“But Max,” she whined, not noticing Carole. “You promised we could play the shopping game I made up!”
Max sighed. “I told you we could do it if you agreed to supply the props,” he reminded Veronica.
“But I just told you,” Veronica said, pouting. “I don’t have time to make all that stuff this week. I’ve got a lot to do.”
“Well, you’re welcome to do it next week,” Max said with a shrug, “but that won’t help us much, since the gymkhana is this Saturday.”
Carole knocked softly on the doorjamb to announce her presence. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said, “but we have a question—for both of you, actually.” She came into the office, followed by Lisa.
Max nodded. Carole thought he looked a little relieved to have this particular conversation interrupted. “Go ahead, Carole,” he said.
Carole told him about Magoo’s new cribbing problem. Then she explained the solution she and Lisa were considering.
Max looked thoughtful. “I’ve noticed that Magoo is quite demanding of human attention. I don’t know if toys will be an adequate substitute for him. But it’s certainly worth a try if Veronica is willing to lend them to you.”
Veronica was already frowning. “What makes you think I want some strange horse slobbering all over my Danny’s things?” she demanded, turning to face Carole and Lisa. “That horse doesn’t even belong to Pine Hollow. Besides that, he’s disruptive. He’s always staring at me when I go by and making noise when I’m in Danny’s stall.”
Lisa rolled her eyes, but she tried to be polite when she answered. After all, they needed Veronica’s help. “That’s why we need the toys,” she said as patiently as she could. “We’re hoping they’ll keep him occupied so that he won’t be so restless. We’ll take good care of them and return them as soon as Magoo goes home to Hedgerow. We promise.”
Veronica still looked stubborn. She shook her head and started to reply.
Carole interrupted. “I’ve got an idea,” she said suddenly. “Why don’t we make a deal?”
Veronica closed her mouth and looked suspicious. “What kind of deal?” she asked. Max didn’t say anything, but he looked interested.
“If you’ll lend us one of your horse toys,” Carole said, “we’ll make the props for your shopping game before the gymkhana.” She gestured to Lisa, who looked surprised but nodded quickly.
Veronica thought it over for a second. “All right,” she said at last. “It’s a deal. Okay, Max? If they make the props, is my game in?” When Max nodded, Veronica turned back to the other two girls. “That means you’ll have to gather some stuff to use for merchandise and make receipts and signs for each store.”
“Fine,” Lisa said. “We can handle that.”
Veronica wasn’t finished. “I’ll supply the shopping bags, though,” she said, brushing a bit of lint off her immaculate, expensive-looking breeches. She tipped her head up and looked down her nose at Carole and Lisa. “After all, you two probably don’t frequent the kinds of shops I want represented in my game.”
“THANKS FOR COMING with me, Britt,” Lisa said the next afternoon. She and Britt were once again walking up Hedgerow’s curving driveway. “I really wanted to come back and visit again, and Carole and Stevie couldn’t come with me.”
Britt shrugged and smiled shyly. “I guess I’m the designated fill-in,” she said. “Yesterday I went to visit a horse with Polly because Stevie couldn’t do it.”
Lisa frowned at the mention of Britt’s trip with Polly. “Oh, right,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Stevie mentioned something about that.”
“Romeo’s brother looks a lot like him, except he’s bay instead of brown,” Britt said. “He seemed like a really nice horse.”
Normally that wouldn’t sound like a very strong recommendation. But Lisa knew that with Britt it was hard to tell. She hoped that the fact that Britt had brought up the topic without being prompted didn’t mean that she was really interested in Romeo’s half brother.
Still, Lisa wasn’t too worried. She’d arranged for Britt to ride Applesauce during today’s visit to Hedgerow. And once that happened, Britt was sure to fall in love with the sweet-tempered mare. Lisa just hoped that Elaine had filled in her head groom as promised. The ride had to seem like a spur-of-the-moment idea, or Britt might catch on and the surprise would be ruined.
“THEY’RE LATE,” STEVIE said, glancing at her watch.
