Blue Ribbon Summer

by Catherine Hapka

  The next thing Brooke heard was footsteps hurrying away. She sank onto her bed, not caring that she was dripping all over her sheets as she tried to take in what she’d just heard. Her eyes filled with tears as she imagined bulldozers knocking down the barn and backhoes digging up the lush pastures. This land, this whole part of the peninsula, was so special, so wild and beautiful and unspoiled. A bunch of condos would change that forever. Brooke couldn’t bear the thought. Robin wouldn’t actually sell Pocomoke Stables to Preston’s developer friend—would she?

  On Thursday morning Brooke awoke from restless, disturbing dreams in which skyscrapers kept sprouting up on Assateague Island until the ponies were all crowded out into the sea. She hadn’t said a word to anyone about what she’d overheard the day before, though she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Maybe she wasn’t having as much fun at Camp Pocomoke as she’d expected, but it was still horrible to think about a place like this being plowed under.

  She remained distracted as she tacked up for the morning lesson. “Hey, is that a new trend?” Hannah called from the next set of crossties.

  “Huh?” Brooke blinked at the other girl.

  Hannah grinned and waved a hand toward Foxy. “Foxy’s halter. You’re putting it on inside out.”

  “Oops.” Brooke realized she was right. She quickly fixed the halter, frowning at it.

  Paige was walking by on her way to the tack room, but she stopped and stared at Brooke. “Are you okay? You seem kind of—I don’t know, bummed out today.”

  “Yeah,” Livi said, coming up behind Paige. “You hardly said a word at breakfast.”

  Brooke wasn’t sure how Livi could tell, since she and the other two had spent the entire meal blabbing about shopping and haircuts and other boring topics. “I’m just a little tired, I guess.” Brooke reached for a bottle of fly spray and aimed it at Foxy’s side.

  “Stop!” Paige cried, grabbing the bottle out of Brooke’s hand. “What are you doing?”

  “What do you mean?” Brooke said with a flash of irritation. “Robin said we should all share the fly spray, and I need it for Foxy—the blackflies ate her alive yesterday.”

  “Yeah, but this isn’t fly spray.” Paige shook the bottle at her. “It’s Show Sheen. If you spray it all over her, your saddle will slide right off next time you ride!”

  “Plus, it won’t do a thing for the flies,” Livi put in.

  “Oops,” Brooke said again, feeling flustered. “Sorry about that. I’m just distracted because of what Preston . . . um, I mean . . .” She stopped, realizing she’d almost blurted out what she’d overheard.

  “Preston what?” Hannah’s gaze was sharp and curious as she dropped her brush and came closer. “What is it, Brooke? What did Preston do?”

  Livi gasped. “I know! Is he planning to propose to Robin?” She clapped her hands. “I knew it! That must be why he’s hanging around so much this week. It’s about time—they’ve been dating forever!”

  “No, nothing like that,” Brooke said. “I mean, not that I know of. I mean . . .”

  Glancing around at the three girls, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to resist their voracious appetite for gossip. Besides, why not tell them the truth? They obviously had a lot of happy memories of this place. Maybe they could figure out how to change Robin’s mind if she really was thinking about selling.

  “It’s something I heard yesterday,” Brooke said. “Robin and Preston were talking—they didn’t know I was nearby. Preston was trying to talk her into selling Pocomoke Stables to some developer friend of his who wants to build condos here.”

  She held her breath, waiting for the other girls to explode with outrage and dismay. Instead, they exchanged a puzzled glance.

  Then Hannah shrugged. “Are you sure you heard them right?”

  “Yeah, Preston’s always talking about some boring real estate deal or other,” Livi added. “You probably misunderstood.”

  Paige nodded. “Robin would never sell Pocomoke Stables. She’s owned it for like twenty years—she and her husband built the place together before he died.”

  Brooke frowned. “I know what I heard. They were definitely talking about selling Pocomoke!”

  The others traded another look. “Okay, if you say so.” Hannah sounded skeptical. “It’s just, we know Robin pretty well. . . .”

  “So are you calling me a liar? I know what I heard!” Brooke clenched her fists at her sides, suddenly tired of this whole conversation. Exhausted, actually. What did she care if they believed her? She was never coming back here again if she could help it anyway. So what if their precious camp got plowed under? Their rich parents would probably just buy some of the fancy condos that replaced it!

