Back in the Saddle

by Bonnie Bryant

  It sounds like an interesting experiment, she thought, holding Eve back so that Alex could lead his horse forward to mount. Especially considering all the thinking I’ve been doing lately about marriage and families.

  Even now that she was home again, Lisa couldn’t seem to stop mulling over everything that had happened during her trip to California. Her brother’s new marriage had been a huge surprise to everyone. Besides that, Lisa had found it difficult to warm up to her new sister-in-law, Greta, and Greta’s children. All the sudden changes made her think about the other ways her family had changed in the last few years, including her parents’ divorce and her father’s remarriage.

  Why is it that things always seem to change just when you think you’ve got everything under control? Lisa wondered, thinking of her mother’s breakup. It’s like you can’t even relax for a minute without life kicking you upside the head.…

  “Lisa? Earth to Lisa!”

  Lisa snapped out of her funk to find Alex in the saddle, staring at her. “Oops!” she said sheepishly. “Sorry. Guess I drifted off there for a sec.” She quickly led Eve forward and mounted, keeping her face averted. She didn’t feel like sharing her thoughts with Alex just then. She just wanted to hit the trail, have a nice time with her boyfriend, and forget about everything else for a while.

  As they set off, heading for one of their favorite trails in the woods beyond the big south pasture, Lisa couldn’t help noticing how much more confident her boyfriend was in the saddle these days. He’d only started riding the previous spring, after they’d gotten together, because he wanted a way to spend more time with her. But lately he actually seemed to be enjoying it for its own sake, too. Lisa was happy about that. She didn’t like the thought of asking him to do something he hated just so they could be together.

  Still, that sort of thing would probably get him extra points if our relationship were part of the marriage project, she thought with a secret smile. Actually, after all the stuff we’ve been through together lately, we’d probably end up at the top of the class.

  Her thoughts drifted from imaginary wedding bells to the real thing. She’d daydreamed plenty of times about what it would be like to be married to Alex. Sometimes she pictured the house they might buy together, or romantic dinners in front of the fireplace, or shopping for baby clothes. But today, for some reason, she couldn’t bring up those images with any clarity. The only thing she could think about was the two of them leaning toward each other to kiss … and missing.

  Stevie rushed into Pine Hollow Stables, her car keys still in her hand. The place was quiet for a weekday afternoon, and her footsteps echoed loudly on the wooden floorboards of the entryway. After a quick glance into the locker room, which was empty, she raced toward the tack room.

  As she careened around the corner, the first person she spotted was Ben Marlow. The young stable hand was sweeping the floor outside the stable office. “Ben!” Stevie cried excitedly. “Where is everyone?”

  Ben tossed back a thick shock of dark hair and glanced up at her, his face as impassive as ever “Everyone!” he repeated.

  Stevie wasn’t sure, but she thought she detected the faintest hint of a twinkle in his deadpan expression. Could it be? she wondered in amazement. Could grumpy old Ben actually have a sense of humor in there somewhere?

  She didn’t have time to worry about that at the moment, though. She was bursting to share her news with someone. “Okay, forget about everyone,” she said briskly, jigging from one foot to the other. “I’ll settle for Lisa, or Alex, or Callie. Have you seen them?”

  Ben shrugged, returning his attention to his broom. “Lisa and Alex are out on the trails,” he said in his usual brusque way. “Callie too. She won’t be back for a while. Training.” He shrugged again, and Stevie thought she saw his frown deepen. “That brother of hers. He’s here—again. Back paddock.”

  Okay, so I guess that means Ben’s stand-up routine is over, Stevie thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at Ben’s undisguised animosity toward Scott. She would never understand Ben Marlow. He seemed determined to be hostile and gloomy most of the time. Aside from horses, nothing seemed to give him any real pleasure, as far as Stevie could tell. That certainly wasn’t the way she would want to go through life.

  “Thanks,” she told Ben shortly. “See you.”

  She hurried through the stable, stopping at Belle’s stall just long enough to give her horse a quick pat and a promise of more attention later. As soon as she exited through the back door, she spotted Scott leaning against the post-and-board fence of the small back paddock. He was watching a couple of Pine Hollow’s ponies as they dozed in the middle of the ring, enjoying the meager December sunshine.

