Silver Spurs (3 page)

“No, young lady.” Mom glared up at Kate. “
You'll
catch Capri and unsaddle her, not Tori. She needs to rest. Better yet, I'll drive her home. She could have been seriously injured. No more letting anyone ride your horse without checking with me first. Understood?”

“Yes, Mom.” Kate kicked at a clod of dirt. The relief she'd felt evaporated. Tori said she felt fine, but dread wormed its way into Kate's mind. What if this accident had crippled her friend? Kate suddenly felt sick. “Are you sure you're okay?” she whispered to Tori.

Tori scowled. “Knock it off. I'm fine.” She glanced at Kate's mother. “Mrs. Ferris, I appreciate you wanting to take me home, but I'm really okay.”

Kate stared at her friend for another long moment, wanting to be sure. At the stubborn little tilt of Tori's chin, Kate's tense shoulders relaxed. “Good.” She swung toward her mom. “This is why we need a trainer. It wouldn't have happened if we had someone at our barn giving us real lessons instead of me trying to teach Tori.”

Mom rose to her feet. “This wouldn't have happened if you'd asked me if it was all right for Tori to ride Capri. I'd have said no or told you I had to be there to help. You can't make these decisions on your own, Kate.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Accidents like this can get a barn closed down and make insurance rates go through the roof, not to mention risking the life of a novice rider. Promise me you'll never do something like this again.”

“I'm sorry, Mom.” Kate scuffed her toe in the dirt. “But you don't have to get so mad.”

Tori dusted off her pants, then leaned over to whisper near Kate's ear. “Your mom's right. She might not let us board horses if you keep arguing.”

“I didn't think of that,” Kate mumbled low enough so her mother couldn't hear. She heaved a sigh, knowing she'd been wrong. “I'm
really
sorry, Mom. I'll take care of Capri while you drive Tori home.”

“Good decision.” Her mother tapped each girl's head in turn. “You gave me a scare. I love you both, and I don't want anything to happen to either of you.” She wrapped an arm around Tori and drew her close. “Let's take you home and talk to your mom about riding lessons—and more than just a half hour or an hour a week.”

“Huh?” Tori raised wide eyes.

“I think it's time we see about getting a trainer and opening this barn for business. If you girls are determined to ride, you need to learn the safe way to do so.” She turned to Kate and smiled. “Your dad and I discussed it, and we've decided to turn this into a boarding stable if the two of you are willing to help.”

“Yippee!” Kate shrieked and jumped a foot off the ground. “Colt will too, Mom!” She grabbed Tori's hands and drew her into a hug. “We're going to have a real barn. Isn't that the best thing you've ever heard?”

Tori's eyes shone. “Totally. Thanks, Mrs. Ferris. I'll help any way I can.”

Kate's mom patted Tori's back. “I appreciate that. Kate will need to muck stalls and feed the horses, but it shouldn't take more than an hour or so after school—pretty much like you've been doing at the other barn. That is, if your mother will allow you to help, Tori. Kate and I can feed the horses in the mornings, but Kate, it means getting up earlier than you're used to.”

Kate hugged herself with joy. “That's okay, I don't mind. I bet Colt would want to bring his horse here, if he can work off part of his board. Can we put an ad in the paper tomorrow, Mom?”

Kate wanted to dance around the arena. Once she took some lessons, she might even get to compete in a show.
If I win, maybe Mom and Dad will even notice me more.
A twinge of guilt tugged at her. It wasn't that they ignored her, but Pete took so much of Mom's time, and Dad worked a lot of hours at his job.

“Not so fast, young lady. We still have more cleanup to do and shavings and hay to order. Dad and I figured we can start advertising next week. Hopefully we'll get some boarders soon, since the other barns are pretty full. And after this stunt, your dad and I will have a few extra chores for you as well.”

Kate hung her head for a moment. “Yeah, okay.” Then it hit her again. Mom had said yes about the barn! She pivoted toward her friend, a hundred ideas bouncing around. “I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun, huh, Tori?”

“Yeah. Only one thing worries me.”

“What's that?” Kate couldn't imagine anything going wrong now. They'd have a trainer and lessons in no time.

“I heard a couple of the girls in the equestrian club talking about the barns getting full and not having enough room for their horses. They're so snooty. They have a list of rules on how everything is supposed to be done. I hope none of those girls bring their horses here.”

