Headstrong

by Bonnie Bryant

  Max’s voice pulled her back to the here and now. “I’ve got an idea,” he said. “Sort of a wedding gift from me and Deborah.” He glanced at his wife, who looked interested. “How about if we host a wedding for you?”

  Denise gasped. “Oh, Max!” she exclaimed. “That’s so generous. But—no, we couldn’t possibly accept.”

  “No way,” Red added firmly. “Thanks, boss. But we’ll be okay.”

  Carole bit her lip, disappointed at the response. She couldn’t imagine any more wonderful solution to the couple’s problem than the one Max had suggested. What could she say to change their minds?

  Before she could figure it out, Deborah spoke up. “Nonsense,” she said briskly. “Max is right. We’d love to do it.”

  Denise looked worried. “But it’s such a huge responsibility … and the money …”

  Max chuckled. “Hey, we’re not offering to rent the Kennedy Center or anything,” he said. “But I’m sure we can manage a nice ceremony up at the house, then a party for all your friends.”

  “Whoo-hoo!” Stevie hooted. “Par-tay!”

  Everyone laughed as Max shot Stevie a mock frown. “Of course, Deborah and I will have veto power over the guest list.”

  Carole grinned. She knew Max was just giving Stevie a hard time. “Say yes, guys,” she urged Red and Denise. “Please? We all want to be there to see you two tie the knot.”

  Red cleared his throat and gazed at Denise for a long moment. “Well,” he said at last, “how could we possibly say no?”

  “You couldn’t,” Stevie said. “So you’d better say yes!”

  That made everyone laugh again, including Red and Denise. “All right, all right,” Denise said, raising her voice to be heard over the chuckles. “Then we will say yes—with many thanks.”

  “Good.” Max looked pleased. “Then I suppose we’d better start making plans! After all, New Year’s is right around the corner.”

  As the others began chattering excitedly about the plans, Cam tugged gently on Carole’s hand. “Let’s duck out,” he whispered. “I want to talk to you about something.”

  Carole hesitated. She really wanted to find out more about the upcoming wedding—and volunteer to help in any way she could. But as she met Cam’s pleading gaze, she relented. “Okay.” She followed as he ducked into the stable aisle.

  Soon they were alone except for several horses, which were peering at them over the half doors of their stalls. Cam turned to face her, dropping her hand so that he could wrap his arms around her waist and bury his face in her neck.

  Carole almost immediately felt herself sliding away on the wave of warmth and pleasure that overtook her whenever she and Cam were close. But she managed to keep her head, remembering the reason they were there. “Hey, wait a minute,” she said rather breathlessly, gently pushing him away. “I thought you said we were going to talk.”

  “I know,” Cam said, leaning close and blowing a stray dark curl off her cheek. “I just can’t help myself when I’m alone with you. I’ve never felt like this with anyone else. I can’t get enough of you, Carole.”

  Carole gulped, not certain how to respond. She was pretty sure she felt the same way, though their new relationship had been such a whirlwind that she’d hardly had time to catch her breath, let alone think too much about it. Still, she had no idea how to put her feelings into words the way Cam did. He always seemed to know the perfect, most wonderful, romantic way to express things, while she was generally left gasping for words.

  Fortunately, this time Cam didn’t seem to expect a response. “Anyway, you’re right.” He took half a step back, though his hands still rested lightly on her waist. “I wanted to talk to you about Christmas.”

  “What about it?” Carole was slightly relieved at the change of topic.

  “I was thinking, since this will be our first holiday together, I want it to be really special,” Cam said softly, his brown eyes never leaving her own. “Something we’ll always remember, you know?”

  “I’ll definitely always remember it, because of you,” Carole said shyly.

  Cam smiled and leaned forward to give her a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. “Me too, beautiful,” he said. “But wouldn’t it be great to do something special, just the two of us? I was thinking we could get together in private, exchange gifts—the whole happy holidays thing.”

  “Okay.” Carole hadn’t really thought about exchanging gifts. She was still getting used to the idea of having a boyfriend at all—especially such a handsome and sweet and charming one as Cam. She didn’t want to take any chances of jinxing her own good fortune by peering too far into the future. “Um, when do you want to do it?”

