“Hey!” she called to him as he got out of the car and hurried toward her. She shook her watch arm at him. “You’re late! Thanks to you, I got corralled into helping Carole scoop poop while I waited.”
George looked worried. “I’m sorry,” he began. “I had to stop on the way over, and—”
Stevie grinned. “George, George,” she said, punching him lightly on the arm. “If you’re going to be hanging out with me, you’re going to have to learn to take some joshing.”
“Oh.” George looked slightly confused but relieved. “Anyway, sorry I’m late. Can I help you finish up?”
“Sure, if you insist.” Stevie glanced at the trailer. “I’ll even give you a choice. You can either put the divider back in and close up the trailer, or you can wheel this bad boy back to the manure pile.” She gestured at the half-full wheelbarrow.
“I’ll take this.” George grabbed the wheelbarrow’s handles. “Be right back.”
“Okay,” Stevie said agreeably. As he headed off around the corner of the building, she hurried to put the trailer back together. She couldn’t wait to get started on their jumping practice. She’d been thinking about it all afternoon. Even though she hadn’t jumped much lately, she had always loved it. The one regret she’d had when she started focusing more on dressage was that she wouldn’t have much opportunity to jump.
That’s why this new eventing idea is so perfect, she reminded herself happily as she finished restoring the trailer’s divider and hopped off the back. It lets me do everything I love all in the same competition.
She was just latching the trailer doors when George reappeared. He hurried forward to help her push in the last stubborn latch. “So, you were helping Carole, huh?” he said as they finished and stepped back. “That’s nice.”
“Uh-huh.” Stevie brushed off her hands on her breeches. “You know how it goes around here. If you’re just standing around, you get put to work.” She grinned to let him know she wasn’t really complaining. Pine Hollow was one of the more affordable stables in the area, and she knew that a big part of that was Max’s policy that everyone who rode there had to help out with stable chores.
“Carole’s here a lot, huh?” George commented.
“Sure,” Stevie said. “I mean, she works here, you know?”
“I know. But you guys are all here a lot,” George said shyly. “Urn, you know, you and all your friends. Carole, Lisa, Callie—um, are they all here today?”
“Lisa got here a few minutes ago,” Stevie said. “I think she’s in helping Denise with something. And Callie—” She paused, suddenly realizing what George was really after. “Um, I don’t—Oh! Wait a minute. I did see her earlier. She was rushing off to a doctor’s appointment.”
“Oh.” George cleared his throat. “I guess she probably won’t come back here today, then, huh?”
Stevie shrugged. “No idea,” she replied, feeling a little sorry for George. He still seemed to have it bad for Callie, and that was a shame. If he could just move on, realize it wasn’t going to happen, he’d probably be a lot better off. So would Callie, judging by the way she’d acted the other night at that restaurant. “Come on,” she said, figuring the least she could do was try to distract him. “Should we go set up some ground poles before I get Belle ready?”
“Sure,” George said distractedly. “Um, I just want to look in on Joy first. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Okay,” Stevie said, already turning to head for the doors. “I’ll meet you in the ring.”
A few minutes later, Stevie had just dragged the last pole into line and was stepping off the distance when George emerged from the building. Stevie waved.
“How’s this look?” she called.
George didn’t answer. Instead, he hurried toward her with an anxious look on his face. “Stevie, I’m really sorry,” he said breathlessly. “I just realized I told Max I’d pick up some more of Joy’s hoof supplement. I—I guess I forgot, and now she’s all out. I have to go pick some up—I’m not sure how long it will take me.” He grimaced apologetically. “Would you mind if we put this off for another time?”
“Oh.” Stevie was disappointed, but what could she say? “Of course not. Um, Belle and I can just trot some poles today and then work on flatwork. Maybe Lisa can spot me over a few cross rails or something. Then we’ll be ready for you the next time.”
“Thanks.” George looked relieved. “Thanks for understanding, Stevie.”
