Hayride (10 page)

Lisa agreed. It felt important that they give Carole something really special. Inevitably, they found themselves
wandering over to the counter where the jewelry was.

“We’re only going to make ourselves miserable,” Lisa said.

“I know,” Stevie replied glumly. The earrings were in the same place as before, looking just as perfect—and just as expensive.

The gray-haired saleswoman came bustling over. “Now, what’s that I hear? Why should looking at my nice jewelry make you miserable?” she asked.

“Because we found the perfect birthday gift for our friend,” Lisa said.

The woman smiled kindly. “That doesn’t sound miserable,” she said.

“Yeah, well, it’s those earrings, and we can’t afford them,” Stevie explained. She pointed to the gold horseshoe earrings.

“They are a lovely pair, aren’t they?” Stevie and Lisa nodded silently. “Now, let me see,” the woman said. “I think I might be able to help.” She opened and closed several tiny drawers underneath the counter. Finally she took out a small white jewelry box. She lifted the lid.

“Would these do, by any chance?” Stevie and Lisa peered inside the box intently.

“It’s the same pair!” Stevie exclaimed.

“Only in silver!” Lisa cried.

“They’re twenty-four ninety-five with tax,” said the saleswoman.

Stevie let out a whoop. She hugged Lisa, and they danced around in front of the counter excitedly. “Yippee! The perfect gift! She’ll love them!” Stevie shouted.

Not wanting to spoil the mood, Lisa asked quietly, “Do we have twenty-four ninety-five?” Stevie stopped dead in her tracks. Lisa whipped out her wallet from the little blue purse she carried. Stevie reached into her jeans pocket and drew out a fistful of bills and change. Lisa neatly stacked her money on the counter. Stevie poured her money on top. She watched as Lisa smoothed out the bills and counted aloud. “Ten, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-three fifty, twenty-three seventy-five, twenty-four—” Stevie looked anxiously at the remaining change. There was a dime and two nickels. They had $24.20.

“Wait a minute!” Stevie cried. She yanked off her sneaker and shook out a quarter. “Just in case I ever need it,” she explained to the incredulous saleswoman.

“Twenty-four forty-five,” Lisa said. “We need another fifty cents.”

“Did I say twenty-four ninety-five?” the saleswoman asked with a twinkle in her eye. “I meant twenty-four forty-five.”

Once again the girls whooped with delight—this time even more loudly than before. Lisa gathered up the
money and presented it to the saleswoman ceremoniously. The woman took the money and the box to the cash register. Lisa felt a wave of gratitude when she noticed her slipping in two quarters from her own purse. Then, in a few neat motions, the woman gift wrapped the earrings in The Saddlery’s distinctive horse-head wrapping paper. After she had been thanked about ten times by each of them, the saleswoman shooed them out the door.

“Have a nice party!” she called.

“We
will
!” Lisa and Stevie yelled. Now there was
another
reason to look forward to Saturday: They couldn’t wait to see the look on Carole’s face when she opened her present.

C
AROLE SCRATCHED
S
TARLIGHT
’
S
neck as best she could. The only way she could get a hand free was to lean all her weight on her crutches, holding herself up by her underarms. Even after being groomed this way, Starlight was still suspicious of the bright, awkward-looking crutches. Whenever he caught sight of them, he snorted and swiveled his ears back and forth.

“I know, boy, but you might as well get used to them now,” Carole told him. “Because you’re going to be seeing them for two weeks.” Starlight didn’t seem to understand. He shifted uneasily on the cross-ties. He was all groomed now and ready for his saddle and bridle. But
instead of putting them on, his owner was carrying two big sticks around.

“I can’t ride today, Starlight,” Carole explained. “Doctor’s orders. I’m lame, just like Garnet.” Carole gestured toward the next stall, where she could hear the mare pawing the floor impatiently. Starlight tossed his head in the closest thing to a human shrug Carole could imagine.

She scratched his neck some more, and when Garnet pawed again, she went over and gave the mare a pat. “This time there’s a reason you’re inside, Garnet. Poor thing—you don’t know that. Probably bored out of your mind. Just like me—I’m grounded and you’re shut in—we’re a perfect pair.” Starlight tossed his head again, this time to get Carole’s attention. “I know, you’re bored, too—only you’re perfectly fine,” she said, going back to him.

