“One of the last.” Callie’s voice sounded sad as she began to clear PC’s saddle, which was sitting on the rack beside Lisa’s. “I still can’t believe Emily’s moving so soon. I mean, her good-bye party’s in a little over a week!”
Lisa gave the other girl a sympathetic glance. They would all miss Emily, but Callie had more reason than most to be sorry she was leaving so soon. Why did so many of life’s big changes always seem to happen at the worst possible times? “I guess you can never be prepared for things like that,” she mused, thinking more of her own questions about Prancer than of Callie. “It’s hard to make plans when other people’s plans are always changing.”
“Tell me about it,” Callie replied ruefully as she slowly rubbed a rag over PC’s bridle. “I’d miss Emily anytime she moved, of course—she’s a great person and a terrific friend. But if only her parents could have waited a few more months …”
If only my dad could have decided to buy Prancer for me last year, before Max bred her …, Lisa added silently. She knew that the few months’ difference, that slight shift in timing, might not have solved all her difficulties. She would still have to reconcile owning Prancer with her college plans. But it would have been so much easier if she’d been able to keep that issue in mind all along, instead of having it thrown at her now, when she’d already narrowed down her list of schools, when she was already distracted by the serious health issues of the mare’s carrying twins.
“I understand how you feel,” Lisa told Callie, meaning it. “It’s like you try to be so organized and everything, and then someone comes along and throws a wrench into the works. It doesn’t seem fair sometimes.”
“I know.” Callie remained silent for a moment.
Lisa finished cleaning Starlight’s bridle and moved on to the saddle, removing the stirrups and the girth. She was surprised that she and Callie were having such a serious talk. The two of them had felt a little awkward around each other ever since Lisa’s return—Callie had gotten to know Stevie and Carole over the summer while Lisa was away, and so they’d been put in the uncomfortable position of having the same friends while knowing very little about each other.
But time and familiarity had eased the tension bit by bit, and Lisa was surprised to find that she already had difficulty remembering why she’d ever resented Callie in the first place. It seemed almost natural to talk with her one-on-one this way, without their friends around to mediate.
“I guess life’s never predictable, is it?” Callie said at last, interrupting Lisa’s thoughts once again. “Just when you think you have it figured out—bam, it smacks you upside the head again.”
Lisa guessed the other girl was thinking about the car accident that had caused her injuries as well as about Emily’s departure. “Right,” she agreed. “I never could have guessed some of the things that have happened lately, that’s for sure.”
“You mean Prancer’s pregnancy?” Callie turned a shrewd eye toward Lisa.
Lisa nodded. “Definitely,” she agreed, wishing once again she could share the other part of the Prancer secret. “It really took me by surprise.”
“We were all pretty surprised by that one.” Callie rubbed a sponge with saddle soap. “Especially about the twins thing.” She chuckled and glanced at Lisa out of the corner of her eye. “I guess that was just Nature’s way of adding another little twist to the surprise. Just to keep us on our toes, keep us from getting too comfortable and satisfied with things the way they are.” She shrugged, her expression growing more serious once again. “Sort of like with me and Emily. I can’t forget about my goals just because she’s leaving, just like you haven’t given up riding because Prancer’s out of commission for a while. We have to keep going, find a new way to deal with it all and move on.”
Lisa nodded thoughtfully. She hadn’t thought about it that way before. For some reason, it made her feel a bit better. Events might seem random, life might seem hard sometimes, but when it came right down to it, they were all in it together. Life didn’t stop when something unexpected happened, which was scary but strangely comforting as well. Whatever happened, however impossible it seemed that things could ever work out, time marched on, carrying everyone along with it.
I’ve just got to keep that in mind for the next few months, Lisa told herself. Time goes on. A year from now I’ll probably wonder what on earth I was so worked up about. By then I’ll be in college. Prancer will have had her foals. Alex and I will have figured out a way to be together. If I can just keep believing all that, I should be all right, no matter what happens in between.
