Riding to Win

by Bonnie Bryant

  Max seemed to understand. Shooting her a look of sympathy and concern, he handed over the lead and then turned to steer Garrett away, saying something about a cup of coffee. Carole didn’t stick around to hear any more. Turning a startled Samson around quickly, she headed for a copse of trees behind the row of trailers.

  She was just about cried out half an hour later, though the ache in her soul had only grown deeper. Samson had settled down to graze in a patch of grass behind the clump of brush where Carole was hiding.

  She sat on the ground with her head buried in her arms, wondering how this had happened. Her wonderful world had been blown away completely, and she couldn’t see any way of getting it back. Everything she cared about was gone. Starlight. Her job at Pine Hollow. And Samson. The more she thought about it, the deeper her despair.

  “Carole?” she heard Ben say from close by, snapping her out of her thoughts.

  She raised her face from her hands and blinked at him through the glaze of her tears. “Ben?” she said thickly. “What are you doing here? I want to be alone. Go away.”

  He ignored her command, instead lowering himself to the grass at her side. Glancing at Samson, he cleared his throat. “Max told me.”

  Those three little words made the tears well up again. Swiping at her eyes with her hand, Carole swallowed hard. “I didn’t know until just now,” she said, her words wobbly and uncertain. “I had no idea.”

  “Me either.” Ben shifted his weight awkwardly as if trying to find a comfortable position on the hard ground. “He didn’t tell anyone.”

  “But why?” Carole leaned a little closer to Ben, gazing at him beseechingly. Maybe if she figured out how this had happened, it would all start to make some sense. “Why didn’t he tell us he was thinking of …” She broke off and glanced over at Samson again, who continued to graze, unperturbed by their conversation.

  Ben shrugged. “Don’t know. I guess maybe he wasn’t sure. Anyway, uh—I’m, you know, sorry.”

  Carole nodded, but she couldn’t answer. The tears that she’d thought were played out were returning with a vengeance, filling her eyes and spilling over.

  Ben looked uneasy. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “Uh, I shouldn’t have said—I was just trying to tell you. I understand what you’re going through. You know.” He reached over and patted her clumsily on the shoulder.

  Not trusting her voice to answer him, to tell him it wasn’t his fault, she responded by letting out another sob and clinging to his arm. Right then Ben was the only one who might possibly understand how utterly and completely miserable she was. Besides that, he was a link to Pine Hollow and the life she had just lost. She didn’t want to scare him off.

  With a startled cough, Ben let her pull him close. He even put his other arm around her, patting her softly on the back. “It’s okay,” he murmured huskily. “It’s okay.”

  Carole squeezed her eyes shut tight and collapsed against the solid, comforting warmth of his body. Even through her agony, she noticed that he smelled good—like hay and leather and horse sweat. That snapped her out of her heartache long enough for her to realize for the first time just how unusual this situation was. Suddenly she was very aware of Ben’s arms around her, of his warm breath on her forehead. She could feel his heart beating in his chest as she clutched him to her.

  Feeling shy and a bit ashamed at letting him see her so desperate and out of control, she pulled back slightly and looked up at him. “Sorry,” she said with a self-conscious sniffle. “I didn’t mean to—um, this is weird. Us like this, I mean.”

  Ben gazed back at her, his eyes uncertain. For a long moment, he didn’t answer. But he didn’t pull away either, as Carole had expected him to do at the first opportunity. Instead, his arms tightened slightly. Before she knew what was happening, Carole saw his face moving slowly toward her own. She held her breath, not sure how to respond, but unable to look away from those dark, searching eyes.

  A few seconds later, their lips met. And for the moment, at least, Carole forgot about everything else.

  Fifteen

  “Poor Carole.” Callie shook her head sympathetically and balanced on her crutches as Stevie swung open Pine Hollow’s main doors later that afternoon. “Did she have any idea Max was planning to sell Samson?”

