Starlight Christmas (11 page)

*  *  *

“H
ERE WE GO
, boy,” Carole said, leaning forward for a final time to unlatch a gate and let herself into the big paddock by the Pine Hollow barn. She locked it behind her and turned to head for the stable. She was surprised when she spotted three horses wearing winter blankets standing in the far corner of the large paddock. It seemed odd that horses would be turned out into the snowy paddock at this time of year and at this hour of the day. There had to be some kind of mistake.

She needed to see Garnet, but she didn’t have to get there in such a rush that she would endanger three other horses in the process. Carole rode over to where the threesome was standing peacefully in the field. She clucked her tongue to get their attention. They all looked up at her and then at Pretty Boy. Carole recognized the three horses and when she saw who they were, she was doubly confused. Two of them were due to go out on the Starlight Ride. The other was a pregnant mare who’d be better off in her stall.

Carole rode Pretty Boy around behind the threesome and began driving them toward the stable in the manner she’d learned when herding cattle on her friend Kate Devine’s dude ranch. The horses obediently headed for the stable.

Carole reached down from the saddle, unlatching the stable door from atop Pretty Boy. The three horses had had enough fresh air and seemed only too happy to be
home. Carole dismounted, fastened Pretty Boy’s reins to a nearby pole, and quickly led each of the horses to its own stall.

All of Pine Hollow was aflutter with pre-Starlight Ride activity. There were young riders all over the place. Carole didn’t stop to ask anybody what the horses had been doing in the paddock. There would be time for that later. Now, it was more important to look at Garnet.

“Starlight Ride inspection in three minutes!” Max announced on the P.A.

Maybe, just maybe
, Carole told herself. But Garnet came first.

She put Pretty Boy in the empty stall next to Garnet’s and then began to consider the mare’s condition.

The horse seemed just fine except for all the lather. It was odd that she’d build up a lather like that standing in her stall, and it was even odder that it would remain there as long as it had. Carole checked her watch. It had been more than a half hour since Veronica’s call.

Carole checked Garnet’s vital signs. The horse’s respiration rate was normal. She didn’t look feverish; feverish horses usually looked droopy, like feverish people. Carole decided to check the mare’s heart rate. She put the stethoscope in her ears and held the other end against the horse’s chest, behind Garnet’s left elbow. She had to wipe away some of the lather to do it.

The heart rate was completely normal. Carole took off the stethoscope and thought for a minute, rubbing her
fingers together as she did so. Her fingers felt sticky and soapy. Horses’ lather wasn’t soapy; it was sweaty. There was only one conclusion. This wasn’t regular horse lather.

Carole sniffed at her fingers where there was a residue of lather. It smelled vaguely soapy, too, vaguely masculine, vaguely like her father smelled right after he shaved, in fact.

Then Carole heard one of her favorite sounds. She heard the unmistakable giggling of her two best friends. She turned around. There were Lisa and Stevie, A.J. and Phil. Carole recognized the signs of one of Stevie’s schemes. Lisa and Stevie were trying to control their giggles before they became outright laughter. Phil and A.J. were just grinning like cats who had recently consumed very fat canaries.

“I think I’d better check the calendar,” Carole said. “Is this Christmas Eve or April Fools’ Day?”

Stevie brought two damp cloths into Garnet’s stall. She handed one to Carole and began wiping off the lather with the other. Carole pitched in.

“You should have seen it!” Stevie began. Then, in a jumble, all four of them tried to tell Carole what had happened. By the time Garnet was cleaned up to her normal, very healthy self, Carole knew everything, and was giggling just as much as her friends were.

“I wish I had been here,” she said. “But wait until I tell
you about the foal that was born at Mr. Michaels’s stable.”

“Is
that
where you were?” Lisa asked, very surprised.

“Yes, and he’s the nicest guy, and wait until I tell you how I got here from there!”

“Carole, there you are!” Max called out. “Come on, now, it’s time for inspection. Is Barq all saddled up?”

