Starting Gate Read online

  “It is.” Stephan turned off the engine and got out of the car to open the girls’ door. “May I present Misses Lisa, Carole, and Stevie, The Saddle Club.”

  “Hi, girls. I’m Jess Morton, Skye’s assistant. Welcome to our set.” Grinning, he shoved a clipboard under one arm and stuck out his hand.

  “Hi,” the girls said, shaking hands.

  “Skye’s sorry he couldn’t meet you himself, but he’s shooting a scene right now. He sent me over to get you acquainted with everything.”

  “Will he be shooting for a long time?” asked Lisa.

  Jess shrugged wearily. “On this set, you never can tell. How about I give you the ten-cent tour until he can join us?”

  The girls smiled. “Sure,” Lisa said. “That sounds wonderful.”

  “Well, we have to walk by today’s location before we can get to the stable, so why don’t we start there?”

  “Great,” said Stevie and Carole together.

  They said good-bye to Stephan and followed Jess over to a roped-off area of the parking lot. Though The Saddle Club had been on movie sets before, this one seemed bigger than any they’d ever seen. All sorts of people hurried past them, each with different jobs to do. Assistants clutching newly typed script pages ran by, while set carpenters carried long planks of lumber and plywood. Jess pointed out the boom mikes that hung overhead and the thick electrical cables coiled along the ground like giant tree roots. He walked The Saddle Club through several different interior sets, all the while dodging makeup people and sound engineers and several assistant directors.

  “Gosh,” said Stevie, hungrily eyeing a row of food vans that lined one end of the parking lot. “This is like a mini city all by itself.”

  “You’re absolutely right,” said Jess. “And we’re not really even on location. Sometimes, when you’re filming far from the studio, the set really does become your own private city.”

  He opened a gate and led them through some tall green hedges. “Here’s a part you’ll really enjoy.”

  They followed Jess through the hedges to a large grandstand, through a short tunnel beneath the stadium, and then they were standing just behind the starting gate of Ashford Racetrack.

  “Here it is,” he said with a grin. “The famous Ashford mile and a quarter. Lots of terrific racehorses have run here.”

  “I know,” said Carole. “Whirlaway and Seabiscuit and Man O’War and Ruffian.”

  The girls watched as two riders wearing the orange work jackets of the Ashford track exercised their horses in an easy canter around the wide track.

  “This is beautiful,” said Stevie. “It makes me miss Belle. I wonder where she is.”

  “She’s probably in Oklahoma now,” Carole assured her, “just watching the oil wells pass by.”

  Jess smiled. “Is Belle your horse?” When Stevie nodded, he asked, “Well, do you want to see the stables? There are lots of horses over there. Skye told me that that would be the tour highlight for you.”

  “He knows us well,” Carole replied eagerly.

  They followed Jess across the racetrack and around a huge paddock to an old, elegant stable. The walls were solid mahogany, and all the door hinges were brightly polished brass. Big buckets of golden yellow chrysanthemums stood by each horse’s stall, and the sounds of Mozart floated through the air.

  “Hey, sounds like Ashford track stole your idea.” Stevie nudged Carole gently.

  Jess frowned. “What idea?”

  Carole gave a sheepish grin. “It’s a new theory I read about,” she explained. “If you listen to certain pieces of Mozart, you’ll calm down. Other pieces are supposed to raise your IQ. I figure if it works for people, then it might work for horses, too.”

  Stevie grinned. “So what did you tape for our guys? The smart pieces or the relaxing pieces?”

  “Actually, I taped both,” said Carole.

  “Wonderful.” Lisa laughed. “We should have three calm, brilliant horses by Thursday. I can’t wait to see what they’ll be like.”

  “I just can’t wait to see them, period,” grumbled Stevie.

  They walked down the aisle of the stable, introducing themselves to the horses. All were magnificent Thoroughbreds with long, slender legs bred for the track. The first one, a red bay stallion named Kublai Khan, stamped his foot when they looked in his stall. Next to him, a calmer gray gelding named Silverado munched on some hay.

  “Hey, look at this one,” Lisa said, pausing at the stall next to Silverado. “She reminds me of Prancer.”

