Gift Horse (9 page)

Stevie nodded. She’d been so caught up in her own problems for the past few days that she’d forgotten all about Veronica’s. She felt a little guilty about it, especially now that Veronica was being so understanding about No-Name. “I’ve been meaning to tell you that I’m sorry about what you and your family are going through,” she said, feeling a little awkward.

Veronica shrugged. “Yeah, it’s a bummer,” she said quietly, staring at the ground.

“I know you’ve always … well, that you’ve gotten used to living a certain way,” Stevie said, thinking of the diAngelos’ huge house, swimming pool, and servants—not to mention Veronica’s designer wardrobe, and of course, Garnet. “I guess if your dad really does lose his job it’ll be hard to do without all that.”

Veronica gasped.

“Sorry,” Stevie said quickly, ashamed of her tactlessness. “I guess I shouldn’t have just come right out about your father’s job like that.”

“No, it’s not that,” Veronica said, biting her lip. “It’s not your fault, anyway. It’s just the thought of doing without. I’m not really used to it yet.”

“I know what you mean,” Stevie said. “I’m definitely not used to the idea of losing No-Name yet, even though I know it’s true.” She frowned at the thought. She’d lain awake all night trying to think of ways to keep No-Name—everything from training the mare to bite Chelsea on
command to convincing the judge that Stevie would waste away to nothing without her. At about three
A.M.
Stevie had even considering stealing No-Name away from Pine Hollow in the dead of night and hiding her in Phil’s barn. But she soon realized that Mr. and Mrs. Marsten probably wouldn’t go along with that. And hiding the mare in the woods wouldn’t work, either. The nights were still too chilly, and besides, someone was bound to find her sooner or later. Finally, as the first rays of sunlight had started peeking through her bedroom window, Stevie had admitted defeat. And that was the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life.

Veronica nodded. “I’ve had a lot longer than you’ve had to get used to the thought of losing my horse,” she said, beginning to sniffle a little. “And I’m not used to it, either.”

“I guess we have more in common now than we ever thought we would, huh?” Stevie said sadly. “We’re both losing something that’s really important to us.”

Veronica nodded again. Her sniffles were turning to full-fledged tears now. “Y-you’re the only one who really understands, S-Stevie,” she gasped between sobs. “Wouldn’t it be funny if you wound up buying Garnet?” The thought of this seemed to upset her all over again. She broke out into fresh sobs.

Almost without thinking about it, Stevie reached out to give the other girl a comforting hug. As Veronica sobbed
on her shoulder, Stevie couldn’t help thinking that, right at this moment, the spoiled rich girl felt almost like a real friend.

Carole and Lisa arrived just then and found them. They were both a little surprised at the scene, but did their best not to show it. When Veronica saw them, she immediately wiped away her tears.

“Ready to start practice, you two?” Carole asked, trying to sound as cheerful as possible under the circumstances.

Stevie nodded. She decided she’d swing by No-Name’s stall for a quick hello, then spend some quality time with her after the practice.

A few minutes later the four girls met up again in the outdoor ring. Stevie was riding Topside once again.

“All right, how about starting with the two-handed water balloon race?” Carole said. She was leading Starlight and carrying a bucket full of water balloons, which she’d just filled.

The others agreed, and they got started. Carole set the bucket at one side of the ring. Then she mounted and tied Starlight’s reins together. This race was partly a test of balance and partly a test of the rider’s skill in using aids other than the reins to control her horse. As soon as Carole was settled in the saddle Lisa handed her two very full water balloons—the race was also partly a test of a rider’s skill in holding on to two slippery water balloons and passing
them off to her teammates without dropping or breaking them.

Carole managed to ride Starlight across the ring without too much trouble. She’d been working hard with him on responding to leg aids, and he had learned his lessons well. Still, she kept him at a walk this time.

Stevie was waiting to take the balloons from Carole. Then she urged Topside forward, aiming him across the ring to where Lisa was waiting. The gelding responded immediately, moving into a smooth walk. At times like this, Stevie was reminded once again of Topside’s former life as a champion show horse, who had been trained since birth to obey his rider’s every command.

