Blue Ribbon Summer

by Catherine Hapka

  “Do you have any ideas about what to do?” Paige asked.

  “Me? Um . . .” Brooke realized they were expecting her to take charge of this meeting. Had she just gone from being an outsider to being the group leader? It was a weird thought. “I guess we should just all come up with ideas and figure out the best ones.”

  “What kind of ideas?” Livi looked blank.

  Brooke shrugged. “Ways to change Robin’s mind.”

  “I have an idea,” Paige said tentatively. “We could talk to the olders and see what they think.”

  Hannah wrinkled her nose. “That’s not a plan. Brooke means something we can do, like convince Robin there’s a secret diamond mine in the back pasture so she won’t want to sell.”

  Paige laughed. “Or how about we hire a sorcerer to put an amnesia spell on Preston so he forgets all about his horrible deal?”

  “Yeah, right.” Livi giggled. “If we’re going to hire a sorcerer, we should just have him poof up enough cash so Robin doesn’t need Preston’s friend’s money!”

  Brooke laughed, but Hannah sighed and rolled her eyes. “This is pointless,” she announced, swinging her long legs over the edge of her bunk. “I say we just go talk to Robin right now.”

  “Now? But we’re supposed to be sleeping,” Paige said.

  “So what?” Hannah jammed her feet into her sandals and marched toward the door. “This is important. Robin will forgive us when she hears what we want to talk about.”

  Livi turned to Brooke. “What do you think?”

  Brooke thought for a second. It would be awkward telling Robin they knew about the deal, especially since Brooke would probably have to admit she’d accidentally eavesdropped on Robin and Preston. But maybe it would be worth it.

  “I guess Hannah’s right,” she said. “I mean, we know Preston wants Robin to sell, but we don’t really know if she’s seriously thinking about it. It’s probably better to find out so we don’t waste time coming up with plans we might not even need.”

  Livi brightened. “That’s true,” she said. “Robin’s probably just trying to figure out how to tell Preston no without making him mad.”

  “I hope so.” Paige didn’t sound quite as optimistic. “Okay, let’s go talk to her.”

  Soon all four of them were hurrying across the courtyard. The moon was almost full, and the farm looked magical and dreamlike under its silvery light. But Brooke was too nervous to enjoy the scene. As they neared the house, she heard voices up ahead.

  Hannah, who was in the lead, held up a hand. “Shh. Sounds like Robin’s with Preston,” she whispered.

  The girls crept toward the tall evergreen hedge that separated the courtyard from the back garden. “Let’s try to hear if they’re talking about the deal,” Livi said.

  “But that’s eavesdropping!” Paige’s eyes widened.

  “Just come on.” Hannah yanked her forward.

  Soon the four of them were crouched behind the hedge. Through the tangle of branches, Brooke saw Robin and Preston sitting in lounge chairs, sipping from wineglasses. Their voices were quiet, but the night was still and it was easy to hear them.

  “. . . and it’s been a lot harder than I thought since she left,” Robin was saying.

  “I know.” Preston sounded sympathetic. “Morgan was a big part of this place. It’s not going to be the same without her.”

  Brooke realized they were talking about Robin’s daughter. She leaned closer, holding her breath as she listened.

  “I guess part of me thought she’d change her mind,” Robin went on. “That after a couple of weeks in New York, she’d miss this place and come home.”

  “But that’s not happening.”

  “No. She loves being in the heart of the fashion industry.” Robin’s voice was sad. “I have to accept that she’s found her true passion, and it’s not the one I thought it was.”

  “Wow,” Livi whispered. “I knew Morgan was studying fashion design in college, but—”

  “Shhh!” Paige warned.

  Robin was talking again. “Morgan and I ran this place together for so long. Somehow I thought it would always be that way, you know?”

  “Things change,” Preston commented. “Sometimes for the better.”

  Robin didn’t answer for a moment. Then she sighed. “It’s just a lot lonelier without her here. I love running the farm, but lately the bills just seem to go up and up, and I’m feeling stretched to my limit. I never have time to ride anymore unless it’s a training client or something. And I’m not getting any younger, either. I guess I’d always imagined Morgan would take over the business someday, but obviously she’s not interested.”

