Back in the Saddle

by Bonnie Bryant

  She frowned, thinking about that. There were positive and negative aspects about both options.

  Then again, maybe I could find a job that sort of combines the best parts of both worlds, she thought. Like becoming a full-time professional trainer …

  It wasn’t until she felt Starlight nudge her sharply on the shoulder that she realized her steps had slowed almost to a stop as she pondered her choices. “Oops!” she said, patting the horse before moving on more briskly toward the stable entrance. “Sorry about that, boy. I know you’re eager to get inside and have a nice long drink and a snack. And you definitely deserve it.” Putting thoughts of the future on hold for the moment, she hurried inside to take care of her horse.

  A short while later Starlight was resting comfortably in his stall, freshly groomed with clean straw underfoot, a full bucket of clean, clear water hanging on the back wall, and a rack of fragrant hay in the corner. “Okay, boy,” Carole said, giving the horse a pat on the rump as she took a last look around the stall. “I think you’re all set.” She glanced at her watch. “Just in time, too. I’ve got to be in the door in twenty minutes.”

  That left her plenty of time to get home, since it was only a ten-minute drive from the stable to her house. But she figured it wouldn’t hurt to show up a little early—just to show her father that she was taking the new rules seriously.

  She let herself out of Starlight’s stall and headed toward the exit, humming softly under her breath. As sorry as she was to have to leave—it would have been nice to be able to hang out, maybe help with the evening chores or see if any of her friends were around or just visit with some of the other horses—it was a little easier to drag herself away when she knew she could come back again the next day. After that, she would have to manage for a couple of days away, but even that wouldn’t be too bad. And there were only a few weeks left before New Year’s, when she hoped her father would lift the restrictions altogether.

  She had just reached the front doors when she heard someone calling her name. Turning, she saw Red O’Malley rushing toward her across the stable entryway, an anxious expression on his freckled face.

  “Hi, Red,” she said. “Is anything wrong?”

  “Just everything!” Red exclaimed, throwing up his hands. “Denise is home sick, and Max had to leave a little while ago to pick up Deborah—her car broke down somewhere up toward Maryland.” He glanced over his shoulder frantically. “I’m supposed to be helping the adult trail class tack up right now—they scheduled this moonlight ride and wine-and-cheese-picnic thing ages ago, so I absolutely can’t cancel—but I also need to keep an eye on the beginners who just finished out in the schooling ring, plus do about fourteen other things. I even enlisted Callie’s brother to help out by manning the phones for a while—and he doesn’t even ride here!”

  “Where’s, um, Ben?” Carole asked, trying not to reveal any unnecessary emotion at the mention of that particular name. “Can’t he help you out with the adult class or the beginners?”

  “He’s not back yet,” Red replied. At Carole’s confused look, he explained, “He asked Max if he could take an hour off this afternoon, and he’s not due back for ten minutes or so—he swore he’d be here in plenty of time to teach the Adams girl’s private lesson at five, since Denise isn’t here to do it.” He clutched at his carrot-colored hair and stared at Carole beseechingly. “So how about it? I know you’re not an official employee anymore, but can you help me out? Just until Ben gets back?”

  Carole hesitated, peeking at her watch. She had to leave in the next ten minutes if she wanted to make it home in time. But that’s probably longer than I’ll need, she thought. Ben never stays away from this place for long if he can help it. He’ll probably be back early—as in any second now.

  “Okay,” she told Red. “What do you want me to do?”

  Red sent her off to supervise the beginning riders as they untacked and groomed their horses. That went smoothly enough, though Carole couldn’t help feeling more and more anxious as minute after minute ticked by with no sign of Ben. Where could he be? Carole wondered, checking her watch for the umpteenth time. It’s not like him to be late. But if he doesn’t get back soon, he will be. And so will I.

  Soon her ten minutes had come and gone. Carole tried to tell herself that her father wouldn’t notice if she was five minutes late. Five minutes later, she almost managed to convince herself that ten minutes one way or the other wasn’t a big deal. But when fifteen minutes had passed and Ben still hadn’t returned, she was starting to feel frantic. Red had already left with the adult trail group, and aside from Scott, Carole was the only person at the stable over the age of nine.

