Stevie nodded. For a moment the two friends worked in silence, each thinking her own thoughts. Carole wasn’t sure what Stevie was pondering, but for her own part, she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Starlight and Samson. Samson and Starlight. It didn’t seem fair that she had to choose between them when they were both so wonderful in their own way. But she knew there was no way she could give enough attention to both of them. Maybe someday, when she was spending all her time working with horses, she would be able to handle more than one mount. But not now, when school still took up so much of her time.
Finally Carole decided to take her mind off that subject. She had enough to worry about this week, between her job, preparing for the show, and passing her big history test in two days. “Hey, have you seen Lisa today? I wonder if she told her mom about her college thing. Last I heard she was planning some big dinner last night.”
Stevie shrugged. “I haven’t seen her in days. You’re the one who goes to the same school as her.”
“True. But we don’t even have the same lunch period this year, let alone any classes.” Carole hesitated for a moment, pretending to concentrate on scraping a speck of dirt off Samson’s noseband. She wasn’t sure how to bring up the topic that had been nagging at her ever since Lisa’s big announcement. “Um, so what do you think of Lisa’s news? About NVU, I mean.”
Stevie lowered her sponge and turned to face Carole, shooting her a searching look. “Well, now that you ask,” she said, “I’ve actually been thinking about it a lot. And most of what I’ve been thinking is that she may have made a colossal blooper.”
Carole was relieved to hear her say that. Stevie’s older brother, Chad, went to NVU, and Carole didn’t want her friend to think that she was putting down his school if she brought up her concerns about Lisa’s decision. “Me too,” she said. “I mean, at first I thought it was great. It seemed like the perfect solution. She would still be around, so we could hang out with her almost as much as always. And it would be good for her mother, too, I guess, and of course Alex.…” She almost added Prancer to the list, but she stopped herself just in time. Stevie still didn’t know that Lisa’s father was buying her the mare, and Carole had learned the hard way that it was better not to blurt out other people’s secrets.
Stevie nodded vigorously. “I know. But is it going to be good for Lisa herself? As good for her as those other schools she was thinking about, I mean? I’m not so sure.” She shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong. I certainly wasn’t looking forward to having her go off halfway across the country. But I also don’t want her to stick around just to keep me happy, you know?” She fell silent for a moment. “I’m not sure Alex feels the same way, though.”
“Alex loves her,” Carole reminded her. “I’m sure he wants what’s best for her.”
Stevie cleared her throat. “Yeah, I know,” she said quietly. “I kind of got on his case about it the other day, and I could tell he hadn’t really thought about it that much except to be glad that he and Lisa could still be together next year. I think he felt kind of bad when I told him he was being selfish and that Lisa could end up regretting this if she really did this just because she was afraid he’d freak out if she went away to school.”
“I feel bad about talking about this behind her back,” Carole said. “I wish we could just come out and say something to her. But I’m not sure what good it would do.”
“I know.” Stevie chewed on her lip for a second, then shrugged. “I thought about that, too. She already sent in that acceptance thingie. I think that means she’s pretty much stuck going there. So it’s a little late for any of us to start talking to her about this now, right?”
Carole didn’t like the thought that it was too late for Lisa to change her mind if she wanted to. “I guess,” she said. “Still, there must be a way she could get out of it if she had to. I mean, what if she got really sick or joined the army or something? It’s not like they could force her to go there, right?”
Stevie shrugged again. “Don’t ask me,” she said. “I have no idea how these things work. But I’m willing to bet it would be a hassle for her to change her mind now.”
Before Carole could answer, she heard footsteps approaching. Glancing at the door, she saw Ben entering the tack room. He paused just inside. “Carole,” he said in his low, gruff voice, “Max wants you. Bandages.”
Carole gasped, suddenly remembering that today was the day she’d promised to help Max and the others gather the traveling bandages and other equipment they would need for transporting the horses to Saturday’s show. “Oops!” she said. “I totally forgot about that. I’m coming.” She hopped to her feet before noticing that she was still holding a damp rag and remembering that she’d barely made a start at cleaning Samson’s bridle. She hadn’t touched his saddle at all.