Seeing the two horses together reminded Carole of her idea to ask Veronica to ride Starlight. She knew it was the right thing to do. Here Starlight was getting restless after only his third day off—what would he be like after his second week? She decided to call the diAngelos’ right away. The sooner Veronica could start, the better.

With a final pat she put Starlight back in his stall and went to use the phone in Mrs. Reg’s office. She let it ring for a long time, but no one picked up. Mrs. Reg came
into the room as Carole hung up the receiver. She motioned Carole over to her desk and told her to have a seat. “You look glummer than a cat in the rain. Is the ankle bothering you?” she asked.

“Not too much, now that I’ve got the bandage and crutches and everything. It’s Starlight I’m worried about,” Carole said.

“You don’t think he’ll like his two-week holiday?” Mrs. Reg asked.

“He might enjoy it, but by the time I get back on, he’ll explode,” Carole predicted. She explained her Veronica-Starlight plan to Mrs. Reg. The older woman thought it was a good idea.

“If I see Veronica, I could ask her for you,” Mrs. Reg offered.

“Okay, thanks,” Carole said. She thought for a minute. She really didn’t want to rely on Mrs. Reg’s being around when—and if—Veronica chose to make an appearance at Pine Hollow, but there didn’t seem to be another way of getting in touch with her. The diAngelo line was permanently busy or there was no answer. Carole looked around Mrs. Reg’s office idly, deciding what to do. Catching sight of a stack of notepaper on Mrs. Reg’s desk, she remembered her original impulse—to leave a note on Garnet’s stall. Besides, Veronica still hadn’t RSVP’d about the party, despite the message Carole had left with the maid. By leaving a note, she could
make doubly sure Veronica knew about the party and ask her to ride Starlight at the same time.

Carole borrowed a piece of paper and a pen from Mrs. Reg. She chewed on the end of the pen for a minute, then scribbled hastily,
“Hi, Veronica! Hope to see you Saturday at six for my birthday. Also, I hurt my ankle—any chance of your riding Starlight while Garnet’s off?—Carole.”
Taking several strips of masking tape, she stuck the note in an envelope and secured it to the bolt on Garnet’s stall door.

“H
AVE FUN
,
DEAR
!” Mrs. diAngelo waved a red-nailed hand out the Mercedes’s window.

Veronica put her hands on her hips and sneered in disgust at her mother. “I’m supposed to have fun holding my lame horse while the vet looks at her?” she asked. “Yeah, real fun, Mother.”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to enjoy yourself,” said Mrs. diAngelo airily.

Veronica gave her another dirty look. In response Mrs. diAngelo smiled wanly and drove off. “You’ll regret saying that, Mother!” Veronica muttered. The very thought of having to come to Pine Hollow and not even ride was an outrage. Veronica wanted to punch someone or pull someone’s hair. Instead she kicked some stones
on the driveway. “Stupid stones. Stupid, stupid stones.” She repeated the words all the way into the barn, scuffing her imported Italian loafers as hard as she could in the dirt.

Knowing she wasn’t going to ride, Veronica hadn’t even bothered to change from her school outfit. She was wearing a silk blouse underneath an off-white cashmere sweater with matching cream-colored pants. She carried a leather pocketbook that went with her shoes. They were all things her mother had picked out and given her a few days ago. By the time she reached the barn, they were completely covered in dust and barn grime. She stopped at the doors, yanked off her pale-pink-and-cream hair ribbon and threw it down into a puddle. Then she stepped on it, grinding it into the mud. “Hmph,” she said aloud. “I
am
enjoying myself, after all.”

A quick glance down the aisle revealed that Judy Barker had already arrived. As she had planned, Veronica was late. There was a good chance that Judy had found someone else to hold Garnet by now. Anyway, it was completely pointless for her to be there at all, Veronica thought. Judy could examine Garnet on cross-ties just as easily. But the vet had insisted that she come.