  The girls stopped and peered in the stall. Inside, a white-faced bay mare stood watching them, her tail twitching, her ears flicking in several different directions.

  “She looks a little like Prancer,” admitted Carole. “But she sure doesn’t act much like Prancer.”

  “That’s Mabel,” Jess explained. “She’s one of the stars of the movie.”

  “Mabel?” Stevie wrinkled her nose. “That’s a pretty frumpy name for a Thoroughbred.”

  “You know names don’t matter, Stevie,” Carole reminded her, trying to pat Mabel’s nose. “Neither does color. What matters with horses is heart and character.”

  “And whether or not they like Mozart,” Lisa added with a laugh.

  Someone coughed right behind them. Everyone turned. A tall man in a black sweater and tan breeches stood there frowning at them.

  “Hi, George,” Jess said. “These are Skye’s guests from Virginia. Girls, this is George Gamble, the stable manager for the set.”

  “Hi, Mr. Gamble.” Carole smiled. “You’ve got some great-looking horses here.”

  “You sure do,” Stevie chimed in. “It must be wonderful to work with both horses and movies.”

  “Does Skye get to ride all these horses?” Lisa asked.

  “Not a chance.” Mr. Gamble looked at them coldly, smoothing his small black mustache.

  “Which ones does he ride?” asked Carole. “And what kind of schedule do you put movie horses on? When do they exercise?”

  Mr. Gamble ignored her questions and glanced at his watch.

  “What about Mabel?” Stevie persisted, noticing that the mare had grown more agitated when Mr. Gamble had appeared. “She seems pretty high-strung for the movies.”

  “Mabel has her own training schedule,” Mr. Gamble muttered, again glancing at his watch. He turned to Jess. “These horses are due to be fed and groomed in about five minutes. They’ve got early calls tomorrow. Why don’t you give Skye’s little friends a barn tour some other time?”

  “Sure, George,” Jess said. “I didn’t think—”

  “No, of course you didn’t.” Mr. Gamble turned to the girls. “If you’ll excuse us … Just follow Jess here out of the stable area.” He pointed his riding crop back toward the racetrack and then strode off in the direction of the feed room.

  “Gosh,” said Stevie, “I guess he didn’t want his stars disturbed.” She watched closely as Mr. Gamble opened the feed room door, then slammed it shut. “You know, there’s something familiar about him.”

  “You’re probably thinking of his brother,” Jess said.

  Stevie was about to ask who his brother was when a familiar voice rang out behind them.

  “Hey, girls!”

  They turned to see Skye, grinning his famous million-dollar smile and holding three delicate pink roses. “A rose for each of you,” he said. “Thanks a million for coming!”

  “Oh, Skye, it’s so great to see you!” Lisa ran forward and gave him a hug, then Carole and Stevie did the same. Soon they were all holding each other, glad to be together again.

  “Did you have trouble finding us?” asked Carole, holding the rose Skye had given her.

  He shook his curly blond head and laughed. “Not a bit. After my scene was over I just headed straight for the barn.” He glanced at the horses. “I knew you would want to meet the real stars of the show.”

  “Well, they are important cast members,” said Stevie, laughing.

  “Yeah,�
�� said Carole. “We got a real kick out of meeting Mabel.”

  “I’ve gotten my own kicks from meeting Mabel,” agreed Skye. “Mostly from Mabel herself.”

  “Really?” Carole asked. “I wouldn’t think they would want vicious horses on a set.”

  Skye frowned with concern. “I don’t think she’s really mean. In her stall or the paddock, she’s jumpy, but okay. When you ride her out on the track with other horses, though, watch out! She spooks like crazy.”

  “Do you have a lot of scenes with her?” asked Lisa.

  Skye nodded sadly. “That’s the worst part. She’s the horse I have to ride in this movie. I’m supposed to be training her for a big race. But with other horses around, I can barely get her to stand still, much less gallop around a track.”

  “Sounds like you need our help,” said Stevie, frowning at Mabel.

  “Do you really think you could come up with something?” For the first time, a gleam of hope appeared in Skye’s gorgeous blue eyes.

  “I’ve never known us not to.” Stevie grinned. “And three heads are at least twice as good as one.”

  “Huh?” Lisa and Carole frowned.