“Nah. They're all in a group across the valley. You wait and see. We'll only get nice kids at our barn.” A little warning bell went off in Kate's mind, but she pushed it away. Nothing would rob her of the joy of operating a boarding stable. She knew it was going to be perfect.

Chapter Three

Two weeks after Tori's fall, Kate linked her arm with her friend's, her cheeks stretched tight from a happy grin. They gazed across the paddock area where a horse backed out of a trailer.

“Can you believe it's finally happening?” She squeezed Tori's arm and whispered, not wanting the new boarder to hear.

Tori's head bobbed in agreement. “I know. We got the barn all cleaned, and people are answering your mom's ad. It's so cool!”

“Yeah, and Dad even gave up his time off on Saturday to paint the tack room and put up new shelves.” She heaved a satisfied sigh. “Mom says we have two more horses coming tomorrow.”

“Do you know who they belong to?”

Kate shrugged. “I was so excited that I didn't think about asking. My parents said if we get at least four students, it'll be enough to talk to a trainer about lessons. Plus, Colt said he'd move his horse over too, and do chores for part of his board.” She tugged Tori forward as the horse disappeared into the barn. “Isn't that gelding beautiful?”

“Yeah. He's a Thoroughbred, right?”

Kate eyed the horse, noting the long, lean body and the prominent withers. “Yeah. I'll bet he's almost seventeen hands, 'cause he looks taller than Capri.”

Tori gave a visible shudder. “I'd hate to fall off
him
. It was far enough to the ground on Capri.”

Kate bit her lip. She still felt like a jerk for forcing her friend to ride when she knew Tori was scared. “I'm sorry you got hurt.”

Tori elbowed her in the side. “You've said that, like, a hundred times now, so stop it. It's not like you pushed me off your horse.”

Kate smiled. Why couldn't everyone be as understanding as Tori? This past week Kate had had a run-in with a couple of girls at school. She still smarted over a remark one of them—Melissa Tolbert—had made. Melissa had been the snottiest to Kate since she'd moved to Odell in March. “Okay. Come on. Let's introduce ourselves and find out the horse's name. I'm not sure if the man who walked him in is the owner or just the person who drove the truck.”

“I heard a car drive up and park on the other side of the barn a couple of minutes ago.” Tori pointed toward the gravel parking area outside the big sliding doors. “It could be the owners.”

A door opened on the side of the barn, and Kate's mom poked her head out. “Kate! Can you and Tori come here? I'd like you to show our new boarder where to put her horse while her mother fills out the forms.”

“Sure, Mom.” Kate beckoned to Tori. “Come on. Maybe they'll let us groom their horse if they can't come every day.”

“That would be awesome.” Tori slipped through the open door ahead of Kate, then skidded to a halt. “What's
she
doing here?”

“Who?” Kate stepped up beside Tori and looked where she pointed. Kate's jaw dropped, and she quickly covered her mouth to keep from saying something she shouldn't.

She couldn't believe who was holding the gelding's lead rope—Melissa Tolbert. The girl who regularly dissed Kate … and had gone out of her way to do the same thing to Tori after Tori befriended Kate.

At that moment, Melissa's eyes met Kate's, and they widened. Melissa swiveled toward a tall brunette woman who looked as if she could have been Melissa's older sister. “Mom, this isn't a good idea.”

Kate opened her mouth, wanting nothing more than to put the girl in her place, then snapped it shut and gritted her teeth. This was a customer. A rude one, but still a customer. Right now they needed all the business they could get. She mustered a smile. “Hey, Melissa. Nice horse.” It sounded lame even to her, but it was all she could force out.

“Hmmph.” Melissa's dark-blonde curls bounced on her shoulders as she swung away from Kate. “Mom, are you sure this is the only barn with an opening? I don't want to leave Mocha with”—she flipped the end of the rope toward Kate and Tori and scowled—“inexperienced people. They might not know how to take proper care of a Thoroughbred.”

Mrs. Tolbert cast a look at Kate's mom, who stared at Melissa. Mrs. Tolbert inclined her head. “Forgive my daughter. She's disappointed she can't board her mare where most of the Pony Club members board their horses, and the owners are very exacting in their care and meet the members' expectations.”

Melissa spun on her heel and frowned. “It's not necessary for you to apologize for me, Mom.” She waved her hand around, then turned toward Kate's mom. “I suppose we don't have a lot of choice right now, but I do hope you'll do everything the same way the members of our Pony Club have been taught.”

