Chasing Gold

by Catherine Hapka

  For a moment her mind wandered to Tracey and Emma. Instead of helping, it felt as if they—especially Tracey—were making Haley’s life more difficult.

  But she shook off those thoughts. That wasn’t fair. How could she expect them to understand? Both of them had plenty of hobbies and interests of their own, but neither had the kind of passion for anything that Haley did for eventing. Well, except maybe lately for boys and shopping and makeup . . .

  Pushing that thought aside too, Haley glanced over the remaining Pony Post entries.

  [BROOKE] Anyway, H, let us know how it’s going when u have time.

  [NINA] Ya, esp. let us know about the $. But you’re def. going to make it, right?

  Haley yawned as she tried to figure out how to respond to Nina’s question. Was she going to make it?

  She rolled over and opened the drawer in her bedside table, pulling out the envelope where she was keeping her babysitting cash. Her aunt and uncle were keeping tabs on what the boys owed her and would make sure she got paid before the clinic.

  Opening the calculator on her laptop, Haley added up the two numbers, then added in the paltry amount left in her savings account, where her grandparents deposited birthday and Christmas money. If only she hadn’t spent so much on those new rubber reins a few months ago! Her old ones probably would have held up for another year. But it was way too late to return them now. Haley chewed her lower lip as she studied the total on the calculator.

  Still not enough, she thought with a flash of panic.

  Leaning back against her pillows, she thought over her schedule for the next ten days. She was babysitting a neighbor’s toddler after school on Thursday, and one of her uncle’s coworkers had hired her to clean out his henhouse on Friday afternoon. Oh, and she couldn’t forget about the Tompkinses—they’d asked her to water their plants and feed the cat this weekend while they were down in Chicago visiting family. They always tipped her in addition to the agreed-on amount, so that was an extra few dollars. . . .

  Haley’s head swam as she tried to remember what else she was doing. There were more chores for her cousins, of course, and the Vandenbergs might call again before the clinic, though she knew she couldn’t count on that. She added the other numbers in with the one on the calculator. Then she deleted everything and started again, making sure she entered each amount correctly.

  Finally she smiled. She returned the cash to its drawer, glancing up at the clinic flyer on her bulletin board as she did so. Then she opened a new text box.

  [HALEY] Hi all! Thx for the cheers & stuff! I don’t wanna jinx anything, but I think I can do it. I just figured it all out, & by the end of next wk I should have enough to pay the balance of the clinic fees, plus a lil extra $ to put diesel in Uncle M’s truck to haul us there.

  She knew it was way too late for any of her friends to be on the site at the moment, so she clicked off as soon as she’d sent the response. Setting the laptop aside, she snuggled into bed, feeling hopeful as she drifted off to sleep.

  “See you this afternoon,” Haley told Wings as she turned him out in the pasture. It was Wednesday morning, and she’d decided to put off that day’s trot sets until after school. The Vandenbergs still hadn’t called about babysitting, and skipping her morning ride had allowed Haley to finish all her chores, so she didn’t have anything to do that afternoon except spend time with Wings. Well, that and her usual afternoon chores, of course. But that should still give her plenty of time to get those trot sets done, and maybe pull the pony’s thick, unruly mane. Their next dressage school could wait until the next day. Then they’d do another jumping session on Friday to freshen him up for Saturday’s lesson.

  Wings snuffled at her hand, letting out a snort as he smelled the mint she was holding. Haley laughed and turned her palm up, letting the pony snarf up the treat. Then, after one last pat, she headed for the house.

  “Haley!” Aunt Veronica paused halfway to the table with a platter of scrambled eggs, looking surprised. “You’re in early this morning.”

  Uncle Mike peered at Haley over the top of the local farming paper. “Does this mean you actually have time for a real breakfast today?”

  “Uh-huh.” Haley slid into her seat beside Danny. She checked her watch. Still almost half an hour until it would be time to leave for school. “Please pass the milk.”