  “Not everybody is cut out for this kind of life.” Preston paused and cleared his throat. “It’s okay if you decide you’re not cut out for it anymore either.”

  “I’m just not sure I can do it all myself without Morgan—or maybe I’m not sure I want to. There’s no room in the budget for more staff, and I won’t ask the people I have to work harder for the same pay.”

  “Then why not consider O’Malley’s offer?” Preston urged. “It could be just what you need—a change. But you’ll need to decide soon if you want to go for it.”

  “I know, I know.” Robin sounded tired. “I suppose you’re right. But I’m not going to make a decision tonight.”

  “Then when? O’Malley wants me to call him by the end of next week at the latest.”

  “That’s the end of camp,” Robin said. “All right. I’ll make a decision by then. But let’s not talk about it anymore right now, okay? Oh! And you can’t say a word to the campers. I won’t ruin their fun with my problems.”

  “Come on.” Hannah tugged at Brooke’s sleeve, her dark eyes sad. “I don’t think we’re going to talk to Robin tonight after all.”

  Brooke was floating on her back with her eyes closed when a tinny version of a recent pop song erupted from near the pool.

  She opened her eyes and saw Abby splashing toward the edge. “Is that my phone?” the counselor said. “Excuse me a sec.”

  Abby had driven Brooke and her bunkmates to the neighboring estate for a swim. For a while she’d tried to interest them in a game of Marco Polo or something, but it was an extra-hot morning and nobody was really in the mood. The girls had spent the previous hour tromping around a fallow field on a neighboring farm while Robin pointed out toxic plants and other hazards that would need to be rectified to make it safe pasture for horses. By the end of the hour, Brooke and the others were sweaty and exhausted.

  “Good, she’s gone.” Paige swam over to where Brooke was floating. “Let’s talk.”

  A few feet away, Livi was stretched out on an inflatable raft, working on her tan. She turned her head and squinted at Paige. “What’s to talk about? You heard Robin last night. She’s tired of running this place and being poor.”

  Brooke nodded. It was still hard to believe how completely discouraged Robin had sounded while talking to Preston. She’d seemed like a whole different person from the one she was most of the time. For instance, during the girls’ horsemanship lesson earlier, Robin had been the only one who’d seemed at all enthusiastic about wandering around that hot field, looking at plants. Was that all a big act? Was Robin secretly wishing the whole time that she was in New York with her daughter, with no feed bills to pay or stalls to clean or campers to teach?

  Hannah had been reading a magazine on a floating chair nearby, and paddled closer to join the conversation. “Seriously, guys. I mean, it’s one thing to help Robin if she still wants to be here. She shot a cautious look toward Abby, who had her back to the pool. “But if she’s not having fun, or even making enough money to live on . . .”

  Brooke sighed. “There’s not much we can do.”

  “More bend, Brooke! Use your legs—good!” Robin called from the center of the ring.

  Brooke turned Foxy toward the first jump in the line Robin had set up along one long side. The pony’s ears pricked toward it, and she surge
d forward.

  “Easy, girl,” Brooke murmured, half halting the way they’d practiced during flatwork. Foxy responded and slowed, meeting the jump just right and soaring over easily.

  The second obstacle in the line went just as well, and Brooke was grinning as she pulled up. She gave Foxy a pat and walked her toward the others.

  “Excellent,” Robin said with a smile. “Good riding, Brooke. Livi? You and Royal are up.”

  As Livi rode forward, Brooke stopped beside Paige and Hannah. “She’s actually a good little jumper,” Paige said. “You should try taking her in a show sometime.”

  “I’m not sure we’re quite ready for that,” Brooke said with a smile. “But maybe some—Oh!” She gasped as Livi’s horse, who had been trotting steadily toward the first fence in the line, suddenly ducked violently to one side.

  “Hang on!” Hannah shouted.

  But Livi was already tumbling off the side of her horse. She landed on her rear end, and Royal took off for the far end of the ring, his tail flagging.

  Robin hurried toward Livi, who was already climbing to her feet. “I’m okay,” Livi called, leaning forward and resting her hands on her knees. “Knocked the breath out of me, that’s all.”

