Maddie’s Dream (12 page)

As soon as the pony was safely cross-tied in the grooming area, Maddie approached the barn owner. “Oh, hi, Maddie.” Ms. Emerson seemed a little frazzled. “I didn't know you were here.”

“I just got here,” Maddie said. “And I have to tell you something—I can't come to my lesson on Saturday. There's this special soccer tryout that day, and my dad's making me go.”

“All right, thanks for letting me know,” Ms. Emerson said. “Will you still be coming on the Snack and Swim on Sunday?”

“Definitely!” Maddie nodded vigorously. “I wouldn't miss that for the world.”

“Good.” Ms. Emerson turned away, pointing a finger at a girl who was tacking up a stout little bay gelding nearby. “Charlotte! Don't let your reins fall down by the horse's feet!”

Maddie took a step closer to the barn owner. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something else,” she began.

“Can it wait?” Ms. Emerson glanced at her watch. “Every single kid showed up for today's beginner lesson, and Kiana's out sick today. . . .”

Maddie's heart sank. Ms. Emerson didn't seem to be in any mood to talk about payment plans. Still, the barn owner's words gave her another idea.

“Do you need some help?” she asked. “I mean, I've been trying to earn money doing odd jobs all week. I'd love to help out right here at the barn!”

Ms. Emerson gave her an appraising look. “Trying to earn some spending money, eh?” she said. “All right, you have a deal.”

“Great!” Maddie grinned. Helping out at the barn definitely beat cleaning the garage! “What do you want me to
do first? Should I go help the kids finish tacking up? That girl with the red hair looks like she's way behind the others.”

“No, she needs to learn how to do that herself.” Ms. Emerson stepped over to the supply closet nearby. Reaching inside, she pulled out a manure fork. “Here you go—I've been so busy, I haven't had a chance to pick stalls since this morning.”

Maddie accepted the fork, staring at it in surprise. “You want me to clean stalls?”

The barn owner was already hurrying off down the aisle. “The wheelbarrow's right outside the back door, airing out,” she called over her shoulder.

Maddie glanced toward the nearest open stall, which had several piles of manure in it. When making her offer to help out around the barn, she'd vaguely pictured herself assisting the younger kids as they groomed and saddled their ponies. Or maybe something like cleaning the lesson saddles and bridles, oiling them carefully and wiping down the bits.

But if cleaning stalls was what it took to get on Ms. Emerson's good side—and earn another few dollars toward Cloudy's purchase price at the same time—then that was
what Maddie had to do. Clutching her pitchfork, she headed for the back door in search of the wheelbarrow.

“Ugh!” Maddie grunted as she threw all her weight against the handles of the wheelbarrow, tipping its contents into the muck pile. She'd lost track of how many loads of dirty shavings and manure she'd pulled out of the stalls over the past hour.

She blinked the sweat out of her eyes and headed back into the barn. Parking the wheelbarrow in the doorway of another unoccupied stall, she set to work.

A few minutes later, she heard the clatter of hooves and the chatter of excited voices. The group lesson had just ended.

Maddie glanced out to see if the pony whose stall she was cleaning was heading her way. Instead, she saw Ms. Emerson coming toward her.

“How's it going, Maddie?” the barn owner asked.

“Fine, I guess.” Maddie rested her weight on her pitchfork. “Although I'm a little worried about sweating to death.” She forced a smile to show she was joking, even though she really wasn't.

“It's pretty hot today, isn't it?” Ms. Emerson sounded sympathetic. “Tell you what. Maybe you need a change of scenery—and a little fresh air.”

Maddie perked up. “Sure! What do you want me to do?” Visions of exercising school horses or leading ponies to the far turnout started dancing through her mind.

“The paddocks are a mess,” the barn owner replied. “Make sure you pick up as much manure as you can—even the small chunks—so the flies don't get bad.”

After half an hour in the midday heat scraping sun-dried manure off the ground, Maddie was just about ready to call it quits. Her arms had started aching again, and she had manure under her fingernails and dust on her clothes.

“There—spotless,” she muttered as she tossed one last pile of desiccated manure onto her wheelbarrow. She glanced over the two adjoining paddocks she'd just cleaned, then at the others still waiting. Surely Ms. Emerson didn't expect her to do
all
of them, did she?

After she dumped the wheelbarrow, Maddie left it and the fork by the back door and headed inside. The last of
the lesson kids had long since departed, leaving the barn quiet. The shade felt good after the relentless glare of the sun outside, and Maddie paused to enjoy the slight breeze from a nearby stall fan.

Then she heard noises down by the grooming area. When she glanced that way, her eyes widened. Amber Richardson was leading a fully tacked-up Cloudy toward the side door!

The older girl didn't seem to notice Maddie as she disappeared outside. Maddie was so focused on catching up to her that she almost crashed into Filly Richardson as she stepped out of the grooming area.

“Oh, hi!” Filly said brightly. She was leading another tacked-up pony, a cute little buckskin with a crooked blaze and long eyelashes.

“What are you doing with Doodle?” Maddie blurted out.

“I'm taking a lesson on him.” Filly was all smiles as she glanced at the pony. “Amber wanted to ride Cloudy today, so Ms. Emerson said I can ride Doodlebug.” She giggled. “Isn't that the cutest name?”

“Definitely.” Maddie stared from Filly to the adorable buckskin pony and back again, her mind clicking into overdrive. Doodlebug was for sale—he belonged to a family whose kids had all outgrown him. The owners were allowing Ms. Emerson to use the sweet, placid, reliable pony for lessons until the right buyer came along.