  “That’s the problem.” For the first time, Cam frowned. “My folks just told me we have to go visit my cousins in Louisiana. We’re leaving on Christmas Day, and we’ll probably be down there the whole week.”

  “Oh.” Carole felt her heart contract in disappointment. A whole week without Cam? It sounded like forever. “Well, maybe we could do it before you go.”

  She winced as soon as she said it, realizing that she would have to do some fast shopping if she wanted to find anything special enough to express her new feelings for Cam. Besides that, she would have to convince her father that such a shopping trip was necessary, even though she was technically still grounded.

  To her relief, Cam was shaking his head. “I’m not sure that’ll work,” he said. “I’ve got team meetings three nights this week, and then this weekend you said your dad’s taking you into D.C. for the day. So it may have to wait until I get back. My folks are supposed to go to some party at my dad’s boss’s house on New Year’s Eve, so we’ll definitely be home by then at the latest. Why don’t we say we’ll do it then?”

  “That sounds perfect.” Carole was relieved. Now she would have plenty of time to figure out the perfect gift for Cam. Maybe her friends could advise her. “We can get together before the wedding.”

  “The wedding …,” Cam repeated blankly. “Oh, right! I almost forgot. Do you think we’ll be invited to that?”

  Carole blinked, surprised that he even had to ask. Then she reminded herself that Cam had been back in the area for only a short time. He had no way of knowing how close all the Pine Hollow regulars really were. “Of course we will,” she assured him. “At least I will, for sure. And who else would I bring as my date?”

  “Nobody, I hope, or I might die of jealousy,” Cam said teasingly, pulling her close again. “Okay, then. We’ll get together in the afternoon, before the wedding.”

  “Great.” Carole closed her eyes as Cam leaned forward to kiss her again. But for once, she wasn’t totally focused on the moment. She was already wondering how she could possibly find a gift special enough to express her feelings for Cam.

  TWO

  Lisa was so overwhelmed by the news of Red and Denise’s engagement and pregnancy that she couldn’t quite bring herself to leave the entryway, even as Max headed for the office, Red hurried off to teach an adult private lesson, and Denise and Deborah wandered toward the door, deep in a discussion about napkins and invitations. It’s amazing how fast things can change, Lisa thought. And usually when you’re least expecting it.

  “What a day!” Stevie exclaimed in Lisa’s ear, jolting her out of her thoughts. “Still, the Starlight Ride stops for no one. Anyone want to help me load wood into the trailer for the bonfire?” She gazed expectantly at Lisa and Callie. The Starlight Ride was a yearly event at Pine Hollow, a Christmas Eve trail ride followed by a bonfire in the town center. It was mostly for the younger riders, but this year Stevie had volunteered to help Max and his staff with the planning and preparations. She was also writing an article about the event for her school newspaper, the Fenton Hall Sentinel.

  Callie glanced at her watch. “Maybe in a bit. I have to make a phone call. Catch you guys in a while, okay?” Without waiting for an answer, she headed toward the hall leading to the office and the pay phone.

  “I’ll c
ome help you in minute,” Lisa said, not quite ready to subject herself to Stevie’s cheerful chatter just yet. She loved her friend dearly, but sometimes her boundless exuberance could be kind of exhausting, especially when Lisa had important issues on her mind. “Go ahead and I’ll meet you outside.”

  “Okay, cool.” Stevie hurried off. Carole and Cam had already disappeared somewhere, and the rest of the crowd had dissipated, too.

  Lisa was relieved to have a moment to gather her thoughts. While she was happy that Red and Denise had decided to make a future together, she had mixed feelings about the whole topic of looking toward the future. It’ll be great to see them tie the knot, she thought wistfully. I just wish I knew whether I was still going to be living here when their baby is born.

  She was so deep in thought that it took her a moment to realize that the only other person left in the entryway with her was Scott Forester. He was watching her steadily, his blue eyes thoughtful but friendly.

  Lisa gulped, suddenly feeling awkward. “Um, pretty big news, huh?” she said lamely.

