“That’s right.” Maddie’s father spun the wheel as he turned onto the freeway. “Something like this could lead to big things. Maybe even a college scholarship.”
Maddie shrugged. College was a long time away. Riding was now. And she didn’t want to miss one minute of time with Cloudy—especially if there was a chance she might not be able to ride her much longer.
She hesitated as she thought about the Richardson Situation. Would she still be as excited about riding if Cloudy ended up leaving the barn?
But she shoved the thought away as quickly as it had come. Ms. Emerson had told her not to worry about it yet, and Maddie was trying really hard to obey.
The next day, bright and early, Maddie rode her bike to the barn. There were no regular lessons scheduled on Mondays, which made it the perfect time to visit Cloudy. Maddie often went to the barn just to give the pony a bath or take her out to hand graze or just hang out with her.
And today, spending time with Cloudy seemed more important than ever. The family trip to San Francisco had been fun, and distracting enough to make Maddie forget about the Richardson Situation—mostly, at least. But as soon as she was back at home, it seemed to be all she could think about.
She skidded around the corner into the stable’s hard-packed drive, sending puffs of yellowish dust up all around her. Dropping her bike in the gravel yard outside the door, she hurried into the barn. It was nice and cool inside, thanks to the fans and the cross-breeze from the two big open doors at either end.
The only person in sight was the local farrier, a burly young man named Buzz. Maddie wasn’t sure whether that was really his name or if people just called him that because of his blond buzz cut. Every time she asked, Buzz turned it into a joke, seeming to enjoy keeping her guessing.
At the moment the farrier had one of the lesson horses, a tall bay mare, in the crossties. One front hoof was propped on his leg as he trimmed it. When he heard Maddie coming, Buzz set the hoof down, then straightened up and stretched.
“Hi there, Madison Avenue.” That was his favorite joke version of her name, though he had lots of others—Dolley Madison, Madison Wisconsin, Madison Square Garden. “How’s it going?”
“Great.” Maddie patted the horse. “Do you know where Ms. E is?”
“Not sure.” Buzz mopped the sweat from his forehead with a rag. “Think she might’ve gone to turn out a couple of ponies.”
“Oh.” Maddie hadn’t seen the barn owner in the small paddocks beside the barn. That meant she’d probably taken the ponies down to the slightly larger turnout field at the far end of the long, narrow property. If so, it could take her a while to return, and Maddie didn’t want to wait. “Um, if you see her, could you let her know I’m taking Cloudy out for a walk?”
“Sure, no problem.” Buzz flexed his hand, then bent to pick up the horse’s hoof again.
Maddie thanked him and hurried off toward Cloudy’s stall. She was sure her plan would be okay with Ms. Emerson. The barn owner liked it when students took their favorite mounts out to hand graze or just go for a walk. Most of the horses and ponies got about half a day’s turnout on most days, but they always appreciated the chance to get outside and stretch their legs for a few extra minutes. When Maddie had mentioned this once to her Pony Post friends, Haley and Brooke had been surprised. Both their ponies lived outside, only coming into their stalls during bad weather. That was pretty normal where they lived—Haley on a farm in Wisconsin and Brooke in a rural part of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. But Nina had understood. She lived in New Orleans, and city horses had even less turnout space than the ones in Maddie’s overcrowded section of Northern California.
“I bet you’d love to be outside all the time, though, wouldn’t you?” Maddie said as she clipped a lead rope to Cloudy’s halter. “That’s what you were used to when you were a baby back on Assateague Island.”
Cloudy nickered and stepped toward the door, as if asking why Maddie was standing around talking when they could be heading outside. Maddie smiled and led her out of the stall.
They emerged out the far end of the barn. Grass was hard to come by in the summer, when it often didn’t rain for months. But there were a few spots where there was enough for a little grazing, and the horses always seemed to appreciate even a few mouthfuls of the green stuff.
Maddie knew of a good spot by the paddocks on the opposite side of the barn from the riding ring. Soon Cloudy was nibbling eagerly at the tufts of grass along the fence line.
For a few minutes, Maddie just stood and watched her. When the pony had exhausted the sparse supply of grass, Maddie pulled a peppermint out of her pocket.
