Horse Guest (3 page)

“We should keep our eyes and ears open for all possibilities,” Carole said. “You never know where the right
horse is going to turn up. I already asked Judy to let us know if she comes across anything promising among her patients.”

Stevie finished pulling on her sneakers, then checked her watch again. “Let’s talk more about this later, okay?” she said. She stood up, not bothering to tie her shoes, and quickly yanked on her coat. “Because if I don’t get home soon, my parents won’t let me near a horse—
any
horse—for a year!”

A
LITTLE LATER
, Stevie was seated at the dinner table with the rest of her family. That included not only her mother and father, but also her three brothers.

“Hey, Stevie, don’t forget,” said her younger brother, Michael, “you have to clear the table tonight. Dad made me set it because you were late coming home from your stupid stable.”

“No kidding,” Stevie snapped, looking up from her green beans. “You only told me that fifty times already, twerp.” She had been doing her best to ignore Michael’s complaints. She knew he actually preferred setting the table to clearing it. He was only making such a big deal out of it because Stevie had kidnapped his new pet white mice the week before to get back at him for eating all the ice cream one night.

“Stevie,” Mrs. Lake said warningly. “Michael. Behave yourselves, please.”

Stevie shrugged and kept eating. But Chad, Stevie’s
older brother, jumped in. “I don’t blame Michael for being mad, Mom,” he said. “Stevie’s always late when she’s out riding her dumb horse. I had to set the table for her at least five times last month.”

Stevie sighed and rolled her eyes. Of course Chad would agree. Stevie had wrapped up a box of horse manure and given it to him as a Christmas present, and he still hadn’t forgiven her for it. Besides, she had shown his latest girlfriend a photo of him as a five-year-old swimming naked in the Lakes’ backyard pool.

“Chad is right,” put in Alex, Stevie’s twin brother.

That was no surprise to Stevie, either. Recently, Alex had listened in on one of Stevie’s private phone conversations with her boyfriend, Phil. To get back at him for that, Stevie had started a chain letter asking people to send him women’s underpants—size extra large. He had received the first batch of responses just a couple of days ago.

“You’re always telling us we need to learn to be responsible,” Alex went on, gazing earnestly at his parents. “But all Stevie ever does is play around at her stable all the time. She’s the least responsible person I know.”

Stevie dropped her fork and glared at each of her brothers in turn. “Taking care of Belle is a huge responsibility,” she said icily. “But I wouldn’t expect you three losers to know anything at all about that sort of thing. It’s more work than all of you do put together.”

Chad rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right,” he said. “Shoveling a little manure and then spending hours gabbing with your friends is
sooo
tough.”

Alex snorted with laughter. “Right,” he said. “And deciding what color ribbons to tie in her horsie’s tail is even harder.”

“Boys!” Mr. Lake said sharply. “That’s enough. Stevie will clear the table tonight to make up for being late. End of discussion.”

But Stevie’s brothers weren’t finished. “Boo hoo,” Michael said in a falsetto, pretending to sob. “I’m Stevie Lake, and I have such a hard life. I have to ride my horse all day long.”

“It’s such a chore,” Chad joined in. “Boo hoo. And then I’m forced to have slumber parties with my girlfriends every other night. It’s just too much to bear.”

That really was too much for Stevie to bear. Without thinking, she grabbed a green bean off her plate and flung it at her older brother. It hit him square in the forehead. Chad retaliated instantly by dunking his hand in his milk glass and flicking white droplets in her direction. Michael giggled and did the same, while Alex recovered the green bean from the floor and dropped it in Stevie’s hair.

Mr. and Mrs. Lake both stood up. “Stop it!” Mrs. Lake shouted. “Right this minute!”

The kids froze.

“What do you think you’re doing!” Mr. Lake exclaimed,
his face flushed with anger. “Your behavior is outrageous! Is this what my mother is coming all these miles to see? My children acting like they were raised by wolves?”

