Full Gallop

by Bonnie Bryant

  Callie laughed. “Sounds like one to avoid,” she said, tossing her magazine onto the coffee table. “What about the restaurant? Did you like it, Lisa? Mom and Dad know the owner, so we’ve been there a few times since it opened.”

  “Yes,” Lisa said, doing her best to maintain the lighthearted tone. “We ran into him there. And the food was wonderful. Really good.” She was feeling better since her talk with Scott outside the restaurant, but she still wasn’t sure what to think about the future. At the movie theater they had run into so many of Scott’s friends and acquaintances from school that Lisa had lost count. Even his calculus teacher had made a point of coming over to say hello and introduce her husband and children.

  It’s just not going to change that much, no matter how many times we discuss it, Lisa thought as she took a seat beside Callie on the couch. Scott can’t change who he is. And I wouldn’t really want him to, I guess.

  Doing her best to push all that out of her mind, she smiled at Callie. “So how are things going with Scooby?” she asked as Scott hurried out of the room to fetch them something to drink. “Are you managing to get some training done in spite of the cold weather?”

  “Definitely,” Callie replied eagerly, her blue eyes lighting up. “It’s going great. He’s the perfect partner for me—sometimes I think he can read my mind.”

  “That’s great,” Lisa said sincerely. After everything Callie had been through since moving to Willow Creek, she deserved some happiness for a change.

  First there was that horrible car accident, Lisa thought. Losing Fez. Not to mention losing full use of her own body for so many months. And then, just when she finally recovered from all that, along came George. She shook her head, still amazed at how far that situation had gone without any of them realizing it. She was also amazed that Callie had survived it all with her spirit and her enthusiasm for riding intact.

  Scott returned with a tray of chips and sodas. As he set it down and took his seat in the easy chair across from the two girls, he started telling Callie more about the movie. Lisa sat back, sipping her ginger ale and smiling at his dead-on impression of the lead actor.

  This is nice, she thought, glancing around the quiet room with its comfortable furnishings and cozy lamplight. This is really nice. And the best part is, there’s just about zero chance that hordes of people are going to come rushing over, wanting to talk to Scott.

  She felt guilty for thinking that way, but she just couldn’t help it. How did Scott stand it? Didn’t he ever get tired of being the center of attention?

  And what about Callie? Lisa wondered, glancing over at the other girl, who was laughing at whatever Scott had just said. She’s such a private person—how did she handle growing up in such a public family? I’m not sure I could have managed it and turned out as nice and normal as she did.

  When she thought about it that way, she realized she probably shouldn’t be so surprised that Callie had survived all her problems that year. She had to be a strong person to maintain her own personality in the constantly burning spotlight of her father’s career. The accident, George—they had just been two more tests of that strength. And maybe not even the most difficult she’d faced.

  Lisa felt a sudden deep rush of gratitude toward her own parents. They might not be perfect—far from it, in fact—but they’d done the best they knew how.

  Okay, so maybe I could have done without the divorce, Lisa thought, recalling those dark, lonely days after her father had moved out. And maybe Mom can be a little pushy sometimes, like when she insisted I had to learn everything from pottery to piano to ballet because she thought it would turn me into a proper young lady. But on the other hand, if she hadn’t pushed me into riding lessons, I might never have become friends with Stevie and Carole. If I’d never met them, it’s unlikely I would’ve met Alex, either—and no matter how that turned out, I could never regret falling in love with him. And of course, it was at Pine Hollow that I got to know Scott, too, and Callie.… I can’t imagine not having all of them in my life.

  She glanced over at Scott, realizing with some consternation that he was gazing right back at her. “Penny for your thoughts,” he said. “You look like you’re miles away.”

  “Don’t be so nosy,” Callie told her brother. “She doesn’t have to tell you everything. What if she’s thinking how weird you look with that big booger hanging out of your nose?”

  Lisa laughed along with Callie as Scott quickly rubbed his nose, checking for the fictional booger. Once again, she couldn’t help thinking what a nice, everyday scene this was, especially for a decidedly unusual family like the Foresters.

  Okay, so maybe my family really is normal compared to the Foresters, she thought. Or at least as normal—whatever that means—as anyone else’s.