  Her aunt set the platter in front of her. “I have to admit, we were starting to worry that you were spreading yourself too thin,” she said. “But it seems your time management skills are improving.”

  “Thanks,” Haley said as she helped herself to some eggs. “I think I am getting a little better at this.”

  Jake snorted. “Watch it with the compliments, Mom. Haley already thinks she’s headed for the Olympics any day now.”

  “Yeah.” Danny laughed. “Too bad there’s no Olympic event for stinky feet! She’d win that one for sure.”

  “Only if you didn’t enter,” Haley shot back.

  Her uncle grinned. “All right, enough talk of stinky feet at the breakfast table. You’re going to make me lose my appetite.”

  Aunt Veronica patted him on the shoulder as she bustled by on her way back to the stove. “No worries, kids. That’ll never happen.”

  Haley laughed along with her cousins, then settled down to enjoying her first real family breakfast in what felt like forever.

  Haley was humming under her breath as she entered homeroom. She was still in a good mood after her relatively easy morning, and it was nice to feel full after breakfast instead of getting by on half a piece of toast or a quick gulp of orange juice. She glanced around the room. Tracey hadn’t shown up at Haley’s locker, and she wasn’t at her desk, either, though Emma was in her usual seat.

  “Where’s Trace?” Haley asked as she dumped her backpack on the floor and sat down.

  “Not sure.” Emma looked up from her social studies book, blinking at Haley from behind her glasses. “She’s been super-busy ever since her dad said yes to the party.” She sat up straighter and smiled. “Speaking of the party, are you totally psyched?”

  “Sure, I guess.”

  Just like that, Haley felt her happy mood slowly seeping out of her, like a water balloon pricked by a pin. She still hadn’t figured out how she was going to fit Tracey’s party into her weekend. After her dressage lesson, she’d planned to spend most of Saturday helping around the farm. There was always a lot to do this time of year—splitting firewood, picking and canning squash and pumpkins and other vegetables from the garden, repairing and repainting fences, and raking the leaves that were already starting to gather in drifts as the nights grew cooler and the trees loosened their grip on their summer finery. Some of those were tasks that Haley was expected to help with as part of the family, while others would bring a few extra dollars for the clinic fund. Then on Saturday night, Haley had been thinking she could catch up on her reading for English class, study for next week’s big math test, and take care of some of the other homework she’d been putting off. Now? She’d be lucky to get half of that done.

  She glanced up as Tracey burst into the room. “Oh my gosh, I thought I was going to be late!” Tracey exclaimed breathlessly, dropping into her seat beside Emma. “Mom and I were making a shopping list for Saturday—she’s hitting the craft store and the beverage place today—and I missed the bus, so she had to drive me.”

  “How’s the party prep going?” Emma asked.

  “Great.” Tracey sat back in her seat, looking pleased with herself. “There’s still a ton to do, though. I was thinking you guys should come over after school. We can figure out the final menu and pick out what music we want to play and stuff. And start figuring out decorations, too.”

  “Sure, that sounds fun,” Emma said. “What kind of decorations are you doing?”

  Tracey shrugged. “I told Mom to get a bunch of different stuff. I mean, it’s not going to be like a little kid party, with streamers and balloons or whatever. But the place should look special, right?
”

  “Totally,” Emma agreed.

  Tracey finally seemed to notice that Haley hadn’t said anything. “So you’ll both come, right?” she demanded.

  Haley gulped. “Uh, I can’t. I didn’t get a chance to ride this morning, so I have to do it later.”

  “You can skip one ride, can’t you?” Tracey said. “I thought you gave Wings a day off sometimes anyway.”

  “I do, but he already had Monday off.”

  Tracey rolled her eyes. “So give him two days off this week. He won’t shrivel up and die, will he?”

  Haley shook her head. “Normally that would be okay, but we’re on a pretty strict schedule right now because of the clinic. Wings is nice and fit, but I really want him in peak condition next Saturday, and if we don’t get our trot sets done today, we might not have time to fit any in soon enough without skipping something else, and . . .”

