AS THE GIRLS were helping John fold and stack the chairs, a horse van pulled into the driveway. Frank hurried over. “Stevie, there’s the van that’s going to be taking the horses out East. You’d better go out and round up Stewball; we’re going to start loading right now.”
Stevie bit her lip. There was a long pause. “That’s okay, Frank,” she said quietly at last. “I changed my mind. I’m leaving him here.”
Stevie’s voice was so low that the others weren’t sure they’d heard her correctly. “What do you mean, leaving him here?” Carole demanded.
“If I don’t ship him now, it could be a while before I can arrange to get him out to you,” Frank said.
“I’ve decided not to buy him at all,” Stevie said. “I’m sorry I waited until the last minute to tell you, and I hope that doesn’t cause any problems for you, but I’m not taking him.”
“That’s no problem for me,” Frank said. “Stewball is a good worker and we’d be happy to keep him. But what made you change your mind?”
Stevie thought for a second. She had just figured the whole thing out herself, and she wanted to be sure to explain it so the others would understand, too. “Stewball belongs here at The Bar None,” she explained. “He should spend the rest of his life doing what he does best, cutting and herding. And he should be rewarded for his hard work by being able to do what he loves best, playing with the rest of his herd out on the range.”
“Well, I can’t say I’m not surprised,” Frank said, rubbing his chin. “I really thought you had your heart set on having him. But I can certainly understand your reasoning. So Stewball stays.” He nodded and then left to help Walter load the Eastern-bound horses onto the van.
Carole, Lisa, Christine, and Kate were speechless for a moment, still trying to take in what had just happened. John did not have the same problem, however.
“Congratulations, Stevie,” he said. “I’m glad you finally came to your senses.”
Stevie frowned and seemed about to take offense at the comment. But then she shrugged and relaxed. “I guess you were right all along,” she said. “It took me a while to realize that even though Stewball is perfect for me to ride when I’m here, he might not be perfect for me to take back to Virginia.”
“I think you made the right decision, Stevie,” Kate told her. The other girls nodded.
“Thanks, you guys,” Stevie said, looking a little sad. She folded the last two chairs and added them to the stack against the barn wall. A truck would be coming to pick them up soon. “I guess we’re finished here. The auction is really over.”
“That’s right,” John said. He brushed off his hands. “I’ll be in the barn if anybody needs me.” He walked away toward the barn door. Lisa thought he might have realized that Stevie needed to be alone with her friends for a minute, and she thought again how sensitive he could be sometimes.
Carole put an arm around Stevie’s shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I know how much you were looking forward to owning Stewball.”
“I think so,” Stevie said. “It was hard, but I’m pretty sure I made the right decision. All day I’ve been watching people choose horses who are suited to their personalities and their needs, and I’ve been thinking about that. Those two little girls started me thinking about it when they decided they wanted Ellie. That gelding, Midnight, made me think about it more when I worried that he might not go to an owner who would really appreciate everything about him. And then when I saw that Lucky—who really will make a wonderful show horse—was going East where he belonged, I knew what I had to do. Lucky belongs there, but Stewball belongs here. He needs to be here to be happy.”
The others were silent for a moment. There was nothing more to say on the subject right then, and they all knew it. Finally Lisa spoke. “I can hardly believe our visit is just about over.” They were scheduled to leave early the next morning.
“I know,” Stevie agreed. “So much has happened on this trip.”
“Isn’t that how it always is when you three come out here?” Kate teased. “Even if nothing is happening at all, you manage to stir things up.”
They all laughed. “I guess that’s true,” Carole admitted. “But you can’t say we’re not fun!”
“True,” Kate said. “So what fun thing do we want to do now? We’ve got an hour or so before dinner.”
“I’d better say my good-byes now,” Christine said. “I imagine my parents are about ready to go.” She hugged the three Eastern girls, promising to write. Then she hurried off to find her parents.
“I’m going to go out and find the herd,” Stevie told the others. “I want to say good-bye to Stewball. I may not have time in the morning.”
