A Winning Gift (10 page)

Maddie frowned slightly. Was it her imagination, or was Bridget acting as if she wasn't even that eager to ride? Whenever Maddie came to the barn, she couldn't wait to get in the saddle.

Then again, different people wanted different things from their time with ponies. The Pony Post should have taught her that. For instance, Haley seemed happiest when she and Wings were attacking a tough cross-country jump or other riding challenge. Maddie got that—she was the same way even if she and Cloudy didn't jump as high or gallop as fast.

Then there was Brooke, who seemed to get the most enjoyment out of teaching her pony something new and seeing her get it. She'd bought Foxy as a weanling and had been the one to do most of her training over the past four years. Maddie wasn't sure she'd have the patience for that herself, but she admired her friend for turning Foxy into a pony safe enough for her little brother and sister to ride.

Nina's pony, Bay Breeze, had come fully trained, and Nina didn't seem to mind that one bit. And while the two of them had just competed in a show, Nina had seemed more interested in coming up with a cool idea for the costume class than in winning blue ribbons. Her favorite part of riding was social—hanging out with her pony and her friends and having a good time. Riding was part of that, of course, but not the only part. Maybe not even the most important part. Now that she thought about it, Maddie guessed that Nina's version of pony time probably came closest to the way Bridget looked at her new hobby.

“Okay,” Maddie said, mentally thanking her Pony Post friends for helping her to see things through Bridget's eyes. “Let's go check out party central.”

She led Bridget to the addition at the back of the barn. It was a big square area with stalls along one side, but the other side was open; that was where Ms. Emerson stored the tractor and other large equipment, behind a rail meant to keep horses and ponies from getting into it. The barn owner was planning to move the equipment outside and take down the rail, leaving a roomy open space where Maddie could set up her party.

“Cool,” Bridget said, surveying the area. “This will look great all decorated. What are you doing for music?”

“I already did a playlist on my phone,” Maddie said. “I've got a speaker that should make it loud enough.”

“Can I see?” When Maddie handed over her phone, Bridget flicked through her song selections and made a few requests.

They talked about party plans for a few more minutes before Maddie sneaked a look at the time. “We should probably go back,” she said. “Cloudy's a good girl, but Ms. Emerson doesn't like us to leave horses unattended in the crossties for more than a few minutes.”

“Oh, okay.” Bridget followed her back up the aisle to the grooming area.

When they arrived, they found Seth feeding the pony a carrot. “Hey,” he said. “I was wondering who abandoned Cloudy.”

“Sorry. That was us.” Bridget giggled and hurried forward to pat the pony's nose. “Sorry, Cloudy! We didn't forget you. I promise.”

“Right,” Maddie said. “Okay, time to tack up.”

This time Bridget didn't protest, so Maddie straightened the pad still sitting on the pony's back and then grabbed the saddle. “Uh-oh, time to go to work, Cloudy,” Seth joked.

Bridget laughed again. “Don't worry. It's just a pony ride,” she said. “I won't work you too hard, Cloudy.” She shot a look at Seth. “Probably way less hard than your football coach makes you guys work, right?”

“Tell me about it!” Seth rolled his eyes. “I thought he was trying to kill us today.”

“Okay,” Maddie broke in. “Watch what I'm doing, Bridge. You need to lift the saddle up and set it gently on her back—like this. Make sure the pad doesn't get knocked out of position while you do it.”

“Mm-hmm,” Bridget responded, not seeming too interested. “So, Seth, how'd you get into football?”

He shrugged. “Runs in the family, I guess. My dad played in college.”

“Cool.” Bridget smiled at him. “Did you know Maddie's, like, a soccer genius? She even got scouted for this really prestigious traveling team last summer.”

“I didn't end up doing it, though.” Maddie was starting to feel uncomfortable. She wasn't interested in making Seth her boyfriend, and she wished Bridget would stop praising her to him every chance she got. “Okay, pay attention, Bridge. I'm going to put on the girth now.”

Bridget glanced over for about half a second before returning her attention to Seth. “I played soccer for one summer when I was little,” she told him, still stroking Cloudy's nose. “But I was totally hopeless! I decided I'd better stick to things I was good at—like acting and singing and dancing and art and stuff.”

“Wow. You do all that?” Seth looked impressed. “I can't even draw a stick figure.”

Maddie sighed as Bridget laughed and started talking animatedly about the last art show she'd entered. She wasn't paying any attention at all to what Maddie was doing. Then again, at least she wasn't trying to convince Seth how wonderful Maddie was anymore.

As Maddie was buckling the noseband on Cloudy's bridle, Ms. Emerson appeared. “Seth! There you are,” the barn owner said briskly. “Can you help me with something?”

“Sure,” Seth said, following her off down the aisle.

Good.
Maddie quickly finished with the bridle, then led Cloudy into the aisle. “Come on,” she called to Bridget over her shoulder. “Let's get you on this pony.”

She expected Bridget to be more enthusiastic once she was in the saddle. And she was—for maybe five minutes. After walking around the ring a couple of times, Maddie suggested a trot.

“That's okay,” Bridget said. “My legs were a little sore after my last ride. I probably shouldn't push it today.”

“What?” Maddie blinked at her. “You mean you're getting off already?”

Bridget shrugged. “I have a dance recital in a couple of weeks. I don't want to be too sore to rehearse.”

“Oh.” Maddie wanted to argue. Bridget was going to have to get more serious about riding if she was going to take over with Cloudy once Maddie left.

But just then she spotted a couple of middle-aged women coming out of the barn, tacked-up horses in tow. Uh-oh—if that was the regular Friday-afternoon intermediate adult lesson, that meant it was getting pretty late. And it was Maddie's turn to help make dinner. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal if she was a few minutes late, but her parents had only just forgotten about the Pink Twinkle incident. Maddie didn't want to give them any reason to get annoyed with her again so close to her birthday.