  “Brooke, listen.” Paige’s tone was reasonable, but Brooke wasn’t listening. She’d had enough.

  Unclipping Foxy from the crossties, Brooke snapped on a lead rope with shaking hands and gave a tug. The pony, who had been half asleep, awoke with a start and allowed herself to be dragged down the aisle.

  “Brooke, hang on.” Paige hurried after her. “We didn’t mean to make you mad.”

  Brooke didn’t respond. As soon as she got outside, she vaulted onto Foxy’s bare back.

  “Brooke!” This time Paige sounded alarmed. “Stop! If you ride off alone again, Robin will—”

  The clatter of Foxy’s hooves on the cobblestones drowned out the rest. Brooke didn’t look back as she headed for the grass, then turned and nudged her pony into a trot. So what if she got in trouble again? Good! Maybe Robin would be so angry, she’d send her home. Then Brooke wouldn’t have to spend another moment worrying about this stupid place.

  “Come on, Foxy,” she whispered, giving a cluck and a squeeze to send the mare into a canter. “Let’s get out of here.”

  CHAPTER

  8

  AS SOON AS SHE WAS out of sight of the stable, Brooke slowed Foxy to a walk. Her anger had already faded, and she had the uncomfortable feeling that she might have overreacted. The pony ambled along, circling the soybean field and heading for the woods. It was a beautiful summer day and birds were everywhere, their cheerful songs adding the top note to the lazy drone of insects. Brooke breathed in the familiar scents of pine and marsh and sun-warmed dirt. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the feel of the pony’s muscles working beneath her. For a second she could imagine they really were on Assateague, alone except for the wildlife and the sea breeze.

  Then that dream shoved back into her memory, the hideous skyscrapers pushing up through the sand to ruin the landscape. Brooke’s eyes flew open, and she shuddered. She couldn’t believe the other girls hadn’t believed what she’d told them. They’d be sorry when the first bulldozers came crashing into their beloved Camp Pocomoke!

  But again her anger faded quickly, this time leaving her feeling sad. As they entered the woods, every tree and bird and squirrel she saw seemed so beautiful and alive that Brooke couldn’t stand the thought that they might soon be destroyed or displaced just so a bunch of rich city people could buy part of what used to be the country.

  As soon as they emerged on the far side of the woods, Brooke turned Foxy to the right, staying on the near side of the dirt road that ran along the edge of the trees. She guessed that was the line that divided the farm she’d just crossed from Miss Alice’s property, and she planned to stay on the good side of it. She definitely didn’t want to get yelled at again.

  “Hey! You there, girl and pony!”

  Brooke tensed. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Miss Alice hurrying up the hill, waving her cane. Uh-oh. Had she guessed wrong? Was she trespassing again after all?

  “Sorry!” she called. “We’re leaving.”

  “No, wait. Come here,” the old woman ordered.

  Brooke almost ignored her and turned Foxy back into the woods. But the old woman was alone this time, and the way she was climbing heedlessly over the rocks and sand in her clunky shoes made Brooke worry that she’d stumble and break a hip. Besides, now that she t
ook another look, Miss Alice didn’t look angry. In fact, she actually appeared to be smiling.

  Biting her lip, Brooke rode toward the woman. They met at the edge of the dirt road. Miss Alice was huffing and puffing, but her expression was pleasant.

  “Good, you came back,” she said. “I was afraid you wouldn’t after last time.”

  “Um . . .” Brooke had no idea what to say to that.

  Foxy stretched her nose toward Miss Alice and snuffled curiously at her. Brooke was afraid the old woman would be annoyed, but Miss Alice’s smile widened as she rubbed the pony’s velvety muzzle.

  “Natalie scolded me all afternoon about that, you know,” she told Brooke. “Said I was a proper ogre. Don’t tell her, but she may have been right.” She leaned a little closer and winked at Brooke.

  “No, it’s fine,” Brooke said. “I know better than to ride anywhere I don’t have permission. My parents made me ask all the neighbors before I ever rode Foxy off our own land.”

