Stable Farewell (12 page)

“I’m really here, and I really wanted to come,” Cam assured her.

“Really?” Carole asked.

“Really,” said Cam. He cleared his throat. “I wanted to come so I could give you this.”

Carole felt her jaw drop as Cam reached into his pocket and held out a small box wrapped in paper with horses on it. “I have something for you, too. I was going to mail it, but now I can give it to you in person. Come on, it’s in my cubby.”

Carole noticed that Cam looked shyly pleased. Obviously he was glad that she had thought of him, too. Without further ado, she led him out of the ring and into the changing room. She fished around in her cubby and brought it out. She hadn’t had time to wrap it, so she made Cam close his eyes and stick out his hand. Then she placed her gift in his palm. It was a Saddle Club pin—the kind that Phil and A.J., as honorary Saddle Club members, already had. Carole had talked the gift idea over with Lisa and Stevie, and they had agreed that Cam definitely deserved to be an out-of-town Saddle Club member. He more than met the requirements: He was horse-crazy, and he’d always been a good friend.

“Okay, open your eyes,” Carole said.

Cam opened his eyes. His expression changed from curious to delighted. “It’s a Saddle Club pin, isn’t it?” he asked.

Carole nodded shyly. “Stevie and Lisa and I all wanted you to have it.”

Cam pinned it to his jacket immediately. “I can’t wait till somebody at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center asks
me where I got this,” he said. “I’ll tell them, ‘Sorry, but it’s a very exclusive club,’ ” Cam joked. “All right, now you open yours.”

Carole fumbled with the wrapping paper on her box but finally got it open. “You got me a pin, too!” she exclaimed.

“I guess great minds think alike,” said Cam, smiling.

Inside the box was a horseshoe-shaped stickpin. Carole could hardly believe Cam had picked out such a perfect gift. She gulped a little before she managed a thank-you.

“When I saw it, it reminded me of the good-luck horseshoe here that you told me about,” Cam said. “I …” He hesitated and looked down, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll still be a good friend, you know, Carole. At least, I’ll try to be.”

Carole could read more from Cam’s face than from what he said. He seemed to realize, like her, how hard long-distance friendships could be, especially when the friendship was just getting started. All of a sudden Carole was conscious of the silence. She wanted to break it, but, for the millionth time, she didn’t know what to say. “Cam …”

“Yes?”

Carole paused a minute as the door to the changing room swung open. Veronica strode in, her cheeks wet with
tears. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Cam and Carole. “Oh … hi. I didn’t know anyone was in here.” Abruptly Veronica wiped her face with her hand. “There’s so much dust in the barn, I must have gotten some in my eyes,” she said, visibly trying to compose herself.

“Is the party still going on?” Carole asked, tactfully changing the subject.

Veronica shook her head. “It’s just about over. Katie’s here for Garnet now.”

“Wow, we’d better go see her off,” Carole realized.

“Yeah, she’ll be gone soon,” Veronica added, almost wistfully.

“I’m going to miss that horse,” said Carole, hoping to put Veronica at ease. “She’s a sweetheart.”

“Yes, she is sweet …” Veronica’s voice trailed off. Then she seemed to snap back to attention. “She’s awfully sweet—but then there’s Danny. You wouldn’t exactly call him ‘sweet,’ but he’s still the perfect horse. Everyone agrees. Even Max can’t fault him. Did you know—”

By silent, mutual consent, Cam and Carole headed for the door, nodding and smiling. They weren’t about to get trapped listening to Veronica bragging while Garnet left for her new home.

Outside, Stevie and Lisa were helping Katie put up the
ramp of the trailer. All the kids had gathered to say their final good-byes. Once the ramp was secure, Katie hugged each of The Saddle Club members in turn, ending with Carole, who ran up to join the group. Then Katie picked up the basket of treats the Pony Clubbers had given Garnet and hopped into the front seat of the truck. She rolled the window down and waved. “Maybe we’ll see you at Pony Club events!”

“Don’t forget to write!” Lisa called. She had made Katie promise to keep them posted on Garnet’s progress as an endurance trail horse.

“And that goes for you, too, Garnet!” Stevie called. “No excuses!”

“Bye, everyone!” Katie called.

The group waved and called their good-byes. Stevie, Lisa, and Carole stood together and watched the trailer as it lumbered down the driveway. Finally it rounded the corner and the chestnut rump disappeared from view. The three girls sighed. It was hard to watch an old friend leave, human or equine. Carole was so preoccupied with watching Garnet go off to her new home that she momentarily forgot that her time with Cam was almost over. But while the trailer had pulled out, another car had pulled in. All at once Carole realized that it was Cam’s mother in her station wagon. Stunned that Mrs. Nelson had arrived so
quickly, she turned to look for Cam. She didn’t have to look far: He was right beside her. Before she could think of what to say, he leaned down. Right in front of everyone, he gave her a kiss—so quick she hardly felt it—and then he was gone, too.

