Beach Ride (3 page)

Aunt Joanna produced a whole tray of spices. “Here you go, Mitch,” she said. “Create!” His eyes lit up. Aunt Joanna went on. “You’re a wonderful cook, Mitch. Some woman would be really lucky—”

Carole knew a cue when she heard one. “That’s just what Mrs. Dana says about him,” she piped in.

“—to catch you,” Aunt Joanna finished, apparently unaware of Carole’s none-too-subtle hint. “But remember to make a lot of marinade, because we’ve got a lot of shrimp, because there are going to be a lot of
people at the party tomorrow. And it had better be delicious.”

The party, Carole had learned, was to be a family reunion. She had many relatives who lived in the area, most of whom she’d never met, and the rest of whom she didn’t know very well, but all of whom she was sure she’d like. Her father’s family was large and boisterous. It was always fun to be with them.

“They’re all relatives, Joanna,” Colonel Hanson said. “How fussy can they be?”

“Not all of them are relatives,” Aunt Joanna said. “There are a few special nonfamily guests.”

“Like who?” Uncle Willie asked. He was suspicious.

“Oh, just a few,” Aunt Joanna said vaguely. “Well, like there’s a friend of mine who didn’t have anything planned for tomorrow, and so I thought—”

“A single friend?” Uncle Willie asked. He knew what Aunt Joanna was up to.

“Well, I guess so,” Aunt Joanna said. “I think she said something about her son spending the weekend with her ex, and I’m just sure everybody in the family will like her, so I said we’d pick her up on the way over to Julie’s.”

Carole tried again. “Dad, didn’t you ask me to remind you to call Mrs. Dana so she’d know we got here safely?”

Her father smiled. “Thanks, hon,” he said. “I’ll take care of it.”

That, Carole knew, was her father’s way of saying he could manage, and he didn’t want to upset his sister or give her the impression that he was wildly in love with Mrs. Dana. Carole realized that if Aunt Joanna thought that was the case, it would just invite another kind of interference. It was hard to know how to balance in a case like this. She decided to change the subject instead.

“Could somebody please tell me again what all these events are that you guys scheduled for me and Dad? I thought this was supposed to be a peaceful vacation!”

“Sure,” Sheila obliged. “Tomorrow’s the family reunion. Then Monday the five of us are going to Disney World for the day. Then Tuesday I’ve arranged for you to borrow a horse, and the two of us are going to have a picnic on the beach. We’ll ride to this beautiful place I know where there’s a patch of coral you won’t believe, and I’ve got snorkels for us—”

“That beach can be dangerous, you know,” Uncle Willie said. “If there’s a riptide, you could be in trouble.”

“Dad,” Sheila said. “I was practically born in the water down here. I can handle it.”

“You can’t handle a riptide,” Uncle Willie said.

“No, but I can stay out of one,” said Sheila. “Don’t worry. We’ll be really careful. Besides, there’s just about always a lifeguard on duty. We’ll be fine. I promise.”

“If you want to ride, you’d be better off riding at the school,” Aunt Joanna said. There was a little irritation in her voice that Carole wasn’t used to hearing. “Carole could help you try riding some of the horses that Mr. Abelman said were for sale.”

“Mother,” Sheila said. Aunt Joanna wasn’t about to stop now, though.

“I mean it, Sheila,” she said. “You really ought to let us sell that pony. You’re never going to succeed as a competitive rider if you’re riding Maverick.”

“I don’t care about succeeding as a competitive rider,” Sheila said. “I want to ride Maverick, and I won’t let you sell him.”

“Carole, will you talk some sense into this girl’s head?” Aunt Joanna asked. “Tell her that if she wants to be a horse professional, she’s going to have to have some ribbons on her walls. She’s going to have to have a way to show the world that she knows how to train a horse.”

“Maverick is very well trained,” Sheila said.

“Sure he is, but you never win any ribbons riding
him! And your father and I pay to feed and house him month after month. We’re not getting anything for our money, and neither are you.”

