Horse Care (10 page)

“Don’t worry about it, girl,” Lisa said through
clenched teeth as she carefully drew her legs up under her. “I don’t blame you for getting scared. But I have to tell you”—she groaned as her weight landed on her injured ankle—“I don’t think I’ve ever been so glad to see a horse in my entire life!”

Tiny whickered again and lowered her big head to snuffle at Lisa, accidentally knocking off her hard hat in the process. Another boom of thunder rang out in the distance, but this time Tiny didn’t even flinch.

Lisa couldn’t help smiling, despite her pain. Suddenly things were looking a little better. She didn’t think she could ride, but maybe if she leaned on Tiny, she could hop back to civilization.…

It didn’t take long for her to figure out that that wasn’t going to work, either. She managed to pull herself to a standing position by grabbing one of Tiny’s dangling stirrups. The mare seemed to understand what to do, moving forward slowly, step by careful step, at Lisa’s urging. But even keeping her weight off her injured leg wasn’t enough. The pain in Lisa’s back got worse and worse with every movement. She only managed to make it as far as the base of a large tree trunk before she had to stop, leaning all her weight on Tiny’s strong shoulder.

“Okay, so much for that idea,” Lisa moaned. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to make it all the way back to the stable at this rate, no matter how patient and strong Tiny was. “Oh, Tiny!” she cried. “What am I
going to do?” She wrapped her arms around the mare’s huge, solid neck and buried her face in her mane.

S
TEVIE WAS AT
Calypso’s stall again. Carole still wasn’t back from mucking out Starlight’s stall.

Stevie glanced at her watch, wondering if Carole had gotten caught up in something else and forgotten the time. But before she could really start to worry, Carole appeared around the corner of the aisle, panting and breathless.

“Whew!” she exclaimed, hurrying to join Stevie. “You’ll never believe what I was just doing.”

“Hmmm?” As soon as she had seen Carole coming, Stevie had returned her attention to Calypso, who was moving about restlessly in her stall. “Look, she’s pacing,” she said worriedly. “Do you think that’s a sign the foal is coming?”

Carole gave the mare a quick look. “I don’t think so,” she said. “She wasn’t showing any other signs when we checked her earlier. She probably just wants to stretch her legs.”

Stevie nodded, satisfied. That was what she had thought, too. Now that Carole agreed, she was certain. “What were you saying?”

“Huh?” Carole was still staring at Calypso. “Oh. I said, you’ll never believe what I was doing just now. I was cleaning Tate’s tack!”

“Really?” Stevie said. “Did he ask you for help?”

Carole frowned. “Not exactly.”

“Well?” Stevie asked. Her eyes widened. “Oh! Did you finally get to see him ride? How was he? Is he really great? Which horse was he—”

“Stevie!” Carole said sharply.

Stevie shut up and gave Carole an inquisitive look.

“I didn’t see him ride,” Carole said, leaning against the wall. “I haven’t seen him since we were all here earlier. I guess Red was working with him in the indoor ring while we were helping Max stack those bales in the hayloft.”

Stevie looked disappointed. Then she looked puzzled. “So how did you end up cleaning his tack?”

“I found it in the tack room,” Carole said. “He had just left it there all sweaty.”

“How do you know it was his?”

“Mrs. Reg told me.” Mrs. Reg was Max’s mother. She helped Max run the stable, and she could always find a job for idle hands. Carole shrugged. “She asked me to help out and clean it, so of course I did. Can you believe he just left it there?”

Calypso had stopped pacing and come over to the door, and Stevie ran her fingers through the horse’s mane. “That’s kind of weird,” she said slowly. “Maybe he didn’t realize he was supposed to clean his own tack after he rode.”

“Maybe.” Carole sighed. “Actually, that’s what I kept telling myself. Maybe Tate’s old stable was the kind of place where the stable hands do all the work and the riders just ride.”

