“Great,” Stevie told her, “now that it’s done.” Actually, the house did look great. Every speck of dust had vanished.
“Housework’s like that,” Mrs. Lake answered.
“Say, Mom, speaking of housework, I was cleaning out my closet today, and I was just wondering—you don’t happen to know what happened to those three pots of plants I was growing for science, do you?”
“Oh, you mean the three pots of dead weeds? Sure. I found them drying up underneath your bed, so I watered them and relocated them to the back porch. They’re looking great now, especially the red ones. I think the soil they’re in may be better than the white and blue flowers’ soil.”
Stevie squealed with joy. Never mind getting a D—this looked like an A project. “You’re the best!” she shouted.
“Gee, I didn’t know vacuuming would have such a marvelous effect on you. I hope dusting is as fun,” Mrs. Lake said.
“Thanks again, Mom,” Stevie said.
“Anytime. I’ll see you tonight for your father’s dinner,” she added.
After hanging up Stevie raced to the back porch. There, in the row of houseplants that her mother moved outside during the summer, were three pots of flowers, overflowing with red, white, and blue blossoms.
“Yippee!” Stevie kicked up her heels and took off for Pine Hollow. Hurrying over, she hoped that she would catch Lisa and Carole to share the news.
Both of her friends looked up from cleaning their tack when Stevie walked in ten minutes later.
“What happened?” Carole asked. “You missed a great outdoor schooling session.”
Stevie groaned. “I know, I know. And I’m sure you’re all done grooming and are just finishing up your tack.”
Lisa and Carole nodded truthfully.
“Unfortunately, housework now takes precedence over horses at my house,” Stevie said. She related her morning trials to them. Lisa and Carole commiserated, like the good friends they were.
“But if you can believe it, I have good news, too,” Stevie said.
“Your mom decided you did such a good job that you don’t have to help anymore?” Lisa guessed hopefully.
“Fat chance,” Stevie said. “When she sees the rugs, she’ll probably want me to quit school and be a full time housedaughter.
“The good news is that while I was vacuuming, Miss Cartwright, my science teacher, called and said that she didn’t have my final science project so I have an Incomplete until she sees it.”
“That’s good news?” asked Lisa. With perfect grades since first grade, Lisa couldn’t imagine why on earth Stevie would appreciate having an Incomplete on her report card.
“Let me finish,” Stevie protested. She explained the coincidence of her project’s red, white, and blue flowers and the Fourth of July picnic and Miss Cartwright’s twin sisters’ visit and her mother’s rescue of the plants.
“You’ll probably get an A,” Lisa predicted.
“That’d be nice for a change,” Stevie said.
“And all three sisters are coming?” Carole asked incredulously.
“All three of them,” Stevie said. “And Miss Cartwright said she used to ride when she was little.”
“Then that makes a total of four candidates for Mrs. Max so far,” Lisa said. She told Stevie about Tiffani. “I’m not positive that she’s smart enough for Max, but we at least have to give him the option of choosing someone who’s totally beautiful.”
As Carole was trying to absorb all this information, a horn tooted in the driveway—unmistakably her father’s jeep. She gave a quick last swipe to her saddle and placed it carefully back on its rack.
“Gotta run, guys,” she said, gathering up her stuff.
“You’re leaving now?” Stevie asked. Even though Carole had said that she was almost finished with her tack, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t hang out at Pine Hollow for hours, grooming and regrooming Starlight and finding work to do around the barn. In fact, Stevie had been counting on her for company while she tacked up. She told Carole so.
“I guess Lisa will just have to keep you and Topside company,” Carole replied. “Today is ‘Bring Your Daughter to Work Day’ at Quantico, and Dad is going to show me around so I can see what he does all day.”
Lisa and Stevie thought it sounded like a great idea.
“I wonder if you’ll see any top-secret maneuvers,” Stevie said. “Like in The Sands of Iwo Jima.”
