Conformation Faults

by Bonnie Bryant

  “Sorry this didn’t work out, Phil, Stevie,” Lisa said softly, making a beeline for Alex’s side and wrapping her arm around his waist. “It was a good idea.” She glanced around the room. “Hello, everyone. It’s good to see you, Emily. You too, Julianna. Scott, did Callie get Sheila off to the airport okay?”

  “They’re on their way now,” Stevie answered for him, feeling decidedly uncomfortable. She couldn’t help noticing that Lisa had addressed everyone in the room by name except for Carole. When Stevie glanced at Carole, she saw that she had clearly noticed the same thing, judging by the dark scowl on her face.

  “So what are we going to do?” Lisa asked, addressing herself to Phil.

  Phil shrugged. “I guess there’s not much we can do today,” he said heavily. “We’ll have to try again. Maybe later in the week.”

  “In that case, I’d better get going,” Carole said quickly. “I should get back to Pine Hollow and get to work.” She took a few steps toward the door. “Emily, can you find another ride home?”

  “I can drop her off,” Julianna volunteered. “I’m staying at my dad’s house tonight, and he lives on the other side of Willow Creek. Right near your place,” she added, glancing at Emily.

  “Thanks,” Emily said. “See you, Carole. Don’t work too hard.”

  “Bye, Emily.” Carole smiled at her. She turned toward Phil and Stevie. “See you later, Phil. You too, Stevie. Keep your spirits up, Julianna.” She fished her car keys out of her pocket as she continued toward the door. “Bye, Scott. Tell Callie I’m sorry I missed her. Later, Alex.”

  With that, she hurried out of the room. Stevie ran one hand through her hair, feeling dismayed. She hadn’t thought much more about her friends’ big fight, assuming that Carole and Lisa would have gotten over their anger by now. But they had both just proved, rather childishly, that they hadn’t.

  Since there didn’t seem to be much she could do about A.J.’s problems at the moment, she decided to tackle this one instead. She stood and walked over to where Lisa and Alex were standing near the doorway as Julianna drifted toward Emily and Scott started talking to Phil.

  “Hi,” she greeted Lisa. “Um, how’s it going?”

  Lisa leaned back into Alex’s shoulder. “It’s going,” she replied shortly.

  Stevie hesitated. Then she shrugged and plunged right in. “So I guess this means you’re still mad at Carole, huh?”

  “Oops!” Alex dropped his arm from around Lisa’s shoulders and held up both hands in a position of surrender. “This sounds like my cue to leave.” He hurried away toward the other guys, leaving Stevie and Lisa alone.

  Lisa didn’t look happy about his departure. “Look,” she told Stevie with a frown. “If you’re here to try to talk me into making up with her”—she grimaced slightly—“you might as well save your breath. It’s not going to happen.”

  “But listen,” Stevie urged. “If you think about it, this is all just a big mix-up. It’s nobody’s fault, really.”

  Lisa let out a sharp, incredulous laugh. “How can you say that!” she exclaimed. “You know what she did. The more I think about it, the madder I get. I mean, we’ve all been friends too long to start keeping secrets like that.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her face set and angry. “It’s all her fault.”

  Stevie sighed. “Whatever,” she muttered, feeling a little annoyed herself. How could she help her friends work through this when they were both being so immature about it? First Carole rushes off like she’ll be poisoned if she breathes the same air as Lisa for more than twenty seconds, she thought bitterly. Now Lisa is acting like some sulky little girl who’s pouting because someone accidentally broke her favorite toy.

  She mumbled some kind of excuse and wandered back toward Phil’s chair. He was talking to Scott, but he looked up and reached for her as she approached. She took his hand and perched once more on the wide, overstuffed arm of the chair.

  “I guess there’s no point in everyone sticking around,” he said, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

  Stevie squeezed his hand. She had just been thinking the same thing. In fact, she was starting to wish that everyone else would hurry up and leave. Phil could use some cheering up, and so could she. They would have better luck improving each other’s mood by spending some quality time alone, preferably snuggled deep into the cushions of the couch.

