Western Star

Kate set the alarm clock. “We’ll leave before dawn,” she said, pulling on a jacket and boots. “I’m going to go call Dad.”

“We shouldn’t ride bareback,” Carole suggested after Kate left.

That made sense. This wasn’t a pleasure ride. This was serious business. The lives of many horses could be on the line.

A minute later Kate reappeared. Her face looked grim.

“What’s the matter?” asked Stevie.

“The phone’s dead. The storm must have knocked it out,” Kate answered. “It looks like we’re on our own.”

“T
HERE
!” L
ISA
A
TWOOD
declared as she folded a dishtowel. “I’ve dried the very last pot. And put it away.
Now
can I go call Stevie and Carole?” she asked her mother.

“Of course,” her mother said. “Just as soon as you—”

“See you later, Mom!” Lisa said, running up the stairs. She suspected her mother was teasing anyway. Mrs. Atwood knew Lisa was dying to talk with her best friends, Stevie Lake and Carole Hanson. There was exciting news to discuss—Christmas was less than a week away and she’d just learned that she and her friends were getting a
wonderful
present!

Lisa blessed the miracle of three-way calling as she dialed her friends’ numbers. It saved so much time
when she wanted to talk with Stevie and Carole at once.

The three girls had been best friends from the moment they discovered what they had in common. They were all horse-crazy. They were so horse-crazy that they’d invented The Saddle Club for themselves. It had only two rules: Members had to be horse-crazy and they had to be willing to help one another out. The first part was easy. The second part had sometimes been hard, but it was almost always fun.

Lisa thought it was a good thing that the three of them had a strong common bond in their love of horses, because in almost every other way, the girls could not have been more different.

Lisa was studious and methodical. Stevie claimed that Lisa’s report cards were dull because the only letter on them was A. Stevie’s report cards were much more interesting than that! It wasn’t because Stevie wasn’t smart. She was very smart; but even she admitted that she could be lazy. Most of the “interesting” parts of Stevie’s report cards were penciled notes in the “conduct” section. She had a nose for trouble—and was always getting into it. Fortunately, she was almost as good at getting out of it.

Carole Hanson was the best rider of the three. She’d taken up riding as a very young girl, when she and her family had lived on various Marine Corps bases. When she was ten, they’d moved to the town of Willow Creek,
Virginia, not far from Quantico, where her father worked. She had lived alone with her father since her mother’s death from cancer a few years earlier. Carole had decided long ago that she would work with horses when she grew up. The only problem was that she kept changing her mind. One day she was going to be a horse trainer; another day it was a breeder, an instructor, a grand prix rider, or a vet. Some days it was all of them. Horses were her life.

The three girls rode at Pine Hollow Stables in Willow Creek. Pine Hollow’s owner, Max Regnery, was their instructor and Pony Club director. Stevie and Carole owned horses and boarded them at Pine Hollow. Stevie’s was a big, frisky mare named Belle. Carole rode a talented bay half-thoroughbred gelding named Starlight. Lisa rode Pine Hollow’s horses. At the moment she was working with an ex-racehorse named Prancer. Lisa was the newest rider of the three, and she found that learning to ride on a variety of horses was helping her improve fast. Prancer still had a lot to teach her.

The three girls had started The Saddle Club, but they weren’t the only members. They were just the only members in Willow Creek. They thought of their other horse-crazy friends as out-of-town members. The out-of-town members included Stevie’s boyfriend. His name was Phil Marsten. He lived a few towns away and belonged to the Cross County Pony Club. Two other out-of-town members
lived almost all the way across the country. They were Kate Devine and Christine Lonetree. The Saddle Club didn’t think they got to see anywhere near enough of them, but that was going to change this week. The Saddle Club was going to travel.

Kate’s family owned a dude ranch called the Bar None, and Stevie, Carole, and Lisa’s big Christmas present from their families was a trip out West to visit Kate for a few days before Christmas. Today was Friday. They were leaving bright and early Sunday morning. Since Christmas was on Thursday, it was going to be a quick visit. They all wanted to be with their own families for Christmas Day.

“Can you believe it?” Stevie said when Lisa and Carole were both on the telephone line. “All the way out to the ranch for three days. I can’t wait!”

To some people, it might have seemed odd that the girls would travel so far for such a short visit, but Kate Devine’s father was a retired Marine Corps pilot and he worked part-time flying a private plane. The best part was that the good-natured owner of the plane made frequent trips to nearby Washington, D.C. Frank Devine rarely made a trip to Washington without taking a plane full of Saddle Club members back West. This trip would be no exception.

“We haven’t been there in the winter before,” said
Stevie. “It’s always been pretty warm weather. Since the Bar None is in the mountains, I bet it’s going to be cold.”

“No bet on that one,” Carole said. “Frank called Dad and gave him a list of the clothes we’re supposed to bring. First thing on the list is long underwear!”

“And what comes next? A second set of long underwear?” Stevie asked.

“No, it’s gloves, scarves, sweaters, earmuffs, mittens, and heavy jackets. I think Dad is going to let me raid his Marine Corps foul-weather-gear closet,” Carole said.

“I have things I wore skiing in Vermont,” Stevie said. “Those should keep me warm enough.”

“You know my mother,” Lisa said. “She’s already been to the mall and bought me warm but stylish clothes for the visit!”

The girls laughed. Lisa’s mother was very fashion-conscious and always saw to it that Lisa’s wardrobe was complete.

“Uh-oh,” Stevie said. “That means Frank Devine is going to have to trade up his boss’s airplane for a bigger one just to accommodate your eight suitcases, right?”

“I promise—no more than three,” Lisa said.

“Right, one for each day we’re there,” Stevie said.

“Exactly,” Lisa agreed. “Would you expect less from my mother?”

“Not for a minute,” Stevie assured her. “But I bet your
mother had quite a time at the mall. It’s just crammed with Christmas shoppers this time of year.”

“Oh no,” Carole said.

“What?” Lisa asked.

“Christmas shopping. Going to the Bar None means we lose four days of Christmas shopping,” Carole said.

“You have
four days
of shopping to do?” Stevie asked. “I only have two days of shopping to do, but I’ve only got half a day of money, so that simplifies that!”

“That’s not what Carole meant,” Lisa said. “She means she only has one day of shopping to do, but since we’ll be at the Bar None, she’s losing three days to procrastinate!”

Carole laughed. “Oh, you know me too well. I guess I just got so interested in working with Starlight for the drill Max designed that I’ve forgotten about all the gifts I need to get.”

“Does that mean you haven’t even bought presents for me and Lisa yet?” Stevie asked.

“Oh, um, no. I mean, of course I got
your
presents months ago,” Carole assured Stevie. “I’m talking about stuff for other people.”

Lisa thought it sounded as if Carole probably hadn’t gotten her a present yet. That didn’t bother her. In fact, it made her feel a little better. She had gifts for her family, but she didn’t know what to get for Carole and
Stevie. Now she’d been reminded that she had only one day to get something for them—and that day was going to be mostly taken up with Horse Wise.