  It didn’t help when Nicole Adams arrived a few minutes after five, impatient to get started. “Where’s Denise?” she demanded immediately, tossing her wavy blond hair restlessly when she found Carole in the student locker room.

  “She’s out sick today,” Carole said, pulling her attention away from the seven-year-old rider whose tight boots she was trying to yank off. “Ben Marlow’s going to be teaching your lesson instead.”

  “Really!” Nicole pursed her lips, looking interested. “He’s kind of cute. So where is he?”

  Carole almost laughed as she pictured Nicole trying to flirt with Ben, who seemed quite immune to her sort of obvious charms. But that image aside, she wasn’t feeling very amused at the moment. What was her father going to say when she finally made it home? How picky was he going to be about that two-hour limit?

  Dad knows that you can’t always time things exactly when it comes to horses, Carole thought uncertainly. He’s not going to condemn me for a lousy fifteen minutes, is he? I could tell him that Starlight threw a shoe, or that I had to wait for someone to help me bring down more hay.…

  She sighed. Maybe that was true. Maybe her father would let fifteen minutes slide. But unless she left the stable at that very moment, she was going to be even later than that. And there was a limit to any parent’s understanding.

  “Ben will be here soon,” she told Nicole, trying not to let her anxiety show. “Why don’t you go tack up Diablo? That way you’ll be ready when he turns up.”

  Nicole nodded and hurried off, and soon Carole had dispatched the beginning rider, too, minus her too-small boots. She sat back on the bench and stared at her watch, wishing she could slow down its steady, inexorable ticking.

  If I leave right now and break the speed limit the whole way, I could probably get home before Dad’s head explodes, she thought. There might still be time to explain things to him, to make him understand that this wasn’t my fault.

  She chewed on her lip for a second, tempted. All she had to do was run over to the office and tell Scott he was on his own. He could handle things for a few minutes until Ben got back, or until Callie came in from the trails and could help out. Nobody would care if the phone didn’t get answered for a little while. And it would be a piece of cake for him to charm Nicole into being patient about her delayed lesson.…

  But almost before she completed the thought, Carole sank back in her seat again and sighed, knowing she couldn’t do it. Scott might be able to handle Nicole, but there was no way he could deal with eight or ten cranky, overtired, and potentially careless beginning riders at the same time. He wasn’t a rider—he couldn’t be expected to remind the little kids not to walk around near their horses’ hind legs or help them untangle knotted reins or explain the difference between straw and hay.

  And what if Ben doesn’t get back soon? she added hopelessly. Red’s trail ride won’t be finished for quite a while, and Nicole definitely isn’t going to want to wait around for him. Plus, Max would be really angry if he found out the stable was left unattended. He’d probably be kind of mad at me, but he left Red in charge, so he’d really come down on him. Not to mention how angry he’d be with Ben for breaking his word to be back by five. I’m sure he never would’ve left in the first place if he’d known Ben was going to be so late.

  She gulped,
knowing what she had to do. Standing up before she could think too hard about what the consequences might be, she headed for the door to check on the beginners’ progress.

  Ten minutes later Carole was in the tack room overseeing the last of the beginners’ cleaning chores when Nicole appeared in the doorway. “There you are,” she said, looking mildly put out. “Where’s Ben? Diablo’s all tacked up. I’m ready to start my lesson.”

  Carole gulped, hiding her dismay by turning to shoo the beginning rider out of the room. “Um, did you ask Scott?”

  “Uh-huh. He said he hasn’t seen him.”

  Carole checked the time. Ben was really late. Could he possibly have forgotten that he was supposed to come back to the stable after he finished whatever he was doing? It didn’t seem likely. But then, it didn’t seem likely that he would be as late as he already was, either.

  I could just go ahead and teach Nicole’s lesson myself, she thought. Of course, that would mean I’d be so totally and incredibly late that there’s no way Dad would ever trust me again.

