“I sure hope so,” Callie said with an anxious sigh. “I’ll be sitting on pins and needles until then. Oops! There’s call waiting. It may be Judy confirming the time—I’d better go.”
This time as Stevie hung up, she was left feeling unsatisfied by the phone call. Picking up the receiver again, she quickly dialed Lisa’s number. I’ve just got to tell someone about Callie’s great news, she thought with a guilty glance at the computer. It will only take a sec.…
She heard her friend’s familiar voice on the other end of the line. “Hey, Lisa, it’s me again,” she said quickly. “Guess what?”
The following afternoon after last period, Callie was jogging down the crowded school hallway toward her locker when she almost collided with Stevie, who was emerging from a nearby classroom. “Hi!” Stevie greeted her, looking distracted. “Where are you off to in such a hurry this aftern—Oh! Today’s Scooby’s vet check, isn’t it?”
“Uh-huh.” Forcing her mind off the coming hours long enough to recall what was going on in Stevie’s life, Callie glanced at the sheaf of papers in her friend’s hand. “Are you heading upstairs to turn in your article?”
Stevie lifted the papers and shrugged. “Not exactly. I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted to last night. I’ll probably have to pull an all-nighter tonight. But it’ll be worth it—it’s going to knock Theresa’s socks off when it’s finished. Not to mention the rest of the school. Max will probably have to buy a dozen new horses to keep up with all the people who are going to want to come along on this year’s Starlight Ride after they read about it.”
Callie grinned, delighted as she always was at Stevie’s ebullient self-confidence. She had often thought that if there were a way to bottle her friend’s aplomb, high school would be a whole lot easier for a lot of people. “Cool,” she said. “I can’t wait to read it.”
“But what about you?” Stevie grabbed Callie’s arm and grinned. “You must be practically fainting with excitement. Are you nervous?”
“Definitely. But I’m psyched, too.” Callie swallowed hard to calm the butterflies rampaging in her stomach. Her anxiety had been fighting it out with her euphoria since the day before. Now that she’d decided that Scooby was the right horse for her, all doubts about her choice were gone. The only thing that could derail her now was if something went wrong that afternoon. “If Judy doesn’t find anything unexpected, like heart or lung problems or an artificial leg or something, Scooby will be mine!”
“Don’t worry,” Stevie said reassuringly. “I’m sure he’s as healthy as a—well, you know.” She winked and grinned.
“Thanks.” Callie took a deep, calming breath. “I hope you’re right. Judy’s not an endurance specialist, but I’m pretty sure she can tell me whether Scooby’s up to the job.”
“Absolutely,” Stevie declared. “Judy’s the best equine vet around. She’ll go over Scooby with a fine-tooth comb until you’re satisfied that he’s just as perfect as you think he is.”
“I hope you’re right,” Callie said again. “I’d better get going. I’m supposed to meet her over there in twenty minutes.”
“Good luck. Let me know what happens.”
Callie gave a little wave and spun on her heel to head for the nearest exit. As she turned, she caught a flash of movement off to the left, among all the activity of the hall. Glancing that way, she saw George walking quickly in the opposite direction.
She frowned, oddly disturbed. Had he been staring at her while she was talking to Stevie?
Get real, Paranoid Girl, she told herself sharply. George goes to school here, too, remember? He has every right to walk down the hall.
She shrugged, guessing that her anxiety over the vet check was making her a little jumpy. And after all, George was finally doing what she wanted—staying away from her, both at school and at the stable.
“Speaking of stables …,” she muttered, remembering what she was supposed to be doing. Scooby was waiting. She headed for the door at a brisk walk, all thoughts of George Wheeler flying out of her mind.
SEVEN
“Do you have an extra pen?” Carole whispered to Cam, shooting a quick glance at the main desk at the front of Willow Creek Public Library’s reading room. “Mine just ran out of ink.”
“Sure.” Cam dug a ballpoint out of his backpack, then held it up just out of her reach with a teasing gleam in his dark eyes. “But it doesn’t come for free.”