Stevie caught her expression and read her mind. “I’ll finish up your tack if you want,” she offered. “Go ahead. It’s okay.”
“Thanks,” Carole said gratefully, dropping her rag on Samson’s saddle and heading out after Ben. “I owe you one.”
As she emerged into the hallway, Carole glanced at her watch, feeling guilty. She couldn’t believe that those stupid bandages had totally slipped her mind. Worse, she’d spent far too much time sitting around the tack room gossiping with Stevie—time that she’d planned to spend taking Prancer for a walk. With all the preshow excitement, the pregnant mare had been all but ignored lately.
“Tell Max I’ll be there in, like, two seconds, okay?” she told Ben. “I just have to take care of one quick thing first.”
Ben nodded and headed down the hall toward the supply closet. Carole turned the opposite way, hurrying across the entryway into the stable aisle. She paused halfway down, in front of the pregnant mare’s stall. Prancer was standing near the back wall, nosing halfheartedly at her water bucket. “Hey, sweetheart,” Carole called softly. “I just stopped by to see how you’re doing today.”
Prancer didn’t move except to swing her head toward the girl and let out a snort. Then she stamped one foot and rolled her eyes before turning away from Carole again.
Carole checked her watch again, wishing there were more hours in a day. Prancer seemed restless, which meant she probably would have really appreciated getting out of her stall for a little while. Still, there wasn’t much Carole could do about it right then except to turn her out in the back paddock where she could at least move around a little on her own.
“Don’t worry, Prancer,” she said soothingly as she unlatched the stall door. “Next week, after the show is over, I’ll take you for a nice long walk every day. And I’ll let you graze as much as you want on the way. How does that sound?”
Prancer pinned her ears back and stamped her foot again, shifting away from Carole and shaking her head. Carole moved smoothly with her and soon had her under control. She led her out of the stall and down the aisle to the back entrance. Unlatching the paddock gate, she led Prancer through and slipped off her halter.
“There you go, girl,” she murmured, patting Prancer on the side. The mare shied away and shook her head. Swallowing another pang of guilt, Carole turned and hurried out of the paddock, vowing once again to pay a lot more attention to the pregnant mare as soon as the horse show was over.
Meanwhile, Stevie was taking her time with Samson’s tack. She was in no hurry to return home to more chores. It amazed her that her parents could continue to come up with enough dull and/or disgusting tasks to keep her and Alex busy every single day.
While she worked, she thought about Starlight’s potential buyers. She could tell that Carole was pretty broken up about her decision to sell him. In fact, Stevie got a little misty when she thought about it herself. Starlight had become a familiar fixture in all of their lives. Still, she wanted to help her friend as much as she could. And if that meant finding a new home for Carole’s horse, Stevie was going to do her very best to find the perfect new owner.
She made a mental note to call her cousin’s
contact from the stable pay phone on her way out. Tanya had sounded really enthusiastic about Starlight when Stevie had spoken to her the first time. Naturally, that didn’t necessarily mean the girl was going to want to buy him once she rode him. People needed to click with their horses, and there was no way to tell if that was going to happen until they met face-to-face. Still, Starlight was such a good-natured, willing mount that Stevie was sure he could win over just about anyone, including Tanya.
Then there was Rachel Hart. Stevie didn’t know the younger girl that well, but she’d seen her around Pine Hollow often enough to know that she was a good rider and a nice person. And with her birthday coming up …
Thinking about Rachel’s birthday suddenly reminded Stevie that Carole’s birthday was approaching rapidly. Yikes, she thought, calculating quickly in her head. Today’s Tuesday, which means it’s less than a week away—next Monday, to be exact. And I have no idea what to get her.
