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  Just then Red looked up and spotted her. “Stevie!” he called, dislodging Maureen’s hand as he waved. “There you are. Max wanted me to ask you if you could ride out and check the footing in that tricky spot on the trail—you know, right after it crosses the creek?”

  “I’m on it,” Stevie said immediately, pushing the disturbing little scene between Red and Maureen out of her mind. After all, Red loved Denise. Stevie knew that, and soon Maureen would realize it, too. Then she would figure out she’d better cool it with the touchy-feely stuff before someone got hurt.

  “… and I just don’t understand how you can expect me to pick up and leave now!” Lisa cried, glaring at her mother from across the living room. “In case you’ve forgotten, it’s my senior year!”

  “I’m very well aware of that.” Mrs. Atwood frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, sitting up primly on the sofa. “It would be difficult to forget, after the little matter of your college applications and all the mess that’s come out of that whole situation.”

  Lisa felt like screaming. Instead, she clutched the wooden arms of her chair so tightly that her fingers started to go numb. When was her mother going to get over that? True, Lisa had decided to accept her admission to Northern Virginia University without telling her parents ahead of time. But what was the big deal, anyway? Lisa’s mother knew she’d applied there. And NVU was a perfectly good school—Stevie’s older brother, Chad, was a sophomore there, and Lisa knew plenty of other people who loved it. So what if Mrs. Atwood’s snooty friends didn’t think it was as good as some of the other universities on Lisa’s list?

  “We’re not talking about my college plans right now, Mom,” she said evenly. “We’re talking about your plan to move us both to New Jersey.”

  “I’m aware of that, young lady.” Mrs. Atwood frowned harder. “And you should be aware that in my opinion, it’s all connected. I only wish I’d made this decision sooner. Then maybe you would have a different perspective on your future, and we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”

  Lisa clenched her hands into fists in her lap. She knew that her mother thought she’d decided to go to NVU only so that she could stay close to Alex. But that wasn’t true. “Whatever,” she said evenly. “When you get right down to it, it’s my life we’re talking about, and no matter what you think, I know I made the right decision.”

  Mrs. Atwood rolled her eyes dramatically. “I see,” she said. “What does a mother know about life? How can I possibly argue with all the wisdom of your seventeen years?”

  Just then the phone rang. “Saved by the bell,” Lisa muttered.

  “What was that, dear?” Mrs. Atwood asked sharply.

  “I said I’ll get it,” Lisa replied, hurrying to grab the receiver. She took a deep breath as she picked it up, trying to calm herself down. “Hello, Atwood residence.”

  “Hi, Lisa.” Scott Forester’s voice came through the wire. “It’s Scott. How are you?”

  “Oh, hi. Um, hold on a second.” Lisa put her hand over the mouthpiece and glanced at her mother. “It’s for me.”

  “All right.” Mrs. Atwood showed no signs of leaving the room. Instead, she picked up a real estate flyer from the coffee table and started flipping through it.

  Gritting her teeth, Lisa removed her hand from the mouthpiece, wishing the phone were cordless. “Hi,” she said. “What’s up?”

  “Not much,” Scott said in his usual friendly, easy tone. “I was just calling to say hi, and to see if you made up your mind about that dinner yet. I was thinking we could take a ride out toward Berryville, maybe try that new Greek place everyone’s talking about. What do you say?”

  “Um …” Lisa glanced at her mother out of the corner of her eye. “I don’t know.”

  “Come on,” Scott wheedled teasingly. “I promise I won’t make you try anything you can’t pronounce.”

  “It’s not that,” Lisa said, more sharply than she’d intended. “I mean, I just don’t think I can deal with this right now. I’m sorry.”

  “Oh.” Scott sounded hurt, but he recovered quickly. “Okay, fair enough. Maybe I’ll see you at the stable sometime this week. Catch you later.”

  “Bye.” Lisa gently replaced the receiver, feeling guilty. After all, it wasn’t Scott’s fault that she was angry with her mother, and she had taken it out on him.

  Oh well, she thought remorsefully. Too late now. Anyway, I really can’t deal with Scott today—at least that part was true. Not with everything else that’s going on.

