Horse-Sitters (6 page)

“Thanks, Mrs. Reg,” Lisa said. She picked up the cage, groaning under its weight. “We’ll make sure he isn’t there long.”

She and Carole stowed the cage in the empty stall and then hurried back to Honeybee. Working together, they managed to have the old mare gleaming in a matter of minutes. It wasn’t easy—Honeybee insisted on nipping at every new piece of equipment the girls pulled out of her grooming bucket. Luckily, however, she seemed to have grown tired of nipping at the girls themselves.

When Eugenia returned, even she had to admit that the girls had done a fine job. “Just see that she gets this kind of care every time,” she warned. “Not just when you know I’m coming to check up on you.”

“Of course,” Lisa said politely. “We wouldn’t dream of shirking our duties.”

Carole was glad Lisa had spoken up, since she was sure her own response to the old woman’s rudeness would have been much different. For one thing, she didn’t even know what
“shirking” meant. But in any case, she was distracted by the sight of Stevie hurrying across the aisle toward the locker room. Stevie glanced down the aisle and caught sight of her friends, but she just gave them a quick wave and kept going.

“Stevie’s finally here,” Carole whispered to Lisa as Eugenia, with some huffing and puffing, started lifting each of Honeybee’s thick hooves to make sure they were clean.

“It’s about time,” Lisa muttered back. “Since she missed out on all this fun”—she nodded toward Eugenia, who had her back to them—“I figure she owes us one. So I think it should be up to her to figure out a home for our new friend Mr. Munch.”

Carole nodded, forcing her face into a smile as Eugenia turned toward them again. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

“I
THINK
S
TEVIE
’
S
off the hook,” Carole told Lisa a few minutes later as the girls led Honeybee toward the back paddock.

“What do you mean?” Lisa asked, yanking the lead rope out from between the mare’s teeth. She opened the paddock gate and the mare wandered through it.

“I mean, I figured out the solution to the iguana problem,” Carole replied, latching the gate behind Honeybee. “We’ll keep him right here.”

“At Pine Hollow?” Lisa asked. “But where? I seriously doubt Mrs. Reg is going to want him in her office all week. And he can’t stay in that empty stall. He’ll be in the way.”

“I thought of a better place. Right over there,” Carole said, nodding toward a small shed on the far side of the paddock.

“The garden shed?” Lisa asked. The garden shed was where Max kept the equipment he and Red used to care for the stable grounds. It was full of rakes, hoes, grass seed, and all sorts of other things. It was just large enough for all that and the riding mower Red used to mow the lawns and empty fields. Slowly a smile spread across her face. “It’s brilliant! It’s close enough for us to get to easily—”

“But enough out of the way so nobody else is likely to see him,” Carole finished. “We’ll just have to warn Red in case he decides to mow the lawn or something.”

“It’s a great idea,” Lisa said. “I just hope Max goes for it. He’s been so unpredictable lately. I wonder if he’s back from his shopping trip yet.”

“Maybe we should ask Mrs. Reg instead,” Carole said.

Lisa shrugged. “She’s sure to check with him about something like that,” she pointed out. “We might as well just ask him ourselves. Or rather,” she said, grinning, “
Stevie
might as well ask him herself. She owes us one, remember?”

The girls left Honeybee nibbling at the grass in the paddock and went inside to look for Stevie. They walked by Belle’s stall, but Stevie wasn’t there. She wasn’t with Romeo, either.

“Let’s check the tack room,” Lisa suggested.

Carole nodded. “I can’t wait to see Stevie’s face when she meets Mr. Munch,” she said.

“Well, I can’t wait to see Max’s face when Stevie asks him if we can keep Mr. Munch here,” Lisa said. She crossed her fingers and headed for the tack room.

As the two girls rounded the corner, they heard angry voices
ahead. It was Max and Veronica, and they were facing off in front of the tack room door.

“I can’t believe you’d do something so stupid,” Max yelled, his hands on his hips.

