Horse Thief (4 page)

“Just a second,” Stevie answered. She finished sewing the seventh section of Belle’s mane and then realized with dismay that she was out of yarn. Although dressage riders sometimes used colored yarn, colors tended to accentuate any unevenness in braiding. Stevie was using black yarn—the same color as Belle’s mane. “Help!” she said to Lisa. “I’m out of yarn!”

“No problem,” replied Lisa. “I brought extra.” She came out of Prancer’s stall and tossed a ball over the stall door.

“I have some more, too,” Carole called, tossing her ball lightly over her horse’s back.

“Thanks,” said Stevie, deftly catching both balls of yarn as they came sailing her way. Since Prancer and Starlight were bays, like Belle, Carole and Lisa were also using black yarn. “You guys are lifesavers.”

“Well, don’t think we don’t expect something in return,” said Lisa.

“Like braiding lessons,” declared Carole.

“At your service,” said Stevie. “As soon as I finish up with Belle.”

Stevie finished braiding Belle’s mane and then neatly braided her forelock and along the length of the dock of her tail. She stepped back and admired her work. “You
look gorgeous!” she told Belle. The mare nickered in response.

Then Stevie helped Carole and Lisa finish their braiding. The three horses looked beautiful; they tossed their heads as if they had just dressed up for a special occasion. “Sometimes I think Belle is one vain horse,” confided Stevie to her friends, who laughed and agreed.

Since the rally was still a couple of hours away, the girls didn’t tack up the horses just yet. Instead, they wandered outside into the brilliant morning sunshine. Riders and horses from other stables were beginning to arrive, and the scene was one of increasing confusion. Stevie recognized the Marstens’ van as it pulled into Pine Hollow’s driveway, and she and Carole and Lisa walked over to greet Phil.

Phil jumped out of the van and waved hello. He pulled a large picnic hamper out of the backseat and turned to give Stevie a hug. “I can’t wait for our picnic dinner tonight,” he told her. “When I woke up this morning and saw what a beautiful day it was, I gave a yell that woke my whole house up. My sisters still aren’t speaking to me.”

Stevie hugged Phil back, but she couldn’t help frowning just a little. She was excited about their picnic, too—she loved doing things like that with Phil. And the hamper certainly looked inviting. She wondered what Phil had managed to squeeze in there. But they had a dressage
rally to compete in before getting to the picnic, and Stevie, for one, was still determined to win a ribbon.

Nevertheless, she was flattered. “I’m excited, too,” she said. “Let’s go stow the hamper at Max’s.”

Just then A.J., another rider from Cross County and a good friend of Phil’s, joined them. He had driven over with the Marstens, and his horse was also in the trailer. “Uh, Phil, can I have a second?” he inquired.

Phil still had his arm around Stevie. “Yeah?” he answered distractedly.

“Remember what we brought with us? You know, those four-legged animals that we plan on riding today? Do you think maybe you could give me a hand with unloading?” A.J. asked, grinning.

The girls laughed, and Phil did, too, after blushing a little. “Sorry, A.J.,” he said.

“We’ll help,” offered Carole. “Our horses are groomed and almost ready to go.”

As they were unbolting the trailer door, Denise and Red hurried past them toward the stable. “What’s the rush, Denise?” called Carole. “Can we help?”

Denise skidded to a stop. She still looked worried and tired, but she smiled at the group. “Those are the sweetest words I know!” she said. “And the answer is yes. I have to go to the stable with Red and take care of something. If you could help unload the trailers of the arriving Pony Clubs, and then show them where to put
their horses before the rally begins, I’d really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” Carole answered promptly.

Denise thanked them and hurried after Red.

As the girls watched them go, the reason for their haste became apparent. Veronica stood in the doorway of the stable, holding the halter of her blue-blooded, light gray horse, Danny. She tapped her toe impatiently when she saw Denise and Red coming toward her.

“There you are,” the girls heard her say. “Danny’s mane is a mess, and he needs a thorough grooming! Where have you been? Am I expected to do everything myself around here?”