“Sure.” Stevie waved as he hurried toward his car. Then she sighed and headed inside to tack up Belle.
TWELVE
When Carole looked in on Jinx a little while later, the pony was pacing restlessly in his stall. “Hi, short stuff,” she called to him softly. “What’s the matter? Don’t you like your new home?”
The pony rolled his eyes at her suspiciously and continued to pace. Carole sighed, her mind flashing to Maddie. She’d just passed the mare’s stall, and she was dozing in the corner after having polished off most of her hay.
Oh, well, she thought, unlatching the stall door and grabbing the lead rope from the hook outside. Nobody said this was going to be easy.
“Come on, boy,” she crooned as she clipped the rope to Jinx’s halter. “Let’s go for a little walk. Then tomorrow, if you’re good, we’ll let you hang out in the paddock for a while, okay?”
Jinx snorted and tossed his head, but he followed as she led him out. He lifted his feet high at each step, almost prancing as they walked down the aisle to the rear entrance. Once outside he calmed down a little, though he followed her so closely she was afraid he was going to step on her feet.
“Okay, I know the first thing we need to work on,” Carole murmured, calmly correcting him, forcing him to walk at a more reasonable distance from her. “I guess nobody ever really taught you how to lead properly.”
She continued to work on Jinx’s leading manners as she walked the pony around the back paddock and up and down the path to the manure pile and a few small outbuildings. There wasn’t usually much traffic in that part of the stable yard, which was just what she wanted. She and Jinx weren’t too likely to run into any intermediate riders or other curious onlookers back there.
Just as she was thinking of heading back inside, Ben appeared from the direction of the equipment shed. He walked toward her slowly, clucking until he was sure that Jinx saw him. Then he raised a hand in greeting. “How’s he doing?” he asked Carole, nodding to the pony.
“Whoa.” Carole waited until Jinx had halted beside her before turning to smile at Ben. “Okay,” she said. “We’re just doing a little remedial leading practice. He doesn’t really seem to mind it—in fact, I think he wants to do the right thing. He just never learned how. I was just about to take him in and give him a treat for being a good boy. Maybe try some grooming, too, to keep him from getting too lonely on his first day here.”
Ben nodded thoughtfully. “Need help?”
“Sure, if you want!” Realizing she might have sounded a little overeager, Carole cleared her throat. “Er, I mean, that might be a good idea. A little extra attention might calm him down, and if both of us are there it will be easier to control him if he gets nervous. Right?” she added uncertainly, suddenly wondering if she was really thinking only of the pony’s best interests at the moment. Or was it Carole herself who would be happier to have Ben there helping her?
Before she could make up her mind, Ben nodded. “Sounds good.”
“Okay.” Carole turned and led the way inside, taking deep breaths to get over the sudden attack of embarrassment. By the time they had the pony tied to the ring in the stall wall, she was feeling almost normal.
As Carole patted the pony, Ben went out to fetch the bucket of grooming tools Carole had left in the aisle earlier. Hanging it from one of the stall’s safety hooks, he reached in and pulled out a hoof pick.
“Shall I?” he asked.
Carole nodded. “Careful, though. We never picked up his feet the other day when we were
looking at him—he could give you some trouble. I’ll stay by his head if you want.” At Ben’s nod, she moved into position, scratching the pony and talking to him to distract him from what Ben was doing.
To her surprise, Ben had little difficulty picking up and cleaning Jinx’s hooves. The pony balked slightly when he ran his hand down his left fore, and he made a halfhearted kick with his left hind leg when Ben touched it. After that, though, he stood quietly and allowed the young stable hand to do whatever he wanted with his right feet.
Wow, Carole thought as she watched. I always forget just how great he is with horses—how they seem to trust him so totally.
“There,” Ben said as he finished his task. He stood and dropped the pick back in the bucket, brushing off his hands. “Not too bad.”
