Full Gallop

by Bonnie Bryant

  She let herself into the stall, putting up the stall chain so that she could reach through to dip her sponge into the bucket just outside. As she began sponging off her horse, she smiled as she realized how philosophical she was feeling at the moment. Not to mention how good she was feeling about her life.

  Uh-oh. Her smile widened to a grin as she realized what was happening. Am I actually becoming …an optimist?

  “Are we here? Are you finally going to tell me where we’re going now?” Lisa asked as Scott hit his turn signal and then pulled off to the side of the road.

  “Not quite yet.” Scott turned off the engine and grinned at her.

  Lisa glanced out the car window, completely mystified. It was near dark, and they were parked along the shoulder of a lightly traveled local highway. There was nothing in sight but trees, weeds, and a handful of crows pecking at the stubbly fields.

  “It’s a little late for a nature hike,” Lisa commented. “A little cold, too. And I don’t think we’re dressed for it.”

  Scott grinned. “Don’t worry. We’re not getting out here. I just needed to pull over so that I could get this out.” He pulled a red-and-white bandanna out of an inside jacket pocket.

  “Um, I don’t think it matches your outfit.”

  “Its for you,” Scott said, unhooking his seat belt and turning to face her. “Now hold still a minute. I’m just going to blindfold you—”

  Lisa pulled back. “What? What do you mean, blindfold me?”

  “Don’t worry.” Scott lowered the bandanna and smiled pleadingly. “You’ll like this next surprise—just trust me, please. Okay?”

  Lisa hesitated, then nodded. I must be crazy, she thought as Scott carefully tied the bandanna over her eyes. But I do trust him. I really do. I probably shouldn’t—it seems like a lot of people get burned when they trust people. Callie trusted George and ended up with a restraining order against him. Carole trusted that jerk Cam and he broke her heart… Lisa jumped a little in surprise as the car’s motor roared to life.

  “You okay?” Scott asked. “If this is too weird, you can take it off. Really, it’s no big deal.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Lisa replied. “I’m fine.”

  I guess that’s what trust is, though, Lisa thought, leaning back against the leather seat as she felt the car accelerate. Knowing the risks and taking the chance anyway. If we already knew what people were going to do, what was going to happen all the time, there would be no need for trust at all.

  “Now, no cheating,” Scott said playfully. “I don’t want you focusing on every turn, trying to figure out where we’re going.”

  “Oh yeah?” Lisa replied, playing along even though she’d had no intention of doing any such thing. “Just try to stop me.”

  “Okay, you asked for it. I’m going to be forced to serenade you with a medley of favorite show tunes.” Scott launched into a string of mangled song fragments, only some of which actually qualified as show tunes. Since he seemed to know only three or four lines of lyrics to any given song, he merely switched gears whenever he ran out of words. Lisa was breathless with laughter by the time she felt the car slowing to a stop.

  “Are—are we there?” she gasped as she heard the ignition key click off.

  “Uh-huh. But you can’t take the blindfold off yet,” Scott said. “Just wait right there for a sec.”

  Lisa waited. She felt the car bounce slightly as Scott climbed out, then heard his door slam shut. Seconds later her own door opened and a chilly breeze ruffled her hair.

  “Give me your hand,” Scott said. “I’ll help you out, and then we just have a short walk.”

  Lisa did as he said, even managing to avoid snagging her panty hose on the car door. When she stood up, she felt pavement beneath her shoes. Stepping carefully and feeling a little silly, she allowed Scott to lead her away from the car.

  Now I know what a horse must feel like when it has to be blindfolded to get it on a trailer or something, she thought. It’s kind of scary not to be able to see where you’re going, but it also really is pretty easy to just go along with the person leading you. She smiled, making a mental note to mention that to Carole. She would definitely appreciate Lisa’s newfound insight into equine behavior.

  “Almost there,” Scott said after a moment. “There’s a little step up here, and then we’re going through a doorway.”

  “Then do I get to see where we are?” Lisa asked.

