Yankee Swap (12 page)

But Merrill surprised them all. With a look of determination, she clucked loudly to Prancer, getting the mare’s attention as she gathered up the reins and signaled with her legs. Obediently, Prancer recovered her gait and cantered forward toward the second fence.

“She’s going on!” Carole exclaimed to Stevie in surprise. “She’s going for it!”

“I know,” Stevie replied, her eyes glued to Merrill and Prancer. “Just watch!”

Prancer cantered toward the second fence, her strides coming more evenly now. She approached in perfect position, gathered herself for the jump, and, in one smooth movement, cleared the fence with inches to spare.

Without realizing they were doing it, Carole, Stevie, and Lisa broke into cheers. Phil and A.J. joined in.

Merrill trotted over to them, looking a little surprised as she swung down from the saddle. “What?” she said. “What’s going on?”

Lisa smiled at her. “I guess it’s about time we told you.”

A few minutes later all was explained. “So you guys went to all this trouble just for me?” Merrill said, looking astonished. “I mean, I had the feeling
something
weird was going on, but I wasn’t sure what.”

“We didn’t want you to go home thinking you could only
jump well on Barq,” Carole said. “We wanted you to know that your abilities weren’t necessarily connected to a particular horse.”

“Well, I guess I know that now,” Merrill said, stroking Prancer on the nose. The mare had calmed down, and she nuzzled Merrill in a friendly way. “If I could get Prancer over that second jump, I guess I’m ready for just about anything.”

Lisa laughed in surprise and delight. It was the most self-congratulatory thing she had ever heard Merrill say—and it sounded awfully good to Lisa. “I guess you are,” she agreed whole-heartedly.

“Well, we were impressed,” Phil put in, and A.J. nodded.

“You’re just saying that to butter her up so she’ll still let you come to her birthday party tomorrow night,” Stevie teased.

“Come on, everyone,” Carole said. “We’d better start walking these horses while we talk. Stevie’s been working them hard, and we don’t want them to stiffen up, or Max may never let any of us ride again.”

They walked the horses back to the stable. Merrill and Lisa walked next to each other so they could talk.

“Do you still want to buy Barq?” Lisa asked a little shyly.

Merrill shrugged. “I don’t know. I still think Barq is great,” she said, glancing at the big bay horse walking calmly beside her. “But I’m not so sure anymore that he’s the only horse for me.”

Lisa smiled. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

“Really?” Merrill said. “You don’t think I should buy him?”

Lisa shook her head. “At first it was because I was just being selfish,” she admitted. “I didn’t want Barq to leave Pine Hollow.
Even though I mostly ride Prancer now, I would have missed him a lot. But then I started listening to what Carole was saying, and I realized there was an even more important reason to talk you out of buying Barq.”

“Because it wouldn’t be good for me,” Merrill guessed.

“Right. And then I started thinking about when I first started riding,” Lisa continued. “I rode Patch for my first lesson at Pine Hollow, just like you. But pretty soon after that I switched to a horse named Pepper.”

“I remember you writing about him,” Merrill said, nodding.

“I loved Pepper a lot, and I loved riding him,” Lisa said. “I don’t regret for a second the time I spent with him—he taught me so much. When he retired, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I tried a couple of other horses who didn’t really suit me. Then I started riding Barq.”

“And he did suit you,” Merrill guessed.

“He sure did,” Lisa said. “And then Prancer came to Pine Hollow, and she suited me even better. So I guess what I’m trying to say is even though I still miss Pepper, I’m glad I’ve had the chance to discover how wonderful other horses can be to ride, too.”

“I think I see what you’re saying,” Merrill said slowly. “And I think you may be right. Lisa, I don’t know how I get along without you in Maine. You always know how to get me to look at things in a different way. Just like that time in speech class, remember?”

Lisa smiled. “Does this mean you’re definitely not buying Barq?”