“Not too bad at all,” Carole agreed, patting the pony proudly. She started toward the bucket to grab a brush. Her hand reached out at the same time as Ben’s, and she felt her fingernails scrape the back of his hand. “Oops!” she said, blushing. “Sorry about that.”
“S’okay,” Ben mumbled quickly, pulling out a body brush and turning away. Without another word, he started working on Jinx’s right side.
Were his cheeks turning slightly red, too? Carole wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t help feeling flustered about the close encounter. She took a deep breath, trying not to think about it. We’re here to groom a horse, she told herself firmly. That’s all. No biggie.
Deciding she’d better get to it, she grabbed a brush and moved around to the pony’s left side, across from Ben. Soon she found her thoughts wandering as she moved the brush steadily over Jinx’s body. As it so often did lately, her mind turned first to Cam. She realized that hearing at school that day about what a rat her ex-boyfriend really was actually made things a little clearer. A day ago, despite Cam’s despicable behavior on New Year’s Eve, she still might have forgiven him if he’d come crawling back. She might have believed him if he’d apologized. After discovering just how deceitful he’d really been, though, she was finally starting to understand that she was better off without him. It still hurt to think about how she’d loved him. It hurt a lot. But the pain subsided a little bit when she was with Ben. Being with him reminded her that some guys really were decent and honest.
Maybe Ben’s not perfect, she thought, glancing at him as he bent to brush some dried mud off Jinx’s fetlock. But he doesn’t pretend to be anything he’s not. The horses would know if he were a fake, and they all totally love him and trust him. I suppose that should be telling me something ….
She shook her head, banishing the thought immediately. All she knew was that she was happy to be there with Ben at that moment, doing what they both loved. She didn’t want to think too far beyond that.
As she picked at a crusty spot of dirt on Jinx’s rump, the pony suddenly flicked his tail, catching her square across the face. “Ow!” she yelped, jumping back. The stinging sensation faded quickly from her face but remained in her left eye. She rubbed it, but that only made the pain worse.
“You okay?” Ben asked, peering around Jinx’s head.
Carole blinked and squinted, trying to get a few tears going to wash out her irritated eye. “He just got me with his tail,” she said. “I think some dirt or something got in my eye.”
“Let me see.” Ben left the pony and stepped over to her, gazing into her face with concern.
Carole gulped. He was standing so close that she caught a faint whiff of aftershave mixed with the more familiar scent of horses. “Um, it’s this one,” she mumbled nervously, pointing to her left eye.
“Hold still,” Ben commanded gruffly, leaning closer. Carole held her breath as he stared into her eye. Suddenly she flashed back to that day more than a month earlier at the horse show, when the two of them had been just this close. Carole had been trying to forget about their one and only kiss almost since it had happened. But now it all came rushing back, filling her mind. For an instant she was afraid she might grab him and kiss him now. But she didn’t, and the strange, intense moment lingered endlessly, with neither of them moving a muscle as they stared at each other.
Finally Ben cleared his throat and backed away a few steps. “Er, it’s too dark in here.” He glanced at the overhead bulb, which cast a dull yellowish glow over the stall. “Better go outside where we can see.”
“Okay.” Carole felt an odd flash of disappointment as she followed him out of the stall. The flow of air made her injured eye sting more, so she put one hand over it. Halfway to the back door, she almost tripped over a lead rope someone had left lying in the aisle.
“Watch it.” Ben grabbed her elbow to steady her. “Here. This way.”
Carole tried to remember to breathe as he steered her. She was very aware of his hand on her arm, even through her thick sweatshirt. And she couldn’t help noticing that he didn’t remove his hand even after they had negotiated past the tricky lead rope.
She also couldn’t help being glad about that.
Callie was feeling pretty good as she emerged from the medical building on Catalpa Street. She stepped onto the sidewalk outside and blinked, allowing her eyes to adjust to the garish pink-and-orange glow of the winter sun as it sank toward the western horizon. It was a little after five, and people were hurrying along the sidewalks, newly released from the businesses up and down the block. Cars were whizzing by in both directions, and across the street a couple of little boys were chasing each other up and down the stoop in front of a shoe repair shop.
