Penalty Points

by Bonnie Bryant

  Before Stevie could argue back, Luke spoke up. “I’ve got a plan,” he announced, catching up to the others. “Chad and I were going to pick up some big bags of ice on the way to our party tomorrow. What do you say we go a little earlier and get some extra for you guys? That way you can set up your sodas in the sink or the bathtub or wherever, and they’ll stay cold.”

  “Hmmm.” Stevie had to admit, at least to herself, that it was a good idea. She would be able to fit a lot more soda in the laundry room and kitchen sinks than she could possibly cram into the spare refrigerator, and it would be more convenient for her guests, too. She glanced at Phil, who nodded slightly, obviously guessing what she was thinking. “Well, okay,” she told Chad and Luke. “I guess that would do. You can use a couple of shelves in the garage fridge, I guess.”

  “Cool.” Chad looked relieved. “Come on, let’s just get everything in from the car first. Then we can put stuff away.” Shooting Stevie a quick glance, he added, “Don’t worry, whatever doesn’t go in the garage we’ll stack in the dining room, so it won’t be in your way.”

  “Okay.” Stevie led the way into the house and set the case she was carrying on the floor next to the box of sodas Chad had brought in earlier. She rubbed her arms and kicked at a bright red balloon that had escaped from the living room into the hall.

  Luke noticed what she was doing and stepped past her to glance curiously into the living room. “Wow,” he commented, taking in the inflated balloons drifting around the floor and the piles of red, white, and blue streamers waiting to be hung. “How old did you say you were, Stevie?”

  Stevie felt almost annoyed enough to take back her agreement about the spare refrigerator. But then she shrugged. What did she care what Luke thought of her party decorations?

  By this time tomorrow, Chad and Luke and Luke’s skanky car full of beer will be long gone, she reminded herself. Then the real fun can begin!

  “She’s going to be all right, isn’t she?” Lisa said anxiously, reaching over the stall door and running a hand down Prancer’s neck.

  “Try not to worry,” Alex said comfortingly, putting his arm around Lisa’s shoulders. “Max said Judy’s coming back in a day or two for another look, right?”

  Lisa nodded, smiling slightly as Prancer swung her big head around to look at Alex, almost knocking him over in the process. “She’s going to stop by sometime over the weekend.” Her smile faded and she sighed with frustration. “I just wish she’d been able to tell us something definite about her condition.” Judy Barker had come to check on Prancer that morning while Lisa was in school, but according to Max, the vet had been unable to provide a definitive answer about the second foal and could only promise to check again soon.

  “I know. It’s tough being in suspense.” Alex patted the mare on the cheek. “But no news is good news, right?”

  “Well …” Lisa couldn’t quite bring herself to agree with that old chestnut, not only because it wasn’t necessarily true in Prancer’s case, but also because it made her think about the secrets still standing between her and Alex. Telling Carole the other day about her conversation with Skye had lifted some of the guilt off her heart, but only temporarily. Every time she remembered all the things that she still hadn’t told Alex about her summer, she felt like the world’s worst girlfriend.

  No news may be good news, but sometimes that makes things even worse when the bad news finally comes, she thought glumly, wishing once again that she’d been completely honest with Alex as soon as she’d returned from California. Every day that passed made it harder and harder to tell him, until she began to wonder whether she would ever be able to tell him at all.

  Lisa had spent a lot of time over the past two months looking for the right moment to tell Alex that she had almost decided to stay in California for the school year instead of returning at the end of the summer. That had seemed like the hardest thing in the world to tell her boyfriend, who had been devastated even at the thought of spending two months apart.

  She wasn’t sure when her second secret had risen up and overtaken the other in her worries, but lately Lisa couldn’t seem to stop thinking about that odd, slightly awkward conversation she and Skye had had in that faraway tack room. When we first met you were what—twelve? Thirteen? Skye had said seriously, gazing at her steadily with his striking ocean blue eyes. Too young for a cool teenager like I was then to even consider as, well, you know. No matter how cute you were. Somehow, though, a few years’ difference in our ages just doesn’t seem that important anymore.…

  Lisa hadn’t really known how to respond to that, but fortunately Skye hadn’t expected her to say anything in return. He certainly hadn’t expected her to stop being in love with Alex. He had just wanted her to know how he felt.

