Western Star (10 page)

I
T WAS ALMOST
ten o’clock when the last strains of “Silent Night” echoed through the Bar None lodge. Lisa looked out the window. The ground was covered by loads of fresh snow, but there was only a dusting coming down from the sky. Where there had so recently been gale-force winds, there was only a cold breeze. A few stars were visible through the broken clouds above.

“I think I’d like to check on the horses in the barn,” Lisa said. “I’d like to know they’re all snug.”

Her friends looked at one another. Lisa cared about the horses, all right, but she wasn’t any more worried about them than she had been about her tack that morning. She wanted to see John.

“Take some carrots from the refrigerator,” Phyllis suggested.

“Okay,” Lisa agreed.

“Can I come along?” Gary asked.

“You—wha—uh …” Lisa’s mind raced. Then she realized there was only one answer. “Of course. But don’t forget to bundle up. It’s
cold
out there.”

It wasn’t an easy walk to the barn. Fifteen inches of snow had fallen, but the wind had redistributed it, so while some places only had an inch or two, the snow had drifted to three or four feet in others. It was Lisa’s second adventurous trip of the day.

They slipped into the barn. Lisa was hoping to find a light on. More important, she was hoping to find John Brightstar there.

No such luck. The stable was dark except for the soft glow of the emergency exit lights. The bunkhouse where John and his father lived was completely dark. She was stuck with Gary.

She handed him a bunch of carrots and began introducing him to the horses. He seemed completely at ease with the animals. Lisa remembered what John had said about judging dudes by their riding skills, not by what they claimed they could do. Gary did seem to know a thing or two about horses.

“Do you get much chance to ride?” she asked him.

“As much as I can,” he said. “I really love it, but our
schedule doesn’t permit it daily the way I’d like. I was raised in horse country, you know. When my parents were on the road, making a name for themselves, I was at home on the ranch with my grandfather, learning everything I could about horses. I’ve ridden since before I could walk.”

“Really?” Lisa asked.

“Definitely,” Gary said. “Grandpa took me to my first rodeo when I was three.”

“Wow, that’s young to sit for such a long show,” Lisa said.

“No, I mean I
performed
in my first rodeo when I was three. They had a junior barrel race. Once I’d learned how to do that, Grandpa taught me about roping and cutting. It took me a while to get good enough to compete in those, but by the time I was eight, I was the county champion.”

“Eight?” Lisa had some trouble believing that. Roping and cutting were hard-learned skills that required a great deal of strength. It was difficult to imagine an eight-year-old doing them well. She kept her doubts to herself. If Carole could be diplomatic, she could too.

“I’ve got a whole shelf of rodeo awards. Two shelves, in fact, but those are just the ones I display.”

“Wow,” Lisa said with as much sincerity as she could muster. Humility was not a problem for Gary. He didn’t have any.

“Mom’s going to make me put some of them away, though. The display case was actually built for my platinum records, and they do take up more space than the roping and cutting awards.”

“Wow,” said Lisa. She knew she was repeating herself, but it was the most neutral thing she could say and a whole lot better than what she wanted to say. Gary and his parents were important to the Devines’ business. Lisa would hold her tongue, even if that meant it got sore from teethmarks.

She patted Marshmallow and gave him a carrot. Lisa would have been glad to tell Gary how Marshmallow always came in for the winter, but he was talking about something else. She focused in on it.

“… and she seems to be a really accomplished horsewoman. I mean, with a few more years of practice, she might think of doing some competing.…”

Lisa grimaced. Who
was
he talking about? She’d lost track. She had to make him continue talking until she could catch up.

“Wow,” she said.

“No, I mean it. I think Carole’s got some potential as a rider.…”

Some
potential? Carole was a fantastic rider! She was the best rider at Pine Hollow and she and Starlight had won Reserve Champion at Briarwood—not to mention
the blue ribbon she’d won on Long Island last summer.
Some
potential? Just who did this guy think he was?

“But tell me, uh, Lisa, do you know Carole pretty well?”

There was a change in Gary’s voice, and Lisa gave him a suspicious glance.

