Blue Ribbon Summer

by Catherine Hapka

  “Huh?” Livi blinked at her.

  “My mom’s a real estate agent,” Brooke explained. “A couple of months ago, she had a client who lost his job and needed money. He had a huge property but didn’t want to sell it, so instead Mom worked out a deal where he just sold the development rights—it’s kind of complicated, and to be honest, I didn’t pay that much attention when she talked about it, but basically I think someone paid him not to ever subdivide his land. If he sells it, it has to go in one big piece, and it can’t ever have lots more houses built on it or whatever.”

  Paige’s eyes lit up. “Robin could totally do that!” she cried, waving a hand around so vigorously that Foxy took a step away, eyeing her with suspicion. “She has a large property!”

  “Exactly.” Brooke grinned at her.

  Hannah was frowning. “Wait, but who would want to pay for something like that?”

  “Well . . .” Brooke thought back, trying to recall the details of her mother’s boring dinner-table talk. “I’m pretty sure it was a conservation group or something like that? Like, someone who wants to keep more large properties and open space and stuff in our town.”

  “Okay.” Hannah still sounded unconvinced. “But how do we find a group like that before next weekend?”

  Brooke’s shoulders slumped. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I don’t know,” she said.

  “Could you call your mom?” Paige suggested. “Maybe she could hook you up with the same group.”

  “I don’t think that would work,” Brooke said. “I’m pretty sure that group was local. Maybe we could ask around to see if there’s a group like that here, though.”

  “Ask who?” Hannah said. “We can’t ask Robin or she’ll know we’re onto her.”

  “What about the boarders?” Paige suggested.

  “They’d probably tell Robin.” Livi shrugged. “And we don’t really know anyone else, except maybe that weird old lady Brooke met.”

  “Yeah.” Hannah snorted. “And she doesn’t exactly look like the type who’d know lots of rich people with money to spend on other people’s land. I mean, did you see that sweater she was wearing? It looked like it was probably knitted by, like, Betsy Ross or someone.”

  Livi giggled. “Yeah.”

  Brooke winced. Did the other girls even know how they sounded sometimes? Maybe this was pointless. How could a bunch of wealthy girls even understand this kind of problem?

  Then she gasped as she realized she’d just hit on the solution. “Your parents!” she blurted out. “That’s who we should ask!”

  “Our parents?” Paige echoed. Hannah and Livi just looked confused.

  “Uh-huh. Your parents probably all have, like, investments and stuff, right?” Brooke said.

  Hannah shrugged. “Sure, I guess. Why?”

  “Why not see if they want to invest in some real estate?” Brooke grinned. “Specifically, this real estate. Maybe one of them will want to buy Robin’s development rights!”

  “Or all of them.” Hannah’s dark eyes were thoughtful as she rubbed Gideon’s nose. “We could get them to chip in, like one of the investment groups my dad does contracts for.”

  Paige gasped. “Genius!” she cried. “That way we’d all be, like, part owners of Pocomoke Stables!”

  “Cool,” Livi said. “Do you think Robin would give us a discount on camp?”

  Hannah shot her an annoyed look. “So not the point, Livi.”

  “No, this could really work, guys.” Paige looked excited. “We should get the olders to talk to their families too.”

  “Good idea.” Brooke smiled at her. “The more the merrier, right?”

  “Right.” Paige grinned back. “Let’s all try to get in touch with our parents as soon as we can, okay?”

  Hannah pulled out her phone. “I’m sure mine have already left for their usual Saturday night dinner party right now. But I’ll text them to call me first thing tomorrow.”

  “Well, it’s unanimous.” Paige collapsed at the dinner table on Sunday evening, glancing at Robin and Preston to make sure they weren’t close enough to hear her. “My parents finally got back to me.”

  The bite of bread Brooke had just taken suddenly tasted like dirt in her mouth. “No go, huh?” she said.

  Paige just shook her head and reached for the water pitcher.

  “I can’t believe it.” Livi slumped in her chair. “This totally should have worked!”