Carole giggled, then cast another worried glance toward the front desk. The librarian had his back to her as he helped another student find something on the computer. “Okay, will you give it to me if I do this?” she said, leaning over to plant a kiss on his waiting lips.
“Mmm,” Cam murmured through the kiss. “That’s more like it.”
Carole finally broke away a minute or two later when she opened her eyes and noticed a group of students at the next table giving them dirty looks. Blushing, she sat back in her chair and smoothed her hair, which had become slightly rumpled under Cam’s caress. “Um, anyway, thanks,” she said, grabbing the pen out of his hand and willing her heartbeat to slow down to its normal pace. Searching her mind for an innocuous topic, she cleared her throat. “So I forgot to ask. Did you come up with any brilliant ideas yet about how to convince Dad to let us go on the Starlight Ride together?”
“I’m doing my best,” Cam replied. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a way. I’m already looking forward to riding along with you by torchlight. It’s going to be great.”
“Definitely,” Carole whispered.
She was sure that Cam would be as good as his word. In the days since they’d become a couple, he’d shown a real talent for finding creative ways to convince her father to let them spend time together in spite of her grounding. That day, for instance, he had helped Carole convince her father that they should study together. Carole had been a little surprised when he’d agreed readily, with no arguments or only ifs.
I guess Dad thinks Cam is a good influence on me, she thought, sneaking a peek at Cam as he bent over his schoolbooks. And you know what? I think he’s right. I know I’ve been a lot happier since he moved back to Virginia. Being with him makes my whole life seem better.
Cam glanced up and caught her staring. She blushed, but he just smiled and reached for her hand. “Hey, I just realized I need to find a book,” he whispered. “Want to come help me look?”
“Sure.” Carole got up and followed him toward the stacks. Cam ducked into the first aisle, pulling her along to the end of the row.
“Aha,” Cam said in a low, husky voice. “I think I just spotted what I need—right here.” He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close, bending down to seek out her lips with his own.
Carole closed her eyes and felt herself getting swept away. Would she ever get tired of kissing Cam? She seriously doubted it.
She came back to earth when she heard a throat being cleared loudly nearby. Her eyes flew open and she jumped away from Cam. The assistant librarian was standing at the end of the row, glaring at them sternly. “Do you mind?” she said crisply. “This is a library, not a cheap motel room.”
“S-sorry,” Carole stammered, her face flaming. “Uh, we—”
“We’re sorry, ma’am,” Cam said. “We’ll behave from now on, we promise.”
“See that you do.” The woman frowned. “Otherwise you’ll have to leave the library.”
Carole wasn’t sure she’d ever been more humiliated. She was ready to make the librarian’s wish come true and run out of the building then and there, never to return. But Cam grinned as soon as the woman was out of sight. “Oops,” he said. “Guess we got busted.”
“Maybe we should go back to the table and get back to studying,” Carole said nervously. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what her father would say if they got caught kissing again and the librarian decided to call their parents.
“I’ve got a better idea.” Cam took her hand again.
Peeking past the end of the row
to make sure the coast was clear, he led Carole in the opposite direction, deeper into the stacks. Soon they were in the very last row near the emergency exit. Nobody else was in sight.
Cam ran his hand up her arm, cupped her neck, and pulled her gently toward him. “There,” he whispered, holding her gaze as he dipped his face toward hers. “Now we can really get some studying done.”
Stevie leaned her chin on her hand, staring at the computer screen in front of her. I wonder if Phil’s as bummed as I am that I had to cancel our date today, she thought grumpily. I can’t believe my article still isn’t finished.
She sighed, knowing it was her own fault. She’d gotten so caught up in all those phone calls the night before that she’d hardly written anything. Now it was Wednesday afternoon and she had no choice. She had to finish that night if she wanted the article to be published.
And I do, she reminded herself, tapping the arrow key to scroll down through what she had written. It’s turning out really well so far, and I’m sure Theresa will love it. I just wish there was an extra day in the week so that I could finish writing it and see Phil.
