Horse Spy (20 page)

“Ben?” she said, hoping for some kind of rescue.

She got no rescue from him. He just nodded.

“Fez is a spirited horse,” Callie began.

“I know that,” said Carole.

“He’s going to need a good workout every time he’s ridden.”

“Yes, I know.”

“I always take my horse through a set of exercises, really a program, designed to work on various skills and to maintain all his body strength, because when we compete, we’ll need it all—both his strength and mine. Fez’ll need to be worked hard, but not exhausted. You can’t wear him out; you need to strengthen him.”

“I know,” said Carole.

“A horse that’s worked too hard before a competition doesn’t have anything to give when it counts.”

“Of course,” said Carole.

“So it’s very important that you follow a rigorous schedule. That’s what I’ve always done in the past. I knew exactly what my last horse needed. In the case of Fez, well, it’s a whole new horse with new needs. I can’t take the time now to give you a program—but maybe you have some ideas.”

“Sure,” said Carole. By now she was feeling totally lost. She’d committed her afternoons to Fez. Why not add her evenings, too? She could develop an exercise program for this horse, couldn’t she?

Callie edged toward the door. Carole was more than a little relieved to see that she was leaving. She was afraid if Callie stayed another minute, she’d make another offer Callie couldn’t refuse. Perhaps their new house needed some rugs, in which case Carole was sure to offer to lie down and let the whole family walk on her!

“Look, I’ll call in a couple of days and we can talk about the program you’ve got planned. I’ll need to check it.” “Definitely,” Carole said.

“Bye.” Callie gave Carole and Ben an ever so slight wave of her hand and hurried out of the stable.

Carole was stunned. She still could hardly believe what had happened, what she’d said, what she’d promised. She turned to Ben for comfort. For a long moment they didn’t say anything to one another. Then Ben spoke.

“Sounds like you’re going to be busy this summer, Carole.”

He was right about that. She’d just made a deal to exercise another owner’s horse. This wasn’t a service Pine Hollow normally provided, and even if it did, it wasn’t something Carole was being paid to do. That meant that she was going to be doing it on her own time, and for no money. Worse still, every afternoon she spent riding Fez was an afternoon she couldn’t be riding Starlight.

“L
ISA
! I got it!” Stevie whispered gleefully as she emerged from the manager’s office. “I got a job! I’m going to make money. I’ll be rich, rich, rich!”

“You mean you’ll be able to pay for your insurance, insurance, insurance,” Lisa teased.

“Well, that, and maybe a little bit more. People give tips, you know.”

“For good service,” Lisa said.

“You’re being the voice of reason, and I’m not at all sure I like that.”

“I’ll try to do better,” Lisa said. She stood up and threw her trash in the can. The two of them headed for the door. “When do you start?”

“Tonight—five o’clock sharp,” Stevie said. She reached for the door.

The manager hurried out of his office. “Oh, Stephanie, I
forgot to give you this,” he said. He handed her a package. “It’s your uniform.”

“Uniform?”

“Well, really, just a hat and a T-shirt. You can wear your own jeans or skirt—whatever you want. But when you’re knocking on strangers’ doors, you must have something to identify yourself as the delivery person from Pizza Manor.”

“Sure,” Stevie said. She opened the package. The T-shirt was simple enough. It had the store’s logo, a cartoon character dressed as a medieval knight. That was why it was called Pizza Manor. The hat, however, was not so simple. It was like the one the little cartoon character wore. It was made of felt, with a brim that was rolled up along the edges but pointed in front—like something Robin Hood might have worn on a bad hair day. Worst of all, feathers sprouted from the headband.

“Isn’t it cute?” the manager asked.

“Very,” Stevie said, hoping she was keeping her voice even. She didn’t want him to sense her rising panic.

“See you later!” he said cheerfully. He retreated to his office before Stevie could reply. She turned to Polly Giacomin, who was still standing patiently behind the counter.

“Nobody told me about this!” Stevie exploded.

