“Are you sure it wasn’t for entertainment purposes?” Lisa questioned skeptically.
“Are you kidding?” Stevie asked, feigning shock.
Meanwhile Patch lumbered over the cross rail, not even breaking to a canter on the landing. After two more jumps, Katie turned him toward The Saddle Club again. This time she had a determined look on her face. “Listen, I’ve tried him enough, and he’s just not right for me,” she said. As if she were afraid that Stevie might try to make her ride Patch more, she dismounted right away. Then, just as determinedly, she waved her parents over. “Mom, Dad, this horse is safe all right, but he’s a beginner’s horse. And I’m no expert, but I’m no beginner either.”
“We know he’s not right for you, Katie. Your mother and I have been talking, and we think—”
Inside her coat pocket, Stevie crossed her fingers.
Before her father could say what he thought, Katie interrupted. “Just please let me finish and then you can say what you want. Since we’re here already, I want to try Garnet one more time. I mean, please may I try Garnet one more time?”
“That’s exactly what I was going to suggest,” Mr. Miller said, looking relieved. Without waiting for The Saddle Club, the three Millers walked off in the direction of Garnet’s stall.
After a quick consultation, The Saddle Club split up. Carole went to put Patch away, Stevie went to supervise Garnet’s tacking up, and Lisa stayed behind in the ring to set up some jumps. That way, she figured, Katie wouldn’t be able to resist going around the course at least once.
The rest of the afternoon went like clockwork. From the minute Katie got on Garnet, she had a huge smile on her face. She walked, she trotted, she cantered. She practiced halting and leg-yielding, rode twenty-meter circles, and hand-galloped. Then she started to jump. Garnet flew over the fences easily, and at Katie’s request The Saddle Club raised them a few inches for a second go-round. Not until Katie had ridden over the course three times did she realize that she’d been riding for more than an hour and that Garnet might be getting tired. “I’m having too much fun,” she admitted. She loosened the reins to let Garnet cool down and gave the mare a hearty pat on the neck.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller had huge smiles on their faces, too, as they watched their daughter put Garnet through her paces.
“I’ve seen that look before,” Stevie said. “It’s the proud parent look. And once you get the proud parent look, you’re home free. Katie’ll be able to ask for whatever she wants.”
“What’s that, one of the ten cardinal rules of horse selling?” Lisa asked.
Stevie shook her head. “No, one of the ten cardinal rules of living in the Lake household. It’s kind of the same principle as ‘Bring home an A/Get to stay up late watching TV.’ ”
“Boy, I wish I’d known about that one,” Lisa said wistfully. Stevie and Carole laughed. If the rule had applied in the Atwood household, Lisa would have been able to watch TV until midnight every night of her life.
It seemed like forever before Katie finally rode over to The Saddle Club and dismounted. The Millers joined the group of girls at once. There was a pause as Katie rolled up her stirrups and loosened the girth. The Saddle Club didn’t dare look at one another. By sabotaging the Kingsleys and luring Katie back to Pine Hollow to see the “new and improved” Garnet, they had played every card in their hand. If Stevie’s plan failed, there was nothing they could do except spend the next month trying to get out of the trouble they had created. But more than the trouble, they were worried about Garnet. She and Katie deserved each other: They would make a great team, learning from each other’s faults and appreciating each other’s strengths. And yet it all came down to what Katie said about—
“Mom? Dad?” Katie began. She draped an arm over Garnet’s neck. She took a deep breath and looked up at her parents solemnly. “Please, please, please, please, please, can I have her?”
“FIVE ‘PLEASES,’ HUH?” Mr. Miller said. “Well, in that case—Yes!”
“We agreed while you were riding: She’s all yours, dear.” Mrs. Miller added.
Katie squealed and flung her arms around her parents. Then the whole family turned and gave Garnet a hug. Then Katie hugged Stevie, Lisa, and Carole. Then she hugged her parents again. And then The Saddle Club hugged one another. They had pulled it off!
“Provided, of course, that she passes the vet check,” Mrs. Miller reminded her daughter.
“Can we call Dr. Weicker right now to see if she can come tomorrow?” Katie pleaded.