  “They sound like good parents,” the old woman said. “I’m Alice Foster, by the way. But you can call me Miss Alice—everyone does.”

  “I’m Brooke. Brooke Rhodes. I’m from Camp Pocomoke.”

  “That’s what I figured.” Miss Alice gave Foxy another pat. “You know, I used to ride as a girl. Always found trotting around a ring a bit stifling, though.” She let out a short bark of laughter. “But back then, proper young ladies didn’t go gallivanting off bareback over the countryside.” She looked up at Brooke. “You say this girl’s a Chincoteague pony, eh? Do you young people still read Misty of Chincoteague?”

  “Yes!” Brooke blurted out in surprise. “It’s my favorite book—it’s the reason I wanted a Chincoteague pony of my own.”

  “Good, good.” Miss Alice seemed pleased. “I read it the very first year it was published. After that, I secretly dreamed of getting myself a pony just like Misty and exploring the shores and inlets to my heart’s content. Never happened, of course.” A shadow of sadness crossed her wrinkled face. “But when I saw you riding toward me the other day, I wondered if I’d finally lost my mind and my old dreams were coming to life!”

  Brooke relaxed. Suddenly Miss Alice didn’t seem scary at all anymore. She was just a grown-up pony-crazy girl!

  “In any case, I’m sorry for snapping at you before,” the old woman said.

  “It’s okay,” Brooke replied.

  “No it’s not. But I do have an excuse.” Miss Alice picked a leaf out of Foxy’s forelock. “My nephew and his daughters moved back to Maryland last month. They’re living in my guest cottage, and I guess I’m having a little trouble adjusting. Been a long time since I had to share my place with anyone else.”

  Again, Brooke thought the old woman’s eyes looked sad for a moment. And no wonder. This area was wild and beautiful, but it had to be a little lonely living out here all alone for so long.

  “Was that one of your nephew’s daughters who was with you last time?” Brooke asked. “She seemed interested in ponies, too.”

  “That was Natalie, yes. Sixteen and so grown-up!” Miss Alice looked proud. “Now, how are you liking Camp Pocomoke?”

  Brooke shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess.”

  “Just okay?” Miss Alice raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t seen much of Robin Montgomery in a while, but she always seemed capable enough to me. Shame, that lovely husband of hers dying so young. Cancer, you know.”

  “Oh.” Brooke cleared her throat. “Yeah, Robin’s great. And the camp is nice, too. It’s just . . .” She hesitated, shooting the old woman a sidelong look. Brooke wasn’t normally the type of person to open up to someone after just meeting her. Somehow, though, after hearing Miss Alice’s story, Brooke had the feeling the old woman might understand what she was going through, at least a little. “I’m just not sure Foxy and I fit in there with all those fancy horses and riders.”

  “Hmm.” Miss Alice shrugged her thin shoulders. “Your Foxy looks fancy enough to me. Does that mean you won’t be coming back next summer?”

  “Maybe nobody will be coming back next summer,” Brooke blurted out before she realized what she was saying. At Miss Alice’s surprised look, she suddenly found herself telling her everything she’d heard about the potential real estate deal.

  By the end, Miss Alice looked alarmed. “This simply won’t do,” she exclaimed, tapping her cane firmly on the ground. “Robin can’t sell her farm! Once the first developer starts knocking down trees and building condos and shopping centers and parking lots, it’s only a matter of time until the whole way of life around here is ruined! It’s happened lots of other places, and I can’t bear to see it happen here.”

  “I know.” Brooke looked around at the beautiful scenery surrounding them. “But what can we do about it? It’s Robin’s decision, I guess. And like my stepfather always says, money talks.”

  “But you don’t have to listen!” Miss Alice exclaimed. “Look here, young lady. If you care about Pocomoke Stables, or even just about wild places like the one where your pony came from, you need to do something to stop this!”

  Brooke was taken aback by her sudden fierceness. “Um, I would if I could. But I’m just a kid.”

  “Paul and Maureen Beebe were just kids, too.” Miss Alice leaned closer, gazing up into Brooke’s eyes. “And look at all they did!” Suddenly she stepped back, looking tired. “Oh, listen to me railing on. I should get home before Dan sends out a search party. But think about what I’ve said, all right?” She started to turn away, then paused and glanced back over her shoulder. “And by the way, you and Foxy are welcome to trespass here anytime.”

