“Never mind,” she interrupted her own self-pitying thoughts sharply. Starlight’s ears swiveled toward her attentively, and she gave him one last pat before letting herself out of his stall. “I guess Stevie isn’t the only one around here who needs a nice, long, relaxing trail ride. I’ll be back as soon as I find her, boy.”
Carole hurried down the aisle toward Belle’s stall, shaking her head to clear it. Her envious thoughts had already fled. She was genuinely happy that Lisa had the opportunity to enjoy such an interesting summer. She only wished she could have had it in Willow Creek with her and Stevie. Still, Lisa would be coming home soon—the week after next. Then everything could go back to normal.
Stevie wasn’t with Belle, so Carole headed for the tack room, hoping that her friend was already getting ready for the trail ride. She didn’t find her in the square, leather-scented room, but she did find Ben. He was seated on a trunk, bent over a grungy bridle strap.
“Hi,” she said. “Did Veronica and her little friend get off okay?” She had tacked up Congo as Ben prepared Firefly but hadn’t hung around to watch Veronica and Trent mount. She had been too annoyed.
Ben nodded. For a moment he didn’t seem inclined to elaborate. But just as Carole was about to ask if he’d seen Stevie, he spoke. “You didn’t tell me that girl knew how to ride. I watched for a minute or two because I thought Firefly might be too much for her. But she’s really good.”
Carole could hardly believe it. Was that actually admiration in Ben’s voice?
“Sure,” she replied, her own voice dripping with sarcasm. “She ought to be good. She had the best riding instruction money could buy.” She took a deep breath. “But I didn’t come here to talk about her. I’m looking for Stevie. Have you seen her lately?”
“Actually, Veronica said something about—”
Carole cut him off before he could finish. “Enough about Veronica already, okay?” she said sharply. “She’s taken up enough of my time today. If you don’t know where Stevie is, I’d better keep looking.” Ignoring the surprised look on Ben’s face, she stomped off to check Belle’s stall once more.
Carole was patting Stevie’s lively mare on the nose and wondering where to look next when Denise McCaskill came rushing up to her. “Carole! I’m so glad you haven’t left yet!” the young woman exclaimed, looking relieved.
“Hi, Denise.” Carole glanced at her watch, realizing that it was well after noon. Her shift was officially over—especially now that she knew Denise had arrived. Denise was finishing the last few credits she needed for her bachelor’s degree in equine studies. She spent her mornings in class, hurrying from the school to Pine Hollow for her job as afternoon stable manager. Soon she would be ready to take on a full-time job at the stable. Carole was happy about that, but she knew at least one person who was even happier. Red O’Malley, the head stable hand at Pine Hollow, was Denise’s longtime boyfriend. “What’s up?” Carole asked, noting the look of consternation on Denise’s normally calm face.
“Checkers let himself out of the paddock again.”
“Again?” Carole sighed. The mischievous quarter horse was a real escape artist. A horse-proof bolt kept him in his stall, but he still managed to steal out of Pine Hollow’s fields and paddocks on a regular basis. “What did he do this time?”
“What didn’t he do?” Denise replied grimly. “By the time we noticed he was out—by the way, don’t ask me how he opened that new gate latch, since the guy who sold it to Max swore it was horseproof—he had had quite a spree. He knocked down most of those new baby trees Deborah planted behind the paddock. He let himself into the grain shed and sampled some alfalfa pellets—after he tore apart the sack, of course. We’re also pretty sure he’s the one who opened the gate to the side paddock and let that pair of yearlings into the big field. And to top it off, when we finally tracked him down, he was busy rolling in the manure pit.”
“Ick.” Carole wrinkled her nose. Even with all her experience, some of the things horses did still amazed her. It’s incredible when you think about it, she thought. Each one really does have its own unique personality, and sometimes …
Suddenly she noticed the pleading, expectant look Denise was giving her. “Oh. I guess you probably need some help, right?”
“Sorry,” Denise said. “I know your shift is over. But this is going to be a big job, and Max wants all hands on deck.”