“Is that Dr. Jacqueline Weicker?” Carole asked.
Katie nodded. “Yes. My instructor says she’s one of the best vets in the county.”
“I’ve heard the same,” Carole said enthusiastically. “I know her name from a vet I worked with, Judy Barker. Judy mentioned that she was excellent.” Lisa and Stevie could see that Katie had risen even higher in Carole’s eyes because she was going to use a vet whom Judy had recommended.
Now that the big decision had been made, the Millers and The Saddle Club got very friendly and talkative. The Millers explained that they were building a small, two-stall barn on their property, but for now Garnet would live at Katie’s instructor’s stable.
“We didn’t want to take her home prematurely,” Mr. Miller said. “And until the barn is finished and the two acres are all fenced in, we wouldn’t think of keeping a horse there.”
“You should see the plans. It’s going to be the most perfect little barn,” Katie said.
Then The Saddle Club wanted to hear all about the Irish setters that Mr. and Mrs. Miller raised.
“Don’t get them started—they’ll never stop,” Katie warned kiddingly. It was clear that she was very close to her parents, since the three of them could joke around. It was also clear from the way the Millers described their dogs that even though they weren’t horse people, they obviously loved animals. There was no doubt in Lisa’s, Stevie’s, or Carole’s minds that Garnet would have a wonderful home. She would have attention and love lavished on her like never before, and she wouldn’t have to put up with Veronica’s mood swings.
After standing patiently for half an hour while everyone talked, Garnet stuck her nose out all of a sudden and neighed loudly. Laughing, Katie took the reins over her head. “Come on, girl, I’ll put you away now.” Of course The Saddle Club wouldn’t hear of letting Katie untack by herself, so they all trooped back to the stall together.
As soon as they had Garnet cross tied and Mrs. Miller had gone off to the office to telephone Dr. Weicker, Max appeared, as if on cue. Everyone tried to explain all at once and pretty soon Max gathered that Garnet was sold. He introduced himself to Mr. Miller, and the two men chatted politely.
“I have to confess, I’m not as surprised as I should be,” Max said. “I was passing the ring an hour ago, and I happened to look in and see somebody jumping Garnet in excellent form. So I was hoping things would work out this way.”
Katie turned bright red at Max’s praise and mumbled a thank-you.
“Don’t thank me. I’m just thrilled that Garnet is going to have a new owner,” Max said. “I mean, the right new owner,” he added hastily.
The Saddle Club grinned: That was about as close a slip as Max had ever made concerning Veronica. It was a moment to savor.
“Everything’s all set. Dr. Weicker will be here tomorrow morning,” Mrs. Miller announced, rejoining the group.
“Yippee! Then I can have Garnet this week!” Katie cried.
Once Mrs. Miller had been introduced to Max, the three adults got down to business. The Millers wanted to pick Garnet up on Saturday as long as they could hire a trailer. They were going to assume that Garnet would vet out.
Meanwhile, Carole, Lisa, and Stevie started to tell Katie everything they knew about Garnet: about her quirks and habits, feeding and worming schedules, horse show experience, breeding. Katie listened with rapt attention. Then she told them about her plans to go for her next Pony Club rating in the spring and to try e
ndurance trail riding, as she had mentioned before. She thanked The Saddle Club several times for calling her again.
“I guess you couldn’t have known that even though Patch was a little too quiet, I’d want to ride Garnet again,” Katie commented.
“It’s funny how things work out sometimes,” Stevie said with the utmost restraint.
Katie agreed. “You know, I have just one question about Garnet,” she said. “No—two questions, I guess. One, none of you owns Garnet, and Max doesn’t own her, so who does? And two, where is he? Or she?”
Stevie smiled. “Let me put it this way: It’s a long story.”
IT WAS HARD to believe that Garnet was sold. But the Millers had left a check with Max for the mare’s full purchase price. Provided the vet gave her approval, Garnet had a new home.
When the Millers had driven away, Max congratulated Stevie, Lisa, and Carole on their first sale. “They’re nice people, and the girl knows how to ride,” he said, which, for Max, was very high praise. Then he raised one eyebrow. “I have just one question—no, two questions: One, I never did ask what was that emergency the Kingsleys’ vet had to deal with, and two, were you planning to sell my best lesson horse?”