She knew that Callie wasn’t going to let Emily’s departure stop her from learning to walk without crutches. It sounded as though she was already coming to terms with it. Lisa admired her for that and vowed to follow her example if she could.
It may seem impossible right now, she told herself. But things will work out for Prancer and me somehow. They’ve got to.
Callie balanced her weight on her crutches as she hoisted PC’s clean and shiny saddle off the cleaning rack. “All done,” she told Lisa, who was picking at a stubborn piece of dirt on the cantle of Starlight’s saddle. “Almost ready?”
“Almost.” Lisa glanced up at Callie and took a step forward. “Need some help with that?”
“I’ve got it,” Callie said quickly. Realizing her words might have sounded a bit brusque, she smiled at Lisa apologetically. “Thanks,” she added, lifting the saddle to its rack on the tack room wall. “But I really can do it myself. It’s good exercise.”
Lisa nodded. “I understand. It’s okay,” she said. “Just give me a second and I’ll walk out with you.”
“Great.” Callie turned away to hang her bridle on the appropriate peg beside the saddle. When she turned around again, she saw that Ben Marlow had appeared in the tack room door. “Hi, Ben.”
Lisa glanced over her shoulder. Callie could tell she hadn’t heard Ben come in. That was nothing unusual—Ben walked around the place like some kind of gloomy ghost, sometimes seeming surprised that the mortals around the place could sense his presence at all.
“Hey,” he greeted the two girls in his usual dispassionate tone. “Max isn’t in here.”
It was a statement rather than a question, but Lisa shook her head. “Haven’t seen him lately,” she told Ben politely. “Have you checked up at the house? He probably needed a rest after both a beginner and an intermediate lesson today.”
Ben inclined his head briefly in what could have been a nod. Suddenly he took a step toward Lisa, his gaze now trained on the tack in front of her. “Starlight?”
Lisa nodded. “I took him out on the trail today,” she explained. “Carole was running late, and he needed exercise, and all the decent horses were tied up, so it worked out great for all of us.”
Ben looked startled. “Was that your idea?” he demanded. “Or Carole’s?”
Callie blinked in surprise at Ben’s tone. He kept to himself so much that it was always a shock when he actually expressed an interest in what other people were doing. Still, she supposed that anything having to do with horses held at least some interest for him.
Lisa looked startled at the blunt question, too, but she answered cordially. “It was Carole’s, of course,” she said. “Like I said—”
“Right,” Ben interrupted. He stared at the saddle again as if looking for answers in its softly gleaming brown leather.
“So?” Lisa was starting to look slightly annoyed by now, and Callie couldn’t blame her. Ben’s unique personality seemed to work for the horses he trained—they all adored him—but his odd, cryptic way of expressing himself hadn’t won him many human friends as far as she could tell.
Ben shrugged, still staring at the saddle. “Strange,” he muttered, looking more ill at ease with every word.
“It’s not strange at all.” Lisa was frowning by now, her hands on her hips. “Carole’s got a lot going on this week—the PSATs, her job here, that horse show. And it’s not like she
’s shoving her duties taking care of her horse off on some stranger, you know. I’m her best friend—I’ve known Starlight since the day she got him. She knows I love him almost as much as she does and that I’ll take good care of him.”
Ben scowled, shrugged, and backed out of the room without another word. Lisa glanced at Callie, shaking her head grimly.
“Can you believe him?” she said. “What business is it of his if Carole lets me ride Starlight? The way he was acting you’d think she was letting any old stranger take him out on the trail.” She snorted. “He should know as well as anyone that Carole treats that horse as if he were made of gold.”
Callie just nodded and kept silent. Privately, she suspected that Lisa might have missed Ben’s point. She seriously doubted that Ben was accusing Carole of neglecting her horse. As Lisa had said, he knew better than that—Carole took good care of every horse at Pine Hollow.