“Didn’t you wonder why he was so worried about having to make the deliveries himself tonight?” she teased.

Lisa began giggling. “Put it on,” she said. Stevie donned the hat and slipped the elastic band under her chin. She grimaced.

Lisa adjusted the hat to a jaunty angle. “It’s you!” she declared. Polly grinned.

“It’s a good thing there aren’t any mirrors in this place,” Stevie said. “I have a feeling I’m better off not knowing how I look. Now, Polly, tell me—are there any other nasty surprises in store for me?”

“No,” Polly said. “We make good pizza, so people are usually happy to have it. And they do give good tips, so all of our delivery people in the past have been pleased with that—Oh, there is one thing.”

“Uh-oh,” said Stevie.

“Not that bad, but I just ought to warn you. Mr. Andrews is a really nice guy, but he’s totally gung ho about this place—like it’s his life. He’s always worried that one of us is going to do something to upset a customer. That’s when he tells us to ‘Mind your Pizza Manors.’ ”

“I’m not sure I need insurance this badly,” Stevie said.

“Oh, yes you do,” Lisa said.

“You’re just afraid Alex will have to pay all of it,” Stevie accused her.

“No. I’m just afraid you’re going to want to borrow money from me and Carole,” Lisa said. “Well, we’re both broke, so you are going to have to wear a dumb hat and earn it. Or let Alex have the car all the time, which might be okay, too. Come on. I have to get home. Say good-bye to Polly, um, politely,” she said.

Stevie turned to Polly, slid the silly hat off her head with her right hand, brandished it gallantly, then placed it over her heart while she bowed, her left foot in front of her right one. “Milady,” she said.

“And you haven’t even taken the training course yet!” Polly said.

Lisa hurried Stevie out of the shop before she could ask Polly what she meant. Stevie did need the job, and Lisa didn’t want her to quit before she even started. Moreover, she was now crunched for time. They had to get going. She settled into the passenger seat of Stevie’s car.

“Where to?” Stevie asked. “Your place or mine?”

“Mine,” Lisa told her. “I’ve got to do some organizing for my trip, and life is easier if I do that kind of thing when Mom isn’t around. Although it’s been more than a year since Dad got remarried, Mom still resents it and the fact that he moved across the country. She calls Dad’s new wife ‘that woman,’ and she won’t even mention the baby. I guess I can understand. It wouldn’t make me happy if I were her, but it sure has made him happy.”

“It doesn’t make me or Carole or Alex happy, either,” Stevie said, just to remind Lisa that her mother wasn’t the only one who would miss her that summer.

“It changes everything. I know that,” Lisa said. “Change can be great, but sometimes it’s just too much. When my parents split up and Dad moved to California, I felt like I was being cut in half—half of me loved Mom and the other half loved Dad, and the half that loved Mom hated Dad and the half that loved Dad hated Mom. It’s tough having all that love and hate all mixed up inside. I mean … I still wish it hadn’t happened, but the fact is that there was so much tension in our house all the time that life is a lot easier with them apart from one another. The real trouble is that Mom is miserable and Dad is deliriously happy. When I spend time
with Mom, I try to make her feel better, and when I spend time with Dad, I’m relieved that I don’t have to cope with that, and then I feel guilty that I’m relieved. Isn’t that great? No matter what I do, it hurts. I feel like I’m caught in the middle. I know that how I’m feeling isn’t particularly rational. I mean, none of this is my fault. But it still hurts. But as time goes by, I feel it a little bit less and hurt a little bit less. I think it’s the same for Mom and Dad, too. Mom is getting better, slowly. Dad is admitting that what he did was hurtful—even if it wasn’t wrong for him. And we’re all going on with our lives.”

Stevie was glad she was behind the wheel and could pretend she was concentrating on the road in front of her. This was the first time in more than two years that Lisa had talked so much about her parents and how their divorce had affected her. Both Stevie and Carole had known that all these things were going on in Lisa’s mind and heart because they were best friends, but Lisa had never shown much inclination to talk about them. Now she was talking, and Stevie’s sole job was to listen.