Carole drummed her spoon on the table. The two girls were sitting in their favorite booth at TD’s, an ice cream parlor at a shopping center near Pine Hollow. “I know,” she said. “I wonder if that means she can’t bear to tear herself away from Applesauce.”
Earlier in the day, The Saddle Club had arranged to meet at TD’s. Lisa was supposed to bring Britt along after their trip to Hedgerow. It was all part of the plan to befriend Britt and, if all went well, ask her to join The Saddle Club.
Stevie rested her head on one hand and gazed at the empty seat across from her and Carole. “You know, I never noticed it before,” she mused. “The three of us almost always sit in this booth. But it’s really a table built for four. Do you think that’s some kind of sign?”
“I don’t know about that,” Carole said. “I think a better sign is the fact that Britt fits our requirements so well. So far she’s always seemed willing to help us out, no matter what we ask her to do.”
“True,” Stevie agreed. “She even pitches in to help with Magoo the medical monster without complaining at all.”
Carole nodded. “And we already know she’s completely horse-crazy,” she said. She wasn’t wearing a watch, so she grabbed Stevie’s arm to check hers. “I just wonder if she’s becoming crazy about one particular horse right now.”
At that moment, the small bell above the shop’s door tinkled softly. Carole and Stevie looked up and saw Lisa and Britt entering.
Soon all four girls were seated. The waitress brought them glasses of water. “I’ll be back to take your order in a second,” she said, giving Stevie a noticeably sour look.
“What was that all about?” Britt whispered as the woman stalked away.
Lisa giggled. “She’s not very fond of Stevie,” she explained. “You’ll understand why in a minute.” Stevie always ordered outrageous combinations of ice cream and toppings at TD’s.
“Actually, I don’t have much of an appetite today,”
Stevie admitted. “I might only be able to manage a little pistachio ice cream with strawberry sauce.”
Britt wrinkled her nose, but Carole and Lisa looked concerned. “Are you worrying about your grandmother?” Carole asked.
Stevie nodded and started drumming her spoon against her water glass, almost tipping it over. “I’ve got to talk her out of coming to the gymkhana,” she said.
Lisa reached across the table and rescued Stevie’s water glass. “That’s the best plan,” she agreed. “You may have convinced Max to calm down our class yesterday, but that won’t work with the gymkhana.”
Britt was starting to look confused. The other girls quickly filled her in on the situation with Stevie’s grandmother.
“The worst part is, it’s getting harder and harder for my brothers and me to keep up the act,” Stevie said with a sigh. “It’s kind of weird. Our house is so quiet and peaceful now that it doesn’t even seem like home anymore. I never realized how much fighting with my brothers and making their lives miserable means to me. But it’s important to keep things calm for Grandma, so I’m doing my best.” She sighed again, more deeply this time.
Carole decided it was time for a change of subject. “By the way,” she said, “did you all notice that Magoo hasn’t been cribbing since we gave him that horse toy?” As promised, Veronica had lent them one of Danny’s toys, a large plastic one almost a foot in diameter that looked and smelled like a giant apple. The girls had hung it from the roof of Magoo’s stall with a thick rope so that the horse could play with it safely.
“He did start fussing with hi
s bandages again, though,” Lisa pointed out. “Every time he nibbles at one, the hot sauce burns his mouth and he starts jumping around.”
“I know,” Carole said worriedly. “Max is afraid he’ll hurt himself, and so am I. We’ll have to figure out a better way to get him to leave the bandages alone.”
Britt cleared her throat. “Um, I have a couple of ideas if you want to hear them,” she said.
“Of course we do,” Stevie said. “What are they?”
Once three pairs of eyes were trained expectantly on her, Britt started to look a little nervous. But she cleared her throat again and spoke. “There was a horse at my old stable who had the same problem,” she said. “They tried cayenne pepper on the bandages, but it didn’t seem to bother him.” She grinned. “My old instructor said it was because he was part Paso Fino and so he liked spicy food.”
The other girls laughed at that. Paso Finos were Spanish in origin. “So, what happened?” Lisa asked.
“First they tried a neck cradle,” Britt said.
