “Personally, I think she’s just jealous, and when she meets Phil, she’ll be even more jealous. Jealousy brings out the best in Veronica.”

 
“Like that, you mean?” Carole asked.

  “That’s what I mean,” Stevie said.

  Lisa was glad to know that Veronica’s thoughtlessness hadn’t hurt Stevie’s feelings. She was about to say so when Carole gasped.

  “There’s Judy! And I haven’t even untacked Barq! I can’t keep her waiting!”

  Stevie quickly slipped a halter on over Topside’s bridle, clipped cross-ties to the halter, and loosened his girth. “Give me the reins,” she said. “Lisa and I will take care of Barq. You go on with Judy.”

  “You mean it?” Carole asked, clearly grateful for her friend’s offer of help.

  “Of course,” Lisa said. “Get on out of here. There’s a lame horse out there that needs your soothing touch.”

  “Go for it,” Stevie added. “You’re still coming to my house for the sleepover tonight, aren’t you?” she asked.

  “Of course I am. It’ll be a Saddle Club sleepover, which means we’ll hardly sleep at all, right?”

  “Right,” Stevie said.

  “Your overnight bag is in your cubby, isn’t it? I’ll bring it so you won’t have to lug it around the countryside with Judy. See you later!” Lisa said.

  “Thanks, guys,” Carole told her friends. Then, handing the reins to Stevie, she left to meet up with Judy. Lisa and Stevie could see the excited bounce in her walk as she left them. They decided that doing a little extra work for Carole was definitely worth it to see her so happy and excited.

  Together, Lisa and Stevie began the work on the three horses. First, they removed all the tack and stored it properly in the tack room, to be cleaned later. Then they groomed, fed, and watered each of the horses.

  Lisa had learned early on that horses were a lot of work. In her opinion, anybody who thought riding just meant climbing up into a saddle, taking a ride, and then delivering the horse to a stablehand afterward, didn’t really know what horses were all about. It seemed to Lisa that for every hour she spent on a horse’s back, she spent two in his stall taking care of him. She didn’t mind, though, because she was horse crazy. She liked everything to do with horses, not just riding—although “like” probably wasn’t the right word for some of the tasks, like mucking out stalls. Still, mucking out a stall was an important and necessary chore, and it wasn’t too bad.

  It turned out that Topside and Barq needed fresh straw in their stalls, as well as the routine care. It took the girls a long time to do the chores. All the other riders had finished their jobs and were getting ready to go. By the time Stevie and Lisa got to Pepper’s stall, they were quiet with fatigue. The two girls entered and began brushing Pepper’s coat. Stevie worked on the horse’s far side, while Lisa worked on the side nearest the stall door. Since Lisa was shorter than the high door on the stall, somebody passing by might not even notice the tired girls hard at work.

  Veronica diAngelo certainly didn’t notice them. She walked by the stall, and she wasn’t alone. As usual, some hopeful friends trailed her, drawn to her by her wealth and privilege.

  “Look,” Veronica was saying to the girls, “if you want to be in my club, you have to earn your way in. The members of Equinus are special because not just anybody can be a member. Understand?”

  “Oh, yes,” one of the girls said.

  Stevie understood, too. She realized that Veronica was still jealous that she hadn’t been included in The Saddle Club. The girls had never asked Veronica to join for two simple reasons. Veronica wasn’t horse crazy and she didn’t know what the word help meant, except when it came to helping herself. Besides, the girls knew that Veronica didn’t really want to be a part of The Saddle Club. She just hated being left out of anything. Obviously, Veronica had decided to start her own club. This could be the only chance The Saddle Club would get to learn anything about it. Stevie crouched down beside Pepper and signaled Lisa to do the same. Lisa crept around the horse, put down her brush, and sat down in the fresh straw next to Stevie. They both listened intently.

  “What do we have to do?” the second girl asked Veronica.

  “Simple,” Veronica said. “All you have to do is to see that Carole, Lisa, and Stevie don’t go on the Starlight Ride.”

  There was a stunned silence on the other side of the stall. Lisa and Stevie exchanged startled looks. Could they have heard this right?

  “Who are those girls?” Lisa whispered to Stevie. “Do you recognize their voices?”

  Stevie nodded. “Elaine and Diana. They’re new girls. So new they don’t know how awful Veronica is yet.”

  “They’re learning, though, aren’t they? Do you think they’ll figure it out before they decide to ruin our Starlight Ride?”

  Stevie shrugged, then put her finger to her lips. Conversation began again in the hallway outside the stall.

  “How can we do that?” Elaine asked.

  “Oh, there are lots of ways,” Veronica said.

  “No, that’s not what she means,” Diana said. “She means how can we do such a terrible thing to anybody?”

