Starlight Christmas

by Bonnie Bryant

  A.J. led the way, walking with Lisa and talking animatedly. Stevie couldn’t hear what he was saying, but Lisa was laughing hard enough to assure Stevie they wouldn’t miss Stevie and Phil for a few minutes.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you had such a wicked friend?” Stevie asked Phil.

  “Most of the time, we just keep him in his cell,” Phil explained solemnly. “We let him out on holidays and special occasions that call for his brand of genius. Besides that, I was afraid you might like him better than me.”

  “No way,” Stevie said firmly. “He’s nice, of course, but he’s no Phil Marston.”

  Phil stopped and turned Stevie toward him. The night was cool and clear. It reminded Stevie of the wonderful, romantic nights at riding camp last summer. Phil looked as if he was thinking the same thing. He looked deep into her eyes and smiled. Then he leaned down toward her—

  “Phil! Stevie! Get over here, fast!” A.J. yelled. Stevie and Phil ran across the lawn and into the stable.

  “Look!” A.J. cried as Phil and Stevie joined him and Lisa. “Teddy’s gotten cast! We’ve got to help him up!”

  Stevie took stock of the situation immediately. She knew that being cast meant that a horse was lying down so that he couldn’t get up. It usually happened in a stall because his legs were trapped against a wall, or because his back was against it so tightly that he couldn’t get enough leverage to roll over and rise.

  Teddy was lying on his side with his feet up in the air, wedged against the wall. He was flailing furiously, but his work was only serving to worsen the situation. More than that, he was in danger of hurting himself with sharp kick or hitting his head or face against the wall.

  “I’ll get your dad,” A.J. said.

  “I think we can do it,” Stevie said. “But go ahead, just in case. Got some rope?” she asked.

  Phil, accustomed to Stevie’s quick thinking in emergencies, responded immediately. He handed her several lengths of a thick, strong rope. Without a word, she and Lisa began working together. Phil stayed by Teddy’s head, petted him, and talked to him, trying to keep him calm.

  With Phil to soothe him, Teddy instantly ceased his flailing.

  “This horse is a good sport,” Lisa said.

  “He and I have been through a lot together,” Stevie said, recalling a terrifying ride they’d shared at Moose Hill. “I think we built up a sort of mutual trust.”

  She and Lisa looped the rope around the horse’s bottom legs and tied them securely.

  “Ready?” Stevie asked. Phil nodded.

  Stevie and Lisa backed off and each began tugging gently at the rope. The idea was to give Teddy enough help so that he’d be able to roll over and stand up on his own. Two girls were hardly strong enough to haul the entire weight of a twelve-hundred-pound horse, but they were strong enough to give him some leverage, or so they hoped.

  Phil moved away a little so that he wouldn’t distract Teddy or get in his way. He made sure to stand where the horse could see him, though, and cheered him on.

  “Atta boy, Teddy!” Phil said. “You can do it!”

  Teddy rolled forward a little bit. Lisa and Stevie took the opportunity to help him some more. They pulled gently, constantly increasing the pull, but doing so easily so that they wouldn’t possibly hurt the horse’s legs or hooves.

  At last, with a grunt, Teddy swung his legs up into the air and over onto the other side. Lisa and Stevie instantly dropped their ropes and unlooped them as fast as they could. They didn’t want to hobble the horse when he was ready to rise on his own.

  Unceremoniously, Teddy shifted his weight again, this time onto his legs. His haunches rose. His rear legs lifted upward. His front legs found their footing and his shoulders lifted upward as well. Teddy was standing!

  It took a minute to be sure that he was okay. A horse who had been cast for a long time could have some serious problems, but Teddy seemed completely normal. He looked so normal, in fact, that when Phil’s father arrived in the stable, he put his hands on his hips.

  “Is this some kind of a joke?” Mr. Marston asked. “There’s nothing wrong with Teddy at all!”

  “Not now, there isn’t,” Phil said. “Thanks to Stevie and Lisa!”

  Stevie was pleased that she and Lisa had been able to solve the problem so easily. It more than made up for the fact that Teddy’s trouble had interrupted a moment she’d very much been looking forward to. However, in Stevie’s mind there was no doubt about one thing. Boys were nice, especially Phil. But horses were important!

