Horse Trouble Read Free Page A

knowing she was lying to him. “Isn’t it time for you to get home now?” Max asked. “We want you rested and well for tomorrow’s jump class. You’re doing very well, you know. I’m awfully flattered. You should be, too.”
    “Thanks, Max,” she said, and in spite of the fact that her mind wasn’t on her riding, she was very pleased by his words. Max wasn’t usually very free with compliments. “I’m on my way now,” she said. “Stevie and Carole are waiting for me. Good night.”
    She couldn’t leave fast enough. There was no point in staying at Pine Hollow. There was nothing there for them. They’d made absolutely sure of that.
    The three girls left Pine Hollow for the second time that afternoon. Stevie and Lisa lived near one another. Carole was going home with Stevie because her father was picking her up at Stevie’s house instead of at the stable, since he wouldn’t be able to get off work for another hour. They didn’t talk much as they walked. Stevie had just one question.
    “Was Veronica lying?”
    Lisa mentally ran through the brief phone conversation again. She would have liked to say she thoughtVeronica was lying, but the fact was she was just about certain she wasn’t. For one thing, Veronica had a real disdain for fake jewelry. She had a real disdain for anything that didn’t cost a lot of money. For another thing, in spite of all the awful things Lisa could say about her—and there were a lot of them—Veronica wasn’t a thief.
    “No,” Lisa said finally. “She really believed the thing was a fake, and she would never be interested in something that wasn’t real. Veronica is not the culprit. Trouble is, I don’t know who is. I guess that means it’s me.” Without another word, she split off from Carole and Stevie and headed for her house.
    “See you tomorrow,” Stevie called after her, trying to sound cheerful. Lisa just grunted in response.
    “Poor Lisa,” Stevie said. “She just feels awful. I guess I do, too.”
    “I’m getting a feeling,” Stevie said.
    “What kind of feeling?” Carole asked.
    “I’m getting a feeling that our friend needs our help,” Stevie said.
    “Yes, it’s definitely a Saddle Club project,” Carole agreed. “All we have to do is figure out what happened to the pin, find it, and get it back to Mrs. Reg before she notices that it’s gone.”
    “I have a new motto for The Saddle Club,” Steviesaid. “ ‘The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer.’ ”
    One of the few things Stevie’s friends loved most about her was her ability to find something to laugh about in the darkest moments.
    “But how
much
longer?” Carole asked. This time she couldn’t laugh.
    T HE NEXT MORNING Lisa was feeling no better about the awful situation than she had the night before.
    “Why hasn’t Mrs. Reg called?” Lisa asked herself. She stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom, combing her hair and getting ready for the disaster that this day was sure to be. She’d been in front of the mirror, practicing explanations for more than half an hour. None of them seemed adequate, even when paired with her most sincere apologies. And every time she closed her eyes, she saw an image of the pin, gold glinting in the sun, diamond eye sparkling brightly. Now it was gone.
    Then she answered her own question. The reason Mrs. Reg hadn’t called was that she trusted Lisa. She knew Lisa would never do anything careless with her valuable pin, and she knew that whatever reason Lisa had for not putting it in her drawer last night, as she’dpromised, was a good one, and Lisa would be there with the pin in the morning.
    Only she wouldn’t be. Mrs. Reg was wrong this time. Lisa was not trustworthy. She’d gotten so interested in playing a joke on Veronica and then on chasing a cat and a mouse that she’d forgotten all about a golden horse. She didn’t deserve Mrs. Reg’s trust, and she knew she would never have it again.
    She met