“Sleep tight, Able,” Juniper said, smiling big. “Tomorrow will be special. I can feel it.”
It wasn’t long before the sisters were lying on Juniper’s bed, watching video after video for inspiration. They looked at clips from dressage, trick championships, freestyle competitions, and movies. They made notes, swapped ideas, and finally, long after their parents had told them to stop, they fell asleep, pencils still in their hands.
When their mother woke them the next morning, Juniper jumped out of bed.
“What time is it? Am I late?”
“Calm down, Junebug,” her mother said, chuckling. “You’re good, but it is time to get up. Rose, the bus will be here soon. Go get ready.”
Rose gave her sister a hug. “Good luck today, Junie. They’re going to love it.” Then she ran out of Juniper’s bedroom.
“Who’s going to love what?” their mother asked.
Juniper shrugged. “Just something I was working on for the show. Is Dad waiting for me?”
“He has to take Lucky to Paramount today. I’m going to take you and Able to the studio, then I have to go to work.” She eyed Juniper carefully. “Are you going to be all right without one of us there today?”
Juniper nodded, the herd in her stomach starting to canter. “Sure, Mom. We’ll be fine.”
“Good.” Her mother kissed her forehead. “We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready. Make it quick. Oh, and your dad made me promise to tell you: Don’t do anything dangerous.”
Juniper held back an eye roll. “I won’t.”
Juniper shut her door behind her mother, then gathered the notes she’d made with Rose the night before.
“I hope they like this,” she muttered, then stuffed the papers into her backpack and got ready to be on the set.
Ben and Marcus were at the show’s holding stables when Juniper walked up with Able.
“Morning,” she said as cheerfully as she could. The stampede in her stomach was creating a tornado.
“Hey, Juniper. Hey, Able.” Marcus rubbed along Able’s neck, and the horse nickered in delight. “Other than Zombie, Able’s my new favorite horse.”
“He’s been doing a great job,” Ben said. “You, too, Juniper.”
“You really think so?” she asked.
“Don’t sound so surprised. You’ve been wowing everyone here.”
Ben said it so matter-of-factly, Juniper wondered if she needed the plan. But then she remembered his words and her dad’s words about Leigh. She wanted them to say that about her, too.
“Actually, I had some ideas for the big stunt you need,” she said, settling Able in his stall.
Ben looked at her quizzically. “What big stunt?”
“Oh, I heard you talking about it to Sadie. I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to hear.”
Ben laughed, deep and loud. “No, no. That’s okay. It wasn’t really private. I was just surprised. And you’ve got an idea?”
Juniper nodded quickly, before she could change her mind.
“Great,” Ben said. “I always like to hear new ideas. Let’s go see what Sadie says.”
Ben and Marcus started walking to the set, and Juniper turned to Able. “Did you hear that? I hope they let us do it. Don’t you, Able?”
Able shook his head as though he was keeping flies off. Or getting rid of ideas he didn’t like. Juniper wasn’t sure which, but he had to appreciate this idea. It was hers, and he was her best friend. “It’s going to be great, Able,” she said. “I promise.”
“Juniper!” Ben called back to her. “You coming?”
Juniper did a little hop, unable to hold in any more nervousness or excitement. “Coming!”
She kissed Able on the nose. “I’ll be back with the news as soon as I can. I love you, Able.”
Then she ran after Ben and Marcus.
They found Sadie at the set, hunched over a folder and scribbling notes.
“Sadie,” Ben said, “Juniper here has an idea that might work for that big stunt you want. Go ahead, Juniper.”
Sadie looked up from her notes and smiled. “Great. I’m always up for good ideas. Let’s hear it.”
Juniper took a deep breath. “My sister, Rose, and I were brainstorming last night, and we thought it would look really cool if . . . well, here . . .” She pulled out the diagrams Rose had drawn. “Sir Gregor could be in a prison carriage pulled by four horses, Able being one. I could be Lady Penelope on another horse, ride up, and jump from my horse to Able. While people are shooting arrows at me, I can roll under Able’s belly, then come up in the middle of the two horses, and end up right by the carriage. I can push the driver off, take the reins for myself, and drive the carriage away.”
