Stevie shook her head. “Wow. That doesn’t sound much like Lisa. She’s more the discuss-it-to-death type than the rush-off-in-anger type. Usually, anyway.”
“Tell me about it. This whole college thing is making her totally weird. She’s definitely not acting like her usual calm, rational, totally organized self.” Alex bit his lip. “I mean, even the way she mailed off that acceptance thing without telling anyone is pretty out of character, you know?”
Stevie couldn’t help agreeing with that, though she didn’t say so. She didn’t want Alex to get any more worked up about this than he already was. “Well, sort of. But she’s still Lisa underneath it all, you know. I’m sure she’ll cool down soon, and then she’ll realize you were only trying to help.” She gave her brother a friendly punch in the arm. “In the meantime, let me help take your mind off it. Carole’s birthday is next week, and I need help coming up with a present for her.”
Alex snorted. “Big decision there,” he said, walking over to the kitchen table and straddling a chair. “Just go over to that tack shop you guys hang out at so much, close your eyes, and point to something.”
“I know, I know.” Stevie hopped up onto the edge of the kitchen counter and dangled her legs over the side. “Carole’s the easiest person in the world to shop for. But that’s just the problem. If she likes everything, how do I get her something she’s going to think is really special?” She shrugged. “I mean, short of buying Samson from Max and presenting him to her. Somehow I don’t think my allowance is going to cover that.”
Alex wrinkled his nose. “Yeah. Especially since you still owe me six dollars for that movie I paid for two months ago.”
Stevie ignored the reminder. “Samson …,” she murmured slowly, thinking about what she had just said. “He’s the only thing Carole thinks is totally special these days.”
“Earth to Stevie,” Alex said, leaning back and resting his elbows on the table. “Even if you saved for a year, you’d still only have enough to buy, like, maybe one of his hooves or something.”
“Uh-huh.” Stevie pursed her lips thoughtfully. “But that doesn’t matter. Carole will figure out a way to buy Samson from Max if it’s the last thing she does. No, I’m just thinking that maybe what I should do is get her something extra for Samson. You know, like a new halter or something.”
“Yeah, that’s special.” Alex rolled his eyes sarcastically.
Stevie shot him an annoyed glance. “Give me a break. I’m trying to brainstorm here,” she said. “I’m just saying, a gift that’s connected with Samson somehow will probably be the most meaningful thing for her right now. Especially since it might help her get over the Starlight thing.” Most people still didn’t know that Carole was planning to sell her horse, but as Stevie’s twin brother and Lisa’s boyfriend, Alex was one of the few who was in on the secret.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Alex said, sounding more serious. He leaned forward and propped his arms on the back of his chair, gazing at Stevie. “But I just don’t think a lousy halter is going to say ‘Thinking of you in your time of transition,’ or whatever, you know? Even for Carole.”
Stevie kicked at the cabinet door below her. “You’re probably right. So maybe something a little more personal. A grooming bucket with his name on it? A monogrammed saddle pad?”
“Maybe.” Alex shrugged. “But that’s all such practical stuff, you know? Stuff she’d buy for herself, or that her dad would get her.” He tapped his fingers on the back of his chair. “I’m sure she’d appreciate it and all, but if you really want to make it special, do what I did for Lisa’s birthday last year.”
Stevie smirked. “What, compose a love poem and beg her to make out with me? I don’t think so. We’re close, but not that close.”
“Very funny,” Alex said. “If you don’t shape up, I won’t tell you.”
“Okay, okay,” Stevie said, relenting. “What, O great king of personal shoppers? Please share your brilliant birthday secret with me.”
Alex shot her a dirty look, but he complied. “I was going crazy trying to come up with the perfect gift. Lisa and I hadn’t been together that long then—just four months or so. I had no idea what I could get her to let her know how much she meant to me.…” His voice trailed off and he shot a quick glance at Stevie. “You know. Anyway. So I thought of about a million things that she might like—a leather wallet, some new CDs she’d been wanting, a nice blouse, a fancy lens for her camera, a gift certificate for her favorite bookstore. But I wasn’t sure any of those things were special enough. They all seemed like things that just anyone would get her, you know?”