  Leaving aside her philosophical thoughts, Lisa spent the next half hour chatting with Scott and Callie about this and that and generally having a great time. But eventually she caught herself yawning every few minutes and realized it was getting late.

  “I should probably get going,” she said reluctantly, standing up and setting her empty soda glass on the coffee table. “Otherwise I might turn into a pumpkin.”

  “I’ll take you home.” Scott hopped up and grabbed his car keys from the table.

  Outside, Lisa shivered slightly in the cold January air. Even though she lived only a couple of blocks from the Foresters, it was too chilly to walk that night. Wrapping her arms around herself, she followed Scott to his car.

  They chatted casually during the short drive, discussing the movie they’d seen, Callie’s riding, and other innocuous topics. When Scott pulled to the curb, they both fell silent. He climbed out and helped her out of the car, then walked her up to her front door.

  “Well, here we are,” Lisa said. “Thanks a lot. I had fun.”

  “Me too.” Scott turned to face her. “And I’m the one who should be thanking you, Lisa. I appreciate your putting up with me. I know it’s probably not easy.”

  Lisa shrugged, gazing up into his serious blue eyes. “It’s not so bad,” she whispered as Scott bent to kiss her.

  Okay, now that was nice, Lisa thought, still a little weak-kneed from the kiss as she let herself into the house several minutes later. Makes me glad I decided to stick it out with him after all.

  She sighed happily, glancing over her shoulder to watch him walk back to his car. Her relationship with Scott might not be easy, but she was starting to think it really might be worth the extra effort. After all, being herself had never been particularly easy, either, and she thought she’d turned out pretty well.

  “Mom?” she said, turning and seeing her mother hurrying toward her from the direction of the kitchen. “What are you still doing up?”

  “Waiting for you, of course,” Mrs. Atwood replied with an eager smile. “How was your evening, dear? What was the restaurant like? Did Scott pull out your chair for you? I bet he did. You must tell me absolutely everything!”

  Lisa bit back a sigh. Shrugging off her coat, she did her best to smile appeasingly at her mother. “Um, can it wait until tomorrow?” she asked. “I’m bushed.”

  “Oh.” Mrs. Atwood looked disappointed. “Well, all right, dear. I’ll see you at breakfast.”

  “Okay.” Lisa hurried toward the stairs before her mother could change her mind. “See you in the morning.”

  Whew, she thought as she took the steps two at a time. Scott had better be worth it!

  SIX

  Callie was feeling indecisive when she walked into Pine Hollow on Sunday morning. Maybe I should work with Scooby in the ring today, she thought as she stopped by the student locker room to grab her boots. But we just did that yesterday—I don’t want him to get bored. It’s a little cold for anything too strenuous, though, even a long, slow distance ride in the woods like we did on Friday. But I suppose we could go for a short hack or something.

  She chewed her lip as she pulled on her boots, trying to come up with a plan. She was so deep in tho
ught she didn’t even realize that Stevie had entered the room until she called her name.

  “Earth to Callie!” Stevie said teasingly. “Come in, Callie.”

  “Oh!” Callie glanced up with an apologetic smile. “Hi. Sorry. I was just thinking about something.”

  “Obviously,” Stevie said with a grin, leaning over to grab a pair of gloves out of her cubby. “So what’s new?”

  Callie wriggled her toes as she finally yanked her boot the rest of the way on. “Nothing much. What are you up to today? More combined training stuff?”

  Stevie shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “Actually, I’m sort of in the mood for a nice relaxing trail ride. What do you say? Want to come along?”

  Callie smiled. “You know, that’s the best idea I’ve heard all morning. I’m in.”

  “Great! I’ll meet you at the lucky horseshoe in ten.”

  Callie nodded, then leaned forward to grab her hard hat out of her cubby. “See you then.”

  Stevie hurried off in the direction of her horse’s stall, while Callie headed for the tack room. This will be fun, Callie thought. A nice relaxed outing will be good for Scooby—and for me.

  She smiled, thinking how foreign that idea would have been to her a year ago. Before moving to Willow Creek, she had been so driven to win that she had rarely bothered to go on a simple trail ride with no particular training purpose. Somehow, though, coming to Willow Creek and getting to know her new friends had caused a real shift in her attitude. So had her forced hiatus from training after the accident.