But maybe there was more to it than that. Wasn’t it a bit strange that Carole had urged Lisa to ride Starlight that day? After all, from her position aboard PC in the main schooling ring, Callie had been able to see the paddock where Carole had been working with Samson, riding him in a seemingly endless series of turns and circles. In fact, she’d still been at it when Callie and Emily had quit for the day and come inside. Spending more than an hour riding one of Max’s horses hardly seemed like the action of a girl who was pressed for time.
Still, she kept silent. Lisa had known Carole for years and years. If she didn’t see any problem, who was Callie—or Ben, for that matter—to argue? It wasn’t as though Callie herself had thought twice about the subject until Ben had brought it up. Besides, Carole was supposed to ride Samson in that big horse show just a few weeks from now. Callie knew how important it was to eke out every possible moment of training with your mount before an important event. She couldn’t blame Carole for wanting to concentrate on Samson for a little while, even if it meant sacrificing a few pleasure rides on her own horse.
FOURTEEN
Stevie leaned back comfortably in her chair, propping one knee on the edge of the kitchen table and absently scratching Bear’s head, which was resting heavily on her other knee. “So, Michael,” she said casually, “I wrote a poem for you today during my study hall. Want to hear it? It’s called ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Fawn.’”
Michael shot her a dark look as he carried a dirty pan from the stove to the sink. “I wrote a poem, too,” he grumbled. “Just now. It’s called ‘Stevie Is a Jerk.’”
Stevie grinned, knowing he was trapped for a little while at least. The family had just finished dinner, and it was Michael’s turn to clear the table and load the dishwasher. Alex had gone outside to kick the soccer ball around in the last few minutes of daylight, and their parents had disappeared into the study to discuss some case or other.
That meant Michael was Stevie’s—all Stevie’s. “So maybe you’re not in the mood for poetry right now,” she said. “That’s okay. We can change the subject if you want. Let’s see, what could we talk about … Oh, I know. You heard we’re having this party for Emily next weekend, right?” She and Alex had cleared the good-bye party with their parents earlier that evening, and she was looking forward to giving her friends the good news.
“Sure,” Michael replied cautiously, glancing around from his position at the sink.
Stevie shrugged. “Well, we would invite you,” she said, “but I’m afraid it’s a no-smooching zone. So unless you and Fawn can promise to control yourselves …”
Before Michael could do more than scowl and roll his eyes, the phone rang. Stevie shoved Bear’s head aside and leaned over to grab the receiver off the wall near the doorway. “Hello?” she said cheerfully, crossing her fingers and hoping it was Fawn.
“Stevie? Is that you?”
“Phil?” she said with a little frown, barely recognizing his voice. She hadn’t spoken to him since she’d seen him on Tuesday afternoon. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to see you.” His words sounded so strangled with worry that Stevie’s heart immediately started beating faster with concern. “Can you meet me somewhere? Right away?”
“Sure,” Stevie replied, her hand gripping the receiver tightly. “But what is it? What happened?”
“I don’t—Just meet me at that spot at the picnic grounds as soon as you can, okay?”
“Okay.” Stevie knew exactly which spot he meant. There was a public picnic area along the highway in the state woodlands that separated Willow Creek from Cross County. Since the picnic area was halfway between their homes, Stevie and Phil often met there when they just wanted to hang out together. They’d adopted one particular table beneath a huge, spreading oak tree as “their” spot, spending many a long afternoon wrapped in each other’s arms, perched on the rough wooden table in the dappled shade of the big tree. “I’ll be there.”
“What’s the matter?” Michael asked sourly as she hung up the phone. “Does Phil want you to come meet him so he can break up with you? I don’t blame him.”
Stevie didn’t bother to respond. Racing for the back door, she grabbed her jacket and car keys. Outside, she paused just long enough to tell Alex where she was going. Then she hopped into the car and took off for the highway.
She arrived at the picnic area ten minutes later and was out of the car almost before the engine sputtered to a stop. Phil was already standing in front of their table, looking very pale in the twilight, and she hurried to meet him.
