Bleagh, Lisa thought. As if I don’t have enough on my mind right now with everything else that’s going on—now I also have that disgusting image in my mind!
She pushed that aside for the moment. “Dad,” she said, “I really don’t think you’re being fair to Peter and Greta. It’s their life, and if they love each other, why shouldn’t they get married? It makes perfect sense to me.”
Her father glared at her over his fork. “I hardly think you’re the one who should be lecturing us all on rational behavior, Lisa,” he said coolly.
“Whatever,” Lisa replied, feeling a little hurt but plowing on regardless. After all, what better way to start forging a friendship with Greta than to show her that she was on her side? “I just think you should give them a chance, that’s all.”
Lisa glanced at Greta, but the woman hardly seemed to be paying attention to the conversation. She was cutting up the lettuce in Dieter’s salad into tiny pieces. Lisa sighed. So much for her show of sisterly solidarity.
“Peter, darling.” Greta spoke up suddenly, glancing up from her son’s plate. “We have not discussed our plans for the horse show on Wednesday. Are you going to be able to come along to watch the children? I will be working, and cannot be with them at every moment.”
“Sure,” Peter said. “Count me in.” He glanced around the table. “Actually, maybe we should all go together. As a family. I think maybe we all just need to spend a little more time together—you know, getting acquainted.”
Lisa almost smiled at the look of dismay that crossed Greta’s face at that. “Sure,” Lisa said casually, unable to resist. “Count me in, too. Sounds like fun.”
Peter nodded, shooting Lisa a smile. Then Greta put a hand on his arm and said something rather lengthy in German. Peter nodded along with her words, not even seeming to notice that his wife was speaking a language that no one else at the table could understand. And once again, Lisa couldn’t help noting that Greta didn’t seem to realize or care how rude she was being to her new family.
New family. The thought brought Lisa up short. That’s what we are now, she thought. Her family. She’s our family.
It wasn’t the first time she’d thought it in the past twenty-four hours, but it was the first time its full meaning had really sunk in. Lisa glanced over at Greta, who had returned to her task of cutting up Dieter’s salad; at Mr. Atwood, who was staring into space and chewing slowly, a distraught expression on his face; and then at Peter, who was leaning over to help Hanni pour herself more juice.
Lisa bit her lip. That means we’re all stuck with each other, like it or not. So maybe we all need to try a little harder to make the best of it.
SEVEN
Stevie was in a good mood as she strode through the big double doors of Pine Hollow on Tuesday morning. The weather was just about as good as it ever got in November—crisp, cool, and sunny. For a moment, she considered backing out of her plans to accompany Deborah for her story to take advantage of the perfect trail-riding weather.
Then she thought better of it. What fun is it to go on a trail ride all by yourself? she thought with a slight frown. Not only were her usual riding partners all still absent for their various reasons, but even Alex had been nowhere to be found when she’d left home a few minutes earlier. She guessed that meant he had finally wearied of moping around the stable missing Lisa and decided to hang out with his other friends or something. Anyway, Stevie thought with a sigh, I promised Deborah I’d go with her. And even if having tea and chatting with some little old lady doesn’t exactly qualify as covering breaking news, it’s always pretty interesting to watch Deborah at work.
As usual, Stevie turned first toward Belle’s stall, planning to check on the mare quickly before going to meet Deborah. When she arrived at the stall and peered over the half door, the mare was lying on the thick layer of bedding on the stall floor. She heaved herself to her feet with a snort as soon as Stevie unlatched the door.
“Hey, toots,” Stevie greeted her horse fondly, making a move to sling one arm around her neck.
Just in time, she spotted a large manure stain on Belle’s withers. Stopping her arm in midair and glancing at the floor, Stevie immediately spotted the culprit—a large pile of squashed manure. Obviously, Belle had lain down on it as she rested, probably not even noticing it was there.
“Yuck,” Stevie said, wrinkling her nose and settling for scratching Belle’s neck. “I think maybe this calls for a little quick grooming before I leave.” Glancing at her watch, she saw that she still had a few minutes before she was supposed to meet Deborah up at her house. “Be back in a jiff, girl,” she told Belle with a pat. Then she let herself out of the stall and headed down the aisle toward the tack room.