  “Absolutely.” Scott carefully steered her up the step he’d mentioned. Lisa almost tripped on the door’s threshold but caught herself quickly, stepping forward onto what felt like carpet. She didn’t hear the door close behind her but knew it must have, because the wind was gone and she suddenly felt much warmer. “Okay,” Scott said. “Here we are. You can look now.”

  Lisa reached up and pulled off the blindfold. She glanced around and blinked, for a moment still uncertain about where she was. Then she gasped. “This is the same restaurant!” she exclaimed. “The one we ate at Friday night.”

  “Uh-huh,” Scott confirmed.

  “But where is everybody?” Lisa looked around, confused. It was clearly the same place—the same velvet curtains, the same flickering candles, the same soft music playing over the speakers. But there wasn’t another soul in sight. Every table was empty, and there was no sign of even a single waiter.

  “That’s the surprise.” Scott put his arm around her. “The restaurant is closed on Mondays, and I persuaded Mr. Ganz to let me borrow the whole place tonight. Just for you. For us. With nobody else around to interrupt.”

  Lisa gasped, suddenly getting it. “You mean—”

  “It’s all ours,” Scott finished for her. “No waiters, no other customers, no owner coming over to chat. The food is all cooked and waiting for us, but the chef is gone.” He squeezed her around the shoulders, steering her toward the same table where they’d eaten that weekend. “That’s what the blindfold was all about,” he explained. “Not only did I want you to be surprised about where we were going, but I also didn’t want you to see another soul on our way here. Because tonight isn’t about anybody else—it’s just about the two of us. For this one evening at least, we’re going to pretend that we’re the only two people in the world.”

  Lisa couldn’t say a word as he pulled out a chair for her. She was completely blown away by his surprise. Nobody has ever done anything so sweet and romantic for me in my life, she thought. I wasn’t even sure Scott really understood what I was saying the other night. But I guess he really took it to heart. She glanced around at the empty restaurant. And he went to a whole lot of trouble to show me that.

  “Wait here,” Scott said when she was seated. “I’ll be back in a sec with our first course.”

  “O-Okay,” Lisa stammered. She watched as he hurried off toward the kitchen. She had already known that Scott liked her—he’d never made a secret of that—but this evening was so special that it made her realize that maybe this really could turn into something serious.

  It also made her realize something else. Scott isn’t Alex, she thought. And he’s never going to be. I knew that before this, but I’m not sure it really sank in until this very second. He’s never going to start acting like Alex, or thinking like Alex, or even treating me like Alex did. And maybe that’s okay. Maybe it’s even good.

  The thought made her slightly anxious. She had been so happy with Alex for so long, it was strange to think about striking off in a new direction. But she had to think that way if she wanted things to work out with Scott.

  Alex used to make me feel like the only other person in the world whenever we were together, Lisa thought, tapping her fingernails on the snowy linen tablecloth. That felt really good. But Scott is a totally different kind of person. Besides, he has all sorts of responsibilities and goals that Alex didn’t, which means he can’t just ignore his “public” even when we’re out on a date. It wouldn’t be fair for me to expect him to.

  She glanced around the restaurant again.
It really looked beautiful with candles flickering on every table, and once again she couldn’t help being touched and a little amazed that Scott had gone to such lengths to please her.

  I think maybe tonight is Scott’s way of showing me that he’s willing to do what it takes to make up for that other stuff in his life, she told herself. And if he’s willing to do all this fir me, maybe I can compromise a little for him. I can put up with the less-than-perfect parts of his life—I’m pretty sure he’s worth it.

  The sound of the kitchen door swinging open made her look up. Scott hurried back toward the table, carrying a tray of hors d’oeuvres along with two flutes of a sparkling beverage.

  “It’s not champagne—Mr. Ganz can be talked into a lot of things, but serving alcohol to minors isn’t one of the them.” Scott grinned at her as he set down the tray. “I hope ginger ale will do.”

  “Definitely,” Lisa replied.

  “Good.” Setting one glass down in front of her, Scott took his seat and lifted the other glass. “I’d like to start with a toast,” he said. “To our own personal, one-night-only deserted island.”

