Shying at Trouble

by Bonnie Bryant

  When it came to harmony between horse and rider, though, Stevie had never seen anyone quite like Ben. While George had a wonderful rapport with Joyride, Ben seemed to share a deep, special relationship with every horse he encountered. That quality would make him a formidable competitor in the Colesford show, just as it made him an excellent stable hand and trainer.

  Too bad he can’t get along with people anywhere near as well as he does with horses, Stevie thought as she signaled Belle for a walk. The only people he seems to like at all are ones like Max and Carole who never talk about anything but horses.

  At that, her thoughts turned to Carole. Stevie had always known that her friend had a special passion and gift for working with horses. Now, perhaps, Carole would get her chance to show the world what her best friends had always known—just how special she was.

  Stevie smiled as she remembered how excited Carole had been when Max had given them all the news. Maybe she hadn’t whooped and hollered as much as Stevie herself had, but her deep brown eyes had taken on that soft glow they always got when she was really happy. In fact, her whole face had seemed to glow with joy and anticipation.

  It’s too bad she can’t ride Starlight in the show, Stevie mused. Luckily she seems to be taking it really well. I guess for her, riding Samson will be almost as special as riding Starlight would be.

  She thought back to the last time she’d seen Carole riding her own horse. To her surprise, she had to go back quite a way. She frowned, suddenly wondering about that. Once upon a time, hardly a day had passed when Stevie didn’t see Carole in Starlight’s saddle. But now …

  I guess I haven’t been coming to the stable every day, and when I come I haven’t stayed that long, she told herself, leaning forward to give Belle a pat on the neck. I’ve been pretty busy lately, and I suppose Carole has, too. For one thing, Max is keeping her tied up with Samson’s training …

  Still, she couldn’t quite dismiss that jarring feeling of surprise when she realized how little she’d actually seen of good old Starlight lately. It was really kind of odd when she thought about it.

  Suddenly realizing that Belle was still walking steadily and patiently around the ring as her rider sat lost in thought, Stevie quickly focused her attention and asked for a trot. “One, two, one, two,” she murmured.

  A noise made her glance over at the fence. A small group of younger riders had just emerged from the stable building and were playfully elbowing and shoving each other as they wandered down the gravel driveway. As Stevie looked on, a skinny boy with brown hair tugged on a girl’s long blond ponytail, then jumped away as she turned and came after him. Instead of smacking him, though, she grabbed him in a big hug while their friends all laughed.

  “Ah, young love,” Stevie murmured, amused. The kids were about Michael’s age, she realized. At that thought, her slight smile widened into a full-fledged grin. She had been concentrating so hard on what she was doing that for a while she had almost forgotten about her little brother’s new romance.

  But now that she remembered, her mind was clicking into gear. The possibilities were endless. She couldn’t wait to get home and start making his life completely miserable.

  TEN

  “Stevie,” Mrs. Lake said wearily, pushing a strand of wavy blond hair out of her eyes, “didn’t anyone ever tell you that Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest? So give it a rest, okay? Please.”

  Stevie just grinned and leaned back in her chair. “Sure, Mom,” she said casually. “I’ll give it a rest. Just stop fawning all over me, okay?”

  “Mo-o-om!” Michael protested loudly, looking up from his afternoon snack of chocolate-chip ice cream washed down with ginger ale.

  Mrs. Lake rolled her eyes. “Sorry, Michael,” she said. “You’re on your own. I’ve got to finish reading this case, and I don’t think it’s going to happen while I’m in the same room with Stevie.” Quickly gathering up her papers from the kitchen table, she headed out of the room and toward the den.

  After she’d gone, Stevie leaned over the table, gazing at Michael. “So I’m finally alone with my deer, deer, deer little brother.”

  Michael shot Stevie a sour look. “You’re so mature,” he muttered.

  “Yo,” Chad said, hurrying into the room. “Any ice cream left?” Without waiting for an answer, he buried his head in the freezer and starting poking around among the contents.