She dropped her sponge and sat back for a moment, stretching her fingers and thinking. It was never that hard to shop for Carole—she would appreciate just about anything that had to do with horses. Stevie knew she could just stop by the local tack shop and pick up something there—a new pair of string gloves, a horse sweatshirt or coffee mug, even a gift certificate. But those ideas didn’t really satisfy her. With everything that Carole was going through right now with Starlight and Samson, Stevie wanted to get her something a little more meaningful. Something that would make her feel good about herself and her decision. After thinking about it for a minute or two, though, she couldn’t come up with anything that seemed unique enough.
Oh well, Stevie decided after a moment, returning to her task. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to think about it tonight while Mom and Dad have me polishing the lightbulbs or vacuuming the ceilings or whatever. I’ll just have to make good use of that time and think of something really special.
Lisa glanced wistfully at the Lakes’ house as she drove past it on her way to her own home a couple of doors down. It was almost four o’clock, and she had just gotten out of the monthly meeting of Willow Creek High School’s photography club. She felt a pang of longing to spend some time with Alex. It seemed like such a long time since the days when she’d been able to drop by and see him whenever she felt like it.
But that kind of casual visit had been out of the question for the past couple of weeks. Instead, Lisa planned to drop her car off at home, then walk over to Pine Hollow to spend some quality time with Prancer. Thanks to all the time she’d wasted the day before, cooking that not-so-special dinner for her mother, she hadn’t had a chance to visit the mare at all.
At least Mom’s working the evening shift today, so she’ll be on her way to the mall by now, she thought as she hit her turn signal and spun the wheel to take the turn into her driveway. After that scene last night, I’m not sure I’m ready to face her again. She still couldn’t believe the way her mother had reacted to her news about college. The two of them had managed to miss each other that morning, since Lisa had left for school before her mother had come downstairs for breakfast. And with Mrs. Atwood’s work schedule, Lisa was hoping she could put off their next talk about college until the next day or maybe even the day after that.
Just then Lisa’s gaze fell on the white sedan parked in front of the garage. Her mother’s car.
Lisa gulped. “What’s she doing home?” she muttered. For a second she was tempted to back out of the driveway again and speed off to Pine Hollow before her mother saw her.
But then she shook her head. Don’t be ridiculous, she chided herself, parking her car beside her mother’s. It’s not as if you can avoid her until you go off to college next fall. Anyway, Mom’s always been pretty excitable. She reacted without thinking last night, that’s all. By now she’s probably settled down and thought about it and is just waiting for the chance to tell me that I was right and she was wrong.
When Lisa entered the house, she found her mother waiting for her in the front hall, her expression unreadable. “Hello, Lisa,” Mrs. Atwood said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Um, hi,” Lisa replied. “I thought you had to work today.”
“I took the day off.” Mrs. Atwood gestured toward the kitchen. “Let’s sit down for a few minutes and talk, all right?”
Lisa glanced at her watch. If she wanted to have time to visit with Prancer this afternoon, she needed to leave soon. “Can we talk at dinner?” she asked. “I have something important to do.”
Mrs. Atwood’s calm expression faltered, and she frowned. “This can’t wait,” she said sharply. “Nothing’s more important than your future.”
Lisa swallowed hard. So much for her hope that her mother might have come around overnight to her way of thinking. “Fine,” she said. “So let’s go talk.”
She followed her mother into the kitchen. Mrs. Atwood took a seat at the table and folded her hands in front of her. “Lisa,” she said, “I’m very concerned about this college business.”
Lisa sat down across from her. “You shouldn’t be,” she said. “I know what I’m doing.”
Mrs. Atwood shook her head grimly. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I really don’t think you’ve thought this through.”
“I told you.” Lisa felt her temper rising, but she made an effort to hold it back. She’d been dealing with her mother for seventeen and a half years. By now she knew that it rarely did much good to get mad at her. “I thought about it a lot. This decision is the best one for me.”
“Best for you?” Mrs. Atwood shot back. “Or best for Alex?”
“What?” Lisa blinked, taken by surprise.