  “I’ll drink to that.” Lisa took a sip of ginger ale and smiled at him. “And thank you. This is really nice.” She gestured around at the room. “It really makes me think about things in a whole new way.”

  “A good way, I hope?” Scott’s words were light, but his eyes were serious as he gazed at her from across the table.

  Lisa nodded. “Yes, definitely good. I’ll tell you about it in a minute.” Pushing back her chair, she stood and walked around the table. “Right now, I just want to do this.”

  She leaned over and kissed him.

  NINE

  “Ho!” Carole said firmly as Jinx danced at the end of his lead rope. “Stand still, you goofy thing. After all the crazy stuff I’ve been showing you lately, you decide to spook at a falling leaf?”

  She shook her head, sighed, and set about bringing the pony back under control. It was Tuesday afternoon, and Carole had been working with Jinx in the outdoor schooling ring for about half an hour, reviewing some basics such as leading, backing up, and picking up his feet. The pony had done well at first, but now his attention was wandering. By the time he was standing calmly again, apparently convinced that the killer leaf wasn’t going to attack him after all, several minutes had passed. Hearing the stable door swing open on its slightly squeaky hinges, Carole glanced over her shoulder, hoping to see Ben or maybe Stevie, Lisa, or Callie. Before putting the pony away for the day, she wanted to do a little work on sacking out with a large tarp the workmen had tossed in the trash, but she knew it would be easier with an assistant.

  Unfortunately it wasn’t any of her friends emerging from the stable. “Kelsey,” Carole muttered under her breath as she spotted the younger girl. The new boarder was leading her horse carelessly by the reins, which were so loose Carole was afraid that Flame might step on them, especially since the sleek gelding was prancing nervously and tossing his head. Clearly the long lecture Carole had given her the other day about bridle safety had gone in one ear and out the other. Kelsey seemed unaware of her horse’s agitation as she yanked at the strap of her helmet, looking annoyed.

  “Stupid thing!” she snapped loudly enough for Carole to hear clearly, even though she was at least fifty yards away. “I should just throw it in the trash and forget it.”

  Carole gritted her teeth, half afraid that the younger girl would carry out her threat and try to ride out without a safety helmet. And that would mean I’d have to step in, remind her about Max’s safety rules—and probably get ignored, of course. Which would mean tracking down Max himself, and another huge hassle…

  Before she could finish the unpleasant thought, Kelsey jammed the helmet down on her head and finally snapped the safety strap. Carole let out a quiet sigh of relief and pretended to be busy adjusting Jinx’s halter as Kelsey yanked down her stirrups and led Flame—or whatever his name was that week—toward the mounting block. The last thing Carole wanted was to make the younger girl notice her and decide to start bossing her around. Again.

  I swear, if she starts whining one more time about how she never had to muck stalls at her old barn, I’m going to throw her in’ the manure pile, Carole thought. And then I’ll bring Jinx over to poop on her.

  To her continued relief, Kelsey hardly glanced in. her direction. Instead she swung herself into the saddle, jabbing the toe of her paddock boot into the gelding’s side as she did so. Wincing on the horse’s behalf, Carole bit her lip as Flame snorted, tossed his head high, and danced a half step to the side.

  “Hold still, you brat!” Kelsey snapped, yanking hard on the horse’s reins. Flame threw up his head again, his eyes rolling and his mouth gaping wide with discomfort, as his owner jammed her feet into the stirrups.

  Carole was tempted to march right over and drag Kelsey down out of the saddle—to poke her in the eye or pull her hair until she figured out how to treat her horse with respect. But she took a couple of deep breaths instead, forcing herself to count slowly to ten as the younger girl fussed with her stirrups, her crop, and her reins.

  Kelsey still seemed unaware that she was being watched as she sat up straight and glanced around. Jerking her horse’s head to the right, she kicked him forward, aiming him at the space between the schooling ring fence and a large bulldozer parked nearby. As soon as she was clear of the bulldozer, with only a flat, grassy section of the stable yard between her and the fields beyond, she rose into two-point and lifted her crop.