  “Don’t you ever get anything to eat at college?” Stevie asked Chad, just as her twin entered with a soccer ball tucked under his arm.

  “Did you find the ice cream?” Alex asked Chad. He glanced at Michael. “Hey. What’s with you?”

  “What do you mean?” Michael snapped.

  Stevie winked broadly. “It’s nothing. The deer little fellow’s just pining away for his sweetheart.” She hopped out of her seat and headed for the kitchen phone. “Maybe I ought to call her up and tell her how much he misses her.”

  “Stevie!” Michael howled, leaping out of his chair and racing across the room, just barely beating her to the phone. He grabbed the receiver and held it up threateningly. “You wouldn’t dare!”

  “Don’t tempt me, deerie,” Stevie remarked, swiping the ice cream carton out of Chad’s hand on her way back to the table.

  Alex loped over and grabbed it back. “Give him a break, Stevie,” he said, tossing the ice cream to Chad. “Don’t you think you’ve been a little harsh these past couple of days?”

  “Nope.” Stevie folded her hands on the table in front of her. “I think I’ve been just harsh enough.” She grinned, feeling very pleased with herself. For the past twenty-four hours, she’d made a point of dialing their own home number from the phone in her room, which luckily was on a separate line, and pretending it was Fawn calling for Michael. Once she’d pretended to ask him to elope with her. Another time she’d improvised a mushy love scene from Bambi. Most of the time she’d just started making kissing noises as soon as he picked up. The best part had been when Fawn herself had actually called the evening before and Michael had hung up on her. It was only when he’d turned around and seen Stevie grinning at him from a few feet away that he’d realized the truth and locked himself in the closet with the phone to call Fawn back.

  Then there had been Stevie’s brilliant idea to call up a local radio station during its weekly Romance Hour and dedicate a song from Michael to Fawn, “with hugs and smooches.” If I do say so myself, she thought with satisfaction, it was an extra touch of brilliance to request that gooey new love song, “Please Touch Me.” He’ll never live that one down!

  Stevie sighed with happiness as she thought about it. Michael’s face had turned such an interesting shade of purple when she’d pointed out that a lot of the girls in his class probably listened to that program. Maybe even Fawn herself … Stevie hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. Why had she ever stopped playing tricks on her brothers? It was so … satisfying.

  “Catch you later, guys,” Chad said, shoveling one last bite of ice cream into his mouth and then shoving the carton toward Alex. “I’ve got to head downtown and meet my ride back up to school.”

  “See you,” Alex said, and Michael grunted, which might have been meant to pass for some kind of farewell.

  “Bye, Chad,” Stevie added cheerfully. “Don’t be a stranger up there at that college of yours. We’re all awfully fawned of you, you know.”

  Chad just grimaced and loped toward the back door, stepping over Bear, who was snoozing in his favorite spot just in front of the door.

  “Hmmm.” As she watched her brother go, Stevie’s gaze landed on the big golden retriever. “Hey, Alex,” she said, casting a sidelong glance at Michael. “Did you ever notice that Bear’s fur is kind of fawn-colored?”

  Alex snorted. “Whatever,” he said. “Listen, did Lisa mention her Emily party idea to you?”

  “Sure. I think it’s a cool idea.” Stevie drummed her fingers on the table. “I thought we could have it here. But it’s got to be soon—Emily’s shipping
out in, like, hours. At least that’s how it feels.”

  “I know,” Alex said. “I was thinking maybe we could do it a week from next Saturday. A little early for Halloween, but hey, I doubt anyone will complain.”

  Stevie nodded. “Sounds good. We ought to make it a really big bash—you know, send Emily off in style.” She shrugged. “Besides, a big, fun party will probably be good for A.J., too, now that he’s actually socializing again.” She winked at Michael. “He’s not the only one, eh, lover boy?”

  Alex rolled his eyes. “Yeah,” he said shortly. “Well, we can talk about the party plans later, okay? I’ve got to go get ready for that PSAT course this afternoon.” He took off.