“Okay, Cloudy,” she said. “Do you want a treat?”
The pony’s ears pricked forward, and she stretched her nose toward Maddie’s hand. But Maddie stopped her.
“No, no,” she said. “You know how to ask. One foot up! Up!”
She pointed at the pony’s front leg and snapped her fingers. Cloudy snorted, lifting her hoof off the ground and then dropping it again.
“Good girl!” Maddie cried with a grin. She’d been working on this latest trick with Cloudy for the past few weeks. Vic sometimes teased her for treating Cloudy like a big dog, but Maddie didn’t mind. She couldn’t have any house pets because of Ryan’s asthma, so Cloudy had to be dog, cat, and pony to her.
The thought made her smile waver. Cloudy made her life so much more complete. How could it even be a possibility that she might lose her?
“You can’t go anywhere,” she whispered fiercely, wrapping her arms around the pony’s warm, solid neck. “I need you.”
The pony stood quietly for a moment, seeming to enjoy the hug. Then she lifted her head, staring at something over by the barn with ears pricked.
Maddie stepped back, breathless at how beautiful Cloudy looked when she was standing at attention like that. She could have been one of her wild ancestors, lifting her head from the sparse native grasses of Assateague Island to stare at a gull wheeling in the distance. . . .
“Maddie!”
Ms. Emerson’s stern voice pulled Maddie out of her reverie. The instructor had just emerged from the barn, followed by Mrs. Richardson and an equally tall, lanky man with graying hair who Maddie guessed had to be Mr. Richardson. Cloudy had heard them coming before Maddie had.
Ms. Emerson hurried forward. “I’ve been looking all over for Cloudy.” Her voice was clipped and she sounded annoyed. “I was expecting to find her in her stall, where I left her.”
“Sorry,” Maddie said. “Didn’t Buzz tell you I took her out?”
“Buzz isn’t a messenger service.” Ms. Emerson glanced at the Richardsons. “Sorry about that, but no worries. Let’s get her inside so the girls can tack her up.”
Ms. Emerson took Cloudy’s lead rope and led her into the barn, with the Richardsons walking beside her. Maddie trailed along as they brought the pony to the crosstie area. Felicia Richardson was waiting there with an armful of brand-new-looking grooming tools. Her younger sister was with her, though Amber and their young brother were nowhere in sight.
“Yay, you found her!” Felicia’s face lit up when she spotted Cloudy.
“Yes, Maddie just took her out to graze.” Ms. Emerson sounded less annoyed now. “Would you like me to show you how to clean her feet, Felicia?”
“Filly!” Felicia said.
“She’s too old to be called a filly,” Maddie spoke up, trying to be helpful. “Cloudy is a mare.”
Felicia giggled. “No, I’m Filly,” she explained.
Mrs. Richardson sighed. “This is the latest thing,” she told Maddie and Ms. Emerson. “Felicia has chosen a new nickname for herself.”
“Right—call me Filly.” She beamed at all of them, then grabbed a hoof-pick. “Okay, what do I do?”
Maddie watched as Ms. Emerson gave Filly a grooming lesson. The younger sister helped with some of it as well. Soon the mare was tacked up and ready to go.
“Can I lead her to the ring?” Fil
ly asked eagerly.
“I’ll do it this time,” Ms. Emerson told her. “Maybe you can lead her back after your ride.”
“Okay.” Filly skipped ahead as the barn owner led Cloudy down the aisle.
The other Richardsons followed. Mrs. Richardson paused and smiled at Maddie. “Would you like to come watch?” she asked. “I’m sure Filly won’t mind. She’s not shy.”
Her husband laughed. “That’s for sure!”
“Um, sure, thanks.” Maddie fell into step with them.
Filly’s younger sister stared at her curiously, seeming to notice her for the first time. “I’m Baby,” she said. “Who are you?”
“I’m Maddie. Wait, did you say your name’s Baby?”
Mrs. Richardson chuckled. “Her real name is Barbara,” she explained. “But she’s the youngest of six, so the nickname just stuck.”
So weird nicknames run in the family, Maddie thought, glancing ahead at Filly, though she didn’t say it out loud.
