meeting was over.
Stevie, Carole, and Lisa cross tied their horses in a row so that they could chat as they untacked and groomed. Carole talked practically nonstop about how happy she was for Stevie.
“It’s really a great honor, you know. We all know you’ve been working hard with Belle ever since you gother, and now we know that Max knows it, too. What’s more, he knows all the progress you’ve made. Just wait until he hands you that torch and you go out in front of all the other riders. It’s the greatest feeling in the world. Belle’s going to like it, too. She’s a show-off, you know. She likes being the center of things—”
“Oh, Stevie, this is going to be so great!” Lisa said, interrupting Carole’s analysis. “It’s exciting.”
“And mostly it’s going to be fun,” Stevie said.
Stevie considered that the most important part of the Starlight Ride—the fact that it was fun.
For a while the girls worked in silence. Stevie had gotten so excited about the Starlight Ride that she forgot she had to hurry now. Her father had promised to take her to the mall to shop for Lisa and Carole, if and only if she got home by three o’clock. She looked at her watch. She had twenty minutes. She brushed Belle faster.
Carole’s mind was racing. She had to catch the 3:15 bus to the mall to finish her Christmas shopping. She didn’t think she had much time, but she didn’t want to look at her watch. She didn’t want her friends to know she was in a hurry because she still had to buy them presents.
Lisa kept glancing through the dingy window of the stable to see if her mother’s car was there yet. Her mother had agreed to pick her up at Pine Hollow to take her out to the mall. Finally the car pulled in. Now thetrick was going to be getting out to it without letting her friends know what she was up to. She didn’t want them to know she was going to the mall to look for their Christmas gifts. Lisa looked at her watch. She couldn’t wait any longer. She finished grooming Prancer.
“Oh boy,” she said, dropping a dandy brush into Prancer’s grooming bucket. “I’ve got to go. Mom’s here. We’re going to my godmother’s for tea this afternoon. You guys doing anything?” she asked, trying to sound casual.
“Nothing as exciting as tea with your godmother,” Carole said. “I have to catch the three-fifteen bus so I can get home and wash my hair this afternoon.”
“What about you, Stevie?” Lisa asked.
“I’m going straight home. I’ve got some, um … I need to … well … ironing. I have to iron all my clothes so I can pack tonight,” Stevie said.
Well, that answered that. Lisa could head for the mall without worrying about getting caught. She told her friends she’d see them in the morning, then took Prancer back to her stall and hurried out of Pine Hollow.
Her mother reached over and opened the door to their car. Lisa climbed in. She was glad her friends didn’t remember that her godmother lived in Missouri.
“M EET ME BACK here in one hour, Stevie, okay?” her father said to her as they got out of the car in the mall parking lot.
Stevie looked at her watch. It was 3:35. One hour wasn’t much time. She nodded and waved to her father, then ran more than walked into the first store she found.
I’ve got to get something perfect for Lisa and Carole
, she thought. She looked around, her eyes scanning the shelves, convinced that she would see the perfect thing in an instant—or at least in less than an hour.
There was nothing on the shelves around her, and for a moment she couldn’t understand why. Then it came to her: She was in a hardware store. In a way it wasn’tsurprising. That was the store her father was going to. He was giving himself a new power drill for Christmas. But somehow she didn’t think she was going to find the perfect gift for The Saddle Club in a hardware store.
There isn’t a wrench in the world good enough for my friends!
Stevie declared to
Stevie, Carole, and Lisa cross tied their horses in a row so that they could chat as they untacked and groomed. Carole talked practically nonstop about how happy she was for Stevie.
“It’s really a great honor, you know. We all know you’ve been working hard with Belle ever since you gother, and now we know that Max knows it, too. What’s more, he knows all the progress you’ve made. Just wait until he hands you that torch and you go out in front of all the other riders. It’s the greatest feeling in the world. Belle’s going to like it, too. She’s a show-off, you know. She likes being the center of things—”
“Oh, Stevie, this is going to be so great!” Lisa said, interrupting Carole’s analysis. “It’s exciting.”
“And mostly it’s going to be fun,” Stevie said.
Stevie considered that the most important part of the Starlight Ride—the fact that it was fun.
For a while the girls worked in silence. Stevie had gotten so excited about the Starlight Ride that she forgot she had to hurry now. Her father had promised to take her to the mall to shop for Lisa and Carole, if and only if she got home by three o’clock. She looked at her watch. She had twenty minutes. She brushed Belle faster.
Carole’s mind was racing. She had to catch the 3:15 bus to the mall to finish her Christmas shopping. She didn’t think she had much time, but she didn’t want to look at her watch. She didn’t want her friends to know she was in a hurry because she still had to buy them presents.
Lisa kept glancing through the dingy window of the stable to see if her mother’s car was there yet. Her mother had agreed to pick her up at Pine Hollow to take her out to the mall. Finally the car pulled in. Now thetrick was going to be getting out to it without letting her friends know what she was up to. She didn’t want them to know she was going to the mall to look for their Christmas gifts. Lisa looked at her watch. She couldn’t wait any longer. She finished grooming Prancer.
“Oh boy,” she said, dropping a dandy brush into Prancer’s grooming bucket. “I’ve got to go. Mom’s here. We’re going to my godmother’s for tea this afternoon. You guys doing anything?” she asked, trying to sound casual.
“Nothing as exciting as tea with your godmother,” Carole said. “I have to catch the three-fifteen bus so I can get home and wash my hair this afternoon.”
“What about you, Stevie?” Lisa asked.
“I’m going straight home. I’ve got some, um … I need to … well … ironing. I have to iron all my clothes so I can pack tonight,” Stevie said.
Well, that answered that. Lisa could head for the mall without worrying about getting caught. She told her friends she’d see them in the morning, then took Prancer back to her stall and hurried out of Pine Hollow.
Her mother reached over and opened the door to their car. Lisa climbed in. She was glad her friends didn’t remember that her godmother lived in Missouri.
“M EET ME BACK here in one hour, Stevie, okay?” her father said to her as they got out of the car in the mall parking lot.
Stevie looked at her watch. It was 3:35. One hour wasn’t much time. She nodded and waved to her father, then ran more than walked into the first store she found.
I’ve got to get something perfect for Lisa and Carole
, she thought. She looked around, her eyes scanning the shelves, convinced that she would see the perfect thing in an instant—or at least in less than an hour.
There was nothing on the shelves around her, and for a moment she couldn’t understand why. Then it came to her: She was in a hardware store. In a way it wasn’tsurprising. That was the store her father was going to. He was giving himself a new power drill for Christmas. But somehow she didn’t think she was going to find the perfect gift for The Saddle Club in a hardware store.
There isn’t a wrench in the world good enough for my friends!
Stevie declared to
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