Callie felt the energy of all the activity surrounding her surge through her as she lingered on the sidewalk for another moment or two. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents what the doctor had said that day. After more than six long months, he had finally told Callie that her legs were back to being as strong and healthy as they’d ever been. All her hard work in physical therapy had paid off, and she could finally put the accident behind her, once and for all, and move on with her life.
I’m back on my feet, one hundred percent sound at last, she thought, taking a deep breath of the chilly evening air. I have a great horse to work with. That means the only thing standing in my way is myself. Not George—me. And that’s something I’m just going to have to deal with. I’ve been holding myself back long enough.
She glanced at her watch, hoping that Scott hadn’t grown too impatient while waiting to drive her home. The doctor had been running a little behind schedule, as usual, and Callie had spent most of her twenty-five minutes in the waiting room pondering her life, past and future, and what she was going to do about it. One thing she had figured out for sure: She couldn’t afford to waste any more time skulking around, worrying every second about George Wheeler.
I have to talk to George one more time, she thought firmly as she stepped off toward the bookstore at the other end of the block, where Scott was waiting for her. And this time, I have to make sure he understands me clearly. I just let things get too far out of hand before, that’s all. This time I’ll confront him straight on, ask him what the deal is and then tell him he has to stay away from me from now on. Period. End of story.
She smiled slightly, feeling a little better now that she had a plan. As she stepped around a portly woman talking on a cell phone, the smile froze on her face: George was walking toward her from just a few yards away.
She stopped short, her head spinning. No! she thought helplessly. No! He can’t be here now. No!
“Hi, Callie!” George exclaimed, his face splitting into a broad grin. “What a coincidence! What are you doing here?”
She just stared at him for a moment, frozen with shock. No. This was too sudden, too unexpected and unnerving. She couldn’t face him now, like this. No.
Her legs took off before her mind even managed to send the message. She sprinted, hardly noticing which way she was going.
“Callie, wait!”
She heard his footsteps pounding after her. But she outran him easily, dodging around startled people on the sidewalk and fina
lly ducking down a narrow alley between a print shop and an insurance office. She slipped behind a large trash bin, peering out until she saw George wander by, looking disappointed and confused.
She relaxed and leaned back against the cold, hard surface of the trash bin. As she moved her foot slightly, she heard something squish.
“Oh, gross,” she murmured as she realized she’d just put her foot in something brown and slimy—obviously, someone in the Chinese restaurant next door had missed the bin. Standing up, she did her best to scrape the gooey mess off her shoe. Then she collapsed back against the brick wall of the building behind her, checking first to make sure it was relatively clean.
Is this what it’s come to? she wondered helplessly, shivering slightly as a cold wind swept through the alley. Is this really what my life has become? Sneaking around, running away, lying to my family and friends, hiding in the garbage behind restaurants?
She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could go back in time and change her own behavior. Make different choices, take different steps early on to prevent all this from happening. But would that really have worked?
No, she realized, the truth suddenly dawning on her as if it had been there all along. No, I guess it probably wouldn’t. Sure, maybe I could’ve been more honest with George in the beginning. But that doesn’t mean I caused this. There are plenty of other guys who get rejected and don’t end up acting this way.
She opened her eyes and blinked, wondering why she’d never seen it in that light before. Why had she been so quick to blame herself? What had kept her from seeing that this was George’s problem, not hers? He was the one who was behaving inappropriately—and no matter how she tried to rationalize or ignore them, the things he’d been doing were inappropriate. Following her into the woods. Peeking in her window. Yes, even talking to her and trying to hang out with her when she’d specifically asked him not to. It was wrong of him to do these things. Not her—him. So why hadn’t she realized that until now?
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