Chocolate Horse (2 page)

She hunted through all her desk drawers until she found a tape dispenser that had a note on it reading: “This Belongs to Mom! Do Not Touch! Do Not Borrow! This Means YOU, Stevie!” Stevie carefully pulled out a length of tape and wrapped the horse’s leg. It worked well enough for the horse to be able to stand.

She stuck the tape back in her drawer, considered returning the toothpicks to the kitchen but rejected the notion, at least until dinnertime, and settled on her bed, using her backpack filled with undone homework assignments as a prop for her feet. She knew she had to do some work, but she also had some thinking to do. The subject was revenge.

The phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. It was Phil Marsten.

Phil was Stevie’s boyfriend. He lived a couple of towns away, so they didn’t get to see one another very often, but they did get to talk on the phone quite a bit. It was one of Stevie’s favorite things to do.

“Hi there!” he greeted her cheerfully.

“What are you so happy about?” Stevie asked.

“I’ve got some good news,” he said.

“I could use some of that.”

“Well, here it is, then: How’d you like to do something together tomorrow afternoon?”

“Really?” Stevie asked, sitting up straight. This sounded as if it were good news.

“Really,” Phil said. “My mother has an errand in Willow Creek—something to do with a committee for something or other—and she said she’d bring me over after school and drop me off at your house if you’re going to be free. Are you?”

Was she? Stevie thought about it for a while, perhaps a quarter of a second, and then told Phil she definitely
was
free. Then, when she thought about it for another quarter of a second, she realized that she’d rather see Phil someplace where her three brothers weren’t, especially if Alex was still able to convince their parents that he was sick. All she needed was a twin brother wandering around in his sweatpants when Phil was there.

“Why don’t we meet at Pine Hollow instead—and, like, maybe go for a ride?”

“That’s just what I was hoping you’d want to do,” Phil said. “Will it be okay with Max?”

“Sure,” said Stevie. “He knows you’re a good rider, and he’ll be glad to let you take one of the horses out.

I’ll get there first and arrange it all with Mrs. Reg or Max or whoever’s there. How long have we got?”

It turned out that Phil expected to arrive about three-thirty, and his mother would pick him up at five-thirty. That was a perfect amount of time to tack up, go for a ride, bring the horses back, untack, and groom them.

“We can go by the creek. It’s so pretty there this time of year,” Stevie suggested.

“Wherever you want to go, we’ll go,” said Phil. “Say, how are plans coming for the dance?” he asked.

That question reminded Stevie of two things: first, that she’d be seeing Phil again in just a week and a half. The second thing was that she’d promised Carole and Lisa that they’d do some work on the decorations for the dance the next day. Now, here she’d gone and promised Phil that they could go for a ride. If she’d thought about Phil’s invitation for more than half a second, she would have remembered that before she’d answered. Still, she didn’t get many opportunities to see Phil, and she thought her friends would understand. It wasn’t as if they were going to be putting up the decorations yet. They were just going to
think
about what they were going to put up. That could wait another day or two, she was sure.

“The plans are coming fine,” Stevie said. “In fact, I think the whole thing is going to be just about perfect.”

“It always is when you, Carole, and Lisa put your heads together to do something.”

Stevie was glad that Phil had such confidence in them, because that was exactly the way she felt about The Saddle Club. Its members seemed to have an infinite ability to solve problems.

“P
HIL
’
S
HERE
,” L
ISA
announced, looking over Stevie’s shoulder through the dingy window in Topside’s stall. Stevie felt a little chill, a nice little chill. She always liked seeing Phil, and this was no exception. She gave Topside a pat, tugged once more on his girth, pulling it one notch tighter, and went to greet Phil. Lisa brought Topside out of his stall. Carole finished tacking up Barq for Phil and led him out of his stall as well. The girls took the horses into one of Pine Hollow’s rings, ready for Stevie and Phil to take their ride.