“Honestly!” Lisa said in disgust. “Veronica continues to amaze me! She manages to monopolize Denise
and
Red on a day when they’re both incredibly busy. Why does Max let her get away with it?”

“You know Veronica’s parents pay a lot of extra money for Danny’s care,” Carole reminded Lisa. “Plus they’re so well known and influential in this town, Max can’t afford to make them angry. He needs their referrals to entice new riders. But Veronica could certainly stand a personality transplant.”

The five friends started to unload Phil’s and A.J.’s horses but paused when they saw Veronica strolling toward them. She had obviously left Danny under the care of Denise and Red, so now she could relax and start
annoying other people. Her expression turned sour when she looked at Phil.

Phil didn’t miss a beat. He turned his nose up again and said helpfully, “Veronica, perhaps you shouldn’t compete in the rally today.”

Veronica stopped. “Why?” she demanded.

“Because you’re obviously too good for us,” Phil replied, grinning.

Veronica looked confused. She couldn’t tell if Phil was teasing her again or flattering her.

“In fact,” Phil continued, “I think you’re just
too good
for this entire stable. I mean, you’re obviously too good to groom your own horse or take care of your own tack. Perhaps you’re just too good to do … anything at all.”

Veronica didn’t say a word. She turned on her heel and flounced off in the opposite direction.

“Phil, maybe you shouldn’t tease her so much,” said Lisa, worried. “Veronica can be pretty nasty when she’s upset.”

Phil shrugged. “I think I can handle her,” he said.

A
FTER HELPING
P
HIL
and A.J. unload their horses, Carole, Lisa, and Stevie began greeting new arrivals, helping them unload their horses and directing the cars and trailers toward the parking area. The Pony Club from Mendenhall Stables was the first to arrive. Because Mendenhall was located over an hour away, Horse Wise rarely
competed against them at local riding events. They had met only one or two of their riders before.

Lisa approached a tall, skinny boy with brown floppy hair. He was unloading a bay gelding, which was backing out of the trailer docilely.

Lisa was impressed. “Hi, I’m Lisa,” she introduced herself. “Can I give you a hand? I can show you where the guest riders and horses are supposed to go.”

The boy glanced at her, then his eyes darted nervously away. “No thanks, I can find it,” he muttered.

Lisa was slightly taken aback. “What’s your name?” she asked politely.

The boy looked at her again, and Lisa could swear that he seemed dismayed that she hadn’t gone away. “Kurt,” he muttered. He still hadn’t returned her welcoming smile.

Maybe Kurt is shy
, Lisa thought. She remembered how strange she had felt the first time she had ridden at a stable other than Pine Hollow. She had taken part in a show at Tapert Crest, a nearby stable. Pine Hollow had become such a familiar place to her that she had felt disoriented at first, even with Carole and Stevie there. But she remembered how some riders from Tapert Crest had welcomed her and that it had really made her day.

She tried again. In her friendliest tone, she said, “I ride with Horse Wise, the club here at Pine Hollow. I’m also helping out with the rally, since we’re the hosts. Can I
show you and your horse to the indoor ring? Do you need help carrying your tack?”

“No,” Kurt said briefly.

Lisa was starting to get discouraged. Kurt, she thought, was certainly living up to his name! She made one last attempt to draw him out. “Your horse is so well behaved,” she said admiringly. “I’ve seen horses that refuse to go in and out of trailers without a lot of fuss, you know? You must spend an awful lot of time riding and training him.”

Awkwardly, Kurt attached a lead rein to his horse’s halter. “Not really,” he said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Simon needs some warming up.” He turned his back on Lisa and the message was unmistakable: Leave me alone.

Lisa, irritated at Kurt’s astonishing rudeness, decided to give up. She had a lot of riding ahead of her that day, plus she had to help out with the rally. She couldn’t try to help someone who didn’t want to be helped. Walking away, she hoped the other Mendenhall riders were nicer than Kurt.