It was bad enough to have to give up a chance to get together with Phil—since they went to different schools, they never seemed to have enough time together—but now she would also have to wait to find out what was happening with A.J. Knowing that he was trying to track down the woman who might be his biological mother made her more curious than ever.
“Oh well,” she muttered, trying to forget about that for the moment and focus on her article. “Back to the grindstone.” She sat up straight, thought for a moment, and then started typing.
Max and his crew lay out the path through the woods in advance, marking the way with flickering torches that add to the magical ambiance. As they ride, participants sometimes sing holiday songs, while at other times they simply ride in silence, enjoying the extraordinary feeling of being with special friends in the hushed beauty of the winter woods.
Sitting back with a smile, Stevie read over the last few lines again. Just writing them had reminded her of all the times she’d gone on the Starlight Ride and how much fun she and her friends had always had.
Her mind wandered to Phil again. She couldn’t wait to see his face when he opened the incredible gift she was getting him. Alex and Michael had already agreed to her money-for-presents plan, and Stevie figured she’d have no trouble convincing Chad when he arrived home for the holidays the following Monday night. She intended to hit The Saddlery that weekend and buy the chaps.
Nothing like a little last-minute Christmas shopping, she thought ruefully, realizing that Christmas Eve was only six days away. Still, I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve hardly been able to find the time to eat and sleep, let alone stroll the mall.
Thinking about everything she’d accomplished over the past couple of weeks—working on her article, helping Max with Starlight Ride preparations, dealing with various friends’ problems, and of course keeping up with her usual load of chores and homework—made her look forward to Christmas Eve more than ever. The Starlight Ride would be the perfect reward to herself for surviving her own busy life.
It’s going to be so great, she thought with a happy sigh, scanning the last part of her article again. Whatever made me think the Starlight Ride was just kids’ stuff? Life couldn’t possibly get better than that—me and Phil, riding along through the woods in the crisp Christmas Eve twilight. Oh, and helping Max and the others deal with a whole bunch of giggly preteen riders, of course. She grinned at the thought. Who would have thought that hanging out with May Grover, Sarah Anne Porter, and the rest of the intermediate riding brats would ever sound like a romantic evening?
Picturing herself and Phil riding along through the December evening, she wondered if she should give her boyfriend his gift before the ride. It was sure to be chilly out there in the woods after dark, and those chaps could come in handy.
But she shook her head almost immediately. Better stick to the original plan, she decided. Our gift exchange will be a lot more intimate after the ride, when we won’t be constantly interrupted by intermediate riders looking for someone to help tighten their girth or find them a spare pair of stirrup leathers.
She could picture it already. She and Phil would find a cozy spot in Belle’s stall or maybe up in the hayloft. He would insist that she open her gift first, and she would ooh and aah appropriately over whatever he got her.
Then it will be his turn, she thought gleefully. He’ll rip the paper off in one motion like he always does and immediately recognize the box from The Saddlery. So he’ll go to open it, assuming it’s a new saddle pad or something like that. It’ll probably take him a second or two to realize what’s really inside—that’s when he’ll gasp in stunned, rapturous disbelief and tell me what a superfabulous, one-of-a-kind, downright amazing girlfriend I am.…
As she imagined Phil’s response, she shifted her weight and accidentally hit the keyboard on the desk. It blooped in protest, and she blinked, suddenly remembering that she had work to do before she could move on to making Phil’s dreams come true. Shaking her head to clear the image of her boyfriend’s ecstatic face out of her mind, she sighed and returned her attention to the computer screen.
EIGHT
“Hello?”. Lisa peered over the half door into Belle’s stall. “Stevie? You in there?”
But the only one in the roomy stall was Stevie’s friendly mare, who blinked at Lisa quizzically and continued chewing a mouthful of hay. Lisa leaned on the door and sighed, watching the horse for a moment. She had come straight over to Pine Hollow after school, hoping to find some company to take her mind off her problems. But there was no sign of Stevie, Carole, or Callie anywhere.