Stevie gulped. Her father sounded really furious. He looked it, too. And her mother didn’t appear to be in a much better mood. Too late, Stevie realized that the day of her grandmother’s arrival probably wasn’t the best time to start a food fight with her brothers at the dinner table. Even if they
had
asked for it.

“Now,” Mr. Lake said. His voice was quieter, but still angry. “I hope this will be the last we’ll see of this childish behavior—especially for the next two weeks while your grandmother is here. She never let me get away with such nonsense when I was your age, and I don’t want her to think your mother and I have completely lost control of our own home. I expect you all to get along like civilized human beings.”

“But Dad,” Alex started, “Stevie—”

Mr. Lake didn’t let him finish. “That goes for all four of you. And I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

Mrs. Lake nodded in agreement. “And to make sure you realize that we’re serious about that,” she said, “all four of you will work together to clear up after dinner.” She gestured at the spattered milk droplets all over the table. “And all four of you will make sure there’s no sign of the mess you’ve made here by the time we leave to pick up your grandmother.”

Hearing the dangerous tone of her voice, none of the kids dared to utter a peep about that.

“I
T WAS ALL
your fault,” Alex muttered sulkily, glaring at Stevie as he dried a platter.

Stevie snorted. “Then why are you three getting punished? Mom and Dad were right there. They obviously thought it was
your
fault.”

The four siblings were in the kitchen washing up. Dinner was over, and the elder Lakes were upstairs making sure that the guest room was ready for Grandma Lake’s arrival. The family would be leaving in less than half an hour for the airport.

Chad sighed. “Forget it, Alex,” he advised his brother. “Mom and Dad are just worked up about Grandma’s visit. I’m sure that’s why they didn’t see the truth, that it was all Stevie’s fault.”

Stevie started to retort. But then she stopped to think about something. “Hey, you know what?” she said, sloshing a greasy saucepan in the sink. “Mom and Dad
do
seem awfully anxious about this visit. Do you think there’s a reason for that?”

Michael looked up from the dishwasher, where he was trying to shove one more plate into the overcrowded rack. “Duh,” he said. “Grandma hasn’t been here for a long time. What more reason do you want?”

“No, wait a minute,” Alex said, shooting Stevie a curious look. “What are you driving at, Stevie?”
Stevie shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “I guess it has been an awful long time since Grandma moved. It’s hard to even remember what she’s like.”

“I know what you mean,” Chad said, leaning on the counter. “I mean, we talk to her on the phone on holidays and stuff. But that’s not the same as seeing her in person. I know Dad is right, though—I remember that she was always totally in charge when we used to visit her house in Pennsylvania. When she told us to do something, we did it, no questions asked.” He grinned. “But I also seem to remember that she hardly ever told us to do anything we didn’t want to do anyway. She used to do a lot of cool stuff with us, like taking us places and helping us make up new games. She even rode my dirt bike once.”

“I remember that,” Stevie said with a laugh, while Alex nodded. “She rode it better than you did.” Then she stopped laughing and sighed. “We always had a lot of fun with her back then. But five years is a long time. Just look how much we’ve all changed in that time. Do you think Grandma has changed a lot, too?”

“I don’t know,” Alex said. “She
is
getting older.”

“She was always old, wasn’t she?” Michael put in, closing the dishwasher. “I don’t really remember her when she lived here. But she’s got white hair in the pictures she sends at Christmas.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Chad said. “She’s had white hair for as long as I can remember.” He
paused. “Still, she did have to move to Arizona because of her health.”

Stevie nodded. “I wonder if that’s why Mom and Dad got so upset at us tonight. No matter
whose
fault it was,” she added quickly. “Maybe Grandma is really old and sickly now, and they’re worried that we’ll frighten her or wear her out or something.”

Alex shrugged. “I doubt it,” he said, though he didn’t look nearly as certain as his words sounded. “If that was true, Mom and Dad would just come out and tell us.”

