Max blinked and glanced over at her. “Oh, hello, Stevie,” he replied. “I was just thinking.”
“You weren’t thinking about, um, painting, by any chance?” Stevie asked cautiously. “It’s probably a little cold for that, right?”
Max looked confused. He shook his head. “Actually, I was trying to visualize the best way to expand this building.”
“Really?” Stevie glanced up at the stable wall. “Cool. Are you thinking of giving all the horses twenty-by-twenty-foot stalls? Or were you planning to put in a nice sauna and hot tub for tired, overworked riders?” She grinned.
Max rolled his eyes. “Very funny,” he said gruffly. “In case you haven’t noticed, things are getting pretty busy around here. Willow Creek is an up-and-coming suburb, and more people are moving here all the time.”
Stevie nodded. She’d seen several signs for brand-new housing developments going up around the area just in the past few weeks.
Max wasn’t finished. “Pine Hollow is busier than it’s ever been,” he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as his gaze strayed back to the building. “And now that Maureen’s on board and Carole will be returning soon—I hope—well, it just seems like the right time to think about expanding. I want to start shopping for a few more horses, and maybe add on another row of stalls to house them.”
“Wow!” Stevie grinned, thrilled that there could be a whole new group of horses at Pine Hollow before long. “Talk about major news! I had no idea.”
“Well, I haven’t been talking about it much yet.” Max fixed her with a stern look. “In fact, I’d appreciate it if you kept quiet about this for the time being. I know there’s no way to stop you from filling in your cronies, but I’d rather not have all the younger kids buzzing about it and getting more distracted than they already are.”
Stevie giggled. “No problem,” she said, pleased that Max had confided in her. Knowing this exciting news before almost anyone else gave her the same feeling she got when she turned in an article for the school newspaper.
You know, that’s just about the only good thing about going back to school next week, she thought as she waved good-bye to Max and headed inside. I hadn’t really thought about it, but I really do miss working on my articles for the Sentinel.
She smiled as she thought about it. Max’s wife, who was a reporter for a major Washington daily, had been the one who had first inspired Stevie to give journalism a try. She had also been the first one to warn Stevie that it wasn’t going to be all fun and games and glamour, and she’d been right about that. Researching and writing newspaper articles took a lot of hard work, and Stevie had already had to sacrifice a few dates with Phil or outings with her friends to make a deadline. But in the end, when she saw her name on a byline and realized she was the one who’d made the story happen, it was all worth it.
It’s kind of like when I was first learning to ride, Stevie thought as she passed through the entryway and into the locker room. Back then, every lesson or trail ride taught me something new and interesting, whether it went well or not. And now, every article I write makes me feel the same way. Even the boring ones.
She sat down on the bench in front of the cubbyhole where she’d stowed her sneakers. Pulling off her boots, she tossed them inside. Now that she was thinking about the Sentinel again, her mind started buzzing with ideas for articles she could write when the holiday break ended after New Year’s. She couldn’t wait to get started.
Of course, she added with a smile as she leaned over to yank on her sneakers, that doesn’t mean I actually miss school or anything. Ha!
As Carole pulled her car into an empty spot in Pine Hollow’s gravel parking area, she saw Maureen walking across the lot in the direction of the stable. Maureen saw her, too. She paused and raised a lazy hand in greeting as Carole climbed out of her car.
“Hey,” Maureen said. “How’s it going, Carole? Cold enough for ya?”
Carole smiled uncertainly. “Um, yeah. I mean, I know. It’s really freezing.” As usual, she found herself feeling a little tongue-tied around the new stable hand. Maureen just seemed to have that effect on her—her cool, gold-flecked brown eyes always seemed to see a little more than they should. Whenever those eyes fixed on her, Carole could almost feel herself shrinking back under their direct, curious gaze.
The two of them fell into step together, Carole picking up her pace slightly to keep up with the tall, lean woman’s easy stride. As they walked, Carole couldn’t help noticing an unpleasant smell emanating from Maureen’s general direction. Carole wrinkled her nose, feeling her stomach clench as she recognized the odor as cigarette smoke and remembered the time a few days earlier when she’d caught Maureen smoking in a storage shed.