  “Oh, you know what I mean,” giggled Stevie. “Just give us a little time to think about this, Skye.”

  “That would be wonderful.” Skye smiled, but he still looked around the stable nervously. “Why don’t we talk about it someplace private—like over dinner tonight?”

  Stevie frowned. “But why can’t we—”

  “That would be great, Skye,” Lisa said quickly, shooting a glance at Stevie. “We’d really enjoy that.”

  “Super.” Skye gave a big sigh of relief. “Now that we’ve got that settled, why don’t we walk back over to the set, and I’ll introduce you to some of my friends.”

  Stevie frowned once at Carole, but they fell into step behind Lisa and Skye. Soon they were out of the sweet-smelling barn and back dodging cables and mikes on the movie set.

  “Hey, Sherry,” Skye called to a beautiful redheaded girl who was reading a script in a folding chair. “I’d like you to meet some friends of mine from Virginia.” Skye put his arms around the girls. “Stevie, Carole, and Lisa, this is Sherry Lissom. She plays my girlfriend in the movie.”

  “Hi.” Sherry gave them all a warm smile. “Welcome to our crazy set. Has Skye introduced you to everybody?”

  “Well, we’ve met the horses,” Stevie replied.

  “Oh, they’re Skye’s favorites,” Sherry giggled. “I kind of prefer the two-legged members of the cast.”

  “I guess not everybody can be a horseperson,” said Carole.

  “Not everybody can ride as well as Skye, either,” added Sherry with a grin. She was just about to say something else when a short girl wearing a headset tapped Skye on the shoulder.

  “Hey, Skye, Shev’s looking for you.”

  “Oh, thanks, Jean.” Skye grinned at the girl. “Let me introduce my friends from Willow Creek, Virginia.”

  “Hi!” The short girl grinned and shook hands with each of them. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jean Williams, a production assistant. Could you please make sure Skye gets over there to that bald-headed guy with the megaphone?”

  “Sure,” said Lisa, peering over to where Jean pointed.

  “He’s the assistant director,” Jean explained as she hurried away. “He needs to see Skye ASAP.”

  Skye shrugged. “Well, let’s go. You can meet Shev Bayliss, one of our directors.”

  They picked their way across a set that looked like a jockey’s locker room. Shev Bayliss was sitting with his back to them and was having an intense conversation with a woman with short black hair.

  Skye coughed. “Shev?” he asked softly. “You wanted to see me?”

  Shev jumped as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The girls noticed a blush on the woman’s pale cheeks.

  “What?” Shev turned around, angry at being interrupted. When he saw Skye, his eyes grew even darker. “Oh, Ransom. It’s you.”

  “Jean said you were looking for me?”

  Shev started to speak; then he noticed Lisa, Stevie, and Carole, all standing behind Skye. “Who are these people?” he asked coldly.

  “These are some friends from Virginia,” Skye said. “Girls, this is Shev Bayliss, our assistant director, and Marcella DuBois, the animal coordinator.”

  “Hi,” the girls said politely.

  Marcella nodded and adjusted her short skirt. Shev just looked at them.

  “They’re not going to be problems on the set, are they?” he asked Skye. “You’ve got a rehearsal in about five minutes.”

  “No, Shev,” Skye replied. “They’ll be leaving in just a little while.”

  “Good.” Shev glanced once more at the girls. “I’ll talk to you after your friends leave,” he said, turning back to Marcella with a dismissive gesture.

  “Come on,” said Skye. He put his arms around all three girls and led them back out to where Stephan was waiting by the car. “Sorry about that,” he said as they threaded their way among the cables. “Some of the people on this set are great. Others remind me of a certain part of a horse’s anatomy.”

  “Wow, Skye,” said Lisa, shocked. “Those people act so hateful toward you. I thought movie sets were supposed to be lots of fun.”

  “They can be,” Skye replied, then looked over his shoulder. “It just all depends on who you’re working with.” He turned back to the girls and grinned. “Anyway, we can talk more about this at dinner tonight. I’ve already had Jess arrange with Stephan to drop you at the restaurant at eight.”

  “Uh, there’s just one teeny-tiny problem with that, Skye,” Lisa said, exchanging an embarrassed glance with Carole and Stevie.