“Still,” Chad said, “whether Mom and Dad want to make a big deal of it or not, maybe it wouldn’t hurt for us to cool it while she’s here.” He chuckled. “For one thing, if Grandma’s anything like her old self, she’ll kick our behinds if she thinks we’re not behaving right.”

Stevie nodded in agreement as she handed the last of the freshly washed pans over for drying. Her memories of her grandmother were pretty fuzzy after all this time, but it was still hard to imagine her as old and frail and delicate. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. Maybe she and her brothers could tone down their usual behavior for a couple of weeks. At least a little.

L
ISA CALLED
C
AROLE
right after dinner. Colonel Hanson, Carole’s father, answered the phone and went to get her. Lisa tapped her foot impatiently while she waited. She had already tried Stevie’s number, but there was no answer. Then she had remembered that the Lakes were driving to the airport together that evening to pick up their visitor. But Lisa couldn’t wait for Stevie’s return to share her news. She was too excited.

“Guess what,” she said as soon as Carole picked up the phone.

“Hello to you, too,” Carole said with a laugh. “Are you turning into Stevie or something?” Usually Stevie was the member of their group most likely to get excited about
something and forget about little courtesies like saying hello and identifying herself.

Lisa laughed. “Sorry,” she said. “But I’ve been dying to call you ever since I got home from ballet. I think I’ve found the perfect horse for Britt!”

“Really?” Carole said.

Lisa thought her friend didn’t sound nearly as interested as she should have. “Really,” she said. “I stopped at Hedgerow like I planned, and that’s when it hit me. They really do have exactly the right horse for her personality and riding ability.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Carole said. “I’ve been doing some thinking about Britt myself. After you and Stevie both left Pine Hollow today, Mrs. Reg asked me to muck out some stalls. And while I was doing that, I realized that the perfect horse for Britt has been right under our noses all along.”

Lisa frowned. She hadn’t expected this. Once she had made up her mind about Britt’s ideal horse, she had expected both her best friends to agree with her. “But wait until you hear which horse I’m talking about,” she said. “You’ll see what I mean.”

“Well, okay,” Carole said. “Who is it?”

Lisa shifted the phone receiver to her other ear before answering. “It’s that Appaloosa mare,” she said. “Applesauce.”

“Oh,” Carole said. “I see what you mean. She does seem like a pretty good choice.” After the girls had rescued
the Hedgerow horses, the entire string had spent a few days at Pine Hollow while their new stable was being finished. The Saddle Club had gotten to know most of them pretty well, including Applesauce, a handsome Appaloosa mare with a calm, wise disposition.

“So you agree with me?” Lisa said happily.

“I didn’t say that,” Carole said. “I think Applesauce would be a good choice. But Coconut is an even better one.”

“Coconut?” Lisa repeated. Coconut had been a Pine Hollow school horse for years. He was happy, friendly, polite, and well trained, and Lisa understood immediately why Carole had chosen him. Coconut was talented and spunky enough to challenge a good intermediate rider like Britt, but his temperament was sunny and even, which would keep him from intimidating the shy girl.

“Wouldn’t he be great for cheering her up?” Carole prompted. “He’s got such a nice personality. And she always seems so solemn and worried. Coconut is just what she needs to help her laugh a little and relax.”

Lisa twirled the phone cord around her finger. “I guess so,” she said. “But Applesauce has a good personality, too. And she always seems so steady and confident, like she knows exactly what she’s doing. Maybe some of that would rub off on Britt and make her more confident, too.”

There was a moment of silence as each girl thought about the other’s choice. Finally Carole spoke up. “Well, I
think either one of those horses could be the one. I’m still voting for Coconut.”

“And I’m still voting for Applesauce,” Lisa said.

Carole laughed. “Uh-oh. I guess Stevie will have to be the tiebreaker.”

Lisa laughed, too. She knew as well as Carole did that the only one who could make the final decision was Britt herself. Only she would know which horse really suited her—whether it was Applesauce, Coconut, or another horse entirely.