Stable Groom Read Free Page B

deal with the hassle, so he just keeps quiet,” Lisa noted.
    The situation was depressing. Red always seemed to have to bear the brunt of Veronica’s brattiness. If Max had been around, she wouldn’t have dared make a scene like that because Max wouldn’t hesitate to suspend her from riding. And if she launched an attack on The Saddle Club, they always found a way to get her back. But Red was stuck.
    It seemed even more unfair since Red was so important to Pine Hollow. He was a real horseman and Max’s right-hand man. All the things that The Saddle Club spent hours learning about in Horse Wise—conformation, feeding, saddlery, lamenesses—Red seemed to know naturally. He could answer any question about horses, he rode well, and he worked long hours uncomplainingly. He had a quiet way of doing things that seemed to reassure even the most high-strung animal. Because of his shyness, he kept a low profile around the stables. He never drew attention to his skills, and he didn’t like to compete in shows, so it sometimes took months before Pine Hollow students realized how knowledgeable he was.
    “If we wanted to do something really good forsomeone, we’d find a way to get some relief for poor Red,” Carole said reflectively.
    Stevie and Lisa agreed. It seemed that they of all people ought to be able to find a way to get Veronica off Red’s back. And doing that would make their own lives better because they wouldn’t have to listen to her tantrums every day. But dealing with Veronica was a tricky business. The only solution for now was to think about it.

W HEN THE H ORSE W ISE meeting resumed, Veronica was still making a fuss. Even though Red had hardly said anything in defense of himself, the fact that he had very politely implied that she was lying about the bit had made her extremely defensive. It turned out that she had a long list of complaints about Red. She was in the midst of delivering them to Max as The Saddle Club and the other riders entered the grain room. Red, who often helped out with Max’s afternoon lessons, stood by looking dismayed. He kept shifting his weight uncomfortably.
    “I always see him slacking off around here,” Veronica whined. She seemed to be pretending that Redwasn’t in the room. “If you can’t manage to get better-qualified help around here, camp won’t be worth coming to.”
    Something she said made Lisa frown. “Camp? Isn’t camp during the honeymoon?” she whispered, her eyes growing big.
    Carole and Stevie looked at her in alarm. They both knew what she was thinking: In the excitement of planning the Groom’s Bath, they had all forgotten about the upcoming two weeks of day camp at Pine Hollow.
    Day camp was a favorite Pine Hollow summer tradition. The students came early in the morning and spent all day at the stables. They rode twice a day, had stable management meetings, and usually worked on a special exhibition for the parents, such as a drill team ride. But with Max’s honeymoon scheduled to begin right in the middle of the two weeks, it would be very different.
    Lisa motioned for Stevie and Carole to step outside into the aisle for a minute so they could talk. It was clear that Veronica would be complaining for at least another several minutes.
    “If Veronica’s upset about Red
helping
Max during camp, what’s she going to say when she finds out he’ll be running it?” Lisa asked.
    “You think he’ll be running it?” Stevie asked.
    “Who else? Red always takes over the stables when Max goes away,” Lisa replied.
    “Probably Max is going to wait till the last minute to make that announcement. He’ll be here the first week to get things started and then take off for the cruise,” Carole guessed.
    “All right. Then
nobody
breathes a word of this to Veronica—she’d probably threaten to have Red arrested,” Lisa said.
    Stevie put her hands on her hips, offended. “Since when do we share our secret plans with Veronica?”
    Lisa smiled sweetly.