Hot Potato (2 page)

The petite chestnut horse reared for the third time and
Clint moved to the side, out of range of her hooves.

'Explain to me again why I'm trying to put
this . . .' He searched for a description. 'This
animal
on my truck?'

'Mum said if I saw something I liked I should buy
it,' Lindsey lied.

'Yes, I heard that part. I just don't get the part
where I'm paying for it.' The horse snorted and
skipped around at the end of the lead.

Shelby stood back, biting her nails. Whoever sold
the pony must have transported her to the auction in
the first place, so there had to be some way of getting
her on a truck.

'Mum gave me money but I forgot to bring it,'
Lindsey explained. 'If we stop at an ATM on the way
home I'll get some out for you.'

It turned out that Lindsey did have savings. Shelby
and Erin had agreed to repay her for their portions the
next day. Shelby didn't know exactly where she was
going to find fifty dollars overnight, but she would
work it out later.

Clint had bought three horses at the auctions – all
leggy bay stock horses. They peered at the little
chestnut over their shoulders as if to say,
'What's your
problem? Hurry up! We don't want to stand here
all day.'

Clint's truck was parked alongside several others in
the dirt area that served as a car park at the front of the
saleyards. Most of the other people had left already, but
a few remained. It was obvious that Clint knew many
of the men and women here, and it was also clear that
he was embarrassed. Shelby wasn't sure if he was
ashamed of the tiny horse, or his inability to load it.

Clint led the mare in a circle again and then
headed for the ramp. She put one hoof on the tailgate
and then spun backwards, pulling the lead rope from
his hands. He lunged for it and caught it.

One of the men lounging against a truck nearby
cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted,
'Why don't just pick it up, mate? Take it home on
your lap.'

'You could fold her up and put her in your
pocket,' suggested another man leaning out of his cab
window.

The group in earshot laughed. Clint scowled.

'I'm surprised that Brenda didn't talk to me about
this,' he remarked, bringing the horse around for
another try. Clint had been tending to the riding
school ponies for many years, so he and Lindsey's
mother were old friends.

This time the pony dug her hooves into the
ground, thrusting her head in the air. Shelby could see
the whites of her eyes.

'Maybe you should try that natural horsemanship
stuff that you always talk about,' suggested Erin.

Clint gave her a dark look. 'We're going to be here
all night,' he muttered.

'Hey, Clint,' shouted the man in his cab, 'if you
put her in water does she swell to a proper size?'

'No, no,' said the man next to the truck. 'You
pump her up like an air mattress.'

By this time all of the rest of the horses had been
loaded. It seemed to Shelby that the people were only
hanging around to poke fun at Clint.

Shelby and Lindsey exchanged a glance. 'What
should we do?' Shelby mouthed.

'There's nothing we can do,' Lindsey whispered.
She was right. None of the girls were more qualified
than Clint for this task.

Erin huffed and sat down cross-legged.

'Get up,' hissed Shelby. 'He's doing this for
you
, Erin.'

'Me? You bought the horse,' she retorted.

'Shut up.' Lindsey frowned at both of them.

Just when it was beginning to look hopeless, the
little horse bounded up the ramp and into the truck.

The spectators cheered and clapped. Clint shook
his hat at them, shooing them. 'Show's over. Move
along. Nothing to see here.' The crowd reluctantly dispersed
into their various trucks and four-wheel drives,
waving goodbye as they went.

'See you when you bring that filly back again,' said
one of them.

'Maybe I'll have a go with her next month,'
chuckled another. 'I tried miniature trains once.'

Clint stood with his hands on his hips waiting for
them to go and then he sighed.

'That filly has done this a hundred times before,'
he told the girls as he closed the tailgate. 'She's not
afraid, she's just plain naughty.'

'Yes, but she's so pretty!' Erin grinned.

Clint double-checked the bolts and then rubbed his
eyes with the heels of his hands. 'Pretty only goes so far.'

On the way back to the stables Clint seemed to
lighten up. He even laughed when the girls sang along
with Gwen Stefani on the radio.

Shelby and Erin knew the words but Lindsey just
sang, 'La, la, la,' along with the tune until she got the
hang of it, and then she turned to the other two girls
and sang, '
Tick, tock, tick, tock
,' waving her hands like
robot arms on a clock face. Erin and Shelby cracked up.

Clint chimed in.
'I'm still a super-hot female!'
Which made Erin and Shelby laugh even more.

When they pulled over for Lindsey to go to the ATM
they could hear thumping and bumping in the back. The
truck swayed. One of the horses let out a shrill whinny.