  Brooke winced as Preston let out a bark of laughter from the other end of the table. She didn’t know what he and Robin were talking about, but Preston had been in a good mood all afternoon. That couldn’t be a good sign, especially now that the girls’ plan had officially failed. Hannah, Livi, and Paige had contacted their parents about investing in Pocomoke Stables. So had most of the older campers. But none of the parents were willing to consider the idea.

  Brooke was still thinking about it as the girls went to check on their horses after dinner. As they entered the barn, Livi reached over and gave Brooke’s arm a squeeze.

  “Don’t look so sad, Brooke,” she said. “It was worth a shot, right?”

  “I guess.” Brooke glanced around the tidy room at the contented horses snoozing or eating hay in their stalls. It was hard to believe all this would soon be gone.

  “No, she’s right, Brooke,” Paige agreed. “It’s amazing how hard you’re trying to save this place.”

  “Yeah.” Livi giggled. “No wonder you convinced your parents to take you to the pony penning to get Foxy! You totally know how to get stuff done.”

  Hannah nodded. “Like the way you and your friends got your Pony Post website up and running,” she said, wandering over to pat a horse that was hanging its head out over the stall door. “Not everyone could do something like that. Especially someone our age.”

  “Yay, Brooke!” Livi cheered, pumping her fist. “She makes things happen!”

  Brooke just stared at the three of them, astounded. Did they really see her that way, as someone who got stuff done? She knew plenty of people like that—her parents, her Pony Post friends—but she’d never thought of herself as one of them.

  Paige threw an arm around Brooke’s shoulders. “Anyway, whatever happens with Robin and the stable, I’m glad you came to Camp Pocomoke this year,” she said.

  “Me too,” Hannah put in. “If not for you, I still wouldn’t have tried bareback riding.”

  Livi smiled at Brooke. “If a miracle happens and Robin decides not to sell after all, I hope you come back next year.”

  “Definitely!” Paige and Hannah chorused.

  Brooke was touched. She didn’t have much in common with these girls other than horses. Did they really like her? Maybe that wasn’t so strange—after all, she realized she liked all of them. Yes, they were a lot different from her. But so what? Her Pony Post friends were different from her too. That was just part of what made their friendship work so well.

  “I don’t know about next year,” Brooke said, thinking about how much camp cost. What were the chances her stepfather would sell another expensive car at just the right time?

  “What do you mean?” Paige sounded disappointed.

  Looking at the other girls’ faces, Brooke decided it didn’t matter. Pocomoke Stables probably wasn’t even going to be around next summer, so why not play along? One corner of her mouth twitched up in a half smile.

  “I mean, there are only four bunks,” she said. “If your friend Lauren comes back, I don’t want to end up sleeping on the floor.”

  Livi laughed. “No way!” she said. “We’ll just kick Hannah out to the olders’ cabin to make room.”

  “Hey!” Hannah sounded outraged. “Forget it, I’m not listening to Jenna talk about herself for two weeks straight.” She smiled at Brooke. “We’ll just make Robin put in an air mattress or something.”

  “Ooh, dibs on the air mattress!” Livi exclaimed. “That’s got to be more comfortable than those bunks.”

  Brooke laughed. “Maybe we ca
n draw straws for the air mattress.”

  “See?” Paige hugged her again. “Brooke really does know how to make things work!”

  “Yeah. And you know what? I’m not giving up yet.” Brooke looked around at the beautiful barn and the sleek, contented horses. “We still have five more days, right? That should be enough time to think up a new plan.”

  By the time the younger campers gathered in the barn for their Tuesday afternoon riding lesson, they were frantic. “Anything?” Paige demanded as soon as they were all together. “Come on, guys. We have to think of something!”

  Brooke just shook her head. They’d spent the past day and a half brainstorming every chance they got. But so far, nobody had come up with a workable plan to save the stable.

  Livi looked just as gloomy as Brooke felt. “Maybe we should give up,” she said. “I mean, we’re just kids. What can we possibly do to—”

  She cut herself off as Robin hurried in. “Let’s move, people,” she said, pulling out her cell phone. “I’ve got a million things to do today, and we need to stay on schedule. I’ll see you in the ring shortly.”

  “Okay.” Hannah shot the other girls a worried glance.