Shooting the stable hand a quick, nervous glance, Carole wondered if Maureen had just been out in the parking lot sneaking a cigarette. Of course, it’s really none of my business if she wants to smoke in her own car, I suppose, even if it’s parked here, Carole reminded herself. Much less if she chooses to smoke on her way over to Pine Hollow, when she’s not even on stable property.
Carole bit her lip, wondering if she should ask Maureen if she’d been smoking in the parking lot. She wasn’t a fan of cigarettes in general—in her opinion, they smelled worse than the stinkiest, most poorly managed manure pile in the world—but that didn’t give her the right to tell someone else what to do with their own lungs.
It’s different if she keeps smoking around the stable, though, Carole thought. That’s really dangerous, and it’s why Max has such a strict no-smoking rule here at Pine Hollow. One stray spark or a butt that’s not completely out could start a fire that would put the lives of every horse and person in the place at risk.
Still, she really had no evidence that Maureen had posed such a risk. And Carole wasn’t sure she wanted to make an enemy of the new hand, or face down those cool brown eyes without good cause. Feeling confused and vaguely anxious about the whole situation, Carole excused herself as soon as she and Maureen reached the entrance. Then she turned down a stable aisle in search of her friends.
She didn’t have far to go before she found Stevie, who was standing in front of Talisman’s stall chatting with Red. Red had the chestnut gelding in cross-ties and was pulling his mane. Denise was standing by as well, along with Deborah, who was holding her sleepy-looking three-year-old daughter, Jeanne.
“Hey!” Stevie called as soon as she spotted Carole. “It’s about time you got here. We were just talking about the wedding.”
Carole smiled, instantly forgetting all about Maureen Chance and her nicotine habit. “Cool,” she said, feeling a flash of excitement at the thought that the wedding was only a few days away. “Need any help with Tally?”
Stevie patted Talisman’s neck. “He’s being pretty good so far,” she reported.
Carole nodded, pleased to hear that. When the talented jumper had come to Pine Hollow two years earlier, his ground manners had left a lot to be desired. It had taken four people to give him a bath and three to catch him and bring him in from the pasture. His remedial training had become something of a stable project, with the entire staff and many of the regular students helping to teach the spirited horse that it was in his best interest to cooperate with people.
As she was thinking back on those days, Denise sighed loudly. “Thanks again for helping out with him, Stevie,” she said. “I’m still feeling a little shaky after that last trip to the john.”
For the first time, Carole noticed that Denise was leaning heavily against the wall. Her normally tanned face looked pale. “Are you okay?” she asked worriedly.
“I’ll live,” Denise replied with a grimace. “Although I really think I’ll be the only woman in the history of pregnancy to have morning sickness right through month nine.” She smiled, though she still looked a little green around the gills. “Whoever came up with the name morning sickness, anyway? It’s more like morning, noon, and night sickness if you ask me.”
Carole was sym
pathetic—she guessed that suffering through a nausea-filled pregnancy had to be especially hard on Denise, who was usually so energetic and athletic—though she couldn’t help being a little distracted by thoughts of the upcoming wedding. The big day would surely be one of the most romantic days of Denise’s life, and Carole was sure it would be an incredibly romantic day for her, too. Cam was due to return from his trip that morning, and he and Carole had arranged to meet before the wedding to exchange Christmas gifts. Then, later, they would attend the wedding together and dance New Year’s Eve away at the reception.
Of course, our gift exchange will be kind of a bust if I don’t manage to get my act together and actually get something for him soon, Carole thought ruefully.
Before she could follow that line of thought any further, she heard hoofbeats approaching from the end of the aisle. “Oops,” Ben Marlow’s quiet, unassuming voice commented. “I’ll go around.”
Carole gulped. Peeking past Talisman, she saw that Ben was leading a horse named Romeo, whose stall was just beyond them.
“No, wait,” Red called. “It’s okay. It will be good practice for Tally to step aside and be patient.”