'Let's guess who's making that racket?' Clint said.

The mood changed quickly. Lindsey climbed back
into the cab and handed Clint the cash. He slipped the
notes into his wallet and shifted the truck into gear.
'I'm looking forward to hearing what Brenda thinks of
this mare you've bought for her. I think I'll stay for a
coffee and see what she has to say,' he said, heading
out into the traffic.

Lindsey's face turned bright red. She tried to hide
it by looking out the window. 'Mum said she was
going shopping this afternoon.'

'I can wait,' he replied.

'What about your new horses?' Shelby asked. 'You
can't leave them on the truck.'

'I'll put them in one of the yards.'

Shelby tried to think of a reason why Clint
couldn't stay for coffee. She glanced at the other girls.
Erin shrugged.

The truck rumbled on. Occasionally the pony
whinnied and kicked the wall of the truck. They
weren't far from the stables now.

Since Shelby couldn't think of a reason why Clint
shouldn't stay, she concentrated on coming up with an
excuse as to why they bought the horse in the first
place. Perhaps Lindsey's mum wouldn't be angry. She
might even like the horse and congratulate the girls on
making such an excellent choice.

Shelby sighed. No matter how good the mare was,
Mrs Edel would still think it was irresponsible of them
to buy a horse without first discussing it with an
adult. At the very least they should have consulted the
adult who was actually
there
.

But we couldn't ask Clint
, Shelby thought.
He
would have said no.

She recalled the times she had seen Mrs Edel cross.
Lindsey's mum wasn't one of those adults who dished
out big punishments, or yelled a lot. She was scary
because her trust and respect was hard to earn, and
therefore more valuable once you had it.

When Lindsey broke her collarbone Shelby had
started working at the stables every afternoon, and
mornings too, when one of her parents could drive
her. In return Blue's agistment was free. Now that
Lindsey was better the two girls worked together. At
first Shelby had been nervous because Lindsey's mum
could be abrupt. When Mrs Edel was cranky Shelby
felt ashamed, as though she had let herself down even
more than she had disappointed Mrs Edel. That was
much worse than yelling.

What would she say when she found out about the
pony?

Shelby glanced over at Clint and he winked at her.
What did that mean? Did he know they were lying, or
was that just a random wink? She tried to remember if
he had ever winked at her before. Did he have something
in his eye? Should she confess?

Clint was very easygoing. He might not be cranky
about it. He could find a way to break it to Lindsey's
mum so that she wouldn't be angry.

Nobody said anything. Shelby wondered if she was
the only one feeling the weight of the silence in the
truck. She squirmed in her seat.

Clint put on the blinker and turned onto Lindsey's
street.

Owning up was probably the best option, before
things became any more complicated. Shelby opened
her mouth and shut it again. She should really talk it
through with the others first. She tried to think if
there was something cryptic she could say that only
the girls would understand.

Ouldshay eway onfesscay?

Clint had been a teenager once. He might know
pig Latin. What to do?

Even now that she'd had time to think about it
Shelby still thought buying the pony had been a good
idea. She was exactly the sort of pony that Shelby
would like to own if she was allowed to have more than
one. Now she had one and a third horses – even if it
was only for a little while. Shelby was looking forward
to calling the pony 'my other horse'. She grinned.

If only the adults would give them enough time to
explain before they went bananas. When the girls sold
her they were sure to get twice the price they'd paid –
at least!

They could start their own business buying cheap
horses from the sales, doing them up and selling them
for four times as much. They could make a tonne of
money! Lindsey could teach them how to cut cattle,
and walk out properly, and Shelby could handle them
on the ground so they had nice manners, and take
them out on trails, and Erin could show them how to
do flat work in the arena, or jumping. People would
line up for all-rounders that were quiet and good for
kids.

They could open the 'Shelinderin Pony Training
Stud'. They would have hundreds of acres, and post
and rail fencing everywhere. They would have five
different arenas and long rows of stables. They would
wear joddies and matching chappettes all day. They
could have stickers made up for people to stick on the
back of their floats that said
'I'm a Shelinderin Pony'
.

People would beg them to hold workshops to
show how they do what they do. Shelby would hold
talks to a crowd sitting on scaffold seating set up
around the edges of the arena – so many people that
she had to use a microphone pinned to her collar.

When she was at shows she would overhear
mothers talking to each other.
'There's Shelby Shaw.
Did you know she started that horse training business
when she was only thirteen years old? The other two
girls are very good too, but it's Shelby who masterminded
the whole thing.'