“Sure,” Lisa said. “We’re best friends. Stevie and Carole and I hang out together all the time. Why?”

“Well, she seems pretty nice,” Gary said.

“Very,” said Lisa, wondering briefly when Gary had stopped thinking about himself long enough to notice that someone else was nice.

“I mean, I know she likes our music and all, but she seems like a special person, too,” said Gary.

Gary
liked
Carole! The thought came to Lisa so suddenly that she was totally unprepared for it.

“Wow,” she said involuntarily.

“Yeah, I thought so,” said Gary.

The boastful, boring, Mr. Center of Attention Gary Finnegan had a crush on Lisa’s best friend, and, she realized, he’d come out to the barn with her just to pump her about Carole! Lisa was truly torn. She had an opportunity here to save Carole from a lot of grief and unwanted attention. Her mind raced. She could tell Gary that Carole was pretty nice and that most people barely noticed her bad breath or that she never changed her clothes. No. Carole was her friend and she couldn’t ruin her reputation
at the same time as she was saving her. Friends wouldn’t do that. This called for some subtlety.

“Does she have a lot of friends?” Gary asked.

Lisa thought for a moment. Everybody liked Carole. She was a nice, honest, good person. She was friendly and respectful to all. But she had two friends who were closer than anyone.

“A lot of people like her,” Lisa said. “Stevie and I are her best friends—unless you want to count horses. Any horse is her best friend, especially a certain one named Starlight.”

“No, I mean really close friends,” Gary said.

Lisa thought that was an odd question. She and Stevie were Carole’s best friends. She’d made that clear. What could Gary be talking about?
Oh
, Lisa thought. She could be so dumb sometimes! Gary was asking about
boy
friends.

“Like, ones she sees a lot,” Gary persisted.

“I suppose you mean like Cam,” Lisa said, letting the name slip easily.

“Cam? Is that a boy or a girl?” Gary asked.

“A boy, of course,” Lisa said.

“Like her boyfriend?” Gary asked.

She was on to something here. By telling Gary about Cam and perhaps exaggerating ever so slightly, she could get Gary out of Carole’s hair without making Carole look bad. Cam was a friend of Carole’s. They shared a passion
for horses, and it sometimes seemed that they each liked horses better than they liked each other. Still, Cam would do as a boyfriend in a pinch, and this was definitely a pinch. Lisa proceeded cautiously.

“I’m not sure ‘boyfriend’ is quite the right way to describe him,” Lisa said.

“It’s more casual than that?” Gary asked.

“Not exactly,” Lisa said. “I meant that it seems to me to be more serious than that.” Well, she told herself, they were both
very
serious—about horses.

“I kind of thought Carole was interested in me. Did she say anything to you?”

“She loves your music, you know,” Lisa said. “Stevie and I just don’t know much about country-and-western music. Carole shares a passion for it with the man closest to her …”

She hoped Gary would think she meant Cam. Of course she was referring to Carole’s father.

“Tell me about Cam,” Gary said. “Is he a big guy?”

“Oh, very,” Lisa said truthfully. Cam was already almost six feet tall. “He’s as tall as can be—and what an athlete!” She meant he was a great rider, but she hoped she was giving the impression that he was a football player or, better yet, a wrestler or boxer.

“Quick?”

“Extremely!” Lisa said.

“But he’s in Virginia, right?” Gary asked.

“Sure, but you never know with Cam. He’s so crazy about Carole, he could just show up anyplace, anytime.”

“Really?” Gary was beginning to sound nervous. Lisa suppressed a smile, thinking how proud Stevie would be of the job she was doing on Carole’s behalf.

They were interrupted by the ringing of a telephone.

It startled them both. Marshmallow’s ears flicked. Lisa jumped.

The phone was right behind her on a pillar in the barn. Without thinking, she picked it up. Before she could say “Hello?” she realized that she was on an extension phone. She heard Phyllis Devine answer the call from the main lodge. The call wasn’t for Lisa, and she knew right away that she shouldn’t have picked up the phone, but there she was.

