Gift Horse (6 page)

Lisa rolled her eyes. “I think we should probably wait to hear what Mr. Baker says,” she said logically. “After all, if
he can trace where he got No-Name, it will be no problem for your parents to disprove Chelsea Webber’s claim. With no need for espionage.”

“True,” Stevie said. Lisa’s words should have made her feel better, but they didn’t. What if Mr. Baker couldn’t prove where No-Name came from? What would happen then?

The conversation was interrupted by Veronica’s arrival. “Oh, there you are,” she said when she spotted them. She rode over and dismounted. “It’s safe to go back now if you want. Chelsea Webber is gone. And I don’t think she’s likely to come back anytime soon.”

“What did you say to her?” Carole asked curiously.

Veronica smiled. “Well, I basically just gave her a piece of my mind. I told her exactly what I thought of her, and her grubby little plan to get her hands on Stevie’s horse. Oh yes, and then I threw in a few choice words about that hideous outfit she was wearing.”

The others laughed, even Stevie. What Veronica had been doing was being the Veronica diAngelo they knew and hated, superior and snobbish enough to make the most determined visitor vanish. And for once, they appreciated every ounce of snottiness that Veronica had at her disposal.

Veronica started to laugh, too. “I do have a way with people, don’t I?” she said. And that made the others laugh even harder.

W
HEN
S
TEVIE
ARRIVED
home she found both her parents waiting once again for her. And the looks on their faces told her the news couldn’t be good.

“What is it?” she demanded, a cold hard knot settling into her stomach. She still hadn’t quite recovered from her encounter with Chelsea at the stable. The other girl’s sudden appearance had taken her off guard and left her feeling shaken and helpless. And Stevie didn’t like feeling helpless, especially when it came to her horse. “What did Mr. Baker say?”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Baker,” Mr. Lake said. “I did speak to him this morning. He bought No-Name with a group of horses, from an agent who got them from all different places. He’s going to try to trace where she came from, and your mother
and I have started our own investigation as well. But these things take time, and No-Name’s history could be difficult or even impossible to trace.”

Stevie shrugged. “Oh. Is that all you found out?”

“Not quite,” Mr. Lake said. He glanced at his wife.

“What is it?” Stevie demanded again, looking from one to the other. It wasn’t like her parents to be so hesitant. She had a bad feeling about what was coming.

“Well, honey,” Mrs. Lake began, “your father also spoke to Mr. Webber this afternoon.…” She glanced at her husband.

“That’s right, Stevie,” Mr. Lake said. He shook his head. “And try as I did, I couldn’t persuade him that No-Name isn’t Punk.”

“But he has to prove that she
is
Punk, right?” Stevie said. “That’s what you said last night.”

“Indeed he does,” Mrs. Lake replied grimly. “And he’s taken steps to enable himself to do just that.” She held up a couple of pieces of paper. They were very official-looking, covered with lots of typing.

Stevie swallowed hard. “What are those?” she asked in a tiny voice.

“This one is sort of the equivalent of a search warrant,” her mother explained. “It will allow the Webbers to have a vet examine No-Name.”

“Oh,” Stevie said. That didn’t sound too bad. After all, any vet who examined No-Name would surely tell the
Webbers that there was no way she could be the same horse as Punk. “What about that other one?”

Mrs. Lake cleared her throat and glanced at her husband. “This one is a temporary restraining order,” she explained gently. “It forbids you to ride the horse until this matter is settled. And it specifies that No-Name must remain at Pine Hollow Stable until everything is adjudicated—settled by a judge.”

Stevie was speechless for a moment. Then she found her voice. “What?” she cried. “How can they do that? It’s not fair—she’s my horse! They can’t forbid me to ride her!”

“Honey …” Mrs. Lake began.

But Stevie wasn’t listening. “I just don’t understand why this girl is doing this!” she exclaimed, her voice shrill. “What does she want from me? Why would anyone want to stop me from riding my own horse?”

“Stevie, just calm down,” Mrs. Lake said firmly. “Getting hysterical isn’t going to solve anything.”

“Yes, sweetheart,” Mr. Lake added, placing a comforting hand on Stevie’s shoulder. “We’re doing everything we can to straighten this whole thing out. The best thing for you to do is just to abide by the restraining order until we’ve had a chance to do that.”

Stevie’s whole body felt numb. She could see her father’s hand on her shoulder, but she couldn’t feel it. Her mind felt numb, too. How could this be happening to her?

Then she started shaking. She had to be alone. She
grabbed the papers from her mother, turned, and ran upstairs to her room. She closed the door, lay down on her bed, and stared at the ceiling. Her whole body was trembling. She had never felt like this before—beyond screaming or crying or becoming hysterical. Just numb and shaking so hard she thought she’d never stop.

She tried to calm herself by thinking about No-Name. She had to stay strong and focused for the mare’s sake. She had to fight the Webbers so she and No-Name could stay together, just as they were meant to. How could stupid old Chelsea Webber even begin to think that No-Name ever could have belonged to her? That was ridiculous. And it didn’t matter one bit what some judge said. No-Name belonged to Stevie, heart and soul, and she always would. That was that. Stevie just had to find a way to keep No-Name no matter what. She couldn’t take any chances on what the judge decided.

Finally Stevie stopped shaking. She put down the papers, which were wrinkled now where she’d been clutching them, and sat up to pick up the phone on her bedside table. Silently praising the person who’d invented three-way calling, she got Carole and Lisa on the phone and told them the news.