  “Giddyup!” she said sharply, whacking Flame once on his rump. Startled, the horse bolted. Kelsey dug her spurs into his side to keep him going, and the horse crossed the grass at a scrambling canter that quickly flattened out into a full gallop. Kelsey yanked at her left rein as they neared the pasture fence, causing her horse to swerve and race along the outside fence line as they headed toward the woods.

  Carole was so amazed and dismayed that she nearly dropped Jinx’s lead rope. “What is she thinking?” she muttered angrily, her eyes still trained on the chestnut horse and his rider as they galloped along the fence. She couldn’t believe the scene she’d just witnessed. Not only was Kelsey breaking one of Max’s rules—no rider under sixteen was allowed to ride out on the trails alone—but she was also endangering her horse’s soundness by taking off that way, without anything resembling a proper warm-up.

  Not that she should be galloping him like that anyway, warm-up or not, Carole thought, biting her lip. The ground looks flat out there, but it’s pretty close to the woods. There are tree roots and rocks and probably animal holes. And Kelsey hasn’t been riding here long enough to know where all the tricky spots are.…

  She shook her head, trying not to imagine the worst. That wouldn’t do anyone any good. There was nothing she could do now except hope that horse and rider made it back safely.

  There’s one other thing I could do, she reminded herself. I could tell Max.

  She stared at Jinx thoughtfully, wondering if she really wanted to do that. She’d never been a tattler—and besides, Max would step in if he thought that Flame was really in any serious danger. Wouldn’t he? Or was he too distracted by all the commotion of the construction and everything else to notice the way Kelsey was treating—or mistreating—her horse?

  Carole sighed, still not sure what to do. “Come on, little guy,” she said to the pony, who was dozing off at the end of his lead. “Maybe we should quit while we’re ahead.”

  Jinx followed willingly as she led him into the stable. She put him in his stall and checked his water bucket, which was more than half full.

  “Okay, Jinxie,” she said, giving him one last scratch on the poll. She really was becoming awfully fond of the pony. He was stubborn and difficult, but he had the kind of spunk and spirit that made every step forward all the more rewarding for Carole. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed a training project so much. “I guess I’d better get back to work before Max decides to—”r />
  She cut herself off in mid-sentence. With a frown, she gave a sniff. Was she imagining things, or did she smell—

  “Smoke,” she whispered, feeling her throat tighten in panic. “Definitely smoke.”

  She sniffed again, turning around in a circle in the aisle, trying to pin down the source of the acrid smell. Several images flashed through her mind in the span of a second: the bright glow of the welder’s torch the other day, the sparks another worker’s mallet had thrown off as she walked past earlier that day, Maureen’s cigarette tip burning orange in the night.…

  I should have said something to her then, Carole thought, locking on to the last image as she continued to sniff the air frantically. What if a spark had blown into the loft that night? I would be partly responsible if—

  “What are you doing?” a familiar voice broke into her thoughts.

  She spun on her heel. Ben was walking toward her, an empty bucket in his hand. “Do you smell smoke?” Carole asked him urgently.

  He stopped short and sniffed. A frown crossed his face. “Check the stalls first,” he said grimly. “It could be blowing in from outside, but…”

  He didn’t bother to finish the sentence. Instead he dropped the bucket in the aisle and hurried to the nearest stall, pushing aside the curious face of its resident, a pony named Penny, as he peered in. Carole turned and followed his lead, checking the wash stall at the end of the aisle and then double-checking Jinx’s stall. The foaling stall across the aisle was empty and swept clean, but she glanced in anyway. Looking over her shoulder as she backed away, she saw that Ben was moving rapidly, looking in on the rest of the ponies as well as on Firefly and the boarder’s stall beside hers. Moving on the other way, Carole noticed that Flame’s stall door was standing halfway open, straw bedding spilling out carelessly over the low threshold.

  Gritting her teeth as usual at Kelsey’s sloppiness, Carole kicked a wad of straw and manure toward the stall as she walked, then froze in front of the stall. The burning smell was stronger there. As soon as she took in the sight of the spilled water bucket and the metal object lying in the straw beside it, she realized what had happened. “Down here!” she yelled to Ben, already leaping forward to stomp on the smoldering straw.