Melissa's mom gave her a tolerant smile. “There might be an opening at another facility in a couple of months, but we'll make do here for now.” She turned to Kate's mom. “You
will
have a quality trainer coming in to give lessons, won't you? I'd hate to have to trailer Mocha across town.”

Mom nodded. “I've contacted a trainer with excellent references. She'll give group lessons if we have a minimum of four students. We have three now, and your daughter makes four. I'm sure it won't be long before we'll have more. I'm curious, why didn't you stay at the barn where you were boarding?”

Kate held her breath, half hoping Melissa's mom would decide their barn wasn't good enough for her daughter's horse and leave. A prick of conscience niggled at Kate. They'd done a lot of work getting the barn ready, and her parents had spent money they probably couldn't afford. She'd best be asking God to let Melissa stay, not leave, no matter how much Kate would hate having her here.

Mrs. Tolbert's smile faded. “Melissa won't be taking group lessons, only private—at least once the trainer starts accepting private students. We expect her to win the championship at the show this summer.”

“I see. I imagine something can be arranged.”

Mrs. Tolbert tapped her fingers against her crossed arms. “You'll get back to me after you've spoken to your trainer about those lessons?”

“Of course.” Mom dipped her head in a brief nod. “If Melissa wants to turn her horse out in the arena to stretch his legs, we'll get the paperwork done. Would you follow me to the office?”

Mom and Mrs. Tolbert headed down the alleyway while Kate and Tori stood frozen in place. Kate motioned toward a nearby stall but didn't meet Melissa's eyes. “We got this stall ready for your horse. You can put him in now, or turn him loose in the arena like my mom suggested. It's up to you.” She didn't wait for a response but grabbed Tori's arm and dragged her toward the outer barn door. “Let's get out of here,” she hissed.

Kate dashed beside her friend down the aisle that separated the stalls from the indoor arena, then skidded to a stop at the door. She gave it a shove, and they stepped out into the bright sunlight of the clear June day. A horse nickered, and a fly buzzed past her nose, but she ignored them both.

Disaster had struck.

She couldn't imagine how she'd survive the next couple of months with Melissa Tolbert hanging out at their barn.

Tori's eyes brimmed with tears, and she swiped at them with the back of her hand. “She's going to ruin our whole summer. She acts like I don't exist at school … or anywhere.”

“I know.” Kate trudged over to a stack of straw bales and sank down on one. “But it looks like we're stuck with her.”

“Maybe she'll find another place to keep her horse.” Tori plunked down on the bale next to Kate.

“Yeah.” Kate tore off a piece of straw and stuck it between her teeth. “Except that means we'll lose the money. Mom's pretty excited that we have four boarders, but we need more. Hopefully someone new will come in soon.”

“Man, this stinks. Of all the girls at school, we had to land Melissa.”

Kate leaned back on her elbows, enjoying the sun warming her face. “Other girls she hangs out with are just as bad.”

“I know. At least Melissa's the only one who came. I sure hope none of her friends decide to hang out here with her.”

“Yeah. So what do we do now?”

Tori tipped her head to the side. “We can't let her treat us like her slaves.”

Kate sighed. “She'll be ordering us around, expecting us to wait on her.”

“Will your mom make us do that?”

“I'm not sure, but we're supposed to be grooms and muck stalls. If Mom asks us to do something for her, we might have to.”

Tori groaned. “Yuck.”

“I know.” Even the idea made Kate angry. She tried to shove the anger away. She needed to keep a good attitude. From the beginning she'd known people might come that she wouldn't like, but she'd never envisioned Melissa. Maybe this boarding stable idea wasn't so great after all.

Just then Rufus raced around the corner chasing a stray cat. The big dog dashed inside the barn after the cat, his deep-throated bark echoing off the walls.

Kate and Tori sprang to their feet and ran after him. Kate cupped her hands around her mouth. “Rufus! Come back here, you bad dog.”

Tori reached the door a second before Kate. “That's not one of your cats, is it?”

“No. He knows to leave our cats alone. But how'd he get loose? Mom tied him up when the horse trailer got here. She didn't want him scaring a horse.”

A girl's scream pierced the air, followed by a thud of hooves hitting a wooden surface.

Kate's heart raced faster than her feet had seconds before. Another high scream sent chills up her spine.

Melissa.