Tight Rein (5 page)

“Yeah,” Carole said, “and Belle’s starting to act as if bridling hurts her.”

“So would you mind calling Judy Barker for Stevie?” Lisa asked. “Because Stevie’s not allowed to use the phone.”

“No problem,” Max assured them. “It’s a good time to have it done, since Stevie won’t be riding for a few weeks. I’ll have Judy come out as soon as she can.”

“And then”—Lisa paused—“do you think you could call Stevie’s parents and tell them when the appointment is, so Stevie knows about it? We’d call them, but … Stevie’s parents aren’t exactly happy with us right now.” She looked down at her feet. Carole gave a sad sigh.

Max chuckled. “I’ll bet not,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Thanks, Max!” They left the office.

“T
HAT WENT WELL
,” Carole said as they walked out of the stable and headed down the road toward the Willow Creek shopping center.

“Yep,” Lisa said briskly. “The first step is in place. Now it’s time for some research!” She felt energized, much better than she had felt that morning, or, really, anytime since their lesson the day before. “Good thing I got my allowance yesterday morning—before you guys spent the night!”

“You mean before we spent half the night,” Carole said.

“Yeah,” Lisa said. “Even after paying for the screen door, I’ve got something left. But if we’d gotten in trouble first, I bet my parents would have kept my allowance, too. See—we were lucky about something, after all!”

Carole smiled. Lisa’s enthusiasm was contagious. Carole felt much better, too. She thought it was just possible that Lisa’s plan might work.

T
HEY RETURNED ONCE AGAIN
to the stable, this time armed with several small bags from various fast-food restaurants. They took them all into Belle’s stall. Carole checked the aisle. “No Max,” she reported. “No Red, no Mrs. Reg, no nobody. We’re all clear.” There were no lessons on Sunday, and the stables were usually quiet.

“Good.” Lisa rummaged through the bags and pulled out a paper cup. “Number one. Diet Coke.” She held it under Belle’s nose.

Belle sniffed the rim of the cup curiously.

“I don’t think she likes it,” Lisa said.

“Give her time,” Carole said cautiously. “Let her get used to it.”

Lisa knew Carole was right. They couldn’t afford to have this part of their plan fail.

Belle stuck the tip of her nose into the cup. She slurped once, then drew back, startled. “I don’t think she likes the fizz,” Carole said. She took the cup from Lisa, used a straw to stir some of the fizz out of the soda, and offered it to Belle again. This time the mare took a cautious sip, then another.

“Oh no,” Lisa groaned. “She likes it.”

Carole laughed. “Who’d have guessed?”

They set the diet Coke out of the way and opened the second bag. “Orange juice,” said Lisa.

The orange juice didn’t work out, either—Belle actually drank the whole cup! She also seemed partial to the sweetened iced tea they gave her—she didn’t drink all of it, but almost.

“She’s got a sweet tooth,” Lisa said.

“Just like Stevie. Try the milk.”

Belle, now eager for more treats, nosed the carton expectantly and, when Lisa opened it wide enough, plunged her nose into it. She drew back, looking appalled, and tried to shake the milk off the end of her nose.

“Yeah!” Lisa said. “She doesn’t like it! That’s it!” She began to gather up the used bags.

“We’ve got to be sure,” Carole said. “She doesn’t like it by itself, but that may not mean much.” Carole went to the feed room while Lisa waited impatiently. Sure enough, even though Belle refused to drink the milk alone, she was more than willing to eat a handful of grain soaked in it.

Lisa tried not to feel annoyed because Carole was right again. “We’ve got one more,” she said. “If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to go back to the shopping center.” She pulled out the cup of lukewarm black coffee she’d saved for last. “Here goes.” She stuck it under Belle’s nose.

Belle seemed offended by the very smell of the coffee. She backed away from the cup, refusing to take a single sip. Carole put a handful of grain in her feed bucket, and Lisa poured some of the coffee over it. Belle sniffed the grain, then ignored it.

“Bingo!” said Lisa. She gave Carole a high five. They gathered all the cups and bags together.