  Stevie shrugged. What was his problem? She was going to the two-hour course too, but they didn’t have to leave for almost an hour. And the only thing she planned to do to prepare for it was put on her shoes.

  He’s probably going to spend the next forty-five minutes combing his hair just perfectly, in case he runs into Lisa on his way out, she thought with a snort. I guess that’s the drawback of living a few doors down from your girlfriend.

  That brought her mind back to another neighborhood romance. She hopped out of her chair and headed for the stairs. It was time to call Michael again.

  As she locked her car and walked across the tiny, weed-infested parking lot that the Willow Creek Public Library shared with several other downtown buildings, Lisa was thinking hard about adoption. She realized it was a topic she’d never really considered much before. What would it be like, not knowing who had given birth to you? Knowing that somewhere, someone shared your genes—and you didn’t even know them?

  She couldn’t imagine it. But she knew that lots of babies were adopted every day, so she guessed she wouldn’t have any trouble finding information on the topic. She figured she’d start in the psychology section, then move on to periodicals.

  And as long as she was at the library anyway, she figured she’d check out the college reference section one more time. She wanted to make sure the list of schools she’d come up with a few weeks earlier still seemed right to her now that she knew about Prancer.

  Of course, Prancer’s not the only one with an interest in where I end up next year, she thought with a little sigh. She and Alex had had a wonderful time at the concert in Berryville the evening before, but the secrets between them—the California secret, and now the college secret, which Lisa hadn’t even realized she was keeping until the Prancer issue had come up—had gnawed at her even as she’d swayed along to the fantastic music. Would Alex understand if she decided to go to school in California? Would he understand if she went to Boston? No matter how great each band was or how addictive the beat, she hadn’t been able to relax and enjoy herself completely at the fall festival, not with those kinds of questions hanging over her head.

  It had almost made her sorry that she hadn’t gone to the library the day before instead of going to the concert. Maybe she could have resolved at least the college part of the secret. Maybe she would have realized that those schools in Boston and California didn’t offer the courses she wanted or the facilities she needed, and that she’d be better off at a school closer to Willow Creek.…

  Not likely, Lisa told herself ruefully as she turned up the cracked back walkway. But at least I would know what I faced right now and wouldn’t still be wondering. Besides that, today was one of Mrs. Atwood’s rare weekend days off, and Lisa was sure her mother was disappointed that Lisa wasn’t staying home to hang out with her. When Lisa had announced her plan that morning, the strange expression on her mother’s face had almost convinced her to put her library visit off for another day. But she couldn’t. College worries aside, A.J. was hurting now, and Lisa wanted to help him as soon as possible. If she found out anything helpful, she could call him that night and talk to him about it.

  She stepped around an overgrown shrub and came in sight of the library’s back door. “What?” she said aloud, stopping short and staring. A large white sign was taped to the inside of the glass. LIBRARY CLOSED FOR FUMIGATION, it read in big block letters. OPEN MONDAY.

  Lisa was disappointed, but there wasn’t much she could do. I’ll have to stop by the school library tomorrow before homeroom, she told herself resignedly. Or maybe wait until my study hall on Tuesday.

  She sighed as she turned and made her way back to her car. Fishing her keys out of her pocket, she unlocked the door and slid inside. After she’d started the engine, she sat there for a moment without putting the car into gear. Suddenly she had the whole afternoon stretching in front of her. What should she do now? Alex and Stevie were at a PSAT prep course, Carole was almost certainly at the stable.…

  For a moment she toyed with the idea of swinging by Pine Hollow to see Carole—and Prancer. Then her mother’s face, lonely and sad, popped into her head and she changed her mind. Imagining how surprised her mother would be to have her home today after all, she shifted into gear and drove out of the lot, turning the wheel for home. She could see Prancer anytime. Soon she would literally be able to see her anytime she wanted, ride her anytime she felt like it.…

  Despite all the new problems her father’s surprise gift had brought up, Lisa couldn’t help smiling as she imagined owning the elegant bay mare. For one thing, it made it a lot easier to face months and months of riding other horses during Prancer’s pregnancy. Before, Lisa hadn’t been sure she could face that, since she would be off at college by the time the mare was ready to be ridden again. But now all she had to do was wait it out, knowing that they would have all the time in the world once Prancer’s foals were weaned.