  “No way.” Stevie bit her lip as she thought about how drastically Carole’s wonderful day had changed. She felt awful for her. It was bad enough that Colonel Hanson had found out that Carole had cheated on some test at school—Stevie herself was still shocked by that one, since Carole was generally one of the most honest people she knew—but it didn’t seem fair that on the very same day, she would find out that all her hopes and plans to buy Samson were ruined. “I don’t think anyone knew about that.”

  Callie sighed. “It’s a shame,” she said. “Especially after she and Samson did so well today. It’s too bad she didn’t at least have time to enjoy her blue ribbon for a while.”

  Stevie had to agree with that. “So much for my birthday present for her,” she murmured, thinking of the half-finished project in her room at home. There was no way she would ever give it to Carole now.

  Seeing Callie’s curious look, Stevie quickly explained her plan for Carole’s birthday as the two girls wandered toward the tack room, where Belle’s dirty saddle and bridle were waiting. Callie had agreed to baby-sit Maxi and Mini that evening while Max and Deborah took a well-deserved rest together after their respective busy weeks. Maxi was riding home from the show with Max, who hadn’t arrived yet, so Callie was hanging out with Stevie while she waited for them.

  “It’s a shame,” Callie said again when Stevie had finished her story. “She and Samson were quite a pair.” She shrugged. “I guess she’ll have to go back to riding Starlight in shows now, huh? Even if he’s not quite up to Samson’s standards, he’s still a pretty good jumper.”

  Stevie gulped as one more horrible fact hit her with the force of a freight train. Tonight was the night Starlight was leaving Pine Hollow for his new home with Tanya. With everything else that was happening, she had almost forgotten about that. She felt her heart breaking on her friend’s behalf. Soon Carole would be left with nothing at all.

  She and Callie had almost reached the locker room when they heard someone calling their names. Turning, Stevie saw Lisa walking toward them, her face hidden by shadows.

  “Hey,” Stevie said accusingly, suddenly remembering that she hadn’t seen Lisa at the show. “What happened to you today? Didn’t you …”

  Her voice trailed off as Lisa came closer and Stevie got her first good look at her friend’s face. Lisa’s expression was bleak, her eyes red-rimmed. She looked discouraged, sorrowful, and completely exhausted.

  “Lisa?” Stevie said uncertainly. “What—What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Prancer,” Lisa replied blankly. “Judy’s been here all day.”

  “Prancer?” Stevie repeated, her earlier worries rushing back at full force. She exchanged glances with Callie, then turned back to Lisa. “What’s the matter with her?”

  Lisa shrugged, and for a second Stevie didn’t think she was going to answer. But then she sighed and spoke. “You’d better come see her now. I think she’s dying.”

  Carole managed to slip into the stable building without encountering anyone, leaving Denise and George to unload the horses. She didn’t want to have to talk to anybody at the moment. There were too many confused feelings rattling around inside her. Now that she was back, she couldn’t put off her thoughts of Starlight any longer. Tanya would be there soon to pick him up, and then Carole would have to face up to life without any special horse to share it with at all. Not Samson, and not Starlight, either.

  Heading for the office, Carole dropped her stable key into the top desk drawer. She wouldn’t be needing it for a while. She still wasn’t sure how she was going to explain things to Max—she was just glad that she’d ended up riding back to Willow Creek with Denise and George, who had tactfully avoided all mention o
f Samson and chatted with each other about their own events the whole way home. Carole wasn’t ready to face Max just yet. And she certainly wasn’t ready to face Ben.

  Her heart thumped once at the thought of him. What had that kiss meant? Thinking back, she couldn’t even quite recall how it had happened. Which of them had started moving toward the other first? She wasn’t sure, but she knew that the kiss itself had been wonderful. Ben hadn’t said a word, but after their lips had finally parted, he had stared at her with the strangest, stunned look on his face. Jumping to his feet, he had mumbled something about helping Max and then rushed off, leaving Carole feeling dazed and flustered.

  As she blinked, trying to guess what that expression in his eyes could have meant, Carole noticed that the light on the office answering machine was blinking. Automatically, she punched the Play button and reached for a pad of paper and a pen. Realizing what she was doing, she gulped at how ingrained her job had become.