Red and Stevie bustled about, unhooking one of the cross-ties and moving the tall chestnut gelding to one side so that Ben could pass. Through it all, Carole kept her gaze carefully trained on the horses, not quite daring to meet Ben’s eye. She still felt a little strange whenever she encountered him. Even though she was happy with Cam now, she couldn’t help remembering the day, more than a month before, when Ben had kissed her and then pretended it had never happened.
“Hey, Ben,” Denise said as the stable hand led Romeo into his stall. “We were just talking about the wedding. You’re coming, aren’t you?”
Carole winced, waiting for Ben to mumble one of his famous noncommittal replies. She only hoped Red’s and Denise’s feelings wouldn’t be hurt when Ben—
“Uh-huh.” Ben glanced out of the stall as he unclipped Romeo’s lead line. “I’ll be there. Wouldn’t miss it.”
Carole blinked in surprise. Wow, she thought. Talk about a surprise. I wouldn’t think a big New Year’s Eve party would be Ben’s kind of scene at all. I figured he’d come up with some kind of excuse to get out of the whole wedding celebration.
For some reason, the idea that Ben was going to be there—right smack in the middle of her big, romantic daydream New Year’s Eve—made her feel vaguely unsettled. But she did her best to shake off the feeling, reminding herself that Ben wasn’t the one she was going to be thinking about. She would be too busy enjoying herself with Cam.
Soon Ben moved on, and Stevie started chattering about something Max had said earlier that day. As near as Carole could follow, it sounded as though the stable owner was thinking of expanding, maybe buying some new horses soon. Carole couldn’t help feeling a little left out—in the old days, she would have been the one sharing that kind of news with Stevie, not the other way around—but she didn’t spend much time worrying about it. She would be back at work at Pine Hollow soon enough. In the meantime, she had a more immediate worry.
Okay, this is getting truly ridiculous, she told herself. What in the world am I going to give Cam for Christmas?
SIX
“Callie?” Congressman Forester said, sticking his head into the kitchen. “Phone.”
“Really?” Callie looked up from the magazine she was reading and cocked her head in surprise. “I didn’t even hear it ring.”
“It didn’t. I was on the other line.” Callie’s father tossed her the portable phone.
Callie caught it. “Thanks.” She put the phone to her ear. “Hello? This is Callie.”
“Hey, it’s Maureen.” The stable hand’s voice sounded even deeper and raspier than usual over the phone. “Max wants to know what you want us to do with Scooby today. Should we turn him out or keep him in?”
Callie winced. This was the moment she’d avoided thinking about all this morning—the moment she had to make a decision. Was she going to ride today, or was she going to allow her fear to take away yet another day of doing what she loved to do?
When she thought about it that way, she knew there was only one response she could give Maureen if she wanted to be able to look herself in the mirror. “Keep him in,” she replied, her voice firm. “I’ll be over to exercise him in a little while.”
“Okay.” Maureen sounded rushed. “Later, Callie.”
“Bye,” Callie said, though the stable hand had already hung up. She shrugged, guessing that Pine Hollow must be hopping that morning. She wasn’t sure if that made her more or less nervous about going back.
It doesn’t matter either way, she told herself firmly. I’ve got to just do it.
Tossing her magazine and the phone onto the kitchen table, Callie hurried toward the coat closet to dig out her jacket and the bag containing her boots and hard hat. She knew Scott was taking a shower upstairs and she could hear the water running, which meant she had a few minutes to make her escape. She knew he would want to come with her, but she also knew she had to make this visit on her own if she was ever going to put the incident behind her.
Soon she was crossing the last field on the ten-minute walk to Pine Hollow. When she caught a glimpse of the long, low-slung stable building, her heart started to pound a little faster.
Chill, she chided herself. This is no big deal. It’s no big deal.
The parking lot was full, and a couple of adult riders were practicing over cross rails in the outdoor ring. But Callie didn’t see anybody she knew, either outside or in the entryway. In fact, she managed to make it all the way to Scooby’s stall without encountering any familiar faces at all aside from a trio of intermediate riders, who paid no attention to her whatsoever, and Ben Marlow, who merely nodded and moved on with the wheelbarrow he was pushing.