“No problem. I’m right behind you.” Carole sighed. First Veronica, and now this. At this rate, starting school in a few weeks was going to feel like a vacation. “So much for that trail ride,” she muttered as she followed Denise down the aisle.
Stevie wanted nothing more than to lock herself in her room and cry for a week.
“I shouldn’t be this freaked out,” she muttered as she cut across a neighbor’s yard. She figured if she said it out loud, maybe she would start to believe it. “The stupid accident happened two months ago.”
But saying it didn’t help any more than thinking it had. Stevie just couldn’t seem to put the accident behind her. She had to admit things were at least a little better than they had been at first—there were days now when she managed to forget what had happened for whole hours at a time. But she also still had moments, like this one, when her emotions were so intense she could hardly stand it. At those moments it was as if the accident had happened yesterday, even five minutes before. She wondered if she would ever really get over it. How could she, when everywhere she turned there was another reminder? Every time she saw Scott or Callie, every time she turned the key in the ignition, every time it rained …
Stevie rubbed her forehead wearily and blinked back a few stray tears as she turned up her family’s driveway, heading for the front door. Why did this have to happen to her? It wasn’t fair. She hadn’t done anything to deserve this. She was a good driver, a good person …
The phone was ringing as she let herself into the front hall. From upstairs, she heard her mother’s voice calling faintly for someone to pick up.
“What timing,” Stevie murmured, hurrying into the living room to grab the phone off the small table beside the sofa.
As her hand touched the receiver, a sudden irrational feeling swept over her. It was Lisa on the other end of the line, she was positive. Lisa was calling because she knew Stevie needed her. Hearing her friend’s voice was just about the only thing Stevie could imagine that might cheer her up right then. Hearing her voice, and hearing that Lisa had booked a nonrefundable ticket back to the East Coast, that she couldn’t wait to get back home to Willow Creek where she belonged …
“Hello?” she said eagerly into the receiver, waiting for the familiar voice to greet her in return.
But the voice that came wasn’t familiar. It was a woman’s voice, brisk and businesslike. “Hello there. I’m calling for Ms. Stephanie Lake, please.”
“This is Stevie Lake,” Stevie replied automatically, feeling a little confused that such a strong premonition had turned out to be false.
“Hello, Steph—er, Stevie.” The woman’s voice suddenly sounded much warmer. “This is Elsie Summers from WCTV. We met a couple of months ago after you—after Congressman Forester’s daughter was injured in that car crash.”
“I remember you,” Stevie said numbly. She sank down onto the couch, her legs weakening as a feeling of déjà vu overtook her. Elsie Summers was a reporter for the local television station. She had done a whole series of reports on Stevie’s accident, asking nosy question after nosy question. She had called Stevie’s house several times a day. She had tracked down the driver’s ed teacher from Stevie’s school to interview him about what kind of student Stevie had been. She had even brought a camera crew to Pine Hollow, though Max had refused to let them onto the property. For a while, Stevie had learned to expect to encounter the pushy reporter every time she turned around. The woman had even started turning up regularly in Stevie’s nightmares. Stevie’s parents had been on the verge of taking legal action against the TV station whe
n a local farmer had dug up three human skeletons in his cornfield. That had distracted Elsie Summers enough to make her forget about Stevie. Stevie had thought that this particular part of her ordeal, at least, was over. So what did Elsie Summers want from her now?
“I hope I’m not calling at a bad time,” the reporter went on smoothly. “But I realized that it’s been a couple of months since the accident, and I thought our viewers would want to know how things are going for you and Ms. Forester. I understand she’s undergoing physical therapy. That’s why I want to do a follow-up piece. It will make a terrific human interest story, don’t you think?”
Stevie gritted her teeth. She couldn’t believe it. Wouldn’t people ever get tired of talking about one lousy car accident? Wasn’t there anything of greater importance happening in the world? Wouldn’t Stevie ever have any peace?
“No, I don’t think it would,” she said evenly, her hand clenching the phone receiver in a death grip. “I definitely don’t.”
