“Um, never mind.” Lisa laughed sheepishly. “I’ll tell you when you get here.”
“Okay. And I’ll have something to tell you, too. Actually, it’s kind of a big surprise. For the whole family, I mean.”
“A big surprise?” Lisa repeated. “What is it?”
“Later,” Peter insisted. “You’ll see.”
Lisa frowned. She hadn’t spoken much to her brother lately, but she knew she couldn’t be imagining the nervous tone in his voice. What was going on? What kind of surprise would make him fly all the way from Europe to see them?
Still, she figured she could wait a little longer to find out. After all, it was only a short drive to Mr. Atwood’s house from the airport. “Well, all right,” she told her brother. “But you’d better get here as fast as an L.A. cab can drive you. I’m in total suspense.”
“Well, I’m not sure we—that is, I can’t promise I’ll be there right away,” Peter replied. “Actually, it will probably be a couple of hours at least. Is Dad there now?”
“No, but he’ll be back soon,” Lisa replied. “But what do you mean, it will take you hours to get here? What are you planning to do, walk?”
“No, nothing like that. There’s just something I need to do first.” Peter’s voice sounded nervous again. “Um, and by the way, maybe you shouldn’t tell Dad I called. Now that I think about it, it might be better to just surprise him in person.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want.” Lisa shrugged, still mystified by her brother’s weird comments. What could he possibly have to do in L.A. that would keep him from arriving for hours? “You’re just lucky I was here to pick up the phone, though.”
“I know. And I’m sorry I can’t tell you more. It’s just that I don’t want to go ahead and— Well, never mind. All I can say now is, I think you’ll be more excited about my surprise than anyone.”
“Really?” That made Lisa more curious than ever. But she decided that if her brother wanted to keep his secret a little longer, she would respect that. “Okay, then, I won’t breathe a word. See you in a while.”
“Thanks, Lisa. See you.”
What was that all about? Lisa wondered as she hung up the phone. Peter usually isn’t the mysterious type. And what did he mean when he said I would be more excited than anyone else about his surprise?
She wandered out to the sun-dappled back porch and flopped onto a lounge chair, still thinking about her brother’s unexpected call.
Suddenly she had an idea. Maybe this has something to do with his old dreams of being a screenwriter, she thought. I thought he gave up on the idea of writing for the movies, but maybe he’s just been keeping quiet about it. Maybe he has a script ready, and he’s here in L.A. shopping it around to producers and stuff.
Lisa sat up straighter in her chair. Her screenwriting theory had begun as an idle thought, but now she wondered if she might actually be on to something. Peter had been pretty gung ho for a while about writing film scripts. Was it really so outlandish to think that he might still be trying to make his old dream come true?
With a shrug, she sank back in the chair again. No doubt about it, it would be pretty cool if Peter was on the verge of screenwriting stardom. But there was no sense getting all worked up about it—she would just have to wait until he arrived to find out the truth.
In the meantime, she thought, letting her eyes close and enjoying the warm California sunshine on her face, I’ll just think about how great it will be to have something other than my college plans to occupy Dad’s attention for a while.
“What do you say, Belle?” Stevie opened her horse’s stall door and stepped inside. “Feel like letting me play around with your mane? A little extra braiding practice never hurts, right?”
The friendly mare came forward with a snort to greet her owner. She snuffled at Stevie’s pockets, obviously hoping for a treat. Instead, Stevie pulled out a mane comb and a handful of rubber bands.
Belle cast a suspicious dark brown eye at the equipment. Then she tossed her head and let out another snort.
“Okay, okay.” Stevie rubbed the mare’s soft nose. “I know I’ve groomed you, like, three times today already, but give me a break, okay? It’s either this, or Max thinks I’m slacking and makes me muck out stalls—again.”
Stevie sighed. Spending all day at the stable, for the first time since before that party that had gotten her grounded, should have been a dream come true. She was finally free to do whatever she wanted, she had a whole week off from school—what could be better than putting in some serious quality time with her horse?
