wasn’t coming back, it reminded me of the day my mother died. I don’t ever want to feel that way again. So I’m quitting.”
“Carole!” Lisa said, her voice filled with worry.
“Lisa, I think we should get to the bus stop now,” Stevie said, cutting her off.
Lisa was about to remind Stevie that her mother was picking them up at Carole’s in an hour when she saw the look on Stevie’s face and clammed up.
“We do?”
“Yeah, sure,” she agreed. “Will you be okay, Carole? I’ll see you in school tomorrow.”
Carole nodded.
Lisa and Stevie backed out of her room and quickly went downstairs. Colonel Hanson was in the kitchen making dinner.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” he asked the girls.
“Yeah,” Stevie said. “She says she doesn’t want to ride again.”
“Well, if she wants to give it up, that’s her choice,” the colonel said.
“But it’s not a choice!” Lisa protested. “It’s some kind of phony escape. Horses are too important to her.”
“Well, certainly
one
horse was,” Stevie said.
“We’ll just have to see what happens,” Carole’s father said. Stevie and Lisa reluctantly agreed with that.
“I DON ’ T UNDERSTAND Carole,” Lisa said as she and Stevie waited around the corner from Carole’s house for Mrs. Atwood to pick them up.
“I’m not sure I do, either. But it looks like a bad case of horse shyness, like after an accident. This time, she can’t just climb back up on the horse—because the horse isn’t there. I have the feeling that nothing we say or do will help. She’ll have to come around on her own. Look, are we horse crazy, or what?” Stevie asked.
“We’re horse crazy,” Lisa agreed.
“So, our only choice is to keep riding and try to help Carole come around. After all, she’s horse crazy,too, but right now, she’s more crazy than she is horse. You’ll be at class on Saturday, won’t you?”
“Of course,” Lisa told her.
“So, we’ll ride and then, afterward, we have some work to do.”
“We do?”
“Yeah, remember how we planned to do research on Max the First?”
“Oh, yeah, we want to find out if he really was in the Russian Revolution.”
“I think we know he wasn’t there, but the question is: Where was he? You said we should start in the library.”
“Right! We can look at the back issues of
The Willow Creek Gazette
. That’ll be fun.” Lisa knew that Stevie was right. At least the two of them would continue riding and having fun together. But she wondered how long The Saddle Club would survive with just two members.
“Y OU ’ RE REALLY LEARNING fast, Lisa!” Stevie complimented her after class on Saturday. “Your seat is much firmer, your contact is better. I mean, you’re riding!”
“It seems like months ago that I didn’t know anything about horses—except for which was the front end and which wasn’t. But, actually, it’s only weeks, right?”
“If you keep on learning at the rate you’re going now, it’ll seem like years when it’s only weeks. And then, when school’s out and summer starts, we’ll be able to ride almost every day. You’ll be a champion by August.”
“You mean I’ll be as good as you?” Lisa teased.
Stevie, who was very proud of her own hard-earned riding skills, glanced sideways at Lisa. When she sawthe sly grin on the older girl’s face, she knew Lisa was joking.
“Oh, that’ll happen about the same day Max sprouts wings!”
“I noticed some feathers on his back today,” Lisa joked.
Together, the two girls walked back into town. Each had come to riding class armed with notebook, pencil, and library card.
The sun was shining brightly off the sidewalk. It was a hot Saturday, promising an even hotter summer to come. It was a day to sit by a pool—or better yet,
in
a pool—not one to be at the library. But the unspoken agreement between Lisa and Stevie was that as long as they worked hard together on a Saddle Club project (like finding out who the
real
Max the
“Carole!” Lisa said, her voice filled with worry.
“Lisa, I think we should get to the bus stop now,” Stevie said, cutting her off.
Lisa was about to remind Stevie that her mother was picking them up at Carole’s in an hour when she saw the look on Stevie’s face and clammed up.
“We do?”
“Yeah, sure,” she agreed. “Will you be okay, Carole? I’ll see you in school tomorrow.”
Carole nodded.
Lisa and Stevie backed out of her room and quickly went downstairs. Colonel Hanson was in the kitchen making dinner.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” he asked the girls.
“Yeah,” Stevie said. “She says she doesn’t want to ride again.”
“Well, if she wants to give it up, that’s her choice,” the colonel said.
“But it’s not a choice!” Lisa protested. “It’s some kind of phony escape. Horses are too important to her.”
“Well, certainly
one
horse was,” Stevie said.
“We’ll just have to see what happens,” Carole’s father said. Stevie and Lisa reluctantly agreed with that.
“I DON ’ T UNDERSTAND Carole,” Lisa said as she and Stevie waited around the corner from Carole’s house for Mrs. Atwood to pick them up.
“I’m not sure I do, either. But it looks like a bad case of horse shyness, like after an accident. This time, she can’t just climb back up on the horse—because the horse isn’t there. I have the feeling that nothing we say or do will help. She’ll have to come around on her own. Look, are we horse crazy, or what?” Stevie asked.
“We’re horse crazy,” Lisa agreed.
“So, our only choice is to keep riding and try to help Carole come around. After all, she’s horse crazy,too, but right now, she’s more crazy than she is horse. You’ll be at class on Saturday, won’t you?”
“Of course,” Lisa told her.
“So, we’ll ride and then, afterward, we have some work to do.”
“We do?”
“Yeah, remember how we planned to do research on Max the First?”
“Oh, yeah, we want to find out if he really was in the Russian Revolution.”
“I think we know he wasn’t there, but the question is: Where was he? You said we should start in the library.”
“Right! We can look at the back issues of
The Willow Creek Gazette
. That’ll be fun.” Lisa knew that Stevie was right. At least the two of them would continue riding and having fun together. But she wondered how long The Saddle Club would survive with just two members.
“Y OU ’ RE REALLY LEARNING fast, Lisa!” Stevie complimented her after class on Saturday. “Your seat is much firmer, your contact is better. I mean, you’re riding!”
“It seems like months ago that I didn’t know anything about horses—except for which was the front end and which wasn’t. But, actually, it’s only weeks, right?”
“If you keep on learning at the rate you’re going now, it’ll seem like years when it’s only weeks. And then, when school’s out and summer starts, we’ll be able to ride almost every day. You’ll be a champion by August.”
“You mean I’ll be as good as you?” Lisa teased.
Stevie, who was very proud of her own hard-earned riding skills, glanced sideways at Lisa. When she sawthe sly grin on the older girl’s face, she knew Lisa was joking.
“Oh, that’ll happen about the same day Max sprouts wings!”
“I noticed some feathers on his back today,” Lisa joked.
Together, the two girls walked back into town. Each had come to riding class armed with notebook, pencil, and library card.
The sun was shining brightly off the sidewalk. It was a hot Saturday, promising an even hotter summer to come. It was a day to sit by a pool—or better yet,
in
a pool—not one to be at the library. But the unspoken agreement between Lisa and Stevie was that as long as they worked hard together on a Saddle Club project (like finding out who the
real
Max the