  Brooke realized she’d been holding her own breath. She let it out, then pushed her glasses up and glanced over at Paige and Hannah. “Wow, that was scary,” she said. “It must really hurt to fall off such a tall horse!”

  Hannah rolled her eyes. “Livi’s used to it. Royal used to run out all the time last summer, but I thought they’d fixed that.”

  Robin checked on Livi, then caught the big bay gelding, who was already losing interest in running around. “Why don’t I get on for a moment while you catch your breath,” Robin told Livi, already adjusting the stirrups on Royal’s saddle. “Royal’s been a little ornery today, and he could probably use some extra schooling.”

  “Uh-oh, Royal, you’re in trouble now!” Paige called out with a grin.

  Robin swung into the saddle and sent Royal forward at a walk. “I’ve never seen Robin ride before,” Brooke commented to the girls, including Livi, who’d wandered over to stand by the other horses.

  “Really? She’s amazing,” Livi said. “She’s, like, the only reason I can jump Royal at all. She schooled him practically every day last summer—I’d only had him a month or so then, and he was pretty green.”

  After that they all stayed quiet as Robin rode Royal around in a big circle, first at a trot and then at a canter. At first the big bay’s ears were back and his neck was tense. But within minutes Brooke could actually see him soften, his stride lengthening and his neck arching elegantly as he accepted the bit.

  Finally Robin turned him toward the line of jumps. Royal slowed down when he noticed where they were headed. Brooke couldn’t quite tell what Robin did, but suddenly the horse’s pace steadied and he sailed over the two jumps.

  Robin didn’t stop there, turning Royal toward another line of higher jumps nearby. This time the horse didn’t hesitate, cantering over those jumps easily as well.

  When Robin pulled up near the girls, she was grinning from ear to ear. “Who’s a naughty boy now?” she cooed, reaching forward to rub Royal’s neck with both hands. “Not you, Royal.” She winked at Livi. “Ready to give it another try?”

  Soon Royal’s owner was back in the saddle. Brooke held her breath as Livi aimed the horse at the jump.

  “More leg, more leg!” Robin called. “Okay, a little too much—half halt! Good!”

  “Go, Livi!” Paige cheered as Royal cleared the jumps.

  Robin had the pair do the line once more, then hurried over to give Royal a treat and Livi a pat on the leg. “There, how’d that feel?” the instructor asked with a smile. “He really is a good boy—he just needs a confident ride to feel confident himself. And that time you gave him one! Well done.”

  “Thanks.” Livi looked happy as she patted her horse.

  “Wow, Robin really is good,” Brooke whispered to Paige.

  “Yeah.” Paige bit her lip. “It’s so obvious she loves horses and riding and teaching so much. How can she even think about giving it all up and moving to the city?”

  CHAPTER

  10

  THAT NIGHT, BROOKE PUSHED HER chair back from the dinner table. “May I be excused?” she asked Robin. “I was hoping to check my e-mail again, if that’s okay.”

  Robin looked up from her plate. “Sure, go ahead. Leave the computer on when you’re finished—I need to pay some bills later.”

  “Okay.” Brooke hurried down the hall to the office. She paused in the doorway, studying the walls and their pictorial story of Robin’s life with horses. After watching Robin with Royal earlier, Brooke and the others had been unanimous: they couldn’t give up yet. Maybe Robin thought she was ready for an easier life. But watching her ride, Brooke knew she’d regret it if she gave up horses. Every chance they’d had all day, the girls had tried to think of ideas to convince Robin of that. So far, though, they’d come up blank. Just about the only decision they’d made was to let the older campers know what was happening, though there hadn’t been a chance to do so yet.

  Logging on to her e-mail account, Brooke found a couple more notes from her mother, a short one from the twins, and a mass-mailed party invitation from a girl at school. Still nothing from Adam. She opened a new blank e-mail and started typing.

  Hey! It’s me. Camp is good so far.

  What’s going on at home? How’s swim team? See u soon!

  B.

  She hesitated briefly, then added Adam’s address and hit send. There. At least that way he’d know she was checking e-mail at camp. If he wanted to write back, he would. If not, well, she wasn’t going to worry about it. At least not right now.

