tell she was pleased.
It was Carole’s turn. She walked Starlight toward the start, passing Max on the way. He winked at her. “Nice job on your part, too, Carole,” he said quietly. “You must be some tutor.”
Carole felt her face turning as red as Merrill’s. “Thanks a lot, Max,” she whispered.
A FTER CLASS , L ISA untacked Chip and gave him a quick grooming. Then she went to Barq’s stall. Merrill was there, carefully combing out Barq’s mane. The gelding stood quietly, obviously enjoying the attention.
“Hi, Merrill,” Lisa said, leaning on the half door. “Congratulations. You did great today.”
“You mean
we
did great today,” Merrill corrected, giving Barq a pat. “Barq is incredible. He couldn’t have missed a step if he’d tried.”
“Well, you deserve credit, too, you know,” Lisa reminded her. “You were the one up there telling him what to do—and doing a terrific job of it. I knew that Carole would help. You just needed to get the hang of it.”
“Carole’s a wonderful teacher,” Merrill agreed. “And her lesson made a world of difference. But I think another reason I did so much better today was because of Barq.” She took a deep breath. “In fact, I’ve made a decision. I want my parents to buy him for me.”
“What?” Lisa’s jaw dropped. “You want to buy Barq?”
“Yes,” Merrill said, giving the gelding a hug. “He’s the perfect horse for me.”
“But …” Lisa didn’t know what to say. Merrill’s announcement had taken her completely by surprise. All she could think was that Pine Hollow without Barq would hardly seem like Pine Hollow at all.
“It makes perfect sense,” Merrill went on. “I wasn’t sure before what Carole and Stevie meant when they kept talking about how they knew it when they’d found the perfect horse. But now I know. Barq and I did everything right today. I never thought I’d be able to jump like that. I know Barq is for me. I’ll call my parents tonight.”
Lisa’s mind was racing. How could Merrill want to take Barq away from Pine Hollow? “Um, I just remembered,” she said. “I promised Stevie and Carole I’d help them with their tack. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Okay,” Merrill said, turning back to her grooming. As Lisa hurried away, she heard Merrill humming softly to herself while she worked.
She found Stevie and Carole in the tack room. “I’ve got to tell you guys something!” Lisa exclaimed breathlessly, flopping down onto a trunk.
“What is it?” Carole asked, looking concerned. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It’s Merrill who’s gone off the deep end,” Lisa said. “She’s decided on the horse she wants. It’s Barq.”
Carole and Stevie gasped. “She wants to buy Barq?” Carole exclaimed.
Lisa nodded. “We’ve got to do something.”
“Now, wait a minute, Lisa,” Stevie said. “What do you want to do? If Merrill really thinks Barq is the right horse for her, who are we to stop her?”
“But Barq belongs here,” Lisa cried. “He belongs at Pine Hollow, not up in Maine.”
“Well, we know that all of Max’s horses are for sale if someone makes the right offer,” Carole reminded her gently. “Barq is special, but Max will sell him if Merrill is serious about buying.”
“You can’t possibly think this is a good thing, Carole!” Lisa exclaimed.
“No, I don’t,” Carole said thoughtfully. “I think it’s a terrible idea. But I think I have a different reason for thinking that than you do. I’m afraid that Merrill will just be making her riding problem worse.”
“What do you mean?” Stevie asked. “Her jumping problem is solved. We saw that today.”
“That’s not exactly what I mean,” Carole said. “I’m not quite sure how to explain it. But it has something to do with what Merrill thinks of herself as a rider.”
“I don’t get it,” Lisa said flatly. “What are you talking about?”
Carole took a deep breath. “Look, we already
It was Carole’s turn. She walked Starlight toward the start, passing Max on the way. He winked at her. “Nice job on your part, too, Carole,” he said quietly. “You must be some tutor.”
Carole felt her face turning as red as Merrill’s. “Thanks a lot, Max,” she whispered.
A FTER CLASS , L ISA untacked Chip and gave him a quick grooming. Then she went to Barq’s stall. Merrill was there, carefully combing out Barq’s mane. The gelding stood quietly, obviously enjoying the attention.
“Hi, Merrill,” Lisa said, leaning on the half door. “Congratulations. You did great today.”
“You mean
we
did great today,” Merrill corrected, giving Barq a pat. “Barq is incredible. He couldn’t have missed a step if he’d tried.”
“Well, you deserve credit, too, you know,” Lisa reminded her. “You were the one up there telling him what to do—and doing a terrific job of it. I knew that Carole would help. You just needed to get the hang of it.”
“Carole’s a wonderful teacher,” Merrill agreed. “And her lesson made a world of difference. But I think another reason I did so much better today was because of Barq.” She took a deep breath. “In fact, I’ve made a decision. I want my parents to buy him for me.”
“What?” Lisa’s jaw dropped. “You want to buy Barq?”
“Yes,” Merrill said, giving the gelding a hug. “He’s the perfect horse for me.”
“But …” Lisa didn’t know what to say. Merrill’s announcement had taken her completely by surprise. All she could think was that Pine Hollow without Barq would hardly seem like Pine Hollow at all.
“It makes perfect sense,” Merrill went on. “I wasn’t sure before what Carole and Stevie meant when they kept talking about how they knew it when they’d found the perfect horse. But now I know. Barq and I did everything right today. I never thought I’d be able to jump like that. I know Barq is for me. I’ll call my parents tonight.”
Lisa’s mind was racing. How could Merrill want to take Barq away from Pine Hollow? “Um, I just remembered,” she said. “I promised Stevie and Carole I’d help them with their tack. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Okay,” Merrill said, turning back to her grooming. As Lisa hurried away, she heard Merrill humming softly to herself while she worked.
She found Stevie and Carole in the tack room. “I’ve got to tell you guys something!” Lisa exclaimed breathlessly, flopping down onto a trunk.
“What is it?” Carole asked, looking concerned. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It’s Merrill who’s gone off the deep end,” Lisa said. “She’s decided on the horse she wants. It’s Barq.”
Carole and Stevie gasped. “She wants to buy Barq?” Carole exclaimed.
Lisa nodded. “We’ve got to do something.”
“Now, wait a minute, Lisa,” Stevie said. “What do you want to do? If Merrill really thinks Barq is the right horse for her, who are we to stop her?”
“But Barq belongs here,” Lisa cried. “He belongs at Pine Hollow, not up in Maine.”
“Well, we know that all of Max’s horses are for sale if someone makes the right offer,” Carole reminded her gently. “Barq is special, but Max will sell him if Merrill is serious about buying.”
“You can’t possibly think this is a good thing, Carole!” Lisa exclaimed.
“No, I don’t,” Carole said thoughtfully. “I think it’s a terrible idea. But I think I have a different reason for thinking that than you do. I’m afraid that Merrill will just be making her riding problem worse.”
“What do you mean?” Stevie asked. “Her jumping problem is solved. We saw that today.”
“That’s not exactly what I mean,” Carole said. “I’m not quite sure how to explain it. But it has something to do with what Merrill thinks of herself as a rider.”
“I don’t get it,” Lisa said flatly. “What are you talking about?”
Carole took a deep breath. “Look, we already
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