Stevie obviously recognized it, too, because she let out a disgusted snort and stomped off toward the kitchen.
Carole followed. “You weren’t kidding about Alex,” she said as soon as they were out of earshot. “He has it bad.”
“I told you,” Stevie said. “Isn’t it annoying? I’ve been waiting for the day when Alex finally found a girl who could stand him. I thought then I’d have a chance to get him back for all the times he’s teased me about Phil. But now I can’t even get him to pay attention long enough to make him mad.” Phil Marsten was Stevie’s boyfriend, who lived in a town a few miles away. Luckily he had sisters, so he understood when Stevie’s brothers teased her about the relationship.
Carole laughed. “At least you’re making a valiant effort,” she comforted her friend. “And isn’t that what counts?”
“I don’t know,” Stevie said. Finally she gave in and broke into a grin. “Okay, I guess you’re right. Everything is more fun if it’s a challenge.”
The girls heated up a couple of slices of frozen pizza and headed for the living room. Alex was there watching TV.
“Am I seeing things?” Stevie asked, pretending to be surprised. “Don’t tell me you’re staying home alone on a Saturday night—date night. Is there trouble in paradise?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Stevie,” Alex replied. “Paige and I don’t have to see each other every night. Our relationship is much stronger than that. Besides, she’s visiting her grandmother tonight.”
Stevie finished chewing a bite of pizza and shot Carole a sly look. “Hey, Alex, Carole was just asking me what Paige is like,” she said innocently. “Why don’t you tell her?”
Alex’s face lit up. “She’s great!” he said. “You’d really like her, Carole. I mean, everybody does. She’s really pretty, and sweet, and she has a terrific sense of humor.”
“No, no, Alex,” Stevie said. “You must have misunderstood me. I asked you to tell her about Paige, not Belle.” Belle was Stevie’s horse. She was a sweet, pretty mare with a playful disposition.
“Ha, ha,” Alex said with a frown. “I should have known you’d find a way to change the subject from the greatest girl in the world to your old nag. Now if you’ll excuse me, this is Paige’s and my favorite show. I promised I’d tell her all about it tomorrow.” He slumped down in his chair and turned back to the TV, doing his best to ignore the girls.
Carole tried hard not to giggle. Alex really seemed to be just as obsessed as Stevie had described.
“Guess what happened yesterday in school,” Stevie said to Carole.
Carole glanced up from her pizza, surprised by the sudden change in topic. “What?”
“I was taking an open-book quiz, and I couldn’t find the answer to the first question anywhere,” Stevie said. “Guess why?”
“Why?” Carole asked, more perplexed than ever. Normally the last thing Stevie liked to talk about was school quizzes, especially when she didn’t know the answers.
Stevie grinned. “I was on the wrong page.” She put special emphasis on the last word, and Alex looked up quickly from the television.
“What did you say?” he asked eagerly.
Stevie laughed, and this time Carole couldn’t help joining in. Alex quickly realized what had happened, and his face turned red. “Laugh all you want, Stevie,” he said stiffly. “It doesn’t matter. Paige and I understand each other, and that’s what counts. You obviously can’t fathom that, so you might as well just leave me alone.”
“All right, all right,” Stevie said. “Don’t go on a rampage or anything.”
This time the girls’ laughter was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.
“That must be Lisa,” Stevie said. She and Carole went to answer it, still chuckling.
As soon as they opened the door and saw Lisa’s grim, tired face, they stopped laughing.
“How is she?” Carole asked immediately.
Lisa shrugged. “The same,” she said wearily. “It’s as if everything we’ve done for her has made no difference at all. She still looks awful.”
Stevie put an arm around her friend’s shoulders and drew her inside. “Don’t worry, Lisa,” she said. “Judy said it would take time, remember?”
“That’s right,” Carole put in. “Medical miracles don’t happen in an evening, you know. You have to give her time to heal. With a safe place to recover and good people helping her, she’ll get better. But Judy’s right. It takes time.”