  She was still thinking about that as she turned into her driveway. In fact, after thinking through her schedule for the coming week, she had decided to squeeze in at least one good trail ride as soon as she could, maybe Wednesday or Thursday. It would be nice to get out there in the woods again—she hadn’t been spending nearly enough time on horseback lately, and she suddenly realized how much she missed it. Parking her car in the garage next to her mother’s, she hurried toward the back door and let herself into the kitchen.

  Almost immediately, the sound of muffled laughter met her ears. It was coming from the direction of the living room. For a moment Lisa assumed it was the radio or TV. But then her mother’s voice rose clearly in another peal of merriment.

  Perplexed, Lisa walked through the kitchen and into the hall. Had Aunt Marianne dropped by for a surprise visit, all the way from New Jersey?

  The laughter faded away as Lisa reached the arched entrance to the living room. Her jaw dropped at what she saw inside.

  Her mother was sitting on the sofa—passionately kissing a strange man!

  ELEVEN

  “Mom!” Lisa cried out involuntarily, her shock overcoming her manners. “What are you doing?”

  Mrs. Atwood immediately pulled back her hands, which had been caressing the man’s curly dark hair, and leaped to her feet. “Lisa!” she exclaimed, sounding startled and flustered. Her hands flew to her own face and hair and clothing, checking that everything was in place and as it should be. “Darling,” she said breathlessly. “We—that is, I—didn’t expect you home for a couple of hours.”

  Lisa wasn’t looking at her mother anymore. She had turned to stare in shock at the man who had also risen from the sofa at her entrance, looking embarrassed. Lisa couldn’t help noticing that he was tall and broad-shouldered, with angular, striking cheekbones and soulful dark eyes. She also couldn’t help noticing that he was clearly in his early twenties. “Who are you?” she demanded.

  “Uh, hi,” the man said, running a hand awkwardly through his hair. “Um, I’m Rafe. I work with your mom. You must be Lisa. Your mother talks about you all the time.”

  “Really,” Lisa replied.

  “Sweetie.” Mrs. Atwood had regained some of her composure, though she still looked uncomfortable, glancing from her daughter to Rafe and back again. “I was planning to tell you soon. You see, Rafe just started at the stor
e a couple of weeks ago—he’s working there part-time to help pay his way through college.”

  “College?” Lisa couldn’t keep the disbelief out of her voice. Her mother—her own conservative, forty-something mother—had been locking lips with a college boy? Did he know how old her mother was? Did she know how old he was? How old was he, anyway—twenty? Nineteen? “You’re in college?”

  “Lisa!” Mrs. Atwood exclaimed, sounding angry.

  Rafe moved to her side and put a hand on her arm. “It’s okay, Eleanor,” he said. “It’s cool. I don’t blame her for being shocked.” He turned to Lisa. “I’m not as young as you’re probably thinking,” he told her. “I’ll be twenty-five in February. I took a couple of years off to knock around, do my own thing. You know—do some surfing, bum around Europe for a couple of months. The school of life, you know?” He laughed. “But hey, the guys who do the hiring at good companies aren’t too impressed with that kind of stuff. So I just went back—started my junior year at NVU this semester.”

  Lisa’s head spun. NVU was one of the schools on her list, the school where Chad Lake went. None of this was making sense to her. “Oh,” she said, mostly because she felt she had to say something. Both of them were staring at her.

  Things were starting to fall into place. Her mother’s unusually good mood, all those late nights at the store … She glanced at her mother.

  “Lisa, do you want to help me in the kitchen for a minute?” her mother asked.

  Once they were safely in the kitchen, Lisa turned to her mother.

  “So, is Rafe your—your boyfriend?” she asked, unable to stop herself from putting extra emphasis on the boy part of the word.