  “Um …” Carole glanced helplessly at Nicole, wondering what to do. She was trying to come up with the right words to ask her to be patient for just a few more minutes to see if Ben turned up. But before she could open her mouth again, she heard rapid footsteps coming down the hall toward the tack room.

  Ben? she thought hopefully, feeling her heart lift slightly. Maybe there was still time—maybe she could still race home and beg her father for forgiveness.

  But her hopes were dashed a moment later when Veronica diAngelo appeared in the doorway behind Nicole. “Hey, Nic,” she said irritably. “It’s like twenty-five after. I thought you said your lesson started at five.”

  “It was supposed to,” Nicole replied with a shrug. “Only trouble is, they seem to be fresh out of teachers at this place.”

  Veronica glanced at Carole briefly but didn’t bother to do anything else to acknowledge her presence. “Well, if you don’t get started soon, we’re going to be late for the movie,” she said. “And the guys are meeting us there—I don’t have any way to reach them. Neither one of them has a cell phone, or even a beeper.” She rolled her heavily lined eyes heavenward as if such an idea were almost unthinkable.

  Nicole looked perturbed. “I don’t want to miss the movie,” she said, casting an anxious glance at Carole. “Maybe I should just give this lesson a pass.”

  “Maybe you should,” Veronica agreed coolly. “And then maybe you should sign up for lessons someplace where they’re a little more organized.”

  Carole gasped. She couldn’t believe Veronica would say such a thing. After all, she’d taken lessons at Pine Hollow herself for years. Of course, she’d tangled with Max and Red and just about everyone else on the staff during the course of those years, too. Maybe it shouldn’t have been such a surprise that she was so quick to try to sabotage Max’s business.

  Besides, she reminded herself with a nervous gulp, Veronica knows how important Pine Hollow is to Stevie. And didn’t Stevie say just yesterday that Veronica keeps threatening her with horrible revenge because of that article?

  Carole knew that Veronica’s opinion carried a lot of weight with her cliquey friends. If Nicole didn’t have her lesson that day, Veronica would probably make a huge deal of it, just to spite Stevie. Carole certainly didn’t want to be the reason that Max lost a paying customer. Especially since, technically, it would be Ben’s fault, and that would mean he would be in even more trouble for being late.

  “Don’t worry, Nicole,” she said quickly. “Um, since Ben doesn’t seem to be back yet—”

  “Ben?” Veronica interrupted, wrinkling her nose. “You mean that dark-haired guy with the bad attitude? No wonder you’re having trouble, Nic. If I were you, I’d complain good and loud about being stuck with him.”

  Carole felt her face turn red, but she kept her gaze focused on Nicole. “Um, as I was saying, maybe I’ll just teach your lesson instead. We can start right now. Okay?”

  Nicole looked slightly disappointed, but she nodded. “Sure,” she agreed. “But let’s hurry up and get going, okay? I’ve wasted enough time.” She glanced at Veronica. “Sorry you have to wait around for me.”

  “That’s okay,” Veronica told her. “I figured I’d hang out and watch your lesson, as long as you don’t mind.” As Nicole nodded agreeably, Veronica turned to Carole. “By the way,” she said casually, “is that obnoxious friend of yours around?”

  “Let me take a wild guess,” Carole said. “Are you by any chance referring to Stevie?”

  Veronica nodded. “I was hoping to talk to her about, uh, some homework.”

  Yeah, right, Carole thought. She was sure that Veronica was there to find out if Stevie had backed down from including her and Zach in her article. Fat chance of that, Carole added silently. If I know Stevie—and I think I do—the fact that Veronica is so worked up about this probably made her even more eager to stick with her original plan.

  She didn’t bother explaining that to Veronica, though. “No,” she said instead, pasting an innocent expression on her face. “I think she’s been busy all afternoon finishing up that little article she’s writing for your school paper.”

  Veronica scowled, and Carole hid a smile by glancing down at her watch. As she did, she suddenly felt a lot less like smiling. Five-thirty. She could almost feel her riding privileges slipping away … maybe for a lot longer than the few weeks until New Year’s. But what choice did she have?