Carole had the feeling that the less Max knew about Garnet’s “lather,” the better. She decided not to mention it at all.

“Actually, I haven’t even seen Barq yet. I came in the back way on horseback from Mr. Michaels’s stable. If it’s okay with you and with him, I’d just as soon keep riding his horse. He’s a real beauty named Pretty Boy.”

“Pretty Boy?” Max said. “You’re riding a horse named
Pretty Boy?
”

“I know, it’s a funny name, but he’s a nice horse and I’d like to ride him again tonight. Mr. Michaels is about to sell him. I want to ride him one more time. Can I?” Carole looked at her friends, who were staring at her as if she’d just sprouted another head. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

Stevie spoke first. “Oh, it just surprises us that you’d rather ride that strange horse than a nice horse like Barq. But it’s okay. Barq probably won’t mind, right Max?”

“I’m sure he’ll be glad for a little peace and quiet. Now, how many times do I have to tell you all that it’s time for
the Starlight Ride inspection? Get on your horses and in the ring and sit tall in the saddles for inspection. Now!”

Stevie, Lisa, A.J., and Phil all headed for the ring. Carole had to call Judy and Mr. Michaels first. She explained it to Max. He gave his okay, but told her to hurry.

Judy was relieved to hear that Garnet was all right. Carole didn’t want to explain about the practical joke, so it was a good thing Judy didn’t ask for details. The vet was fairly accustomed to Veronica’s hysterical outbursts about nothing.

Mr. Michaels was very enthusiastic about Carole riding Pretty Boy on the Starlight Ride. He was sure Max could board him for the night and didn’t seem concerned about when the horse would get back to Mr. Michaels’s place. So, finally, everything was set. It was finally time for the Starlight Ride.

“L
ET
’
S GO
!” S
TEVIE
told Carole. She was ready. Everybody was ready. Everybody had passed Max’s inspection. Jackets were zipped, scarves wrapped. It was time to begin.

Carole led the procession out the door of the stable, where each rider paused to touch the good-luck horseshoe. It was an automatic gesture, but one that had come to mean something special to all of Pine Hollow’s riders. Nobody who touched the horseshoe had ever been seriously hurt. Tonight, riding in the dark, it seemed especially important.

Max rolled the stable doors open and Carole, riding Pretty Boy, stepped out into the night. Max handed her the leader’s torch and they were ready.

The trail wound through the fields and into the forest,
circling the hills that rose behind Pine Hollow. All the way, it was marked by bright lanterns every ten yards or so, so there was no way they could get lost. Eventually, the trail would end up along a small back road that led to the center of town. It was about two miles to the town center along the winding trail they would follow, two wonderful miles of lamplit trail on a starry night.

Carole took a deep breath and signaled Pretty Boy to begin.

“Isn’t it amazing?” Lisa said to A.J., who was riding next to her right behind Carole. “I mean, look at the snow. It’s like a fairy tale!”

“This whole day has been like a fairy tale,” A.J. said. “I mean, who could believe all the stuff that’s been happening, and how perfectly it’s all worked out!”

“And you don’t even know it all, yet,” Lisa said mysteriously.

“I don’t?” A.J. looked puzzled.

“Nope,” she said. “There’s more to come.”

“Oh, yeah, all the caroling and the cocoa, right?”

“That, too.”

Within a few minutes, the train of riders was through the Pine Hollow gate and everything was going smoothly.

“I’ve never ridden at night, you know,” Stevie told Phil.

“No? What about that night ride at camp?” he said, reminding her of the time she’d ridden his horse to safety, escaping from a barn fire.

“Well, maybe,” Stevie conceded. “But that was bareback and barefooted, in pajamas, at a wild gallop most of the way. I mean, now we’ve got saddles and boots, and clothes, and no galloping. I think I like it better this way.”

“I agree,” Phil said. He reached over and squeezed Stevie’s hand. “Also, this time I’m with you instead of worried sick about you! That’s much better.”