  Brooke watched Robin disappear into the barn’s small office with her phone pressed to her ear. The stable owner had seemed distracted all day. Was that because she was thinking about the sale? She’d been on her phone a lot—was she working out the details with Preston’s friend?

  No, Brooke told herself. Robin told Preston she wouldn’t decide until camp was over. We still have time. We just have to think of something that will work!

  A few minutes later the girls were in the ring, warming up their horses. Robin hadn’t appeared yet, and nobody else was in sight except a boarder hand-grazing her horse on the other side of the driveway.

  “I wonder where Preston is?” Livi said as she rode past Brooke. “I haven’t seen him since lunch yesterday.”

  “Me neither.” Brooke nudged Foxy gently with one leg, steering her around a jump.

  “I hope he’s not in town today, like, preparing the paperwork to make the sale official,” Livi said.

  Paige heard her and rode closer. “No way,” she said. “Robin said she wasn’t going to make a decision until Saturday.”

  Livi shrugged. “Maybe he talked her into deciding sooner.”

  “Shh!” Brooke nodded toward the gate. “Robin’s here.”

  “All right, girls,” Robin said briskly, striding to the center of the ring. “The end-of-camp show is just three days away, and we still have work to do. Let’s begin by focusing on lateral work. You could all use some more practice on that.”

  “Yeah, we definitely want to do our best, since it’s probably our last show ever,” Livi blurted out. Her eyes immediately went wide, and she took a hand off the reins to cover her mouth. “Oops,” she mumbled.

  Robin tilted her head to the side. “Last show ever?” she said. “What are you talking about?”

  Livi pulled her hand away. “I don’t mean it’s our last show ever ever,” she said. “Just the last one here at camp.”

  “Zip it, Livi,” Hannah muttered.

  But Robin stepped closer, and Brooke could tell she was really focusing on them—maybe for the first time all day. “Hang on, is something going on that I should know about?” Robin asked. “Why do you all look so weird?”

  All four girls traded a glance. Brooke took a deep breath. “We know you’re thinking about selling the farm,” she said.

  “What?” Robin’s eyes widened in shock. “How did you find out?”

  “I overheard you talking to Preston last week,” Brooke admitted, clutching the reins so tightly that Foxy took a step backward. “It was an accident—I’m sorry.”

  “You can’t sell Pocomoke Stables to some horrible condo builder!” Paige cried.

  “Yeah,” Hannah agreed. “If you give us a little more time, we can help you come up with a plan. We’ve been thinking about it nonstop for like the past week, and—”

  “I know!” Livi blurted out. “Maybe you could try asking for money on the Internet—I heard that works sometimes.”

  “Hang on.” Robin held up a hand, and the girls fell silent. An odd little smile played over her face. “You can save your breath with the elaborate plans, girls. Because the place is already sold.”

  CHAPTER

  12

  BROOKE’S HEART SANK. “WHAT?” SHE blurted out.

  “No!” Livi cried

  Hannah shook her head, her expression stormy. “I can’t believe it,” she muttered. “Seriously, I can’t believe this!”

  Robin glanced over her shoulder at the driveway. Is she looking for Preston? Brooke wondered, feeling sick to her stomach. Her gaze was drawn to the horses in the pasture on the other side of the drive, and her eyes filled with tears. It was such a beautiful, peaceful scene. And soon . . .

  At that moment there was the roar of a motor, and then a car came up the driveway. It was a station wagon, so old and decrepit that Brooke couldn’t tell what color it had originally been—definitely nothing like Preston’s flashy red sports car.

  “Aha.” Robin smiled. “I think this will answer any questions you might have.”

  Brooke glanced at the other girls. They all looked mystified.

  Then Miss Alice climbed out of the car’s passenger seat. She spotted the group in the ring and waved, her cane dangling from her hand as she rushed over. Meanwhile, her nephew jumped out of the driver’s side.

  “Aunt Alice, wait!” he called. “The ground is so uneven, I don’t want you to fall. . . .”

  Miss Alice ignored him. She reached the fence and leaned her cane against it. “Sorry I’m late,” she told Robin. “My nephew drives like an old lady.”