  “Ready?” she said to Nicole. “Come on, let’s work in the indoor ring.”

  As she approached the turnoff for Pine Hollow, Stevie checked the clock on the dashboard of her car. It read 6:47, which meant that it was actually about a quarter to six. I’ve got to remember to reset that thing for daylight savings time, she thought absently, hitting her blinker for the turn. Her parents wouldn’t expect her for dinner until six-thirty, which left her plenty of time to stop in at the stable and share her great news with anyone who happened to be around.

  Soon she was hurrying through the early-evening darkness toward the brightly lit stable. Pulling open the door and stepping inside, she shivered slightly as she shook off the December chill.

  I still can’t believe Theresa was so excited about my article! she thought gleefully as she paused near the door to strip off her driving gloves. I mean, I believe it, because I know it’s true, and I knew it would happen. But I still can’t believe it!

  She’d just come from her meeting with the editor in chief. Theresa wouldn’t make any promises, but she’d assured Stevie that she would show her article to the other editors and see if they could work it into the next day’s issue. That was all Stevie needed to hear.

  They’ll find space for it, she thought confidently. And then I can just sit back and bask in the glow of my new career as a star reporter!

  She couldn’t wait to share her news with someone. She’d noticed that Scott’s car was parked in the lot outside, along with Carole’s dark red junker. That meant both of them were at the stable somewhere, along with Callie.

  I’m glad Scott likes to hang around this place so much, she thought with a smile. Because even if Callie’s still out on the trail testing her night vision and Carole’s busy at the manure pit or somewhere, there will at least be one person here to listen to my tale of triumph!

  Hearing the faint sound of hoofbeats from the indoor ring, Stevie walked over and peeked through the wooden doors, which were partially ajar. The first person she spotted was Carole, who was on foot in the middle of the ring, watching as Diablo cantered around her in a tight circle.

  Then Stevie recognized Diablo’s rider. She frowned. “Nicole?” she muttered. At the sight of the other girl, Stevie couldn’t stop her usual suspicions from popping into her head.

  I know she used to ride here, and I know Max claims she was pretty good as a little kid, Stevie thought, staring at Nicole as she skillfully steered her horse through a smooth reverse. But she gave that up years ago. She
lost interest. And suddenly she decides to start riding again? I don’t buy it. I still think she’s hanging out here hoping to spend time with Alex. Why else would someone with no apparent interest in horses decide to start spending so much time at the stable?

  “Hi, Stevie,” Scott called, appearing at the mouth of the hallway leading to the stable office. “What are you doing here?”

  Stevie froze. Suddenly the truth hit her with the force of an eighteen-wheeler. Nicole isn’t the only one who’s been spending her free time here lately, she thought with a gulp. Wasn’t I just thinking how weird it is that Scott is here so much when he doesn’t even ride? Well, maybe there’s a reason for that. Maybe he’s hanging out here because he’s interested in someone who rides here. Someone like … me!

  It was a crazy thought, but it also made perfect sense. Stevie and Scott had spent a lot of time together a month or so before when she’d run his campaign for student body president. What if he’d come away from that with the wrong idea about their relationship? What if he had a crush on her?

  “Stevie? Are you okay?”

  With a start, she realized that she hadn’t returned Scott’s greeting. Instead, she was staring at him with her eyes wide in horror and shock. “Ulp,” she said. “Um, I mean, hi. Everything’s fine, just fine.”

  Scott wrinkled his brow and cocked his head to one side, studying her carefully. “Are you sure?” he asked, taking a couple of steps toward her.

  “Yep! Totally sure!” Stevie yelped, hopping backward so fast that she crashed into the ring door. “Ow!

  “Are you okay?” Scott looked more concerned than ever. He hurried toward her, putting one hand on her arm.

  Stevie yanked her arm away, pretending she just wanted to lean over and rub her leg where it had hit the door. “Oh, sure,” she said hastily. “I’m just a klutz, that’s all. Phil is always teasing me about it. You know—my boyfriend, Phil?”