Stevie nodded. “The kind of place where the instructors don’t care as much about their riders practicing all the different things that go into horse care.” She was sure that was the explanation for Tate’s behavior—all of Tate’s behavior. He was still adjusting to Pine Hollow.

Stevie was starting to believe that Tate wasn’t as perfect as she had first thought. Still, that was no surprise, was it? No boy was perfect—even Phil had a tiny flaw or two if you got right down to it. That didn’t change Stevie’s opinion that Tate had definite potential as a boyfriend for Carole. After all, wasn’t he just as horse-crazy as she was? Didn’t he know even more than she did about everything there was to know about horses? And wasn’t he absolutely adorable?

Carole had opened the door of Calypso’s stall and was patting the mare on the neck. “She’s definitely restless,” she announced. “Maybe we should take her for a walk outside.”

Stevie raised an eyebrow, then glanced up at the roof. The sound of rain pounding steadily against it had been going on for at least half an hour. “Um, Carole?” she said. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

“What do you mean?” Carole asked in surprise. “Judy said it was safe to walk her, and I really think …” Her voice trailed off as she noticed Stevie’s finger pointing upward. She grinned sheepishly. “Oh. It’s raining.”

Stevie reached for Calypso’s halter. “How about a little stroll around the indoor ring instead?”

“Sounds good,” Carole agreed.

A few minutes later the two girls were walking around the ring with the pregnant mare in tow. Stevie filled Carole in on what she had just been thinking about Tate.

“I know what you mean,” Carole said when she had finished. “Tate’s still new here, and we really should give him the benefit of the doubt.” She blushed and looked at her feet. “Besides,” she mumbled, “he really is awfully good-looking, isn’t he?”

Stevie grinned. “Let the record show: Ms. Carole Hanson actually admitted that a boy was cute!”

“Good-looking!” Carole protested, laughing. “That’s different from cute.”

Stevie smirked. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, really,” Carole said firmly. “Definitely different.”

They walked around the ring quietly for a few minutes, each of them thinking her own thoughts. Calypso walked slowly along with them, her rounded belly swaying gently from side to side. The rain continued to patter rhythmically on the roof.

Carole was the first to break the silence. “This is really cozy, isn’t it?”

“There’s only one thing that would make it absolutely perfect,” Stevie said.

“I know.” Carole nodded. “If only Lisa were here with us.”

I
T WAS COLD
and the rain was falling harder. Lisa had hoped that after a few minutes of rest she would feel up to moving, maybe even riding. But she was beginning to realize that neither was going to be an option anytime soon—especially the riding part. She had dragged herself to her feet with Tiny’s stirrup again, and now she was leaning against the tree trunk, trying to figure out what to do. Her wrist throbbed. Her back ached. And her ankle felt numb. She thought it was starting to swell. The tree offered her a little protection from the rain, but not much. She tried to take a step away from the tree and almost collapsed before she grabbed for the trunk again.

“Well, that little experiment didn’t work, did it, Tiny?” she said bleakly.

The mare snorted and nuzzled her, almost knocking her off her feet.

“You’re right.” Lisa gave a rueful smile. “I guess I might as well sit down. I’m sure not going anywhere right now.”

Still holding on to the tree, she carefully lowered herself to a sitting position. That hurt almost as much as standing, but the ground was wet and she really didn’t want to lie down. Besides, that would feel too much like giving up.

She wrapped her arms around herself, being careful not to further injure her left wrist. The wind was getting stronger, blowing the rain straight through the sparse spring leaves in the treetops. Lisa shivered from the cold, and her skin felt clammy. She guessed that she was probably in a mild state of shock from the fall. She tried to remember what she was supposed to do about that—something about elevating her feet. Or was it her head?

Either way, Lisa decided it wasn’t going to happen. She had all she could do to stay calm and try to come up with a plan. Now, if she could just focus …

It was no good. Her brain didn’t seem to be working. And she was so cold.… “Oh, Tiny,” she cried, shivering violently despite her warm sweater. “I can’t walk. I
can’t ride. I can hardly move. And nobody even knows I’m out here!”

