Stevie (18 page)

We found Judy instead. She was standing in the aisle, talking to Mr. McLeod while various other people scurried around busily. Prancer was standing in the stall just behind Judy, her head hanging lower than usual. “There she is,” I whispered to Lisa. I wanted to rush over to see what was going on, but at the same time I was afraid we would only be in the way. I wasn’t sure what to do now that we were in the stable.

Judy saved me from that decision. “Girls!” she said, spotting us and waving us over. “I’m so glad you’re here. I think Carole’s taking this pretty hard.” As she talked, Lisa and I patted Prancer, who seemed glad to see us even though she was clearly still in pain.

Lisa nodded. “Where is she?”

“I’m not sure,” Judy replied. “She disappeared a few minutes after we brought Prancer in.” She glanced at her watch. “The X ray should be ready now. I’ve got to go take a look at it.”

Part of me really, really wanted to know what that X ray said, since I knew it could mean the difference between life and death for Prancer. But I knew we would find that out sooner or later. Right then, Carole needed us.

“Lets check all the empty stalls,” I told Lisa briskly.

She nodded, and we hurried down the aisle, peering over each half door. We didn’t have to speak to know that we were both thinking the same thing: Carole must have hidden herself away somewhere to try to deal with her worry and grief. That was the only reason she would have left Prancer’s side right then.

We checked every stall in the barn, but Carole was nowhere to be found. “What’s that?” Lisa asked when we reached the end of the row.

I looked where she was pointing and saw a large, square shed just beyond the stable area. The big double doors were shut tight.

“Looks like some kind of storage building,” I said. “Let’s go.”

We hurried forward and pulled one of the doors open. It was easy to tell that the building was some kind of feed storage area. The warm, familiar smells of hay and grain drifted toward us, and after a few seconds I could make out the shapes of bales and barrels.

I also spotted another familiar shape. “Carole?” I said.

Carole looked up at us, her face streaked with tears. Without a word, Lisa and I rushed inside and wrapped her in the biggest, warmest three-way hug we knew how to give.

After a moment Carole pulled back and looked at us. I could see the worry and fear in her eyes. “Prancer?” she said.

“Judy’s reading the X ray now,” Lisa said.

“I can’t stand it,” Carole said.

“We know.” I reached forward to hug her again, wishing there was something more I could do to help her. But I was totally helpless. Suddenly, though, I realized that there was someone who could help Carole at that moment. “I think Prancer needs you now,” I told her.

Lisa nodded. “We saw her and she seemed glad to see us,” she said. “Except she kept looking over my shoulder.”

“I think she was looking for you,” I told Carole.

Carole smiled a little. “She’s an amazing horse. A truly amazing horse.”

“All the more reason to be there for her now,” I pointed out, offering Carole my hand to help her up.

Carole took it. She also took the tissue that Lisa had pulled out of somewhere or other and was offering to her. After Carole had blown her nose and wiped her eyes, we headed out of the shed and returned to the stable building.

There were more people than before, clustered around Prancer’s stall as we approached. Judy was still there, of course, along with the track vet and Mr. McLeod and some of the other people we’d seen earlier. They were peering at a large X ray, which Judy was holding up to the light. Several official-looking people with clipboards were also on the scene, making notes and speaking into tape recorders and cell phones.

Carole ignored them all. She walked past them, past Judy and the X ray, straight to Prancer’s stall. Lisa and I followed.

Prancer was still standing awkwardly on her three good legs, with her injured right foreleg lifted off the floor. But she gave a little hop forward when she saw Carole approaching and sort of whiffled her lips in what could only have been a greeting.

Carole reached into her pocket and pulled out a sugar lump, which she fed to the filly. Prancer’s big teeth crunched down on the treat as Carole let herself into the stall and gave her a big hug. Prancer nuzzled her affectionately as Lisa and I stepped forward to pat her.

I was making a real effort not to turn and race over to the adults and demand to know what was going on. It was so hard to wait—but I knew we had to. We had to trust Judy. She wouldn’t keep us in suspense any longer than necessary. And I didn’t want to disturb her while she was figuring out how to save Prancer.

Still, I knew I had to do something to keep myself busy or I would go crazy. So I did the only thing that seemed natural. I grabbed a grooming brush that was sitting on a trunk nearby and started brushing some of the dried sweat and dirt from the filly’s bay coat.

Prancer seemed to appreciate it. She nodded her head up and down, just like Topside does when I groom him. Lisa joined in, picking at the tangles in the filly’s dark mane with her fingers, while Carole continued to hug Prancer and murmur loving words of encouragement.

A moment later, I heard the track vet’s voice above the low murmur of adults nearby. “Too bad,” he said.

From my position near Prancer’s withers, I saw Carole stiffen. She kept hugging and murmuring, but I could tell she was listening as hard as I was. So was Lisa, her fingers shaking a little as she worked at a particularly stubborn knot.

“Not really,” Mr. McLeod was saying. “The insurance money would be nice, and I know I’ll never recover my investment, but look at that horse. Would anybody want to destroy her?”

At his words, all the adults suddenly turned to look at Prancer—and at us, standing there hugging and grooming her as if we were just returning from a trail ride rather than waiting for the most important decision of her life.

Judy looked surprised for a second. Then she burst out laughing. Carole released her hug. Feeling a little embarrassed, I shifted the brush to my other hand and stepped forward, toward the adults.

“What’s the story?” I asked Judy, in as professional and mature a voice as I could muster.

“Prancer has a broken bone in her foot.” Judy held up the X ray and we all peered at it, though I for one couldn’t make heads or tails of what I was seeing. “It’s her pedal bone,” Judy explained. “The fracture extends to the coffin joint. She’s never going to race again.”

