Blue Ribbon Summer (14 page)

Brooke was amazed. She'd spent more time on Foxy without a saddle than with one! Some of her best memories were of exploring the countryside bareback. She hated to think that Hannah had never had the chance to experience anything like that. So she'd offered to let her ride Foxy bareback sometime if she wanted to, and while Hannah had been hesitant at first, the others had talked her into giving it a try after the lesson.

“It'll be fine,” Brooke told her. “I ride Foxy bareback all the time—she's totally used to it.” She glanced at Livi
and Paige. “Can one of you give her a leg up? That way I can hold Foxy and make sure she stands still.”

“Sure.” Paige stepped forward and cupped her hands.

Hannah looked ready to protest. But instead she nodded, checked the throat strap on her helmet, and then allowed her friend to boost her up. She landed awkwardly, almost sliding off the far side before hooking one long leg around Foxy's belly and wiggling into position.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, leaning forward and clutching the pony's mane. “It feels so weird!”

“Just give yourself a second,” Brooke advised. “You'll get used to it fast.”

She was right. For the first few minutes, Hannah squealed and clutched at the mane every time Foxy moved a muscle. But she was a good, experienced rider, and it wasn't long before she let go of the mane and picked up the reins, walking Foxy around the lawn behind the courtyard.

“This is awesome,” Hannah said after a while. “I can feel, like, every time she moves a muscle! She's really responsive to my leg and seat, too. Can I try a trot?”

“Sure,” Brooke said. “Foxy's trot is super-smooth.”

“Make it a short one, though,” Paige put in. “We're supposed to leave for town in like twenty minutes, and we still need to change clothes.”

Brooke had almost forgotten about that. As soon as the olders finished their lesson, which was going on now, the whole group was scheduled to take a trip to the nearest town, where they could do some shopping and sightseeing and then have lunch at a local restaurant.

“The olders haven't even finished yet, though. We've got time for her to try it,” Brooke said. She glanced up at Hannah. “Just cluck and squeeze your legs gently, and she'll trot.”

“Come on, Foxy.” Hannah clucked. “Let's trot.” As the pony smoothly stepped into the faster gait, Hannah grinned, automatically adjusting her position to stay with the bouncier gait. “Wheeee!”

“I'm starving!” Livi exclaimed, flopping into her chair at the diner and grabbing one of the menus the waitress had left on the table.

“Shopping is hungry work, eh?” Robin winked at
Preston, who was sitting across from her. Brooke was seated between Robin and Paige, with Livi and Hannah on Preston's side of the table. The older campers were at a table on the other side of the restaurant, laughing and chatting with Abby.

So far, the trip to town had been . . . interesting. Brooke and her bunkmates had spent the past hour or more wandering down the charming little main street, stopping into almost every shop and boutique they passed. Brooke hadn't bought anything except a package of mints, but the other girls were a different story. Watching the way they casually pulled out their own personal credit cards to buy clothes, books, makeup—even a new pair of real gold earrings, in Hannah's case—had reminded Brooke that they really did live in a whole different world from hers.

“We come to this diner every year,” Paige told Brooke, handing her a menu. “The liver and onions is to die for!”

Hannah giggled. “No it's not, it's disgusting,” she said. “Don't worry, Brooke. If Paige's food is too smelly, we'll make her sit at a different table.”

That made everyone laugh, including Brooke. Okay,
so it had been kind of awkward to watch the others shop, knowing she couldn't afford half the stuff they took for granted. But so what? The truth was, she was having fun. In fact, despite her worries about the stable's future, she'd been having more and more fun lately. She hadn't even thought about calling her mother to come and pick her up in a couple of days.

As she was scanning the menu, the bell over the door jingled. Brooke glanced up and saw Miss Alice stepping into the restaurant. A tall, dark-haired man around Robin's age had a hand on her elbow.

“Slow down, Aunt Alice,” the man said. “There's a step here.”

“I know there's a step, Daniel.” Miss Alice rolled her eyes, her sharp voice cutting through the noise of the busy restaurant like a car alarm. “I've only been coming to this place for the past fifty years, after all.”

The man chuckled, not seeming to mind the scolding. “I'll get us a table,” he said, letting go of Miss Alice's elbow and hurrying over to the hostess.

Meanwhile Miss Alice spotted Brooke. Her wrinkled
face broke into a smile, and she hurried over. “Well, well, what luck—it's the Chincoteague pony girl,” she said. “How are you, Brooke? And how's the lovely Foxy?”

“I'm fine, thanks,” Brooke said. “Foxy's fine too.” She was aware that the other girls looked confused.

“Good, good.” Miss Alice nodded to Robin. “It's been too long, Robin. Nice to see you again.”

“Likewise, Miss Alice,” Robin said. “I hope you're well?”

“As well as can be expected.” Miss Alice's mouth twisted into a smile. Just then her nephew called her name. “Pardon me,” Miss Alice said. “Enjoy your lunch.”