S
TEVIE STACKED THE
paper cups on the table. On one side of the show ring, Mrs. Reg had set up a table with coolers of juice and water. She had also baked a few plates of cookies, and parents of riders contributed some snacks, too. Stevie loved jobs that involved food—Mrs. Reg usually rewarded her with a handful of sweets, and Stevie’s
stomach didn’t seem to mind peanut butter cookies at ten in the morning.

After helping Mrs. Reg, Stevie headed toward the driveway. As she walked by the indoor ring, she glanced inside. A girl was emerging from the stabling area to warm up a horse. It was a familiar sight—the partnership between horse and rider. Horses always needed a chance to warm up before the difficult and stressful act of performing competitively, especially in something as demanding as dressage.

The rider took her horse around the ring at a walk. She asked her horse to lengthen his strides for the second round and then took him to a trot. He responded instantly to her aids, his muscular flanks gleaming. What a beautiful horse he was! The same pretty, rich brown as Carole’s horse, Starlight, with Starlight’s proud, nearly prancing trot and his famously smooth canter. This horse’s ears perked and flicked the same way Starlight’s did, too, and—Stevie blinked once, then blinked again to make sure she was seeing things correctly. This horse had a star on his face, too, just like Starlight! And then she noticed that he had three white socks, just like Starlight!

What was that strange girl doing riding Starlight?

S
TEVIE COULD HARDLY
believe her eyes. Carole almost always took care of her horse herself. She loved warming up Starlight for competitions, and it wasn’t like her to hand the job to a stranger. Something was definitely fishy.

The girl continued to ride Starlight, and Stevie decided to take action. She walked into the indoor ring and began gently waving to the girl. She didn’t want to startle the girl or the horse, since both were obviously concentrating on their warm-up. After a few seconds, the girl noticed Stevie and rode over to her. “Can I help you?” she inquired politely.

Without any introduction, Stevie plunged in. “What are you doing with Carole’s horse?” she asked.

The girl looked startled. “Carole who?” she asked.

“Carole Hanson, that’s who,” said Stevie. “One of the best riders I know, one of my best friends, and by the way, that’s her horse that you’re sitting on.”

The girl looked even more puzzled. “No, it’s not,” she said indignantly. “This is my horse, Indy.”

Stevie was about to fire off another accusation, but then she took a closer look at the horse. Although the horse could have been Starlight’s twin, he was slightly bulkier and his coat was perhaps a shade lighter. Plus, there were other small differences that Stevie hadn’t noticed from far away, like that his mane wasn’t braided as well as Starlight’s. Her eyes had deceived her. It wasn’t Starlight after all.

Stevie was embarrassed. “Uh, I’m sorry,” she said to the girl. “I was wrong. Although you’ll forgive me as soon as you see Starlight! You would
not
believe how much your horse looks like my friend’s horse!”

The girl smiled. She was small like Lisa, but instead of being fine-boned and petite, she was downright skinny. She had a sprinkling of freckles across her nose to go with her sandy hair. “That’s okay,” she told Stevie. “I forgive you already.” She stuck out her hand. “My name’s Mo—short for Maureen. I’m from Mendenhall Stables.”

“Welcome to Pine Hollow, Mo,” said Stevie, shaking her hand. She patted Indy’s nose as a welcome, too. “I’m Stevie. Listen, once again, I’m really sorry for my mistake.
Now I’ve just got to find my friend Carole and get her to see your horse!” She hurried off.

When Stevie got to the driveway, Carole, Lisa, and Phil were helping two more Mendenhall riders with their horses. One was a very pretty girl with strawberry blond hair and blue eyes. Her horse was a gorgeous palomino. The other rider was a somewhat gangly boy, with hunched shoulders and bony wrists poking out of his riding jacket. His horse was light gray.

“Carole, you’ve got to come and see—” Stevie began, but Carole held up a hand to hush her. She was talking to the two riders, telling them where visiting Pony Clubs should go. Stevie waited impatiently until Carole turned to her.

“Stevie, this is Celeste and Howard, from Mendenhall,” she said, pointing to the girl and the boy. From the tone of Carole’s voice, which was flatly polite and uninterested, Stevie could tell that she didn’t think much of either Celeste or Howard. A few seconds later, Stevie found out why.