Autumn Trail Page 5

  RIGHT AFTER SCHOOL the next day, Stevie’s parents dropped her off at Lisa’s house on their way out of town. Stevie took her suitcase up to Lisa’s room, then the two girls set off for Pine Hollow. Stevie couldn’t wait to get started in her role of assistant stable hand. For her part, Lisa was glad she’d be able to help Stevie with her Thanksgiving project, although she hadn’t had any luck so far figuring out what to do for her own. She was beginning to worry that she’d never find a project in time, since Thanksgiving was the next day.

  When they arrived at the stable, one of the first things they noticed was how quiet it was. There were no other people around, as there usually were at almost any time of the day, any day of the week. Everyone seemed to have deserted Pine Hollow for the holiday. But Stevie and Lisa knew that there had to be at least one other person there: Carole. They knew their friend well enough to know that she would be there, taking care of Starlight as usual, holiday or no holiday.

  And they were right. They found Carole in Starlight’s stall, hoof pick in hand, cleaning out his feet.

  “Hi, you two. Are you ready for your new jobs?” Carole asked. Stevie had called her the night before to tell her about her plan.

  “You bet,” Stevie said, sliding open the door to Starlight’s stall and stepping inside. Lisa was right behind her. One of the things that made taking care of horses so much fun was that there was so much of them to take care of. That meant that all three girls could groom Starlight at once—and talk while they were doing it, of course. They had held plenty of impromptu Saddle Club meetings this way in the past, and today’s grooming seemed to be turning into another one.

  Stevie picked up a wide-toothed comb and set to work on the gelding’s dark, silky mane, carefully loosening tangles and picking out pieces of hay. “I’m really looking forward to it,” she said in response to Carole’s question.

  “We’ll probably learn a lot,” Lisa agreed, grabbing a body brush.

  Stevie grinned. “Right. But the best part is, we’ll know we’re doing it all for Max and his love life.”

  “You know I’ll pitch in as much as I can,” Carole said, setting aside the hoof pick and picking up a rub rag. “But I don’t know how easy it will be to convince Veronica to help.” Since Veronica was so famous for getting out of doing her own chores, Carole certainly couldn’t imagine her volunteering to take on anybody else’s.

  “Oh, yeah,” Stevie said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “Well, I still think you’ve taken on the toughest job of all by volunteering to baby-sit Veronica for the whole weekend. I bet she’ll be more work than this whole stable full of horses. I mean, she’ll probably expect you and your father to bring her breakfast in bed every day, polish her boots for her, that kind of thing.”

  “Shh,” Carole whispered, glancing out at the corridor. “She’s here someplace. She came to take care of Garnet.”

  “You mean she’s actually doing some work?” Stevie said in disbelief.

  Lisa smiled. “I guess Carole’s being a good influence already. Maybe there’s hope for Veronica yet.”

  “I think there might be,” Carole said. “I’ve never seen her be as pleasant as she’s been for the past few days.” She gave Starlight’s coat a last once-over with the cloth in her hand. She double-checked his food and water and then gave him a pat before leaving the stall. Her friends followed. “I guess I’ll find out soon enough,” Carole added quietly as she spotted Veronica heading toward them from the other end of the corridor. “My father is picking us up in a few minutes.”

  “Lucky you,” Stevie muttered. She gave Veronica what she hoped was a sincere-looking smile as the girl approached. Stevie noticed that Veronica had a small but expensive-looking leather suitcase slung casually over her shoulder by a long strap. In one hand she was carrying a matching square case that Stevie would have been willing to bet contained her makeup. In the other hand she was holding a suspiciously pie-shaped object wrapped in aluminum foil. “Hi, Veronica.”

  “Hi, Stevie. Hi, Lisa,” Veronica responded. Stevie could tell that she, too, was doing her best to be pleasant and not show that she didn’t like Stevie any more than Stevie liked her. “Ready to go, Carole?” she asked sweetly.

  “Sure,” Carole replied. “My dad should be here by now. Let’s go out and check.”