Her mother leaned forward. “Did he talk you into this?” she demanded. “Did he convince you that you should stay nearby so that you could stay together?”
“Of course not!” Lisa could hardly believe that her mother could suggest such a thing. “He didn’t even know about this until after I did it.”
Mrs. Atwood looked unconvinced. “But you have thought about it,” she said leadingly. “That your boyfriend still has one more year of high school. That it would be easier to stay together if you stayed nearby.”
“Well, sure, of course,” Lisa said, feeling a little flustered. “But that’s certainly not the only—”
“So what did he have to say about that, hmm?” Mrs. Atwood leaned back, staring at her daughter through narrowed eyes. “Has he started making comments about dating other people next year if you’re far away from each other? Did he tell you that if you really loved him, you’d be willing to make sacrifices for him?”
“No!” Lisa blinked. “What are you talking about? Alex would never say anything like that. He’s not that kind of person.”
Mrs. Atwood shook her head, still looking grim. “That’s what I used to think about your father,” she said bitterly. “Until he came to my dorm one weekend and announced that he needed me to be there for him full-time, and that if I wasn’t willing to make that sacrifice, he would have to look around for someone who was.” She shrugged. “I made the wrong decision. I decided to drop out and marry him, live with him at his college while he finished his degree. And now, almost thirty years later, look where that decision got me: alone, struggling to support myself and my daughter, stuck in a deadend job. I don’t want that to happen to you, Lisa. You never know what’s going to happen when it comes to relationships.”
Lisa blinked, shocked by her mother’s comments. She knew that her mother hadn’t finished college. But she’d had no idea …
Mrs. Atwood seemed to take her daughter’s momentary silence as some kind of agreement. “It doesn’t sound so good when you think about it that way, does it?” she said. “Now are you willing to talk about how we can fix this before it’s too late?”
“No!” Lisa exclaimed, startled out of her thoughts about her parents’ past. “I’m sorry if you feel like you made the wrong decision, but this is my life we’re talking about here, not yours,” she said hotly. “I�
�m not you, and Alex isn’t Dad. I know what I’m doing.”
“You’re seventeen years old,” Mrs. Atwood replied. “You can’t possibly understand the consequences of this.”
Lisa leaped out of her chair. “You’re the one who doesn’t understand!” she cried. “You won’t even listen to what I’m trying to tell you! I’ve thought about this—I’ve thought about it more than you can possibly know. I’m not making any sacrifices here. NVU gave me a scholarship, which you would know if you hadn’t started freaking out before I could tell you that last night. A good scholarship. And they want me to join the honors program.”
“Of course they do,” Mrs. Atwood snapped. “They’re no fools. They know they’d be lucky to get a terrific student like you. They know you can take your pick of schools.”
Lisa smacked her hands on the table in frustration. She couldn’t take this much longer. Why wouldn’t her mother shut up and listen, try to understand instead of just insisting that Lisa was ruining her life? “You don’t get it,” she said. “How can I explain this to you when you won’t even listen to me?”
“I don’t know,” Mrs. Atwood said sourly. “But you’ll have to explain it to your father as well. Because I called him this morning, and he’s as upset about this as I am.”
Lisa was so stunned that she couldn’t respond for a moment. As far as she knew, her mother hadn’t voluntarily spoken to her father since the divorce. “You called Dad?” she choked out at last. “You actually called him?”
“Believe me, it wasn’t pleasant for me,” her mother replied with a frown. “But he is still your father, and I knew he would want to know what you were up to.”
Lisa wasn’t sure she trusted her mother’s motives. She probably still suspected that Dad put me up to this somehow, she thought irritably. She probably thought we were sneaking around, scheming behind her back just for the sake of leaving her out.
“It’s no wonder he’s upset if you just called to yell about how horrible I am,” Lisa snapped. “I think maybe I’d better call him and give him my version. Because I’m sure he’ll understand why I’m doing this.”
Riding to Win Page 5