  Avoiding her mother’s eye, she left the living room and hurried upstairs to her room, closing the door behind her and then flopping onto her bed. “What’s wrong with me?” she murmured, burying her face in her pillow. “Why did my whole life decide to crash and burn all of a sudden?”

  She didn’t know the answer to that. It really did seem like a lot to handle all at once, especially with Christmas coming.…

  Suddenly Lisa found herself blinking back tears. It just didn’t seem fair. The holidays were supposed to be a happy time with family and friends, and here she was spending her days worrying about her future with Alex, snapping at people who were just trying to be nice to her, and fighting with her mother about moving.

  Maybe I should just give in, agree to give up on it all and start over again in a new place like Mom wants me to, she thought, picking at the stitching on her pillow. She thinks moving to New Jersey is going to solve all of her problems. And maybe she’s right—maybe it really wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for me to get a fresh start, either.

  She shuddered and sat up straight on the bed, banishing the thought almost as soon as it had come. No way. She didn’t want to start over. No matter how bleak things seemed at the moment, her best friends were still in Willow Creek. And that was enough.

  Yes, she would find a way to stay in Willow Creek, in her real home, no matter what her mother said. She would just have to find a way to face her problems. She suspected that that would be a little easier after the holidays were over. This would have been her first Christmas with Alex, and now she didn’t know if the two of them would ever be able to get back what they’d had together. It made the whole season seem bittersweet.

  Hopping up, she walked over to the closet. There was a shopping bag on the top shelf; she pulled it down and dumped its contents onto the bed. Reaching out, she ran her fingers over the soft wool of the sweater she’d bought for Alex on her most recent trip to California. It was supposed to have been his Christmas present, but now she wondered if she would ever give it to him.

  Her hand wandered to her throat, feeling for the necklace she already knew wasn’t there. Soon after their breakup she’d stopped wearing the pendant Alex had bought her—it was across the room in her jewelry box, waiting for the day she might wear it again. She still remembered the day he’d given it to her. It had been her seventeenth birthday, and he’d looked so adorable as he’d bent down to fasten it around her neck …

  No, she thought, staring at the sweater. I’m not going to wallow in the past. I’m not going to give in to my doubts and regrets and all that stuff. That’s no way to be happy. I’ve got to look forward instead—face the future. Be hopeful and optimistic that everything will work out if I just work at it hard enough.

  She grabbed the sweater and shoved it back into the bag. Then an idea struck her. The sweater had come from a national department store with a branch at the Willow Creek Mall. Dumping it out of the bag again, she shook it out until a thin white receipt fluttered out of its folds.

  I’ll start right away by returning this sweater, she thought resolutely, carefully folding the receipt and tucking it into her wallet so that it wouldn’t get lost. I can use the money to buy a wedding gift for Red and Denise instead. So while they’re starting their new future, I can be starting mine, too.

  SIX

  “Twilight trail ride,” Stevie muttered, tapping her pencil on her forehead. “Trail ride at dusk? No, twilight trail ride.” Jotting a quick
note with her pencil, she turned back to the computer on her desk. She’d been barricaded in her bedroom ever since finishing dinner a half hour earlier, working feverishly on her article. It was due to the editor by Thursday, and Stevie didn’t want to miss the deadline.

  Pine Hollow’s young riders look forward to the twilight trail ride all year long, she typed. The Starlight Ride is a very special tradition, and everyone who has ever—

  The phone rang, interrupting her train of thought. Stevie glanced toward the door, expecting someone else to pick it up. It rang again. Remembering that she was the only one home—her parents had gone to a movie, and her brothers had disappeared somewhere or other—she jumped up and raced to grab the extension on her bedside table.

  “Hello?” she said briskly.

  “Stevie? Is that you? It’s Carole.”

  Stevie wrinkled her nose and pressed the phone closer to her ear. “Carole? I can hardly hear you,” she said. “What’s all that noise in the background?”

