Tight Rein (8 page)

C
AROLE SLID INTO
their favorite booth at TD’s, Willow Creek’s best ice cream parlor and a Saddle Club hangout. “It’s a little early for a sundae, don’t you think?”

Lisa thought hard before replying. “No. I don’t.”

Their usual waitress set water glasses down in front of them. “Where’s your partner in crime?” she asked them.

“Grounded,” Carole answered.

The waitress grinned. “She earned it, I’m sure.” She handed them menus and walked away.

Lisa stared after her. “What a thing to say!”

Carole was laughing. “She’s right, you know.”

“Still, she doesn’t have to be so bitter. It’s not like Stevie orders weird sundaes just to get on the waitress’s bad side.”

When they were deeply involved in the enjoyment of two hot fudge brownie sundaes, Carole said, “I think it’s working. I think this plan of yours is going to work.”

“Maybe,” Lisa said, scooping a pecan off the top of her ice cream. “The only catch is, we’re relying on him to have a conscience.”

Carole grinned. “He’s got one. I’m telling you, I’ve got this whole sibling thing figured out.”

Lisa grinned in return. She was beginning to feel that she, too, had the whole sibling thing figured out. The night before, it had occurred to her that she wouldn’t
have been nearly as upset about her riding if Carole and Stevie had been having trouble, too. She had been competing with them whether she’d realized it or not.

“So,” Carole asked, “which horse are you going to ride in our lesson this afternoon? Will Max let you have Prancer?”

Lisa thought, not for the first time, that Carole must be able to read her mind. “Max said this morning that he’d let me have Prancer,” she said. “But I told him I’d rather ride Barq. I know that sounds strange,” she added hastily, before Carole could say anything, “but after all I am taking Prancer to camp, and Barq and I came so close yesterday that I just don’t want to give up with him until we get that exercise right.” She scooped up a bite of ice cream. “You think I’m silly, don’t you?” she asked. “When I could be riding the horse I love?”

Carole smiled warmly. “I don’t think you’re silly at all,” she said. She thought about saying more, about how important she thought it was that Lisa not give up with Barq, and how much Lisa could learn from riding different types of horses, but she decided not to. From Lisa’s outburst the day before, Carole had gathered that her friend needed support but probably didn’t want to hear much advice.

Carole set her spoon down in her empty dish. “You
were right, it wasn’t too early for a sundae. But we’d better get back. If we wait too long, Belle might get hungry enough to snack on that grain.”

“Wait,” Lisa said. “You’ve got fudge sauce on your chin.” She handed Carole her napkin. “What about me?”

Carole inspected her. “You’re clean.”

C
HAD WAS SITTING
on a hay bale outside Belle’s stall, but when he saw them he stood up right away. “She hasn’t eaten,” he said. “I even took the grain out of the bucket and tried to stick it in her mouth, but she wouldn’t eat it. She didn’t seem to like it at all.”

Carole tried not to laugh at her mental image of Chad poking grain between Belle’s lips.

“Poor Belle,” murmured Lisa.

Carole pressed her lips tight together. She would not laugh. They observed the suffering horse in silence.

“Lisa and I can walk you home,” Carole offered at last. She needed to get away from bright-eyed Belle before she had hysterics. His riding lessons obviously hadn’t taught Chad much about horses if he really believed this one was sick. Carole wouldn’t have been fooled for a moment. Belle’s coat was dull, sure, but it looked
dirty
.

“You’re not both going to leave her, are you?” Chad
asked anxiously. “Can someone else watch her? I mean, she hasn’t eaten at all.”

“I’ll stay with her,” Lisa said. “You’re totally right, someone should, and I don’t think anyone else is scheduled for this morning.”

Carole’s eyebrows rose. “ ‘Scheduled’?” she mouthed behind Chad’s back.

“Thank you, Chad,” Lisa continued. “I’m sure you’ve made a difference. She may not have gotten better, but at least she hasn’t gotten any worse.”

Carole turned away. Lisa and Chad could see her shoulders quivering. “I’m sorry,” Carole said, choking.