  She let her voice trail off, realizing the details didn’t matter. Her friends were staring at her as if she’d suddenly sprouted an extra head.

  “Okay, whatever,” Tracey said. “I guess we could do it tomorrow instead. That won’t leave us much time if we figure out we need anything else from the store, but—”

  “Sorry,” Haley broke in. “I’m babysitting right after school tomorrow. I’ll barely have enough time to get on Wings before dark as it is.”

  “Oh, come on.” Tracey was starting to sound irritated. “Don’t tell me you can’t skip that ride either!”

  “I can’t.” Haley picked at a splinter on her desk, her mind skittering back and forth over her packed schedule. “I’ve got my dressage lesson on Saturday, and I need to school him for it, but if I wait until Friday, that’ll be dressage two days in a row, and that always gets him all wound up.”

  “Besides, Friday is the dance,” Emma piped up. “You won’t want to miss that, right?”

  Haley hesitated. “Actually . . .”

  Tracey let out a sound that was halfway between a snort and a yelp. “This is getting ridiculous,” she exclaimed. “Look, Hales. As your friend, I’m telling you, you’re getting out of control.” She reached around Emma to poke Haley sharply in the shoulder. “So snap out of it! You’re giving that horse of yours a day off today and coming to my house after school—no ifs, ands, or buts. Got it?”

  Emma giggled, though her pale eyes were slightly nervous. “Uh-oh,” she said. “You’d better not argue with Tracey when she takes that tone!”

  But Haley had known Tracey for a long time, and she wasn’t intimidated by “that tone” at all. In fact, she tended to get extra stubborn whenever Tracey got like this—trying to bulldoze her way into getting what she wanted. Did she really think Haley was blowing her off for no good reason? Had she even tried to think about it from Haley’s perspective? Leaning forward to see past Emma, Haley glared at Tracey.

  “Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time,” she said evenly. “I can’t come today. Or tomorrow, either. End of story.”

  “Fine.” Tracey glared back, her lower lip pouting out like it always did when she didn’t get her way. “Whatever. That just means more work for the two of us.”

  She turned away, pretending to be very busy searching for something in her backpack. Emma shot her a worried glance, then leaned toward Haley.

  “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “She’s just stressed over the party. She’ll get over it—I’m sure we can get everything done without you today.”

  “Yeah.” Haley sighed and sat back in her seat. She understood that Tracey was disappointed that they couldn’t do this together like they normally would. She totally understood that.

  So why couldn’t Tracey at least try to understand Haley’s point of view too?

  CHAPTER

  7

  FRIDAY AFTERNOON JAKE CAME INTO the barn while Haley was tightening Wings’s girth. “Mom wants me to remind you that Mr. Broom is expecting you in like two hours,” he said, leaning down to give Bandit a scratch as the dog bounded over to him.

  “I know.” Haley pulled the girth up one more notch, then let the saddle flap fall into place over it. Brushing off her hands, she glanced at her cousin. “Tell her I’ll be back in plenty of time. I just want to get Wings over a few jumps today—we haven’t been cross-country all week, and it’ll settle him for our dressage lesson tomorrow.”

  “Whatever.” Her cousin gave Bandit one last pat, then headed for the exit. “Just don’t get so excited jumping over logs and stuff that you forget the chicken poo extravaganza that’s waiting for you.”

  Haley grimaced. She wasn’t looking forward to cleaning out her uncle’s friend’s henhouse, but at least he was paying her well for the dirty job. And even though the neighbors had paid her more than she was expecting for babysitting their rambunctious toddler the day before, she wasn’t taking anything for granted. Oh well—at least Mr. Broom had wanted her to wait until he got home from work before she started. That meant she and Wings got to go out and have some fun first.

  “Ready, boy?” she asked the pony as Jake disappeared out the barn door. “I’ll get your bridle.”