  “The biggest,” Scott agreed. He took a few steps toward her, shoving both hands into the pockets of his khaki pants. “It was nice of Max to offer to throw them a wedding.”

  “That’s Max for you.” Lisa shrugged and smiled, thinking fondly of all the nice things the stable owner had done for so many people over the years, herself included. “He likes to act all gruff and stern and everything, but underneath it all he’s just a big softy. Besides, Red has been working here since before I started riding. And Denise has been here for a long time, too. They’re practically like family to him, you know?”

  “Uh-huh. I guess Max treats all his staff like family,” Scott commented. “So when the new stable hand gets here, should we say she’s starting work or getting adopted?” He grinned, then shrugged apologetically for the lame joke. “She starts tomorrow, right?”

  “I think so.” Lisa had almost forgotten that Max’s new hire was starting the next day. The stable owner had been looking for another hand to join Pine Hollow’s small staff for some time, and he had finally found someone he liked. With a stab of guilt, Lisa realized that she didn’t even know how Carole felt about that. After all, until her grounding Carole had been an important member of Max’s staff.

  Of course, Carole’s not the only one adjusting to disturbing news these days, Lisa reminded herself with a twinge of self-pity. In addition to her new arrangement with Alex, her mother had recently announced—totally out of the blue, as far as Lisa was concerned—that she wanted to move to New Jersey to be closer to her sister, Marianne. Even days later, Lisa could hardly believe that her mother could really expect her to pack up and move to a new home, a new school, a whole new state, right in the middle of her senior year. Still, after her parents’ sudden divorce, Lisa had learned that the unexpected really could happen.

  Just about the only thing distracting her from worrying even more about where she was going to be living the next month was thinking about Scott. The previous Friday night the two of them had attended a party together, and much to her surprise, Lisa had had a great time with him. She’d been even more surprised at her reaction when he’d kissed her good night at the end of the evening. It felt disloyal to feel so strongly attracted to another guy so soon after breaking up with Alex, but she just couldn’t help it. And why shouldn’t I be attracted to him? she asked herself. He’s pretty damned attractive. Just ask any girl who’s ever met him. Sneaking a quick peek at Scott to confirm that opinion, she found him looking straight back at her with a slight smile on his handsome face.

  Lisa gulped. Trying to cover her consternation by turning her head quickly and pretending to study the lucky horseshoe nailed to the wall near the door, she cleared her throat. “Um, I’d better head into the locker room and grab my riding gloves. If I don’t take them home and wash them soon, they’ll be ready to stand up and hit the trails on their own.”

  Scott chuckled and wandered after her as she headed into the student locker room. One wall of the large, square area was lined with roomy cubbies, where regular riders could stow their street clothes, schoolbooks, and other paraphernalia while they rode. Perching on the bench in front of her assigned cubby, Lisa leaned in and shoved aside a couple of sweatshirts and her spare jumping bat until she found the gloves she was seeking.

  Wrinkling her nose at the caked-on dirt decorating the palms of both gloves, she realized she’d let her laundry duties go even longer than she’d thought. Not that it matters, she thought moodily. If Mom goes through with these moving plans, I may not need riding gloves at all before long. Who knows if they even have decent stables in New Jersey?

  “So I was thinking.… If you’re not doing anything this weekend, maybe we could go grab some dinner.”

  “What?” Lisa was so caught up in her gloomy thoughts that she didn’t really take in what Scott had said until about three seconds later. “Oh. Um, I don’t know. I—I’ll have to think about it.”

  Scott looked surprised. Was that a flash of hurt in his eyes? Lisa wasn’t sure—it was gone almost before it appeared. “Okay,” he said in his usual easy, casual tone. “No pressure. Let me know when the jury returns its verdict.”

  “All right.” Lisa felt her cheeks turning pink. She was afraid she’d hurt his feelings, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. But she wasn’t quite sure how to fix things now, especially since she really wasn’t sure whether it was a good idea to go out with him again. “I’d better go. I told Stevie I’d help her haul wood for the Starlight Ride, and if I don’t hop to it, she’ll probably clobber me with a log.” Smiling weakly, she turned and hurried out of the room, feeling Scott’s gaze on her back but not quite daring to turn and see for sure.