  “Okay,” Veronica said agreeably. “I hope you and your dad like pumpkin pie,” she added, holding up the foil-wrapped package. “Our cook baked this especially for you.”

  “That was awfully nice of you, Veronica,” Carole said sincerely. She giggled. “My dad is a great cook, but he’s not much of a baker. You’ve probably just saved us all from a repeat of the great Apple Pie Horror from last year.”

  Stevie and Lisa watched in silence as Carole and Veronica walked off together, chatting easily. When they were out of sight, Stevie let out a long sigh that ended in a whistle. “I hope Carole survives this holiday,” she commented.

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Lisa replied with a smile. She didn’t like Veronica much better than Stevie did, but she had to admit that Veronica seemed to be trying to be nice. And she admired Carole for giving her the benefit of the doubt.

  Just then Red came hurrying up to them. “Oh, Stevie, there you are. I have a job for you.”

  Stevie snapped to attention and gave a mock salute. “Aye, aye, Captain. At your service. What do you need me to do?”

  Red gazed at her in amusement. “It’s a pretty exciting job, First Mate Lake,” he said.

  “Great, what is it?” Stevie asked. “Exercising one of the horses? Straightening out the tack room? Hosing down the floors?”

  “Mucking out the stalls,” Red replied drily.

  “Oh.” Stevie tried not to groan. She reminded herself that this wasn’t really supposed to be fun. In fact, it was supposed to be a sacrifice. That made her feel a little better. It almost, but not quite, made mucking out stalls seem exotic. “Lead on, Captain,” she said, sounding almost as enthusiastic as before.

  Lisa smiled and shook her head. Stevie could make almost anything seem like fun, even something like mucking out stalls. “Do you need me to help?” she asked.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Red said. “We actually don’t have many to do right now. But I may take you up on the offer later.”

  “Good,” Lisa said. “Then in the meantime I’m going to check on Pepper. Have fun, Stevie!” Lisa was determined to stick to her vow to buck up the old horse’s spirits by keeping him company. She was sure Max had been right when he’d said it would make Pepper feel better.

  When Lisa arrived at the stall, Pepper once again failed to greet her at the door. She slipped into the stall, talking to him quietly so that he wouldn’t be startled by her approach.

  “Hi, boy,” she said gently. “Are you feeling better today?” Almost immediately, Lisa could tell that the answer to her question was a negative one. Pepper’s head was hanging lower than ever, and he seemed to be having difficulty breathing. But he still seemed happy to see her, and Lisa was glad that she’d taken the time to visit with him.

  Pepper turned his head to nuzzle Lisa’s pants pocket. She laughed. “Now I know there can’t be anything that bad wrong with you,” she told the horse. “After all, you still know apples when you smell them.” She pulled out the plastic sandwich bags of apple slices she’d brought for him from home and fed him the treat piece by piece. But despite her cheerful words, she couldn’t help feeling worried about Pepper. Whatever it was that was wrong with him, he didn’t seem to be getting better very quickly.

  Lisa heard footsteps in the corridor outside the stall. She looked out and saw Judy Barker approaching. “Hi, Lisa,” the vet said when she saw her in Pepper’s stall. “How’s the old boy doing today?”

  “Not very well,” Lisa said, trying to keep the anxiety she felt from creeping into her voice. “He seems really tired, and he’s sort of puffing and panting as he breathes.”

  “Hmmm,” Judy said. She let herself in
to the stall with Lisa and greeted Pepper with a pat on the rump. “I’d better have a look.”

  “What do you think is wrong with him this time?” Lisa asked. “I mean, if this was just a cold or something, he’d be getting better by now, wouldn’t he?”

  Judy shook her head as she examined Pepper. Lisa could see that the woman’s brows were knit. “It doesn’t look too good for Pepper, Lisa.”

  “What do you mean?” Lisa looked from Judy to Pepper and back again. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “The only thing wrong with him is that he’s old. He’s had a very full life,” Judy said gently. “Lisa, Pepper is dying.”