“She’ll be okay,” Chad said, desperately trying to comfort Carole. He’d certainly never seen Carole Hanson cry!

“I’ll watch her now,” Lisa commanded. “You two go.” She had to get Carole out of here before she ruined everything. Carole was just about to explode with laughter.

Chad heard the urgency in Lisa’s voice and understood that she didn’t want Carole upset any further. “Let’s go,” he said gently. He put his hand on Carole’s shoulder and guided her down the aisle. Carole, overcome, covered her face with her hands.

Lisa steeled herself against a similar outburst.
It wouldn’t be so funny
, she thought,
if he weren’t swallowing
everything, hook, line, and sinker.
They had Chad completely in their power. She grabbed a brush and began to clean the dirt off Belle.

“I
T
’
LL BE OKAY
,” Chad repeated for perhaps the hundredth time as they walked up the sidewalk toward the Lakes’ house. Carole nodded. She still didn’t trust herself to speak.

“Look,” Chad continued, pointing to the second story of the house, “there’s Stevie waving.”

Carole waved back. As they came closer, she could see the anxious expression on Stevie’s face. Stevie opened her window and sailed a paper airplane down.

Chad looked over Carole’s shoulder as she unfolded it.
Why a vet?
the note said.
Is Belle sick?

Chad looked at Carole. Carole felt her stomach drop. What could she possibly say? She didn’t want to make Stevie think there was something wrong with Belle—she knew how much it would worry Stevie. And yet Chad was watching. So far, he believed them.

Carole bit her lip. Finally she called up to the window, “She’s not eating.”

Carole hoped Stevie would be content with that much of an explanation, but she didn’t really expect that she would be. After all, if something was wrong with Starlight, Carole would demand to know all the details.
So Carole wasn’t really surprised when, a moment later, a second airplane flew out of Stevie’s window.
Colic?
it read.

Carole shrugged unhappily. Chad watched her, his hands on his hips. “We’re afraid it might be,” Carole said at last, even though her heart was breaking at the thought of what she was doing to Stevie. Stevie gasped. She shut her eyes, slammed the window down, and backed away, disappearing from view.

“You didn’t have a choice,” Chad told Carole solemnly. “She deserves to know the truth.”

Carole walked miserably back to Pine Hollow. Stevie deserved the truth, all right—and Carole had told her a lie.

Chad walked into his house. He stopped in the entryway. Even from so far away, he could hear his sister’s sobs.

“L
ISA
?” M
AX STUCK HIS HEAD
out of his office door just as Lisa walked into the stable. “Did you remember that Judy’s coming to do Belle’s teeth this morning?”

“Of course,” Lisa said. “That’s why I’m here so early. Carole and I are both going to help.”

Max smiled. “Great. I’ve got an early lesson, so I can’t attend to it, though I’m sure my mom or Red could have if you two couldn’t. But it’s a good chance to learn something, especially since you said you’d never seen teeth floated before.”

Lisa grimaced. “It seems like everything is a good
chance to learn something,” she complained. “I never quit learning!”

Max came out of his office. He crossed his arms and spoke to her seriously. “I agree it gets frustrating sometimes,” he said. “But I think one of the truly wonderful things about horses is that they’ve always got something new to teach us, if we stay willing to learn. No one can ever know everything about horses.

“In fact,” he continued with a small grin, “sometimes I used to feel just the way you probably do—as though someday, if I tried hard enough, I could know everything. Then I got a chance to talk to one of Nigel Hawthorne’s friends. At the time, this friend was the top-ranked event rider in the entire world.”

“Wow,” Lisa said softly. Nigel was a world-class rider, and they’d all gone to several events to watch him ride. Lisa could hardly imagine anyone being a better rider than Nigel.

“Yes,” Max said, “and that man, the champion, told me that every day he learned something new. He’d ridden on four Olympic teams, and he said he still hoped that someday he’d learn how to be a really good rider. So don’t give in to your discouragement, Lisa. You can’t know everything, but you have learned a lot.”

