Holiday Horse (10 page)

Carole started to nod. It did seem a little calmer than it had only a couple of minutes before when they had emerged. But before she could say so, she was almost bowled over by another gust, stronger than ever. It whipped around the house in front of them and then swirled around them, driving small branches, dead leaves, and other bits of debris against them. Carole had to grab on to a nearby tree trunk to avoid being knocked off her feet by its wild strength.

Stevie quickly shielded the baby’s face from the worst of it, crouching low to keep her balance. “Wow!” she said a second later when the gust had disappeared as quickly as it had come. “What was that?”

Lisa brushed a soggy oak leaf off her shoulder and shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “But whatever it was, it seems to have been the grand finale.”

The girls paused and listened. Sure enough, the wind was barely audible now. The wild gust seemed to have chased away the last bit of the storm. Even the air felt a little warmer.

The girls continued up the hill at a walk. “What weird weather,” Stevie said. She looked down at Maxi. The baby didn’t even seem to have noticed the big gust of wind. She was blinking sleepily beneath her warm cap.

“Tell me about it,” Carole agreed. “I bet that last gust brought a few trees down. We’re lucky the power didn’t go out.”

Lisa glanced ahead at the house. Lights shone brightly from several windows. “Good point,” she said. “I’d hate to have to baby-sit in the dark.”

“I don’t know about that,” Stevie pointed out with a twinkle in her eye. “Maybe total darkness would be the one thing that would put Maxi to sleep.”

Carole laughed. “If she doesn’t stay down this time, maybe we’ll have to try that,” she said. “It would be worth sitting in the dark for a few minutes to avoid another big crying spell.”

“I hate to point this out,” Lisa said, “but there’s at least one light we can’t turn out.” She pointed above their heads at the almost full moon, which was casting a silvery glow over the entire area.

The girls fell silent as they covered the last few yards to the house. The sound of the ringing phone came to them clearly as they climbed the steps to the porch.

Stevie gasped. “Phil!” she exclaimed. “I’ve got to get it before the machine picks up again!” She unlatched the front door quickly and rushed inside, baby and all.

Carole and Lisa followed more slowly. “I sure hope that’s Phil,” Carole said. “If it’s just Deborah calling to check in at intermission, there could be trouble.”

Meanwhile, Stevie had grabbed the phone just as the answering machine clicked on.

“Hello, this is Deborah,” the recorded tape began. “Max and I can’t come to the phone right now, but …”

“Hold on!” Stevie shouted into the phone. “I’m here, I’ve got it. Let me just—” She hurried into the kitchen and jabbed at the Off button on the answering machine. “There,” she said with satisfaction when the tape cut off. “Sorry about that. Phil? Is that you?”

But it wasn’t Phil’s voice that answered her. It wasn’t Deborah’s, either. It was a woman’s voice that Stevie didn’t recognize at first. The caller sounded terribly distraught, and for a moment Stevie couldn’t even figure out what she was saying.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Are you sure you have the right number? This is the Regnery residence.”

The caller took a deep, audible breath and spoke again, more slowly this time. “No, no, please don’t hang up,” she said shakily. “This is Elaine, from Hedgerow Farms, and I’m calling for Max. I need his help. My stable roof just collapsed!”

S
TEVIE TOOK A
deep breath and tried to keep her voice steady. “Did you say your stable roof collapsed?” she asked the woman on the phone. Visions of terribly injured horses flashed through her mind.

Carole and Lisa gasped behind her, but Stevie concentrated on what Elaine was saying. “That’s right,” the woman said. “The wind did it. Our stable is old, and—by the way, who is this? Deborah?”

“No,” Stevie said. “It’s Stevie Lake. Lisa, Carole, and I are baby-sitting.”

“Oh, yes, of course. I remember you, Stevie. Lisa, too. And of course I know Carole.” Elaine paused and gulped.
“But I must admit I would be happier to be talking to Max right now. I was hoping he could help me get my horses out. And maybe keep them overnight for me. It’s too cold for them to stay out in the pasture, and—”

“Wait a minute,” Stevie interrupted. “You need help getting the horses out? Does that mean they’re okay?” She glanced around at her friends, who were listening intently to her side of the conversation. Carole was biting her fingernails. Lisa had lifted Maxi out of the carrier and was hugging the baby so tightly that Maxi was squirming in protest.

“I’m not sure,” Elaine said, sounding desperate. “I think they are—at least most of them. Only part of the roof actually caved in, and most of it was over the tack room and bathrooms, thank heavens. But I’m afraid the structure still isn’t safe, and I want to get them out as quickly as possible. I’m alone here tonight because of the holiday, and I’m not exactly mobile. My leg is in a cast.”

“Oh, right,” Stevie said. “Max mentioned that.” One part of her mind was racing. She could imagine how terrified the Hedgerow horses must be after part of their home had collapsed around them. Even if they hadn’t been injured in the accident, they could panic and hurt themselves in the aftermath. It was terrible. Why did such awful things keep happening to that unfortunate stable? It just didn’t seem fair.

But another part of Stevie’s mind stayed surprisingly
calm. That part knew that there was only one thing to do. And that part retained control.

“Don’t worry, Elaine,” Stevie said. “We’ll be right there.”

T
EN MINUTES LATER
, The Saddle Club was back at the stable. Lisa was wearing the infant carrier with Maxi in it, and she stood back and watched as her friends hurried to tack up Starlight and Belle.

“I’m still not sure this is a good idea,” she said worriedly as Stevie rushed by with Belle’s bridle slung over one arm and her saddle balanced over the other. Carole was right behind her with Starlight’s tack. “We could try calling Max at the restaurant. I bet he and Deborah would get back here as quickly as they could.”