She was so busy mentally reviewing how long it would take her to retrieve her grooming kit, return to the stall, and get Belle cleaned up that she was halfway into the room before she recognized its other occupant. Nicole Adams was perched on a tack trunk, wearing skintight ivory breeches and a wool ski sweater and carefully polishing one of her mahogany-colored leather riding boots with a soft rag.
Yikes! Stevie thought, skidding to a stop. What’s she doing here again?
Nicole didn’t keep her in suspense for long. “Hi, Stevie,” she said. “Did Alex ride over with you? We’re supposed to meet up in a little while—he thought it was a perfect day for a nice ride through the woods.”
“Um, no,” Stevie said, taken completely by surprise. If Alex was coming to Pine Hollow today, why hadn’t he mentioned it at breakfast? He knew Stevie was driving over. “Uh, I haven’t seem him lately.”
“Oh, okay.” Nicole shrugged and returned to her task, seeming unperturbed. “Well, I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”
“I’m sure,” Stevie said shortly. This was getting ridiculous. Clueless or not, Alex had to shape up and realize what was happening. Stevie was positive that Nicole had only started coming to Pine Hollow as an excuse to leech on to Alex. And Alex seemed to be letting it happen without a single protest.
I know how Nicole works, Stevie thought grimly, taking a couple of steps farther into the room. She must’ve liked flirting with Alex at that party at our house while he and Lisa were broken up, so she decided to totally ignore the fact that they got back together right after the party. She probably borrowed those boots and breeches from Veronica.
Veronica diAngelo had been one of Stevie’s least favorite people when she’d ridden regularly at Pine Hollow, and that hadn’t changed much. Veronica and Nicole were part of the same clique at Fenton Hall, and Stevie was sure Veronica would like nothing better than to mess up Stevie’s and Alex’s lives. Veronica wasn’t too crazy about Lisa, either, so Stevie was sure that trying to destroy her relationship would definitely be a bonus in Veronica’s eyes.
But she won’t be able to do it, Stevie vowed, clenching her fists. Not if I have anything to say about it.
It was time to talk to Nicole. Taking a deep breath, Stevie decided to plunge right in. “Listen, Nicole,” she said. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you for a couple of days now.”
“What is it, Stevie?” Nicole asked, barely glancing up from her boot as she rubbed at a tiny dull spot on the heel.
“It’s about Alex.” Stevie paused to see what Nicole’s reaction would be.
Nicole just shrugged. “What about him?”
Okay, so she’s not going to make this easy, Stevie thought. Fine. If she wants to play dumb, I’ll play along.
“I’ve noticed that you and Alex have been spending a lot of time together over the past few days,” she said, speaking slowly and distinctly, “and I just wanted to remind you that he has a. girlfriend. A serious girlfriend. Who just happens to be my best friend. And I’d hate to see anyone get in the way of all that, if you know what I mean.”
“No.” Nicole crossed her arms over her chest and blinked at Stevie. “As a matter of fact, I’m really not sure what you’re talking about. What does any of this have to do w
ith me? Alex and I are just hanging out, that’s all. Having a little fun. I mean, we’re just two friends who both happen to like going riding once in a while. What’s wrong with that?”
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong with that,” Stevie snapped, feeling her last shred of patience spiraling rapidly away. “What’s wrong is that Alex only started riding because he knows how important it is to Lisa. And get real—it’s not like you’ve ever shown any interest in—”
“Nicole!” a hearty voice interrupted Stevie’s rant. “There you are!”
“Hi, Max,” Nicole cooed, standing up as the stable owner strode into the tack room, his delighted smile stretching from ear to ear. “I was wondering if I was ever going to run into you.”
As Nicole took a step toward Max, he hurried right up to her and gave her a quick hug. “I don’t know,” he said, stepping back. “You’ve grown up so much since I saw you last, I wouldn’t have recognized you. How many years has it been?”