“So what did you end up getting her?” Stevie asked curiously, realizing that she had no idea what her brother had given his girlfriend for her birthday the previous spring.
Alex shrugged. “I sort of gave up on trying to figure it out,” he admitted. “I decided to just get her what I wanted to give her instead of worrying so much about what she liked. So I went to the jewelry store at the mall and bought her a necklace with a tiny diamond chip in it.”
“You mean that little pendant she always wears?” Stevie raised an eyebrow as what her brother was telling her suddenly clicked into place. “So that’s where she got that. I guess I must have assumed her dad gave that to her—I never really thought about it. And she never told us.” That last part was a little strange to think about. There had been a time when Lisa, Stevie, and Carole had shared everything about their lives with each other as a matter of course. Still, Stevie reminded herself, she didn’t always tell her friends absolutely everything about her relationship with Phil anymore. And she should have realized that Lisa would also have private moments with her boyfriend—moments that she would want to keep private, even from her best friends.
Alex smiled. “She loved it,” he said. “And I think part of the reason is that it was totally impractical. It wasn’t anything she needed or even particularly wanted before she had it. I mean, she never would have asked for something like that. But maybe that was part of why it worked.”
“I see what you mean.” Stevie nodded. “But still, Carole isn’t Lisa. I really don’t think she’d be into it if I got her something totally impractical like that—you know, a friendship bracelet or whatever.” She smiled. “Actually, just about the only piece of jewelry I’ve ever seen her wear—except for that ring her mother left her, I mean, and that African pendant from her great-grandmother—was our old Saddle Club pin.” When they were younger, Stevie, Carole, and Lisa had formed a group called The Saddle Club, mostly to give themselves an excuse to talk about horses all the time. The club had never been particularly formal, but the girls had bought matching horse-shaped club pins as a symbol of their friendship. Stevie’s pin still held a spot of honor on her bulletin board above her desk.
“Don’t be so literal,” Alex said with a snort. “I’m not saying you should get her jewelry. I’m just saying you shouldn’t limit yourself to all that practical stable stuff. Get her something goofy like a T-shirt with Samson’s picture on it or something.”
“Samson’s picture!” Stevie suddenly hopped off the counter and clapped her hands. “That’s it!”
Alex sat up straight in his chair and gave her a surprised look. “Huh?” he said. “I was sort of kidding about the T-shirt. I just meant—”
“I know, I know.” Stevie waved her hands to silence him. “But you gave me a great idea. You know how Carole wants to spend all her time with Samson. So why don’t I help her with that? I can have Lisa take a really nice photo of him—you saw those awesome pictures she took of Prancer a few months ago. Then I’ll have it blown up and framed. Maybe I’ll even get one of those two-part frames and put a copy of his pedigree in the other side.”
Alex looked impressed. “Hey, that’s actually not a bad idea.”
“Don’t sound so surprised.” Stevie grinned at him and tapped herself on the forehead. “I’ve always been the genius in the family, remember?” She headed toward the ph
one and grabbed it, planning to call Lisa right away and enlist her help.
“Hold it, genius,” Alex said, grabbing the phone out of her hand. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Oops.” Stevie suddenly remembered that she was grounded. And her parents had given her a dirty look earlier when she’d asked permission to call Phil, which meant there wasn’t much point in asking for another exception to the no-phone-calls rule now. “Okay,” she said with a sheepish grin. “So maybe I’ll talk to Lisa about this tomorrow when I see her at the stable.”
She felt a little impatient—after all, Carole’s birthday was less than a week away—but she forced the feeling down. The important thing was that she’d come up with the perfect gift for her friend. Getting started on it could wait one more day.