  “I hope you’re not trying to get rid of everyone,” Scott told Phil with a casual smile. “Because you’re stuck with me for a while. Dad’s planning to drop Callie off here on his way from the airport to some meeting over in Berryville, so I’ve got to wait for her or she’ll be stranded here.” He shrugged. “Maybe we can shoot some hoops or something while we wait.”

  For a moment Stevie felt disappointed. But then she thought better of it. Phil misses the old A.J. more than any of us, she thought. After all, they’ve been best friends forever. Maybe what he really needs right now is another guy friend to hang out with. It’s nice that Scott is here for him—I should let them have some time alone.

  She smiled, feeling pleased at her sudden insight and rather noble at her determination to encourage this male bonding. “You two have fun,” she told Phil and Scott. “I’d better hop a ride home with Lisa. My English teacher assigned about a million pages of reading today, and I’m going to be up until midnight as it is.”

  “Okay.” Phil leaned forward to give her a kiss. “I’ll call you later.”

  In a few minutes Stevie had shepherded Alex and Lisa outside to Lisa’s car. Emily and Julianna had just waved good-bye and taken off in Julianna’s car, and Scott and Phil were still inside.

  “Well, that was a total bust,” Alex announced as he walked around to the passenger side and tilted the seat forward.

  Stevie stepped past him and hopped into the backseat. “Tell me about it,” she mumbled as Lisa turned the key in the ignition. “I can’t believe he blew it off.”

  That wasn’t really true. She did believe it. The way A.J. was acting these days, she would have believed just about any negative thing he did.

  Lisa carefully backed down Phil’s driveway, which opened onto a quiet country road with only a few other houses in sight. “Well, it wasn’t actually a total waste,” she said lightly. “After all, any time I get to be with my baby can’t be all bad.” She glanced over at Alex and blew him a kiss.

  Alex scooted as close to her as his seat belt and the car’s bucket seats would allow. “No way,” he cooed. “Even a trip to the dentist would be like a dream come true if my gorgeous little sweetie was there with me.” He reached over and rubbed her knee. “I wouldn’t even need any Novocain if I could just look into your eyes.”

  Stevie rolled her eyes. She hated it when Alex and Lisa got like this. Fortunately it didn’t happen too often. But once they got started it was hard to stop them. “Keep your eyes on the road,” she snapped irritably as Lisa glanced over at Alex again and giggled.

  Lisa didn’t even seem to hear her. She took her right hand off the steering wheel, reached over, and ran her fingers lightly through Alex’s hair. “Did anyone ever tell you you’re probably the nicest, sweetest guy ever to live?”

  Stevie groaned. “I’m trapped in flirting hell,” she muttered, not even expecting to be heard by the lovebirds in the front seat.

  She stared out the window at the trees, fields, and houses they were passing, doing her best to ignore the nauseating flirtation still going on in the front seat. It was hard to believe that someone as sensible and no-nonsense as Lisa could sound like such a doofus. People could really surprise you when they fell in love. Still, this time at least, Stevie suspected that there might be a reason for Lisa’s behavior—a reason that had nothing to do with Alex. Lisa was probably trying to take her mind off her problems with Carole. Underneath that practical exterior, Lisa could be awfully sensitive, and that meant that when someone hurt her, she felt it deeply. Maybe she had overreacted a little to that whole business with Prancer, but no matter
what she said now, she had to be upset that she and Carole weren’t speaking. Stevie couldn’t really blame her for trying to take her mind off that.

  Still, as she listened to the couple’s silly baby talk, Stevie couldn’t help wondering about something else. Until this moment she had forgotten all about her chat with Lisa in the ladies’ room of the restaurant on Saturday night. But now it all came back to her. And from the look and sound of things, she strongly suspected that Lisa still hadn’t had that little talk with Alex as she had promised.

  Isn’t she ever going to tell him that she almost stayed in California? she wondered anxiously. Alex deserves to know the truth. He shouldn’t be kept in the dark about something so important.

  She tapped her fingers on the seat beside her, trying to figure out what to do about this. What more could she do? She’d already told Lisa what she thought about the whole situation, although it didn’t seem to have made much of a difference.