  Bandit trotted in circles around her as she walked to the tack room. He’d been underfoot since Haley had come outside after school, seeming extra restless and bored. She smiled at him as he followed her back out to the crossties.

  “You look like you need something to do, buddy,” she told the dog. “Want to come out with us today?”

  Bandit cocked his head and gazed at her. Then he let out an excited yip. Haley laughed. Sometimes she swore the dog was smart enough to understand English!

  Anyway, it would be fun to have him along. She was planning to warm up with some brisk trots and canters on her way out to her cross-country field. She and Wings hadn’t been out there since the previous Friday—she’d been focusing more on conditioning work, along with plenty of dressage and show jumping practice in the dirt pen behind the barn. A cross-country school would be just what they both needed right now to remind them why they were doing all that other stuff!

  She held the main pasture’s gate open so Bandit could follow her and Wings through, latching it behind them since the quarter horses were grazing out there. Then she swung into the saddle and set off. Wings was feeling good, almost immediately breaking into a trot without being asked. Haley let him go, smiling as Bandit dashed back and forth ahead of them, keeping busy by flushing birds and sniffing at every rock and desiccated cow patty they passed.

  Haley slowed the pony to a walk when they reached the tree line. It was a bright, clear day, and sunlight dappled the ground through the pines’ lacy branches. Bandit barked at a squirrel scurrying up one of the trees, staying behind to sniff at it until Haley and Wings had almost reached the end of the patch of woods.

  But a whistle brought the dog bounding after them again, and they were all together as they emerged through an open gate into the jumping pasture. Haley smiled as Wings lifted his head, immediately focusing on a roll-top jump lying just a few yards ahead. She was tempted to aim him at the jump right away but held back, doing a few circles and other figures at trot and canter to make sure he was warmed up and listening.

  Finally, though, she couldn’t resist any longer. “Okay, boy,” she said. “Let’s go!”

  She aimed him first at a smallish log flanked by a pair of old barrels. Wings locked onto the obstacle right away, surging forward eagerly. Haley steadied him, making sure they’d meet the jump out of stride. They sailed over, and she was already turning him to the left as they landed.

  “Tire jump next, big boy,” she said aloud, thought she doubted the pony could hear her over the wind rushing past as he cantered boldly on.

  The jump over the homemade tire obstacle went just as well as the first. As Wings landed, Haley heard a bark from behind her. She glanced back just in time to see Bandit sailing over the tires just a few strides behind the pony!

  Haley laughed out loud. “Go, Bandit!” she cried. “You’re almost ready for your first begin
ner novice horse trials!”

  The dog put on a burst of speed, catching up as Haley sat back and pulsed her reins to slow the pony’s big stride. The next jump she wanted to do was the one known as a coffin. That was a tricky combination consisting of a sturdy wooden rail jump, then a downhill stride to a ditch, followed by an uphill stride to another rail. If they met the first jump too fast, it would mess up their distances for the rest.

  “Easy, bub,” she murmured, half-halting to shorten Wings’s stride a little more.

  The pony responded, his canter becoming bouncier and shorter without losing impulsion. Out of the corner of her eye, Haley could see that Bandit was still right beside them.

  As Wings rounded over the first rail, Bandit leaped up, landing softly atop it before launching himself off the other side. Haley laughed again.

  “Hey, wait for us!” she called as Wings landed, his ears already pricked toward the ditch.

  Haley returned her attention to the pony, making sure their striding was perfect. But she was aware of Bandit matching them stride for stride and jump for jump. They all reached the far side of the combination together, and Bandit barked again as he and Wings both sped up joyfully. Wings snorted, tossed his head, and kicked up his heels, making Haley grin even as she kicked him forward.

  Twenty minutes later, they’d jumped just about everything out there—some of the obstacles twice. As Wings landed after clearing a brush fence, Haley slowed him to a trot and then a walk. The pony was blowing a little, but Haley’s careful conditioning routine had made him as fit as he’d ever been, and he still had plenty of energy left. After three or four flat-footed steps, he started jigging, trying to go faster again.