Stable Groom (8 page)

“I guess you could say that. A couple of days ago I rode Barq, but today Red switched me to Delilah,” Deborah joked.

Stevie looked at Deborah with newfound respect. Somehow Deborah’s sneaking out to Pine Hollow to take riding lessons sounded a lot like skipping class to do extracurricular activities. She hadn’t realized that adults were capable of such intelligent planning.

T
HE FOLLOWING
S
UNDAY
afternoon, the threesome decided to take a trail ride. The mood around Pine Hollow was tense. They could sense that there were a lot of secrets in the air, and not all of them were good. There were rumors flying—about Max and Deborah, about camp, about Veronica and Red. Judging from the whispered conversations in the tack room and indoor ring, The Saddle Club weren’t the only ones wondering why Red wasn’t going to be instructing at camp.

After schooling on the flat, the girls set off at an easy walk, glad to escape the dusty ring. Schooling was important, but taking a breather was, too. Horses
that spent too much time in the ring could get bored, just like kids who got sick of school. Besides, riders could learn as much from hacking outside as from drilling in the ring. Trail riding was a great time to get used to riding over different terrain, splashing through water puddles, and hopping over small obstacles such as fallen trees.

The great thing about a trail ride was that it was a way for a horse and rider to relax and have fun. Some of The Saddle Club’s most memorable adventures had taken place on the trail.

Starlight, Prancer, and Belle knew the route to Willow Creek by heart, so Carole, Lisa, and Stevie loosened the reins, relaxed, and talked. By mutual consent they had decided not to mention any of the not-so-wonderful things going on. They were doing their best to help Red, and, until the representative from the Equestrian Center came, they would just have to be patient.

When they got to the creek, the three of them tied their horses and sat at the water’s edge. They all took off their riding boots and rolled up their pants so they could dangle their feet in the cool stream. In the hot Virginia summer the creek was always a favorite spot.

“This water just reminded me: What’s left to plan for the Bath?” Carole asked.

Lisa reached into her pocket and withdrew a folded piece of yellow legal paper. “I think we’re almost all set,” she said. “For food and drinks we’ve got people signed up to bring brownies, oatmeal-raisin cookies, tortilla chips with salsa, cheese popcorn, root beer, ginger ale—oh, and, ah, Jell-O.”

“Jell-O?” Carole and Stevie repeated in unison.

Lisa gave a sheepish smile. “Simon Atherton told me it was his absolute favorite food, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him not to bring it.”

Carole and Stevie nodded understandingly. Simon was one of the stranger students who rode at Pine Hollow. There was nothing exactly
wrong
with him, he just seemed to march to his own drummer. Evidence of this was that he had a persistent crush on Veronica despite the fact that she had repeatedly been as rude as humanly possible to him.

“How about decorations?” Stevie inquired. “I hope whoever volunteered is prepared to turn the tack room into a thing of beauty.”

The girls had decided that cleaning out the tack room was the best solution for the setting of the Groom’s Bath. “We have two riders who have sworn to buy out all the streamers at the mall,” Lisa answered, checking her list. “If all goes as planned, we’ll just have to set up and supervise on the actual day.
Oh, wait, I forgot one thing: We still have to think up a theme for the presents. A lot of kids have been asking me what to get Max.”

“I noticed his tack was getting kind of worn out. Why don’t we all pitch in and buy him a new bridle at the tack shop?” Carole suggested.

Stevie and Lisa looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Finally Stevie said, “Are you going to say it, or am I?”

Before they could decide, Carole jumped in. “Just because we give Max a bridle doesn’t make this a bridal shower!” she exclaimed, exasperated.

“Anyway, the point is, we have to give him gifts that will be appropriate for a man who is about to get married, not for a man who is about to go hacking,” Lisa pointed out. “I did look up ‘showers’ in my mother’s book on manners to see what was acceptable, but somehow tea towels and place mats don’t seem right.”

“I can’t even imagine what a tea towel is, let alone Max using it,” Stevie said.

“Yeah, it’s funny, but I guess Max does do things like eat breakfast, doesn’t he?” Carole asked.

Because they always saw Max in the stables—riding, teaching, or training—sometimes it was hard for
the girls to imagine him doing normal, everyday things.

“I wonder who will do the cooking,” Lisa mused idly, splashing water over her ankles and calves. “Deborah’s career takes up at least as much time as Max’s, and she’ll have to commute to the city.”

“That’s it!” Stevie cried suddenly. Carole and Lisa were all ears. “Deborah is giving Max the gift of learning to ride so that she can share in his career. Maybe Max should learn something about the newspaper business in return.”

“So the theme for the Bath would be—journalism?” Carole asked.

“Right. Everyone will have to bring something to do with Deborah’s job as a reporter,” Stevie said. She paused, letting the other two absorb the idea.

“I like it,” Carole said. “Besides, it’s the least Deborah deserves, after working so hard to surprise Max.”

“I know—we could bring things like copies of books by investigative reporters,” Lisa said.

“Yeah, and then the tools of an investigative reporter … say, a magnifying glass,” Stevie said.

“Lock picks—for breaking into rooms!” Carole added.

“Fake IDs!”

“Reporters’ notepads!”

“A mini-tape recorder!”

“A tube to put up against the wall so you can hear through it, fingerprint dusting powder, a camera that looks like a fountain pen!”

Lisa looked doubtfully at Stevie. “Stevie, have you been watching too many old detective movies?”