  When Brooke got back to the barn, Robin was nowhere in sight. But Paige, Livi, and Hannah were waiting for her.

  “We covered for you,” Hannah announced.

  Livi nodded. “We told Robin you were taking a nap.” She giggled. “Luckily, she didn’t notice Foxy was missing too, or we’d have had a lot of explaining to do.”

  Brooke blinked at them, confused. “Um, okay.”

  “We’re sorry for not believing you earlier,” Paige went on. “Hannah spied on Preston and found out you were totally right.”

  Hannah tugged on her glossy dark ponytail. “Totally,” she agreed. “I followed him around all stealthy, like one of the PIs my dad hires sometimes.”

  “PIs?” Brooke was feeling more and more confused. She slid down from Foxy’s back and led her into the barn.

  The other girls followed. “Private investigators,” Hannah explained. “My dad’s a lawyer, and he hires them sometimes when his clients—Oh, never mind!” She shook her head impatiently. “The point is, I heard Preston call up somebody and start talking about how he was working on Robin, trying to convince her to sell this place.”

  Paige clenched her fists. “I can’t believe it! What a jerk. If he really cared about Robin, he’d want to her be happy. And how could she ever be happy anywhere else but here?”

  “Yeah.” Livi frowned, then sighed. “And I mean, what are we going to do without this place?”

  “I know, right?” Paige said, while Hannah just looked sad.

  Brooke didn’t say anything as she led Foxy into her stall. The other girls really did love this place, and no wonder. Just from listening to their chatter over the past few days, Brooke knew they had tons of happy memories of Pocomoke Stables. For a second that made her feel more like an outsider than ever.

  “We never would have met without this place,” Paige exclaimed.

  Livi grabbed her in a hug. “Yeah. And I totally can’t imagine not being friends with you guys.”

  “And poor Lauren.” Hannah sniffled, joining the others’ hug. “She won’t even get one last summer here!”

  Brooke found herself thinking about the Pony Post. She couldn’t imagine not being friends with Maddie, Haley, and Nina, either.

  Maybe these girls aren’t so different from me after all, Brooke thought as she hung Foxy’s halter on the hook outside her stall.

  “S
o what are you going to do about it?” she asked, still thinking about her own friends. Maddie had recently come up with all kinds of wild plans to keep her riding instructor from selling her favorite pony. Maybe these girls could do the same kind of thing to save Pocomoke Stables.

  “Do about what?” Livi said, stepping back from the group hug.

  Hannah shrugged. “What can we do?”

  “Yeah.” Paige sighed. “We just have to accept it if it happens, I guess. But it won’t be easy.”

  Brooke’s jaw dropped. It was tearing her up to imagine the fate of this pristine corner of the Eastern Shore if Robin sold out to that developer—and it had to be even worse for the other girls with all their special memories.

  “Are you serious?” she blurted out. “You can’t just let it happen. You have to find a way to save this place!”

  CHAPTER

  9

  THAT NIGHT, BROOKE HAD JUST crawled into her sleeping bag when there was a tap on the bunkhouse door. A second later Robin stuck her head in.

  “Lights out,” she said, flipping the switch off. “Sleep tight, girls. I’ll see you bright and early.”

  “ ’Night,” all four girls chorused.

  As soon as the door shut, Hannah sat up and flung away her covers. “Okay,” she said briskly. “Let’s talk.”

  “Yeah.” Paige rolled onto her side and propped her head on her hand. “Brooke’s right. We can’t just sit back and let this happen.”

  “Totally,” Livi agreed.

  This was the first chance they’d had to talk in private since Brooke’s return to the barn. Felicia had come along to ask for help dragging the ring right after that, and then Abby had turned up to take the girls to play golf. By the time they got back it was already time to feed the horses, and after dinner Robin had showed the whole group, youngers and olders alike, some training videos.

  “Right. So we need a plan,” Hannah said. “Brooke?”

  “Huh?” Brooke sat up too. Even in the dim moonlight filtering in through the windows, she could see that the other three girls were staring at her.