Stables S.O.S. (15 page)

I looked across the yard in the evening light to gaze at Drummer, my eyes glancing to the adjoining stable where a new brass nameplate successfully covered the mark left by the old one.

Hearing footsteps, I turned around.

“Hey there, Pony Whisperer!” said James, grinning at me.

I grinned back. “I didn't know you were still here.”

“I've just been around the new field again,” he explained, holding up a couple of lengths of baler twine. “I found these—the farmer used to make hay on that field, and every time I walk around it, I find some more old string.”

“I'll help you find some more tomorrow, if you like,” I told him.
I
wouldn't mind that
, I thought,
a
chance
to
spend
some
time
alone
with
James
.

“Am I
ever
going out tonight?” called Drummer.

“OK,” I told him, walking over and leading him out onto the yard.

“I'll come with you,” offered James, and the three of us walked past the outdoor school and to the field. James stayed by the gate as I led Drummer inside and took off his halter, offering him a carrot.

“Thanks,” he mumbled. Then he stopped chewing and looked into my eyes, nuzzling my elbow gently. “And thanks for, well,
you
know,” he added.

Smiling, I stroked his nose. It was like velvet.

“You're welcome, Drummer. You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you,” I whispered to him, thinking back to the day I'd thrown my Brookdale sash into the flames.
It
was
worth
it
after
all
, I thought. Drummer was my most favorite person in the whole world.

“Yeah, well, likewise,” my pony replied. “And that's why I've had a word,” he added, walking off to meet up with the object of his desire, asking her whether she'd enjoyed her ride out with Tiffany and Moth earlier.

“What do you mean?” I called after him, puzzled, but he didn't explain.

It had taken about three minutes for everyone to agree what we would all buy with the reward check.

It had been a unanimous, total no-brainer, and I only fleetingly allowed myself to imagine spending five hundred dollars (the six-way split which Dee calculated immediately on account of her fancy education—we were all counting on our fingers when she put us out of our misery with a derisive snort) on some new tack for Drummer. I knew he would be all for the final, collective decision.

“It's great to see them together. They really do adore each other, don't they?” said James, leaning his elbows on the gate and watching Drummer and Bambi nibble each other's withers.

I nodded. Our combined reward money had bought us a skewbald mare for the person who loved her most—apart from Drummer. It had been a good buy.

“She's totally yours,” our elected spokesperson Katy had told an overwhelmed Cat. “We all want you to have Bambi. It will be exactly the same as before—you always paid for her keep. Well now she's yours
completely
.”

“Are you sure?” Cat had said, shaking her head in disbelief. Then she had wept a lot and hugged everyone—even me—and couldn't stop thanking us, and I think everyone had been a bit emotional. Even James had looked choked up but had managed to turn it into a cough. Looking at Drummer and Bambi together now, I knew we had spent the money wisely. Aunt Pam had taken nothing but Bambi's nameplate to put on her stable at the bottom of her garden—apparently Emily had set her heart on having a Bambi pony, so now she had a stable and a nameplate—perfect pony to come.

James and I watched Drummer and Bambi wander off into the sunset together. How perfect it all was. I sighed. I could just hear them talking as they walked away from us. I was wrong. Things weren't so perfect.

“You're looking a bit round these days, aren't you?” I heard Drummer say, looking Bambi over.

“What are you saying?” Bambi replied huffily, her head rising in indignation.

“Only that I hope you're not letting yourself go,” Drummer said.

“Letting myself GO?” Bambi cried, flattening her ears on to her neck and snaking her head at Drummer in fury.

“Keep your mane on!” said Drum. “I only said…”

It was exactly like when my mom had gotten fed up with her new boyfriends. At least that wasn't happening with Mike-the-bike. Quite the opposite. Don't tell me the novelty was wearing off between Drummer and Bambi after we'd gone to so much trouble!

“What are they saying?” asked James, tilting his head as he turned to look at me, his hair flopping over one ear.

“Oh, nothing,” I lied, my stomach doing a flip.

“Do you know, Pia,” James went on, “even if we hadn't all got that check from Jessica I know we would have saved Bambi for Cat somehow. You were so determined to do it.”

Uh-oh
, I thought.
I'm getting credit I don't deserve again
. A change of subject was needed. “Does anyone know where Leanne has moved Mr. Higgins to?” I asked.

“That snotty Box Meadow Stables where she can concentrate on her horse ballet,” James replied. “Anyway, who cares? She never really made an effort to fit in. I won't miss her.”

“I wonder who we'll get in Mr. Higgins's old stable?” I said, matching James's posture as I leaned on the gate and watched the ponies in their new field. I hoped it would be someone nice, and a horse or pony that would get along with the others. And it occurred to me that whoever it was,
they
would be the newbie—not me. At last!

“Did you know that Bean's going out with Declan tomorrow night?” James asked ever so casually, picking at a splinter on the gate.

“Oh. No, I didn't,” I said, deciding I'd call Bean later and give her a hard time. She'd kept that quiet!

“They're going to see a movie,” James explained, still working intently at the splinter.

Why
hadn't Bean said anything?
I wondered. I'd have thought, after all we'd been through…

“So, er, Drummer suggested you might like to go, too,” said James.

“Drummer did?” I asked, puzzled.
James
was
supposed
to
talk
to
Moth
when
he
borrowed
Epona, not Drummer
, I thought. “Well, Drummer's got that wrong,” I said, frowning. “I'd be a third wheel.”

“No, you wouldn't,” James replied, giving me a look, “not if you were with me.”

My heart started thumping. Surely James could hear it? Surely the whole world could hear it? How stupid was I?
What
else
had
Drummer
had
a
word
about?
I thought, hardly daring to go there. Just how much did James know about my feelings for him? I had a sudden urge to run across the field and tackle my pony.

“Er, yeah, OK, that would be great,” I said instead, not daring to look at James. There was just one thing…

“Er, James, I just want you to know…” I began, the karma thing thudding away in my brain—you know—getting back what you dish out and everything.

“Yeah?”

“Um, I just wanted you to know that the reason I wanted to save Bambi for Cat was really for Drummer's sake. I didn't do it for Cat—like you seem to think.”

“Oh. I see. Well, in that case, the date's off,” said James, looking at me sternly.

My heart skipped a beat. Karma my…

“Not really!” laughed James. “I know you love that bay pony more than anything in the world. I can recognize competition when I see it!”

And that bay pony, I realized with a grin, loved me back!

“We've saved Bambi. We've saved the stables,” I sighed, feeling like I was going to burst, “and Cat and I are almost real friends. Do you think we could all go back to doing some normal things now? Riding and going to shows and having some fun?”

“Normal!” snorted James. “What's
normal
to the Pony Whisperer?”

I laughed. James was right. Normal was never going to be an option with Epona in my pocket and the ponies turning everyday happenings inside out, back to front, and upside down.

And
that
, I decided, was just how I liked it!

Janet Rising's work with horses has included working at a donkey stud, producing show ponies, and teaching both adults and children, with a special interest in helping nervous riders enjoy their sport, as well as training owners on how to handle their horses and ponies from the ground. Always passionate about writing, Janet's first short story was published when she was fourteen, and for the past ten years, she has been editor of
PONY
, Britain's top-selling horsy teen magazine.