Whew! Callie thought as she darted into Scooby’s stall. Her horse seemed mildly pleased to see her, ambling over and snuffling at her shoulder. She patted him, a feeling of resentment washing over her as she realized just how long it had been since she’d seen him. It’s ridiculous, she thought, straightening the spotted gelding’s forelock. I’ve only had him for like a week, and I’ve already missed so much time with him. And it’s all my own stupid fault for being such a wuss.
“Want to go for a ride, buddy?” she asked the horse softly.
Pulling a hoof pick out of her bag, she quickly cleaned his feet. Someone had obviously given him a quick brushing sometime that day, so after running her hands over his body and legs to check for any problems, she poked her head out into the aisle. It was time to grab his tack and get out of there.
“Back in a sec, Scooby,” she whispered.
She let herself out of the stall and scurried down the deserted aisle. As she crossed the entryway, the adult riders were coming in with their horses. They nodded politely to Callie and she smiled back. Then she ducked her head and scooted into the hallway leading to the tack room. Rounding the corner, she stopped short, realizing too late that the small room was occupied.
Stevie spotted her immediately. “Callie!” she exclaimed, glancing up from adjusting a bridle. “Long time no see, girlfriend!”
“Hi there,” Phil added with a smile. “I just checked out your new horse. He’s pretty hot stuff.”
“Thanks.” Callie forced herself to smile in return, though she felt more like screaming. Normally she would have been perfectly happy to hang out and chat with Stevie and Phil for a few minutes. But that day wasn’t a normal day. “Um, what are you guys doing? Going for a ride?”
“Yep.” Stevie bent over to fish a fleece saddle pad out of the stack near the door. “Probably a short one, though, since the weather still sucks. I hope it’s not this cold on Tuesday for the wedding.” She shivered dramatically to punctuate the comment.
The wedding. Callie had almost forgotten about that. There was no way she could get out of going, but what would she do if George went, too? What would she say if he tried to ta
lk to her about what had happened?
“Right,” she said, doing her best to sound normal. “Well, okay then, I guess I’d better—”
“Oh!” Stevie stood up straight and glanced at her. “Hey, did I ever tell you what happened with A.J.? He decided to try to track down his birth mother, and so he called this woman I saw in a picture in the paper, and…”
Callie tried hard to look interested as Stevie chatted on and on about Phil’s friend A.J. McDonnell, who had recently discovered he was adopted. She seemed to have an endless supply of information about the topic that she felt she had to share with Callie, with Phil adding comments here and there. Eventually Stevie switched over to talking about some new plan of Max’s to buy new horses, and Callie cleared her throat forcefully.
“Um, listen,” she interrupted during a brief pause in Stevie’s monologue, “I should really get going. I left Scooby tied in his stall, and—”
“Oh! Sorry.” Stevie looked sheepish. “Guess I was kind of babbling.”
Phil rolled his eyes. “Kind of?” he said teasingly.
“Okay, then, I’ll catch you guys later,” Callie said hurriedly, not wanting to get trapped in another lengthy conversation.
Before Stevie or Phil could respond, she strode across the room and grabbed Scooby’s saddle off its designated rack. She slung a saddle pad over it and was reaching for the bridle when Stevie spoke up again.
“Oh!” she said. “By the way, Callie, I almost forgot to tell you. George has been looking for you for a couple of days now.”
Callie froze, her fingers gripping the bridle. “What?”
“George,” Stevie repeated. “I guess he wanted to, like, thank you or whatever. Because of what happened the other day with the paramedics and all.”
That was all Callie could take. Without another word, she pulled the bridle down and practically ran out of the room, ignoring Stevie’s surprised-sounding calls. I knew it, she thought desperately as she made a beeline for Scooby’s stall, careening through the entryway and barely avoiding collisions with several other riders. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.
Setting the Pace Page 5