This sounded like an argument that Sheila and her mother had had before, and would have again.

“Who wants to taste my marinade?” Colonel Hanson asked. Four hands went up. Everybody was glad to have the focus of the conversation switched to something noncontroversial, like how many peppercorns the marinade needed.

S
TEVIE LOOKED DEEP
into the horse’s eyes. The horse looked back into hers.

“I think Starlight misses Carole already,” Stevie said to Lisa, who was standing right next to her.

“Maybe,” Lisa said. “Although she was here just yesterday.”

“Yes, but that was yesterday,” Stevie said.

“Well, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Since Carole is going to be away for five days, Starlight is going to adore her when she gets back. In the meantime, it’s our job to take care of him, right?”

“Right,” Stevie agreed. She gave Starlight a pat and a hug and then promised him she’d be right back. She
went to get some fresh hay and some grain. Lisa took his bucket for water.

Stevie and Lisa were only too happy to take care of Starlight. He was a wonderful horse, and Carole was their best friend. Feeding him and mucking out his stall wasn’t really hard work. It was fun. Since they were on school vacation, they were going to be at the stable every day anyway, and this was just one small extra chore for them. It was no problem.

In the feed room, Stevie picked up a flake of hay in one hand and a coffee can of grain with the other, That was Starlight’s breakfast. He nuzzled her happily as she doled out the goodies in his stall. He also sniffed at the fresh water Lisa supplied.

“I think we have a happy customer,” Lisa observed. She offered her hand for Stevie to shake.

“Good morning!” Alice greeted them cheerfully. “This is your friend’s horse, isn’t it?”

“Yes, this is Starlight,” Stevie introduced them. “Carole is away for a couple of days, so we’re horse-sitting.”

“Lucky horse, I think—”

“And lucky Carole to own him,” said Lisa. “He’s a great horse, and she’s made him even greater by all the work she’s done with him.”

Alice nodded. “I was watching her in class,” she
said. “She’s wonderful with him. He’s obviously got a lot of potential, and she saw to it that he did his best with every single move. It was like she wasn’t going to let him get away with anything. I thought it was funny when he took two steps backward, and she made him take two forward. Then he took one backward, and she made him take one forward. She’s always in charge.”

“It’s important,” Lisa said.

“I know it is,” said Alice. “I used to ride a horse who always wanted to be in charge. When the instructor had us all turn our horses around, my horse wanted to turn around in the opposite direction from the way the other horses in the class were turning. At first I thought it was funny, and it didn’t matter. But when he got the idea that he could do what he wanted to do, I lost all control. He stopped paying attention to everything I said. The instructor got so angry with me that he excused me from the class. I learned my lesson. And that was four years ago. I’ve never forgotten it.”

Lisa and Stevie smiled. That was a lesson every rider seemed to need to know. And they all learned it the same way!

“Say, would you like to ride Starlight?” Stevie asked suddenly.

“Me?” Alice asked.

“Sure,” Stevie said. “See, Carole’s away until Wednesday, and Starlight’s got to get some exercise, but Lisa and I each want to ride other horses in class today. It’s not that we don’t love Starlight. We do. It’s just that I’m kind of in the middle of working on something with Topside, and Lisa here has been trying to ride Barq as much as possible so she can get used to him—”

“Pepper, the horse I used to ride has been retired,” Lisa explained. Alice nodded.

“—so you’d really be doing us and Carole a favor if you’d ride Starlight. He’s a little too independent for the average rider. But you’re not an average rider. I’m sure Carole would be glad.”

“And I’m sure Max would approve,” Lisa said. It was like Stevie to ignore the fact that they’d have to get his approval, and it was like Lisa to remember it.

“And I’m sure I’d love it,” Alice said. “Definitely yes. I’ll get his tack.”

“And I’ll get Max’s okay,” said Lisa.

“And I’ll get Topside tacked up so I can be on time to class!”

