True Riders (9 page)

But that was all beside the point. Setting the dish down, she shot a sidelong look at her mother. Why had Brooke even bothered to try to talk to her about this?

At least I always have the Pony Post to vent to,
Brooke thought, twisting the dishtowel between her hands.
They always understand.

CHAPTER

SATURDAY MORNING DAWNED
cool, overcast, and breezy. Brooke's stepfather had the radio on during breakfast, and the newscaster predicted scattered showers all day.

“Uh-oh, better cancel that ten-mile jog I had planned for today,” he joked, buttering a third piece of toast.

Brooke's mother rolled her eyes. “Good. Then you can help me clean the basement instead.”

Brooke shoveled one last bite of cereal into her mouth, then stood up. “May I be excused?” she asked, shooting a look at the window. “Adam should be here soon.” She purposely didn't mention riding, not wanting to set off the twins, who were squabbling over the last blueberry muffin.

“Of course, honey,” her mother said.

Brooke hurried upstairs to put on her boots. When she noticed her laptop on the desk, she remembered she hadn't checked in with the Pony Post yet that morning. When she'd logged on the night before, there had been an update from Maddie, though it hadn't said much except that she still hadn't talked to her parents yet about seeing those plane tickets. There was another post from Maddie when Brooke logged on now, though it mostly talked about how her friend Bridget had taken a lesson on Cloudy the afternoon before. Brooke scanned it, then opened her own text box.

[BROOKE]
Hi, Maddie. Sorry you didn't get to ride Cloudy again. As you know, I know how you feel! But I'm determined to ride my own pony today if it's the last thing I do, lol. Just hoping the rain holds off. At least it's not cold enough to snow here yet! Did you get the snowstorm you were expecting, Haley?

Nobody else seemed to be on the site just then, so Brooke signed off and went to her closet to grab her paddock boots. When she got downstairs, her stepfather had disappeared, and the twins were in the living room making a mess with their mother's big Rubbermaid tub of wrapping paper.

“Does Mom know you got that stuff out?” Brooke asked, pausing in the doorway.

Her mother hurried in from the kitchen just in time to hear her. “Yes, it's okay,” she said. “They have a birthday party to go to tomorrow afternoon, so I told them they could wrap the gift themselves.”

“Oh, okay.” Brooke was glad to hear that the twins would be busy not only today but tomorrow as well.

The cold and damp wrapped around her as soon as she went outside. Adam hadn't arrived yet, but she decided she'd better not wait for him, in case the weather got even worse, so she quickly tacked up and started her warm-up. Foxy was a little stubborn, first tossing her head when Brooke tried to bridle her and then refusing to leg-yield when asked, even though they'd been practicing the move all fall.

But Brooke did her best to work through the pony's attitude, calmly asking her to walk and trot all around the field. Finally Brooke asked for the leg-yield again, and this time Foxy grudgingly moved sideways a step or two. Deciding that was progress, Brooke halted and gave the pony a pat.

“Where's Adam, anyway?” she muttered, realizing he was late. When she checked her watch, Foxy tossed her head, ripping both reins out of her hands. “Would you quit that?” Brooke exclaimed, quickly gathering them up again. “Stop being so silly.”

She asked the pony to trot again and rode her in a big circle. When Brooke brought Foxy back to a walk a few minutes later, she saw Adam letting himself into the pasture.

“Finally!” she exclaimed, riding toward him.

“Sorry I'm late,” he said, sounding out of breath. “I got sort of distracted texting with the guys from the team.”

“The basketball team?” Brooke was surprised. Adam had barely mentioned any of his guy friends all week, especially the ones who'd made the team.

Adam didn't answer, stepping over to pat Foxy on the neck. “Looks like she's all warmed up,” he said. “Ready to start jumping?”

Feeling a cold splash on her arm, Brooke squinted up at the clouds. “I think it's starting to rain.”

“Just a little.” Adam headed toward the jumps. “Come on. I'll set up two in a row . . .”

Ignoring the sporadic drizzle, they got to work. Adam turned out to be a good coach, and Foxy finally settled down and behaved like her usual agreeable self. By the time the rain started coming down more steadily, Brooke was feeling pretty good about things.

She led Foxy into the pony part of the barn to untack. “I hope the twins are done with riding,” she told Adam as he unbuckled one side of the girth. “At least until after the show.”

“Why?” Adam dragged the saddle off the pony's back. “They're pretty cute about the whole cowboy thing.”

“Yeah, but I think letting them ride is having a negative effect on Foxy,” Brooke said as she clipped Foxy's halter back on. “I mean, she's still young and pretty green. I could definitely tell the difference between yesterday and today.”

Adam shrugged, setting the saddle onto the half door leading into the people part of the barn. “She'll be okay,” he said. “She's a superstar, remember?”

“Yeah.” Brooke smiled and patted the pony, deciding that maybe Adam was right. Maybe she was just borrowing trouble.