The truck pulled into the driveway and she remembered
just how much trouble they would be in if their
parents found out what they had done. Lindsey was
frowning. It was possible she was thinking exactly the
same thing.

Never mind what Lindsey's mum would think,
Shelby's own parents were going to go completely
berserk! They didn't have very good imaginations. She
could try to explain to them about the Shelinderin
Pony Training Stud, but she knew they wouldn't
understand.

They needed to keep the pony a secret or all three
of them were going to be in big, big trouble.

As the truck rumbled up the driveway Shelby could
see a silhouetted shape in the office window. That was
bad luck. If Lindsey's mum had been out in the
paddocks somewhere they might have been able to
unload the pony unseen.

There was still enough time to confess, and to
enlist Clint's help.

'Lindsey's mum didn't exactly . . .' Shelby began.

Lindsey pinched her hard on the back of the arm, but
then Clint spoke at the same moment.

'I've just remembered . . .'

It was fate. Obviously she wasn't supposed to tell.
'Remembered what?' she asked.

'No, you first,' he pressed.

'It wasn't important,' she said.

Clint pulled on the handbrake. The truck rocked
slightly as the horses shifted about in the back. 'I've
just remembered I have something to do at home,' he
finished. 'So I can't stay for coffee.'

'That's a real shame,' said Erin, her grin betraying
her words.

The chestnut mare came off the truck easily and
started whinnying the minute her hooves hit the
ground. Her neck and flanks were dark with sweat
and her eyes were wide. She wheeled about, snorted
and pawed at the ground.

'Shh,' Lindsey said, quickly moving the horse
around to the side of the truck out of view of the
office window.

'I'll see you girls later in the week then,' Clint said,
climbing back into the cab. 'I've got a few trims to do,
and some horses to shift on the weekend. I'm sure to
catch up with Brenda at some stage. Good luck with
your new pony, Lindsey Lu. She's a little ripper, that's
for sure!'

Lindsey looked at Shelby with panic in her eyes.
Once he backed the truck down the driveway, the
chestnut mare would be in plain view of the window.
Shelby looked around. There was nothing in the
driveway to disguise the horse, not even a tree, and
the stables were at least thirty metres away.

'You could run,' Shelby whispered.

Lindsey shook her head. The mare was worked up
already. She might go silly and draw more attention to
herself.

'I'll go and see what I can do,' Shelby said. It was
possible that she could distract Lindsey's mother's
attention away from the window.

She sprinted across the driveway and bounded up
the steps into the office. 'Hi, Mrs E.'

'So, did you girls buy any horses?' Lindsey's mum
asked, shuffling through papers on her desk.

Shelby felt her face redden and her pulse race. Was
she joking? Had she seen out the window already?
What was the right answer?

'Yep. Sure did,' Shelby improvised. 'Seven truckloads.
They should be here any minute.'

'Good-o,' Mrs Edel said, and she looked back
down at her paperwork.

Shelby waited for some further comment, but
when Mrs Edel didn't say anything more Shelby
assumed that it had been a joke.

Through the window Shelby could see Lindsey
hauling at the lead rope and Erin waving her hands
behind the little pony trying to make her move
forward, but she was reluctant, taking dolly steps and
shying at each rock and fencepost.

'Is there something else?' Lindsey's mum asked.

'Nope. I'm . . .' She searched for an excuse. 'Just
enjoying the vibes.' She knew it was cheeky, but at
least she was being distracting.

Against the wall there was a bookshelf full of
folders with handwritten spines –
Accounts payable,
Insurance forms, Agisters 001–049, Agisters 050–099.
Shelby inspected them with her hands neatly crossed
behind her back.

There were more folders on the desk. Shelby
wondered exactly how many horses lived on the
property. If there were more than one hundred
agisters, and some people, like Hayley Crook, had
more than one horse, then surely Ms Edel couldn't
remember them all? What was one little chestnut pony
amongst the rest?

Mrs Edel put down her pen and raised an eyebrow.
'Are you girls up to something?'

'No! I'd better go now.' Shelby walked out and
stood on the veranda. She saw a swish of tail as her
friends led the chestnut behind the feed shed.

'I'll figure it out, you know,' came Mrs Edel's voice
from inside the office.

Shelby ran through some possible responses in her
head.
Good for you?
Too cheeky.
There's nothing to
figure out?
A lie.
I know you will?
Too close to the
truth. Instead Shelby said nothing at all.