“It does,” Merrill said. “I shouldn’t rush into things by
buying him just because he was the first horse I felt confident jumping on.” She blushed. “Now that I think about it, I don’t think I gave Carole’s teaching enough credit for that,” she admitted. “I think I would have felt comfortable on almost any horse after she was through with me. I just didn’t realize it until now.”

“Don’t worry,” Lisa said. “I think Carole has known that all along.”

“Anyway, after riding all these different horses today, I think I can find one that’s
really
right for me. I liked Teddy a lot, and Starlight, too.”

Lisa laughed. “I don’t think either one of them is for sale,” she teased.

Merrill laughed, too. “Too bad,” she said. “But my perfect horse is out there somewhere—and half the fun is going to be finding him or her when
I’m
ready.”

“Definitely,” Lisa said.

“U
P
AND
AT
’em, birthday girl! Rise and shine!” Stevie sang into Merrill’s ear.

Merrill groaned and rolled over. But when Stevie, Carole, and Lisa burst into a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday,” she had no choice but to sit up.

“What time is it?” she mumbled when they were finished singing.

“Time to get up,” Lisa said. “The final clinic class starts in two hours, and my mom has been slaving over a hot stove all morning cooking up a special birthday breakfast.”

“Oh, I hope she didn’t go to too much trouble,” Merrill said.

Stevie rolled her eyes. “Oh, please,” she said. “It’s your birthday. Do what I always do: Take advantage of it!”

Merrill yawned and climbed out of bed. “We shouldn’t have stayed up so late talking,” she said. “I could sleep for another six hours.” The girls had had a sleepover and had stayed up past midnight.

“I’ve got bad news for you, then,” Carole said. “You won’t be sleeping again for quite a while. We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”

“Right,” Stevie said. “First your birthday breakfast, then the clinic, then the party!”

Merrill sniffed at the aromas that drifted up to them from the kitchen. “Hey, is that banana pancakes I smell?” she said, starting to look a little more awake.

“They’re still your favorite, aren’t they?” Lisa asked.

“They sure are!” Merrill exclaimed, throwing on her robe and heading for the door. “Come on, what are you all waiting for? Let’s eat!”

After the girls had all eaten so many of Mrs. Atwood’s fluffy banana pancakes that they could hardly move, Mr. Atwood got up and left the room. He returned a moment later, holding two beautifully wrapped packages. He set them on the table in front of Merrill.

“Merrill, we’re so glad you’re here to share your birthday with us,” Mrs. Atwood said, pushing the smaller package toward her. “This gift is from Mr. Atwood and me. We hope you like it.”

“Oh, thank you,” Merrill said shyly. “You really didn’t have to get me anything. Just letting me stay here this week has been enough of a gift.”

Mr. Atwood smiled at her. “We know we didn’t have to,” he said. “But we wanted to. Go ahead, open it.”

Merrill carefully unwrapped the gift. Inside the paper was a cardboard box. When Merrill lifted the lid, she gasped.

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, pulling out a silver charm bracelet. There were three charms on it—one in the shape of Maine, one in the shape of Virginia, and the third in the shape of a tiny horse.

“Somehow those charms seemed appropriate,” Mrs. Atwood said.

“Oh, they are! Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Atwood. I love it!” Merrill held out her arm so Lisa could fasten the bracelet on her. Then she held it up and watched the charms sparkle in the morning sunlight streaming through the dining room window.

“Now ours,” Stevie demanded impatiently, shoving the larger package toward her.

Merrill picked it up and squeezed it. “Hmm, it’s soft. Is it something to wear?” she guessed.

The Saddle Club shared a grin. “Sort of,” Carole replied mischievously.

Merrill quickly unwrapped the present, revealing the blue wool horse blanket with the initials “MM” stitched on the side in white thread. “But what …,” Merrill began, looking confused.

“It’s a horse blanket,” Lisa explained quickly. “For when you finally get your dream horse.”

“So your dream horse doesn’t freeze up there in Maine,” Stevie added.

Merrill laughed. “How perfect!” she cried. “What a great gift. You guys are the best.”