O
N
S
UNDAY MORNING
Carole woke up feeling tired. She hit the Snooze button on her alarm twice before she got out of bed. Normally she leaped out of bed on the weekends, knowing that she had a whole day to spend at Pine Hollow. But this morning she felt depressed. She was depressed about Cam’s moving, and she was even a little depressed about Garnet’s leaving. The Saddle Club had worked so hard to find the perfect new owner for the mare that Carole felt she had really gotten to understand her. Before the past couple of weeks, Garnet had always been Veronica’s domain, so Carole hadn’t been able to get to know her as
much as, say, Prancer or Belle. And now both Cam and Garnet had left just when she was liking them most.

Carole knew she couldn’t sit around and mope all day. What she needed was a good long trail ride on Starlight—and she hadn’t had one all week! She picked up the phone beside her bed and used three-way calling to dial Lisa and Stevie. The two of them said they couldn’t think of a better way to spend the morning.

Carole got dressed in a hurry, splashed water on her face, and went downstairs, where Colonel Hanson insisted on feeding her a huge breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, and sausage. Carole knew he was trying to cheer her up after yesterday, and the food did taste good. On the drive over to Pine Hollow, she thanked her father for being so nice.

“Hey, you’re not the only one who’s going to miss Cam,” Colonel Hanson said. “I was getting used to our phone conversations, you know.”

W
ITHIN AN HOUR
Carole, Lisa, and Stevie were in the saddle and headed for the woods. The twin departures were on everyone’s mind. “All I can think is how glad I am that it was Katie disappearing down the road with Garnet and not any of the other prospective buyers,” Stevie said.

“But darling Henrietta was so wonderful after six weeks, imagine her in six years!” Lisa said.

“
She
’
s
nothing that a crop and spurs wouldn’t cure!” said Carole.

“And what about Rose Marie Ambrosia Lee? She just wanted a nice little ole Arab for herself. Don’t you think Garnet would have looked cute as Scarlett O’Hara’s horse?” Lisa teased.

“Yeah—if Rose Marie Ambrosia Lee looked anything like Scarlett O’Hara,” Stevie said.

“Seriously, though,” Carole said, “it was a pretty good Saddle Club project, all in all, when you think about where Garnet might have ended up.”

“I wish we hadn’t had to do the project at all,” Lisa said. “If Veronica was as concerned as she should have been about Garnet, she would have made sure Garnet found a good home. We wouldn’t have had anything to do. She just never cared about Garnet.”

“Actually, I think she must have cared a little,” Carole said. She told them how she was sure she had seen Veronica crying when Garnet left. At first they wouldn’t believe her, but then Stevie came up with a theory to explain Veronica’s sudden change of heart.

“At least Garnet always responded to any affection that Veronica gave her. Now that Veronica’s trying hard to take
good care of Danny, the horse is ignoring her completely. Maybe Veronica didn’t realize how special Garnet was until it was too late,” she mused.

At that moment a cardinal flew up from a bush beside the trail. Carole watched it soar into the air. “Cam’s plane must be up there somewhere—they had an early flight out of D.C. this morning,” she said.

Stevie and Lisa offered a few words of comfort—Cam might write; Carole might be on the West Coast sometime—but they knew that there wasn’t much they could do. Carole would miss Cam no matter what.

“Hey, look at that log up ahead.” Lisa pointed at a fallen tree in their path. “It’s the perfect size. Let’s jump it.”

The girls shortened their reins. Stevie led off, followed by Lisa and then Carole. Keeping a safe distance behind her friends, Carole cantered toward the jump. The cool winter air stung her face. They were two strides—then one stride away. Then Starlight soared, and Carole’s heart, despite everything, lifted with joy.

B
ONNIE
B
RYANT
is the author of more than a hundred books about horses, including The Saddle Club series, Saddle Club Super Editions, the Pony Tails series, and Pine Hollow, which follows the Saddle Club girls into their teens. She has also written novels and movie novelizations under her married name, B. B. Hiller.

Ms. Bryant began writing The Saddle Club in 1986. Although she had done some riding before that, she intensified her studies then and found herself learning right along with her characters Stevie, Carole, and Lisa. She claims that they are all much better riders than she is.

Ms. Bryant was born and raised in New York City. She still lives there, in Greenwich Village, with her two sons.