  “Hey!” Scott turned to greet Stevie with his usual easy, charming grin. “Where’s the fire?”

  Stevie skidded to a stop in front of him. “I don’t know,” she replied breathlessly. “But someone else will have to cover it. Because I’ve already got an assignment!”

  Scott looked a little confused for a moment. Then his expression cleared. “Oh!” he said. “You mean for the Sentinel?”

  “Yep,” Stevie replied proudly. She flopped against the fence beside him, leaning over to catch her breath. “I had another meeting with Theresa just now, and I talked her into letting me write about the junior marriage project.”

  “Cool!” Scott looked impressed. “But I thought she wasn’t going to let you write until, like, the next decade.”

  Stevie grinned. She’d spent most of chemistry class that day muttering to Scott, her lab partner, about how unfair Theresa was being. “I changed her mind,” she explained. “I can be very persuasive, you know.” She was only half kidding about that. She was genuinely proud of her ability to talk almost anyone into almost anything. Then she relented. “Actually, she didn’t exactly promise she’d run my piece. But she said since all the other reporters are already working on stories for this issue, and this marriage project just came out of nowhere, I could take a shot at it, and she’d see.”

  “Good for you,” Scott said sincerely. “I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with something that will really wow her, Stevie.” A sly grin crept across his face. “That is, if you can tear your attention away from your darling hubby long enough to write it.”

  Stevie grimaced. She’d been doing her best to forget about her marriage partner. “Very funny,” she said. “If there’s a less compatible husband for me in the entire state of Virginia than Spike Anderson, I can’t imagine who it would be.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Scott smirked. “Don’t they say opposites attract? And a lot of girls seem to think Spike’s some kind of hunk.…”

  “Yeah,” Stevie said sourly. “A hunk of dead brain cells.”

  Scott laughed. “Glad to see you’re beginning your marriage all optimistic and dewy-eyed, Lake.”

  “Thanks, Forester. Now, can we get back to talking about my big break?” Stevie chewed on her lip, her gaze straying to the drowsy ponies, who were ambling slowly toward them. “I mean, I’m sure you’re right and I can come up with a killer article by the Thursday deadline. I want to make it so thrilling that Theresa won’t be able to resist printing it.” She shrugged. “I’m just not sure I’ve hit on the right angle yet.” Suddenly she brightened, realizing that she’d lucked onto the perfect brainstorming partner. Scott’s whole family had plenty of experience with the media, thanks to Congressman Forester’s high-profile job. If anyone could help her figure out the best way to approach her article, it was Scott. “So how about it?” she asked, glancing over at him. “Any brilliant ideas?”

  Scott nodded thoughtfully, leaning back on his elbows against the paddock fence. “If you want to get people’s attention on a sort of broad issue, it’s usually best to zoom in on the personal level.”

  “What do you mean?” Stevie shot him a puzzled look as a pony named Penny reached the fence and stretched her neck over to give Stevie a curious sniff. “You mean, like ask people what t
hey think of the project as part of the article?”

  “Well, maybe,” Scott said. “But I was thinking more of an overall approach. A way to make people feel more involved in what the project is about by focusing on how it affects specific individuals.”

  Stevie stood up straight, shoving Penny’s nose out of her left jacket pocket, where the pony was searching for treats. “I get it!” she exclaimed. “Like how in a lot of news stories in magazines and stuff, they’ll start out by saying, like, ‘So-and-So Smith is the fourth generation of his family to work as a farmer,’ and then talk about that for a while before they get to the boring stuff about farm subsidies or whatever.”

  “Exactly.” Scott smiled. “Trust me, I’ve been the subject of a few of those stories myself. They get people’s attention.”

  Stevie nodded thoughtfully. “I could pick, say, three couples and follow their progress all week,” she said. “Then I could sort of profile them, with all the intimate details of their ‘marriages,’ as a way of explaining what the project was all about and how it worked out.”