“Oh, of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” Carole exclaimed. A neck cradle was a common piece of protective equipment, useful for keeping a horse from removing blankets or bandages. “I know Max has one around somewhere.”
Britt shrugged. “They’re not foolproof, though,” she warned. “It didn’t work on this horse. He almost went crazy when they made him wear it. They were afraid he was going to hurt himself more by trying to get it off than he would by ripping off his bandages. He really hated having his head movement limited that way.” She giggled. “And Magoo really has a mind of his own. I have a feeling he might react the same way.”
“You’re probably right about that,” Stevie agreed.
“Next, they tried cross-tying him while he was alone in his stall,” Britt said. “He hated that almost as much. Luckily, the next thing they tried worked. They attached a leather bib to his halter. That did the trick.
Carole nodded thoughtfully. Britt had come up with some good suggestions for them to try. But more important in a way, she had just demonstrated once again why she was truly Saddle Club material. Her interest in horses and willingness to help had just intersected. Although she didn’t realize it, Britt had just fulfilled both of their club’s rules at once!
Lisa was thinking about something else. “Guess what,” she told Carole and Stevie, trying her best to sound casual. “Britt rode that Hedgerow mare Applesauce today.”
“Really?” Stevie said, playing along. “How come?”
Britt took a sip of water. “The groom asked me to,” she said. “He said she’d just been reshod and he was worried that one of the new shoes was bothering her. He wanted someone to put her through her paces while he watched.” She shrugged. “But she turned out to be fine.”
Carole and Stevie exchanged amused glances. Britt didn’t sound suspicious at all, even though the story was pretty lame.
“Britt thought Applesauce had really nice gaits,” Lisa put in, looking very pleased with herself. As she had guessed, Britt had seemed to like the mare a lot. “Didn’t you, Britt?”
Britt nodded. “She’s a really nice horse,” she said, sounding a little distracted. “Hey, isn’t that Polly walking by out there?”
Lisa twisted around in the seat to look. She was just in time to see Polly stroll past on the walkway outside the glass door of the restaurant. “That’s her,” she said.
Britt quickly scooted out of the booth. “Um, I think I’ll go catch up to her,” she said. “She lives down the street from me, and maybe I can get a ride home with her if she’s leaving soon. Otherwise I’ll have to take the bus. My mom’s working late.” She gave The Saddle Club an anxious glance. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Go ahead,” Stevie assured her. “We’ll forgive you if you eat and run this time. Even though you didn’t even eat.”
Britt looked relieved. “Thanks,” she said with a smile. She hurried away. A moment later, with a tinkling of the bell on the door, she was gone.
“It’s too bad she couldn’t stay longer,” Lisa said.
Carole shrugged. “I know how she feels,” she said. “Taking the bus is a pain in the neck, especially when it’s cold outside.” Unlike her friends, Carole lived too far from Pine Hollow to walk home. She had to take the town bus whenever she couldn’t get a ride from her father or another rider’s parents.
“Besides,” Stevie pointed out, just as the waitress reluctantly stopped in front of their table again and pulled out her order pad, “we’ll have plenty of time to spend with Britt once she joins The Saddle Club.”
“DID YOU GIVE Max our list of ideas?” Carole asked.
Lisa nodded. Then, realizing that Carole couldn’t see her over the phone, she added, “Yep. He thought there were some good ones.” After Britt had left the ice cream shop that day, the other girls had spent some time thinking up more ideas for the gymkhana. Lisa had promised to stop by the stable on her way home and give them to Max. “He especially liked the costume relay where the horses get dressed up instead of the riders.”
Carole giggled. “That’s my favorite, too,” she said. “It will—” She paused as a soft tone sounded on the line. “Is that your call waiting?”
“I think so,” Lisa said. “Hold on a second.” She put Carole on hold and pressed the button to pick up the other call. “Hello? Atwood residence, Lisa speaking.”
“Hi, Lisa,” said a cheerful woman’s voice. “This is Joanne Lynn.”
“Oh, hi,” Lisa greeted Britt’s mother. “I was just talking to Carole on the other line.”