  “What?” Lisa couldn’t believe she’d heard her correctly. “That’s not possible! I mean, I know he’s getting older, and that’s why nobody rides him anymore, but he’s not old enough to die!” Lisa’s logical mind searched for evidence to back up what she knew in her heart had to be true. “After all, Patch and Nero are both older than Pepper, and nobody’s talking about either one of them dying yet.”

  “Well, that’s true,” Judy said slowly. “But every horse is different, Lisa, you know that. Nero and Patch both have a lot of quarter-horse blood in them, which may be part of the reason they’re still active. But really, it doesn’t do any good to compare Pepper to other horses. We just have to look at him as an individual and realize that he’s getting too worn-out to go on much longer.”

  “But there must be something you can do.…” Lisa stopped when she saw that Judy was shaking her head again.

  “I’m afraid not,” the vet said. “We’ve all got to go sometime, and I’m afraid it’s just about that time for dear old Pepper. The best I can do is make him as comfortable as possible for the time being.” She paused. “In fact, Max and I have already discussed the possibility of euthanizing him.”

  Lisa was a straight-A student, and she knew exactly what that word meant. “Euth … you mean killing him?” she exclaimed, shocked. She felt tears spring to her eyes as she threw her arms around the horse. “No! There must be something else you can do to save him!” She buried her face in Pepper’s neck. “He can live longer. Lots of horses have.”

  Judy touched Lisa’s shoulder gently. “I’m sorry, Lisa. I shouldn’t have surprised you with the news this way. Since you spend so much time with Pepper, I thought you must have had some idea.…” She let the words trail off.

  Lisa’s mind felt numb. She couldn’t imagine what Pine Hollow would be like without Pepper. Even though she hadn’t ridden him in a while, she was used to having him around. It just wasn’t possible that she was going to lose him so soon. Judy must be wrong; that was all there was to it. As soon as Max got back, Lisa would insist that he call another vet to get a second opinion.

  “Lisa,” Judy said, breaking into her thoughts. “I’m sorry. But don’t worry. We don’t need to be in a hurry about anything. As long as Pepper isn’t in serious pain, we can let him be.”

  The vet stepped back out into the corridor where she had left her medical bag. Lisa loosened her hold on Pepper’s neck and wiped her eyes with her hand. The horse snuffled at her face with his soft nose, as if wondering why she was crying.

  When she felt a little calmer, Lisa stepped out of the stall after Judy. The vet was scribbling something on a small piece of paper. “Here you go,” she said, finishing and handing it to Lisa. “The best thing you can do for Pepper right now is to keep a close eye on him and administer one dose of this medicine whenever he seems uncomfortable. Come on back in the stall with me, and I’ll show you how. I’ve also written down the directions for you in case you forget, and of course you can call me anytime if you have questions.”

  Lisa paid close attention as Judy explained how much and how often Pepper could be medicated. The vet showed Lisa how to use the syringe, which looked like a giant eye dropper, to put the liquid medicine into the back of Pepper’s mouth so that he would have no choice but to swallow it. Then the vet packed up her bag again and headed for the entrance. Lisa trailed along behind her, holding the syringe and the vial of medicine in one hand and the paper containing the instructions in the other.

  “I’ll call Max and tell him what we’re doing,” Judy said. She gave Lisa an encouraging smile. “I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear that you’re helping to take care of Pepper. The old boy couldn’t ask for a better nurse.”

  Lisa managed a small smile in return, although she wished Judy would stop calling Pepper “old.” “Thanks. I’ll do my best.”

  The vet said good-bye and hurried out to her truck. Lisa watched as she drove away. Then she went back inside and stood indecisively in the entryway, debating whether or not she should find Stevie and tell her what Judy had said. She decided to check on Pepper again first, so she headed back down the long, deserted corridor to his stall.

  “Hi, boy, it’s me again,” Lisa said softly. The old horse’s ears perked up, and he nickered. “That’s right,” she exclaimed, delighted to see that Pepper seemed to be feeling much better already. “That medicine must be working,” she told him.

  She scratched him behind the ears and stroked his smooth cheek. His breathing was still heavier than normal, and his head was still hanging a bit low, but other than that he looked much better. Lisa checked him over carefully.