“We-ell, I did catch a triple feature last weekend,” Stevie confessed.

Lisa hastily scribbled some of their ideas on the back of her party list so that they could make suggestions to the other riders. None of them was sure how many of the things they had thought of actually existed, but they
were
positive that everyone would have fun choosing them.

“And what’s most important, Max may not actually need any of the silly gifts he’ll be getting, but at least he’ll enjoy opening them,” Carole concluded.

“The theme should make Deborah laugh, too. And that’s what a party’s for, right?” Lisa said.

With the Bath planned, The Saddle Club was ready to make the leisurely trip back to Pine Hollow. They felt cool and refreshed, mentally and physically.

The feeling did not last long. When they reached the stable yard, they saw the diAngelos’ white Mercedes parked outside Max’s office.

“Why is it that whenever I see that car, I just know they’re up to something bad?” Lisa remarked.

“I don’t know, but you don’t have to be an investigative reporter to come to that conclusion,” Stevie said dryly.

The three of them dismounted and were heading into the barn when Mrs. diAngelo appeared, followed by a sulking Veronica. “It’s not fair, Mother! You and Max think you can get away with ignoring me! But I’m going to win in the end!”

“Keep your voice down,” Mrs. diAngelo snapped. “You’re making a scene!”

In response, Veronica swung her foot back and kicked the front tire of the Mercedes as hard as she could. Mrs. diAngelo fixed her with an iron expression. “Your father will speak to Max as soon as he comes home from his business trip. We will discuss
your
behavior later,” she said icily. “Now get into the car.” Pouting, Veronica flounced over to the passenger side and got in. As she did, she caught a glimpse of Lisa, Carole, and Stevie, all of whom were staring at her. She sneered at them, then slammed the car door hard.

The three girls watched the sleek white car disappear down the driveway. Carole was the first to speak. “Do you think it’s good or bad that Veronica and her
mother are in a fight over something that’s going on at Pine Hollow?”

“And what is Mr. diAngelo going to speak to Max about?” Lisa asked.

“And why is Max ignoring Veronica?” Stevie said.

Without saying it, they were all sure that Veronica’s attacks on Red must have somehow been the cause of the scene they had just witnessed. But before they could answer any of their own questions, Red emerged from the stable. He nodded briefly to them and then hurried toward his truck. A minute later he, too, disappeared down the driveway.

“First the diAngelos storm off, then Red rushes out? What on earth could be going on?” Lisa demanded.

Carole sighed, leaning against Starlight. “I don’t know, but this day is getting more confusing than a tangled four-in-hand harness.”

S
TEVIE WAS THE
first to arrive for class on Tuesday. On the way over, she had tried to think of something she could say to Max that would make him want to reveal his wedding and honeymoon plans. Once he had made an announcement about the cruise, she would feel okay about asking why he wasn’t leaving Red in charge as usual. But she didn’t want to bring up the subject herself, because she would have to admit to snooping on Max’s desk, and it also might sound as if she didn’t like Denise. Everyone agreed that Denise was wonderful; the point was how unfair it was for Max to pick
anyone
over Red.

She had tried the joking approach already. Hinting
about the wedding and the cruise hadn’t worked. Now Stevie thought she might be able to engage Max in a casual conversation, which she could then turn toward the wedding. She went directly to his office and rapped lightly on the door.

“Yes?” Max said, looking up from his paperwork.

“Hi, Max,” Stevie said, trying to make her voice sound normal. She sat down on the sofa and picked up a horse magazine. “Great weather for our lesson, isn’t it?”

“Is there something you need, Stevie?” Max asked, his voice testy. He glanced at his watch distractedly, stood up, and began to stack the mess on his desk into neat piles.

“Oh, are you in a hurry?” Stevie asked. “There’s plenty of time until the lesson.”

“I realize that, Stevie, but I have a few things to take care of, all right? If you need to talk to me, say so.”

Stevie stared openmouthed at her riding instructor. Max was acting more irritable than she’d seen him in a long, long time. She was about to make another attempt at conversation. Then she thought better of it. With the diAngelos and Red to worry about, and his own plans to consider, Max obviously had a lot on his mind. Before he could get more worked up, Stevie
murmured something about being glad that Denise was going to teach at camp, and slipped out the door.

To her surprise, Max called after her. “Stevie! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. See you in the lesson, okay?”

Now Stevie was really astonished. It was one thing for Max to get annoyed with her for pestering him. It was quite another for him to
apologize
for getting annoyed. In fact, Stevie could count on one hand—maybe even on a couple of fingers—the number of times Max had said he was sorry to her. Backing away, she gave him the best smile she could manage and then hurried to the stalls to find Lisa and Carole.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Lisa commented when she saw Stevie’s face. She had Prancer cross-tied in the aisle and was currying the mare vigorously. Carole had stationed Starlight one pair of cross-ties down so that she could talk with Lisa while they groomed.

“Actually, I saw something weirder,” Stevie said. “I went to try to get Max into a conversation about his wedding, but before I could get two words in, he nearly bit my head off.”

“That’s weird?” Carole asked. She pulled a few long hairs out of Starlight’s perfectly kept mane.

“No, that’s normal—or close to it. The thing that spooked me is that he apologized for snapping at me.”

Both Carole and Lisa stopped grooming and looked at Stevie. “Boy, this Red-Veronica thing must really be bothering him,” Carole said, her voice sympathetic.