“What is it?” she asked, taking in his tortured expression. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s A.J.,” Phil said without preamble, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “I—I think I just made a big mistake.”
“What do you mean?”
Phil shrugged. “I ran into his parents at the grocery store,” he said quietly. “They still had no idea what was wrong with him, and they just looked so hurt and sad. So … So defeated, or something. Like they’d totally given up on ever being happy again.”
Stevie gently took his hand and led him to the picnic table. Perching beside him on the bench, she gazed at him seriously. “Did you tell them?” she asked, already knowing the answer from the look on Phil’s face.
He nodded. “It seemed like the thing to do at the time.” He swallowed hard. “I mean, I just couldn’t lie when they asked me if I’d talked to him lately. Besides, they need to know, don’t they? How else is A.J. going to get past this?”
“I think you did the right thing,” Stevie said sincerely, rubbing the back of his hand gently. “He had to talk to them about this sooner or later. Why make everyone suffer longer than they have to? It was for his own good as well as theirs.”
“Too bad he doesn’t see it that way,” Phil said glumly. “I guess they talked to him as soon as they got home. He called me up and practically screamed at me. Said I should have minded my own business and he wished he’d never met me. That kind of thing.”
“Wow.” Stevie shook her head grimly. “Still, you did what you had to do, right? I’m proud of you.”
“You are?”
“Sure.” She put her arm around his hunched shoulders. “It was totally brave and noble. You risked messing up your friendship, but you did it to save your friend. You had to do it.”
“Thanks … I guess,” Phil said, still looking worried. “I wish that made me feel better.” He sighed wearily and rubbed his eyes. “Anyway, thanks for coming to meet me. For listening.”
“Anytime,” Stevie said, leaning over to give him a quick kiss on the forehead.
Phil brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her back on the lips. “Thanks,” he said again. “Did anyone ever tell you you’re the coolest?”
“Sure,” Stevie joked breezily. “My other boyfriends tell me that all the time.”
Phil chuckled. “They’re right, you know.” He kissed her again, then sat back a bit. “Anyway, so what’s new with you?”
Stevie sensed that he didn’t want to talk about A.J. any longer. There wa
s really nothing more to say that they hadn’t said a hundred times before. He just needed confirmation from Stevie that what he’d done was okay. “Alex and I talked to Mom and Dad about the party today before dinner.”
“What’d they say?”
“They said we could have it at our house,” Stevie replied. “Was there ever any doubt?”
“Not really,” Phil admitted with a hint of a smile. “When you set your mind to something … well, let’s just say you can be very persuasive.”
“Hey, is that a PSAT vocabulary word?” Stevie accused him.
Phil shrugged. “What can I say? After all that studying, I am the king of the English language.”
Stevie grinned. “Oh, really?” she said. “Well, speaking of kings—actually, make that presidents—and persuasion, guess what happened at school yesterday?” She quickly filled him in on Trina Sullivan’s sudden departure and Scott’s decision to run for her vacated office. “So get this: Scott asked me to be his campaign manager!” She grinned. “Isn’t that incredible?”
Phil looked taken aback. “What did you tell him?”
“I said yes, of course. It will be a blast!” Suddenly noticing that his expression hadn’t changed, she added, “What?”
Phil shrugged. “Nothing,” he said. “I’m just kind of surprised you’d want to take something like this on right now, that’s all. You’re pretty busy already these days, you know? School, the PSATs, the big horse show, Emily’s party …”
Stevie hadn’t really looked at it that way before. She did have a lot on her plate in the next few weeks. But she wasn’t really worried. She never felt more energized and happy than when she was throwing herself wholeheartedly into fun, challenging, interesting things. The Colesford Horse Show, Scott’s campaign, Emily’s party all promised to be full of excitement, and she was looking forward to playing her part in every one. “Don’t fret,” she teased. “I’ll always have time for you, you know.”
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