  Stevie flipped up the saddle flap and tightened the girth one notch on the saddle she’d just put on Senator, a dark bay Morgan gelding. She and her boyfriend, Phil, were going for a quick late-afternoon trail ride together at Cross County Stables, where Phil took lessons.

  “There you go, bub,” she told the horse cheerfully, dropping the leather flap and giving the horse a pat on the shoulder. Senator turned and glared at her suspiciously, his ears back and an annoyed expression on his long face. Stevie ignored it. She’d ridden the bay Morgan before, and she knew that his bad attitude would disappear as soon as she was in the saddle.

  Humming under her breath, she reached for the bridle, automatically going through the motions of wrestling the reluctant geldings head down low enough for her to slip the bit into his mouth. She was busy picturing how much fun she and Phil were going to have at Red and Denise’s wedding. She’d told her boyfriend all about the double announcement as soon as she’d arrived at Cross County, and while Phil had pretended to moan and groan about having to wear a suit and tie on New Year’s Eve, Stevie could tell that he was as excited as she was at suddenly having such romantic plans for the big night rather than just sitting around the Lakes’ living room watching Dick Clark on TV and listening to Stevie’s three brothers holding their annual New Year’s Eve burping contest.

  She was fastening the throatlatch of Senator’s bridle a moment later when she heard hoofbeats clip-clopping their way toward the Morgan’s stall. “That you?” she called.

  “Nope,” Phil’s familiar voice replied teasingly. “It’s a total stranger. Ready to go?”

  “In a sec.” Stevie clenched her teeth as she tightened the girth another notch, smacking Senator soundly on the shoulder as he turned and nipped at the shoulder of her jacket. “Okay, now I’m ready.”

  Slipping Senator’s reins over his head, she led him out of the stall and into the aisle, where Phil was waiting with his horse, Teddy. The Marstens lived just down the road from Cross County Stables, so Phil had ridden his affable gelding over to the stable rather than renting one of his instructor’s school horses.

  Outside, Stevie pulled down her stirrups and checked the girth one last time, then led Senator to the mounting block and swung into the sad
dle. As she waited for Phil to mount, her thoughts were already turning away from Red and Denise and back to more pressing issues. “So, Lisa and I just spent the last hour hauling wood,” she said as Phil clucked to Teddy, bringing him up beside Stevie’s horse. “While we worked we were talking about all the Starlight Rides we’ve been on, and she gave me some good ideas for my article.”

  “Really? Let’s hear them,” Phil said agreeably.

  Stevie smiled as the two of them started off toward the trails. She loved talking about the work she was doing for the Sentinel. It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago she’d never really even thought about becoming a reporter. “Well, I was thinking I might start out by describing how it feels to ride through the woods at night,” she began.

  By the time the two of them were leaning forward to help their horses climb the steep incline leading to one of their favorite trails, they had discussed the topic of Stevie’s article thoroughly, and her thoughts were shifting gears once again. “Hey,” she called to Phil, who was slightly ahead of her on the wide trail. “Have you seen much of A.J. this weekend?”

  Phil glanced at her over his shoulder, then pulled back his horse as they reached the top of the hill to let Stevie come abreast of him. “Not much,” he said. “I think he’s working on some kind of take-home test for English class.”

  “I wonder if he’s going to try to track down that woman.” Stevie was trying to sound casual, but she was brimming with curiosity. Phil’s best friend, A.J. McDonnell, had recently discovered that his parents had adopted him as a baby and never told him about it. He hadn’t dealt with the revelation very well at first—he’d more or less stopped talking to his family and friends, started skipping school and failing tests, and even developed the beginnings of a drinking problem before finally realizing that he was only hurting himself. The previous week, while looking through old issues of the local newspaper as part of a research project, Stevie had found a photograph of a woman who looked so much like A.J. that Stevie was certain she had to be his birth mother. What would A.J. do with the information? Stevie had no idea. But she thought that if he didn’t do something soon, she just might burst.