Her friends watched her go. Then Carole turned to Kate. “You know who I’d like to say good-bye to?”
“Moon Glow and Felix?” Kate guessed.
“Bingo!” Carole replied with a smile. She turned to Lisa. “Want to come along?”
“Uh, I might be over in a few minutes,” Lisa said. “I have something else to do first.” She’d been hoping to find a chance to say good-bye to John in private. It was strange to think that the next day they would be thousands of miles apart.
John looked up as Lisa entered the saddle storage area. “Hi, there,” he greeted her, his smile warm and welcoming. He hung up the bridle he was holding. Then he grabbed Lisa by the hand and gently pulled her over to a large trunk. They sat down on it side by side, so close their knees were touching. “I was afraid I wouldn’t see you again before you left.”
“Well, here I am,” Lisa replied with a smile. “I didn’t want to go without saying good-bye.”
“I’m glad.” John smiled down at her. He was still holding her hand.
Lisa took a deep breath. “Listen, John, we should keep in touch after I go home,” she began hurriedly. “It will be hard to stay friends from such a distance, but we can write to each other. And I’m sure I’ll visit The Bar None again before long—”
“Lisa,” John interrupted her gently. “I don’t know if we should try so hard. I mean, I’ve really liked spending time with you, and I hope you do come back here again real soon. I’ve never met anybody like you, and I’ve never met anybody I’ve liked as much.”
“Same here,” Lisa said quietly, looking down at her hand clasped in his.
“What we’ve got is a really nice, really special friendship,” John continued. “We shouldn’t mess it up with a lot of promises that might be hard to keep.”
Lisa bit her lip and nodded. Even though what John was saying made her sad, it also made a lot of sense. “I guess you’re right,” she admitted. “I guess it would be hard to, well, you know …”
“I know,” John said. He leaned forward, and Lisa closed her eyes for one last kiss.
“IT’S LIKE WE never left,” Stevie groaned, leaning on her pitchfork.
“Well, not quite,” Carole said with a smile.
Stevie, Carole, and Lisa were back at Pine Hollow once again. And once again they were mucking out stalls in the summer heat. The difference was that this time they were in a much better mood.
Stevie got back to work. “You’re right. Even if we’re stuck cleaning out these stalls, at least now we can think back on the great time we had at The Bar None.”
“True,” Lisa agreed dreamily. “And we can look forward to the next time we go back.” She let out a sigh. Stevie and Carole looked at her curiously.
“Are we missing something here, Lisa?” Stevie asked. “Why do you look so funny?”
Carole gasped and put a hand to her mouth. “It’s John, right?” she exclaimed. “I meant to keep an eye out to see if things were going well between you two. But with all the excitement about the auction, and Stevie buying Stewball and everything—I guess I forgot all about it.”
Lisa blushed. “Don’t worry. Things went well.”
“Really?” Stevie said. “Does this mean he’s your boyfriend now? That’s so romantic!”
“No, he’s not my boyfriend,” Lisa said. “We’re just good friends. It would be too hard to be boyfriend and girlfriend over such a long distance.”
Stevie shrugged. “I guess you’re right, although it would be pretty romantic.…”
“And difficult,” Lisa finished for her. She sighed again and smiled. “No, he’s not my boyfriend. But we had an awfully nice time while I was there.”
After a little more urging, her friends managed to drag the whole story out of her—kisses and all.
“Bob Harris will be jealous if he finds out,” Carole commented. “I still can’t believe this was all going on right under my nose—again,” she added, shaking her head in wonder.
“I can believe that,” Stevie said. “I just can’t believe I didn’t notice.”
Carole gave her a withering look. “I can definitely believe that. You only had eyes for Stewball.” She grinned. “By the way, Stevie, I’m glad to see that you’re not holding any grudges about what we did. We were sure you’d be annoyed when you realized.”
“Realized what?” Stevie asked, looking mystified.