Sunday was Maddie's birthday, and Brooke made sure to post a Happy Birthday message first thing when she got up. She was surprised to see that Haley had actually beaten her to it, even though it was an hour earlier in Wisconsin. Then again, maybe that wasn't such a surprise. Haley and her family lived on a working farm, with not only horses but cows and chickens as well. She always got up early, even on the weekends.

I hope Maddie's party goes okay this afternoon,
Brooke thought as she pulled on her clothes and brushed her teeth. Over the past couple of days, Maddie had told the other Pony Posters that she wanted to wait until after her birthday to talk to her parents about the move. But it already sounded to Brooke as if Maddie was starting to accept that it was definitely going to happen.

Thinking about that made Brooke feel sad. Maddie had such a special connection with Cloudy, but the pony didn't belong to her. There was no way Cloudy would be going with the family when they moved. How would Maddie ever recover from losing such an amazing pony?

Brooke shook her head, deciding not to think such depressing thoughts, at least right now. The whole Pony Post would be there to support Maddie through whatever happened. For the moment, though, all Brooke could do was wait for her friend's next update.

Adam couldn't make it over until after lunch, since his family went to church on Sunday mornings, so after breakfast Brooke did all her homework for the weekend. She was halfway through her word problems for math when her mother stuck her head into the room to let Brooke know they were leaving for the twins' friend's party.

“We'll be back around two or three,” she said, looking oddly informal in jeans and a cardigan.

“Okay.” Brooke wandered to the window and watched as her stepfather helped the twins into the SUV and then shoved a huge, sloppily wrapped gift in beside them. Then Brooke texted Adam, reminding him to get there as soon as he could. With any luck they'd be able to finish their ride before her family got home.

An hour later she glanced at the clock after finishing the last of her homework, and realized that Adam would be there in less than fifteen minutes. After logging on to the Pony Post, she quickly typed in another brief message for Maddie, wishing her well at the party. Then Brooke hurried downstairs, gulped down half a sandwich, and headed out to the barn.

It was still cold, but the clouds had cleared out and the wind was barely a whisper. While she tacked up, Brooke went back to brooding over Maddie's problem. It was weird to think of her living in a whole other country, though it really wouldn't affect Maddie's friendship with the other Pony Posters much, other than adjusting to an even bigger time difference. Her friendship with Cloudy? That was another matter. . . .

“Hey, there you are!” Adam exclaimed, hurrying into view around the corner of the shed. “I knocked at the house but nobody answered.”

“Everyone's out at some kiddie party.” Brooke tightened the girth another notch. “So we should have some peace and quiet for a change.”

“Cool.” Adam handed her the bridle, which she'd hung on the door. “So, what are we waiting for?”

Brooke quickly bridled her pony and led her out to the stump she used as a mounting block.
I shouldn't take this for granted,
she thought, her mind still mostly on Maddie.
No matter how annoying it is to have to share Foxy with the twins, at least I know I won't have to move and leave her behind—

“Watch it!” Adam warned as Foxy lifted her head and sidestepped just as Brooke was putting her foot into the stirrup. “Here, I'll hold her while you get on.”

“Thanks.” Brooke swung aboard quickly, though the pony moved forward, bumping into Adam, before Brooke could get her right foot into the stirrup. “Whoa, Foxy! Hold still.”

“It's okay. She's just excited about doing more jumping. Right, Foxy girl?” Adam rubbed the mare's face.

Brooke shoved her foot into the stirrup and shortened her reins. “We need to warm up before we start jumping,” she reminded Adam.

“Okay, so do it.” He grinned at her, stepping back out of the way.

Brooke's mind wandered back to Maddie as she aimed Foxy out into the field and asked her to trot. She got into two-point position, letting the mare stretch out.

She was trying to picture Maddie wandering the streets of London, when a sudden gust of wind blew some dry leaves up in front of them. Foxy snorted, slammed on the brakes, and spun around.

“Whoa!” Brooke cried, grabbing a handful of mane and barely staying in the saddle. She'd lost both her stirrups, but quickly jammed her feet back in. “Stop that, Foxy!”

“You okay?” Adam called from over by the gate. “What happened?”

“I don't know.” Brooke frowned, a little annoyed with the mare, who rarely spooked at anything. Why had a few blowing leaves set her off?

Because I wasn't paying attention,
she realized.
Better forget about Maddie for now and focus on my ride, or I'll end up on the ground next time.

“Okay, Foxy,” she said, giving the mare a firm nudge with both heels. “Walk on, and let's get down to business.”

Half an hour later Brooke was in a much better mood. Foxy's silliness had passed, and she was working like a pro, doing basic dressage moves and hopping over the jumps as if they were nothing. For the first time Brooke found herself actually looking forward to the show.

She brought the pony to a square halt after a line of two jumps. “Good girl,” she said, giving her a pat. “You know, maybe it'll be kind of fun to show you off to everyone next weekend.”