“Oh, sorry,” the woman said. “I won’t keep you long. I just wanted to call and thank you for spending so much time with Britt lately. She really enjoyed visiting that other stable with you today.”
Lisa smiled. “I had fun, too,” she said. “Did Britt tell you she got to ride one of the horses?”
“She sure did.” Ms. Lynn lowered her voice a little. “That reminds me, I also wanted to thank you and your friends for all your help on our little project,” she said. “From everything she’s said to me, it sounds like she’s already picked out the horse she wants, even if she doesn’t know yet that she’s getting one.”
Lisa’s heart jumped with excitement. She had been right! Britt really had fallen in love with Applesauce! “That’s great,” Lisa said. She was about to press for details, but Ms. Lynn spoke up before she could.
“I’ll let you get back to your other call now,” the woman said. “Maybe we can talk more at your show on Saturday. I’ll be coming to watch, of course.”
“Great,” Lisa said. “See you then.”
She said good-bye and pressed the button to switch the line back to the original call. Just wait until Carole hears about this!
STEVIE LOOKED UP as Lisa entered the student locker room the next day. “Got everything?” she asked.
Lisa nodded and held up a pair of scissors. “I borrowed these from Mrs. Reg,” she said. “Carole is coming with the props. She went to find Britt and ask if she wants to help out.”
Stevie gestured to the piece of construction paper on the bench in front of her. “I’ve got most of the front parts of the receipts done,” she said. She was writing names of various items in large letters, making “receipts” that were half a page in size. “All I have to do now is cut them out and then add the names of the stores on the back—if Veronica ever shows up with those shopping bags, that is.”
“She said she’d be here,” Lisa said, glancing at her watch. “If she doesn’t show up soon, maybe we can try calling her. We have to get this stuff done fast—the gymkhana is the day after tomorrow.”
“I know,” Stevie said. “And I promised my parents I’d hang around at home tomorrow and spend some time with Grandma, so I won’t be able to help you if we don’t finish today.”
Just then Carole hurried into the room. She was carrying a boxful of small pieces of tack, assorted grooming tools, and other items, which would serve as “merchan
dise” for the game. “How’s it going?” she asked.
The others told her. “I’m just about to start making the signs that will mark the location of each store,” Lisa added, grabbing a brightly colored marking pen from the pile on the floor next to Stevie. “I won’t be able to add the names until Veronica brings us the bags—she wants them to match—but I thought I’d draw some borders and things to make them look nice.”
“Where’s Britt?” Stevie asked.
Carole set the box on the bench. “She begged off,” she said. “She told me she’d help if we really needed her, but she wanted to put in some extra practice on Coconut since she’ll be riding him in the games on Saturday.” She grinned triumphantly. “Naturally, I told her to go ahead.”
“I don’t know what you’re looking so smug about,” Lisa said. “Ms. Lynn told me that Britt already decided she likes Applesauce best.” She paused, thinking back on the phone conversation. “At least, I thought that was what she said.”
Stevie shrugged. “Who knows?” she said. “Maybe she’s still making up her mind. For one thing, she doesn’t even know that she’s actually getting a horse.”
“True,” Carole said. “Besides, it’s a really big decision. She needs to be really sure, and that means exploring all her options carefully.” She smiled. “I can’t wait to see her face when she finds out her mom is getting her another horse. I still remember how thrilled I was when Dad surprised me with Starlight.” That had been one of the best moments of her life, and she was glad Britt would get to experience something similar. She could practically picture Britt’s shining face as she hugged Coconut for the first time after realizing that he was hers forever.
Stevie nodded. She was remembering her own feelings when she had gotten Belle. “It will be great,” she said dreamily, imagining Britt’s response when presented with Romeo’s lively, wonderful half brother for her very own.
Lisa didn’t have her own horse yet, but she would never forget the day that Prancer had come to live at Pine Hollow. Lisa had fallen in love with the lovely Thoroughbred from the first time she saw her. She knew it would be even more special for Britt when she brought her own mare, Applesauce, to live at Pine Hollow.
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