“Too many,” Nicole replied with a giggle.
Stevie just goggled in dumbfounded amazement. Huh? she thought. Max and Nicole are acting like they’re old friends or long-lost relatives or something. What’s up with that?
Max finally seemed to notice Stevie standing there staring at him. “Oh, hello, Stevie,” he said. “I think Deb’s waiting for you up at the house.”
“Uh—yeah,” Stevie said. She was still searching her mind for an explanation for this inexplicable scene. “I know. I was just on my way, but … So what’s going on? Do you and Nicole, like, know each other? How? Is it through Veronica?”
“Veronica?” Max wrinkled his brow. “What are you talking about? Nicole used to ride here, remember?”
Stevie put one hand to her head, wondering if this could possibly be some kind of truly bizarre dream. “She used to ride here? In what universe?” she cried. “She never rode here! Not until, like, three days ago.”
Max looked confused, but Nicole just giggled again. “I think I stopped riding just before Stevie started taking lessons, Max,” she explained. “That’s why she doesn’t remember.”
“Ah.” Max looked satisfied with that. “Yes, that’s right.” He shook his head. “I’ll tell you, Stevie, it was a sad day at Pine Hollow when Nicole came and told me she was quitting riding so that she could take gymnastics. I remember it like it was yesterday. She was only about eight years old at the time, but she had a better seat than most of the intermediate class.”
Nicole’s cheeks flushed pink. “Oh, come on, Max,” she said. “I wasn’t that good.”
“You were,” Max insisted. “You had perfect balance, a real feel for a horse—basically, more natural talent than I’d seen in a long time. And trust me, I don’t make comments like that lightly.”
“That’s for sure,” Stevie muttered, remembering all the times over the years when Max had criticized her posture or yelled at her to stop riding like a sack of potatoes. And as far as she could recall, he’d never once gushed over her “natural talent.”
“Well, I finally decided I’d been away long enough,” Nicole said. “I just hope I’m not too rusty after all these years.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Max was still grinning. “Which horse have you been riding so far?”
“Well, that stable hand—what’s his name? O’Malley?” Nicole shrugged. “He suggested I try out this big bay named Congo.”
“Hmmm. He’s a nice horse, but really more for beginners.” Max waved one hand. “You could handle a much more spirited horse—maybe Topside. I think you’d really like him. He used to be a show horse, and he’s still got a lot of spirit. If Red has any doubts, just tell him to come and talk to me. I’ll make sure he knows you’re more than capable of handling him.” He chuckled. “If I have to, I’ll even tell him the story of your first ride on Comanche. Do you remember how he took off across the big west field and …?”
Ugh, Stevie thought. If Max keeps babbling about how great Nicole is, I just might have to hurl.
Max’s lavish praise wasn’t the only thing that was making Stevie feel a little sick, though. She was starting to realize that she might have been wrong about Nicole’s motives. And she didn’t like being wrong. Still, now that she had a little more information, she had to admit that it was possible Nicole might not be hanging around the stable for the sole purpose of sinking her claws into Alex. Maybe Stevie was just being paranoid on Lisa’s behalf because of all the trouble she and Alex had been having lately. In fact, now that Stevie stopped to think about it, she did have some vague memories of overhearing Nicole and Veronica chatting about riding once or twice over the years. She hadn’t thought much about it at the time, but now …
At that moment, Max interrupted his monologue about Nicole’s first horse show to glance over. “Stevie,” he said sharply. “Are you still here? I thought you were leaving to meet my wife.”
“Oh, yeah,” Stevie muttered, jolted out of her thoughts. Whatever was going on with Nicole and Alex, she didn’t have time to worry about it now.
In fact, maybe I shouldn’t worry about it at all, she told herself, smiling weakly at Nicole and Max as she backed out of the room. Maybe I should just ignore it. After all, Lisa will be back in a few days. And that will be that.
Checking her watch, Stevie saw that she was officially late to meet Deborah. With a mental apology to Belle, she hurried out of the tack room and broke into a jog as she headed for the back exit.
