“No, it stands for Physical Courage,” said Emily.
Carole laughed. Stevie smiled tentatively. PC’s “real” name was an ongoing joke. Whenever somebody asked Emily what PC stood for, she had a different, and apt, answer.
“Is something wrong with your car?” Carole asked, noticing the bike for the first time. Stevie cringed, shifting herself even farther behind the horse. She had noticed the bicycle immediately and didn’t want to hear the answer. It wasn’t going to help to talk about cars.
“Uh, no—Well, yes—Sort of,” Scott stammered.
It was the accident. Stevie was sure. It had to be. Because of her carelessness, the congressman and his wife must have decided that all young drivers were unsafe. Or maybe it had frightened Scott so much that he couldn’t drive anymore.
“I’ve been grounded,” Scott said.
Stevie had to know. “Is it because of me?” she asked.
“No,” he said, looking at her for the first time. He seemed to be about to say something but changed his mind. Instead, he turned his attention to Carole and continued. “Not at all. It’s because of me. I was driving the Jeep a couple of weeks ago before we moved here and I backed into a stone wall on our neighbor’s property. I just made a small dent, but Dad found it last week and blew up at me. It wasn’t so much that I’d done the damage, he said, but that I’d tried to hide it. Being a congressman makes him especially touchy on the subject of cover-ups. Anyway, I’m on two-wheel transport for a month.”
“S-Scratch? Dent?” Stevie stammered.
“Yeah,” said Scott.
“Left rear?” she asked.
“You must have seen it in the body shop, I guess,” said Scott. “It really wasn’t much of a dent. It won’t even reach our deductible, but it definitely annoyed my father. He’s tough.”
That dent. It seemed like such a small thing compared to everything else that had happened, but it made Stevie feel a little better to know that she hadn’t made the dent in the Foresters’ Jeep. That didn’t change the fact that she’d tried to hide it, but that was too complicated now. She patted PC vigorously to mask her relief.
Carole looked over at Stevie. Stevie never was any good at hiding her feelings. She knew something had just happened to her friend, but she had no idea what. She’d find out later. For now, she had her own weight to lift.
The Foresters’ car pulled into Pine Hollow’s driveway. Carole could see Callie’s parents in the front seat. Callie and another person—presumably her physical therapist—were in the back. It was time for Carole to talk to Callie, to do it right, to start all over again.
She walked over to the car when it stopped and waited for the door to open. With the help of the therapist and a pair of crutches, Callie got out. She was unsteady, unsure, and insecure in every way.
Carole took a deep breath, smiled at the girl, and stepped forward. She was determined to make this a new beginning, just as she’d done that day with Fez when she’d untacked him and started over.
“Callie, I want us to have a fresh start,” she said.
Callie nodded.
Carole offered her hand. “Welcome to Pine Hollow,” she said. “You’re going to love it here, I know.”
Callie looked at it uncertainly for a second, then tucked her left crutch firmly under her arm for balance and reached forward with her right hand, much as Emily had done a few minutes earlier with Scott.
“I’m sure it’ll be great,” said Callie, shaking Carole’s hand. She smiled back.
Callie’s parents also got out of the car. Max came out of the stable and greeted them warmly. The therapist helped Callie over to where PC was waiting for her. Max introduced Emily and PC to the Forester family.
Callie looked awkwardly at Emily. “I never really—and now—”
“It’s okay, Callie,” Emily said, cutting off the apology she knew was coming her way. “You already took care of that. What’s past is past.”
“I only wish …,” said Callie. She helped herself forward so that she could pat PC. “This is the boy who’s going to teach me to walk again?” she asked.
“He’s going to do his best,” said Emily. “And his best has always been pretty good. Stevie, can you bring him around to the mounting block?”
Stevie had been working so hard to be invisible that she was almost surprised that Emily had noticed her presence. And now everybody looked at her.
She didn’t say anything. She just walked the horse to where Callie would be able to mount. As soon as Callie was in the saddle, Emily and the therapist took charge. Stevie, Carole, and the Foresters stood back.
Stevie found herself next to Callie’s parents. Apologize. She had to do it. She had to say something. She’d been driving. I’m sorry. So sorry. The words stuck in her mouth.
She glanced at Congressman Forester next to her. She opened her mouth to speak. And then she closed it. He was watching his daughter on horseback, walking sedately around the schooling ring. Tears filled his eyes. He reached over to Stevie and put his hand on her shoulder as much to silence her as to accept her unspoken apology. He didn’t want to talk about it, either.
There would be another time when they could talk, and now Stevie knew that she could say what she had to say—that he would listen and maybe even understand.
The work was done for Stevie and Carole. This was a time when Max, Emily, the therapist, and the Foresters were all the help Callie needed. Carole and Stevie withdrew and retreated to a shady spot on a hill overlooking the ring where they could watch. It was at times like this that they missed Lisa most. They each wished she could be with them to share their healing, to be a friend. Lisa had a way of seeing the calm center of a confusing world. Her presence touched her friends now from the other side of the country.
“Think she’s going to be okay?” Stevie asked, nodding toward Callie.
“Yeah,” Carole said. “She’ll be fine.”
“Not today. I mean ever. Will she get all better?”
“Everything will get all better one day,” said Carole. “Probably. You, me, Fez, Callie—we’re already better. A little better, anyway.”
“I guess,” said Stevie. “And I guess we shouldn’t ask for more.”
“Not yet,” said Carole. “There’s still a lot of healing to be done. We’ve got a long way to go.”