  “SO, ARE YOU all ready for Christmas?” Judy asked Carole as they bounced around a back country dirt road. It was the day before Christmas, the day of the Starlight Ride. The two of them had been working together since dawn to take care of all the urgent calls so that Judy could spend a quiet Christmas with her husband, Alan.

  “Well, I finished my dad’s socks last night,” Carole replied. “They’re all wrapped. I bought the fun stuff for his stocking last week. After the Starlight Ride tonight I’ll have to fill it and sneak it downstairs when he’s asleep.”

  “I tried that with Alan’s stocking once,” Judy said. “We ended up bumping into each other in the dark. Now that was a Christmas surprise!”

  “Don’t you think two people is kind of a lonely number for Christmas?” Carole asked.

  “Not if they’re the right two people,” Judy said. “But somehow, I don’t think that’s what you’re really asking, are you?”

  “Not really,” Carole admitted. “It’s just that my father is such a terrific guy and it’s hard for me to make his Christmas as good as I want it to be.”

  “I bet he feels the same way,” Judy told her. “I remember—oh, here we are,” she interrupted herself. They turned into a driveway and saw the stable next to an old house. “I don’t know these people,” Judy said. “They called my office yesterday, saying they had a horse with a foot problem. Let’s go see what we find.”

  Judy and Carole climbed out of the truck and knocked on the door. They met the owner, Mr. Alonzo, and he took them to the stable. Working with Judy, Carole had seen all kinds of stables—big ones, small ones, new and old, well-lighted and dark. There were stables made for two horses and stables made for eighty. She’d found tidy ones and messy ones, but she’d never seen one like Mr. Alonzo’s.

  Four horses were housed in a cramped, dark building. The minute she entered, the stench hit Carole’s nose and turned her stomach. It smelled as if the place hadn’t been cleaned in months. Of course, that wasn’t true. A stable could smell unclean if it was left untended or inadequately tended for just a day or two. But horses needed to be cleaned up daily, and these horses clearly weren’t so lucky.

  Mr. Alonzo left to bring the patient into the paddock, where Judy could examine the horse’s hoof in the daylight because there was no electricity in the stable. As soon as the man was out of earshot, Judy leaned over to Carole and murmured, “Thrush, I’ll bet you anything.”

  It only took a few seconds for Judy to examine the hoof and confirm her diagnosis. She asked Mr. Alonzo to bring out the rest of his horses. It turned out that one of the others had it, too. Carole remained silent, but she was furious. She knew that the thrush infections were caused by the filthy conditions of the stable. It was as if Mr. Alonzo were deliberately making his horses sick. Carole wanted nothing more than to give him a piece of her mind.

  Judy was calm as could be. She patiently explained to Mr. Alonzo exactly what he had to do to heal the problem and gave him all the necessary medicines. Then she told him what caused it and how he could prevent it in the future by mucking out all four stalls at least twice a day and keeping them dry at all times with fresh straw or wood chips.

  “Why didn’t you yell at him?” Carole asked when they were back in the truck.

  “Because he’s not my patient,” Judy answered. “He’s the care-giver. If I yelled at him—which he richly deserved—he wouldn’t listen to me and he wouldn’t take care of my patients. An
d that’s not good for my patients. I’ll bet you anything that the reason he called me is because his last veterinarian did yell at him. Look who suffered.”

  “There are some ugly things about being a veterinarian, aren’t there?” Carole asked.

  Judy nodded. “But it doesn’t make me not want to be a vet,” she said. “I love animals and I know the vast majority of my clients do, too. I’d rather spend an entire night pumping liquids into a sick old nag for an owner who loves her, than fifteen minutes checking out a Thoroughbred that the owner doesn’t care about except for how much money he can earn on the racetrack. I’ll take good care of them both, of course, but I get more satisfaction when there’s love there.”

  “In Mr. Alonzo’s case, I don’t think there’s love or value,” Carole said.

  “Hard to tell,” Judy said. “It may be that there’s only ignorance. I’ll try to help him. It’s the best I can do.” Judy turned onto the highway and headed back to Willow Creek. “Now, it’s time to help you. We’ll grab a bite to eat and get you back to Pine Hollow in time for the Starlight Ride.”

