Hayride (9 page)

“You can’t mean Veronica!” Stevie cried, knowing that that was exactly who Carole meant.

Carole began cautiously. She knew how mad Stevie was at the suggestion, but she had to put Starlight first. “I know she tried to cause problems for you and Phil, but—”

“Cause problems! She tried to get him to dump me!”

“—and that’s terrible, but she
is
a good rider.” Carole paused, letting her words sink in. Then she added, “And I can’t think of anyone at her level who won’t be able to ride her own horse for two weeks. It seems like the best solution.”

It was true. Carole couldn’t ride at all. Veronica couldn’t ride Garnet. And no matter how despicable Veronica was when it came to people, she
did
ride well. Even so, Stevie could barely bring herself to admit that Carole was right. She was still fuming inside over the
phone call. “I guess it would be okay, but I’d think it over first,” she said.

“I have, and it’s the only sensible thing to do. I’ll bet Lisa would think so, too,” Carole said.

Stevie agreed that Lisa would like the logic of the situation. The horseless rider riding the riderless horse: It would work perfectly. “I guess so,” she said.

Trying to cheer her up, Carole reminded Stevie that Starlight’s well-being was at stake, and that that was all they should care about. Then she had to go—she wanted to soak her ankle before dinner. They finished the conversation and hung up.

Stevie knew that Carole’s plan was the horsemanlike thing to do. Still, it filled her with disgust to think about The Saddle Club
again
doing something nice for Veronica. She would just have to keep her mind on her own plan—the plan of revenge!

C
AROLE HAD BARELY
got her Ace bandage off and her foot into the basin of warm water when the phone rang again. Colonel Hanson stretched the cord over to the kitchen table where Carole was sitting. Then he mumbled some excuse about having to do some desk work and left. Carole said hello eagerly, realizing it must be Cam. Her father would never excuse himself if one of her girlfriends called.

She was right: Cam’s deep voice greeted her. Knowing
she could no longer keep her ankle a secret, she told him all about the trip to the hospital, ending with her plan to have Veronica ride Starlight. “What do you think?”

“Sounds fine,” Cam muttered. Carole was puzzled. It was an unusual response for him. Normally he would be as eager as she was to weigh the pros and cons. Tonight he was answering everything she said in a monotone. He sounded distant and upset.

Carole decided to change the subject. Maybe he had had a bad day with Duffy and didn’t want to talk horses. “So the party’s still on, at least, and I think it’ll be really fun.”

There was a pause. “I guess you’re inviting a lot of boys, huh?” Cam asked.

“I sure am,” Carole said. “I want it to be as evenly numbered as possible.”

“I hope I’m not ruining the ratio,” Cam said.

“You?” Carole asked. What was that supposed to mean?

“Because if I am, I don’t have to be there.”

Carole was even more confused. Was this Cam’s idea of a joke? He seemed to be asking her if she actually wanted him to come. “Cam, I want you there,” she insisted.

When he didn’t respond, she wondered if she’d said the right thing. Maybe
he
was the one who didn’t want to come. Carole sighed. Why did people have to be so
impossible to understand? Horses were so much simpler. She always knew what was bothering Starlight. She decided to drop the subject of the party and try yet another subject.

“Hey, did I tell you about what Veronica tried to do to Stevie and Phil?” she asked. She related the phone-call incident. “That’s why Stevie doesn’t want me to let Veronica ride Starlight. Can you believe Veronica would do something so awful? If Phil hadn’t known better, she might have convinced him Stevie liked someone else.”

Cam let out a long breath of air. “That’s crazy,” he said, sounding so relieved, he almost laughed. He warmed to the conversation right away. “From what I saw of her at the know-down, that sounds just like Veronica—dishonest and nasty. But I still think you’re right to ask her to exercise Starlight. And if you want to spend time with him, you can always work him on the lunge line a little,” he suggested.

Carole had no idea what she had said to cheer Cam up. In any case, he sounded like his old self. They chatted happily about the hayride. Neither of them could wait to see the Clydesdales. “We have to be very nice to Mr. Toll,” Carole said. “My dad says he seems gruff because he talks less than Dapper and Dan, but actually he’s just shy.”

