Horseshoe (7 page)

Carole ducked under Penny’s head and put her hands on Jessica’s shoulders. “You’ve got it all wrong, Jessica.”

Jessica sniffed. “What’s wrong?”

“All of it. You had nothing to do with Veronica getting thrown out of the drill. Veronica has been thrown out of all sorts of things without your help before, and this is no different. Besides, if you’ll remember, Max didn’t say she couldn’t be in it. All he said was that she didn’t have to be in it. She’s the one who decided that she didn’t want to.”

“But if she hadn’t fallen off Garnet, she would have stayed in,” Jessica argued. “And it was my fault that she fell off Garnet.”

Carole suppressed the urge to tell Jessica that she thought Veronica had fallen off on purpose. Somehow
that didn’t seem like the right sort of thing to tell a little girl. Plus, Carole didn’t know for sure that it was true—she was only 99.9 percent sure that it was. Instead, she asked Jessica, “Have you ever fallen off a horse before?”

Jessica blinked. “Sure. Three times—once here at Pine Hollow, and twice at my old stable.”

“How did it feel?”

“Scary, at first. Once my pony bucked, and everything swirled around, and I fell on my head.”

“Did that hurt?”

“No. I was wearing a hard hat—you should always wear a hard hat, Carole.”

“I know.” Carole tried hard not to smile.

“Then I just felt silly, because I was sitting on the ground. And I didn’t want it to happen again, but I wasn’t really afraid.”

“That’s right,” Carole said, “That’s how most people feel. Do you want to know something?”

“What?”

“When you get to be a better rider, it doesn’t mean you don’t fall off. You have better balance, but you ride horses that aren’t quite as well-trained and you ride over harder stuff—like out in the woods or over jumps. So you end up falling off just about as much as when you were first learning to ride.”

“Really?” Jessica looked doubtful.

“Really.” Carole leaned forward and whispered confidentially, “I fell off Starlight just last week.”

“Did you really?”

“Yep. I think he must have been half asleep, because he just tripped over his own feet. I know I was half asleep, because I did a somersault right over his head. I was embarrassed, too, but I wasn’t hurt. So the point is, Jessica, do you remember how Veronica landed when she fell?”

Jessica thought for a moment. “She was standing up, yelling at Max.”

“That’s right. How much do you think it hurt her to fall off and land on her feet?”

Jessica shook her head. “Probably not much.”

“Probably you’re right,” Carole agreed. “And I guarantee you that I’ve seen Veronica come off many times before, and it usually doesn’t make her stop riding. So that’s the first point—Veronica didn’t quit because she fell off. She quit because she was having a temper tantrum.

“That’s the first point,” Carole continued. “The second point is, it wasn’t your fault that Veronica fell off anyway.”

“Yes it was,” Jessica persisted. “I kicked Penny and he ran into Garnet, and Garnet bucked.”

“I remember,” Carole said. “Did you run into Garnet on purpose?”

“No!” Jessica looked shocked.

“Then it wasn’t your fault. Advanced riders are supposed to be ready for anything their horses do—if Garnet bucked, for whatever reason, Veronica should have been able to stay on. She would have, too, if she hadn’t been so busy being angry about the drill. Do you know what I thought was really good about that whole incident, Jessica?”

“What?”

“It was that
you
stayed on. Penny moved sideways pretty quickly, and you not only stayed on her, you got her out of the way and back under control. That’s really good riding. You’re only a beginner, Jessica, but you’ve learned a lot and you should be proud of yourself. Don’t be worried about what Veronica is up to—or down to. She’s not worth it.”

“Thanks, Carole, for trying to make me feel better,” Jessica said. She gathered the grooming gear sadly, and Carole could tell that none of her words had really sunk in—Jessica still blamed herself.

“You rode really well today too,” Carole said.

“I don’t trot right,” Jessica said. “Not in that middle crossing part.”

“You almost got it today—I saw you,” Carole said.
“Jessica, go easy on yourself. You’re doing something difficult, and you haven’t been riding long. You’re doing well.”

Tears welled up in Jessica’s eyes again. “I’m so afraid I’m going to mess up,” she whispered. “Carole, what if I don’t get it right? I’ll mess up the whole drill and no one will give money to CARL.”