  “No worries, you’re right on time.” Robin smiled at Brooke and the others. “Girls, I’d like to introduce you to the new co-owner of Pocomoke Stables, Miss Alice Foster.”

  “Co-owner?” Brooke echoed, confused. Visions of Miss Alice and Preston standing side by side, directing a line of bulldozers, flashed through her head.

  “That’s right.” Miss Alice sounded pleased. “Robin was kind enough to sell me a half share in this place. Of course, she’s the expert, so she’ll continue running it as she sees fit. But I’ll be here to get in her way and put my two cents in. It’ll give me something to do other than knock around my big old house.” She glanced toward the driveway. “Besides, the girls will love helping out around the barn.”

  Brooke looked that way too. Two teenagers had climbed out of the car by now. One was the girl she’d seen on the beach the first time she’d met Miss Alice. The other was a couple of years younger.

  “This place is awesome!” the younger teen exclaimed, rushing over to join Miss Alice by the fence. “Hi, Ms. Montgomery.”

  “Hello, Nicole.” Robin smiled at the girl. “I’m glad you and your sister could finally come over to see the place. Maybe my campers can give you a tour after their lesson.” She glanced at Brooke and the others. “Nicole and Natalie did some riding back in California, and they’re hoping to start up again.”

  “Hold on,” Hannah said. “Who are they? What’s going on? I don’t get it.”

  “Keep up, girl,” Miss Alice replied, with a flash of the crankiness Brooke had seen during their first meeting. “I’m buying into the business, and my nephew’s daughters are going to learn the value of hard work by helping out in exchange for their riding lessons. It’s a good thing all around: keeps the neighborhood safe from development. Helps out a neighbor. Gives me something to do with some extra money I had lying around.” She smiled at Brooke. “Meeting Brooke and Foxy reminded me how much I used to love being around horses. And when Brooke mentioned that Robin was considering selling this place . . .”

  “Yes.” Robin raised an eyebrow at Brooke. “Normally, I’d be annoyed that she shared something like that. But in this case, it worked out for the best.”

  Brooke ducked her head. “Sorr
y. I wasn’t trying to blab about your business, honest.”

  “Yes, give her a break,” Miss Alice advised Robin. “I scared it out of her. I tend to have that effect on young people.”

  Natalie, the older teen, had joined her sister by now. “Yeah, you might not want to hang around when new campers show up, Great-Aunt Alice,” she teased her with a grin. “You’ll scare all Robin’s business away!”

  Miss Alice snorted. “Teenagers—so disrespectful these days!” But her blue eyes were twinkling as she winked at Brooke.

  “Wow.” Livi glanced from Miss Alice’s ratty sweater to her battered car and back again. “Um, so you’re spending all your money to save this place?”

  “All my money?” Miss Alice snorted again. “Hardly!”

  “Miss Alice is one of the wealthiest landowners in the area,” Robin informed Livi and the others. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

  Livi looked sheepish, and Brooke felt the same. She never would have guessed that Miss Alice was rich either.

  Dan had joined his daughters at the fence by then. “So this is the famous Brooke, huh?” he asked, smiling at her. “Thank you, young lady. I haven’t seen Aunt Alice so happy in years. And it’s all thanks to you.”

  “Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Daniel.” Miss Alice rolled her eyes. “But you’re right, Brooke is the one who made all this happen.”

  Robin laughed. “Even if she didn’t mean to.”

  “Yay, Brooke!” Livi cheered so loudly that her horse sidestepped, putting his ears back. “It’s a good thing you came to camp this year!”

  “Yeah,” Paige added. “I can’t believe how perfectly everything is working out for everyone!”

  “Well, almost everyone,” Robin put in. “Poor Preston isn’t thrilled with this new turn of events, I’m afraid.” She shrugged. “I suppose he’ll get over it eventually.”

  Brooke glanced at the other girls. That explained why Preston hadn’t been around all day!

  Dan checked his watch. “I hate to rush things,” he said apologetically. “But I’d really like to get the paperwork moving before the end of the day. Robin, do you have a moment to go over everything?”