“The strong, silent type, huh? Just like me,” Cam joked.

“That’s not so far from the truth,” Carole said. In fact, it was a part of Cam’s personality she admired the most. He didn’t talk all the time to make people notice him, but when he did, they respected what he said.

Cam mentioned that he would bring over a few CDs they could listen to at the party.

“I wish I could dance,” Carole said. Even with games to play, she wasn’t looking forward to sitting down all evening.

“You might not have to miss
all
the dancing,” Cam said. “We might figure something out. I mean, you can always lean on me for support.”

Carole smiled to herself. Cam holding her up beat crutches any day.

O
N
T
HURSDAY AFTERNOON
after school Stevie and Lisa met at the mall with renewed determination. They were absolutely positive they could find the perfect gift—or at least a close second to the earrings.

“Either we find something today, or we buy her a book bag,” Stevie said as they strode through the mall entrance.

“A book bag?” Lisa queried.

“My mother’s suggestion. I figured if I mentioned it, it would give you even more incentive to find something here.”

Lisa laughed. “Better than
my
mom’s idea. She suggested a gift certificate for a manicure at the beauty shop.” They giggled. The idea of Carole sitting in a salon
while someone tried to clean the Pine Hollow dirt from under her nails was truly funny.

Once inside the main area of the mall, Stevie and Lisa could not decide where to go first. They decided to check the directory to get ideas. A group of kids their age were clustered around the placard that listed all of the shops. They stepped back to let Lisa and Stevie see.

“Shopping for Carole’s gift?” a familiar voice asked. Stevie and Lisa turned to see Betsy Cavanaugh smiling at them. Once a Veronica-follower, Betsy had gotten nicer since she’d been dating James Spencer, a boy who took an occasional lesson at Pine Hollow. He was with her now, as were Helen and Tom Sanderson.

Stevie noticed that Betsy and James were holding hands—a good sign. It meant they were still going out and would come to the party together. “We’re looking for a present for Carole, too,” Betsy said.

“We already got ours,” Helen said, trying to keep the smugness out of her voice but failing.

“The problem,” Betsy said, “is that everyone knows it’s going to be a great party, so everyone wants to bring the perfect gift instead of just trying to get something nice.”

“What did you get, Helen?” Lisa asked.

Helen was happy to describe the present she and her brother were going to give Carole together. “Mom made both of us satin cross-country covers for our hard hats
last year. We loved them so much, we asked her to do one for Carole in Pine Hollow colors, green and gray.”

“So now we’re just buying a card to go with it,” Tom finished.

Everyone told them what a good idea it was. “I have to admit that it really is a superior present,” Tom joked.

“So who’s coming?” Helen wanted to know.

Lisa was about to answer when Stevie cut in. “We were about to ask you that,” Stevie said. She elbowed Lisa. This would be the perfect opportunity to find out who liked whom.

“I know Adam Levine is coming,” Helen volunteered. Stevie raised her eyebrows.

“I see,” she said.

Helen glanced at her brother. “And, ahem, I also know that Meg Durham will be there.”

“Oh?” Stevie said. Helen nodded.

Then Betsy shared her gossip. “In case you didn’t know, Jen and Peter Schwartz are a couple again, and she invited him to go.”

“Hmm …” Stevie said.

“And of course Polly and John.”

“Of course,” Stevie said. She was silent for a moment, frowning in concentration. Then she said, “So A.J. is going with Meg Roberts after all.”

Betsy’s jaw dropped. “Meg told me not to tell anyone. How’d you know?”

Stevie grinned. “Oh, just putting two and two together,” she replied. “Come on, Lis—let’s hit the shops.”

The groups parted ways. Betsy and James headed for the pizza place to think. Helen and Tom headed for the stationery store at the end of the mall to look for cards. Stevie and Lisa found themselves walking toward The Saddlery.

“Are you going where I’m going?” Stevie asked. “Where else are we going to find the perfect gift?” Lisa asked.