“Oh, no!” Carole burst out. “What does …” She gulped, and her words trailed off.

“It means she can’t race,” Judy said quickly. “It doesn’t mean she can’t live. The bone will heal with proper care,
but she’ll always tend to favor it, and if she races again and favors her right foot, she’ll run a great risk of breaking something more serious.”

“What will you do with her?” Carole asked.

“I’m not sure,” Mr. McLeod said. “I’ll have to think about it. In a way it would be easier to take the insurance money, but Prancer’s a gem, with the sweetest disposition I’ve ever seen. She should be with people, I think. For now, though, she’s going back to Maskee Farms.” He glanced around and spotted a groom. After a few words about preparing the van, he turned back to Carole. “You’d be the right one to load Prancer onto the van. Will you do it?”

Carole agreed, of course, and we helped her as she clipped a lead line to Prancer’s halter and slowly, carefully, brought her out of the stall. Then we stepped aside as Carole coaxed her, step by step, up the ramp leading onto the van.

I glanced at Lisa and noticed a very odd expression on her face. “What’s with you?” I asked her.

She hesitated, then smiled. “I just had an idea,” she said. “Something Mr. McLeod said made me think of it. It’s kind of crazy, but …”

“Spill it,” I ordered. Then I listened carefully to what Lisa had in mind.

By the time she was finished, I was grinning. “There’s only one way to find out if it will work,” I said. I held up my hand and carefully crossed my fingers. Then I turned. “Oh, Judy!” I called. “We need to talk to you for a second.…”

Welcome to My Life …

The day after our trip to the racetrack came another big event: Dorothy DeSoto’s dressage exhibition at Pine Hollow. I had been looking forward to it from the second Max announced it, and now it was finally here!

Personality Background: Dorothy DeSoto

Miss Fenton, since I know you’re not a big fan of equestrian events and stuff like that, I feel I should explain exactly who Dorothy is and how I know her. You see, years ago she was a student at Pine Hollow just like I am now. Actually, she was in some riding classes with Judy Barker, the vet I keep talking about. And Max was their instructor. Then Dorothy went off and became a big superstar in the show ring, thanks to Max’s great teaching as well as her own natural talent and determination.

My friends and I met her right before the big show in New York City where she had a serious accident that injured her back and made her give up competitive riding. That’s when she decided to send Topside to Pine Hollow, which is why I get to ride him now. Since the accident, Dorothy has spent most of her time at her training stable outside New York City. She has also been spending time in
England with her boyfriend, Nigel, who’s a member of the British Equestrian Team.

Back to the story. A whole lot of people turned out to see Dorothy’s demonstration. There would have been a big crowd in any case, since Max had advertised around town and it really was a big deal for anyone who knew anything about horses. But as I looked around at all the people packed onto the collapsible bleachers Max had set up, I couldn’t help thinking that I had a little something to do with the great turnout, too. You see, I was in the process of putting my special plan into action, and I had been busy.

It wasn’t turning out to be any trouble at all keeping it a secret. Carole was totally distracted worrying about Prancer, and Lisa had been spending all her extra time with Pepper, so they hadn’t even suspected what I was up to. In fact, just about the only drawback was that all the planning hadn’t left me much time for homework. But at the time I was certain it would be worth it when I saw the expressions of joy and gratitude on the faces of the people gathered at Pine Hollow that day. It was all falling into place. Soon the big moment would be here!

But before it would be time for that, I got to sit back and enjoy Dorothy’s show. My friends and I arrived early to reserve seats in the front row. When Dorothy entered the ring, we waved at her cheerfully. She waved back, looking so happy to see us that we couldn’t resist rushing over to say hello.

“I groomed Topside especially well for you,” I told her proudly.

“He looks wonderful!” Dorothy said. “I can see you’re taking good care of him all the time, not just for my visit. Thank you.”

“Thank me?” I asked. “Thank
you
for selling him to Max. Topside’s the greatest! I told him you were coming, by the way.”

Dorothy smiled. “I thought so,” she joked. “He didn’t seem the least bit surprised to see me.”

Then Max shooed us back to our seats. Before I went, he stopped me. “Stevie, are you all ready with—”

I couldn’t believe it. He was about to give away my secret—right in front of Carole and Lisa! “Yes, Max,” I said quickly, cutting him off. “I’m all ready.” Then I turned and hurried toward the stands, carefully not making eye contact with either of my friends.

“What’s that about?” Carole said suspiciously.

I was so excited about my plan that I was about to burst. But I knew I had to keep quiet just a little bit longer. It would be better if it was a surprise. So I didn’t say a word.

“Think we can talk her out of it?” Lisa asked Carole.

I shook my head. “No way,” I said. “Just wait, though. Just wait.”

Then it was time for Dorothy’s show to start. I suddenly remembered that I’d meant to bring a camera to record the event. I also remembered that my camera was sitting in the middle of the kitchen table, where I would be sure not to
miss it—except that I’d been in such a rush to get to Pine Hollow that morning that I had just grabbed a couple of pieces of toast and rushed out without even sitting down, so I hadn’t seen it there.

“Oh, well,” I muttered. I dug into my pocket and found a scrap of paper. Actually, to be perfectly honest, it was the notes I’d taken the previous Friday in history class, which kind of explains a lot about my grade on the quiz we had the next Monday, since the notes kind of got written over and then crumpled up in my cubby at Pine Hollow … but I’m getting away from the subject. The point to remember here is, I’m so serious about dressage that I wanted to take a few notes. Dressage is kind of like homework that way, don’t you think? Anyway, I thought it might be helpful to share my dressage notes with you now.