Horse Fever (10 page)

“I guess,” Carole said, frowning. She couldn’t understand what Jenny was getting at.

“Well, then, Carole,” Jenny concluded, beaming. “It’s simple: Sell Starlight!”

C
AROLE SAT AT
the dinner table, listlessly toying with her food. She could feel her father’s eyes on her. She took a bite of chicken and chewed it methodically. By drinking half a glass of water, she managed to get it down.

“If you don’t like the rations, you can tell the cook, you know, honey,” said Colonel Hanson, his dark eyes twinkling.

Carole looked up, her face stricken. “It’s not that, Dad! It’s good—really.”

“Then how about telling me what’s wrong? You’ve been brooding since you walked in the door.”

Carole sighed. She looked down at her plate again. “Dad, what would you do if you had a huge decision to make?”

Colonel Hanson put his knife and fork down and wiped his mouth. He thought seriously. “First of all, I wouldn’t rush it, Carole. I’d—”

“Oh, Dad, you’re right!” cried Carole.

Her father raised his eyebrows. “You mean that’s all I had to say?”

Carole half smiled. “For now, anyway. You see, if I did anything about this … this decision, it would take me a long time to put it into action, you see, because it’s not easy to sell—I mean, it takes a long time to find—well, you know what I mean.”

“Not exactly,” Colonel Hanson said, laughing, “but I’ll trust you on that. Now how about my chicken tetrazzini?”

“I just got my appetite back!” As Carole picked up her fork, the doorbell rang. Colonel Hanson went to get it.

Carole sighed with relief. She didn’t have to decide anything now. It could take weeks—months—to sell Starlight.
Sell Starlight
. Even the phrase made Carole shudder. She wasn’t going to think about it. She’d just block it out. Tomorrow she would call Jenny to see if she could ride King a few more times. After all, that was
completely normal. Buyers often rode the horses they were interested in five, even six times. Carole’s dream of riding grand prix dressage came flooding back to her. If she chose to specialize in dressage now, at this young age, she’d be miles ahead of everyone.

Suddenly it came to her: She could write a story about a horse like King for the
Horseman’s Weekly
contest! A champion dressage horse shown by a junior rider—a girl, of course, just like Carole. Maybe she’d win the contest, too! Maybe she’d—

“Carole! Some friends of yours are here!” her father called.

Carole got up and went out to the hallway, thinking,
Stevie and Lisa must have been wondering where I was
. As she walked to the door, her gaze flew up to the picture of The Saddle Club. It hung right next to her school portraits. The three of them were all riding the horses they had ridden not long after they’d met. Suddenly Carole felt a chill. Which horse would she be riding in the next picture of The Saddle Club? Putting the decision off was only a temporary solution—which meant it was no solution, really.

Distracted, Carole turned the hall corner. She stopped in surprise. “Pat! Hello!” she cried. “Gosh, I was expecting you to be Stevie and Lisa!”

“Sorry we’re not The Saddle Club,” said Pat. She gestured
to the well-dressed man beside her. “Meet my husband, Dave.”

Carole shook hands with Mr. Naughton. He looked as nice as she had expected.

“It’s great to meet you, Carole,” he said. “I’ve heard so much about you—and Starlight.”

“Why don’t you both come in for coffee?” Colonel Hanson said. “We’re just finishing dinner and we’d enjoy the company, wouldn’t we, Carole?”

“Definitely, Dad.”

“Thanks so much,” said Pat, “but I’m afraid we can’t stay. Our daughter is at home with the baby-sitter.”

“And the baby-sitter will have our heads if we’re late,” Dave explained. “Confidentially, I think she’s got a date,” he whispered.

The four laughed. Pat cleared her throat. “Carole, I should get right to the point.”

Carole looked up, surprised that there
was
a point. She’d assumed the Naughtons had simply stopped by on a friendly visit. When Pat spoke, Carole noticed that she seemed excited and a bit nervous.

“We were driving home from dinner and I was telling Dave about how much fun we’ve been having and—and also about how much I enjoyed riding Starlight.” Pat paused. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “I’ve been looking for a horse for several months now. I
know what’s out there, and, well”—she glanced at her husband—“Carole, we just had the craziest idea.”

“My wife didn’t want to say anything, but I insisted,” Dave said. “I said you never know until you try. Carole, Colonel Hanson: We’d like to make an offer on Starlight.”

Carole stared unthinkingly as Pat hurried on. “Now, I know it’s crazy, Carole. And totally pointless. But Dave did think we ought to at least mention the idea to you. I know you said someday you’d want to move on, and—and if that day is soon, well, I think Starlight is just wonderful. I’d give him a great home—right at Pine Hollow, in fact. You could see him every day, ride him whenever you wanted …”

Out of the corner of her eye, Carole could see the perplexed expression on her father’s face. She didn’t know what to say. She just stood there, looking at the Naughtons, her mouth dry.

“As for price,” Dave continued, “Pat knows horses and I know finance. I don’t know what you paid for Starlight, but my wife tells me you’ve trained him and showed him and made him what he is today. We talked about it, and I hope this won’t be an insult.” Dave took a breath and named a sum.

Carole’s jaw dropped. The offer was double what she
would have expected. She put a hand on the wall to steady herself.

Dimly she was aware of the phone ringing and her father excusing himself to answer it.

Carole sat down on the hall stairs.

“I know we’re throwing this at you,” Pat said apologetically. “And you don’t have to decide now, of course. But if you think you’d even consider the offer, you know where to find me.”

Carole nodded. “Sure, Pat.” Something told her to stand up. She stood up. Something told her to go through the motions of shaking hands with Pat and Dave.