  Soon she was on the Pony Post site. She was scanning the entries when she saw a new one pop up at the bottom of the page:

  [HALEY] Hi all! Just checking in. Wings and I had a good ride today. My brothers cut down a big tree to make a dirt bike trail, and I turned part of it into a rly cool XC jump. Wings loved it! Will get pix soon. What’s up w/ all of you?

  Haley was on the site right now too! Brooke quickly opened a text box.

  [BROOKE] Hi, I’m here too!

  She hit enter, then waited. A moment later Haley posted again.

  [HALEY] HI!!!!!! How’s camp? Are you having the best time ever?

  [BROOKE] Sort of. I mean sort of? At 1st I wasn’t sure I was going to like it here.

  [HALEY] What do u mean?

  [BROOKE] The other girls are much better riders than me. They all have big fancy show horses.

  [HALEY] Ooooooh! :-P Are they snobby?

  [BROOKE] I thought they were. But they’re not. They’re actually rly nice. I just needed to get to know them, I guess.

  [HALEY] So u are all friends now?

  [BROOKE] Yeh. But we have a BIG problem . . .

  She typed as fast as she could, telling Haley the whole story. When she finished, she sat back. It wasn’t long before another entry popped up.

  [HALEY] Wowowow. That’s wild! What r u going to do?

  [BROOKE] Not sure. I was hoping u might have some ideas, lol.

  [HALEY] Hmm. U don’t have much time if Robin has to give an answer by next wk. So be sure whatever u decide to do makes sense. No wacky plans like some of Maddie’s, lol! (Don’t kill me when u read this, Mads! U know I love u!)

  [BROOKE] Haha, no, I get it. Sooooo . . . any brilliant ideas?

  Brooke felt a twinge of hope as she hit enter. Haley was one of the most down-to-earth, practical people Brooke knew. If anyone could come up with a way to save Pocomoke Stables, it was her.

  Suddenly the door flew open, and Brooke’s bunkmates burst into the office. “Good, you’re still in here,” Hannah exclaimed. “Listen, Robin and Preston just headed down to the barn for night check, so we figured this was a good time to talk.”

  “Yeah.” Livi came in and perched on the edge of the desk, peering curiously
at the computer. “Hey, what’s that?” she asked, pointing at the Pony Post logo at the top of the screen.

  For a second, Brooke wished she’d had time to log off before the others came in. Too late now. Another post from Haley had just popped up:

  [HALEY] What about the daughter? Can u talk to her about this? She knows her mom better than anyone.

  “Um . . .” Brooke suddenly felt as shy as she had on her first day at camp. Her bunkmates were all serious show riders. Would they think the Pony Post was silly? “I met these other girls who have Chincoteague ponies—met them online, I mean—and we started a website to keep in touch and trade pictures of our ponies and stuff.”

  “What a cool idea!” Paige said, leaning in for a look.

  “Yeah, and the graphics are gorge,” Hannah added.

  “Thanks.” Brooke grinned with relief. The only person she’d ever told about the site outside of her parents was Adam, and he’d been about as interested in it as he was in helping clean the manure out of Foxy’s pasture. “Nina’s mom is an artist. She helped us design it, but we came up with the idea ourselves.”

  “That’s awesome.” Livi grabbed the mouse and scrolled down to some photos of Maddie’s big trail ride. “I never heard of a site like this. How many people are on it?”

  “Just four of us,” Brooke said. “We’re all over the country—Maddie is in California, Nina’s in New Orleans, and Haley lives in Wisconsin.” She waved a hand at the screen. “I was just chatting with Haley, actually. She thinks maybe we should talk to Robin’s daughter or something.”

  Hannah’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t I think of that?” she exclaimed. “I bet Morgan has no clue her mom’s thinking about selling this place.”

  “She’d probably come straight home if she knew,” Paige said, staring up at a photo of Morgan jumping a huge gray horse over an equally huge oxer. “I mean, I know Robin says she loves New York. But she loves this place even more, right?”

  Livi clapped her hands. “Perfect! It’s so easy—we let Morgan know what’s happening and let her deal with Robin. No need to freak out.”