  “I’m at a pay phone at the mall,” Carole explained, raising her voice slightly. “Dad needed to pick up some shoes, so I tagged along to try to find a Christmas present for Cam. But I’m not having much luck so far.”

  Stevie chewed her lip impatiently, at least half her mind still on her article. She wanted to be supportive, but why was Carole calling her? Lisa was much more of an expert shopper than she was.

  “Anyway, I thought about calling Lisa for advice,” Carole said, as if reading her mind. “But I thought shopping for, you know, a guy might—well, you know.”

  Stevie nodded, suddenly understanding. Lisa was probably a little sensitive about that topic at the moment, and no wonder. “Um, you still have, like, two weeks until you and Cam are exchanging gifts, right? So there’s no huge hurry. Maybe you should look around a little more there, kind of get some ideas,” she suggested. “Then we can discuss it in a couple of days.” After my article is finished, she added silently.

  “Well … okay,” Carole said, though she sounded reluctant. “I guess that makes sense. Thanks, Stevie.”

  “Anytime. See you,” Stevie said, relieved. She hung up the phone and returned to her desk. Flopping into her chair, she stared blankly at the computer screen, trying to gather her thoughts. After a moment she started to type again.

  … ridden along on this magical night will remember it always.

  Stevie sat back and read over what she’d written so far. “No,” she muttered. “That doesn’t really work.” Deleting the last sentence, she tried again.

  The Starlight Ride is such a special tradition that it lives in the memories of all who have experienced it. Maximilian Regnery III, the owner of Pine Hollow Stables, held the first Starlight Ride eleven years ago. It was—

  The phone rang again. “Shoot,” Stevie muttered, quickly hitting Save and heading across the room again. “Hello!” she said. “Lake house.”

  “Hey, it’s me,” Phil’s familiar voice responded. “What’s up?”

  “I’m kind of in the middle of my article right now,” Stevie told him. “So I really should—”

  “Okay, okay,” Phil interrupted with a chuckle. “I get the hint. I’ll make this quick. I was just calling to tell you that A.J. decided to try to track down that woman.”

  Stevie gasped, momentarily forgetting her impatience. “Really? That’s great!”

  “I know. He’s nervous, obviously, but I think he’s kind of excited, too.”

  A million and one questions tumbled through Stevie’s brain. How was A.J. going to find that woman? What was he going to say if he did? What would happen if she really was his birth mother?

  But Stevie knew her curiosity would have to wait a little longer. Somehow, she didn’t think that someone else’s family crisis was going to cut it as an excuse to the editor if Stevie missed her deadline. “Listen, thanks for the update,” she told Phil reluctantly. “I’m dying to hear all about it, you know I am. But my article … I’d really better go. We’ll talk about this soon, though, okay?”

  “Definitely. Good luck with your article.”

  “Thanks.” Stevie hung up and then stood there for a couple of seconds, trying to imagine how A.J. must be feeling. It had to be a tough time for him, though Stevie was glad he’d decided to face his past instead of avoiding it.

  Returning to her desk, she sat down and flexed her fingers. Then she resumed typing.

  … such a success that it has continued ever since.

  She paused and pawed through the messy stack of notes on the desk beside the computer. She’d jotted down ideas for the article whenever they came to her, which meant that her desk was currently littered with scrap paper, napkins, and even the label from a package of fly tape. “Where is that quote from Max?” she muttered.

  Before she located what she was looking for, a familiar ring interrupted. “What is this, the central switchboard of Willow Creek?” she cried. Leaping to her feet, she raced over to the phone again. “Hello?”

  “Hey, it’s Scott. Stevie?”

  “Yeah, it’s me.” Stevie glanced at her watch. With all these interruptions, she was never going to finish. “What’s going on?”

  “Uh, not much, I guess.” Scott sounded uncharacteristically subdued. “I was just, well …” His voice trailed off.

  “Spit it out,” Stevie demanded, too impatient for tact. “What’s up?”

  Scott sighed heavily into the phone. “I was hoping for some advice,” he said. “I know this is a little awkward, since you’re Alex’s sister and all, but I wasn’t sure who else to ask.”

  “Ask what?”

