New Rider (12 page)

Lisa smiled. “Thanks, but I brought some, too. Maybe Carole would like a bit.”

They found Carole in Starlight’s stall, talking softly to the animal as she patted him.

Stevie waved a piece of carrot at her. “Hey, Carole, you want any?”

Carole shook her head. “You know I don’t believe in too many treats.”

“Glad you’re not
my
mother,” Lisa teased her.

“Maybe Sunset would like some,” Stevie said innocently.

Carole took the bait. “Absolutely not!” she said, wagging a finger at Stevie. “You know Sunset is on a very strict diet.”

Stevie laughed. “Got ya.”

Carole laughed, too. “Okay,” she admitted. “Maybe I am going overboard. How much damage can one piece of carrot do?”

“Come on, let’s feed it to her and get over to my house,” Lisa said. “I’m hungry and tired.”

The girls peeked into Sunset’s stall. To their surprise, instead of her usual incessant pacing, the mare was standing in a corner, shifting her weight from side to side.

The girls entered the stall and approached her.

“Is she okay?” Lisa asked.

“Looks all right to me,” Stevie offered.

Carole was frowning. “Why is she doing that?”

“You tell us,” Lisa said. “You’re the expert around here.”

Carole shook her head. “There’s so much I don’t know.”

“She doesn’t seem to be distressed,” Lisa observed. “I bet she’s fine.”

“Maybe her feet are hurting from the extra weight she’s carrying,” Stevie said. “I know mine would be.”

“I’m going to phone Judy,” Carole declared, leaving the stall.

“She’s okay, Carole,” Stevie called after her. “You’re overreacting.”

Carole didn’t stop. “It’ll only take a minute.”

Stevie sighed and found a place to sit down. “She’s got that worrywart thing down pretty good,” she said to Lisa.

“She might be right, though,” Lisa said, plunking down next to her. “I mean, better safe than sorry, right?”

“I guess,” Stevie replied. She yawned and stretched. It had been a busy and emotional day, and she was starting to feel the effects of it.

Carole was back a few minutes later.

Stevie got up. “What did she say?”

“She says she doesn’t think there’s anything to worry about.” Carole reentered Sunset’s stall. “She’s going to stop by in the morning to make sure.”

“Great. Now can we head to my house?” Lisa asked.

“I second that idea,” Stevie said enthusiastically.

“Let me take one last look,” Carole begged, moving around the horse.

Stevie was getting impatient. “Come on, Carole, Judy said Sunset is fine. Give it a rest!”

“All right, all right,” Carole conceded, reluctantly leaving the stall. “I guess I’m being a worrywart.”

Stevie slipped an arm around her and pointed her toward the exit. “You? A worrywart? Never!”

C
AROLE ROLLED OVER
, buried her face in her pillow, and snuggled deeper into the warmth of her covers. She wasn’t exactly sure what had awakened her, but she was determined to go back to sleep. The sky was only just starting to lighten with the first hint of dawn, and there were still hours of wonderful horsey dreams to dream.

Two minutes later she was still tossing and turning. Something felt wrong. There was a reason she had woken up. A dream. No,
more
than a dream. A premonition. Her mind was still fuzzy with sleep and she couldn’t quite recall the fleeting images, but she sensed that it was important. It had something to do with horses … and stables … and …

All at once it came to her in a rush, causing her to
sit straight up. Sunset’s stall door. She couldn’t remember bolting it when she left last night!

Surely I must have
, she reasoned.
After all these years of riding, it would be a habit by now. Wouldn’t it?
Suddenly she felt a wave of doubt. Trying to stay calm, she went over what she remembered of last night’s events. Checking Sunset one last time. Stevie and Lisa urging her to hurry up. Leaving the stall. Leaving Pine Hollow on their way to Lisa’s for the sleepover. All of those things were crystal clear in her head, but nowhere was there a memory of actually latching the mare’s door.

Carole’s imagination was suddenly flooded with visions of all the trouble Sunset could get into. She knew from having watched the mare over the last few weeks how feisty and curious she was. Carole’s stomach clenched. What if she got into the feed room and started eating the molasses that was kept there for mixing with the oats? She might not have the good sense to stop before she made herself sick. She might get colic. What would that do to her foal at this late stage of her pregnancy? Carole’s heart started thumping with anxiety. Worse yet, Sunset might wander outside into the yard. With no one watching out for her, there were hundreds of ways for her to get hurt. She might even be able to get out of the main gate and into the street!

Carole looked over at Lisa and Stevie. They were both sound asleep. She considered waking them but
then remembered how they had all been so wiped out the night before. In fact, they had been so exhausted from the day’s activities that they had even skipped the hours of horse chat that were a Saddle Club tradition at sleepovers and had gone straight to bed. No, this was her problem and she was going to take care of it herself.

She slipped out from under the covers, found her clothes, and put them on as quietly as possible. Then she scribbled a quick note telling her friends where she was going. After all, they would think it strange if they woke up and found her gone; she certainly didn’t want to alarm anyone unnecessarily.

Carrying her boots, Carole let herself out of the room and tiptoed downstairs. A glance at her watch told her it was five o’clock. Good. Even if the Atwoods were early risers, they still wouldn’t be up at this time of the morning. Maybe if she were quick she could make it to Pine Hollow and back before anyone missed her. That way no one would even have to know about this embarrassing lapse of responsibility.