Carole laughed tolerantly. She was used to civilians thinking that military life was just like the movies—especially Stevie, who, like Colonel Hanson, had a passion for films from the fifties, many of which seemed to be set during World War II.
“I think it’ll probably be pretty routine stuff,” Carole said. As she headed for the driveway, she paused at the stable door and called back over her shoulder, “If we play any war games, I’ll be sure to remember them for our next Pony Club mounted-games meeting!”
“Good idea!” Lisa yelled. “I’m sure Stevie wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity to attack Phil on horseback!”
Phil Marsten was Stevie’s boyfriend. He belonged to Cross County Pony Club. The Saddle Club all belonged to the Horse Wise club, which met at Pine Hollow. The two clubs often competed against one another—in rallies, Know-downs, and mounted games. Stevie and Phil were known for being almost as fond of competition as they were of each other.
“You’d better believe it,” Stevie said, in response to Lisa’s comment.
Colonel Hanson waved hello from the jeep as soon as Carole came outside to meet him.
“Hello, daughter,” he said, saluting her formally through the window. He was wearing the green-on-khaki uniform he always wore for routine days on base.
“So, Dad,” Carole said, climbing up to join him in the jeep, “will I be seeing any super-important, classified action today?”
Colonel Hanson chuckled. “Sorry, honey, but how about lunch at the Officers’ Club to start with?”
“Sounds great,” Carole said. As usual, she had worked up a huge appetite while riding. “And then we’ll take care of the bloodless revolutions in the halls of Montezuma, right?”
“I don’t know—I thought we might have to battle on the shores of Tripoli, actually,” Colonel Hanson replied.
“Well, naturally,” Carole said. They passed the rest of the ride kidding each other.
Even though Carole laughed and joked, half of her mind was somewhere else—back at Pine Hollow, where it usually was, with Stevie and Lisa. Carole felt that she was really letting them down, not to mention Max, because she hadn’t been able to think of even one woman to invite to the picnic. She had even looked through her father’s address book to make sure that all of the women really were too old for Max.
What if Max didn’t find anyone he liked? He was sure to become depressed and, sooner or later, desperate for a wife. For all she knew, he felt that way already.
Carole’s spirits lifted when Colonel Hanson drove through the gates to Quantico. A tall uniformed soldier saluted them and then waved them through. Carole was excited for the day with her father, and since she couldn’t do anything right away about Max, she figured she might as well try to put the situation out of her mind.
Their first stop was the Officers’ Club. Colonel Hanson showed her the ballroom where they held dances on holidays and the lounge where officers could read the newspapers. Everywhere they went, men and women stopped to speak with Colonel Hanson and meet Carole. It was the same during lunch. Carole’s father could barely eat his turkey club sandwich because he was so busy introducing her.
“Phew!” he said, as they got back into the jeep after lunch. “I thought we’d never escape! I never realized how much work it is having such a pretty daughter.”
“Pretty daughter?” Carole teased. “How about having such an important father—I’m exhausted!”
“Not too exhausted for a trip to the stables, I hope?” Colonel Hanson asked.
“Oh, I think I might be able to sta
y awake for that,” Carole said. Actually, she could hardly wait to pay a visit to the base stables where she had ridden so many times.
The barn and paddocks looked exactly as Carole remembered—only half as big. She fairly leapt out of the jeep and ran inside the barn.
“Soda Pop! You’re still here!” she cried, glimpsing the palomino Shetland pony that most of the beginners rode. Carole gave the pony a big hug over the stall door.
“You think we’d ever get rid of him?” a familiar voice asked.
Carole spun around. Margery Tarr stood at the end of the aisle, pitchfork in hand. “Margery!” Carole said. She went to hug her former riding instructor. Margery was the daughter of General Peter Tarr, a close friend of Colonel Hanson’s. She had been teaching riding to children on the base since she was fourteen. She was twenty-six now.
“I thought you’d be happy to see each other,” Colonel Hanson said.
Margery greeted the Colonel. “Excuse my appearance, sir, but—” she began.