“Sal had time,” Lisa said. “He didn’t get better.”
Stevie and Carole exchanged glances. “We can’t think like that,” Stevie said sternly. “We have to believe in her. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
Lisa didn’t reply. She just shrugged again.
Stevie decided it was time to change the subject. “Carole and I were starving, so we already ate. Do you want a piece of pizza? I’ll heat one up for you.”
“No thanks,” Lisa said. “I’m not really hungry.”
Carole could tell that nothing they said was going to make Lisa feel better. It had been a long day, and they were all tired. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m exhausted,” she said. “Maybe we should just call it a day.”
Stevie and Lisa agreed, and the three girls went upstairs and straight to bed.
LISA FELT A LITTLE better the next morning, and right after breakfast The Saddle Club headed to CARL to check on the mare. When Mrs. Lake dropped them off, the girls hurried over to the corral. The mare was there, standing in the middle of the small bleating herd of sheep and goats, her head hanging low. It was immediately clear to all three girls that her condition hadn’t changed.
Carole bit her lip. “I hoped a good night’s rest would help. But she doesn’t look any better, does she?”
“Not really.” Stevie paused as a dog started barking loudly from somewhere inside the CARL building. When the barking stopped, she continued. “And no wonder. Could you get a good night’s rest around here? I wonder if it’s this noisy at night.”
Meanwhile Lisa was perched on the lowest rung of the corral’s fence. The mare had lifted her head a fraction and was watching the girl suspiciously. When Lisa leaned forward a little, the horse shuffled back a few steps until she was pressed against the far fence.
Lisa hopped down from the fence and rejoined her friends. “She really distrusts people,” she said. “That hasn’t changed a bit, either.”
“We’ve got to have a plan,” Stevie said. “This definitely qualifies as a Saddle Club project. What can we do to help this mare get better?”
Lisa watched as a small black goat wandered by a little too close to the mare. The horse turned her head and nipped at it, sending it scurrying across the corral. “I think the first thing we have to do is convince Judy that the mare would be better off in a private stall at Pine Hollow, with us taking care of her,” she said.
“What a great idea!” Stevie said.
Carole nodded, but before she could speak the girls heard footsteps approaching. They turned and saw Nicholas coming toward them from the direction of the CARL building.
“Hi,” he greeted them. “You’re here early today.” He glanced at the mare. “Checking on the patient?” He leaned over the fence to get a better look. As he did, the mare tossed her head and skittered to one side, eyeing the young man nervously.
“Wow,” Carole said. “She seems to like you even less than she likes us, if that’s possible.”
“I wonder …,” Stevie said thoughtfully.
“You wonder what?” Nicholas asked.
Stevie didn’t answer for a second. Then she gestured to Carole. “Let’s try something,” she said. “Carole, why don’t you walk around the corral toward the mare. Go slowly, and maybe talk to her a little. See how close you can get before she moves away.”
“Why?” Carole asked, puzzled.
“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Stevie promised. “Just try it, okay?”
Carole sighed. At times like this it was
usually easier to go along with what Stevie wanted than to try to figure out what she was up to. “Okay,” she said. “Here I go.”
Carole walked slowly around the corral. When she was sure the mare was watching her, she starting talking soothingly, trying to make her voice and her movements as nonthreatening as possible. The mare eyed her nervously for a moment, looking uncertain about what to do. She jerked her head up once when one of the dogs started barking, but otherwise she didn’t move. Finally, when Carole was only a couple of feet away, the horse took a step backward.
“That’s enough, Carole,” Stevie called. “Come back over here now.” When Carole had rejoined the group, Stevie nodded to Nicholas. “Now you try.”
“I think I see what you’re getting at,” Nicholas said, glancing at the mare, who had moved back to her spot against the fence once Carole had stepped away from her. “Let’s see if it works.”