Oh well, she thought, disappointed. I guess I should get used to being lonely. If Mom has her way, this is going to be a familiar feeling soon.
She walked slowly down the aisle, pausing to pat a few favorite horses on her way. When she emerged into the entryway, she was just in time to see Callie disappearing into the locker room. Scott was standing in the doorway, his car keys in his hand. He smiled slightly when he saw her.
Lisa gulped. She still felt bad about snapping at him on the phone two days earlier. She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since then, and she knew it was time to make things right. She stepped toward him. “Scott, I’m glad you’re—” she began.
“Wait.” Scott held up a hand, his voice commanding. “Me first.”
“But I just want to explain about the other day,” Lisa protested quickly. “When you asked me about dinner—”
“Never mind that.” Scott shook his head. “I don’t want to take you to dinner over in Berryville anymore.”
Lisa blinked. “Huh? Y-you don’t?” she stammered uncertainly. “But I was just going to tell you—I mean I …” She wasn’t sure what to say.
Scott took a step toward her. “No, I changed my mind about that,” he said. “Instead of taking you to dinner in Berryville, I would rather take you to see The Nutcracker. In D.C. This Saturday night.” He reached into his pocket and produced two colorful strips of cardboard. Tickets. “And if that goes well, perhaps you’ll allow me to be your date for the Starlight Ride next week. What do you say?”
Lisa opened and closed her mouth several times, her head spinning. The Nutcracker? The Starlight Ride? “Um … That’s so generous,” she murmured, playing for time so that she could figure out what to say.
What did she want to say? She had no idea. With the way she was feeling lately, wondering if she was going to be forced in a few short weeks to leave the life and home she’d always known, she was tempted just to forget about dating altogether. Why bother? Every Saturday night she spent with a guy—even a cute, charming, strangely compelling one like Scott Forester—was another night she wouldn’t get to hang out with her friends. And being with them just seemed like the most important thing in the world to her right then.
She was trying to figure out how to explain all that witho
ut hurting Scott’s feelings when the door flew open and Stevie rushed in, breathless and pink-cheeked. “Yo!” she cried exuberantly. “Is this a fantastic day or what?”
Scott smiled at her, seemingly unperturbed by the interruption. “Hey, Lake,” he said. “What’s so great about it?”
Stevie stuck out her tongue at him. “As if you didn’t know.” She spun to face Lisa. “I just got out of a Sentinel meeting,” she said. “And Theresa and the others loved my article! It’s going to run in tomorrow’s issue!”
“That’s great!” Lisa said, sincerely pleased for her friend. Stevie’s new interest in being a reporter had come on suddenly, but she really seemed to be serious about it. “Congratulations. I can’t wait to read it.”
“Thanks.” Stevie smiled happily, shifting her backpack from one shoulder to the other. “I’m pretty psyched about it myself. Phil and I are going out Saturday night to celebrate—and it’s about time, too. I feel like we haven’t had a real date in ages.” She rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Oh.” Lisa’s heart sank. So much for hanging out with her two best friends on Saturday night. Still, maybe she could make do with one. “So does that mean you’re not planning on double-dating with Carole and Cam?” she asked, trying to sound casual.
Stevie shrugged. “I think this weekend is her big shopping extravaganza with the colonel,” she said, referring to Carole’s father, who had recently retired from the Marine Corps.
“Oh, right,” Lisa muttered. “I forgot about that.” A few days earlier at school, Carole had mentioned that she and her father were planning to drive to an outlet mall in North Carolina that Saturday, where they would do some last-minute holiday shopping and then have dinner before driving home.
She bit back a sigh. Oh well, she thought. I guess I can’t expect my friends to put their lives on hold just because my whole life might be changing soon. She knew she was being a little melodramatic. But she couldn’t help feeling sorry for herself. Both her best friends were at the beginning of exciting new parts of their lives—Stevie with the school newspaper and Carole with her new romance. It didn’t seem fair that Lisa might have to miss seeing how it all turned out.
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