Eight
Thursday morning before chemistry class, when George appeared at her locker as usual, Callie decided it was time to make good on the previous day’s vow. “Hi, George,” she said, grabbing her lab notebook and slamming her locker shut before turning to face him. “I’m glad you’re here. I need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure,” George said, smiling eagerly. “What is it?”
Callie hesitated. She’d been thinking about this conversation since the night before, but she still wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m starting to get kind of worried that maybe you have the wrong idea about our friendship,” she said carefully. “It’s like I told you. I’m really not interested in you as, you know, a boyfriend or date or anything like that.”
A look of intense surprise crossed George’s round face. “I know that,” he said. “You explained everything to me last week, remember?”
“Yes, I know.” Callie cleared her throat, wishing there were an easier way to deal with these kinds of situations. “But I just wanted to mention it again, just in case. You know, make sure I’d been clear enough.”
George raised one eyebrow. “All right, then,” he said gently. “If that makes you feel better. But don’t worry, you were clear enough the first time. You really don’t need to bring it up again.”
“Oh. Okay.” Feeling desperately awkward, Callie wondered what to say next. “It’s just that yesterday, you know, you made such a point of coming over to say hi at the stable. And then there was that phone call the other night.…”
George looked astonished. “Is that what this is all about?” he cried. “I already told you—I was just calling because I happened to notice that you hadn’t been by the stable for a couple of days. I mean, I know that therapeutic riding you’ve been doing can’t be easy, and I was afraid you might have gotten discouraged.” He gave her a bemused smile. “How about this? I promise not to call you again after, say, nine P.M. unless it’s a life-or-death emergency. And you promise not to worry too much if my watch is slow and I accidentally call you at nine-oh-one.”
Callie felt like the biggest idiot on the planet, not to mention the world’s least grateful friend. Could that be all there was to this after all—friendly concern? Could she really have been mistaken about George’s intentions? She supposed it was possible. After all, until moving to Willow Creek she’d never had that many platonic male friends, aside from her brother.
But I do have some pretty good guy friends now, she thought uncertainly. And Alex Lake doesn’t stop by my locker to walk me to class on a daily basis. Phil Marsten isn’t always calling just to say hi and see if I’m okay. Even my girlfriends aren’t nearly as attentive to my every thought and emotion as George is.
Still, she reminded herself, she’d always recognized that George was a little different. He had his own way of looking at the world. Why should she expect him to act just like everyone else she knew?
“Okay,” she told him. “No biggie. I just wanted to make sure we understood each other.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. I understood perfectly.” George paused as they reached the doorway of their chemistry classroom and glanced over at her. “Okay, then.” He gave a small, polite cough. “Are we cool now?”
“Sure,” Callie said. “Of course.”
She hurried into the classroom and took her usual place, smiling blandly as George settled himself on a seat beside her and started chattering about the upcoming horse show. Maybe I am just looking for trouble, she thought, still feeling a little confused about their whole conversation. Maybe I just need to relax and accept George for who he is.
A little later that day, Carole scanned the final essay on her history test. Then she glanced at the classroom clock and smiled. There were only a few minutes left in the period, but for once she had finished with time to spare instead of scribbling desperately until the last possible second. It was a good feeling, especially since she was pretty confident that most of her answers were right.
So this is how Lisa feels all the time, she thought as she set down her pencil and sat back in her chair, rubbing her hands, which were stiff from writing. No wonder she actually likes school!
Carole was glad that she’d been prepared for the test, despite the fact that she’d had to cram study sessions in between chores at Pine Hollow, extra practices for the Colesford show, and all her other homework. She was proud of herself when she thought back—especially of the way she’d managed to concentrate on actually studying during her study halls that week instead of daydreaming about the horse show or plotting out her Pine Hollow schedule as she usually did.
Thinking about Pine Hollow reminded her of Starlight, which reminded her of her conversation with Tanya Appel the evening before. Tanya had called during dinner, which had caused a few awkward moments.