There was a flurry of activity then, which resulted in the three girls meeting at the good-luck horseshoe
for the final preparation before class. Max was there, too.

“I watched you in class, Alice, and I know you’re a good rider. Starlight has a bit of a mind of his own, though. You have to be a little careful.”

“I will be. I promise,” Alice said. “Besides, I always am that.”

“She’ll do fine,” Stevie said. “As a matter of fact, Max, I’m so sure she’ll do fine that I think she should come along on the trail ride that Lisa and I are planning to take this afternoon.”

Lisa thought she saw Max suppressing a smile. Stevie had a way of taking a small “yes,” such as getting permission for Alice to ride Starlight in class, and turning it into a big “yes.”

“We’ll see how she does in class,” Max said.

“Okay,” Stevie said. That was clearly as close as she was going to get to a yes, big or small.

But Alice was shaking her head. “I can’t do it,” she said. “I have to do something with my grandmother this afternoon.”

Max seemed a little bit relieved to have the question removed.

“Tomorrow?” Stevie pressed.

“Great!” said Alice.

“Maybe,” said Max. Then he looked at his watch.
That was a sure sign that they should all stop talking and get into class.

Red O’Malley was teaching the young riders’ class that morning. He began the class by having the riders go through all their gaits. Then he repeated some of the balance exercises that they’d been working on Tuesday. During riding class, as with every class that Lisa ever took, her whole attention was on the teacher and her own performance. That was one of the reasons why she was a straight-A student.

That was not the case with Stevie. She listened to Red and followed his instructions, but her lively and active mind just couldn’t be totally occupied with one thing at a time—not when there were so many other things to think about at the same time! That included things like admiring Lisa’s total concentration and watching Alice to see if she was as good as they thought she was. She was. Alice had complete control of Starlight, and she had done it without any apparent effort. Stevie knew that was the hardest part—working hard and making it look as if you weren’t. A horse responded to leadership like that. Starlight was working as well with Alice as he did with Carole, and that was something Stevie could really appreciate. There was no doubt left in Stevie’s mind. Alice was a really good rider.

One of the other things that got Stevie’s attention was the fact that Max was watching the class from the door to the ring. His eyes never left Alice, and a smile never left his face. Stevie knew for sure, then, that he’d let Alice go on the trail ride on Sunday. That made Stevie feel good. It confirmed her own feelings about Alice’s skills. It also was a proven fact, demonstrated by The Saddle Club, that it was always more fun to ride with three people than two. That was just one more reason why she was glad Alice would be there the next day.

Stevie was so pleased by all these thoughts that her attention totally left Red O’Malley. That was why she didn’t hear him tell the riders to halt and line up. It came to Stevie’s attention only when she realized that she was circling the ring alone with her feet out of the stirrups and eight other members of the class laughing at her. Sheepishly, she drew Topside to a halt at the end of the line.

“We’re going to try another exercise now,” Red said. Next to him there was a pile of orange cones—like the ones used on highways to redirect traffic. “I’m going to make you an obstacle course. You’re going to be moving back and forth quickly, changing directions, first at the walk, then the trot. It’s a way you can use what you’ve learned about balance, because
every time you shift directions, you’re going to have to rebalance yourselves.”

Then he began dealing out the cones. If the girls had been on skis, Stevie might have called it a slalom course. Red certainly expected them to handle a lot of turns. And then she saw that it wasn’t all exactly lateral, because he put some cavalletti on the course, too. Those were long poles that the horses would have to jump over. Red put them on low risers so they were only about six inches off the ground. Stevie thought this would be fun. Balance was important when you were on a flat course, but it was absolutely critical when you were jumping. She hoped she was going to be able to use the skills she’d been practicing.

“Okay, begin with the start of the line,” Red said. “Lisa!”

Lisa looked over the course carefully. There were eight sets of cones she had to navigate and then three small jumps at the end. Before she began riding, she imagined her way through the course and over all the jumps. The only tricky part was figuring out how many strides there would be between the little jumps. Her eyes told her the answer was three.