  “There’s nothing really wrong with you, is there?” she whispered to him. “I’m glad I didn’t tell Stevie or Carole about all this after all. They’d just worry, and I know you’re really not as sick as Judy thinks you are. I don’t need anyone else to tell me that—my own two eyes are enough. No matter what anybody says, I know you’ll be fine. I’ll help you get better all by myself, Pepper. I promise.”

  He nuzzled her neck, then let his head drop again, half closing his eyes. She stayed with him for a long time, stroking him and whispering words of encouragement.

  CAROLE WAS AWAKENED on Thanksgiving morning by the sound of voices. She recognized the deeper voice as her father’s. Sitting up groggily, she wondered who could possibly be out in the hall talking to him so early in the morning.

  Suddenly she remembered who: Veronica. For a second Carole considered pulling the covers over her head and going back to sleep, preferably for the whole weekend. But instead, she got up and started gathering her things together to take a shower. After all, she reasoned, it wouldn’t be very selfless of her to dump Veronica on her father all day.

  Besides that, she had to admit that Veronica really hadn’t been much trouble so far. The evening before, Colonel Hanson had taken them out for pizza and a movie. He and Veronica had spent a lot of time talking about their foreign travels, including a lot of places Carole had never even heard of, much less visited. Colonel Hanson’s military career had required the family to move frequently when Carole was younger. She had lived on or near military bases all over the country. But though her parents had traveled all over the world before she was born, Carole had never been out of the United States.

  Veronica, on the other hand, had been just about everywhere. Carole figured that was just another of the advantages of having wealthy parents. What’s more, it seemed to Carole that when her father and Veronica were discussing foreign travel, even on the rare occasions when one or the other of them hadn’t actually visited a place, they both still seemed to know an awful lot about it.

  Now, as she tried to wake up, she could hear that the two of them were discussing the benefits and drawbacks of someplace called Abu Dhabi. Carole shook her head and laughed. “At least they’re getting along,” she told her black cat, Snowball. But Snowball just purred and stretched in reply.

  By the time Carole had showered and dressed and arrived downstairs, her father and Veronica had already finished breakfast.

  “Morning, sleepyhead.” Her father greeted her with a kiss on the top of the head. “Happy Thanksgiving!”

  “Happy Thanksgiving, Carole,” echoed Veronica with a smile.

  “Happy Thanksgiving to both of you,” Carole replied.

  “Grab s
ome cereal, honey, and then you can help us stuff the turkey,” Colonel Hanson said.

  Carole noticed that Veronica was wearing an apron and holding a dish towel. She stifled a giggle. She was certain that Veronica had never even gone near either object before in her life. But she had to admit that her guest seemed happy enough to be using them now.

  Carole gulped down a bowl of cornflakes and joined Veronica at the counter. Colonel Hanson soon had both girls laughing and groaning at his terrible jokes, most of which had a turkey theme in honor of the holiday. Carole was having a lot of fun, and she could tell that Veronica was, too. She was beginning to be glad that she’d invited her.

  When they had finished stuffing the turkey, they put it in the oven. “Good job, assistant chefs,” Colonel Hanson told them, giving them a mock salute.

  They saluted back. “Thanks, Colonel,” Carole said. “What next?”

  “It’s almost time for church,” he replied. “Let’s get cleaned up.”

  “Church?” Veronica repeated, seeming confused. “But it’s not even Sunday or anything.”

  “We always go on Thanksgiving,” Carole explained to her. “It’s an interdenominational service.” She wondered if Veronica would refuse to go.

  But Veronica only shrugged. “What should I wear?” she asked.

  AFTER THE SERVICE they checked on the turkey, which seemed to be coming along nicely. “Well, there’s not really much more to be done right now,” Colonel Hanson said. “The turkey should be ready by two, so we can eat then. We can wait awhile before we start getting the other stuff ready.”

  “So what should we do in the meantime?” Carole asked. “Miracle on 34th Street doesn’t start for more than an hour.”

  “Let’s see,” her father said. He wandered into the living room and opened the cabinet where the Hansons’ board games were kept. “How about a game of Monopoly?”