Nicholas imitated Carole’s movements, approaching the mare slowly and cautiously. But this time there was no mistaking the mare’s reaction. As soon as the young man had taken a few steps toward her, the horse rolled her eyes fearfully and hurried away from him toward the center of the corral, the goats and sheep scattering before her.
“She really doesn’t seem to like him, does she?” Carole commented.
Stevie waited for Nicholas to rejoin them before she answered. “It’s not him she doesn’t like,” she said. “It’s men.”
Lisa looked skeptical. “Men?” she said. “What makes you think that? Maybe she just doesn’t like the way Nicholas walks or something.”
“Nope. I’m sure of it,” Stevie said. “All the volunteers who were helping yesterday were women, remember? And the mare wasn’t acting up too much during Judy’s examination—well, not any more than you’d expect during something like that. But when Nicholas appeared with the bran mash she got a little wilder, remember?”
“You could be right,” Carole said thoughtfully. “Maybe the person who abused her was a man, and now she’s afraid of all men.”
“It’s a good theory,” Nicholas said with a smile. “And it makes me feel less personally rejected. I’d hate to think this big girl just didn’t like me.”
“How does her condition seem to you?” Lisa asked. Stevie’s theory was interesting, but Lisa didn’t feel like discussing it any further. As far as she was concerned, they had more important things to worry about.
Nicholas pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Not too good, I’m afraid. It gets pretty noisy around here sometimes. I can’t imagine she got a lot of rest overnight.”
“That’s what we thought,” Stevie said. “Wouldn’t it be nice if she had someplace nice and quiet and private to stay instead?”
“Sure,” Nicholas said. “Unfortunately the local hospital doesn’t admit horses as patients. And I don’t think the country club would let her graze on the golf course. So she’s going to have to make do.”
Just then they all heard the sound of a vehicle turning into the driveway. They turned and saw that it was Judy’s truck. The vet pulled to a stop, hopped out of the cab, and hurried over to join them, her eyes on the horse the whole time.
“Good morning, all,” she said. At that moment the dog inside howled again, and the mare’s head jerked nervously. A second later a car passing by on the road backfired, and the mare jumped. The sound also set the goats and sheep off into a chorus of bleats. Without another word, Judy returned to her truck and grabbed her phone. She dialed quickly as The Saddle Club traded glances. Who was Judy calling?
They found out a moment later. “Max?” Judy said into the phone. “Judy Barker here. Listen, I have a proposal for you …”
A HALF HOUR LATER Carole’s horse, a handsome bay gelding named Starlight, watched curiously as his owner and her friends quickly lined the floor of an empty stall nearby with a soft bed of fresh straw and then filled the clean water bucket in one corner. For once, Carole had hardly more than a brief pat of welcome for him. She was too busy getting the stall ready for its new temporary occupant.
“That’s it,” Stevie said a few minutes later. “Everything’s ready.”
Lisa nodded. “Good. Judy and the van should be here any minute now.”
As if on cue, the girls heard the faint sound of a heavy vehicle pulling into the stable yard. They hurried outside and saw the battered horse van from CARL with Luanne at the wheel. Judy’s truck was pulling up nearby. Nicholas had stayed behind at CARL, since Judy had agreed that Stevie’s theory about the mare’s fear of men sounded plausible.
The girls walked forward to help as Luanne climbed out of the cab and started to swing open the back door of the van.
“Careful,” Judy said, hurrying to join them. “We don’t want to scare her with too many people.” She pointed at Carole and Stevie. “You two, go inside and ask everyone to clear out of sight for a few minutes. Then wait for us in the tack room. Lisa, you stay here and get ready to help.”
The three girls did as she said. Stevie and Carole scurried away without a protest. Lisa felt calm and ready as she stood with Judy by the bottom of the ramp and waited for Luanne to bring the mare off the trailer. But when she heard the pounding of hooves on the inside walls, Lisa knew the horse was anything but calm.
“Don’t move,” Judy said to Lisa, moving forward to help Luanne.