“How’s it going, fellow club members?” Phil asked Lisa and Carole cheerfully. Technically Phil was also a member of The Saddle Club—they called him one of
the out-of-town members—and he was always a welcome addition.

“Just fine,” Lisa responded. “We’ll even survive having the chairperson of our decorating committee miss the first meeting in order to take a ride with you.”

“Miss a meeting on my behalf?” Phil asked. “You don’t have to do that, Stevie. We can stay here and plan with Lisa and Carole. I’ve got some great ideas for decorations. You start with crepe paper and some chicken wire, you see—”

“I’m sure they’ll do just fine without us,” Stevie said. The last thing in the world she wanted was to miss the chance to take a ride with Phil in order to talk about crepe paper and chicken wire.

“No problem,” Carole assured him. She’d seen the moment of panic in Stevie’s face. “We’re just going to take some measurements today to figure out how much crepe paper we’ll need. Two can do that as easily as three. Go already.”

“If you insist,” Phil said.

“I do,” said Stevie. That was enough for him. Lisa told her where she and Carole had put the horses. It was time to go.

Phil had been to Pine Hollow many times and was familiar with the horses and even some of the traditions. As soon as he was settled into Barq’s saddle, he
returned to the stable entrance and touched the good-luck horseshoe. That was something all riders at Pine Hollow did every time they rode. Stevie was there right after Phil. Nobody was sure what the magic was, but they knew it was true. No rider who’d touched the horseshoe had ever gotten seriously injured. Some of the riders suspected the horseshoe was as much a reminder of safe riding habits as it was a talisman. Whatever the case, it worked.

“Let’s go,” Stevie said. “I’ll lead the way.”

“You always do,” Phil said. Stevie winked at him, clucked her tongue, nudged Topside, and their ride began.

It was a warm February afternoon. The sun shone brightly, heating the dry winter grass and softening the earth below. Stevie found herself keenly aware of everything around her. She could smell the fresh promise of spring and feel the gentle breeze on her cheek. She loved the sound of the horses’ hooves rustling the grass as they walked, and then striking the turf sharply when they trotted. She could sense Barq and Phil behind her and Topside below her. She felt very alive and very happy. All thoughts of pesky brothers and missing math assignments fled from her. All she felt was the joy of doing something she loved with someone very special to her.

Stevie paused to open a gate, unhitching it with her riding crop, held it open while Phil came through, and then swung it closed with a flick of her ankle. It clicked securely.

“This field’s smooth as can be,” Stevie said. “Want to canter?”

“Of course,” he said. They both knew that they had to choose a place to canter very carefully, especially in the wintertime when the ground might be frozen. But that wasn’t the case today. The ground was soft, and Stevie knew that this farmer kept his field free of rocks that might hurt a horse’s hooves. They could canter freely all the way across it.

“Race you,” Stevie said.

“You’re on.”

Topside heard the word before he felt her signal to him. He burst into a canter instantly, rocking gently as he propelled forward. Stevie loved this motion of the three-beat gait that Topside did so well, so smoothly and, most important, so quickly.

Topside had a long, smooth stride, and within seconds he’d taken a commanding lead. Stevie glanced over her shoulder and saw the look of determination on Phil’s face. He wanted to win just as much as she did and wouldn’t think of complaining about the fact that Stevie had gotten a head start when Topside jumped the
gun. In fact, winning in spite of that would be an even greater victory.

All thoughts of anything except winning left their minds. The two of them concentrated totally on their goal, the fence at the far side of the field. Stevie leaned forward to reduce wind resistance, and because it gave her the opportunity to whisper important things to Topside.

“We’re not going to let him win, are we? There’s an extra ration of oats in it for you. Sweet, delicious oats. And a carrot. And maybe an apple. Dipped in molasses.”

The list seemed to inspire Topside. He moved faster. But so did Barq. Phil was a very good rider, and he knew how to get the best out of his horse. Stevie could hear them nearing her horse’s rear. She could also see that they were approaching the fence.