“Hi, hon. It’s me,” a male voice said to Phyllis on the other extension.

It was Frank. Lisa knew she should hang up, but if she did it now, both Phyllis and Frank would know she’d been listening. A little embarrassed, she continued listening.

“I’m at the sheriff’s office,” he said. “Westerly’s here, and so are a lot of the other ranchers. We’re not the only ones with broken fences. We’re all going out together early tomorrow to look into the situation. The storm’s supposed to come back later, so the sheriff has suggested we all stay here—he’s got some empty beds. I’ll call you
tomorrow if I’ve got any news and I’ll be back by dinner for sure.”

“What’s this all about, Frank? Thieves?” Phyllis asked.

“I’m afraid it looks like the Butchers,” he said.

“Oh dear. That’s what I was afraid of,” Phyllis said. “Well, you’ve got to do something, that’s for sure. We’re all fine here. I don’t think I’ll say anything to our guests. I don’t want to alarm them. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

They said good night and hung up. Lisa hung up the phone after them.

“What was that?” Gary asked.

“Wrong number,” said Lisa. Eavesdropping was bad enough. She certainly wasn’t going to tell Gary what she’d heard. “Come on, the storm’s starting up again. Let’s get back to the lodge.”

Gary zipped up his jacket. The two of them went back out into the night and over to the lodge, bracing themselves against the harsh wind.

Christine had returned to the Bar None when the snow had let up. When Lisa and Gary came in, she was helping Carole, Stevie, and Kate hang their cranberry-popcorn strands on the tree. The evening was drawing to a close. The bridge players had put away their cards, and Phyllis was picking up glasses and mugs. The ranch’s guests were yawning and stretching, all preparing to go to bed.

“Tomorrow at dawn?” Christine asked.

“Definitely,” the girls said.

“No matter what the weather is,” Stevie said.

“Don’t forget to wake me up,” Gary said. “Will you knock on my door, Kate?”

“Uh, sure,” Kate agreed.

Lisa smiled. Gary wasn’t going to bother Carole anymore. Then she saw a look of concern flick across Carole’s face. Suddenly Lisa wasn’t so sure of herself.

“W
HAT WAS THAT
all about?” Carole asked Kate as soon as the bunkhouse door closed behind the four girls. “Why did he want
you
to wake him up tomorrow?”

“Why not?” Kate answered.

“Well, he seemed to like it well enough when I did it this morning,” Carole said. “Did I do something wrong?”

“What’s the difference?” Lisa asked, a little uncomfortably. She sat down on her bunk.

“That’s what I want to know. Earlier today I was having the nicest time with Gary. He sat next to me at dinner. He played the guitar when I asked him. This morning we chatted all the way home on the ride. Then, suddenly, this evening he stops talking to me altogether.
In fact, he was kind of ignoring me. The only thing he said was something about not wanting my boyfriend to get the wrong idea about us. What on earth could he have been talking about? What boyfriend?”

“Cam?” Lisa suggested.

“Cam’s not exactly a boyfriend,” Carole said. “I mean, I like him and all, but anyway he’s a million miles from here—”

“And he can’t play the guitar,” Stevie teased.

“Maybe he can. I don’t know. But it isn’t like I can’t like two guys at once. So, who said anything about Cam to Gary?”

The girls looked at one another. Gary had been with the whole group except for the time he and Lisa were in the stable together.

“Lisa?” Carole asked accusingly.

“I—I guess I might have mentioned Cam when we were together,” she stammered. “I don’t remember
exactly
, though.”

“Lisa!” Carole said. “Why would you do that?”

“He sort of asked me, you know. So I sort of told him.”

Stevie sat down on her bunk and looked at Lisa in astonishment. Then it came to her. Carole had been confiding in her alone that morning when she’d confessed to her crush on Gary. Lisa didn’t know. Lisa had no way of knowing. In fact, Lisa probably felt the same way about Gary as Stevie did, and she didn’t know that
wasn’t the way Carole felt at all. She thought she was helping Carole. Carole wasn’t going to see it that way.