When they were halfway across the ring, Stevie decided to try a trot. Once again, Topside was paying perfect attention, and he responded instantly to her signal. But Stevie wasn’t as ready for the change in gaits as she thought she was. Without realizing it, she’d been expecting No-Name’s distinctive bouncy trot. Topside’s gait was different, and it threw her off balance. In the split second it took her to regain it, one of the water balloons managed to wriggle its way out of her grasp. It slipped forward, bursting onto Topside’s neck and spraying water all over the horse and his rider.

Topside, startled, shook his head violently and came to a full stop, almost unseating Stevie once again. She tossed the other water balloon aside and grabbed the reins,
quickly regaining control of her mount. She patted and talked soothingly to the gelding for a minute, until he seemed to calm down.

But the soaking had thrown Topside off, and he continued to shake his head nervously as Stevie rode him back toward the bucket. “I don’t think Topside likes this one,” Stevie called to her friends. “Maybe we should practice something else for a while.”

The others nodded. They didn’t say anything, but Stevie suspected they were thinking the same thing she was, which was that Topside just didn’t seem to like any of the mounted games as much as No-Name did. Stevie couldn’t help comparing the gelding’s reaction to the water balloon with No-Name’s active participation in the water race a few days earlier. She also remembered how, at a practice the week before, she’d slipped and dropped both water balloons on the mare. No-Name had seemed a little surprised at the unexpected shower, but it hadn’t fazed her for more than a few seconds.

No-Name is such a great horse, Stevie thought with a sigh. The familiar wave of sadness swept over her. She couldn’t bear the thought of not riding the mare in the rally tomorrow—not to mention losing her forever. If only she could ride the horse one more time. Maybe that would make saying good-bye just a little bit easier.

Stevie watched as Veronica dismounted and removed
her hard hat, shaking out her long hair. “Well, what should we do next?” she asked.

Stevie froze, watching the highlights in Veronica’s hair shimmer in the sun. “That’s it!” she cried.

“What’s what?” Lisa asked.

“Veronica just gave me a great idea,” Stevie said. “Actually, her highlights gave me the idea. Remember when I gave you a makeover, Lisa?”

Lisa nodded and rolled her eyes. The experiment hadn’t been very successful. Stevie had borrowed all of Mrs. Atwood’s makeup—and had managed to get just about all of it on Lisa’s face. It had taken Lisa twenty minutes to scrub it all off—which she’d done as soon as she’d looked in the mirror.

“I remember,” Carole said with a giggle. “I especially remember the look on Lisa’s face—what you could see of it under all that makeup, that is—when you said you wanted to dye her hair.”

Stevie grinned. “That’s exactly it,” she said. “That’s how I can ride No-Name in the rally tomorrow.”

“By dyeing my hair?” Lisa asked in confusion.

“No, no,” Stevie said. “But remember, that dye I bought to use on you was dark brown, and it’s the kind that washes out after a few shampoos. That’s why I couldn’t understand why you wouldn’t let me try it.”

Veronica spoke up. “I still don’t get it,” she said. “There’s no way you’ll be able to ride No-Name tomorrow.

Chelsea Webber and her sister are both in Pony Clubs—their whole family will probably be there.”

“Veronica’s right,” Lisa said. “No matter what crazy scheme you have in mind, Stevie, there’s no way it will work. Even if you dye your own hair and pretend to be someone else, Max still won’t let you ride No-Name. You’re stuck with Topside, any way you look at it.”

“Looks can be deceiving, you know,” Stevie said, patting Topside on the neck.

Carole was beginning to suspect she knew what Stevie had in mind. “Explain, Stevie,” she said.

“Gladly,” Stevie said. “Look at Topside, here. What color is he?”

Lisa shrugged. “He’s a bay.”

“Right. His coat is dark brown all over. Just about the same shade of dark brown that I wanted to dye your hair,” Stevie said. “And just about the same shade as No-Name, except for her markings.”