  My old barnmates back at Greensprings Stable probably wouldn’t even recognize me now, she thought. But that’s okay. I think I like me better this way.

  It didn’t take her long to groom and tack up her horse. As she was reaching for the bridle, she realized she’d grabbed her regular gloves instead of her warmer winter ones. “Oops,” she told Scooby. “I’ll be right back.”

  Returning the bridle to its hook, she headed toward the student locker room. On her way back to the stall, she was interrupted by a plea for help from a younger rider trying to bridle a sedate but slightly stubborn school horse named Congo. The tall bay gelding was generally easy to handle, but once in a while he seemed to realize his vast height advantage over the younger riders, and he would decide that if he held his head up in the air long enough, he might not have to go to work that day. After a little coaxing, however, Callie managed to get the bit in his mouth and the headstall over his ears. Leaving the younger girl to buckle the now resigned horse’s straps, she hurried back to her own horse.

  Soon she had Scooby’s bridle on. As she led him out of his stall, she heard a shrill voice coming from the direction of the entryway. Callie didn’t catch the exact words, but as she rounded the corner she saw a strange girl facing Max down with a fiery glare in her hazel eyes. She realized this must be the new boarder. The younger girl was dressed in tall leather boots, name-brand breeches, and an expensive-looking down overcoat. Callie guessed that she was headed out for a hack with the girl she’d just helped.

  “… and nobody ever said a thing about it at my old barn!” Kelsey snapped.

  Max’s expression was impassive as he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Kelsey,” he said firmly. “This is my barn, and those are my rules. No exceptions.”

  “What’s going on?” Stevie muttered as she came up behind Callie, leading Belle behind her.

  Before Callie could respond, Kelsey spoke up again. “Well, if you won’t let me wear this, what am I supposed to do?” she demanded, waving the black velvet cap she was holding. For the first time, Callie noticed that it wasn’t a proper safety helmet, but rather an old-fashioned, pre-safety-standards hunt cap with no harness—the kind the tack stores labeled ITEM OF APPAREL ONLY because they offered little or no protection in the case of a fall.

  “There are plenty of approved helmets in the tack room,” Max said. “You can borrow one of those until you get your own. I’m sure there’s one that will fit you.”

  “Ugh!” Kelsey exclaimed. “Those ugly things? They’ll make me look like a bubblehead!”

  At that Stevie let out a snort loud enough to make both Kelsey and Max glance over at her. “Um, excuse me,” she said sheepishly. “Don’t mind us. Just passing through.”

  Hiding a smile, Callie followed her toward the door. Behind them she heard Max begin a lecture on the benefits of an approved safety helmet. Judging by his tone of voice, she suspected that Kelsey would be stuck listening to him for quite a while.

  That’s good, Callie thought. It seems she could use a little discipline. Especially if what Scott told me yesterday is true …

  Outside, she and Stevie mounted and then headed across the stable yard at a walk, allowing their horses to choose the pace as they warmed up. Because it was Sunday, the construction equipment lay silent, awaiting the return of the workers on Monday.

  “You know, it makes me tired just looking at that construction stuff,” Callie said, glancing over at a large pile of cinder blocks and imagining how much it must weigh. “It really makes me glad we’re riding today instead of having to go out and work for a living. Or even spending the day doing homework or something.”

  “Yeah, but it isn’t like we’re just goofing off here,” Stevie commented as Belle paused to rub her nose on one knee. “Max always says every time you ride a horse, you’re training it.” She grinned. “So that’s what we’re doing. We’re hard at work training.”

  Callie laughed. “Actually, though, you’re right,” she said. “If we seek out a few hills and maybe some other challenging terrain, our horses will definitely benefit. Now that you’re getting into eventing, you have to worry about conditioning and that sort of thing more than ever. Just like me.”

  “You know, that’s true.” Stevie smiled. “And the best part of it is, we can gossip while we condition! Starting with the new brat in town, Kelsey What’s-er-Name, and her fancy Thoroughbred.”

  “Nice horse,” Callie said blandly, wondering whether to tell Stevie what she’d heard. Scott hadn’t really said it was a secret.