“It’s a long story,” The Saddle Club said in unison.
Surprisingly, Max accepted their answer with barely another raise of the eyebrow. He said he would call the diAngelos to tell them the good news, and went to start the evening feeding.
“Did I hear the Millers say that they wanted to have Garnet picked up on Saturday?” Stevie asked.
Carole nodded. “I think so.”
“Good, that’s perfect. It gives us time for the other thing I want to do,” Stevie said mysteriously.
“What’s that?” Lisa inquired.
“Let me put it this way: I have just one secret.” She glanced at Carole. “No, actually two secrets. I’ll let you guys in on one of them.”
AFTER THE HORSE Wise Pony Club meeting on Saturday, Pine Hollow was abuzz with excitement. The horses were put away in a hurry. Then all the Pony Clubbers started pulling snacks and drinks out of their cubbies. The older kids, including Carole and Lisa, set up folding tables in the indoor ring. People darted back and forth bringing cups and napkins as well as carrots, apples, and sugar cubes.
Stevie stood in the middle of the hubbub with a satisfied smile on her face: She had organized so many parties at Pine Hollow that she wasn’t even nervous about this one. Everybody had been eager to help out.
“Here comes the guest of honor now,” Lisa said, pointing.
“Oh, good,” Stevie said. “I was getting worried that she’d be late for her own going-away party.”
“Garnet? Please,” Carole said. “She’s always been a lady.”
As Betsy Cavanaugh led Garnet into the ring, Lisa stepped forward and snapped a few pictures. The chestnut mare looked wonderful. The Saddle Club had given her another extraspecial grooming, and, as an added touch, Lisa had braided red and yellow yarn into her mane. She entered the ring, raised her noble Arabian head, and then snorted loudly.
“Well, we’re glad to see you, too,” Carole kidded, giving Garnet a big pat.
As planned, Lisa said a few words of praise in honor of Garnet. “And even though we know she’s going to have a great home at the Millers’, we’ll all miss her very much,” she concluded. Everyone clapped and gathered around with their treats of carrots, apples, and sugar cubes. “I think we’d better hold off,” Carole reminded them after Garnet had eaten a few. “She vetted out perfectly—we don’t want her to show up at Katie’s with colic!”
“Then we at least want Garnet’s new owner to take the treats with her for future use,” Polly Giacomin urged.
“I’m sure she’ll be happy to,” said Carole.
“Are we too late?” The party crowd turned in unison to see Max and Deborah hurrying in.
“Not if that’s a cake!” Stevie cried.
Max and Deborah presented their offering to Garnet first. It was a big cake they’d bought at the grocery store, and it said “Bon Voyage!” Once Max was satisfied that Garnet had gotten a good look at it, he set it down and cut slices for everyone. Mrs. Reg had come, too. She poured hot cider from a huge thermos. Everyone took turns eating cake and holding Garnet.
In the middle of the party, a hush suddenly fell over the crowd. One look at the door to the ring revealed why: Veronica had finally shown up. Stevie had told Veronica about the plan, naturally—Garnet was her horse, after all—but she hadn’t known whether Veronica would bother to come. Now that she had arrived, it was awkward. The Saddle Club had done so much work over the past couple of weeks to sell Garnet that it almost seemed as if she were their horse. Veronica seemed to recognize that. She came in quietly and greeted everyone. “I just got off the phone with the Kingsleys,” she confided to the girls.
“Were they upset about Garnet?” Carole asked, feeling she had to, to be polite.
“Actually, no. It turns out Henrietta had decided to take up waterskiing instead of riding. Who knows? They may have never sent their vet up.” With that, Veronica seemed to have run out of things to say. She got herself a piece of cake and, looking almost embarrassed, went to stand with Garnet. When Stevie and Lisa looked over a few minutes later, Veronica had an arm on Garnet’s neck and was talking softly to her.
“She’s certainly behaving herself today,” Lisa commented.