“Oh, but I can assure you, people are very interested,” Elsie Summers insisted. “Why, I’ve received several letters and calls this week alone about your story. People are very concerned.”
That was all Stevie could take. She could feel her face turning lobster red, but she didn’t care. “Then why don’t you tell them to mind their own business?” she shouted. “And while you’re at it, why don’t you tell yourself that, too?” She slammed the phone down so hard that the plastic casing cracked. Then she buried her face in her hands and started to sob.
“Stevie! What was all that shouting?” Mrs. Lake appeared in the living room doorway a moment later. When she saw that Stevie was crying, she hurried over, sat down beside her, and hugged her, cradling her to her shoulder. “What’s the matter, Stevie? Did something happen? Who was that on the phone?”
“It was that reporter from Channel Fourteen,” Stevie replied thickly. Her hands were shaking, even wrapped in her mother’s firm grip, and she couldn’t stop them. “The one that did all those awful stories about me after the accident.”
Mrs. Lake’s expression grew grim. “You mean Elsie Summers?” She shook her head. “I knew we should have done more about her intrusiveness.” Her face softened as she looked at her daughter. “I’m sorry, honey. I’m sorry we couldn’t do more to stop all that mess after the accident. I thought it was over.”
Stevie and her mother had always been close. As the only two females in their large household, they shared a special bond. In the past, Stevie had been able to tell her mother just about anything. Now, raising her tear-streaked face to Mrs. Lake’s sympathetic one, Stevie recognized for the first time that she had been holding back these past two months. She’d shared some of her pain with her parents, but not all of it. Not even close. She supposed it was because she’d felt it shouldn’t be such a big deal. After all, Callie was the one who’d been hurt. Stevie had walked away with just a few minor injuries that had long since healed.
But after what had just happened, Stevie realized she needed help. Her body might have healed, but the hurt inside her soul wasn’t getting better by itself. Maybe her mother could help, maybe not. The least Stevie could do was tell her the truth.
She let all the emotions of the past two months pour out in a rush. She told her mother about the nightmares that still came a couple of times a week. About the cold looks she got every time she saw Scott Forester. About the overwhelming feelings of guilt and sadness and worry that practically paralyzed her when she watched Callie struggle to walk again. Mrs. Lake sat quietly through it all, listening and stroking Stevie’s hair with one hand while holding both her hands tightly with the other.
“… so I guess there’s something really wrong with me,” Stevie finished at last, feeling as wrung out as a well-worn rub rag. “I thought time was supposed to heal all wounds or something like that. But a lot of time has passed, and things aren’t getting much better, and I feel like I don’t have any control over anything, like helping Callie or getting Scott to forgive me.”
“You can’t control what other people think or feel, sweetie,” Mrs. Lake said softly. “Only yourself.”
Stevie shrugged. “I guess I can’t do that, either.” She loosened one of her hands from her mother’s grip and swiped at her eyes. “I know the accident wasn’t my fault. It could have happened to anyone, and I did what I had to do, and it could have been worse, and all that stuff. I thought I’d made peace with it. And if it were just up to me, I think maybe I could. I mean, Callie forgave me ages ago, and she’s really the only one that should matter, right? But it’s hard to remember that when I feel like there are so many other people watching and judging. …” She could feel her lower lip trembling. She bit down on it, hard, to make it stop. She didn’t want to start bawling again.
Her mother watched her closely, looking concerned. “I had no idea this was still so hard on you. I wish you’d said something sooner.” She shook her head. “But never mind. All we can do is start from today and see what we can do.”
“I don’t think there’s anything we can do,” Stevie muttered with a sniffle.
“Well, we can try.” Mrs. Lake paused, thinking. “Maybe it would help if you could get away from all the things that are reminding you of the accident. You know, have a little fun before school starts. How about a family vacation?”
“A family vacation?” Stevie repeated dubiously. “You mean like going to Disney World or King’s Dominion or someplace?” Normally she loved amusement parks. But somehow she didn’t think screaming her head off on a roller coaster or two was going to change the way she felt. Of course, hanging around here hasn’t been much of a picnic, either, she reminded herself glumly.