  The machine clicked on, and the message poured out. “Hi!” a cheerful voice chirped. “This message is for Carole Hanson. Carole, it’s Tanya. I tried calling you at home, but no one answered, so I figured I’d try here. I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be buying Starlight after all. Daddy and I just got back from a stable he heard about where they’re selling a Hanoverian, and we think a well-bred European-type horse like that would be much better for me than a regular old American horse like Starlight. Sorry about the late notice and everything, but, well, you know. Good luck with finding another buyer. Bye!”

  The machine beeped and continued to the next message, which was from the local feed company, but Carole just stared at the pad in her hand in complete shock. Had she heard right? Was Tanya really backing out of their deal?

  Before she knew what she was doing, she was reaching for the phone and dialing Tanya’s home number. After a few rings, Mrs. Appel picked up. When she heard why Carole was calling, she gave a meek, slightly sheepish laugh.

  “I hope this doesn’t cause you too many problems,” she told Carole in her soft, tentative voice. “Our Tanya can be impulsive, but I’m afraid her heart is set on this other horse now.”

  “Really?” Carole clutched the phone tighter. “So she definitely doesn’t want to buy Starlight anymore?”

  “That’s right,” the woman replied. “I’m very sorry. But my husband was quite firm about the deal not being final because no money was exchanged, and so—”

  “Okay,” Carole said. “I mean, that’s fine. I’m not going to argue or anything. I just wanted to make sure.” She hung up the phone and stared at it. She could hardly believe that Tanya had changed her mind so casually, especially when she’d been so excited about picking up Starlight that very day. Buying a horse was an important decision, and the fact that Tanya was obviously taking it so lightly was a sure sign that she wasn’t worthy of a good horse like Starlight. Carole could only hope the owner of that Hanoverian knew what he was doing.

  But she couldn’t manage to feel too upset about Tanya’s careless change of heart. In fact, right at the moment it seemed like the only bright spot in her horrible afternoon. Well, she thought a bit bashfully, her mind flashing back to the moment Ben’s surprisingly tender lips had found her own, it’s one of the only bright spots.

  She hurried out of the office, heading for Starlight’s stall, suddenly eager to see him. The gelding was looking out over the half door when she approached. He nickered when he spotted her, and Carole couldn’t help smiling. “Hey, boy,” she said softly as she let herself into the stall and ran her hands over her horse’s smooth face and neck, pausing to scratch all his favorite spots. Starlight snorted and shoved his big head into her chest, obviously hoping for some treats. “Sorry, I don’t have anything for you today,” she told him. “But I’ll be sure to bring lots of carrots and apple pieces the next time I …” Her voice trailed off as she realized what she’d been about to say: the next time I come. When would that be? Unless she could convince her father to change his mind, it would be a long, long time.

  Carole’s knees felt weak at the thought, and she slid down the wall onto the soft, prickly mat of straw on the floor. How was she going to survive without Pine Hollow for so long? At the thought, some of her other problems came creeping back, overtaking her relief that Starlight was still hers. How was she going to say goodbye to Samson? It hurt even to think about it. She’d been so sure that they were meant to be together. And now …

  The sound of approaching voices interrupted her thoughts. Standing up, she glanced out and saw Callie walking down the aisle. Maxi was with her, her small hand tucked into Callie’s larger one, chattering away about the pony rides and the horse show in general.

  Callie spotted Carole looking out at them. “There you are!” she exclaimed, interrupting Maxi’s flow of words and hurrying toward Starlight’s stall. “The others were looking for you.”

  “Others?” Carole repeated blankly.

  “Lisa and Stevie,” Callie explained. “They’re with Prancer. She’s running a really high fever, and Lisa says she’s been getting worse all day. It doesn’t look good.”

  Carole gasped. “Prancer!” she cried. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

  Callie shook her head grimly, shooting a quick glance at Maxi. “You’d better go check it out for yourself.”

  Carole guessed that she didn’t want to say too much in front of the little girl. That meant it had to be pretty bad. Her heart in her throat, she let herself out of the stall and rushed toward the other main row of stalls, where Prancer lived.