She blinked. Ben and Sadie stared at the drawings. Juniper glanced at Marcus for some courage. Leigh and Pablo had walked up behind him and were peering at the drawings, too.
“It reminds me of the old Stagecoach stunt Yakima Canutt did back in 1939,” Ben said.
“Yes,” Juniper said quickly. “We got the idea from that. Plus some other videos and tricks we already knew.”
Sadie nodded. “John Wayne was in Stagecoach. Yeah, I remember that. Isn’t it considered the most dangerous horse stunt ever done?”
“It sure is,” Ben said, shaking his head. “This one’s not as dangerous, but it still has a lot of risks.”
Juniper’s heart fell.
“It would look spectacular,” Sadie said.
“You could put a small camera on me so you can see the action close up,” Juniper said, hope blooming in her tummy.
Sadie turned to Ben. “That stunt was dangerous because it was 1939, but we’ve got harnesses we can use now, right?”
“We do,” Ben said. “I’d prefer to cut it down to two horses instead of four. Maybe even one. That’ll be safer.”
“We could also film it in stages instead of one long shot, like in Stagecoach,” Sadie said.
“That would be better,” Ben agreed.
Sadie pursed her lips. “If we can make this work, it will be a stunt that viewers will talk about for years.” She gave Juniper a smile. “Good work.”
Juniper felt like her heart might explode from happiness.
“All right, we can give it a try,” Ben said. “But Juniper’s younger. We should have Leigh on this. She’s more experienced.”
Juniper’s heart fell again. Nooooo. That wasn’t what she wanted.
Leigh’s eyebrows lifted and she stepped around Marcus, shaking her head. “I can’t do that.”
Juniper suppressed a smile.
“Which part?” Ben said.
“Any of it,” Leigh said. “I haven’t done that belly trick yet. This would be a big learning curve for me.”
“I can do it!” Juniper was so excited, she shouted the words louder than she’d meant to. She swallowed and tried again. “I can. Able and I have been doing the under-the-belly trick for a while.”
Ben eyed her carefully. “I’m not sure you’ll have the strength to pull yourself into the carriage.”
Juniper held her breath, waiting to see if he’d tell her no again. Finally, he said, “But we could put in some hidden steps and handrails so you can get into the carriage more easily. Between that and the harness, you’ll be safe.”
Juniper grinned. “Perfect.”
Sadie closed her folder with a snap. “Great. Let’s get that on the schedule.”
The herd inside Juniper’s stomach felt like it had turned into a fireworks display.
She was going to do the biggest horse stunt of the entire season.
She would show them she was the best.
Chapter 7
The Big Stunt
That night, Juniper and Rose celebrated the best way they knew how: by feeding apple slices to Able and their other horses, then going over the plans
for the stunt. Rose was as happy as Juniper that the show was going to do their idea, and Juniper soaked in all her smiles.
“You’re going to be a bigger star than Alicia and Caleb and all the other actors,” Rose said, laughing as she spun in the entranceway of the stables.
“I just want to be the best stunt rider,” said Juniper. “To have Dad and Ben and Marcus and everyone say that I’m as good as Leigh is. Then they can never make me leave the show.”
Rose shook her head. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Able nudged Juniper’s shoulder, and she sat on the ground beside him. “It is a pretty dangerous stunt, though. Don’t you think?”
“You can do it. I know you can.” Rose smiled. “You are my brilliant sister. Now, what dress do you think they’ll make you wear?”
The next day, when Juniper and Able arrived at the studio, she couldn’t stop smiling. She was nervous, but nothing could make her sad. Soon, she would be rehearsing the big stunt with Ben, and she was excited to get started.
As her dad helped Able walk off the trailer, Caleb came running up to them. “Hey, Juniper, I heard about the stunt. It sounds incredible. I can’t wait to see you do it.”