Carole gave her a hug. “You’ll do great,” she said. She watched Jessica trudge slowly down the aisle with Penny’s gear and felt almost heartbroken. How could they help her? It seemed to Carole that Jessica was as lost and lonely as some of the animals Lisa had told her about from CARL.

F
OUNDERS
’ D
AY DAWNED
bright and clear, and the first event on the program was the parade. Willow Creek was a suburb of Washington, D.C., but it had been around for a long time and had a lot of history and heritage of its own. Everyone in Willow Creek was proud of that heritage, and looked forward to celebrating it on Founders’ Day. The parade route was lined with balloons and brightly colored flags—and people.

“Half of the town must be here watching,” said Carole, looking down the street at the start of the parade. Sunlight shone off Starlight’s gleaming neck
and off the bright ribbons she’d braided into his mane. She loved days like this one.

“And the half that isn’t watching is
in
the parade,” Lisa agreed. Delilah didn’t have the natural flair that Starlight had, but Lisa had groomed her thoroughly and her golden coat was beautiful. She rode next to Carole toward the rear of the Pine Hollow group. Max led off, with Red O’Malley and Mrs. Reg on either side, but most of the more advanced riders rode in the back. It was best to have them there, where they could keep an eye on the younger ones in front and be ready to help if trouble arose.

Next to Lisa, Belle pranced nervously and ogled a flapping flag. She arched her neck and began to snort. “
Belle
,” Stevie said sternly. Belle sighed, relaxed, and walked forward calmly.

“What was that about?” asked Lisa.

“She was just trying to get away with something,” explained Stevie. “She wasn’t actually afraid. She just needs to be told what her limits are.”

Carole grinned. “Kind of like her rider?”

Stevie grinned back. “That’s why we make such a terrific pair.”

“Hey, Mom! Hi, Dad!” Lisa caught sight of her parents in the crowd and waved. They waved back to
Lisa excitedly. Colonel Hanson was standing only a few feet farther along the route, and they waved to him too.

“My parents will be closer to the judges’ grandstand,” Stevie said. “Chad’s marching with the school band, and they want to hear him play.” She made a face. “I don’t know why they want to. We’ve been listening to him practice all week, and I promise you, I’d rather see him just march.”

J
UST AHEAD OF
The Saddle Club, Veronica rode next to Jessica Adler. Even though Veronica wasn’t in the drill and planned to take Garnet straight back to Pine Hollow after the parade, nothing would keep her from showing off her beautiful purebred mare. She smiled and waved to the crowd.

Jessica was feeling a little nervous. She wasn’t quite used to riding outside of a fenced-in riding ring, and she’d never been in a parade before. All the people were looking at
her
. What if she messed up? Even though she wasn’t afraid of falling, she was pretty sure that if she fell onto the asphalt road, it would hurt. And what if Penny ran off and got hurt? All sorts of dreadful possibilities crowded into Jessica’s mind.

Just ahead, Jasmine and May were giggling and calling out to someone they knew on the sidelines. Jessica
wished she could ride with them—then she might feel better. But Max had told Veronica to keep an eye on her, so she was stuck. She looked around for her parents. They were there somewhere, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to find them. So many people!

A small boy on the edge of the crowd threw a piece of popcorn at her. He grinned and waved, so she knew he didn’t mean it badly, but the popcorn hit Penny on the nose. Penny tossed her head and pranced a few steps. Jessica clutched at the reins. Poor Penny! But what if she ran? What would she do? Unconsciously, Jessica tensed. Her legs gripped Penny hard.

Penny hadn’t been upset by the popcorn, just surprised. She had been ridden in the Founders’ Day parade for years. But when Jessica froze in terror on her back, Penny began to think that something was wrong. The pony began to be frightened too, and she tensed and grabbed at the bit.

“Make her stop that,” said Veronica, looking down at Jessica. “Don’t let her act like that. Sit up and use your legs.”

Jessica sat up and gripped even harder. Penny began to trot.

“Stop her!” Veronica said. “Shorten your reins, Jessica! Don’t let her act like that!”