  Maybe I should just tell him myself, she thought. After all, he is my twin brother, and Lisa can’t really expect me to keep this kind of secret from him.…

  The thought trailed off as Stevie’s mind flashed back to her friends’ fight. Carole had kept an important secret from Lisa, and look where that had gotten them both. Then again, she realized, Carole had only kept that secret because someone else she cared about—Max—had asked her to, just the way Lisa had asked Stevie to keep quiet about her decision.

  But what did that mean? It seemed to mean that if Stevie told Alex what she knew, she was taking sides with Lisa at the same time she was acting against her wishes. It would be like agreeing that she was right in thinking that Carole should have told Lisa about Prancer, because she would be making the point that Lisa should have told Alex about the California decision.

  Stevie shook her head, feeling confused. She liked to consider herself an honest, fair person, but sometimes it was hard to know what that meant.

  She glanced forward as Lisa let out another giggle. Stevie was sitting behind the driver’s seat, so she couldn’t see much of Lisa other than the back of her head. But she had a good view of her brother’s face as he gazed lovingly at his girlfriend. Alex had that look in his eyes that he only got when he was with Lisa, a look that always made Stevie feel a warm, selfless glow deep inside her. Her twin was truly happy, truly in love. How could she jeopardize that by telling him Lisa’s secret? It would break his heart. Not to mention what it would do to her own relationship with her friend.

  Stevie leaned back and closed her eyes. She had reached a decision. This whole issue was none of her business. Yes, Alex is my brother, she thought, and yes, Lisa’s my best friend. But they’re also a couple, and they have to work this one out between themselves. Even if I think Alex should know the whole truth about this, it’s not my place to tell him Lisa’s secret.

  She opened her eyes and stared out the window again at the peaceful scenery rolling by. But she hardly saw any of it. She still wasn’t quite sure whether she was doing what was absolutely best for everyone by keeping quiet. But she was sure about one thing: Lisa would never intentionally hurt Alex. And that was really all that mattered.

  Carole barely waited for her battered old car to come to its usual shuddering stop before she was out the door and hurrying toward the stable. She’d already pushed aside all unpleasant thoughts of Lisa and A.J. and was simply looking forward to a nice long workout with Samson.

  The wide double main doors were standing open, letting in the last rays of late-afternoon sunshine. Carole strode through them, blinking hard as her eyes worked to adjust to the relative dimness within.

  “Carole.”

  Carole jumped and blinked again, willing her pupils to start working. She turned and squinted at the figure who had just stepped out of the tack room hallway. “Huh? Oh, hi, Ben. I didn’t see you there.”

  Ben didn’t answer for a moment. He stepped forward, both hands shoved deep in the pockets of his worn, faded jeans.

  Carole’s eyes were finally behaving, and she could see Ben’s face well enough to tell that he was frowning. That was no big surprise—Ben was one of the most serious people she knew. He never seemed to be able to lighten up and let his guard down with people. The only creatures he really trusted were horses. With them, Ben was caring, generous, and kind. Most people found that odd, but Carole understood perfectly. She just wished Ben could open up a little more with people, too—at least with the people who wanted to be his friends.

  She didn’t have time to try to figure him out at the moment, though. The days were getting shorter, and she would have to hurry if she wanted to take Samson outside for any decent length of time. She was planning to do some flatwork in the big west field, where there wouldn’t be any distractions. “Did you need something, Ben?” she asked, trying to hide her impatience.

  “Uh, not really.” Ben glanced down at his feet, rocking back on the heels of his dusty work boots. “I just—well.”

  Carole bit back a frustrated sigh. Ben could be pretty tongue-tied around a lot of people, but he usually managed to speak in complete sentences when he was talking to her. What was his problem? She didn’t really care right now. “Okay, then,” she said lightly. “Well, I’d better go see if Samson—”

  “Samson.” Ben blurted out that single word, then cleared his throat. “Er, I wanted to talk to you about Samson.”

  That piqued Carole’s interest. “What about him?”

  Ben shrugged. “Well, I was noticing. I mean, you’ve been spending a lot of time with him. A lot. You’ve got other jobs here, and …”

  His voice trailed off again, and Carole frowned. What was he driving at? Out of the blue, an image of her history textbook popped into her mind, but she pushed it aside. “If you’ve got some kind of complaint about my work, why don’t you just say so?” she told Ben a bit testily.