“No need to explain,” Colonel Hanson said. “Carole looks just the same most of the time, so I’m used to it.”
“But you’re beautiful!” Carole protested.
Margery and Colonel Hanson laughed. Only Carole would call someone dressed in muddy boots and breeches with hay all over her “beautiful.” But Margery was beautiful. She had dark brown hair and pale skin and twinkling brown eyes. No doubt she had hundreds of boyfriends and was probably even engaged to—
“You’re not married, are you?” Carole blurted out.
Margery laughed again. “Not yet, Carole,” she said. “I’m still enjoying life as a single gal,” she said.
“Do you want to go to a Fourth of July picnic at Pine Hollow?” Carole asked.
Margery looked somewhat taken aback by the sudden change in topic, but she agreed good-naturedly. “Sure, that would be really fun. I always like to visit the stables there.”
Colonel Hanson eyed Carole suspiciously. Unlike Margery, he had a pretty good idea what Carole was up to. But he wasn’t about to stand in the way of a friendly invitation.
“Then I’ll see you on the Fourth,” Carole concluded happily.
“Great,” Margery said.
“And now that that’s settled, I’m afraid Carole and I should really be off. We’ve got an office to visit, barracks to inspect, and a firing range to view,” Colonel Hanson said.
“Sounds fun,” Margery said. “And we’ll have time to catch up on the Fourth. So enjoy your day on base, Carole.” She gave Carole a quick hug good-bye.
Sitting in the jeep, Carole sent a mental thank-you up to Cupid. She was positive that Max and Margery would hit it off.
The next stop was a large brick building where Colonel Hanson had his office. He wanted to introduce Carole to his administrative assistant, Sergeant Major Kiernan. A smiling woman met them at the door. “You must be Carole,” she said kindly.
“Carole, meet Sergeant Major Kathleen Kiernan, the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer on base,” Carole’s father said.
Carole’s jaw dropped. The officer was young, pretty, and thin. She wore her black hair pulled back neatly into a bun. Recovering her composure, Carole shook hands with Sergeant Kiernan.
“I’ve got a couple of things to take care of, so I’ll leave you two to get to know each other,” Colonel Hanson said.
This time it didn’t take Carole any time at all to extend the invitation for the Fourth of July picnic.
“I’d love to go, but I’m planning to spend the day with my daughter,” Sergeant Kiernan explained. “I’m a single mom, so I don’t get to see her as often as I’d like.”
“That’s okay,” Carole said. “You can bring her, too.”
“Really? That would be great. She just loves horses, so it’ll be a real treat for her.”
“Perfect,” Carole said.
“Now let me show you around while your dad’s busy,” the sergeant offered. Carole prepared herself to be bored. She just wasn’t that interested in office work, even on a Marine base. Little did she know that five other single women worked in the adjoining offices. Before her father returned, Carole had convinced all of them to come to the picnic, too. There were even two married women who got so excited by Carole’s enthusiasm about the horses and games that they wanted to come, and Carole just didn’t have the heart to say no. She couldn’t wait to tell Lisa and Stevie. They would be so excited at her success.
When Colonel Hanson came to pick her up again and take her out to see the barracks, she had no more idea of what he did in his office than before, but she had half a dozen wife candidates lined up for Max. Carole decided that maybe she should forget her idea to ride, train, and vet horses professionally when she got older and start a singles dating service instead!
STEVIE MANAGED TO arrive at Pine Hollow the next morning only fifteen minutes late, instead of several hours. She hustled to catch up with Lisa and Carole, who were all set to go on a trail ride.
Catching a glimpse of the two of them leading Barq and Starlight by Topside’s stall, she called, “Two seconds and I’ll be all tacked up—promise!”
“You know,” Stevie continued, leading Topside out of his stall a few minutes later, “it’s not true what they say. Money can buy happiness.”
“Why do you say that? You’re not thinking of charging admission to the picnic, are you?” Lisa asked. She was always suspicious of Stevie’s money-raising schemes, many of which had been known to backfire.