“So are you,” Lisa told her, getting up to give her a hug. “Happy birthday.”

A
LITTLE
LATER
that morning the girls gathered in the outdoor ring with the rest of the class, waiting for Max to begin the last session of the clinic. They had already dropped their carefully wrapped Yankee Swap gifts into the large cardboard box Mrs. Reg had put in the main aisle of the stable. Stevie, secretive to the end, had waited until the others had left the room before adding hers to the pile.

“I can’t believe it’s almost over,” Joe Novick commented.

“Me too,” Merrill said. “I can’t believe I almost dropped out.”

“You did?” Joe asked. “Why?”

Merrill shrugged. “I didn’t think I was good enough,” she said softly.

Joe smiled at her. “Well I for one am glad you stuck with it,” he said.

Before Merrill had to think of a response to that, Max stepped into the ring. “All right, everyone,” he said. “Ready to ride?”

For the next few hours, there was no more time to talk as Max put them through their paces. As Merrill took Barq over fence after fence throughout the day, Lisa noticed the blissful look on her face. She knew what it meant: Merrill had finally found out what it felt like to fly.

* * *

“O
KAY
,
THAT
’
S
A
WRAP
,” Max announced at last. “Everybody inside. Make your horses comfortable, then reconvene in the indoor ring.”

The riders obeyed. A short while later, when they stepped into the indoor ring, they found it transformed. Several round tables were set up for dinner at one end, complete with colorful paper tablecloths. At the other end of the ring was a table containing a large CD player and piles of CDs.

“Wow,” Stevie commented as she took it all in.

“Ladies, please take a seat,” said Red O’Malley, materializing behind them. He was dressed in a white waiter’s apron and carrying a pad and paper. Then he hurried off to the next group of students.

“I feel a little underdressed,” Lisa said, looking down at her jeans and sweater.

Stevie looked up as Max entered the room. She grinned. “Well, if we’re underdressed, I think Max is a little overdressed for the occasion!”

The others looked up and laughed. Max was wearing a tuxedo! “What’s going on here, anyway?” Carole asked.

Max didn’t leave her in suspense for long. “Could I have your attention, please,” he called, stepping in front of the tables, where all the riders had found seats. “Welcome to the Pine Hollow Club. I will be your host for the evening. In just a moment we’ll begin our awards ceremony. Until then, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the refreshing beverages our waiter will be bringing around.”

On cue, Red stepped into the ring carrying a large tray full of sodas, which he began distributing.

“Awards ceremony?” Lisa commented. “Max didn’t tell us anything about that.”

“I’m getting the funniest feeling that there are a lot of things Max didn’t tell us about,” Carole replied as Red set an ice-cold glass of cola in front of her. She took a sip. “I guess all we can do is what he said—sit back, relax, and see what happens next.”

Stevie rolled her eyes as she watched Veronica, who was sitting at a nearby table. “Well, I think Max has convinced at least one person that she’s in a four-star restaurant,” she commented. “Veronica just complained to Red that her diet cola had a lemon slice in it instead of a lime.”

Soon Max returned to the ring. “And now, ladies and gentlemen, for the awards portion of our show,” he proclaimed. “Mother, the envelope please.”

Mrs. Reg entered the ring and handed Max a large, bulging manila envelope. Max reached inside and pulled out a handful of blue show ribbons.

“For our first award this evening, I’d like to present a blue ribbon for Most Attentive Student,” he announced. “This honor goes to the rider who paid attention throughout the week, obeyed instructions to the letter, and never, ever whispered to his or her friends while I was speaking.” He paused dramatically. “And the winner is … Lorraine Olsen! Lorraine, come on up here and accept your prize.”

Lorraine jumped up from her seat and went to get her ribbon. She held it up with a smile, gave a little bow, then returned to her table.

“Congratulations, Lorraine,” Max said. “Next we have the
prize for the
Least
Attentive Student. This goes to the rider who almost always seemed to have something important to discuss during class.”