“Oh no!” Lisa exclaimed. She pointed. Just ahead of them Simon Atherton was walking by himself, whistling and swinging a shopping bag. His back was to them, and he hadn’t seen them yet.

Stevie put a finger to her lips. She motioned for Lisa to turn around. “We can come back later,” she mouthed. Lisa nodded vigorously. They did a swift turnabout.

“Lisa Atwood! Lisa and Stephanie!”

They stopped. “Hello, Simon,” they said in unison. He came trotting up.

“Gosh, what a coincidence! Great to see you!” he said. “I’ll bet you’re shopping for Carole’s present, huh? Well, I just found the perfect gift in The Saddlery. It’s a little kit made of suede with scissors, a comb, a pull-through—everything you need for braiding a mane or tail.”

As much as she wished they hadn’t run into him, Lisa
couldn’t lie to Simon: It was a wonderful gift, and Carole would love it. She told him so.

“Gee, gosh, I—I—” Simon turned red and stammered. “Hey, maybe I could help you look for your present,” he volunteered eagerly.

Recalling her own pathetic state in the pizza parlor with Bob, Lisa took pity on Simon. “Okay,” she said. “Thanks.”

“Actually, we were just heading into The Saddlery,” Stevie said. “But we forgot where it was,” she added hastily when she saw a puzzled look cross Simon’s face.

“Oh, I see. Well, it’s right up here. Come on, I’ll take you,” Simon said proudly. They followed him into the store.

“Just our luck,” Stevie murmured under her breath. Lisa followed her eyes to the counter. Veronica diAngelo stood there, paying for something at the cash register.

“At least she’s buying Carole a present,” Lisa whispered back.

“We’ll see about that,” Stevie said, sounding unconvinced.

“Gosh, it’s Veronica! Hey, Veronica!” Simon called. Still completely oblivious to the tension between Veronica and The Saddle Club, he beckoned Lisa and Stevie over. “Can you believe it? Running into three friends in one day! Boy-oh-boy!” Simon grinned with pleasure.

Veronica gave him a big smile, looking right past Stevie and Lisa.

“Simon Atherton, fancy meeting you here,” she said.

“I’ll bet you’re doing what we’re doing,” Simon guessed.

“Oh? Are you having your riding coat monogrammed, too?” Veronica asked.

Simon gave her a conspiratorial wink. “Ha, ha—very funny—I—”

Stevie cut in. “Actually, no. I personally don’t think it’s necessary to put my initials all over everything I own.”

“Jealousy is so unbecoming,” Veronica retorted.

Simon grinned. “Gosh, you girls are too funny—always pretending to fight. Now, come on, let’s all look for Carole’s present together.”

Veronica’s face darkened in anger. “Actually, I was just leaving.” She spun on her heel to go and then paused for a moment. “I mean, don’t you want to come with me, Simon? You promised to buy me an ice cream.”

“I did?” Simon asked.

Veronica took his arm proprietorially and started to walk him out the door. “I’m so glad you remembered.”

“So we’ll meet up afterward, right?” he asked.

Veronica shot Lisa and Stevie a dirty look over her shoulder. “Oh, right,” she said. “Naturally.”

Before Stevie and Lisa could say anything, they were gone.

“Ever heard the expression ‘killing two birds with one stone’?” Stevie asked.

Lisa laughed. “I think I just found out what it meant. Veronica actually thinks she and I are in a war over Simon, doesn’t she?”

Stevie nodded. “Which is exactly what we’re hoping she thinks.”

“It’s incredible that she hasn’t realized what a nerd Simon is,” Lisa said.

“She probably doesn’t stop talking about herself long enough to find out,” Stevie guessed.

Now, with both Simon and Veronica out of the way, they could finally turn to serious gift shopping. Shelf by shelf, they went over the merchandise in the tack shop.

“A jumping bat?” Lisa suggested. She picked up the short crop, used especially for stadium jumping.

“That’s what Phil and A.J. are getting her,” Stevie said. They both sighed.

“Why does everyone else have all the good ideas?” Lisa asked.

“I don’t know, but I feel like we should come up with the
best
gift, because we’re her best friends.”