  “Not-so-nice kid, though,” Stevie said. “Talk about a prima donna. She won’t last long here or I miss my guess. I can’t believe Max let her bully him into letting her move in early instead of waiting like everyone else.”

  Callie bit her lip thoughtfully. “Hmmm. I’m not so sure she bullied him,” she said, leaning forward to flip a stray section of Scooby’s mane back into place. “I think he felt sorry for her.”

  “Huh?” Stevie cocked her head at Callie in surprise. “What are you talking about? Last I noticed, Max doesn’t waste his pity on spoiled princesses like that.”

  “True.” Callie shrugged. “But Kelsey might not be quite as much of a princess as you think.”

  “What do you mean?” Stevie took both reins in one hand as she reached down to adjust her left stirrup.

  Callie glanced over her shoulder at the stable building. “Okay, don’t go spreading this around too much,” she said. “But Scott heard a few things about Kelsey from Veronica.”

  “Veronica diAngelo?” Stevie made a face. “It figures she’s connected to Kelsey somehow. They’re two of a kind.”

  Callie smiled. Even though she’d lived in Willow Creek for only a short time, she knew that Stevie and Veronica, an eleventh-grade classmate who had ridden at Pine Hollow in her younger years, got along about as well as a Hatfield and a McCoy. “Well, anyway,” she said blandly, “I think their parents know each other or something. I guess Veronica’s parents were the ones who told Kelsey about Pine Hollow.”

  Stevie shrugged. “Okay,” she said. “So what’s the punch line? What did Veronica tell Scott?”

  “It seems Kelsey’s parents got divorced recently,” Callie said. “And it was pretty bitter. Kelsey’s mom had to go out and get a job for the first time ever, and she doesn’t have much money. Kelsey’s dad will buy presents for his daughter—like Flame, for instance, or a fancy tack trunk and all the
gadgets that go with it—but he won’t pay much actual child support because he doesn’t want his ex to have her hands on any of his money, even if it’s supposed to be for Kelsey.”

  “Wow.” Stevie frowned. “That’s low.”

  “Yeah.” Callie shifted her weight to steer Scooby around a large rock in their path. “Anyway, that’s why Kelsey’s here. They couldn’t afford the fancy hunter barn where she was boarding Flame before this.”

  Stevie pursed her lips suspiciously. “Why not? If Daddy bought her the horse, shouldn’t he pay the boarding bills?”

  “Don’t ask me.” Callie rolled her eyes. “I’m guessing Daddy doesn’t have a whole lot of common sense, at least when it comes to horses. Kelsey could have paid her boarding bill for months for the price of all the junk he bought her; like space-age gel pads, a bucket warmer, monogrammed custom chaps, and all the rest of it.”

  “No kidding,” Stevie said, leaning forward to pat her horse. “And I’ll bet her saddle cost more than Belle did.” But she sounded more subdued than she had earlier. “Anyway, I guess that would explain why she acts like such a snot all the time. She’s, like, overcompensating. Showing off her expensive stuff so nobody realizes she’s hurting. Trying to make friends any way she can, thinking her bragging is going to win people over.”

  “Definitely. And you know Max—he has an awfully soft heart under his gruff exterior,” Callie pointed out. “I’m sure he saw right through Kelsey’s whole act right away and that’s why he let her move in early. He probably thought this place would be good for her right now.”

  Stevie nodded, though she seemed distracted. “You know, I wonder if that’s what Maureen is doing, too.”

  Callie blinked. “Maureen?” she repeated. “What do you mean? You think she’s a secret softie, too?”

  “No, I mean maybe she’s a little like Kelsey,” Stevie said. “Like, cluelessly trying to fit in the only way she knows how. In Maureen’s case, instead of bragging, she just flirts all the time and makes obnoxious jokes and comments.”

  “Hmmm.” Callie didn’t say so, but she wasn’t sure she agreed with that theory. The more she saw of Maureen, the more she thought the new stable hand could be real trouble. But she wasn’t sure why she thought so—it was just a feeling, a sort of mild tingle on the back of her neck—so she kept quiet. “Hey, but back to Kelsey, I guess no matter how much sympathy Max has for her, it’s not going to stop him from yelling at her for stupid stuff like wearing that ridiculous cardboard-and-velvet hat she was waving around just now.”