Carole watched Belle closely. “I don’t think she’ll eat that at all right now,” she said. “But remember, she just had her lunch. If she’s really hungry, a little coffee might not be enough to stop her.”

Lisa nodded. As usual, Carole was making sense. “It’ll all depend on timing,” she said.

“Poor Belle,” Carole added. She scooped the doctored grain into one of the paper bags and gave the mare a pat.

“Belle’s fine,” Lisa said. She paused, thinking about the details of her plan. “What we need now,” she declared, “is some nice, fine dirt.”

Carole laughed. “Whatever you say.”

E
ARLY THE NEXT MORNING
Carole and Lisa knocked on the door of Stevie’s house.

“Do you think this will work?” Carole asked Lisa.

“Shhh,” Lisa said.

The door opened. It was Chad again. “What do you want?” he asked. “Stevie’s still in solitary. I can’t let you see her.” He was wearing the same soccer jersey he’d had on the day before, but this time he was also wearing socks and one soccer shoe and carrying the other shoe.

Lisa made her voice solemn and sad. “We need to talk to your parents again,” she said. “It’s important.”

“They aren’t here,” he said with a puzzled frown. “You know that. They’re at work.” Lisa did indeed know that. Fortunately, she knew the schedule at the Lake household very well. She and Carole exchanged glances.

“Well,” Carole said with a little shrug, “I guess we’ll have to tell Davey, then.” Davey was the college student hired to look after Stevie and her brothers for the summer.

Chad put on his second shoe and began tying the laces. “You can’t do that, either. He took Alex and Michael to their baseball practices.” Chad stood up. “You’ll have to come back, if it’s important.”

Lisa sat down on one of the chairs in the living room. “If we can’t tell your parents or Davey, we’ll have to tell you,” she said firmly. “It’s very important. We can’t waste time.”

Carole followed Lisa’s lead and sat down on the couch. Chad watched them, clearly irritated by the way they made themselves at home. Lisa patted the seat of the chair next to hers. “Sit down,” she said. “We’re sorry to bring bad news.”

Chad sat, looking wary.

“It’s very serious,” Carole said in funereal tones. “Belle’s sick.”

When Carole had said it was serious, Chad had started to look concerned. When she said the trouble
was Belle, however, he laughed. “What happened?” he asked. “Did she bonk her head like Stevie did? That’d be pretty funny!” Then, seeing the looks the two girls gave him, Chad wiped the smile off his face. “Sorry. Guess you wouldn’t think that was funny, huh?”

“Guess not,” Carole said. Oh, she couldn’t stand brothers! Laughing about a horse being sick! Not for the first time, Carole was grateful she was an only child.

“So,” Chad said, “what’s wrong? Does she have the sniffles? She didn’t break a leg, did she?” He looked ready to laugh again. Carole looked ready to throttle him.

Lisa intervened quickly. “Belle’s pining,” she said. “Horses are such sensitive creatures. They don’t adjust well to change. Belle’s not eating.”

“We think she’s missing Stevie,” Carole said, shooting Chad a dirty look.
And it’s all your fault
, she thought but didn’t say. Then she remembered that Belle wasn’t really missing Stevie. She shouldn’t blame Chad for things that hadn’t actually happened. “She’s just not herself,” Carole continued in a softer tone.

“Horses have very delicate digestive systems,” Lisa went on. “Any little thing can throw them off. And any sort of digestive trouble—well …” She let her voice fade away and looked to Carole for support.

“… it can be very serious,” Carole said.

“Very,” Lisa whispered.

“Oh, come off it,” Chad said. “Give me a break, will you?” He picked up his soccer ball and bounced it a few times. “You expect me to believe that Stevie’s horse is sick because it misses her? I’ve been around horses, too, you know, and they aren’t that smart. Plus, Belle weighs, like, a thousand pounds. She could not eat for a month and be okay.” He looked sideways at Lisa. “You guys made this up, right? Did Stevie put you up to it?”

With difficulty Lisa maintained her earnest, sorrowful expression. “I wish we were joking,” she said. “I wish this were just another prank. But it’s not.”