“No, nothing of the kind. Even though Max is going to make the perfect husband, I don’t think we need to make people pay to catch a glimpse of him. I was just thinking how happy I am that I decided to pay Michael to do the dusting and clean the bathrooms so that I could go trail riding with you guys. Now, if only my mother would have the same realization and decide to pay someone to clean the house, everything would be perfect.”
“But why should she, when she has you?” Carole teased.
“Exactly. And we’re free,” Stevie said ruefully. Even though the Lakes were well-off, Mrs. Lake didn’t like to pay for things that she felt her children could do for themselves.
Carole and Lisa had tied Starlight and Barq to the rings on the outside of the barn while they waited for Stevie. As all three walked in that direction, they overheard Max instructing someone on how to tack up. “That’s weird,” Stevie said. “Doesn’t he have a lesson in about two minutes?”
Lisa nodded. “Yeah, and usually he’d get another student to help, or ask Red.” Red O’Malley was the head stable hand. He could always be counted on to help a beginner, give horsey advice, or just have a talk with.
Coming around the corner, they saw Delilah cross-tied in the aisle. Max had a bridle slung over one shoulder and a saddle in his hands. Deborah Hale looked on attentively. Max was speaking very patiently.
“Now, do you remember how to put the saddle on?” he asked gently.
Deborah stared at Delilah’s back. “Umm,” she said nervously, “you, um, put it in the middle of the back.”
The Saddle Club all felt a pang of pity for Deborah. They knew she was about to receive a harsh lecture from Max. If he told students something once, he expected them to remember it for good.
To their surprise Max bit his lip. “Right—that’s right. That is definitely right. Eventually the saddle should be just about in the middle. But the important thing to remember is that you put the saddle forward on the withers and then slide it back toward the croup—and not vice versa—so that the hair underneath lies flat. Okay?”
Deborah nodded unhappily. “Okay,” she said in a whisper.
Stevie, Lisa, and Carole looked at each other in amazement. Whatever had been getting to Max earlier in the week was obviously still distracting him. Not only was he being patient and encouraging and understanding with a student who had failed to remember his previous instructions, he was also about to be late for a lesson, and, as far as The Saddle Club knew, Max Regnery the Third had never been late f
or a lesson in his whole life. “He doesn’t have time to put up with this,” Stevie said.
“Why don’t we offer to help out?” Carole whispered.
“I’ll take Topside and wait outside. You guys tack up Delilah since you’re a little faster,” Lisa said. Carole handed the reins to Lisa, and she led the bay gelding away.
“Hi, Max. Hi, Deborah,” Carole said.
The two looked up in surprise. They had been so engrossed in the lesson that they hadn’t noticed The Saddle Club standing there watching.
Deborah looked relieved at the interruption. She greeted them warmly.
“Listen, Max, we know you’ve got that adult class starting right now, so why don’t we tack up Delilah for Deborah?” Stevie asked.
Max looked uncertainly from Deborah to the girls and back to Deborah again. Finally he asked, “You really want to tack up Delilah?”
“That’s right,” Carole said cautiously. Was it her imagination, or did Max look vaguely annoyed at her offer?
“Well, all right,” Max said. “But make sure you check over the tack carefully.” He nodded good-bye and hurried away to teach the lesson. As he rounded the corner, he sneezed violently. “Ah-ah-ah-CHOO!” reverberated down the aisle.
“Sure, Max,” Carole said under her breath. “I’ll check over everything.” She was a little insulted that Max would even remind her and Stevie to do something so basic, but she gritted her teeth and told herself that it never hurt to be reminded of important rules of horsemanship.
The look on Stevie’s face told Carole that her friend was telling herself the same thing.
The two of them got Delilah tacked up in a jiffy. Deborah thanked them politely. “I’m just not used to horses yet, I guess,” she said.
“Don’t worry,” Carole said. “Max’ll have you riding in no time.”
“I don’t know,” Deborah said doubtfully. “It’s a lot easier writing articles about them than learning to groom and tack up and ride them.”
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