“What a waste of a day,” Veronica mumbled, coming
up to Garnet’s stall. The mare was standing in the aisle while Judy ran a hand down her foreleg.

“Oh, good, you’re just in time to hold your horse,” Judy said. “I’m glad I’m running late, too, or you would’ve missed me.”

With a scowl Veronica took the lead line the vet handed her. “I’ve already checked her hoof, but you can take her out to the driveway and trot her for me,” Judy said. Veronica was about to protest, but the look on Judy’s face made her bite her tongue. She sluggishly walked the mare outside. Judy had her jog Garnet up and down the driveway several times. At least, Veronica noted with pleasure, her clothes were getting even filthier.

Finally Judy called her over. “Okay, put her away,” she said.

“Well?” Veronica demanded.

“Well what?” Judy asked.

“Well, can I ride her or not?”

“Ride her? Oh, no. Definitely two weeks off.”

Veronica glared at her.

“After that we’ll have to see,” Judy said with a smile. “Go ahead and take her in.”

With ill-concealed irritation, Veronica said, “I’ll do that, Judy. Thank you so much for your time.”

As they were walking back in to Garnet’s stall, Simon Atherton appeared at the entrance to the barn.

“Hey, have you seen Lisa anywhere?” he asked. “I’ve been looking all over.”

Veronica glared at him impatiently. She wondered if her afternoon could get any worse. As if it weren’t awful enough to have to deal with a lame horse, now The Saddle Club’s geeky friend was bothering her about the annoying girl he had a crush on. She was almost
glad
she wasn’t invited to the stupid party—she wouldn’t have to see the two of them together.

Veronica was about to flash him one of her worst looks when all at once her brain caught up with her thoughts. The Saddle Club. A party she wasn’t invited to. Lisa Atwood. Simon Atherton. Nobody at the barn but her. She smiled sweetly at Simon, inwardly congratulating herself on eavesdropping on Stevie’s conversation with Bob Harris. She began surreptitiously to brush her clothes off and straighten her hair. “Simon,” she said, “I hate to break this to you, but Lisa’s probably hanging out with her friends at the mall.
Some
people just can’t be bothered to take a genuine interest in horsemanship.”

Judy interrupted Veronica’s tirade. “Actually, Simon, I heard Max say something about Lisa and Stevie helping Carole decorate for her birthday party this afternoon.”

Simon gaped. “Oh, wow, the party,” he breathed. “I forgot. Gosh, too bad I missed them. I sure would have
loved to help out. It’s going to be a great party. I mean, gosh, this is the first party I’ve ever been—”

“I guess
some
people will look for any excuse to get out of taking care of their horses,” Veronica commented.

The three of them had reached Garnet’s stall. Judy gave the mare an affectionate pat. Then, chuckling to herself, she hopped into her truck.

“Gosh, Veronica,” Simon said. “I sure feel bad for you, being such a dedicated rider and all, and having your horse go lame.”

“That’s okay,” Veronica said, visibly brightening. Maybe, she thought, the day wouldn’t be such a loss after all. “Any good rider has a horse go lame once in a while. I’ll just have to cope with it. It’s hard, but I’ll get through it. The horse always has to come first.”

Veronica paused for a moment, listening to the sound of Judy’s engine start. Then she said, “Of course, it would help if a person could get a decent veterinarian around here.”

Simon’s eyes widened. “You mean Dr. Barker’s no good?” he asked.

Veronica put her face close up to Simon’s. She whispered, “Just between you and me, she’s been known to make her mistakes.”

“Like what?”

“Oh, it’s not important.”

“Gosh, Carole thinks she’s the greatest,” Simon said, backing away. “You oughta put her straight.”

“Yeah, maybe sometime,” Veronica snapped. She took the lead line off Garnet’s halter and closed the stall door. There was an envelope taped to the bolt. No doubt it was Judy’s bill. “The nerve of that woman! She hardly did anything!” Veronica cried. She ripped the envelope off the door, crumpled it up, and shoved it into her pocketbook.

Simon persisted. “This is serious. What if she messed up on one of the horses here? Maybe you could tell Carole at the party. I’m sure she’d want to talk to Max.”