Lisa couldn’t see much of what was going on in the dim interior of the trailer. But she could hear the mare’s nervous snorts, as well as the clanging of her hooves on the metal walls. The horse obviously didn’t like being confined in the tiny space.
Somehow, between them, Judy and Luanne managed to calm the horse and back her slowly down the ramp.
“Lisa, you walk ahead of us,” Judy said, keeping her voice quiet and calm so that it wouldn’t upset the mare any further. “Make sure nobody’s in our path who might startle her. Open the stall door, too, please.”
Lisa nodded and obeyed. A few minutes later the horse was standing wearily at the back of the stall, keeping one eye on the humans watching her. Carole and Stevie had joined them, along with Max and Red O’Malley, the head stable hand. The two men were standing back, trying not to upset the mare.
“It looks like she opened up a couple of those wounds again on her way over here,” Judy said briskly after she had updated Max and Red on the mare’s condition and treatment. “And her feet will have to be re-dressed daily, starting today. Any volunteers?”
Three eager ones stepped forward immediately. “Just tell us what to do,” Stevie said, speaking for the whole Saddle Club.
“All right,” Judy said. “But first you have to promise me one thing. This mare seems to like women and girls much better than she likes men, but she’s still very nervous around all people, and who can blame her? It means you girls will have to be very careful when you’re taking care of her—more so than you would be around any horse. Do I have your words on that?”
The three girls nodded.
“This is going to mean a lot of extra work for you three,” Max told The Saddle Club. “If the mare won’t let Red or me near her, you’re going to have to be the ones to take care of her, at least until she settles down.”
“We know,” Stevie said. “We can handle it. And don’t worry, we’ll be careful.”
“Good,” Max put in. “I’ll leave her to you girls, then. Call me if you need me. Come on, Red, we’d better get ready for the adult riding class. And I have a feeling that once we’re out of sight, our guest will calm down a little.” He hurried down the aisle with Red right behind him.
As Judy started to give the girls detailed instructions for taking care of the mare, Lisa listened carefully. But a small part of her mind wandered as she glanced at the horse in the stall behind them. The mare was still standing in the same spot, her head once again sagging tiredly as she stared at nothing in particular. She didn’t even seem to notice the clean bedding and fresh water in her new home. In fact, her expression was no different than it had been when she was
standing in CARL’s crowded corral—or in her owner’s soiled, muddy pen. Did she not notice the difference? Or did she just not care?
Lisa did her best to put such thoughts out of her mind and to concentrate on what Judy was saying. Once she was satisfied that the girls knew what they had to do, the vet excused herself to keep an appointment with another patient, promising to stop by later to check on the mare.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Carole said as Judy got ready to leave. “The Saddle Club is on the case.”
Judy nodded. “Call me immediately if her condition starts to deteriorate,” she said. And, with that, she was gone.
“Nothing like a little optimism,” Stevie muttered as the vet disappeared around the corner.
“You can’t really blame her,” Carole defended the vet. “She knows all the things that could still go wrong.”
“Come on,” Lisa said. Carole’s words had brought the image of poor, doomed Sal into her mind, and she wanted to forget about that for now. She wasn’t interested in discussing Judy’s state of mind, either. She just wanted to get to work taking care of the mare. She grabbed the antibiotic ointment Judy had left for the cuts and sores on the horse’s body. “Let’s get started.”
“THERE,” STEVIE SAID an hour later, stepping back to admire her work. She had just finished applying fresh bandages to the worst of the cuts and scratches on the mare’s legs. “That wasn’t so bad, was it, girl?”
The mare ignored Stevie until she reached forward to stroke the horse’s nose. Then the mare moved as far away as her cross-ties allowed.
“Don’t worry, girl. We’ll leave you alone for a while now,” Carole reassured the mare. She slowly undid the cross-ties and set her free in her stall, reaching out to pat her on the neck as she did so. The horse shied away again and Carole’s hand missed its mark.
Lisa sighed. “She’s not getting used to us at all,” she complained, a note of frustration in her voice.
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