Jessica shortened her reins and pulled. Penny came
back to a nervous, head-flinging walk. Jessica felt awful—she knew that something terrible was about to happen. Penny would run away. There was nothing she could do.

“U
H
-
OH
,”
SAID
S
TEVIE
. “Did you see that?” She broke away from Lisa and Carole and trotted Belle up to Veronica’s side.

“See what?” asked Lisa. She had been waving to some of her friends from school.

Carole frowned. “Some kid threw something at Penny, and it made Jessica nervous. The more nervous Jessica gets, the more nervous Penny gets—”

“And the more nervous Penny gets, the more nervous Jessica gets,” finished Lisa. “Poor kid. I remember how that feels.” Lisa had been a beginner rider not long ago.

“Yeah,” said Carole. “Veronica’s been talking to her, but she’s making things worse, not better.” She shrugged and smiled at Lisa. “Stevie will fix it.”

T
HERE WASN
’
T ROOM
for Stevie to ride Belle in between Veronica and Jessica, so she was stuck on the outside of Garnet. But seeing how upset Veronica had made Jessica, Stevie was pretty sure she could improve the situation just by distracting Veronica.

“So,” she said, “I suppose you’ve heard about our fortune-telling booth?”

“Not really,” said Veronica. “I don’t keep tabs on your affairs.”

Oh, really! Stevie ground her teeth. She wished that just once she could say something like “tabs on your affairs” in that snooty voice Veronica used—only she’d say it
to
Veronica. Still, for Jessica and for the fortune-telling booth, Stevie kept her voice pleasant.

“We’re having a Goodluck Horseshoe fortune-telling booth here at Founders’ Day,” she explained. “We’re going to tell people their fortunes—anything they want to know, for the bargain price of only one dollar! That’s cheap for fortunes these days,” she added.

Veronica sniffed. “I’m not sure I’d be interested in a bargain fortune,” she said.

“Oh, well,” Stevie said cheerfully, “we’d be happy to charge you more.”

Veronica looked skeptical. “Do you really know how to predict the future?”

“Oh, yes,” Stevie assured her. “We’ve been reading books, studying charts, all kinds of things. The stars, palm-reading techniques, tea leaves. There’s no end to what you can learn if you put your mind to it.”

“Mmmm. And do your fortunes cover matters of the heart?”

“ ‘Matters of the heart?’ ” Stevie repeated. She couldn’t help but notice that Veronica glanced back at Michael Grant as she spoke. Stevie’s sides quivered; it was all she could do not to break into waves of hysterical laughter. But no, for the sake of the Goodluck Horseshoe she kept her mouth closed. “Sure,” she said weakly. “We know all there is to know about matters of the heart.”

Veronica smiled. “Maybe I’ll pay your little booth a visit,” she said. Then, looking again at Michael Grant and glancing quickly at Jessica to her side, Veronica asked, “Do you mind riding here, Stevie? I’d like to ride where I could have some interesting conversation.”

“Be my guest,” Stevie said. At least that would leave her alone with Jessica. Veronica dropped back a few rows—to Michael Grant’s side. Stevie shook her head. Matters of the heart!

Without Veronica’s interference, Jessica had succeeded in calming Penny down by talking to her soothingly. Her reins were still too tight and she was still nervous, but at least Penny wasn’t fighting to trot.

“You seem to have her pretty well in hand,” Stevie said to Jessica. “Try not to feel too nervous—I remember
my first Founders’ Day parade. I was riding Nickel, not Penny, and boy was I shaking! I know just how you’re feeling.”

Jessica smiled weakly. “I just don’t ride well enough for this,” she said. “I guess I shouldn’t have come.”

“What do you mean? You’re doing fine!”

Jessica shook her head. “Veronica told me about thirty things I was doing wrong, and I didn’t even know I was doing them wrong. And I’m sure Penny’s going to run away.”

“Don’t ever listen to Veronica,” Stevie told her firmly. “Listen to me instead. Max would never let anyone ride in the parade if he didn’t think they were ready, and he let you, so you must be a good enough rider to do it. Penny’s about twice as old as you and she likes parades. She’s not going to run away. Just give her a pat and tell her she’s okay.”