toward the horses. Lisa realized that Carole hadn’t said much during their conversation, but she figured her friend was just tired. She’d mentioned that her nightmare had kept her up half the night. She was sure to snap out of it after a good night’s sleep.
As The Saddle Club rode back toward Pine Hollow, Stevie and Lisa continued to talk about the mystery for a while, then eventually shifted to the topic of what they were going to wear to Phil’s bar mitzvah. Stevie’s parents were picking them up right after Horse Wise to take them to the synagogue, so they would have to shower and change clothes at the stable.
Carole responded when she was spoken to, but that was all. Most of her attention was not on the conversation but on her own thoughts. She knew that a bad fall could make even an experienced rider a little nervous for a while, but she didn’t feel a bit nervous riding Barq today. It was only the thought of riding Starlight that made her stomach clench up in knots, and she didn’t like what that seemed to mean.
Could Carole possibly be afraid of her own horse?
T HE NEXT DAY , as soon as Stevie rode Belle into the outdoor ring for riding lessons, her eyes lit up. Shannon was there! She was leaning on the fence outside the ring with her eyes trained on Joe, who was clearly showing off for her as he rode his mount, a dark chestnut gelding named Rusty, around the ring at a trot.
“Check it out!” Stevie whispered to Lisa, who was right behind her on Prancer. “Joe must have invited her to watch the lesson.”
“Hmmm,” Lisa said.
“This will be the perfect chance to scope her out,” Stevie said excitedly. “Not that I haven’t been keeping an eye on her in school, of course. But this is much better. She’s returnedto the scene of the crime. Aren’t all criminals supposed to do that?”
“I guess so,” Lisa said. She glanced around. “By the way, where’s Carole? Is she going to be able to ride today, or is Starlight’s neck still bothering him?”
“I saw her inside,” Stevie said. “She was carrying his tack, so I guess she’s decided to ride him. If you ask me, she was being a little overcautious yesterday anyway.”
In the barn, Carole was thinking the same thing as she carefully tacked up Starlight. She was also thinking that for once in her life she didn’t feel like riding. She’d had another scary dream the night before in which Starlight became the phantom horse, and she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She frowned at herself and did her best to put it out of her mind. If she was nervous and uncomfortable, her horse would pick up on it and become nervous and uncomfortable himself.
She tightened the gelding’s girth and led him toward the stable entrance. It was time for the lesson to start, and Max hated it when his students were late. Carole wasn’t looking forward to the coming hour, but she had to get through it somehow. She’d just have to concentrate on what she was doing and hope for the best.
A S THE LESSON began, Stevie vowed to keep a close eye on Shannon. But Max had other ideas. Every time Stevie snuck a peek at Shannon, who was sitting in the bleachers between the ring and the stable building, Max noticed andyelled at her. That didn’t stop Stevie from doing it, but it stopped her from doing it as often as she would have liked. And it kept her from being a hundred percent certain that Shannon hadn’t moved from her seat.
When the lesson ended Stevie was the first one out of the ring. She led Belle over to where Shannon was sitting.
“Hi, Shannon,” Stevie said, smiling sweetly. “Did you enjoy the lesson?”
Shannon seemed a little surprised that Stevie had come over to speak to her. “Yes, it was very interesting,” she said in her soft voice. She lifted one arm to push back a stray lock of her long, wavy hair, and as she did so Stevie heard a soft jingle of bells. She looked at Shannon’s arm and almost gasped aloud. At school that day Stevie
As The Saddle Club rode back toward Pine Hollow, Stevie and Lisa continued to talk about the mystery for a while, then eventually shifted to the topic of what they were going to wear to Phil’s bar mitzvah. Stevie’s parents were picking them up right after Horse Wise to take them to the synagogue, so they would have to shower and change clothes at the stable.
Carole responded when she was spoken to, but that was all. Most of her attention was not on the conversation but on her own thoughts. She knew that a bad fall could make even an experienced rider a little nervous for a while, but she didn’t feel a bit nervous riding Barq today. It was only the thought of riding Starlight that made her stomach clench up in knots, and she didn’t like what that seemed to mean.
Could Carole possibly be afraid of her own horse?
T HE NEXT DAY , as soon as Stevie rode Belle into the outdoor ring for riding lessons, her eyes lit up. Shannon was there! She was leaning on the fence outside the ring with her eyes trained on Joe, who was clearly showing off for her as he rode his mount, a dark chestnut gelding named Rusty, around the ring at a trot.
“Check it out!” Stevie whispered to Lisa, who was right behind her on Prancer. “Joe must have invited her to watch the lesson.”
“Hmmm,” Lisa said.
“This will be the perfect chance to scope her out,” Stevie said excitedly. “Not that I haven’t been keeping an eye on her in school, of course. But this is much better. She’s returnedto the scene of the crime. Aren’t all criminals supposed to do that?”
“I guess so,” Lisa said. She glanced around. “By the way, where’s Carole? Is she going to be able to ride today, or is Starlight’s neck still bothering him?”
“I saw her inside,” Stevie said. “She was carrying his tack, so I guess she’s decided to ride him. If you ask me, she was being a little overcautious yesterday anyway.”
In the barn, Carole was thinking the same thing as she carefully tacked up Starlight. She was also thinking that for once in her life she didn’t feel like riding. She’d had another scary dream the night before in which Starlight became the phantom horse, and she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She frowned at herself and did her best to put it out of her mind. If she was nervous and uncomfortable, her horse would pick up on it and become nervous and uncomfortable himself.
She tightened the gelding’s girth and led him toward the stable entrance. It was time for the lesson to start, and Max hated it when his students were late. Carole wasn’t looking forward to the coming hour, but she had to get through it somehow. She’d just have to concentrate on what she was doing and hope for the best.
A S THE LESSON began, Stevie vowed to keep a close eye on Shannon. But Max had other ideas. Every time Stevie snuck a peek at Shannon, who was sitting in the bleachers between the ring and the stable building, Max noticed andyelled at her. That didn’t stop Stevie from doing it, but it stopped her from doing it as often as she would have liked. And it kept her from being a hundred percent certain that Shannon hadn’t moved from her seat.
When the lesson ended Stevie was the first one out of the ring. She led Belle over to where Shannon was sitting.
“Hi, Shannon,” Stevie said, smiling sweetly. “Did you enjoy the lesson?”
Shannon seemed a little surprised that Stevie had come over to speak to her. “Yes, it was very interesting,” she said in her soft voice. She lifted one arm to push back a stray lock of her long, wavy hair, and as she did so Stevie heard a soft jingle of bells. She looked at Shannon’s arm and almost gasped aloud. At school that day Stevie
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