“See you at Pine Hollow,” Pat said warmly.

“Yeah, see you at Pine Hollow,” Carole repeated. She closed the door behind them. Her mind was reeling but at the same time blank. Finally a thought crystallized. She almost hated to admit it was there. The Naughtons’ offer sounded huge. But at the back of her mind she was wondering how much more Jenny would want for King.

Her father’s voice broke the silence. “It’s Stevie and Lisa, Carole!” he called. When Carole didn’t answer, he came out into the hall. “Sweetheart?”

Carole raised her eyes slowly. “Will you take a message, Dad?” she whispered. “I just can’t talk to them right now.”

C
AROLE FELL INTO
bed, exhausted. She craved sleep. She didn’t want to think. She wanted to block everything out. But once she got into bed, she was wide awake. She stared at the ceiling, counting the minutes.

Her brain seemed to be stuck on instant replay. First she saw the girl Missy with her pony, explaining, “I don’t want to sell him at all. But I’m getting a new horse in two weeks …” Then her mind flashed to Pat admitting, “I’ve never been on that side of the fence” and asking Carole if she’d ever sold a horse. But Jenny’s words were loudest, repeating themselves, echoing in her mind. “It’s time to move on. I’ve taken him as far as I can.…
You’re
not looking, are you?” And again: “It’s time to
move on.… Too bad. You’d make a great pair.… Too bad. You’d make a great pair.…”

Carole tossed and turned. She would feel sleep coming on, then would suddenly sit bolt upright in bed. Maybe the reason she couldn’t do anything with Starlight lately was that it
was
time to move on. Maybe she had taken Starlight as far as she could. Maybe it was time to let someone else ride him. There was no doubt that King’s Ransom was her big chance to go from local competitions to national—or even international.

Carole looked longingly at the telephone. She desperately wanted to call Stevie and Lisa now, but it was much too late. They wouldn’t understand, anyway. They’d want to know why Starlight and the Pony Club weren’t good enough for her. They’d remind her about Briarwood and other big shows at which she had ridden. Most of all, they wouldn’t understand the need to specialize in dressage. The truth was, Carole thought, Stevie’s and Lisa’s dreams about riding weren’t as big as hers. For them, riding was a great sport, not an all-consuming passion. But Carole couldn’t explain that to them.

There was someone who would understand, though: Jenny. She would understand perfectly. She had been through it all herself. Resolving to call King’s owner the next day, Carole turned the light off. Then she turned the light back on. She didn’t care how late it was. She had to
call Jenny right then. She dialed the number and listened anxiously. After a couple of rings Jenny picked up, sounding sleepy.

“I’m sorry,” Carole said urgently. “I know it’s too late to call.”

“That’s okay. What’s up?” asked Jenny.

“I—I think I might have the money for King!” Carole said hurriedly. “Or at least part of it.”

“Really?” said Jenny, after a pause. “So you’ve come to a decision?”

“No—Yes—I don’t know. But somebody made an offer on Starlight tonight. I think you’re right. I think I do want to concentrate on dressage.”

“Carole, that’s great!” Jenny exclaimed. “See? I knew you could figure it out if you tried. How much did they offer?”

“What?”

“How much was the offer for Starlight?”

“Oh,” said Carole. She was a little surprised that Jenny had mentioned price so soon. But, after all, Carole reminded herself, Jenny was a professional. There was no point in pretending that money didn’t matter. It did. Period.

“That’s a great start!” Jenny said enthusiastically when Carole told her the offer. “You could pay me the rest over the next year.”

“Oh. Right.” Carole’s hands suddenly felt clammy. How could she tell Jenny she had no way of earning the rest? She would simply have to figure something out. To be a world-famous junior rider, she would have to make sacrifices. She could work after school, weekends—two jobs, if need be …

“Come ride King on Monday morning and we’ll firm things up,” Jenny said. “Maybe you could bring a deposit then.”

Feeling slightly sick, Carole explained that school started on Monday.

“All right, then, Monday afternoon.”

All at once Carole regretted making the phone call. Things were happening too fast. She was sure her decision was the right one, but she needed more time to let it sink in. “How about if I come next Friday?” she asked nervously, stalling for time.

The tone of Jenny’s voice changed ever so slightly. “All right. I guess that’s okay. But Carole, you do understand that until I get a commitment from you—a financial commitment—I’m going to keep showing King to buyers. There are a number of people who are interested in him.”

“Sure,” said Carole, “I understand.” She got off the phone as quickly fast as she could and lay back on her pillows.
I ought to turn the light off
, she thought, just before falling into a troubled sleep.

F
OR THE FIRST
time ever, Carole was glad to go back to school on Monday. She didn’t hate school the way Stevie did, but she didn’t love it, either, like Lisa. To Carole, school was just there—a place she had to go five days a week until she was old enough to turn professional and ride full-time. But now it seemed like an escape, a distraction from the announcement she was going to make on Friday.

But even in school, the decision haunted her. She hadn’t been to Pine Hollow once since the jumping fiasco. And now she certainly couldn’t go. How could she ride Starlight, groom him, fuss over him, when all the while she was planning to sell him?

At least he was getting exercise, Carole thought sadly, picking at her food in the cafeteria one afternoon. Knowing she couldn’t face riding, she had told Pat she could take Starlight out. Pat, of course, had been thrilled. “Really, Carole?” she’d said. The happiness in Pat’s voice made Carole sad, too. Clearly Pat deserved Starlight—unlike Carole, who spent every moment dreaming about King.