But as much as Stevie loved having all the time in the world to spend with Belle, she was starting to realize that a big part of what she loved about hanging out at Pine Hollow was the people who were usually there. It just didn’t seem like the same place without Carole, Lisa, Callie, and Phil to share it with.
“Not that I’m complaining, of course,” she told Belle, stroking her glossy copper-colored neck. “Not really. This still beats being grounded, that’s for sure.”
“Talking to the stock again, Lake?” a familiar voice came from the direction of the aisle. “How many times do I have to tell you that horses don’t speak English?”
Stevie glanced up at Max, who was gazing at her over the half door of Belle’s stall, and grinned. “Oh, I believe you, Max,” she said. “But you’re going to have to convince Belle. She definitely understands when I say the word carrot.”
In response, Belle’s ears, which had been tipping lazily to the sides, suddenly pricked forward alertly. The mare let out a snort and lowered her nose to one of Stevie’s hands, then to the other, clearly searching for the treat her owner had mentioned.
Stevie laughed, and Max let out a chuckle. “All right, all right,” he said with mock gruffness. “Leave it to you to be the exception to yet another rule, Stevie. In any case, if you’re finished conversing with your horse, I could use your help.”
“Sure, Max,” Stevie said immediately. “What do you need?”
If Max was surprised at her eagerness, he didn’t let it show. “Judy’s here to float Eve’s teeth, and you know how Eve feels about adults, especially when it comes to her mouth.” He stroked his chin. “I thought we’d try having a couple of her favorite nonadults around this time and see if it helps.”
Stevie nodded. Eve was now such a beloved, healthy Pine Hollow horse that it was easy to forget she had been abused and badly neglected by her former owners. The only evidence that remained of the gentle mare’s early days were a few faded scars around her ankles and a lingering unease around some adults, particularly men. She especially hated having any adult—even a gentle, frequently seen female adult like Judy Barker, the local equine vet—poke around in her mouth.
“Sure thing. I’m right behind you,” Stevie said. She gave Belle a quick pat, then let herself out of the stall and hurried down the aisle after Max.
When the two of them turned the corner into the other arm of the U-shaped stable aisle, Stevie saw that Judy already had Eve in cross-ties outside her stall. She was stroking the mare’s face gently and chatting with Kitty Asher, one of the newest members of the beginner riding class. The soft-spoken eight-year-old was patting Eve on one silvery-gray shoulder, and the mare was clearly enjoying the attention.
“Hi, Stevie,” Judy said when she spotted the new arrivals. “So Max corralled you into being another dental assistant, huh? Do you know Kitty?”
“Sure.” Stevie smiled at the younger girl. She’d met her a few times during preparations for the horse show, when the beginning and intermediate riders had all been eager to help Stevie and the other competitors. “How’s it going, Kitty Kat?”
Kitty giggled shyly. “Pretty good, Stevie Evie.” She giggled again and pointed to the mare. “Stevie, Evie. Get it?”
Stevie laughed. “Good one.” She stepped up to Eve and patted her on the cheek. “And how are you, sweetie?”
The horse didn’t respond, but Max cleared his th
roat. “All right, then,” he said. “Before Stevie gets into some long-winded conversation with the patient, why don’t we get started?”
“Sounds good to me,” Judy said with a smile. She glanced at Stevie. “Want to hold her head? Kitty, you could help out by standing right over here.” She pointed to a spot off to one side, which would be in Eve’s line of vision. “That way she’ll be able to see that you’re here, and that will help keep her calm, but you’ll be out of the line of fire if it doesn’t work.”
“Okay,” Kitty said, moving into position.
Stevie stepped to Eve’s head and took hold of her halter. “It’s going to be okay, Evie,” she crooned to the horse. “Don’t worry about a thing. Judy’s a totally painless dentist.” She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Max had moved back out of Eve’s line of sight.
When everyone was in place, Judy started pulling equipment out of her battered black medical bag. The first item she removed was a shiny steel contraption with leather straps.
“What’s that?” Kitty asked, her eyes wide.
“It’s called a speculum,” Judy told the little girl. “It will keep Eve’s mouth open while I work. Otherwise she might try to bite me, especially if she’s nervous.”