“Carole’s eating dinner right now,” Colonel Hanson had said pleasantly after answering the phone. “Can I have her call you back in a little while?” He had listened and then scribbled down the name, looking puzzled. “All right, Tanya. Does she have your number?”
Carole’s mind had frozen at the sound of Tanya’s name. A moment later, when her father resumed his seat and casually asked who Tanya was, Carole hadn’t been able to respond for a moment. After choking out a few unintelligible syllables, she’d finally managed to blurt, “New girl—uh, intermediate class. Pine Hollow.”
Her father had raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” he said. “Don’t you like her?”
“Uh—what?”
Colonel Hanson shrugged. “You look a little upset,” he said. “Isn’t this Tanya a good rider?”
“She’s fine,” Carole had answered quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. Her father had let the topic drop after that, though he’d given her one last curious—or was it suspicious?—glance.
Carole had waited until her father was busy in his home office that evening before returning Tanya’s call. It turned out that Tanya was still just as enthusiastic about Starlight as she’d been earlier. In fact, she wanted to set up an appointment to have her vet look at Starlight the very next evening.
Talk about things moving fast, Carole thought now, staring at her test paper without really seeing it. Instead, she was seeing a vision of Starlight’s familiar head with its lopsided star. I never expected to find a buyer this soon, especially one who’s so gung-ho about getting him as soon as possible. It’s weird—I feel like I barely know who this Tanya person is, and she might end up being Starlight’s new owner. She shook her head thoughtfully. I still sort of wish Rachel Hart were a better possibility.
She guessed that was why she’d put Tanya off, saying she’d call her back today after school and let her know if she could work the vet check in that evening. She hadn’t been prepared to face the idea of losing Starlight so soon. After all, if he vetted out okay that evening—and there was no reason to think he wouldn’t—Tanya would probably want to close the deal just as quickly. Starlight could be hers by the weekend.
Still, Carole reminded herself, maybe the timing was all for the best. She rested her elbows on her desk and thought about it, trying to put her own emotions aside as much as she could. As much as she wished she
could sell Starlight to Rachel, that scenario didn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon, if ever. Meanwhile, the Colesford Horse Show was that weekend, and Carole and Samson would probably do well. They might even end up with a ribbon. What better time to spring the news about selling Starlight on her father and Max? And what better time—flushed with victory, just a few days before her birthday—to ask her father to help her buy Samson?
The bell rang at that moment, startling her out of her thoughts. As she passed her test paper forward and gathered her books, Carole still had no idea what she was going to say when she called Tanya a little later that afternoon.
“That lab wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be,” Lisa commented to a classmate named Gary as they walked out of their physics class.
Gary nodded. “Tell me about it,” he said. “I may pass this class after all.”
Lisa opened her mouth to answer, but just then she caught a glimpse of Carole emerging from a classroom down the crowded school hallway. It was hard to see from this distance, but Lisa thought she looked kind of upset. Suddenly remembering her friend’s big history test, Lisa frowned with concern. “Excuse me,” she told Gary. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
She hurried toward Carole, catching up to her near the stairwell. Carole looked up and smiled when she saw her. “Hi, Lisa,” she said. “How’s it going?”
“Okay.” That wasn’t exactly true—Lisa had had another big fight with her mother that morning at breakfast, and she was still fuming over Alex’s sudden change of heart about her college plans, but she figured all that could wait. “What about you? How did your test go? It was today, right?”
“Huh?” Carole blinked, then nodded. “Oh, yeah. Just finished. It was fine—I actually think I did pretty well.” She crossed her fingers and held them up with a grin. “I’ll find out tomorrow, I guess.”
“That’s great.” Lisa shifted her backpack to her other shoulder and peered into her friend’s face. “I’m glad. When I saw you coming out of the room, you looked sort of worried, so I thought ...”
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