Carole and Lisa looked at each other. “You know,” Lisa said. “The way we worked so hard to show you that Stewball wasn’t the right horse for you to have at Pine Hollow.”
Stevie stopped working and gazed at her friends in surprise. “You did?”
“You mean you didn’t even notice?” Carole exclaimed. She and Lisa burst out laughing.
“So much for that Saddle Club project!” Lisa said. She and Carole took turns explaining their scheme to convince Stevie that Stewball was a Western horse at heart.
“Well, that was an okay plan,” Stevie commented when they had finished. “But it would have been better if I’d been in on it.”
Carole and Lisa laughed. They were relieved that Stevie wasn’t annoyed. “By the way, Stevie, if you’re finished with that stall, Max wants us to do Romeo’s before Polly brings him in from their trail ride,” Lisa said.
“Okay, I’ll do it,” Stevie said agreeably. She finished spreading out the straw in the stall she had just finished cleaning and then headed across the corridor to Romeo’s.
Carole waited for her to start grumbling. “Aren’t you still mad that Polly has her own horse and you don’t?” Carole asked when she realized that no grumbling was forthcoming from Stevie, at least not at the moment.
“No,” Stevie said absentmindedly. “You know, I think I figured out something important on that trip. I realized that it’s really important to look for a partnership that’s good in every possible way.”
“You mean you and Stewball weren’t a good partnership because your interest is in English riding and his talents are for Western?” Carole guessed.
“Exactly,” Stevie said. “And more than that—he never could have been as happy an English horse as he is a Western one. That fact was like the one piece of a puzzle that doesn’t fit.” She shrugged. “I guess I just kind of took that stuff for granted. It’s probably because you and Starlight are so perfect for each other, and Phil and Teddy too.”
“Sometimes there’s just one thing that keeps something from being perfect,” Lisa said thoughtfully. Stevie and Carole had the feeling she wasn’t talking about Stewball. When she started blushing again, they knew they were right. Lisa was thinking about John, and how they could possibly have been more than just good friends if they didn’t live so far apart.
Stevie decided not to ask her and embarrass her further. Instead she kept the conversation on Stewball. “The bottom line is, I had to do what I did because I knew it would be best for him. I had to put his needs ahead of my wish to own him.”
“And you don’t regret it?” Carole asked. She stepped out of the stall she had just finished and leaned on the open half door of Romeo’s to talk to Stevie.
“No way,” Stevie said. “I’m very happy with my decision.
And after all, I can still ride Stewball whenever we go to The Bar None.” She began to whistle as she worked.
Carole was a little surprised that Stevie was taking this so well. “But you still don’t have your own horse,” she said. “I can’t believe you’re not just a little bit upset about that.”
“Yeah,” Lisa agreed, joining Carole outside Romeo’s stall. “You came so close to getting one. It must be awfully disappointing.”
Stevie stopped whistling and grinned. “Nope,” she replied. Then she started whistling again.
Carole and Lisa exchanged a glance. “How can you say that?” Carole asked. “I thought you really wanted your own horse.”
“I do,” Stevie said. “But think about it. If I convinced my parents to buy me a horse this time, it shouldn’t be too hard to break them down when the really perfect right horse comes along. It’s just a matter of time.”
“True,” Carole agreed. She hadn’t thought of it that way. “So I guess all you really have to do is find the perfect horse and you’re all set.”
Lisa smiled. “Now that’s a Saddle Club project worth working on!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BONNIE BRYANT is the author of more than a hundred books about horses, including The Saddle Club series, Saddle Club Super Editions, the Pony Tails series, and Pine Hollow, which follows the Saddle Club girls into their teens. She has also written novels and movie novelizations under her married name, B. B. Hiller.
Ms. Bryant began writing The Saddle Club in 1986. Although she had done some riding before that, she intensified her studies then and found herself learning right along with her characters Stevie, Carole, and Lisa. She claims that they are all much better riders than she is.
Ms. Bryant was born and raised in New York City. She still lives there, in Greenwich Village, with her two sons.
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