They were almost as shocked as Stevie had been. But as they kept repeating over and over how horrible it all was, Stevie’s mind was already racing in another direction.

“Listen, I think I’ve got an idea,” she said suddenly,
interrupting Carole’s string of insults against Chelsea Webber.

“What?” Lisa asked.

“How is anybody going to know whether I ride No-Name or not?” Stevie asked. “And how could anybody care? Nobody at Pine Hollow is going to turn me in to the Webbers, right? I can just keep on riding her anyway.”

“That’s right,” Carole said excitedly. “After all, No-Name has to be exercised or she’ll stiffen up. Even the stupid Webbers wouldn’t want that to happen.”

“Uh, hold on just a minute,” Lisa put in. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Stevie. For one thing, Chelsea or her parents could turn up at Pine Hollow any old time—like she did today, for instance. Also, you’ve got to remember that you’re dealing with legal documents and stuff here. And I’m pretty sure that violating court orders like that could land you in jail.”

“Jail?” Stevie repeated. “Just for riding a horse?”

“Yes, just for riding a horse,” Lisa replied. “Oops, there’s my mom. I have to go eat dinner. Call me later if anything else happens, okay?”

Stevie promised to do so. Then she and Carole talked for a few more minutes until Carole, too, had to go downstairs for dinner.

After Stevie hung up the phone, she sat on the edge of her bed, thinking hard. She thought about what Lisa had
said—that she might be thrown in jail just for riding her own horse. It didn’t seem fair at all.

Then the answer came to Stevie. It was so simple she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it before. She could only get in trouble for riding No-Name if anyone saw her doing it. But the Webbers couldn’t possibly see her if she only rode inside. Stevie would have to convince Carole, Lisa, and Veronica to do all their practicing in the indoor ring. Then she’d just have to hope that the whole business was settled by Saturday so she could ride her horse in the Pony Club rally.

Stevie smiled for the first time since she’d arrived home that afternoon. It was so simple, it was brilliant—like the best of her schemes. Why hadn’t she thought of it sooner?

There was a knock on her bedroom door. “Come in,” Stevie called.

Her mother poked her head into the room. “Hi, sweetheart. I just wanted to see how you’re holding up.”

“I’m okay, Mom,” Stevie assured her. “Really. It’s all going to be okay.”

“Well, I certainly hope so,” Mrs. Lake said. “And I want you to know that your father and I are going to do absolutely everything we can to be sure you get to keep No-Name.”

“I know, Mom,” Stevie said. “I’ve never been more glad that you and Dad are both lawyers. And such good ones.” “Well, thanks, dear,” her mother replied. “But remember,
even good lawyers have to follow the rules. We have to obey the restraining order. So just in case you were cooking up one of your schemes to get around it by riding indoors or something like that, you should forget about it.”

Stevie gasped. Her mother had read her mind.

“But Mom,” she wailed. “I don’t know if I can go for even a few days without riding No-Name! I just can’t!”

“Well, you’ll have to,” Mrs. Lake said gently. “I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to be. We’ll be here to help you through this, honey. Just hang in there.”

“I’ll try,” Stevie muttered, but her heart wasn’t in it.

“That’s the spirit,” Mrs. Lake said. “Why don’t you come on downstairs now? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

“I’ll be right down,” Stevie replied. After her mother left, Stevie sat on the edge of her bed for a minute, staring into space. She was still having trouble believing that she was actually forbidden to ride her horse.

Then another thought crept into her mind. How had her mother guessed her plan so fast? She wondered if either of her parents had ever been as sneaky and clever as she was. They must have been, since they’d figured out exactly what was on her mind.

Stevie almost smiled. Somehow the thought made her feel just a tiny bit better. She got up and headed downstairs for dinner.

T
HE NEXT DAY
after school Stevie, Carole, and Lisa met at Pine Hollow to practice for the rally. Even though Stevie wasn’t going to be able to ride No-Name, they still wanted to be prepared. After all, the rally was two whole days away. It was possible that everything would be cleared up by then so that No-Name could compete.

Veronica was nowhere in sight. The girls went to Garnet’s stall to check there, but the mare was alone.

“Where could she be?” Carole wondered.

Stevie shrugged. “She didn’t mention anything to me today in school about not coming.” Stevie and Veronica were students at Fenton Hall, a private school on the other side of town from the public school that Carole and Lisa attended.

“Oh, well,” Lisa said with a shrug. “We’ll just have to get started without her, I guess.”

“I can’t say I’m sorry about that,” Carole remarked. “Even if she has been nice lately.”

“Come on,” Stevie said. “Let’s go ask Mrs. Reg if it’s okay for me to ride Topside today.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe my parents figured out what I was up to.”

Carole grinned. “Sneakiness is in your genes, Stevie.”

“Maybe that’s why your parents are such good lawyers,” Lisa chimed in.

“That’s my theory, too,” Stevie agreed.

They found Mrs. Reg in her office off the tack room. “Hello, girls,” she greeted them. “I’m glad you’re here. I have a message for you from the fourth member of your team.”

“You mean Veronica?” Carole asked. “We were wondering what happened to her. What’s the message?”

“She won’t be able to make it today. She’s at the car dealership with her mother,” Mrs. Reg explained.

“The car dealership?” Stevie repeated. “Don’t tell me they’re getting her her own chauffeur-driven Mercedes.”

Mrs. Reg shook her head. “Quite the contrary. Mrs. diAngelo wanted Veronica to come along to the Ford dealership. They’re trading in their Mercedes for a Ford.”