The truth of the last statement suddenly struck her. Marguerite thought that Lisa had gone straight back to the stable and then home on the bus. Maybe she would notice that Tiny was missing, realize what must have happened, and send help. Then again, maybe not. After all, Tiny’s stall was tucked away in the back of the stable somewhere. If Marguerite didn’t bother to check on the big gray horse—which she almost certainly wouldn’t—there was no telling how long it would be until Tiny was missed. It might not be until the grooms started the evening feeding. When would that be?

Lisa glanced at her watch. The glass was gone, and the face was mangled and unreadable. She realized that the watch, like her wrist, had smashed into the tree trunk in her fall.

Lisa squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep the rain out and the tears in. After a moment, she heard a snuffling, grunting sound. She opened her eyes and saw that Tiny was slowly, ponderously lowering herself to the ground nearby. Lisa watched in amazement as the mare tucked her front legs to one side and wiggled her hindquarters, making herself comfortable on the wet grass.

“Tiny?” Lisa whispered.

She moved toward the horse, doing her best not to aggravate her injuries. Soon she was close enough to lean back carefully against Tiny’s broad, strong shoulder.
The mare’s skin felt soft and warm. Lisa wiped most of the moisture off the saddle and leaned back farther, allowing her body to relax.

Tiny turned her head and sniffed at Lisa’s hair. Then she let out a soft, horsey sigh and let her eyelids droop. Lisa let her eyes close partway, too, enjoying the warmth and comfort of the big body supporting her.

“S
O YOU
’
RE EXCITED
about this,” Stevie said, her eyes glowing. “Right? Right?”

Carole bit her lip. She glanced at Starlight, who was standing patiently in cross-ties as the two girls groomed him. Then she grinned. “Well—let’s not say excited,” she said. “How about just sort of interested?”

“That’s good enough for me!” Stevie grinned back. She was feeling extremely proud of herself. She had just managed to do the one thing she had been plotting for the last week: set up a date for Carole and Tate.

Okay
, Stevie admitted to herself as she ran a body brush down Starlight’s side,
so technically maybe it wasn’t exactly a date
. All she had done was invite Tate to join The Saddle Club at TD’s in a little while. But it was a start.

“This will give you and Tate a chance to really get to know each other,” Stevie said with satisfaction. “Away from all the distractions of the stable—including a certain Veronica diAngelo.”

Carole looked up from working a knot out of Starlight’s
mane. “Are you sure he really wanted to come?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about all this. One part of her kept remembering the things about Tate that bothered her, like when he’d left his tack uncleaned or when he was snippy with Simon. But another part of her couldn’t wait to talk to him more about horses and find out just how much he really knew. The more she heard him talk, the more impressed she was with the depth of his knowledge. Was being in awe the same as liking someone?

“Of course he wanted to come,” Stevie said, sounding a little impatient. “He’s crazy about you. I have a sixth sense about these things, trust me. And who can blame him? You two are perfect for each other.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Carole said slowly, dropping the comb she’d been using into Starlight’s grooming bucket.

Stevie shrugged. “I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “And you don’t have to worry. Tate may be a little rough around the edges—what guy isn’t?—but he knows horses. That’s the important thing, right?”

“I guess so.” Carole decided not to worry about it anymore. It wasn’t as if it were a real date. After all, Stevie and Lisa would be there, too. She gave Starlight a pat. “I think we’re just about finished here. Should we put him away and then go check on Calypso one more time?”

Stevie tossed the body brush into the bucket. “Sounds good to me,” she said. “We don’t need to leave to meet Lisa for half an hour or so. Let’s go.”

The two girls were walking down the aisle toward Calypso’s stall a few minutes later when they heard excited voices coming from around the corner. Stevie stopped in her tracks when she recognized Veronica’s voice. “What’s she still doing here?” she muttered. She had hoped the other girl had finally gone home and left Tate in peace.