Chasing Gold (9 page)

Twenty minutes later, they'd jumped just about everything out there—some of the obstacles twice. As Wings landed after clearing a brush fence, Haley slowed him to a trot and then a walk. The pony was blowing a little, but Haley's careful conditioning routine had made him as fit as he'd ever been, and he still had plenty of energy left. After three or four flat-footed steps, he started jigging, trying to go faster again.

“No, that's enough for now.” Haley loosened her reins and rubbed his withers, keeping him to a walk with her seat and voice. “We don't want to wear you out, or you won't have anything left for our dressage lesson in the morning.”

She glanced down at Bandit, who'd stopped to scratch his ear. Haley couldn't wait to tell her Pony Post friends about the dog's cross-country schooling! She only wished they could have seen it for themselves.

That gave her an idea. Her cell phone was in her back pocket, as usual. Pulling it out, she quickly snapped a few photos of Bandit.

“Okay, Wingsie,” she said. “Maybe we can do one more jump. . . .”

She trotted him toward a stack of logs. The pony tried to break into a canter, but she kept him at a trot.

Just as she'd expected, Bandit raced ahead of them, barking loudly. Holding the reins in one hand, Haley snapped another photo just as the dog sailed over the log jump. She laughed as Bandit landed—and immediately spun around, jumping the logs again coming toward her! Luckily, Haley's phone was still in position, and she got
off another couple of shots before Wings reached his takeoff spot.

On the far side of the jump, Haley stopped the pony and scrolled through the pictures. She couldn't see the tiny monitor very well in the bright sunshine, but she was pretty sure she'd captured some good shots.

“Next time I'll have to try taking some video,” she told Wings and Bandit with a laugh. “Too bad Nina isn't closer—she's such a good photographer, I bet she could film us. Or maybe I could talk someone else into coming out sometime with a camera.”

Her smile wavered slightly as her mind flashed from her Pony Post friends to her local ones. Now that they were all about boys and parties, would Tracey or Emma still be interested in watching her ride?

But no—she wasn't going to think about that right then and spoil her happy mood. Gathering up the reins, she nudged Wings into a trot.

“Okay, you win,” she said. “I suppose we still have time for a few more jumps before we have to head back.”

“Urgh,” Haley grunted as her phone buzzed in her pocket. She set aside the wide, square-headed shovel she'd been using to chip away at the dried chicken manure on the henhouse floor. Mr. Broom had gone off to dump the tractor bucket, which he and Haley had filled with yet another load of soiled bedding. Outside in the attached pen, Haley could hear the chickens clucking and burbling irritably, clearly wondering why the door into their house was shut. It was after six thirty already, and they would be wanting to roost soon.

Peeling off one glove, she carefully fished the phone out and hit the button to answer it. She stepped outside, taking in a breath of welcome fresh air.

“Hello?” she said.

“Are you sure you're not coming? Ems and I are at her house getting dressed. We're leaving in like ten minutes.”

Haley sighed. She didn't need to check the readout to know who it was. Tracey sounded hopeful, as if she might actually be expecting Haley to change her mind and come to the dance.

She wouldn't think that if she could see me—or smell me—right now,
Haley thought, glancing down at herself. Her jeans, shirt, and skin were spattered with ick, and a thin layer of the dust that always seemed to hang around chickens covered her from head to boot.

“Sorry, still can't,” she told Tracey. “You guys have fun, though. I want to hear everything tomorrow.”

“For sure.” Tracey hesitated. “So you're still coming to my party, though, right?”

“Of course,” Haley answered, not allowing any impatience to creep into her voice.

“Cool. So you're really not coming tonight?” Tracey sounded as if she still couldn't quite believe it.

“Really.” Haley could hear the sound of the tractor heading back her way. Her stomach rumbled, complaining about her delayed dinner. “Look, I have to go. Have a great time, okay?”

Haley didn't get home from Mr. Broom's place until almost eight. All she wanted to do was gobble down about three pounds of food, then fall into bed, in that
order. Okay, maybe she'd slip a shower in there somewhere—she hadn't felt so filthy since the last time she'd helped move the manure pile.

“I'm home!” she called to her uncle, who was washing dishes and singing along with the radio. Aunt Veronica was nowhere in sight, which meant she was probably in her office getting some work done. The sound of the TV drifted up from the basement, and Haley hoped that meant both boys were down there. The last thing she was in the mood for was teasing from them about her current state of stinkiness.

She said hi to Uncle Mike and then dragged herself up the steps, grabbing a fresh bath towel from the linen closet as she headed down the hall to her room. Her nightgown was slung over the back of her desk chair where she'd dropped it that morning. As she grabbed it, she noticed her laptop sitting on the desk and flipped it open.