Lisa brushed back her light brown hair. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” she asked incredulously. “You want to dye No-Name’s hair?”

“You got it,” Stevie confirmed. “If I dye her socks and stripe, she’ll look like a solid bay, just like Topside. Nobody will recognize her.”

“Chelsea will,” Veronica reminded her. “Even as a solid bay, she’ll at least suspect something’s fishy, don’t you think? After all, she’ll probably be watching you closely.”

Stevie shrugged. “Even if she does suspect, what can she do about it? It took a vet and an X-ray machine to prove No-Name’s identity even
with
her markings. She’ll never be able to prove a thing this way. And we’ll get to beat Phil in the rally.” And more important, Stevie added silently, she’d be able to ride
her
horse one more time before she had to give her up forever.

Carole and Lisa looked at each other. Then they looked at Stevie. Stevie looked back at them hopefully.

“Well, I think we should do it,” Veronica declared before The Saddle Club could say a word. She smiled. “It’ll be just the thing to get back at Chelsea Webber for taking your horse, Stevie.” She patted Garnet. “I’ll help you with the dye job. I should be good at it—I’ve watched the hairdresser dye my mother’s hair often enough.”

“Great!” Stevie said. She turned to Carole and Lisa. “Well?”

Carole hesitated. The plan was crazy—there was no doubt about it—but Stevie had managed to pull off equally outrageous stunts, with a lot less at stake. This time there was a horse involved—a beautiful part Arabian, part Saddlebred who belonged to Stevie, even if some stupid law said otherwise. And what could be more important than helping Stevie ride that horse one last time?

Carole took a deep breath, knowing quite clearly what she’d decided. “I’m in,” she said quickly.

“Me, too,” Lisa added. “But we’ve got to be careful. If
anyone finds out, you could be in big trouble, Stevie. We all could.”

Stevie nodded. She didn’t want to think too much about that—especially about what her parents would say if they found out. “I’ll go home and get the dye right now. Can I borrow your bike, Lisa?” she asked.

Lisa nodded. “We’ll get all the horses settled and meet you in No-Name’s stall.”

“Perfect,” Stevie said. She handed Topside’s reins to Carole. “I’ll be right back.”

Then she hurried off toward Lisa’s bike, feeling better and more like herself than she had in days. Nothing cheered up Stevie more quickly than a sneaky and clever scheme.

T
HE FOLLOWING MORNING
, Pine Hollow was abuzz with activity as Horse Wise members hurried to get ready to leave for the rally.

“All aboard for Cross County,” Max called, striding down the stable aisle. “The bus leaves in exactly half an hour, so start loading.”

The “bus” was actually a caravan of several horse trailers driven by Max, Red O’Malley, and parent volunteers. Each horse attending the rally had been assigned a place in one of the trailers. Mrs. Reg would bring up the rear of the caravan driving Pine Hollow’s big old station wagon. Any riders whose parents weren’t driving to the rally would ride with her.

Carole’s father, Colonel Hanson, had volunteered to
drive The Saddle Club and Veronica to Cross County. In the meantime, Colonel Hanson was helping the riders get ready to leave.

Right now, Carole and Lisa were doing their best to keep the colonel away from Topside’s stall.

“Hold on, girls,” he said after he’d finished helping Lisa load her tack onto one of the trailers. “I’ll be back in a second. I want to go check and see how Stevie’s holding up.” Carole had been keeping her father updated about Stevie’s problems with the Webbers, and Colonel Hanson was just as concerned about Stevie as his daughter was.

Colonel Hanson hadn’t known much about horses when he’d become a Horse Wise parent volunteer. His ignorance about even the simplest facts about horses and horse care had caused Carole a lot of embarrassment at first. But since then, Colonel Hanson had learned a lot. And Carole was pretty sure that even if her father suddenly forgot almost everything he’d learned, he would still be able to tell that the slightly blotchy-looking bay horse in Topside’s stall was a mare and not a gelding.

Luckily he was distracted once again when May Grover begged him to help her untangle her pony’s reins.