Maybe Filly thought she was just riding Doodle in a lesson. But what if Maddie could convince her—and the rest of the family—that he was a much better match for them than Cloudy? Maybe they'd buy Doodle instead!

“Doodle's amazing,” Maddie told Filly with a big smile. “You'll love him. He's probably the sweetest pony I ever met.”

“I know. He's great.” Filly stroked the pony's velvety nose. “I love him already.”

“I'm not surprised.” Maddie glanced toward the door. “Hey, do you mind if I watch your lesson? I always like seeing Doodle go. He's so adorable!”

“Sure, I don't mind,” Filly said.

“Great.” Maddie fell into step beside the younger girl, trying not to let on how excited and nervous she felt. This
could be the perfect solution to the Richardson Situation! Maddie wouldn't have to come up with enough money to buy Cloudy herself—or figure out how to explain the whole deal to her parents. Cloudy could stay right where she belonged, at Solano Stables, and everything could go back to normal.

When they reached the arena, Mrs. Richardson and Filly's younger brother were already in the bleachers. Mrs. Richardson was bent over her phone, while Frank was poking at the dry dirt by his feet with a stick.

Ms. Emerson was in the ring, helping Amber adjust her stirrups. The barn owner raised an eyebrow in surprise when she saw Maddie walking with Filly. “Finished with those paddocks already, Madison?” she asked.

“Just taking a break.” Maddie smiled her most innocent and hardworking smile. “I'll finish up after I catch my breath.”

Ms. Emerson didn't respond, turning instead toward Filly. “Need any help checking your girth?”

Soon the sisters were mounted and walking around the ring on their ponies. Maddie leaned against the fence
and watched as the lesson began. Amber was already doing better with Cloudy. Mrs. Emerson had to remind her to loosen up her reins a couple of times, but Cloudy didn't look nearly as annoyed as she had on Amber's first ride.

Then there was Filly. It was obvious she'd paid close attention at her first lesson. Her heels were down, her back was straight, and her hands were steady on the reins. More important, she seemed just as delighted to be riding Doodle as she had been on Cloudy.

“Looking good, Filly,” Maddie called encouragingly as the little buckskin trotted past her on the rail. “You and Doodle look like you're really getting along.”

“Thanks!” Filly turned and grinned at her.

“Eyes forward, Filly,” Ms. Emerson called from the center of the ring as Doodle veered off track, moving so close to the rail that one of Filly's boots almost hit the next post. “Your pony tends to go where your eyes do, remember?”

“Sorry!” Filly called out, straightening the pony. “Is this better?”

The lesson continued. Ms. Emerson had the sisters practice steering around a course of cones, and when
Doodle almost stepped on one of them, Maddie couldn't resist calling out to Filly again: “More inside leg! Good job.”

This time she noticed Ms. Emerson giving her the evil eye. Oops. She backed away, leaning against the barn wall in the shade to watch the rest of the lesson.

At the end, Amber begged again to try jumping Cloudy, and this time Ms. Emerson relented. She had the older girl trot up to a crossrail, which the mare cleared with minimal effort.

“May I try?” Filly called out.

“I suppose that would be all right,” Ms. Emerson said. “Doodle is a very steady jumper. Just trot him up to the jump, then get in two-point position and grab a handful of mane.”

“Okay.” Filly looked excited as she turned the pony toward the crossrail. “Trot, Doodle!”

The steady little buckskin trotted to the jump and hopped over. Filly laughed out loud when she landed.

“That was fun!” she cried. “Can we do it again?”

Ms. Emerson smiled. “Maybe next time. I think the
ponies have worked hard enough for today. Let's take them inside and sponge them off, all right?”

Maddie stepped forward as the two girls led their mounts out of the ring. “I can help untack and bathe the ponies if you want,” she offered.

Mrs. Richardson joined the group just in time to hear her. “How nice, Maddie,” she said with a smile. “I'm sure the girls appreciate that. Don't you, girls?”

“Uh-huh!” Filly said brightly, while Amber just shrugged.

“So how'd you like Doodle?” Maddie asked the younger sister. “He's pretty great, huh?”

“Yeah. Did you see me jump?” Filly beamed. “That was so cool!”

“Doodle's an amazing jumper, and he's perfect for you to learn on.” Maddie glanced at Cloudy. “Some ponies, like Cloudy, can be a little too springy. But Doodle is super-smooth!”

Amber shrugged again. “I didn't think Cloudy was that springy. Anyway, Raina and Tommy used to jump her all the time, and they did fine.”

“Hmm.” Maddie turned back to Filly as they all entered the shade of the overhang by the door. “Anyway, like I was saying, Doodle is a super teacher. If you keep riding him in your lessons, you'll probably be ready to start entering shows pretty soon.”

“Really?” Filly's eyes lit up with interest. “That would be fun.”

Maddie glanced toward Mrs. Richardson, but the woman wasn't paying attention anymore. She'd stopped outside to chat with Ms. Emerson. Oh well. Maddie was pretty sure that all she had to do was win Filly over to her side and the enthusiastic younger girl would do the rest. She followed the sisters as they led their ponies to the grooming area.

“So did Ms. Emerson tell you Doodle's for sale?” Maddie tried to keep her tone casual. “His owner is looking for the perfect new home for him. If you're interested, you could ask her about trying him again.”

“Why would we be interested in that?” Amber's voice went sharp and wary. “We already have Cloudy.” She shrugged. “Or at least we
will
have her again, pretty soon.”