  Carole had been so upset by Mr. Alonzo that she’d almost forgotten about the evening ahead of her. Judy pulled into a fast-food restaurant. The two of them went in and ate a quick meal that would hold off Carole’s hunger until the cocoa and cookies at the end of the ride. Cocoa and cookies seemed like an odd thing to think about when there were sick horses to be healed and ignorant owners to be educated, but Carole decided that fun was important, too, and that included Starlight Rides and cocoa and cookies. As they drove away from the restaurant she watched the countryside out the window, now darkening in the winter afternoon, and thought about what it would be like to ride Barq in the lead position on the Starlight Ride.

  Judy’s car phone rang. Judy picked it up. She said almost nothing, just listened intently. Then, at the end, she said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes!” She hung up the phone. Carole could feel the truck pick up speed.

  “It’s the mare who’s about to foal at Mr. Michaels’s,” Judy said. “Michaels thinks the foal wants to come into the world hind-end-first and that can be real trouble. We’ve got to get there as fast as we can.”

  The holiday traffic was heavy as families drove to spend the evening with relatives. Judy drove alertly and fast. There was no time to waste.

  Judy pulled up to Mr. Michaels’s stable and hopped out of the truck, leaving Carole to bring the tools she might need.

  Carole entered the stable a few minutes later, carrying Judy’s “birthing box.” Judy and Mr. Michaels were carefully examining the mare, a pretty bay, who was walking around irritatedly. Judy and Mr. Michaels both looked worried. Carole knew it was going to be a long night and Judy would need all the help she could get.

  Carole put the tool kit down near the mare’s stall and returned to the truck. When it came right down to it, cocoa and cookies weren’t as important as a foal’s life. The Starlight Ride, wonderful as it might be, couldn’t compare with the importance of a healthy mare and a newborn foal. She picked up the car phone and called Pine Hollow.

  Max answered. Carole explained the situation and told him where she was. It wasn’t very far from Pine Hollow. She was only about three miles away across some fields. But she might as well have been on the moon because there was nobody who could drive her there. Besides, she wanted to be at Mr. Michaels’s in case Judy needed help. So she would stay there until Judy was done. Max understood, completely.

  “You’re at Michaels’s place?” he said. “How interesting.” He paused, then spoke again. “Look, you’ll get here when you get here,” he said. “If you’re late, you can meet up with us wherever we are. If you don’t make it at all, well, there will be another Starlight Ride next year and you’ll still be the best rider in the stable, so you’ll lead the way then. Now, stop wasting time worrying about this. Go see if Judy needs your help. Oh, and, Carole, don’t forget to have a Merry Christmas.”

  “Thanks, Max,” she said. She hung up and quickly returned to the barn.

  * * *

  “CAROLE MAY NOT make it?” Stevie said to Max. “How awful! What about later on? What about tomorrow? Max, how are we going to—?”

  “Take it easy,” Max said. “These things have a way of working themselves out, you know. Besides, if Carole’s not here, you’ll be the leader on the Starlight Ride.”

  “I don’t want to be the leader,” Stevie said truthfully. “I want Carole here!”

  “Don’t you have something more important to do than to worry about whether she’s here or not?” Max asked. “I know I do. I’ve got to go check the trail to make sure the snow hasn’t hidden it.”

  It irritated Stevie, but she knew Max was right. There was a lot of work to do. And if she had her way, Max would never know the half of it!

  She left Max’s office and explained the situation to Lisa.

  “Well, now we’ve got more time and we needed that,” Lisa said reasonably. “Cheer up, Stevie. It’ll work out.”

  “Do you know when he’s coming?” Stevie asked.

  “He just said he’d be here later, maybe while we’re out on the Starlight Ride. We should be able to get everything done before that.”

  “I guess so,” Stevie agreed. “Look, Max told me the things were stowed in the closet in Mrs. Reg’s office. Why don’t you get what you can and we’ll work on this until Phil and A.J. arrive. Then, when they get here, we’ll handle Miss diAngelo and her flunkies.”

  Lisa agreed that that was a sensible plan. She turned hurriedly to get to Mrs. Reg’s office and found herself bumping right into none other than Veronica diAngelo.

  “What’s the big rush?” Veronica asked.