Mrs. Lake shrugged. “I was thinking more along the lines of a week camping in the mountains. But actually, now that I think about it, your father has that big case coming up next week, and he’s afraid it’s going to drag out all month—”
The sound of the back door slamming interrupted her. A moment later Alex loped into the living room. He stopped short when he saw his mother and sister huddled on the couch. “Hi. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Stevie said quickly, moving a few inches away from her mother. She didn’t want any of her brothers to know how hard she was taking this. It wasn’t as if they would tease her the way they had when they were all younger. But she didn’t want their pity, either.
Mrs. Lake seemed to sense how she felt. “We were just talking about how we haven’t taken a family trip in a long time,” she told Alex. “I thought it would be nice if we could all do something special before school starts. I don’t think your father can get away for long, but what if we all went away over the weekend? Maybe the beach …”
“No can do,” Alex said immediately. “Half the county is having Labor Day parties, and they all just realized their yards need a ton of work before then. I’m going to be at it nonstop for the next two weeks. I’ll be lucky if I can take a break long enough to eat dinner once in a while.”
Mrs. Lake sighed. “Well, maybe we can come up with something else. …”
The phone rang again. Stevie jumped, badly startled by the sudden noise. “I can’t get that!” she cried, ignoring the confused look on Alex’s face. “It’s probably that reporter calling back.”
“I’ll get it.” Mrs. Lake’s face was stern as she picked up the receiver. “Hello, Lake residence. … Oh!” Her expression softened. “Hello, Lisa. It’s nice to hear your voice after all this time.”
Stevie’s heart jumped. “It’s Lisa?” she said excitedly, reaching for the phone. Alex, too, had taken a couple of steps forward, his face eager.
Mrs. Lake held up a hand. “Just a second,” she told her children. Then she spoke into the phone again. “Lisa? Stevie and Alex are here, and they’re both dying to talk to you. But first, I have a question for you. Could you and your father use a visitor for a few days? Because I think I have just the girl for you …”
For a second the words didn’t sin
k in. Then Stevie gasped. “Really?” she cried. “You’d really send me to California?” Her gloom lifted a little. Hadn’t she just been thinking that Lisa could be the one to help her through her problems?
“Hey!” Alex protested. “What about me? I miss Lisa, too!”
“You’ll be working nonstop, remember?” Mrs. Lake winked at Stevie and allowed Alex to wrestle the phone away from her.
For once, Stevie didn’t mind letting her brother talk first. She smiled at her mother, feeling happier than she had in a long time. Soon she would be able to talk to Lisa all she wanted—in California. She would be able to see for herself what was so great about the West Coast. And best of all, she would be there to help Lisa pack to come home, thereby bringing this whole confusing, tumultuous summer to a close once and for all.
“I still can’t believe I’m going, too,” Carole said into the phone.
“I know,” Lisa replied from the other end of the line. “Isn’t it great? The three of us will have almost a whole week to hang out here. You’ll get to meet Evelyn and Lily, see Skye …”
“And you. Don’t forget, you’re the main reason we’re coming.” Carole sighed happily as she settled back against the sofa cushions in her living room. This had all happened so fast. Just a little more than twenty-four hours earlier, she had been at Pine Hollow, searching for Stevie. Now she was practically on her way to the West Coast and days and days of hanging out in gorgeous California sunshine, enjoying some of the glamour and luxury she had been picturing all summer. It had been Mrs. Lake’s idea: She thought that if Stevie had her two best friends with her, she’d be more likely to relax and enjoy the trip. Luckily she had been able to convince Carole’s father, who was almost as crazy about Stevie as if she were his own daughter, to cough up some of the frequent flier miles he’d earned from the cross-country speaking engagements he’d been doing since retiring from the Marines. Luckier still, Denise had been downright eager to start her full-time job at Pine Hollow a couple of weeks early, so Carole was off the hook with Max, too.
Reining In Page 4