“A sugar lump!” she whispered triumphantly. It was just enough to inspire a final spurt from Topside. They reached the fence a split second before Phil and Barq.

“Nice race!” Phil said generously.

Stevie shrugged. “Topside started a little early. I’m sure you would have won if he hadn’t cheated.”

“Maybe,” Phil conceded.

The two of them smiled at one another. They were both naturally competitive people, and competition had
almost ruined their friendship more than once. They’d learned to be careful.

Stevie opened the gate and then closed it as the two of them walked their horses into the woods. They knew where they were going. There was a path in the woods that led right up to the banks of Willow Creek. There were tree branches where they could secure the horses, and some nice rocks where they could sit and rest and talk. In the summertime riders could take off their boots and dangle their toes in the stream, but that was a few months off yet.

Stevie and Phil dismounted. Phil took Topside’s reins as well as Barq’s and tied them onto low-hanging branches. Then he joined Stevie by the creek. She was testing the water with her fingers. That confirmed her suspicions that she’d be pushing the season if she took her boots off. The water was icy.

“How’s Alex doing?” Phil asked, settling down beside her.

“Fine,” Stevie said. “He’s missed two days of school now. I’d be doing fine if I’d missed two days of school, too. The only thing I’m worried about is getting his cold. At first I thought he was faking it, but he does seem sort of sick and I don’t want to miss the dance next week. But don’t worry. Nothing will keep me from it.”

“I’m glad about that,” Phil said. He took her hand. “I wouldn’t want you to miss it, because I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. You know, Valentine’s Day and all.” He gave her hand a little squeeze. She squeezed back.

“Yeah, Valentine’s Day,” she said.

Phil looked deeply into her eyes. Stevie kept herself from sighing audibly, but Phil’s look made it tempting. Then he leaned toward her, pulling her gently to him.

Gong! Gong! Gong!

Phil sat up straight in surprise. “What’s that?” he asked.

“A gong,” Stevie answered.

“
What
gong?”

“The Pine Hollow gong,” Stevie said, trying to get his attention back to where it had been only a few seconds earlier.

“Why is there a Pine Hollow gong?”

Gong! Gong! Gong!

“It’s for emergencies,” Stevie explained. She tugged at his hand, but he stood up.

“Like what?” He was clearly concerned. Stevie didn’t think he ought to be.

“Like if there’s an electrical storm coming or something like that. It means that all the riders, wherever they are, have to get back to the stable as fast as safely possible.”

“Like us?”

“Oh,” Stevie said, realizing that the gong did mean their ride was going to be cut short. “This is annoying,” she said. “I hope it doesn’t mean that Veronica’s mother is trying to reach her to let her know that the chauffeur has to pick her up early.”

“But we have to go,” Phil said.

Stevie finally relented, knowing he was right. “Yes, we do. If Max rings the gong, everybody’s supposed to respond. Even though it isn’t about us, he’ll be furious if we don’t get back. Maybe it’s not so bad, though. Once we get back to Pine Hollow, we can take some time to work on the jump course in the ring, okay?”

“Okay,” he said, retrieving the horses. “Though, to tell you the truth, I’d rather sit by the creek with you.”

“Me too,” Stevie told him, knowing she’d have to wait until the Valentine’s Day dance to recapture the moment that had been interrupted by the gong. But she
would
recapture it.

They returned to Pine Hollow as quickly as possible. In less than ten minutes the stable was in sight.

That was when Stevie started getting worried, for she could see Carole and Lisa in the field at the back of the stable, perched on the fences. As soon as they spotted Stevie and Phil, they began waving. It wasn’t a greeting, it was a hurry-up wave. Stevie nudged Topside and got
him to quicken his gait. She felt a little knot tighten in her stomach. Something was wrong, and the closer she got to Pine Hollow, the surer she was something was really wrong and it had to do with her.