I'd better check the Pony Post now,
she told herself.
I'll be too tired later, and who knows if I'll have even an extra two seconds tomorrow.

For a moment, she felt even more exhausted as she
thought about everything she had to fit in the next day. But she banished the thought, her fingers flying over the keys as she logged on to the Pony Post.

As usual, there were plenty of new messages. Haley skimmed most of them, but her gaze caught on one from Nina.

[NINA]
Big news, pony peeps! Breezy and I had a lesson today, and guess what? I found out there's going to be a horse show at my barn next month!

[MADDIE]
Cool! Are u going to enter?

[BROOKE]
Of course she is! Wait, N, will this be yr 1st show?

[MADDIE]
I think it is! Nina? Paging Nina! Don't leave us hanging!

[NINA]
lol, sorry I was offline for a few hours. A girl has to eat, u know! Anyway, ya, this will be
my first show. Well, my first horse show, anyway. I've been in lots of other kinds of shows!

[MADDIE]
lol, we don't want to hear about all yr dance recitals or whatev right now, OK? Spill! What kind of show is it going to be?

Haley skimmed another few entries from Nina, detailing what she knew about the coming show. She was excited for her friend—Nina had owned her Chincoteague pony, a stout bay pinto gelding named Bay Breeze, for less than two years now. She hadn't been riding for as long as Haley or Brooke, who had both learned to ride almost before they could walk. But she was learning fast, and Haley was sure she couldn't wait to show off what a good team she and her pony had become.

Kind of like me and Wings,
she thought as she scrolled down to the next post.
I just hope Zina Charles sees that next weekend!

She shivered, thinking of the clinic, just one week
away now! Then she returned her attention to the computer screen. She spotted her name in Maddie's next post.

[MADDIE]
U can get some show pointers from Haley. She's prolly been in more shows than the rest of us put together!

[BROOKE]
That's for sure! I've only been in two—a student show where I used to take lessons, and then the one at the end of camp this summer.

[MADDIE]
I did a student show with Cloudy last spring too. Of course, Haley prolly thinks we're all big wimps since the jumps in our shows fall down if we hit them, unlike those crazy XC things she and Wings jump!

[NINA]
lol, ya. Well, that's why she's getting ready to ride in a clinic with a future Olympic champion, and I'm just hoping
I can hold on over a few crossrails w/o embarrassing myself or my pony! LOL!

[BROOKE]
LOL! Don't worry, u can do it!

Haley smiled. That was the latest post, sent just an hour or so earlier. Opening a new text box, she started typing.

[HALEY]
Nina, that's awesome news! I know u will do great at yr show. Can't wait to see pics of u and Breezy showing yr stuff!

She sent the message. It appeared on the screen, blinking at the bottom of her friends' long list of posts. Haley reached for the touch screen to sign off, but instead moved her hand back to the keyboard and opened another text box.

[HALEY]
btw, sorry I haven't been posting more. It's crazy how busy things are right now.
I don't know how ZC and other pro riders do it!!! I'll prob be even busier for the next wk, but I promise to make up for it after the clinic!

This time she did sign off as soon as the message showed up. Her friends were probably all in bed by now, so she shouldn't expect a response until tomorrow.

Besides, Haley already knew what they'd say. She knew they'd understand why she'd been a little out of touch—and they wouldn't mind. After all, they all took turns posting more or less often on the Pony Post. When Maddie had been so busy trying to buy Cloudy, she hadn't posted nearly as much as usual. And of course, Brooke hadn't been able to log on very often when she and her pony, Foxy, were at that sleepaway riding camp over the summer. Nina had a fancy smartphone that let her check in easily anywhere, but even she sometimes got busy with school and art lessons and all the other stuff she did in her exciting big-city life.

But no matter how busy any of them got, they all kept coming back to the Pony Post. Because even though they lived far apart and were very different in some ways, their
love for their ponies was one thing they'd always have in common.

After a shower and a quick dinner, Haley could barely keep her eyes open. She set her alarm, grimacing as she counted out the hours—not nearly enough—until she had to get up for her dressage lesson. She'd only managed to give her tack a quick once-over after that day's ride, but she figured Jan would understand.

She climbed into bed, her tired brain buzzing with everything she had to do tomorrow. If only she didn't have to fit that stupid party in with everything else! For a second she thought about telling Tracey she couldn't make it after all.

But no. For some mysterious reason, that party seemed to be just as important to Tracey as the clinic was to Haley. All Haley had to do was get through it—and everything else on her overcrowded schedule—for a little while longer. Because exactly one week from tomorrow, the clinic would be here, and all the hard work and lost sleep would be worth it.

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