  “Perfect. So who are you going to profile?”

  Stevie sighed. “Well, I hate to say it, but I guess one of the couples should be me and Spike.” She made a sour face. “Not that I’m looking forward to that. But at least it will help show how even the most mismatched couple can work together and get through the project, right?”

  “Sure,” Scott said with a shrug. “Who else?”

  “How about Callie?” Stevie suggested, reaching into her right jacket pocket just in time to rescue the small notebook she’d tucked there from Penny, who was exploring again. Flipping the notebook open and unclipping the pen she’d attached to it, she jotted down Callie’s name. “She’ll be a good subject, since she’ll be willing to talk to me as much as I want. Besides, she and Corey are both so smart and responsible, they’ll make a great contrast to me and Spike.”

  Scott laughed. “True,” he agreed. “And I think Callie would definitely go along with it. She’s not big on publicity most of the time, but I know she’ll want to help you out on this.”

  Stevie nodded, sticking her pen in her mouth and chewing on the end as she pondered who her third couple should be. As her gaze strayed over the back paddock into the larger field off to one side, she spotted a sleek Trakehner mare grazing in the group that was turned out there. George Wheeler’s horse, Joyride.

  “How about George?” she said. “He got matched with Sue Berry, remember? I’m sure both of them would cooperate.”

  To her surprise, Scott shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said doubtfully. “I mean, yeah, George would be an easy subject. So would your brother and Iris. But that may not be the way to go if you want Theresa to take you seriously.”

  Stevie understood immediately. “Right,” she said. “If I interview all my friends, I guess the article won’t exactly be balanced, will it? Not that I count Spike Anderson as a close personal buddy or anything, husband or not.” She rolled her eyes, then sighed and stared at her notebook. “But who else could I do who would be interesting and different?”

  Instead of answering, Scott glanced over Stevie’s shoulder toward the stable building. “Hey, Nicole,” he called with a smile. “How’s it going?”

  Glancing back, Stevie saw Nicole Adams emerging from the back entrance, leading a bay gelding named Diablo. “Hi, you two!” Nicole trilled, waving at Stevie and Scott. “What’s up?”

  Stevie let out a grunt that she hoped would pass for a greeting. She and Nicole had known each other for most of their lives, but they had never really hit it off. Besides, Stevie’s recent suspicions that Nicole might have a more-than-friendly interest in her brother didn’t make her feel any warmer toward her vivacious, flirtatious classmate.

  “Looks like you’re ready to hit the trails,” Scott commented to Nicole in his usual easy manner. “Where are you—”

  “Hey!” Stevie interrupted suddenly as an idea struck her. “Nicole, who’s your partner for the marriage project?” She shot Scott an eager glance. The answer to her problem could be standing right in front of her! After all, Nicole ran with Veronica’s snobby, popular crowd—nobody could accuse Stevie’s article of being too narrow in focus if it included her as one of its subjects. Plus, Nicole had just started taking lessons at Pine Hollow, so Stevie would have no trouble tracking her down for interviews.

  Nicole giggled and blushed. “I got lucky,” she confided. “My husband is Wesley Ward.”

  Stevie grimaced, her brilliant solution sliding down the drain immediately. Wesley was one of Spike’s best friends. No way do I want to deal with two stupid, immature jocks this week, she thought. One’s going to be bad enough.

  Nicole was gazing at her suspiciously through her fringe of mascara-laden lashes. “Why do you ask?”

  “Oh, no reason.” Stevie smiled weakly. “Just curious.”

  Nicole shrugged, then glanced over at Diablo, who was pricking his small, batlike ears at the ponies. “Okay, I’d better get going,” she said. “It gets dark early these days, and I really want to do some work on my lead changes.”

  “See you,” Scott said, reaching forward to give Diablo a pat. “Have fun.”

  As Nicole moved on, one of the ponies, a slightly swaybacked gray named Nickel, came forward and nudged Scott’s shoulder. Scott turned to pat the little gelding, then shot Stevie a glance. “So let me guess,” he began. “When you heard who Nicole’s partner was, you decided you didn’t want to—”

  Suddenly Stevie had a very interesting, slightly wicked idea. “I’ve got it!” she broke in, so abruptly that Nickel pulled his head back in surprise. “Veronica!”