  “No, no.” Ben took his hands out of his pockets and ran them through his thick, dark hair. He glanced around aimlessly as if searching for the right words. “It’s just, well, Samson. I’ve noticed—he’s not really your horse or anything, and you—”

  “Whatever.” Carole cut him off brusquely. She’d had enough of Ben’s pointless hemming and hawing. Suddenly she guessed what might be upsetting him. “Listen, I know you wanted to help me train Samson when he first came back, and I’m sorry I said no. But I just think a horse like him is better off learning from one person. I hope you understand.” She set her chin and hurried forward toward the hallway to the tack room, her eyes daring Ben to stand in her way.

  He stepped aside, his dark eyes impossible to read. “I understand,” he said as she brushed past him, his voice so low that she wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. “Perfectly.”

  THIRTEEN

  The next morning, Carole yawned as she stood at the counter pouring herself a glass of orange juice. “Want some, Dad?” she asked sleepily.

  Colonel Hanson glanced up from his seat at the small round table by the kitchen window and smiled. “No thanks, sweetie.” He held up his mug. “Coffee’s all I want right now.”

  Carole smiled back. It was good to have her father home again. His trip had only lasted a week, but it had seemed much longer. “No wonder,” she said. “You got in so late last night I thought it might all be a dream.”

  “No such luck,” Colonel Hanson joked, taking a sip of coffee. “I’m back, and I don’t have any other speaking engagements scheduled for the rest of the month. So I’m afraid you’ll have to put a stop to all those wild parties I’m sure you’ve been throwing every night.”

  Carole laughed weakly. She had never even considered having a party while her father was away—how would she find the time?—but she couldn’t block a twinge of guilt when she thought about her grades.

  She shook her mind to get rid of the thought. Taking her glass, she sat down opposite her father. “How did your speeches go?”

  “Oh, just fine.” Colonel Hanson chuckled. “At this point I’ve given that speech on co
mmitment and honor in the business world so many times I could do it in my sleep. You might as well call me Colonel Robot.”

  Carole smiled, feeling a flash of pride. Her father was being modest—Carole knew he had been in great demand ever since he’d retired from the Marine Corps and started taking on these motivational speaking engagements. He had also expanded his volunteer role in several charities and other nonprofit agencies. Colonel Hanson had always been every inch the good Marine, but unlike some members of the military, he never forgot to be human as well. He had a quick sense of humor and a warm, likable manner that came across in his every word and action. It’s no wonder people are lining up to hear what he has to say, Carole thought fondly.

  “But enough of my trip,” Colonel Hanson went on, setting down his mug. “What have you been up to this past week?” His deep brown eyes twinkled. “You haven’t by any chance been spending time at the stable, have you?”

  Carole grinned. “How’d you guess?” she said. “Seriously, though, this week was great. Samson seems to get stronger every day that I train him. Just yesterday, we were working on some turns, and—”

  “Samson?” Colonel Hanson interrupted, furrowing his brow. “Wait, don’t tell me. Is that one of Max’s new horses?”

  Carole frowned slightly. She was sure she had told her father all about Samson’s training before this. “That’s right,” she said, doing her best to be patient. After all, he hadn’t had much sleep the night before. “He’s the one who was born at Pine Hollow, remember? Stevie and—um, my friends and I assisted in his birth. The big black horse.”

  “Oh, right.” Colonel Hanson laughed. “Of course. You told me all about him last month. Sorry, I guess I’m a little fuzzy this morning.” He gulped down the rest of his coffee and rose to get more from the pot on the counter. “So how’s good old Starlight?”

  “He’s fine.” Carole shrugged. “Same as always. So anyway, like I was saying, Samson’s getting so good that it’s almost scary. I’m hoping Max will want to enter him in a show soon—you know, sort of test him out.” She grinned and crossed her fingers, holding them up so that her father could see. “Since I’m working so hard training him, I’m hoping if he does, he’ll let me ride him. I’m pretty sure he will. I mean, I do know Samson better than anyone else.”