Once outside the house she stopped only long enough to pull on her boots, then she hurried toward the stables. Luckily it wasn’t far and she would be there soon. Soon, however didn’t seem soon enough to her.
All the way there, her mind was filled with visions of the different kinds of catastrophes Sunset might have gotten into because of her carelessness.

Sweating and out of breath, Carole ran to the barn, looking around the area anxiously. Everything appeared normal—peaceful and serene in the early-morning light. She hurriedly slipped inside, shutting the big door tightly her behind.

As her eyes adjusted to the dim light she sighed with relief. There was no sign of trouble. She gave a little laugh. She’d been terrified that she would find Sunset wreaking havoc in Mrs. Reg’s office: desk turned over, papers scattered everywhere, the phone off its hook beep-beep-beeping.… But all was calm and quiet, as usual. So far, so good.

The heads of a few sleepy horses poked over their half doors as Carole hurried toward the foaling stall.
I’m probably just being a worrywart like Stevie says
, Carole told herself,
but this will only take a couple of minutes and then I’ll be back at Lisa’s and tucked in bed, snug and warm.

It was dark in the corner where Sunset’s stall was located, and although she couldn’t make out anything of the interior, a huge rush of relief swept over her when she saw that the bottom half of the door was closed.

She went to peek in on the mare when, to her utter horror, she saw the latch wasn’t locked at all. Carole yanked open the stall and she felt her heart drop all the way into her boots. It was empty! Sunset was gone!

In a panic, Carole rushed outside to check the paddock. There was no sign of the horse—she had obviously nudged the door open and taken off, and the door had swung closed behind her.

Carole forced herself to calm down. Sunset had to be somewhere. She obviously hadn’t gotten out through the front door, so maybe she had wandered out the back and into the schooling ring. With any luck she would still be there.

Carole hurried to the ring. No horse. She raced through the first ring into a second, where it opened into a large field behind the stable.

With her heart pounding in her ears, Carole checked the final gate. It was unlatched! It was possible the mare could have figured out how to open it herself, but Carole suspected that one of the many inexperienced riders who had been roaming around the day before was the real culprit. She ran back to the stable. Who it was didn’t matter. That field was big and Sunset could be anywhere.

Carole quickly grabbed Starlight’s tack and rushed
to saddle him up. “Sorry, boy, no time for a grooming this morning,” she told him as she worked.

Horse and rider were ready to go in record time and she leaped into the saddle, urging Starlight into action. They had to find Sunset!

C
AROLE PUSHED
S
TARLIGHT
into a canter as soon as she got to the field. Since she had no idea which way Sunset might have gone, she intended to cover as much territory as quickly as possible.

Every minute that passed without a sign of the mare seemed like twenty. She kept Starlight at a steady pace, scanning all around her as she rode. Frequently she rose high in her stirrups so that she could see even farther. The beautiful trees and bushes that she had always loved to ride through now seemed like the enemy, blocking her view and possibly hiding Sunset from her.

Finally Carole pulled to a halt. “I never knew this field was so big,” she said to her horse. “Where could she be?”

Suddenly Starlight pricked his ears and let out a whinny. Carole’s heart leaped. Maybe Starlight was reacting to the smell of the mare.
If I give him his head he might take me right to her
, she thought.

Sure enough, as soon as she released contact with his mouth, Starlight headed off at a brisk walk. His ears were pricked far forward and every now and then he let out another whinny. As they cleared the last of a small knot of trees, Carole heard grunting. Seconds later she spotted Sunset.

Her mouth went dry with terror. The mare was lying down groaning. She had gone into labor!

She quickly dismounted and tied Starlight to a tree to keep him out of the way. This was one time Sunset was going to have to accept her company whether she wanted to or not.

As Carole quietly approached, she could feel her heart thumping. There was a tang in the air she recognized as amniotic fluid. Obviously Sunset’s water had broken, but how long ago she had no way of knowing. All she knew was that once strong contractions had started, and they obviously had, the foal should arrive in the next ten to twenty minutes.

If only I knew when they began!

She watched anxiously as Sunset struggled to give birth, fervently hoping the mare could finish the job without help.

The animal was sweating with effort, but Carole wasn’t sure there was any progress being made. She squatted by Sunset’s head, talking soothingly, but as the minutes ticked by she grew worried. She shifted her position to the rear so that she could look for the first signs of the foal’s arrival.

She kept an eye on her watch. By her calculation the baby should be making its way into the world by now. Finally she spotted a cloudy white membrane emerging. She sighed with relief. Maybe everything was going to be all right after all.

Another contraction shook the mare and Carole could make out one tiny hoof and a little muzzle inside the birth sac. Her heart lurched. That wasn’t right. Carole knew the foal should have
both
legs out in front, not just one.

Sunset was going to need help!

Abruptly the mare scrambled to her feet. This didn’t alarm Carole because she knew it was common behavior at this stage of the birth. If there was a problem with the position of the foal inside the mother, standing up and lying down seemed to be nature’s way of fixing things.

Unfortunately in this case there was no way for the horse to shift her foal enough to make a difference.

Carole felt panicky. Sunset was in pain, and if Carole didn’t act fast both the baby and the mare could die! She knew what she needed to do, but without another person it looked almost impossible.