  No one said a word for a few minutes. Lisa thought she could hear Veronica’s eyebrows arching. “You do want to be in Equinus, don’t you?” she asked sweetly.

  “Oh, of course,” both girls assured her.

  “Well, then, remember who your friends are,” Veronica snapped at them.

  “I remember, I remember,” Diana said quickly. “So how do we do it?”

  “As I said, there are lots of ways,” Veronica replied. “But here’s what I would do if I were you. Since Max is going to insist that everybody be on time, you won’t have to hurt the horses. Just make sure the girls are late. The easiest way to do that is to take their horses out of their stalls and turn them out in the big paddock on the north side of the barn. It’ll be dark out. Nobody will spot them out there. By the time the girls figure out where their horses are, we’ll be long gone on the Starlight Ride and I’ll be holding the leader’s torch. Don’t you think so?”

  “Oh, definitely,” Elaine said. “And you deserve it anyway. After all, you’re a much better rider that Carole.”

  “Really?” Veronica purred.

  “Of course you are,” Elaine replied. “After all, you have your own horse. Everybody’s always a better rider on her own horse. You’re one of the best!”

  “Yes, I guess you’re right,” Veronica said.

  Stevie clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter that threatened to explode out of her. Next to her, Lisa’s face was bright red, deepening to beet-colored. Lisa began to rise. Stevie knew what her friend was going to do. Lisa was going to tell Veronica diAngelo exactly what she thought of her, and of her dumb club, and of her nasty pranks, and of her stupid admirers.

  The last thing Stevie wanted was to let Veronica know that they knew exactly what she was up to. With an effort, she swallowed her laughter and yanked at Lisa’s sleeve. When Lisa glared at her, Stevie shook her head vigorously. She put her finger over her mouth. Lisa eased herself back onto the straw.

  “We’ll have to get here early, won’t we?” Diana asked.

  “Yes, but not too early. You only have to walk the horses out the nearest door, there, and free them. That’s it. You don’t want to be seen by anybody, understand?”

  “Definitely,” Elaine agreed. “I don’t want anybody to see that.”

  “All right, then, it’s settled,” Veronica said. Both Stevie and Lisa could hear the triumph in her voice. “Now, let’s go to the tack room. I’ll show you where Garnet’s saddle is kept so that when you come for class on Tuesday, you can soap it and saddle up my horse for me.”

  Stevie and Lisa heard the clumping noise of three pairs of booted feet going to the tack room. The girls were gone.

  “I can’t believe it!” Lisa said indignantly, rising up out of the straw.

  Stevie stood up as well. “You mean you think that a dirty, nasty, rotten, low-down trick like that is beneath Veronica?”

  Lisa couldn’t help giggling. “No, of course not. Nothing is beneath her. She’s
lower than a worm. But this sets a new record. So why wouldn’t you let me tell her off?”

  “Well,” Stevie said, handing Lisa the brush she’d dropped in the straw and resuming brushing Pepper, “how about: Forewarned is forearmed? Victory is mine—I mean, ours!”

  “What are you talking about?” Lisa asked.

  “See, now we know what Veronica has in mind. If we told her we knew, she’d find something else to do, and it wouldn’t be any nicer than what we overheard. But now we know exactly what she wants to do, so we can think up a plan to fix her. I’m not sure yet what it is, but it’ll be good. And I can promise you that it will not only wreck her plot to keep us off the Starlight Ride, but it will also somehow cleverly manage to keep her off it, instead!”

  “Stevie, I love the way your mind works!” Lisa said, truly admiring her friend.

  “Me, too,” Stevie said. “I’m always glad that I’m on my own team!”

  JUDY BARKER PUT her blue pickup truck in reverse and backed out of the Pine Hollow driveway. Carole sat proudly in the seat beside her. Somehow, she felt very tall in that seat. Maybe it was because the pickup was old and built high up off the ground. Or maybe it was because being a vet’s assistant made her feel very tall.

  “First stop is a breeder-trainer by the name of Michaels,” Judy said, checking her list. “He’s got a mare that won’t carry a foal. She’s probably got an infection that’ll clear up with some medicine, but until we know what the infection is, we won’t know for sure how to treat it. While we’re there, we’ll be checking a mare who’s due to foal any day now, as well as some horses with sore legs and feet.”

  Judy swung the truck out onto the highway and concentrated on her driving, giving Carole a few minutes to look around her. She’d been in Judy’s truck before, but she’d never taken the time to notice very much.

  On the floor, between them, was Judy’s car phone. Everything Judy did was important, but sometimes time was the most important thing. Carole knew that in the case of a horse with a life-threatening illness like colic, sometimes a few minutes could make a difference. Car phones were a great help to somebody like Judy.