“But that’s not my problem, Max,” Lisa protested. “I don’t want to know
everything
. I just want to know more
than Stevie and Carole do.” As soon as she said it she felt shocked. How could she feel that way about her best friends? But she did!

Max didn’t look shocked. He gave her face a gentle pat. “I know,” he said. “But you can’t control that—you can’t change what Stevie and Carole know. All you can do is keep improving yourself. You made a good start with that yesterday, when you did so well in your lesson with Barg. You really learned lengthening, Lisa, and you might not have, at least not so completely, if you hadn’t had to struggle with it for a while.”

“I guess,” Lisa said, smiling at the memory of finally, finally, sailing through those wide-spaced poles without a single whack. “I’m glad you understand, Max. I don’t really want to be better than Stevie or Carole—and yet I do.”

“That’s okay,” Max said. “Just keep things in perspective, all right? It’s not often I have a student who learns as quickly as you.” He looked up as they heard a sudden noise in the driveway. “There’s Judy’s truck, and my student’s car.”

“And Carole,” Lisa said, seeing her friend walk up the driveway. Carole usually took a bus from her house to a stop near Pine Hollow. Lisa went to greet her friend, comforted by the fact that Max seemed to understand her feelings.
A horse of my own would help
, she thought,
but I still wouldn’t know as much as Carole. About horses, anyway
, she corrected herself.
I probably know more about ballet.

“Hey, Carole, do you know what a
battement tendu
is?” she asked as Carole came closer. She smiled mischievously at the look of bewilderment on her friend’s face. “This!” She elevated herself on one foot and tapped the other gracefully around her ankle.

“Okay,” Carole said, giving Lisa a puzzled look. “What’s it for?”

“Nothing, I just wondered if you knew.” Lisa lifted her chin, moved her arms into a graceful
port des bras
, and carried herself down the stable aisle on
demi-pointes.
“We’d better get Belle out for Judy.”

C
AROLE HELD
B
ELLE
on a lead rope in the center aisle. “It’s best not to put her on cross-ties for something like this,” she explained to Lisa. “If she decides to protest and flips her head back hard enough, she could flip herself over. The cross-ties would break, of course, but she could hurt herself, and besides, it’s easier to control her with the lead rope.”

“Uh-huh,” Lisa said, nodding. She was examining the long tools that Judy would use to file Belle’s teeth. They looked, she decided, like short snow-shovel handles with cheese graters attached to the end. One file was for
coarsely grated cheese, the other for fine. Lisa knew she wouldn’t want those things anywhere near her teeth.

Carole grimaced. Here she was, running off at the mouth again! No wonder Lisa didn’t like it.

Lisa looked up and caught the expression on Carole’s face. “It’s okay,” she said. “In the first place, I didn’t know that, and in the second place, I know you can’t help yourself. You shouldn’t have to try. It’s the way you are. I like the way you are. You’re one of my best friends.” She smiled, and Carole smiled back in relief.

Judy opened Belle’s mouth and felt deeply along the long, narrow sides of her jaw. “Yep, she’s got some points back there,” she said. “Stevie was right. She was really paying attention.”

“Couldn’t she have checked Belle herself?” Lisa asked.

“Probably not,” Carole said. “Her molars are way back behind the space where the bit rests. It’s a long reach. Anyway, Judy’s the expert.”

Judy grinned. She knew The Saddle Club well, especially Carole, who sometimes accompanied her on her rounds. “Yes, I’m quite an expert, all right,” she said, laughing at her own joke. “This is a job for Supervet! But I left my cape at home.”

Lisa held up one of the files. “And this thing really doesn’t hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt,” Judy said. “Horses don’t have any
feeling in the points of their teeth, any more than you do in the tips of your nails, and even though those files look like something out of the Middle Ages, they do their job well. On the other hand, the files make a lot of noise, and, as you’ll see, bits of tooth go flying. Some horses hate it, even though it doesn’t hurt. If I remember right, Belle didn’t like this the last time.”