Juniper beamed. “Thanks.”
“What stunt?” her dad asked as Caleb ran to the studio. Juniper bit her lip.
“I got assigned a stunt for an upcoming episode,” she said, trying to keep her voice as even as possible.
Her father raised his eyebrows. “Sounds like it’s a pretty big deal.”
Juniper shrugged. “Just another stunt.”
Her dad squeezed her shoulder. “I can’t wait to see it. Okay, I’m not going to hang around the set today. The other animal handlers are doing great with Able, and you don’t need your old dad cramping your style.”
He winked, then took a deep breath. “Listen, Junebug, I’m sorry I didn’t trust you more about doing stunts. I just . . .” He rubbed her arm. “I just want you to be safe.”
Tears welled in Juniper’s eyes, but she blinked them away. “I know, Dad.”
“Good. You’re doing really great. Your mom and I are both very proud.”
Juniper smiled. “Thank you. Of Able, too, right?”
“Of course! He’s the other star in the family.”
Able nickered.
“All right,” Juniper’s dad said, “I’m going to check on Lucky at Paramount. If you need anything, you call me, okay? And stay safe.”
“Safe,” Juniper said at the same time as him, and grinned. “I will.”
Her dad laughed and ruffled her hair.
Rehearsal had been scheduled for early that morning. First, Juniper worked with Able, while Ben, Marcus, and Leigh looked on. From Able’s back, Juniper practiced crawling down his side, under his belly, and up his other side over and over. She had wondered if the trick would be different with the English saddles used on the show, but she got used to it quickly. Their audience applauded every time.
Leigh looked especially impressed. “You have to teach me how you do that,” she said during a break.
“It’s easy,” Juniper said, feeling proud that she could help Leigh. “Well, not easy—it takes a lot of practice and concentration, but you can do it.”
After lunch, Able got a rest and Juniper practiced safely jumping from the stirrups of Zombie and onto a horse about Able’s size. This was harder, and they were just standing still. Juniper knew she’d have to practice a lot to be able to safely land on Able’s back while they’re galloping.
That night, Juniper was exhausted. “I feel like I’ve never worked this hard in my life,” she told Able when she brushed him. “How about you?”
He nuzzled her with his nose, and she kissed it lightly.
“It’s going to be so worth it, though,” she said. “You’ll see.”
But she tried to silence the herd in her tummy. Now that they’d started working on the stunt, Juniper had seen just how much had to be done—and how big the stunt really was. No matter how nervous she felt, Juniper stayed determined to do this stunt perfectly.
The next few weeks continued like this. Every day, Juniper worked hard with Able on different parts of the stunt. While Able was resting, she worked with other horses on other parts of the stunt. When she wasn’t working on the stunt, she went to class, and while Mr. Vela tutored them in things like social studies, she’d draw a stick figure doing all the moves she had to do in the stunt.
Every night, Rose snuck into Juniper’s room for an update, but Juniper was so tired, she usually fell asleep in the middle of a sentence.
Finally, they were a week away from shooting. Juniper had made a lot of improvement jumping off Zombie and onto Able, pretending she was getting shot at by arrows, then crawling around Able’s saddle and under his belly to get to the other side.
The last part of the puzzle for Juniper was perfecting how she had to jump onto the carriage. Ben had had the production team create hidden places for her feet and hands, kind of like a ladder, at the front of the carriage. By itself, it was easy to climb up.
But when Juniper put the climb with all the other actions she had to do, it was difficult. There was so much to remember. The timing had to be perfect. And even with the harness Ben had created to keep Juniper safe, having the horses and the carriage around her was scary.
During rehearsals, little things started to go wrong. Juniper would put her foot in the wrong place, would get tangled in the reins, or would not be able to get the harness clear of the saddle to allow her to reach the carriage.