“Who was that?” Preston asked as soon as Miss Alice was out of earshot.

“A neighbor.” Robin gazed at Brooke curiously. “She seemed awfully friendly toward you, Brooke. Somehow I had the impression your meeting didn't go that well.”

Brooke's cheeks went red. Robin still didn't know about her second encounter with Miss Alice. “Um, I guess it was better than I thought.”

“Never mind that.” Livi was watching with interest as Miss Alice and her companion took seats at a table on the
opposite side of the room. “Who's the guy with her? He looks like a movie star!”

Hannah smirked. “I never knew you liked older men, Livs.”

“Ha-ha, very funny!” Livi stuck out her tongue.

“I think that's her nephew,” Brooke said. “Miss Alice said he and his daughters just moved in with her.”

“Really? I didn't know that.” Robin gave Brooke another searching look, then shrugged. “Makes sense, though. Miss Alice has two siblings, and each of them had several children if I recall correctly. She never married or had kids of her own, though—she's lived in the old family house all alone for as long as I can remember.”

“Hmm.” Preston turned away, clearly losing interest in the whole conversation. “Where did that waitress run off to? I'm ready to order.”

CHAPTER

“GOOD GIRL,” LIVI COOED, STROKING
Foxy's nose. “See? We knew you'd behave better if your boyfriend was with you!”

Brooke grinned and gave her pony a pat. She and her bunkmates were in Foxy's paddock. A lead rope was clipped to the mare's halter and Brooke was holding it while Paige pulled Foxy's mane. Meanwhile Hannah and Livi were feeding treats over the fence to Gideon, the big bay gelding in the paddock next door. That kept him near the fence, which meant Foxy stayed more interested in him than in what the girls were doing.

“You know, I never even noticed Foxy was falling in
love with Gideon,” Brooke said with a laugh. “It makes sense, though. He's the same color as her favorite draft.”

“Draft?” Paige yanked another few hairs out, then glanced at Brooke. “What do you mean?”

“The neighbors behind us have a big farm where they keep some retired draft horses,” Brooke explained. “They're right across the fence from Foxy's pasture. It's great, because that way Foxy feels like she's not all alone.”

Livi nodded. “Robin always says horses are herd animals.”

Just then a buzz came from Paige's pocket. “Oops, there's my phone.” She pulled it out and gasped. “It's an e-mail from Morgan!”

Suddenly everyone, including Brooke, was much less interested in Foxy and her half-pulled mane. “What's it say?” Hannah demanded.

“Give me a sec. . . .” Paige hit a button and scanned the message. Her face fell. “See for yourself,” she said, holding out the phone so Brooke and the others could read the e-mail.

Hi gang—it was great to hear from you! Hope you're having fun at camp. Thanks
for being concerned about Mom, but you know her well enough to know that she can take care of herself. If she's thinking of selling (and if she is, I haven't heard about it), she's probably got a good reason.

Sorry I won't get to see you guys this summer. But things are going great here in the city. I love my new job as a design assistant! I never thought I'd find something I loved even more than horses, but I did. Giving up riding (at least for now) is worth it to make fashion my career. But I hope we can still be friends even if I'm not riding anymore—and even if it's long-distance!

Keep in touch,

Morgan

“Oh.” Hannah's voice was flat. “Okay, I guess that's that.”

Brooke bit her lip. “Do you want to write back and explain more?” she asked. “Maybe she didn't think we were serious.”

“I don't think it'll help.” Paige slipped her phone back in her pocket. “Morgan always says it like it is. She doesn't want to come home, and she's not into horses anymore.”

“Yeah,” Livi said. “It sounds like she doesn't even believe us.”

She, Paige, and Hannah looked so dejected that Brooke could hardly stand it. “Well, we still can't give up,” she insisted. “So the Morgan plan was a bust. Who's got another idea?”

Hannah sighed loudly, digging another treat out of her bag for Gideon. “I don't know. We only have a week.”

“
Less
than a week,” Paige pointed out. “The final show's on Friday, and then we leave on Saturday.”

“That just means our next plan has to work,” Brooke said, thinking of Haley. “So let's brainstorm.”

Paige and Livi still looked discouraged, but Hannah nodded. “She's right, guys,” she said, setting her jaw. “Morgan
might not think this place is worth fighting for, but I do.”

Paige ran her fingers through Foxy's silky mane. “But without Morgan . . .”

“Without Morgan, Robin has too much to do on her own,” Brooke said, thinking out loud. “And if we can't get Morgan to come back, we need to figure out a way to replace her so Robin's not overworked anymore.”

Livi glanced at her over Foxy's back, her hazel eyes skeptical. “Replace Robin's daughter? How are we supposed to do that?”

“No, she's right.” Hannah sounded thoughtful. “I mean, yeah, I'm sure Robin misses working alongside her daughter and all that. But she mostly just needs more help to keep the place running—that's what she told Preston, remember?”