  “Do you think I have a shot with Lisa?” Scott asked. “I mean, I just called to see if she wanted to grab some chow this weekend or something, and she was kind of, I don’t know.…”

  Stevie groaned under her breath. She really didn’t have time for this. Since when had she become Dear Abby, anyway? “Listen,” she said briskly. “I know Lisa pretty well, and she’s kind of sensitive. You know, like to how people say things, that sort of stuff. So if you actually said, ‘Hey, let’s grab some chow,’ it’s no wonder she’s not chomping at the bit to go out with you.”

  “I wasn’t quite that bad.” Scott sounded a bit wounded. “Actually, I invited her out to that new place in Berryville.”

  Stevie rolled her eyes. Guys could be so clueless sometimes. “That’s nice,” she said carefully. “But it’s something any guy might suggest. Why don’t you come up with something a little more romantic?” She grimaced, not quite sure why she was advising Scott on this. It’s not as if he really has a chance in the long run, she thought. Lisa and Alex will probably get back together in a couple of weeks, and that will be that. Of course, it might not go quite so smoothly if my big mouth means Scott is in the picture by then, making things more complicated.

  Trying not to think about that too much, she said good-bye and hung up. She’d hardly reached her desk when the phone rang again. Spinning on her heel, she raced over and grabbed it.

  “Yes?” she snapped into the mouthpiece. “Lake residence.”

  “What’s the matter?” Lisa’s voice asked. “You sound upset.”

  “No, it’s nothing.” Stevie slumped against the edge of the bed. “I’m just working on my article. Uh, I guess I was kind of in the zone when you called, that’s all.”

  “Oh.” Lisa sounded a little sad. “Sorry to interrupt. I was just calling to say hi. I’ll let you go if you need to get back to work.”

  Stevie hesitated, torn. It didn’t take a genius of a best friend to guess that Lisa was feeling sad, which meant that she was probably worrying about her mother’s plan to move. Stevie wanted to help, but she also wanted to finish her article sometime before graduation. Glancing from the phone to her desk and back again, she suddenly thought of a way to distract Lisa from her gloom. “Hey, guess who just called a few minutes ago?” she said brightly.

  “Who?”

  “Your not-so-secret admirer, Scott,” Stevie said.
She hoped she wasn’t making a complicated situation even stickier by mentioning Scott’s call, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She could deal with the Alex-Lisa-Scott triangle later, after her article was finished. For the moment, all she wanted was to give Lisa something to think about—something that might distract her from her problems with her mother. “He was looking for advice on how to win your heart.”

  “Really?” Lisa sounded hesitant.

  “Uh-huh.” Stevie checked her watch and grimaced. “But listen, can we talk about it some more tomorrow? I really do need to get back to work. Sorry.”

  “No, I’m sorry,” Lisa said quickly. “Go ahead, I understand. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay. Bye.” As soon as she sat down at her desk, Stevie spotted the piece of paper she’d been looking for before Scott’s call. “Aha,” she muttered triumphantly. Propping it up against her stapler, she quickly resumed her typing.

  “Pine Hollow has a lot of traditions, but the Starlight Ride is truly special,” Mr. Regnery told this reporter recently, echoing the feelings of many young riders over the years. The—

  RRRING! RRRRRING!

  “I don’t believe this!” Pushing her chair back so abruptly that it nearly toppled over, Stevie stomped over to her bedside table and grabbed the phone. “Hello? This better be important!” she yelped.

  “Stevie? Is that you?”

  “Callie?” Stevie felt guilty. After all, it wasn’t her friends’ fault she was on a deadline. “Um, hi. Sorry about that. The phone, uh, caught me by surprise.”

  “That’s okay,” Callie said, sounding more animated than usual. “Listen, I just got off the phone with Mr. Rayburn—you know, Scooby’s owner? And it’s all worked out. I’m meeting Judy Barker tomorrow after school, and if Scooby vets out okay, he could be mine by Friday afternoon!”

  “Really?” All thoughts of her article flew out of Stevie’s mind at the news. “That’s fantastic! I’m sure he’ll pass the vet check with flying colors.”