The day before the stunt was scheduled to be shot for the episode, Ben shook his head as he watched. Marcus and Leigh stood with him near the set, and both looked worried. The herd in Juniper’s tummy was a full-on stampede, her palms were sweaty, and she missed grabbing the reins.
“Sorry!” she shouted. “It’s hard to get around this harness. I’ll try it again.”
“No. Come in, Juniper,” Ben said. “You need to take a break.”
“I can get it! I just—”
“It’s time to stop.” Ben walked over to where Juniper was untangling herself from the horses’ ropes. “You’re young, and you can only work for limited hours at a time. It’s the law, kiddo.”
“But we’re shooting the stunt tomorrow,” Juniper pleaded.
“I know.” Ben swallowed. “If we need more time, we’ll just have to push the schedule.”
Push the schedule! Juniper didn’t want to be the reason for the show getting behind. But the animal handler was already taking the horses to get water in the stables, and Ben was heading to the studio with Marcus.
“Come on,” Leigh told Juniper. “I’ll walk you to costume so you can change before class.”
Juniper watched Able walking with the animal handler, wishing she could go to the stables, too. She felt like a failure and didn’t want to be with anyone except her horse.
“I’ve had a hard time with stunts before.” Leigh shuffled her feet, waiting for Juniper.
Juniper glanced at her, then started the trek to the costuming area. “I feel like I’m letting everyone down.” Juniper pinched her eyes closed to keep back the tears that were threatening to roll down her cheeks.
“Oh, I know,” Leigh said. “It’s horrible. You feel like you’re the worst stuntperson in the world.”
“I know, right?” Juniper sighed.
“You’re going to get it, though,” Leigh said, smiling. “This is a really hard stunt, and I know I couldn’t do it. But you’re so close.”
“You think so?”
“For sure. You’ll do great tomorrow.”
Juniper pressed her lips together. “I hope so.”
The rest of the day went by slowly. Juniper barely heard a word Mr. Vela said in their science lesson, or Ben said in training, or her father said when he picked up Juniper
and Able that evening. Every time her dad asked her a question, she nodded and answered, “Fine.” But she didn’t feel fine at all.
Lying in bed that night, she logged on to the Hoofprints Horse Riding Forum. Instead of looking at the funny and inspiring threads she usually loved, she went to the section where riders posted if they needed help.
JuniRidR: I’ve got a big stunt to do tomorrow, and I haven’t been nailing it in rehearsals. What do I do? I don’t want to fail.
PonyItUp: I have that problem all the time in rehearsals for a show.
JuniRidR: What do you do?
PonyItUp: When showtime comes, it always falls into place. I’m more focused when all the people are watching and I’m under all those lights. That adrenaline thing, I guess. You’ll get it tomorrow.
JuniRidR: I don’t know. This is . . .
Juniper didn’t know what to write next. She wasn’t going to be in a horse-riding show in an arena like PonyItUp was talking about. Could she count on her adrenaline magically making everything in the stunt go right? She deleted what she’d started to type.
Then another message popped up, and Juniper gasped.
CRains#1: You can do it, JuniRidR! Believe in yourself. I believe in you.
Claudia Rains had posted on her question. Claudia Rains said she could do the stunt!
Juniper soaked this in. She posted a quick thank-you message, then logged off so that Claudia Rains’s message would be the last thought in her head.
The best rider on the forum, the rider with the most championship wins, believed in her.
Juniper just had to believe in herself.
Before she closed her eyes to sleep, she looked over at Able’s stable through her bedroom window.
“We’ll do great tomorrow, Able. I promise.”
The next day, Juniper stayed close to Able until Ben and Sadie were ready to do the big stunt. Finally, Marcus came to the stable to get them.
“They’re ready,” he said, breathless from running from the set. “You?”
Juniper sucked in a breath. She put her forehead on Able’s cheek. “We’re going to be the best, Able. Well, you already are, but after this stunt, I will be, too,” she whispered. “I love you. I’ll protect you.”
Hollywood: Juniper and Able Page 5