“But we’ve started, right?”
“Yes, we’ve started,” Carole agreed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BONNIE BRYANT is the author of nearly a hundred books about horses, including The Saddle Club series, Saddle Club Super Editions, and the Pony Tails series. She has also written novels and movie novelizations under her married name, B. B. Hiller.
Ms. Bryant began writing The Saddle Club in 1986. Although she had done some riding before that, she intensified her studies then and found herself learning right along with her characters Stevie, Carole, and Lisa. She claims that they are all much better riders than she is.
Ms. Bryant was born and raised in New York City. She still lives there, in Greenwich Village, with her two sons.
Don’t miss the next exciting
Saddle Club adventure …
SHOW JUDGE
Saddle Club #95
It’s time for a new project at Horse Wise. Everyone is being paired with a younger rider to learn all about competing in a horse show—everyone except Carole Hanson, that is. Carole’s going to be the judge, and Veronica diAngelo doesn’t think that’s right. How can Carole be impartial when her best friends, Lisa Atwood and Stevie Lake, are competing? Carole’s furious. She knows she can be fair.
But maybe Veronica is right. Carole isn’t judging Lisa and Stevie the same way she’s judging everyone else—she’s being a lot harder on them. Now everyone is mad at everyone else. So mad, in fact, that no one notices that Veronica’s partner may be riding into trouble. This isn’t what they were supposed to be learning, is it?
Horse lover CAROLE …
Practical joker STEVI
E …
Straight-A LISA …
#1 HORSE CRAZY
#2 HORSE SHY
#3 HORSE SENSE
#4 HORSE POWER
#5 TRAIL MATES
#6 DUDE RANCH
#7 HORSE PLAY
#8 HORSE SHOW
#9 HOOF BEAT
#10 RIDING CAMP
#11 HORSE WISE
#12 RODEO RIDER
#13 STARLIGHT CHRISTMAS
#14 SEA HORSE
#15 TEAM PLAY
#16 HORSE GAMES
#17 HORSENAPPED
#18 PACK TRIP
#19 STAR RIDER
#20 SNOW RIDE
#21 RACEHORSE
#22 FOX HUNT
#23 HORSE TROUBLE
#24 GHOST RIDER
#25 SHOW HORSE
#26 BEACH RIDE
#27 BRIDLE PATH
#28 STABLE MANNERS
#29 RANCH HANDS
#30 AUTUMN TRAIL
#31 HAYRIDE
#32 CHOCOLATE HORSE
#33 HIGH HORSE
#34 HAY FEVER
#35 HORSE TALE
#36 RIDING LESSON
#37 STAGE COACH
#38 HORSE TRADE
#39 PUREBRED
#40 GIFT HORSE
#41 STABLE WITCH
#42 SADDLEBAGS
#43 PHOTO FINISH
#44 HORSESHOE
#45 STABLE GROOM
#46 FLYING HORSE
#47 HORSE MAGIC
#48 MYSTERY RIDE
#49 STABLE FAREWELL
#50 YANKEE SWAP
#51 PLEASURE HORSE
#52 RIDING CLASS
#53 HORSE-SITTERS
#54 GOLD MEDAL RIDER
#55 GOLD MEDAL HORSE
#56 CUTTING HORSE
#57 TIGHT REIN
#58 WILD HORSES
#59 PHANTOM HORSE
#60 HOBBYHORSE
#61 BROKEN HORSE
#62 HORSE BLUES
#63 STABLE HEARTS
#64 HORSE CAPADES
#65 SILVER STIRRUPS
#66 SADDLE SORE
#67 SUMMER HORSE
#68 SUMMER RIDER
#69 ENDURANCE RIDE
#70 HORSE RACE
#71 HORSE TALK
#72 HOLIDAY HORSE
#73 HORSE GUEST
#74 HORSE WHISPERS
#75 PAINTED HORSE
#76 HORSE CARE
#77 ROCKING HORSE
#78 HORSEFLIES
#79 ENGLISH HORSE
#80 ENGLISH RIDER
#81 WAGON TRAIL
#82 QUARTER HORSE
#83 HORSE THIEF
#84 SCHOOLING HORSE
#85 HORSE FEVER
#86 SECRET HORSE
#87 SHOW JUMPER
#88 SIDESADDLE
#89 LUCKY HORSE
#90 DRIVING TEAM
#91 STARTING GATE
#92 MILLION-DOLLAR HORSE
#93 HORSE LOVE
#94 HORSE SPY
THE SADDLE CLUB SUPER EDITIONS
#1 A SUMMER WITHOUT HORSES
#2 THE SECRET OF THE STALLION
#3 WESTERN STAR
#4 DREAM HORSE
#5 BEFORE THEY RODE HORSES
#6 NIGHTMARE
#7 CHRISTMAS TREASURE
THE SADDLE CLUB SPECIAL EDITIONS
STEVIE: THE INSIDE STORY
LISA: THE INSIDE STORY
CAROLE: THE INSIDE STORY
PINE HOLLOW
by Bonnie Bryant
Best friends Stevie, Carole, and Lisa have always stuck together. But everything has changed now that they’re in high school. They’ve got boyfriends, jobs, and serious questions that they must grapple with on their own.
More and more they’re discovering that sometimes even the best of friends can’t solve your most serious problems.
Does this change in their lives mark the end of everything, or a brand-new beginning?
BFYR 240
Horse Spy Page 22