  Sometimes Lisa had time to be civil to Veronica. Sometimes she didn’t. This was one of the “didn’t” times.

  “None of your business,” Lisa said, and brushed past her on her way to Mrs. Reg’s office.

  Veronica checked the sleeve of her blouse as if to see if Lisa had left any dirt on it. Stevie gritted her teeth and ignored the incredibly rude gesture. She needed information from Veronica.

  “You’re here early for the Starlight Ride, aren’t you?” she asked Veronica, trying to keep her voice pleasant.

  “Not exactly,” Veronica said. “I just came by to see that Garnet’s Christmas present had arrived—her new stable blanket. She’s wearing it now. Would you like to see it?”

  Stevie said she would. Veronica led her to Garnet’s stall. The mare was wearing a fashionably tailored blue-and-green blanket with Veronica’s initials monogrammed at the flank.

  “Nice,” Stevie said. “I like the colors.”

  “They match my new riding outfit,” Veronica explained. Stevie expected as much.

  Stevie felt sorry for Garnet. It must be terrible to be a pure-blooded Arabian mare reduced to serving as a fashion accent for Veronica diAngelo. Stevie wished there were some way to make it up to the horse. While she thought about it, she idly polished the brass plaque by Garnet’s stall. All the stable horses had their names on the outsides of their stalls on plastic plaques. The private owners usually used brass ones that showed both the horse’s name and the owner’s. Garnet’s read:

  GARNET GEM

  Veronica diAngelo

  “Are you wearing your new outfit tonight?” Stevie asked.

  “Of course,” Veronica said. “The car’s going to pick me up in a few minutes to take me home so I can dress. You’re going to change too, aren’t you?” Her tone implied that Stevie needed to.

  Stevie wasn’t going to give Veronica the satisfaction of answering that question. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the clothes she had on. They were comfortable and warm—even if they didn’t match anything.

  “I think Lisa needs some help,” she said. “I’ll see you later!” She waved good-bye, but what she was thinking was Good riddance!

  “THEY’RE HERE!” STEVIE said to Lisa. Lisa knew she meant Phil and A.J. Stevie had turned over a brand-new wat
er bucket to stand on so she could see out the window when she heard the car pull into the driveway at Pine Hollow.

  “Why don’t you go get them?” Lisa suggested. She shouldn’t have bothered. Stevie was already out the door of the stall.

  Lisa finished up the work that was left, spreading the fresh straw evenly and putting the water bucket back where it belonged. It was hard to think of a stall as being sparkling clean, but as far as it was possible, this one was just that. Lisa was pleased with the work she and Stevie had done. It was exactly right.

  Lisa straightened out a wrinkle in the clean horse blanket and hung it over the top of the door, covering the horse’s nameplate. She returned all the work tools to the tack and supply rooms, slid the screwdriver back into Max’s toolbox, and followed her ears to where Stevie was giving A.J. and Phil the grand tour. Their horses needed to be unloaded, but that could wait until shortly before the Starlight Ride.

  Stevie was about to introduce the boys to the stable’s youngest tenant, a colt named Samson, when the foursome heard the distinct sounds of the enemy approaching. They all dashed into Samson’s stall and, much to the colt’s amazement, hid in the corner behind him.

  “I don’t like this, do you?” a voice whispered. It was Diana.

  “No, but Veronica says we have to do it. It won’t be so bad. Besides, I’d just as soon not have those girls on the ride with us anyway, wouldn’t you?” Elaine whispered back.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Diana said.

  The girls passed Samson’s stall on their way to the locker area where they would be putting their coats.

  “Not a second to spare,” Stevie said. “You boys go distract the girls while Lisa and I get to work.”

  Phil and A.J. looked at each other and shrugged. They didn’t have a better plan.

  “See you later,” Phil said. He and A.J. followed Elaine and Diana to the locker area.

  “The grays first,” Stevie said. She headed for Pepper’s stall while Lisa went to get Chippewa. It only took a minute. The horses gave them no trouble. They willingly accepted the lead ropes and obediently swapped stalls. In fact, Chippewa looked quite natural in Pepper’s stall. Pepper seemed a little confused, but Lisa gave him a carrot to appease him. He munched contentedly.