“It’s been building for a long time,” Carole added. She looked at her fingernails, because she knew that if she looked at Chad she’d want to hurt him. “Since her accident, Stevie hasn’t been able to spend much time with Belle. Horses are herd animals, you know. They rely on their companions.”

“And Stevie, of course, is Belle’s main herd,” Lisa said. “In Belle’s mind, Stevie is like another horse.” Lisa didn’t dare look at Carole. They’d both start laughing. Lisa tried to remember the public television show she’d seen on zebras. “You see, horses establish patterns of domination in the herd. Lower-caste members look to the alpha members for guidance and direction. Without Stevie, Belle feels rudderless, like a ship lost at sea.” Lisa
let her voice tremble. She saw Carole’s knee twitch slightly in response to that last ridiculous statement. She brushed her hand across her eyes, as if to wipe away a tear.

“Horses are big, strong animals,” Carole cut in quickly. She had to say something before Lisa came up with some other declaration about rudderless ships. “But sometimes they can be affected by very minor things. Horses can die from eating too much grain. They can also die from eating too little. A normal horse eats twenty-five pounds of food a day, so if the horse suddenly eats nothing, it’s a big change.”

“Physiologically,” Lisa added, “horses are designed to graze continuously.” Carole’s knee twitched again.

Chad’s face had grown more concerned. He quit bouncing his ball. “You’re not kidding, are you? You’re really worried.”

“Well, of course we’re worried!” Carole snapped. “Stevie’s our best friend!”
We’re worried that Stevie won’t go to camp
, Carole thought.
We’re very worried about that.

“Max is aware of Belle’s condition,” Lisa said. “He’s pretty concerned, so he might call the vet, Judy Barker.”

“Good,” Chad said, nodding. “That’s a great idea. The vet’ll fix Belle.”

“Well…,” Lisa said. She looked sadly at Carole, who shrugged gloomily.

“I’m sure Judy will try,” Carole said. “But if the problem really is that Belle is pining, that she’s not getting enough attention and that she’s really missing Stevie, there’s not much Judy can do.”

“Modern medicine can only go so far,” Lisa intoned. Carole bit her lips to keep from giggling.

“But Stevie’s only grounded for two weeks,” Chad said. “I mean,” he added jokingly, “it’s not that long. Belle’ll survive.” He grinned at Lisa and Carole. His grin faded when they didn’t grin back.

“We hope she will,” Carole said softly. “Only … any kind of digestive disturbance in a horse can lead to colic, you know. And colic …” She let her voice trail off.

“Colic can be fatal,” Lisa said. “Horses die of it all the time.”

“Seriously?” Chad asked. “Do you seriously know any horses that have died of colitch?”

“Colic,” Carole corrected him. “Yes, I seriously do. Two.” This, Carole reflected, of all the things she had said, was entirely true. Fortunately no horses at Pine Hollow had colicked badly in the past few years, but Carole had ridden at a lot of stables around the country during the traveling part of her father’s military career. She’d known a lot of horses.

Lisa shivered at the unmistakable ring of truth in Carole’s
voice. What if Belle really did get sick! For a moment Lisa almost believed her own story.

“Gosh,” Chad said, “I never knew anything like this could happen.”

“Well,” Lisa said, “that’s understandable. You really haven’t spent that much time around horses.” Chad was the only one of Stevie’s brothers who had ever ridden at all. Lisa blushed slightly at the memory. Chad had taken lessons for a few weeks because—well, because he’d wanted to get to know Lisa better. They’d gone to a movie together, only to discover that their tastes in most things were very different.

Including our taste in practical jokes
, Lisa thought. No bucket of water over the door for me. This sort of revenge is much more my style. She could tell that Chad was starting to believe everything they’d said.

“Please, whatever you do, don’t tell Stevie about this,” Lisa said. “We don’t want her worrying.”

“Please,” Carole added. “She’d worry a lot.” They both knew that if Stevie heard a word about anything’s being seriously wrong with Belle, she’d break the sound barrier getting over to Pine Hollow, grounded or not.

“Just tell your parents, please, that Max might call,” Lisa said. “Don’t let them worry too much, either. Carole and I will let you know how Belle is doing. We’ll give her as much attention as we can.”