Stevie shook her head. “It wouldn’t be quick enough,” she said. She tossed Belle’s saddle over the door of her stall and led the mare out into the aisle. The horse seemed surprised at the late-night outing, but she stood calmly while Stevie bridled her and then tossed her lead line to Lisa to hold while she hoisted the blanket, saddle pad, and saddle onto Belle’s back. “It would take them at least forty-five minutes, even without the holiday traffic and bad weather. Besides, we might not be able to reach them right away if they’re in the middle of the show.”

“But it may not be safe …,” Lisa began helplessly. She glanced down at Maxi. With all the excitement, the baby was wide awake once again. She stared around with
wondering eyes as Carole bustled past, carrying a fistful of lead lines.

“I’ll bring these along. Elaine said her tack room is in bad shape, right?” Carole asked Stevie.

Stevie nodded as she cinched Belle’s girth. “It sounds like most of it got crushed under the fallen roof,” she said. “I can carry some of those if you want.” She tucked a few of the lead lines into the pocket of Max’s warmest coat, which she had borrowed from the front closet. It was a little big on her, but she was sure she could still ride in it. And she definitely needed something warm for this job.

“You don’t mind staying with the baby, do you, Lisa?” Carole asked, glancing over her shoulder at her friend.

Lisa shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “I mean, someone has to. And your horses are much more reliable than Prancer would be for something like this. So it’s the logical choice. But I’m still not sure you’re going to be able to get all those horses back through the woods by yourselves. Elaine can’t ride with her broken leg, so it will just be the two of you.”

Hedgerow lay less than two miles from Pine Hollow as the crow flew. By the winding country roads of the area, however, it was much farther. In fact, the only thing lying between the two stables was the thickly wooded parkland that began just behind Max’s house. Stevie and Carole had decided that they could herd Elaine’s horses along the main trail through those woods. The path had
two advantages. It was a popular hiking spot, so it was worn smooth enough to offer little danger of injury to the horses’ delicate legs and feet. And for most of its length it was flanked by enough trees and underbrush to discourage even the most skittish horse from running off from the group.

As soon as she had hung up the phone with Elaine, Stevie had pointed out that the wooded trail was the best—perhaps the only—option open to them. The Hedgerow horses couldn’t stay in their old stable that night, for obvious reasons. Their new stable wasn’t anywhere near finished. And the weather was too severe for them to stay outdoors, even for one night. That left Pine Hollow, which had enough empty stalls to house most of the horses. The rest could stay in the indoor ring.

The trouble was getting them there. Elaine couldn’t drive a horse van with her broken leg, and the girls were too young to drive. And even if they could locate an adult with a license on this holiday evening, they would only be able to transport a few horses at a time. It would be better to get them all inside as soon as possible, especially since they were bound to be worked up and sweaty from fear and excitement after the collapse of the roof. The trail was their best hope.

Carole paused and thought about what Lisa had just said. Even after the swamp fever disaster, Hedgerow had almost two dozen horses living in the stable. How would
she and Stevie be able to herd them all back to Pine Hollow? Especially if any of them were injured …

“It really would be safer with three people,” Carole agreed slowly. “That way one of us could lead the way, another could bring up the rear, and the third could stay in the middle to reassure the horses and keep an eye on them in case any tried to get away.”

Stevie shrugged. “We’ll just have to make do,” she said. “Even if it means making two or three separate trips. We can’t leave Maxi here by herself. Maybe Lisa can try my house again in a few minutes.” The girls had tried to reach Stevie’s parents, hoping they could step in as baby-sitters. But the line had been busy, and Stevie had guessed that Chad and his friends were making some prank phone calls of their own.

“Anyway, I guess Prancer really would be pretty useless out there,” Lisa admitted. Thanks to Lisa’s hard work with her, the mare had become much better about staying calm and obeying her rider. But in an emergency situation, Lisa wasn’t sure she could control her adequately. The mare was still too green.

Carole shrugged. “I wish that were our only problem,” she said. “If it were, you could just ride a different horse.” She nodded toward the baby. “That’s the real problem. We have a responsibility here and nobody to help us out.”

“It’s too bad Maxi’s not a few years older,” Stevie said
with a weak grin. “Otherwise she’d be able to ride along and help us out. In fact, she’d probably be leading the way in typical Regnery style.”

Carole grimaced. “Oh, right,” she said sarcastically. “I’m sure Deborah would love that …”

Her voice trailed off. She was staring at Maxi. Or, more specifically, at the carrier that Maxi was snuggled into.
What if
 …?

“I have an idea,” she said. “It may be a little crazy, but it just might work.”

“How
ARE YOU
doing back there, Lisa?” Stevie asked, twisting around on Belle’s back to talk to her friend, who was riding behind her.

“So far, so good,” Lisa said. “You were right about Topside. He’s really alert!”

“Good,” Carole called from behind Lisa. “I was a little worried, since you’ve never really ridden him before. But his training could come in handy on the way back.”

The three girls were trotting briskly down the wooded trail on their way to Hedgerow Farms. Lisa was riding Topside, one of Max’s school horses. Like Prancer, Topside was a Thoroughbred. Unlike Prancer, however, he had been trained for the show ring, not the racetrack. In
fact, he had once belonged to one of the top competitive riders in the country. Stevie had ridden Topside regularly before buying Belle, and although the tall bay gelding definitely had a mind of his own, he was also one of the most responsive and intelligent horses she had ever known. That was why she and Carole had chosen him for Lisa tonight. They would need smart and obedient horses to keep the frightened Hedgerow herd in line. Lisa had been a little nervous about riding the spirited gelding. But after a few minutes on his back, she had started to relax, delighted with his responsiveness. He wasn’t the easiest horse she had ever ridden, but her riding had improved a lot lately. She could handle him.