Lisa glanced up and down the upstairs hall as she grabbed the cordless phone off the table near the stairs and scooted into her room at the end of the hall. She was feeling in desperate need of moral support, and she didn’t want anyone in her family to overhear her calling her friends.
Closing the door softly behind her, Lisa briefly surveyed the small bedroom, which her father had designated as Lisa’s when he and Evelyn had bought the house. Lisa had helped decorate it on one of her first visits to California, and she had taken the opportunity to try something a little different. Instead of the muted, feminine florals and tasteful white wicker that filled her bedroom in Virginia, she had chosen a black-and-white-patterned fabric for the curtains, a shaggy white rug for the bleached pine floor, and a bold turquoise for the walls. It was very different from any style she’d ever considered before, and she felt almost as comfortable in the room as she did in her bedroom back home.
Today, though, as she crossed the floor to her platform bed, she wasn’t really seeing the room in front of her. Instead, her mind was flashing back over the past two days. Despite her vow to try harder to get to know Greta better, Lisa wasn’t finding it any easier to get along with her sister-in-law.
It’s weird, she thought. It’s as if Greta doesn’t even care about us being friends, let alone sisters. Am I the only one who’s noticed that around here? Flopping onto the black-and-white-striped bedspread, Lisa quickly dialed the Lakes’ number.
“Come on, come on,” she muttered as she punched in the last number. “Be there!” Glancing at her watch, she realized that her chances were pretty slim. It was just after eleven o’clock in California, which meant it was around two P.M. in Virginia. No doubt Stevie and Alex were out somewhere, enjoying their newfound freedom at the stable or the mall or the basketball courts at the park.
After a moment of silence as the call went through, the impatient buzz of a busy signal met Lisa’s ear. With a sigh, she hit the button to hang up. What now? she wondered. She could try again in a few minutes, of course, but Evelyn had said something about trying to dash out and get her hair done, so Lisa was expecting her stepmother to track her down for baby-sitting duty at any moment. She wished she could call Carole, but she knew better than to try. Colonel Hanson had been very clear that his daughter wasn’t allowed to chat on the phone while she was grounded, and the last thing Lisa wanted to do was get her friend into even more trouble.
Feeling impatient, she punched in the Lakes’ number again. This time the phone rang once on the other end; then someone pick
ed up.
“Hello?” a breathless voice greeted her. “Fawn?”
“Michael?” Lisa smiled. Stevie’s thirteen-year-old brother had recently started dating a girl in his class. It was his first real romance, and Lisa couldn’t help feeling a little amazed every time she thought about it. Somehow she still thought of Michael as the rambunctious nine-year-old he had been when she’d first become friends with Stevie. “Hi, it’s Lisa. Is Stevie or Alex there?”
“Lisa?” Michael sounded perplexed. “I thought you were in California.”
“I am,” Lisa said teasingly. “They have phones here, too, you know.”
Michael snorted, his usual response to any joke made by anyone over the age of fifteen. “Whatever,” he said. “Anyway, Stevie and Alex are out. They’re both over at the stable, I think.”
“Really?” Lisa wasn’t the least bit surprised to learn that Stevie was at Pine Hollow. But Alex? He didn’t usually go to the stable without her.
Still, I guess maybe I shouldn’t be surprised by that, either, Lisa thought with a smile. After being grounded for so long, even hanging out at Pine Hollow with his sister probably seems like a big treat to Alex.
“Okay,” she told Michael. “Well, could you let them know I called? No particular message or anything—just wanted to say hi.”
“Yeah, okay,” Michael said.
“Bye,” Lisa said. “Happy Thanksg—”
“Hello?” a new voice broke onto the line with a click. “Is someone on the line, please? I am wanting to make a call.”
“Greta?” Lisa said, startled by the interruption.
“Yes, it is I,” Greta replied. “Who is this, please?”
“It’s me. Lisa.” Lisa grimaced. Did her sister-in-law always have to sound so imperious about everything? “I’m just finishing up a call myself. I’ll only be a moment.”
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