  I almost wish he hadn’t said anything, Lisa thought, glancing at her boyfriend out of the corner of her eye. Then I wouldn’t have one more secret to keep from Alex. She knew that one of the reasons Alex hadn’t wanted her to go to California for the summer was that he was jealous of her friendship with Skye. No matter how many times Lisa had reassured him that even a handsome, wealthy, successful movie star could never replace him in her heart, Alex had refused to be completely satisfied until she had finally returned home.

  Alex didn’t notice her contemplative expression—or if he did, he obviously attributed it to Prancer’s condition. “I know what we need right now,” he announced, reaching out to brush a strand of honey blond hair off her cheek. “Distraction. We need to take your mind off all the things that could be wrong before you give yourself an ulcer. Why don’t we stop bugging this poor horse”—he patted Prancer again—“and go find something fun to do to keep you from worrying?”

  Lisa turned away from the stall and gave him a hug, grateful as always at the way he often understood her feelings even better than she did herself. “That sounds like a good idea,” she agreed. “We could go for a ride if you want. Or we could hang out at your house.”

  “Forget that second idea,” Alex joked. “If I know my sister, she’s probably right in the middle of some huge, elaborate party-planning frenzy right about now.” He glanced at his watch. “Poor Chad is probably there by now, sorting Stevie’s CD pile into alphabetical order or something while she cracks the whip.”

  Lisa smiled weakly. “Well, normally I’d say we could go to my house. But Mom is off this afternoon, so …”

  She didn’t bother to go into detail, since Alex already knew the reason she preferred to avoid her own house as much as possible these days when her mother was home. Ever since I found out that Mom’s seeing Rafe, that’s all she wants to talk to me about, she thought grimly. And that long-haired loser is the last thing I feel like discussing.

  Lisa had been shocked when she had walked into her house two weeks earlier and found her mother—her conservative, recently divorced, forty-something mother—locked in a steamy embrace with a handsome twenty-four-year-old coworker. Mrs. Atwood had been embarrassed at first, but overall she’d seemed relieved to be found out and had soon begun confiding some of her feelings to her daughter.

  It’s totally disgusting. I mean, he’s Peter’s age! Lisa told herself, thinking of her older brother, who was living in Europe. And the worst part is, Mom doesn’t even seem to notice that I’m not as thrilled as she is about her exciting new boy toy.…

  In a way, that was the worst part. Lisa wouldn’t have objected to her mother’s starting to date again if she’d chosen almost anyone but Rafe. In fact, she would have welcomed it. Mrs. Atwood had been shattered by her divorce and had spent far too long feeling bitter and depressed and lonely. Lisa would have been honestly happy about anything that lifted her mother’s spirits a little.

  But not Rafe. Lisa could not get used to having him in her mother’s life, no matter how many times Mrs. Atwood gushed about his interesting opinions about world events or his witty comments and great sense of humor or the way he flattered the customers at the clothing store where they both worked and c
onvinced them to buy more. Not wanting to hear any more than she had to, Lisa had taken to avoiding her own home as much as possible whenever her mother might be there, doing most of her studying at the library or at Alex’s house.

  “Did I tell you the latest?” she asked Alex. “In the past couple of days, Mom has actually started hinting about having a big Thanksgiving celebration ‘at home this year.’ She pretends she means she just wants to invite Aunt Marianne and her family down, but I know what she’s thinking.” She shook her head grimly. “Especially since she’s also mentioned several times that Rafe’s family is in Seattle and he can’t afford airfare home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

  “Ick,” Alex commented succinctly, wrinkling his nose. Then he brightened. “Hey, but you know what that means. It’s all the more reason you and your mom should spend Thanksgiving at my house like we talked about.”