“So now I’m going off to my dad’s. It’ll be more relaxed than here—if you don’t count looking after Lily. She’s the cutest thing. I never thought I’d have a baby sister, and I certainly never thought it would happen when I was in high school—in a way, that’s an awful thought—but it’s happened and she’s adorable and I love her and I’m glad to spend time with her and I’m glad to be with my dad when he’s so obviously happy to have me and Evelyn and Lily there with him. It’s like there’s enough air out there to breathe, and there isn’t here, certainly not at my house, anyway. Do you think the air in California is really different?”

“I’ve never been there,” Stevie said. “I guess the weather’s better.”

“I don’t think that’s it,” said Lisa.

“Probably not,” Stevie agreed. She pulled into Lisa’s driveway and stopped the car smoothly. She didn’t know what to say. Everything seemed inadequate. Lisa smiled understandingly.

“Tell Alex I’m home, will you?” she asked.

“I think he knows already,” Stevie said. She pointed to her own home, a few houses down the block. Alex had emerged from the front door and was heading toward Lisa’s house. “Radar,” Stevie said in explanation.

“Thanks,” said Lisa. “For the lift and for letting me talk.”

“You’re welcome,” Stevie said, meaning it.

“And congratulations on getting your job. Don’t worry about the hat. It looks so silly on your head that nobody will take it seriously at all.”

“You really know how to make a girl feel good, don’t you?”

“That’s what friends are for,” Lisa said before she closed the car door and headed into her house.

Stevie waved at her twin as she passed him on her way back to their house. He was so focused on getting to Lisa’s that Stevie didn’t think he really saw her at all. That was okay. She was glad that her best friend had someone who loved her that much—even if it was only Stevie’s brother.

“Hi, Lis’,” Alex said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and taking her hand. “Got a minute?”

“Always,” Lisa said, squeezing his hand back. “I wanted to
see you today anyway. I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do, and you can help.”

“Like choose what shirts you’re going to take to California?”

“No, actually, what CDs I should take. That’s more up your alley than fashion, right?”

“Definitely,” he agreed. She led him into the den, where she kept her music collection.

As they walked in, Lisa’s mother came out, saying she was on her way to the grocery store. “Not that I’m going to need to keep much food in the house once you’re gone for the summer, Lisa,” she said. The sigh was apparent, even though inaudible.

“That makes it unanimous, then,” Alex said when the door closed behind Mrs. Atwood. “Nobody wants you to go away this summer.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I’m going, Alex, and it doesn’t make it easier when you talk like that.”

“I know, I know. I just can’t help myself sometimes.”

“Look, we’ll talk on the phone. I’ll send you e-mail from my dad’s computer. I’ll be in your hair so much you’ll start wishing I were farther away!”

“I don’t think that’ll happen,” he said. Gently he pulled her to him and wrapped her in his strong arms. He gave her the kiss he’d wanted to give her when he first saw her: warm, lingering, and deep. She circled her arms around his neck and kissed him back. It made her feel good—very good—but it also reminded her how hard it was going to be to be away from him for the whole summer.

They came up for air. “I’m going to miss you,” he said.

“Me too. But being apart isn’t going to change how we feel about one another. Besides, Alex, saying good-bye is really hard. I’m dreading it, and it doesn’t help when you start doing it now. I’m not leaving yet. Let’s save the good-byes until the last minute, okay?”

Alex looked at her, savoring her sweet smile and lovely face. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but, as usual, you are totally sensible and absolutely right. No good-byes. Just hellos. I do a good hello kiss, too. Want to try it?”

“Silly!” she said, pushing him away. “You’re as incorrigible as your sister! Who—by the way—got herself a job today.”

“Ah, my sister the pizza girl, huh? I’ve heard that Mr. Andrews is something else. The two of them should get along just fine.”

“As long as she ‘minds her Pizza Manors,’ ” Lisa said.

“You’re kidding!”