“Yeah, they both are: Garnet and Veronica,” Stevie joked. “Imagine that.”
Carole had retreated across the ring so that she could be alone and think. She noticed her friends laughing with each other. She wanted to join in, but she was having a hard time getting into the festivities. Every night that week she had talked to Cam, but he had been too busy packing to come see her or to have her come see him. Besides, his parents were too busy to drive him anywhere.
The whole thing had become final faster than Carole could have believed. Duffy was already on his way to California in a horse transport van; Cam would leave tomorrow. His parents had hired someone to drive their car across country so that the whole family could fly out to L.A. together. Several times Cam had promised that he would write, but Carole knew that even if he did, things would never be the same between them. They still didn’t know each other all that well. Now they never would.
Lost in her brooding, Carole leaned back against one of the jumps and closed her eyes. She hardly knew how long she’d been there when she felt a hand tap her lightly on the shoulder. “Hey, sleepyhead. Worn out from all the horse selling?” a voice behind her asked.
Carole spun around. It was Cam! He looked happy to see her and pleased with his surprise presence at the party. “You came!” Carole cried.
Cam nodded. “Yup. Stevie invited me—I guess she wanted to keep it a secret. My mom had a few last-minute errands in Willow Creek anyway, so she dropped me off for a little while.”
“I can’t believe it!” Carole said. “I mean, I can’t believe that you—or, Stevie—oh, never mind! You’re really here!” She was so thrilled at seeing Cam one last time that she couldn’t seem to say anything normal.
“I’m really here, and I really wanted to come,” Cam assured her.
“Really?” Carole asked.
“Really,” said Cam. He cleared his throat. “I wanted to come so I could give you this.”
Carole felt her jaw drop as Cam reached into his pocket and held out a small box wrapped in paper with horses on it. “I have something for you, too. I was going to mail it, but now I can give it to you in person. Come on, it’s in my cubby.”
Carole noticed that Cam looked shyly pleased. Obviously he was glad that she had thought of him, too. Without further ado, she led him out of the ring and into the changing room. She fished around in her cubby and brought it out. She hadn’t had time to wrap it, so she made Cam close his eyes and stick out his hand. Then she placed her gift in his palm. It was a Saddle Club pin—the kind that Phil and A.J., as honorary Saddle Club members, alrea
dy had. Carole had talked the gift idea over with Lisa and Stevie, and they had agreed that Cam definitely deserved to be an out-of-town Saddle Club member. He more than met the requirements: He was horse-crazy, and he’d always been a good friend.
“Okay, open your eyes,” Carole said.
Cam opened his eyes. His expression changed from curious to delighted. “It’s a Saddle Club pin, isn’t it?” he asked.
Carole nodded shyly. “Stevie and Lisa and I all wanted you to have it.”
Cam pinned it to his jacket immediately. “I can’t wait till somebody at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center asks me where I got this,” he said. “I’ll tell them, ‘Sorry, but it’s a very exclusive club,’ ” Cam joked. “All right, now you open yours.”
Carole fumbled with the wrapping paper on her box but finally got it open. “You got me a pin, too!” she exclaimed.
“I guess great minds think alike,” said Cam, smiling.
Inside the box was a horseshoe-shaped stickpin. Carole could hardly believe Cam had picked out such a perfect gift. She gulped a little before she managed a thank-you.
“When I saw it, it reminded me of the good-luck horseshoe here that you told me about,” Cam said. “I …” He hesitated and looked down, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll still be a good friend, you know, Carole. At least, I’ll try to be.”
Carole could read more from Cam’s face than from what he said. He seemed to realize, like her, how hard long-distance friendships could be, especially when the friendship was just getting started. All of a sudden Carole was conscious of the silence. She wanted to break it, but, for the millionth time, she didn’t know what to say. “Cam …”
“Yes?”
Carole paused a minute as the door to the changing room swung open. Veronica strode in, her cheeks wet with tears. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Cam and Carole. “Oh … hi. I didn’t know anyone was in here.” Abruptly Veronica wiped her face with her hand. “There’s so much dust in the barn, I must have gotten some in my eyes,” she said, visibly trying to compose herself.
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