  Lisa hesitated, not sure what to say. She hadn’t told Alex yet that her father had offered to fly her out to California to spend Thanksgiving with him. Whenever she imagined sitting around the table in his sunny kitchen, talking and laughing with her dad and Evelyn, helping to feed baby Lily her first bites of Thanksgiving turkey, she was tempted to accept the offer. Especially when the only other option seemed to be gritting her teeth and trying to choke down her food as her mother and Rafe made goo-goo eyes at each other while playing footsie under the table.

  But I have a third option, she reminded herself. I can stay here and spend a nice, romantic Thanksgiving with Alex. That way I don’t have to deal with icky Rafe—Mom wouldn’t dare invite him to the Lakes’ house—and I also don’t have to find a way to tell Alex I’m leaving again so soon. And I know Dad would understand.…

  That third option seemed a whole lot easier than either of the other possibilities. Knowing that she sometimes tended to overanalyze decisions, Lisa decided to commit before she could reason herself into changing her mind yet again.

  “Okay,” she told Alex, reaching over and squeezing his hand as they stood in the aisle outside Prancer’s stall. “You talked me into it. I’ll come to your house for Thanksgiving, as long as your parents say it’s all right.”

  Alex’s eyes lit up. “They will,” he said eagerly. “Actually, they already have. I ran the idea past them last week.” He shrugged and grinned. “So the only one you’ll have to break the news to is Stevie. And as long as you don’t try to steal the drumstick from her—”

  “Hey, guys,” Carole’s voice interrupted.

  Lisa turned and saw her friend approaching, weighted down by the pair of water buckets she was carrying. “Hi!” Lisa said. “I was looking for you before. Did Judy tell you any more about Prancer than she told Max?”

  As Carole reached her friends and stopped to chat, lowering her buckets to the aisle floor, she couldn’t help thinking, for the umpteenth time in the past two days, that she might never look at Lisa quite the same way again. Weird images kept popping into her head, especially when Lisa was with Alex. Images of Skye.

  Alex had put his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders as the two of them turned to talk to Carole, but Carole didn’t really see him there. Instead she pictured Skye Ransom, holding Lisa possessively as the two of them posed for the photographers at a fancy Hollywood premiere. What would it be like, having a movie star in love with you? she wondered. Especially if he also happened to be a wonderful, caring person like Skye …

  Carole liked Alex. She thought he was good for Lisa and Lisa was good for him. Still, she couldn’t help wondering—was Lisa really so devoted to Alex that she hadn’t even considered what Skye could offer her? Had she thought about it all?

  It’s no wonder things are still a little tense between her and Alex, with those sorts of questions to deal with, she thought idly. He must have totally freaked out when she first told him. Oh well. I’m just glad I wasn’t around to witness it.…

  “Anyway,” Lisa was saying after running down her usual list of fears and concerns for Prancer’s health, “I think Alex and I are going to go for a quick trail ride. Can you let Max know when you see him?”

  “Sure. Why don’t you take out Barq and Congo? Neither of them has been exercised yet today.” Even as she automatically came up with horse assignments, Carole’s thoughts wandered away from thoughts of her friends and their problems straight back to her favorite topic: Samson.

  I really ought to do some more hill work with him today, she thought, hardly listening as Lisa mentioned something about Stevie and tomorrow night’s party. He’ll need to be strong for the show. He’s not a novice horse, but he hasn’t been in many really big shows. Most of the other horses will have a lot more experience than he does, so I’ll have to make sure he’s in absolute peak condition if we’re going to have a chance at any ribbons. Maybe tomorrow we can—

  “Carole!” Her thoughts were interrupted by Lisa’s voice, which sounded rather sharp. “Are you listening?”

  “Sorry,” Carole said immediately, feeling herself blush as she realized she’d drifted off completely on the current of her own thoughts and plans. “Um, I guess I’m a little distracted today. What did you say?”

  Lisa seemed mollified by her apology. “Alex just asked if you knew whether Ben was coming to the party. I know Stevie invited him.”

  Carole’s first impulse was to say that she was the last person who would know what Ben was up to these days. But she held back. She didn’t want her friends to know how strange and complicated their relationship had gotten lately.