They all rode quietly for a while, enjoying the beauty of the place. The moon had risen now. It was full and silvery, casting a gleaming light across the snow-covered field.

Stevie thought she heard something. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?” Phil asked.

“That sound.” Stevie cocked her head and listened carefully. “
Bells?
”

“Yeah, maybe,” he said.

Stevie turned in her saddle and looked over her shoulder. There, behind them, but coming up on them quickly, was an old-fashioned horse-drawn sleigh! In the seat, riding proudly, were Maxmillian Regnery and his mother! In the back of the sleigh was a big sack that looked suspiciously like something Santa Claus might use. And in the front, taking the place of the flying reindeer, was Max’s horse, Diablo, who was proudly drawing the sleigh across the field. His harness even had jingling bells on it.

Carole signaled for a stop. All of the riders on the trail
drew their horses to a halt so they could watch the sleigh. Each of them had seen it in the storage area of the stable for years, but none of them had ever seen it in use. After all, they lived in Virginia, where it hardly ever snowed. When it did snow, it wasn’t always the proper occasion for a one-horse open sleigh. But tonight was exactly the proper occasion for it. It looked wonderful!

“I think we’re going to have to sing!” Carole announced. Everybody thought it was a fine idea and nobody argued about the song. They all burst into “Jingle Bells” and began riding as they sang.

The horses loved the music. They all seemed to pick up their stride and walk more proudly, almost marching. Carole and all the other riders waved to Max and Mrs. Reg as they slid across the field toward the forest.

The riders were still singing “Jingle Bells” when they reached the first farmhouse. There was a candle in each of its windows and, in the back, where there was a picture window, Carole and her friends could see a brightly lighted Christmas tree. A party was going on inside. The guests crowded to the windows to see the Starlight Riders and waved.

At the next house, which had a decorated spruce in the backyard, the whole family came out to welcome the riders. “Merry Christmas!” they called. The riders returned the greeting.

“Sing ‘Jingle Bells’ again,” one of the children requested. The riders were only too happy to do it.

“I think we need a new song,” Carole said after they finished. “How about ‘Here We Come A-Wassailing,’ only let’s make it ‘Here We Come A-Riding’!” They tried that one out and liked it as well.

Stevie enjoyed the singing and she liked hearing Phil’s strong baritone next to her own alto voice. It seemed like all their voices echoed in the cold night, carrying for miles.

Now Carole led the riders up the hill and into the woods, where the trail narrowed, but was still lighted and decorated. The woods were silent in the winter night. Here, the blanket of snow changed the sound, making everything quieter. The forest felt close and friendly, as if it had walls to protect the riders wherever they went.

“O, little town of Bethlehem,” Stevie began.

“How still we see thee lie,” Phil sang, joining in. The rest of the riders took up the song.

When the carol was done, they all rode in contented silence.

Finally, they crested the hill, rounded the bend, and came to the little road that led toward the center of town. When the last rider was out of the woods and on firm ground, Carole told them they could trot.

Pretty Boy seemed relieved to be allowed to go faster. It was as if he’d been holding in all his energy for this moment. He broke into a trot immediately. Carole couldn’t believe his gait. Every horse’s gait is as individual as the horse, some better than others. Pretty Boy’s trot was wonderful
and smooth. He had a long, proud stride, and his mane lifted in the breeze. He shook his head with joy, it seemed. Carole laughed joyfully with him.

And then it was almost time for the ride to be over. The Starlight Riders reached the center of town, where there was a small park. They circled the park, trotting halfway around and then walking the final quarter mile to cool down their horses. Carole led the group into the center of the park. There, surrounded by a waiting crowd of family and friends, and anybody else in town who wanted to be a part of it, was the reason they were there. A beautiful, tall menorah stood next to a life-size stable scene, complete with real, borrowed animals. Now there were horses as well. Carole brought the riders to the stable and then began the ceremony.