Filly turned out to be an even less experienced rider than Amber, though she also seemed much more willing to listen and learn from Ms. Emerson. The lesson went pretty well—Filly caught on to posting without much trouble, and even stayed in two-point position through a set of trotting poles.
“I think that’s enough for today,” Ms. Emerson said after Filly’s third time through the poles. “We’ll let you try a canter next time, all right?”
Maddie expected Filly to protest, given her older sister’s behavior. But Filly beamed, seeming delighted with the whole experience.
“That was fun!” she exclaimed. “Thanks, Ms. Emerson. And thanks to you too, Cloudy!” She leaned forward and gave the pony a big pat.
“Can I try?” Baby piped in from her spot on the fence near Maddie.
“Oh, Baby,” Mrs. Richardson began. “I don’t know if Ms. Emerson has time to—”
“It’s all right.” Ms. Emerson smiled at Filly. “You don’t mind if your sister goes for a short pony ride, do you?”
“Nope.” Filly kicked her feet out of the stirrups and slid down. She gave Cloudy a hug, then took off her helmet and handed it to her sister.
As Baby’s father lifted his youngest daughter into the saddle, Filly wandered over to where Maddie was standing. “Did you have fun?” Maddie asked politely.
“Definitely!” Filly’s face lit up. “Cloudy’s the best. I can’t wait until I can ride her every day. But I can already tell she and I have a special bond.”
Maddie’s heart sank as Filly started chattering eagerly about all her plans for Cloudy. Maddie had been trying to look on the bright side and not assume Cloudy was leaving, but what was the point in denying reality? There was no way anyone wouldn’t fall in love with Cloudy—especially a horse-crazy girl like Filly.
So that’s it, I guess, Maddie thought, feeling as if her heart might break. The Snack and Swim will probably be my last ride on Cloudy. I might as well just try out for the Cascade League after all and forget about riding. . . .
She watched as Cloudy stepped carefully around the ring, one ear pointed toward Ms. Emerson, who was leading her, and the other at the tiny girl bouncing happily on her back. But when they passed the spot where Maddie and Filly were standing, the pony flicked both ears toward them.
“Hi, Cloudy!” Filly sang out, seeming to think the pony was looking at her.
But Maddie knew better. Cloudy was looking at her. She was her pony at heart—they were meant to be together. She was the one who had the special bond with Cloudy.
And Maddie wasn’t about to give that up. No way. She had to figure out a way to stop this sale from going though—no matter what.
CHAPTER
5
“MADDIE! I’M WIDE OPEN!” A kid named Jack hollered, dancing back and forth on the spongy, well-irrigated grass of the high school soccer field.
Maddie dribbled the soccer ball between her feet, keeping an eye on the boy hovering to her right. But she forgot about the girl on her left. When she tried to pass the ball to Jack, the girl jumped forward and intercepted.
“Ha!” the girl cried as she quickly passed to one of the other kids on her side of the drill.
Coach Wu blew her whistle. “Sorry, guys,” Maddie called to Jack and the others who were playing on her side. “Guess I flubbed that one.”
“Just don’t do it in a real game,” a girl warned.
“Yeah, hotshot.” Jack grinned, tossing his bright red hair out of his eyes. “You might not want to do it when the Cascade League scouts are watching either, or they’ll take back that invite.”
Maddie grinned as the rest of the team laughed. They’d been ribbing her since practice started. She didn’t blame them. It was good-natured, and she’d have done the same if any of them had been chosen.
Coach Wu jogged over. She was in her late twenties, petite and kind of hyper, with a quick smile that showed her gums.
“Okay, people,” she said. “Let’s talk strategy here. . . .”
The coach spent the next few minutes discussing the drill they’d just finished, but Maddie’s mind wandered after about thirty seconds. She’d spent the past twenty-four hours trying concoct a plan to stop the Richardsons from buying Cloudy, and she was pretty sure she’d finally come up with something that could work. Now she couldn’t wait to get home and put it into action.
The rest of soccer practice seemed to drag on forever. But finally Coach Wu released them. “Maddie, hold up a sec,” she added as the rest of the team took off. “We should talk.”
Swallowing a sigh, Maddie walked over to her. “What’s up?”
“I found out more about the tryouts,” the coach said. “They haven’t nailed down a date yet, but they’re working on it. I’m guessing you’ll probably have at least a week to prepare, and then . . .”