  She had never really understood Ben very well, but she’d always thought he respected her for the work she did at the stable. Lately, though, she wasn’t so sure about that. Ben had started looking at her strangely at times, making cryptic little comments.… The previous weekend the two of them had actually ended up in a tense argument, even though Carole wasn’t even sure exactly what they’d been fighting about.

  Still, the next time she’d seen him, Ben hadn’t acted any differently toward her at all, and there hadn’t been much time for silly awkwardness between them for the past week—especially not when they were both busy keeping an extra-vigilant eye on Prancer in addition to all their other duties at the stable. But when the mysterious young stable hand wasn’t actually present, Carole couldn’t help feeling a little uncomfortable every time she thought about him.

  “Um, I don’t know,” she told Lisa. “I sort of doubt it. He’s not exactly the social type, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “Well, remind him about the party when you see him, okay?” Alex said. “Stevie seems to think he might come if you ask him.”

  What does Stevie mean by that? Carole wondered briefly. But she quickly brushed the thought away, figuring that Stevie probably just meant that she talked to Ben more than anybody else.

  “Okay. I’ll remind him,” she told Alex and Lisa. “I’d better get back to work. Have a nice ride.”

  As her friends headed for the tack room, Carole picked up her water buckets again with a slight groan. Lisa and Alex’s talk had started her thinking about tomorrow’s party. Part of her wished it could be held another weekend—she had so much to do before the horse show that she wasn’t sure how she was going to get it all done in time. Taking a whole evening out to go to a party when she could be at the stable, working with Samson or catching up on chores, seemed almost ridiculously frivolous.

  Still, there’s no way I’m going to miss Emily’s last hurrah, she reminded herself. Besides, I guess I deserve a little fun, especially after everything I’ve been through lately.…

  She was thinking of her aching arms hoisting the water buckets, but her thoughts were turned by a quick stab of guilt as she remembered something that had happened a few weeks earlier. Carole had spent so much time at Pine Hollow one weekend that she’d completely forgotten to study for a history test and had flunked it in a big way. Her teacher had agreed to a retest after Carole, desperate at the thought of losing her riding privileges—Max insisted that all his riders
maintain a C average or better—had made up a story about her father being ill. But Carole had found herself no better prepared the second time around than she’d been the first, and when her teacher had left the room for a few minutes, she’d peeked at the answers in her textbook. Ever since, the incident had gnawed at her, popping into her mind at odd times and making her feel guiltier than she’d ever felt about anything in her life.

  She tried to remind herself that if she hadn’t done what she’d done, there was no way she would be getting ready to ride in the Colesford Horse Show in a couple of weeks. And that was something she didn’t like to think about at all. She couldn’t wait for the moment when she and Samson stepped into the ring, when he got his chance to show everyone how talented he was.…

  It will all be worth it, she told herself stubbornly. All of it.

  THREE

  Lisa leaned closer to the mirror over her dresser, blinking and checking for smudges in the mascara she’d just applied. She rarely wore much makeup, recognizing that her delicate features and ivory complexion called for a light touch, but she was taking extra care with the little she did wear tonight. She wanted to look her best for the party. Picking up her favorite berry-tinted lip gloss, she applied it carefully and then took a step back to examine her reflection, moving her eyes from her face down to the stylish midnight blue cashmere sweater she was wearing. Finally satisfied with her appearance, she dropped her lip gloss into her small purse and headed for the bedroom door.

  Time to get into the party mood, she thought, wondering whether she would be able to do it. She hadn’t learned anything new about Prancer—Judy had been busy at another stable all day and hadn’t been able to check on the mare again—and Lisa thought that if she had to wait another whole day to find out more, she might explode. On top of that, while accepting Alex’s invitation to Thanksgiving dinner had made her feel better for a little while, ultimately it had just made her feel even worse about the secrets she was still keeping from him. Still, she was determined to forget about all that for one night if she possibly could. Emily’s family was moving in three days, and this would be Lisa’s last chance to spend any time with her old friend. She didn’t want to let anything ruin that.