Stevie nodded. “Judy uses the same contraption on my horse, Belle,” she told Kitty. “Have you ever seen a horse get its teeth floated before?”
Kitty shook her head. “I don’t even know what that means,” she admitted.
“It’s an important part of routine care,” Judy explained as she pried Eve’s mouth open and, with Stevie’s help, got the speculum in place. “Horses need to have their teeth filed smooth—we call it floating—once or twice a year. Otherwise they end up with sharp spots, especially on the outside upper teeth and inside lower ones, because of the way the teeth rub together when they chew.”
Kitty nodded, glancing at Eve curiously. “That would poke them in the mouth.”
“Right.” Judy pulled out her dental float. “And if it hurts them to chew the normal way, the horse might decide to chew with an up-and-down motion instead of the usual side-to-side grinding movement. And we all know what that can lead to, right, Stevie?”
“Huh?” Stevie had started to tune out Judy’s lecture, but now she snapped back to attention. “Um, sure. If they don’t chew their food right, it can give them colic and stuff.”
Max rolled his eyes. “Would you care to define ‘and stuff,’ Stevie?”
Stevie grinned. Max never missed an opportunity to teach. In this case, the primary pupil was certainly Kitty, who was hanging on every word. But Stevie was sure that Max also wanted to make sure Stevie knew the facts.
“Sure, Max,” Stevie replied. “If there’s a wad of grass or hay that isn’t chewed up all the way, it sort of moves down the horse’s throat in a wad. If it gets stuck in the esophagus, it’s called choke. And if it makes it farther down and can’t be digested right, it means impaction colic, which can require surgery.”
Judy glanced up from her work, looking impressed. “That’s right, Stevie. One of the signs is quidding, when bits of partly chewed food fall out of the horse’s mouth while she’s eating. And the problems can be worse in older horses whose teeth are in poor shape. Eve is only nine years old or so, which means we just have to keep up with her usual dental work. But a lot of older horses—like Chip and Nickel, for instance—need extra attention to keep their teeth healthy and strong.”
As the words left Judy’s mouth, Eve suddenly decided she’d had enough of the file, the speculum, and all the rest of it. With a loud snort, the mare yanked her head out of Judy’s grip. Before Stevie could tighten her grip, the halter slipped through her fingers and Eve began to rear.
Max stepped forward quickly, catching the mare’s mane and pulling her down before she could stretch the cross-ties to their limit. But his presence seemed to excite her more, and she snorted and danced nervously in place, showing the whites of her eyes.
Eve sees Max every day, Stevie thought, amazed as she often was at how deeply ingrained some equine behavior could be. And by this time, she knows he’s not going to hurt her. But I guess right now, he’s just another man to her. Just like the man or men who hurt her when she was younger.
A quiet voice interrupted the scene. “Need some help?”
Stevie glanced past Eve and saw that Ben was heading toward them. Without waiting for an answer from any of the assembled humans, he walked straight up to Eve and put one hand on her muzzle. “Hey,” he murmured. “It’s okay, Eve. Everything’s going to be all right, okay? I promise.” He took hold of the halter, and Max released his grip and stepped back.
Stevie held her breath. For a moment, Eve continued to snort and stomp her feet. But as Ben continued to whisper soothingly to her, her ears pricked toward him and her eyes stopped rolling. Within a matter of seconds, she was standing quietly once again, only her rapidly swishing tail revealing her agitation.
Judy let out a low whistle. “Good work, Ben,” she said. “Want to stick around while I finish up here?”
Ben nodded, and Judy got back to work. Stevie just stood and watched, amazed at what Ben had done. Glancing over at Max, who was rubbing his arm, Stevie shook her head slightly. Eve was so worked up and scared that she was even terrified of Max, she thought. And yet Ben still managed to get through to her. That’s something. That’s really something.
Kitty seemed to be thinking the same thing. She sidled over to stand beside Stevie, though her wide brown eyes never left Ben and Eve. “Wow,” the little girl whispered. “Eve really likes him, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess she does,” Stevie whispered back.