  What could have happened to Prancer in one day? she wondered worriedly. She gulped as a thought occurred to her. Or did something happen sooner? Did we—I—not notice she wasn’t feeling well because I was so wrapped up in getting ready for the show? Even the idea made her feel guilty.

  As she rounded the corner, she almost ran smack into Ben, who was coming the other way. “Oh!” Carole cried, startled. “Um, sorry.” She felt herself blushing furiously. She hadn’t seen Ben face-to-face since their kiss, and now she wasn’t sure what to say to him. “I mean, uh, hi.”

  “Hi,” Ben replied curtly. He didn’t meet her eye. “Excuse me.” He stepped aside and hurried on past her without a second glance.

  Carole gulped, feeling as though she’d been slapped. What was going on? Ben had acted as if nothing at all had happened between them. No, she realized, turning to stare after him, it was even worse than that. He’d acted as if he wished nothing had happened. She might not have much experience with guys, but she wasn’t completely stupid. She knew what it meant when a guy kissed you one minute and looked straight through you the next.

  Her eyes welled with hot tears, but she forced them down angrily. She didn’t have time to worry about Ben. She had to find her friends, to see what was going on with Prancer. Later she could figure out how to deal with this horrible new problem in her horrible life.

  “I can’t believe it.” Stevie was stunned by what Lisa and Carole had just told her. She leaned back against the wall of Prancer’s stall, trying to take it in. “Your dad was going to buy her for you?” She looked at Lisa.

  Lisa nodded, her face haggard. She glanced at Prancer, who was lying on the straw nearby, her sides heaving as she struggled for each breath. “It was going to be a surprise,” she said softly. “I’m not sure, but I think he was probably going to tell me about it over Thanksgiving.”

  Stevie couldn’t answer. Putting her hand over her mouth, she gazed at Prancer mournfully. It’s not fair, she thought, tears springing to her eyes as she watched Prancer lie there, dulled by the medicine Judy had given her as well as by her own pain. Lisa has loved Prancer for years. And she’s always wanted her own horse. How can it be that now, just when Prancer was about to become hers …

  She couldn’t finish the thought. It was too tragic to bear. She reached for Lisa’s hand and squeezed it, hoping that her friend knew how deeply she felt for her. Glancing at Carole, she saw that her red-rimm
ed eyes were focused on Lisa. For the moment, at least, she seemed to have forgotten her own considerable problems.

  Judy poked her head over the stall door and looked in at the three girls somberly. “How’s she doing?” the vet asked.

  Lisa shook her head and swallowed hard. “Not good,” she said, loosening her hand from Stevie’s grip and running her hands over Prancer’s side. The mare didn’t even seem to notice her touch.

  Max appeared beside Judy. He looked grim. “I hate to say this, girls,” he said, his voice gruff and sad. “But I think it’s time.”

  Stevie immediately understood what he meant. “Are you sure?” she asked. “But what if—” She broke off when she saw the look on Judy’s face. That was all the answer she needed. The vet didn’t think there was any chance that Prancer would pull through this. All they could do for her now was to end her suffering quickly and humanely rather than letting her pain continue any longer.

  Stevie gulped and looked over at her friends. Both of them had gone pale, but neither said a word. Stevie returned her gaze to Max and Judy. “Is it all right if we stay with her?” she asked, knowing it was what her friends would want.

  Judy nodded. She disappeared for a moment, and Stevie heard the sounds of the vet snapping open her bag and preparing her equipment. Glancing at Lisa and Carole, she saw that they heard it, too. Stevie wished there was something she could do to ease the tortured expression on Lisa’s face. As hard as it was for Stevie and Carole to see Prancer like this, she knew it was hardest of all for Lisa. Lisa had loved her more than any of them. She had ridden her countless times, in shows and exhibitions, on trail rides and in riding classes. For years now, they had been a pair. And now, just when Lisa should be looking forward to having the amiable, sweet-tempered Thoroughbred all to herself at last, Prancer was being yanked cruelly away from her. Stevie didn’t know how she could stand it.