  “Oh no!” cried Skye. “Don’t tell me you’ve got other plans.”

  “It’s nothing like that,” Lisa replied quickly. “It’s just that there’s one other person with us. I know Max and Deborah are planning to have dinner with some of their Pony Club friends. If we eat with you, then that will leave this other person all by herself.”

  “Oh, that’s not a problem.” Skye grinned. “Just bring her along, too.”

  “We’ll bring her along, but please don’t hold us responsible for her behavior,” said Stevie. “This is the worst, most spoiled girl at Pine Hollow. Maybe even the whole world.”

  “Ah, my friend Veronica! It’ll be fun to cross swords with her again. Besides, she can’t be any worse than some of the people around here.” Skye gave them all another quick hug and said, “I’ve got to go now, but I’ll see all of you at eight o’clock sharp.”

  “WHAT DO YOU recommend tonight, Jacques?” Skye looked up from the thick menu at the waiter who was hovering over the table.

  “Well, Monsieur Ransom, your favorite, the chicken à l’orange, is quite good. We also have some fresh mountain trout and some lamb chops aux fines herbes.”

  “Hmmm,” said Skye as the tall candles on the elegantly set table flickered. He looked over at the girls. “What is The Saddle Club having tonight?”

  “Everything sounds delicious,” said Lisa. “But I think I’ll have the trout.”

  “Me too,” Carole added.

  “I’d like the chicken à l’orange,” said Stevie, wondering why the waiter was just nodding and not scribbling on a notepad.

  “That sounds good to me, too.” Skye turned toward the fifth person at the table. “Veronica?”

  “I’d like the ragoût fin, s’il vous plaît,” Veronica ordered in her best French accent. “Avec des pommes vapeur et une salade panachée.”

  “Oui, mademoiselle.” The waiter clicked his heels together and disappeared as another server put two large baskets of warm French bread on their table.

  Stevie frowned. “What did you order, Veronica? I couldn’t tell anything about it.”

  Veronica rolled her eyes at Skye as she answered Stevie sarcastically. “It’s a pretty elementary French dish, Stevie. You would know it if you’d paid more atten
tion in Ms. Lebrun’s class.”

  Stevie opened her mouth to respond, but she felt Lisa’s toe poking her leg under the table.

  “Tell us all about your movie, Skye,” Lisa said. “The sets and horses looked fascinating, but we couldn’t tell much about the plot.”

  Skye took a big drink of water and sighed. “Well, if I could just figure out what I’m doing wrong, it could be really great. The character I play, C.G., is a hopeful trainer and jockey. C.G.’s father was a trainer as well, but he was accused of shady dealings in the race world and killed himself because of it.”

  “Oh no.” Carole frowned. “How awful.”

  “I know. Anyway, C.G. loves the horse business as much as his father did, and he wants to do great things, but he’s got to live down his father’s legacy. He’s at the starting gate of his career, with one chance to succeed and establish his own reputation. If he can ride this one horse and win, he’ll be well on his way.”

  Stevie interrupted. “And this horse is played by the infamous Mabel?”

  “Right.” Skye sighed. “This race means everything, but two other trainers at the track are doing everything they can to see that C.G. fails. Turns out that these two trainers were the ones who fudged the business when his father was accused, and they’re afraid C.G. will find out the truth.” Skye stared at the bread basket, his expression suddenly serious. “Their best chance is to make me fail and drive me out of the business as well.”

  “What happens next?” asked Carole.

  “Well, while I keep Mabel’s true ability a secret from them, I manage to fall in love with one of their daughters, played by Sherry.” He laughed. “It’s kind of a Romeo and Juliet thing.”

  “And?” Stevie hunched forward on the edge of her seat.

  “And just before I ride Mabel to an amazing victory in the race, I learn the critical piece of evidence that clears my father’s name and will ultimately convict the bad guys.”

  “So you ride off into the sunset with the girl and the horse and the trophy,” Carole guessed.

  “Right.” Skye grinned. “It’s a pretty well-written script, and it should do well at the box office.” He sighed and shook his head. “It’s too bad the set is so odd. Half the crew act like they hate me.”