Veronica pouted. “I tried to tell you,” she cried. “You just haven’t been around much lately. Besides, I was sure you’d say yes. I mean, who could say no to Winston Haverford-Smythe?”

“I’ll tell you who,” Max replied grimly. “Me, that’s who. There’s no way I can take on six extra horses right now. Especially expensive polo ponies.”

Carole and Lisa traded quick glances. Now
this
sounded interesting. They both knew that polo ponies usually weren’t really ponies at all. A true pony was a horse 14.2 hands or under. A polo pony was simply a quick, strong, agile horse trained to play polo. There were many owners of polo strings in the area around Willow Creek.

“Come on, Max,” Veronica whined. “Mr. Haverford-Smythe is a very important man. If you get on his good side, you’ll have it made in the social scene around here. Anyway, I already told him you said yes. And he really needs a place for his horses while their stable is being fumigated.”

“Then you’ll just have to tell him you made a mistake,” Max said sternly. “I have no interest in making the social scene, and even less in taking care of half a dozen polo ponies right now.”

“But Mr. Haverford-Smythe already gave his grooms the week
off,” Veronica wheedled. “And the fumigators are scheduled to come. You have to do it. I told him Pine Hollow was the best full-service stable in the area.”

“That’s very nice, Veronica, but the answer is still no,” Max said, folding his arms across his chest.

“Please, Max? I’ll help,” Veronica said. “In fact, I’ll do most of the work myself.”

“Wow,” Carole whispered. “She must really be desperate to impress this Haverford-Smythe guy.”

Lisa nodded.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Stevie said, walking up behind them. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys.”

“Shhh,” Carole cautioned. “We’re just watching the free entertainment. As far as I can tell, Veronica has volunteered Pine Hollow as the temporary home for a string of six polo ponies whose stable is being fumigated and whose grooms are going on vacation. The only problem is, she forgot to mention it to Max beforehand.”

Stevie’s eyes widened. “Cool,” she whispered.

“You haven’t even heard the best part,” Lisa added. “Veronica just offered to take care of the horses herself.”

“Wow. She must really be desperate,” Stevie said.

Carole nodded. “That’s what I said.” But despite the fact that she was enjoying seeing Veronica put in her place, Carole couldn’t help feeling a little worried. She hoped this incident wouldn’t put Max in such a foul mood that he would say no to their own strange request.

“You’ll have to call the man back and tell him to find another stable,” Max told Veronica in his best no-nonsense tone. “I might be able to recommend some alternatives.”

“Umm,” Veronica said, turning her head to listen to something outside.

Max heard it, too. It was the sound of a vehicle—a very large vehicle—moving into the driveway. “What’s that?” he muttered. “The grain delivery isn’t due until next week.”

Veronica looked panicked for a moment. But then, as The Saddle Club watched, her face relaxed and the look of anxiety was replaced by a sly smile. “I think that’s your newest tenants arriving, Max,” she said sweetly.

“What?” Max said.

“The polo ponies. Oh, did I forget to mention? They’re due to arrive today. Right now, by the sound of it.” Veronica smirked. “You’d better get out there and greet them. How would it look if you left them standing around in the driveway? After all, I hear this is the best full-service stable in the area.”

Max just stared at her for a moment. “You mean the horses you just told me about—they’re arriving
now
?” he demanded, his red face turning an interesting shade of deep purple.

Veronica shrugged. “Sorry about that,” she said, not sounding sorry at all. “But it looks as though there’s not much you can do now except give in and take the boarders. I’ve heard Mr. Haverford-Smythe has quite a temper. If you turn his horses away at the doorstep, he’ll probably see to it that you never get another boarder again as long as you’re in business.” She paused
and examined the perfectly manicured nails on one hand. “Which may not be long,” she added softly.

“Veronica, this is not some kind of game!” Max shouted. The Saddle Club had never seen him so angry. “Taking in boarders is a serious business. I can’t in good conscience accept horses I don’t have the staff to care for, no matter what you or anybody else says. You know Red and I are up to our eyeteeth in work as it is. You’ll just have to go out there and tell your friend he has to go elsewhere.”