With Ben’s help, Eve’s dental work was soon finished. As Ben unhooked the mare from her cross-ties, Stevie wandered off toward Belle’s stall, still feeling in awe of Ben’s abilities. You know, it’s times like these that I sort of, maybe, see why Carole thinks Ben’s so special. She smiled to herself, thinking of how shy her friend could be when it came to guys—especially certain dark-eyed, brooding, horse-crazy guys. Not that she would admit that it’s anything more than purely professional admiration, of course.
As she rounded the corner of the stable aisle, Stevie saw George Wheeler coming toward her. George was a pudgy, pale, thoroughly unathleticlooking guy who was in Stevie’s grade at Fenton Hall. He also happened to be one of the best riders at Pine Hollow. When he was in the saddle, all his bumbling awkwardness fell away and he seemed to become one with his horse. On his own two feet, however, he was basically a hopeless nerd—nice enough, but pretty inept, especially when it came to girls. Stevie knew that George had a big crush on Callie, though he claimed that the two of them were just friends. She guessed Callie’s trip to the West Coast with her family was the most likely reason for the glum look on George’s face at the moment.
“Hi,” Stevie greeted him. “How’s it going?”
George shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” He couldn’t manage to put much feeling into his words, though. In fact, he looked downright depressed.
Wow, Stevie thought as she nodded and continued down the aisle past him. I wonder if Callie knows how bad he still has it for her? Maybe I’d better give her a heads-up when she gets back. Then again, maybe it’s none of my business. After all, Callie’s a big girl, and she can take care of herself.…
Before Stevie could think much more about that, she heard the sound of laughter coming from a nearby stall. Wandering over to investigate, she looked over the half door and saw her brother and Nicole Adams inside. They were trying to lift a saddle onto the high, broad back of Congo, who was usually one of Pine Hollow’s calmest and most reliable school horses. Today, however, he seemed to be in a mischievous mood. Every time Alex lifted the saddle up, the horse took a step sideways. Stevie was sure it didn’t help that Nicole kept letting out high-pitched giggles every time the horse moved.
“Hey, guys,” Stevie said.
Alex glanced over at her. “Oh, hi, Stevie,” he said. “I didn’
t know you were still here.”
Is it my imagination, or does he sound a little guilty? Stevie thought. She glanced at Nicole, who gazed back with wide, innocent blue eyes.
“We were just getting ready to go for a trail ride,” Nicole said. “Do you want to come?”
“No thanks,” Stevie replied automatically. “I already took Belle out today.”
“Okay,” Nicole said.
Is it my imagination, Stevie thought, or does she look kind of relieved that I said no?
She said good-bye and moved off toward Belle’s stall, feeling a little disturbed by what she’d just seen. But really, what was the big deal? Her brother was just hanging out with Nicole because he was bored while Lisa was away. Right?
Definitely right, she told herself. Alex loves Lisa. He’s so crazy about her that it probably hasn’t even occurred to him that anyone could ever suspect that anything might be going on between him and Nicole. There’s no way he’d even say hello to her if he thought Lisa might not like it. No way.
Still, an anxious knot twisted in her stomach when she imagined what Lisa might think if she came across her boyfriend and Nicole laughing together the way they were now. Would she be jealous? Hurt? Angry?
Stevie had no idea. It was hard to remember what it felt like to be uncertain about a relationship. She and Phil had been together for so long that it seemed downright silly to get all worked up if he talked to another girl.
I’m sure Lisa’s way past all that jealousy stuff by now, too, especially after that ridiculous business with Skye this summer. She knows Alex would never do anything to hurt her or mess up their relationship, Stevie thought as she reached out to pat Belle, who had stuck her head out to greet her. Stevie patted her horse absently, glancing over her shoulder toward Congo’s stall. Still, it probably wouldn’t hurt to mention that to Nicole the next time an opportunity presents itself.
FIVE
Carole was scraping crusty old paint off the park’s creaky wooden seesaw when Dr. Durbin approached her. “Well now, how’s everything going, Carole?” the vice principal asked cheerfully. “What do you think of our project so far?”
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