“Okay,” she told Bridget. “Maybe you can ride longer next time.”

After dinner, Maddie went upstairs to check in with the Pony Post. Tillie was out on a date, so she had the bedroom to herself.

There were several new postings from the others, along with a few photos. Maddie looked at the photos first. Nina had taken several artsy ones of Breezy grazing under a tree with drooping bunches of Spanish moss hanging down from its branches. Haley had posted a cute picture of Wings touching noses with a rangy brown-and-white dog.

Still smiling at that, Maddie scrolled down and scanned the postings.

[NINA]
TGIF, everyone! Tough week in school; looking forward to a relaxing w/e!! I should finally have time to think of ways to keep Maddie in the good old US of A.

[HALEY]
She doesn't only need to stay in the USA, tho. She needs to stay in CA, near Cloudy!!!

[NINA]
LOL, I know. So, Mads, anything new to report?

[HALEY]
I don't think she's checked in since last night. Maybe soon?

[BROOKE]
Hi, all! Anyone still on?

[BROOKE]
Oh well, guess not. Too bad, I need to vent to someone about my little sis and bro. They are STILL all into riding all of a sudden! Mom says it's just a phase and I should be patient. But it's hard to be patient when I just want to ride my pony!!!

“I know how you feel,” Maddie murmured. “Trust me!”

She glanced at the time stamp on Brooke's last message, wondering if she might still be on the site. But it had posted more than an hour earlier. Still, Maddie opened a new text box.

[MADDIE]
Hi, guys! Brooke, I totally feel u re: the kiddos. B/c I have barely been on Cloudy all week! My friend Bridget is still into riding too. Tho I'm hoping in her case it ISN'T a phase . . .

She went on to describe her plan to groom her friend to take over with Cloudy. Then she posted the message and sat back, scanning what she'd just written. When they read it, would the other Pony Posters think she was giving up too soon on staying in California? She opened another text box.

[MADDIE]
Btw, I'm planning to talk to M&D after my b'day to see if there's any chance this might not happen. But I'm not holding my breath, so I need to start dealing with it, u know? I'll also need to talk to Bridget then. B/c so far she's not rly getting with the program. She seemed more interested in talking to the “cute” (according to her—and Vic, too) stall cleaner dude than in learning how to help get C ready. I'm just glad she didn't say anything embarrassing—for some reason she's convinced I have a crush on him, which is so not true. But that doesn't stop her from teasing me every chance she gets. . . . Anyway, when she finally got on Cloudy, she only walked around the ring about twice and then was ready to quit! Can u believe that?!? I mean, Ms. E practically has to drag me out of the saddle after a lesson's over, lol!

By the time Maddie posted the message, she was smiling. Somehow, just pouring out her problems to her Pony Post friends was making her feel better. After one last glance at her friends' photos, she logged off.

MADDIE WOKE UP ON SATURDAY
morning feeling as if her brain were stuffed with cobwebs. She'd fallen asleep a little later than usual, only to be awakened when Tillie came crashing in from her date, making no effort to be quiet. After that she'd lain awake in the dark for a long time, trying to imagine what life in England would be like. When she'd finally fallen back to sleep, she'd been haunted by troubled dreams—some of them involving Cloudy swimming across the English Channel.

With a yawn, she sat up. Glancing at the alarm clock, she gritted her teeth when she saw that someone had turned it off. Great. Now she was going to have to hurry to be ready in time for her riding lesson.

“Thanks a lot, Tillie,” she muttered, glaring at her sister's empty—and already neatly made—bed. It was tempting to go over and muss the sheets, since that was guaranteed to drive her tidy sister crazy. But Maddie resisted. She didn't need Tillie even more annoyed with her. Not with her party only a day away.

She rushed through a quick shower and an even quicker breakfast. Then she biked over to Solano Stables, arriving less than twenty minutes before her group lesson was scheduled to begin.

Dropping her bike outside the front entrance, she hurried inside. The grooming area was on the way to Cloudy's stall, and Maddie was startled to see the Chincoteague pony standing in the crossties. Bridget was fussing with Cloudy's forelock.

“Hey,” Bridget said when she noticed Maddie. “I was starting to wonder if you were coming today.”

“Overslept,” Maddie replied. “Um, but I didn't know
you
were coming today.”

Bridget shrugged. “It's such a nice day, I decided I was in the mood for a ride. So I called Ms. Emerson this morning, and she said I could join your lesson again if I wanted.”

“Oh.” Maddie blinked, taking this in. “And she told you to ride Cloudy?”

“Not exactly.” Bridget shot Maddie a sidelong look. “At first she was going to put me on some pony I never heard of, but that made me nervous. So I told her you offered to let me ride Cloudy again today.”

“Oh yeah?” Maddie tried to tamp down her annoyance, but it bubbled up before she could stop it. “Well, if I'm giving up
another
ride on
my
pony, I hope at least you're planning to stay on for more than thirty seconds this time.”

“What?” Bridget looked startled. Then she frowned. “Well, pardon me for not spending the entire day riding. I didn't realize there was a time limit. Or, you know, the opposite of that. Whatever.”

She sounded flustered, the way she always did when she got upset. “Okay, whatever,” Maddie muttered. “Sorry. I was just surprised, okay?”

Bridget put her hands on her hips. “If you don't want me to ride in your lesson, just say so!”

“Hey,” Vic said as she and Val walked up just then, leading their assigned lesson ponies. “Um, is everything okay?”

“Sure.” Maddie took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Everything's fine.”