  Scott wrinkled his nose. “Veronica diAngelo? Are you saying you want to write about her?” he asked in surprise. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I thought you and Veronica didn’t get along that well. Why would you want to voluntarily spend more time with her?”

  Stevie grinned. “Because she got paired with Zach Lincoln,” she explained. “You know, as in Blinkin’ Lincoln, class spaz and the last guy on earth Veronica would ever talk to if she didn’t have to.”

  Scott raised one eyebrow dubiously. “Well, at least no one could accuse you of only featuring your friends.”

  “I know. Besides, it will drive Veronica crazy to have her not-so-perfect match publicized, especially since she probably would’ve loved to get paired up with someone like Spike, or even Corey.” Stevie scribbled a few lines in her notebook, her mind already churning with descriptive phrases for Veronica and her new husband.

  Scott still looked a bit skeptical, but he didn’t comment further on Stevie’s third couple. “Well, it sounds like you’re well on your way,” he said, stroking Nickel’s pale gray nose. “And by the way, congrats again on talking Theresa into giving you a shot.”

  “Thanks. And thanks for your ideas about the article, too.” Stevie snapped her notebook shut and tucked it away before smiling at Scott gratefully. “I’m just glad I found you in time. If I hadn’t found someone to tell about this when I did, I probably would’ve exploded. And then who would they give the Pulitzer Prize to this year?”

  Scott grinned. “Glad I could be here for you, Stevie.”

  “Me too,” Stevie said. Suddenly something occurred to her. “Hey, but what are you doing here, anyway? Ben said Callie’s still out on the trail doing the endurance thing.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Scott shrugged and pulled his jacket sleeve away from Nickel’s curious teeth. “But I had to come by anyway to drop something off for her, so I figured, why make the trip twice? I thought I’d just hang out and offer my brilliant insights to any potential newspaper stars who happened by.” He grinned and winked mischievously.

  Stevie was a little surprised. Maybe she’d misunderstood, but from what Ben had told her, she doubted that Callie would be ready to leave any time soon. “Well, since I’m the only one of those you’re likely to run into by the back paddock, why don’t you go ahead and take off?” she offered.
“I want to tell Lisa my news when she gets back, so I’ll probably be here for a while yet, and I have the car today. I can run Callie home if you have other stuff to do.”

  “Thanks, but that’s okay,” Scott replied. “I don’t mind hanging out here for a while.” He grinned again. “Besides, if I’m here, Mom can’t make me clean out my closet like she’s been threatening all month.”

  Stevie shrugged and let it drop, though she was pretty sure he was just being diplomatic. She knew that Scott and Callie got along really well most of the time, but even so, it had to be tough on Scott to have to drive his sister around constantly. Stevie knew how that could be—it was difficult enough coordinating the use of the car she shared with Alex. The only thing that saved them from more fights than they already had over it was that their house was just a ten-minute walk from Pine Hollow. The Foresters lived in the same neighborhood, but for a long time even that short distance had been too much for Callie’s weak leg, so Scott had been driving her over to the stable almost every day for the past few months.

  “Now that Callie’s leg is strong enough to let her drive again, it’s too bad she doesn’t have her own car so you wouldn’t have to play chauffeur all the time,” Stevie commented.

  “I don’t mind,” Scott said. “Besides, she’ll probably start shopping for a new endurance horse before long. Mom and Dad practically promised to buy her one when we moved here—that’s why they leased Fez last summer, remember? And Callie will want the best. Whichever horse she settles on will probably cost as much as my car did, if not more.”

  Stevie nodded, feeling a momentary flash of envy. Her parents were both successful lawyers, and Stevie knew that she was more fortunate than most people—after all, she had her own horse, along with a nice home, a backyard swimming pool, and plenty of other luxuries. But with one child in college and two more just a year and a half from enrolling, the Lakes weren’t exactly rushing out to buy expensive sports cars and competition-level Arabians, either.