Once again, Maddie couldn’t seem to focus on what the coach was saying. She did her best to nod and smile at the right spots. What difference did it make? As soon as she was sure Cloudy wasn’t going anywhere, Maddie would break the news to Coach Wu that she wasn’t trying out for the travel team.
When she got home, Maddie hurried up to her room and logged on to the Internet. There were several new e-mails in her in-box, including one from her friend Bridget, who was away at performing arts camp for the entire summer. But Maddie barely skimmed Bridget’s news about theater tryouts and cute band boys before clicking the e-mail shut, telling herself she’d read and respond to it later. Then she Googled Amber Richardson’s name, and the first entry that popped up was the girl’s Facebook page. Maddie quickly sent Amber a Friend request, along with a message:
Hi Amber! It’s Maddie, from Solano Stables. Remember me? I’m having a lesson on Cloudy tomorrow (Wed) @ 3 and I thought u might want to come and watch. That way u can see what Cloudy is really like.
She hesitated for a second, reading over the message. Then she scrolled down and added one more line at the bottom:
Bring your sisters & your parents if u want, too.
She sent the message, not giving herself a chance to lose her nerve. Then she swallowed hard, fighting off a twinge of guilt. Was she doing the right thing?
Closing her eyes, Maddie pictured Cloudy standing there yesterday, head up, ears alert, mane blowing in the breeze. The little Chincoteague mare was so beautiful, so special in every way. How could Maddie just sit back and accept that she might never see her again? No, she had to do something to stop her from leaving.
“Whatever it takes,” she murmured aloud.
She clicked back to her e-mail account. Below Bridget’s e-mail were several more new messages. One was from another friend and a second was from Maddie’s grandmother in Arizona, but the rest were notifying Maddie of recent entries on the Pony Post. Oops. Maddie realized she still hadn’t checked in with her friends there. What with the trip to San Francisco, soccer practice, and of course her worries about Cloudy, she just hadn’t quite gotten around to it.
“Better post something or Nina will call
out the National Guard or something,” she muttered, logging on to the site.
Sure enough, there were several concerned posts among the usual chitchat about ponies and such:
[NINA] Did I miss any posts from Maddie? B/c I haven’t seen anything from her since she put up those pix
[HALEY] If u missed them, I did too. Hope she’s OK!
[BROOKE] Me too. Should one of us try calling her?
[NINA] Nah. She’s probably just having so much fun w/Cloudy that she forgot about lil old us. But she better remember soon! Maddie? Paging Maddie! Where are u?
[BROOKE] Or maybe u were right, Nina—maybe she met a movie star and ran off to Timbuktu!
[HALEY] Why would a movie star go to Timbuktu?
[BROOKE] lol lol why not? Movie stars can go wherever they want to!
[HALEY] Where is Timbuktu, anyway?
[NINA] Who cares where it is? Maddie wouldn’t run off to Timbuktu, not even w/the coolest movie star ever. Not unless she could take Cloudy along!
[HALEY] They make special planes that can fly horses overseas. I saw a thing about it on TV.
[NINA] OK, whatev. I srsly doubt Mad and Cloudy are jetting off to Timbuktu, or Paris or London either. But I hope M checks in soon . . .
“I know, I know,” Maddie muttered, clicking open a new text box.
First things first: she wanted to make sure her friends knew she was okay, and definitely not in Timbuktu. Her fingers flew over the keys, and seconds later her message posted:
[MADDIE] Hi guys! Sorry I haven’t posted—busy weekend! Went to San Fran w/the fam, had my lesson, soccer, etc. But I’m here now! Gotta go catch up on your posts—more in a sec.
Almost instantly, two new posts popped up after hers:
[BROOKE] Yay! She’s back!
[HALEY] Hi Maddie! Sounds like u had a fun weekend!
Maddie scrolled up, scanning the rest of the posts from that weekend. Haley had written about her daily rides on Wings, the spunky pinto gelding she leased from her neighbor. The two of them competed in the sport of eventing whenever Haley saved up enough money to pay entry fees. That wasn’t very often, but Haley still took their training seriously.
Maddie’s Dream Page 4