Veronica shrugged and frowned. “Hey, it’s your reputation, not mine,” she said sullenly.

Max frowned but didn’t say anything else. Carole guessed that he was thinking about what Veronica had said. It was true that it wouldn’t look good for Max to turn away business at the last minute. He knew and The Saddle Club knew that it was all Veronica’s fault that Max was in this mess, but Mr. Haverford-Smythe didn’t know that. He would just think Max was disorganized or, worse, dishonest. Carole hated the thought that Pine Hollow’s reputation could be damaged by the likes of Veronica diAngelo.

But before she could ponder it further, she felt Stevie push past her. “Hey, Max,” Stevie said. “I have the perfect answer to your problem.”

Max sighed. “Stevie, please. I don’t have time for any of your crazy schemes right now,” he said, rubbing his forehead with one hand. “I have to deal with this first.”

“But that’s exactly what I want to talk to you about,” Stevie
said. “I think I know a way to make you
and
the polo ponies’ owner happy.”

“Uh-oh,” Lisa whispered to Carole. “You don’t think she’s actually going to—”

“The answer is let The Saddle Club Horse-Sitting Service take over,” Stevie announced happily.

“She just did,” Carole said grimly. “This is it. She’s finally snapped.”

But Stevie and Max didn’t hear her. “What do you mean?” Max asked Stevie, looking cautious but hopeful. “You want to take care of the polo ponies while they’re here?”

“Yup,” Stevie said. “For half your usual boarding fee, of course.”

“Of course.” Max rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“If Red will just include the ponies in his morning feeding rounds, we’ll do everything else,” Stevie continued. “All you have to do is provide the stalls and the supplies.”

“Hey, wait a minute, Max,” Veronica broke in angrily. “A second ago you refused to even consider letting me help out.”

“That’s because I know what your version of helping out looks like,” Max said sharply. “These horses need real care, Veronica. And I’m sorry to say that I just don’t think you’re up to the job.” He turned back to Stevie. “Do you really think you can do it? Without neglecting your schoolwork or your other chores?”

“I know we can,” Stevie said confidently.

“All right,” Max said. “You’ve got yourself a deal. Come on, let’s get out there and meet our newest tenants.”

“Yes, let’s,” Stevie agreed, tossing her head as she brushed past Veronica. “Excuse us, Veronica. We’ve got an important responsibility to take care of. Oh, but I guess you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” She stuck her nose in the air and sauntered after Max.

As she followed, Lisa felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. She was already exhausted from rushing over after school, taking care of Honeybee, and figuring out what to do with Mr. Munch. The Saddle Club still had to fit in training sessions for Memphis and Romeo, as well as take care of their own horses, before they left for the day.

Carole was thinking the same thing. Stevie had really gone too far this time. They were having trouble dealing with three extra horses, and one of those was a fat old mare that didn’t even have to be ridden. There was no way they could handle six spirited, highly trained polo ponies on top of that, no matter how much Max was willing to pay them. But how could they tell him that now, when he was counting on them? She was pretty sure he had only agreed to Stevie’s crazy plan because he didn’t realize how much extra work the girls had already taken on. He knew they were taking care of Honeybee, but she suspected he might have forgotten about Romeo and Memphis. That wasn’t like him—but then again, Max had been doing a lot of things that weren’t like him lately. Carole’s stomach growled, and she sighed. It looked as if dinner was going to be awfully late that night.

* * *

T
HE SIGHT OF
the polo ponies temporarily took Carole’s and Lisa’s minds off their troubles. As the younger of the two grooms who had come with the horses led the first one off the van, the girls gasped. The horse was a compact, athletic-looking bay. As Max took the lead rope and led it into the barn, the girls admired the polo pony’s strong, quick gait.

“Wow,” Stevie said.

“You can say that again,” Carole agreed. She hurried forward to take the next horse from the young groom. This one was black with white front stockings that reached almost to his knees. He looked as though he had some Arabian blood in him, and he also looked lively and curious.