Free Holiday Horse by Bonnie Bryant Page B

him again.”
    Carole nodded and grinned. “You might as well give up for tonight.”
    “Never,” Stevie declared. She set Maxi down again and the baby raised her arms, squealing for more. “But I’m definitely going to have to wait until Superbaby goes to sleep.”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE he hasn’t called,” Stevie muttered. She held her watch to her ear. “What time do you have, Lisa?”
    Lisa sighed. “Twelve minutes after nine,” she said. “One minute later than the last time you asked me.”
    “Why hasn’t he called?” Stevie jumped out of the chair she was sitting in and started pacing back and forth across the living room. Her path was a twisting one, since she had to dodge the baby toys that still lay all over the floor.
    Maxi watched Stevie with what seemed to be great interest. “Ga!” she cried happily, waving her stuffed horse in the air.
    “That’s what I say, too, Maxi,” Carole said. “Ga.” She rolled her eyes. Stevie hadn’t taken her eyes off the clock—or the phone—since five minutes to nine. But Phil hadn’t called.
    “He’s probably just running late again,” Lisa said. “There’s a lot to do at Disney World.”
    “I know,” Stevie said. “But he said he was going to a fireworks display at nine. That means if he hasn’t called by now, he’s probably not going to call at all.” She flopped back into the chair and crossed her arms over her chest.
    Carole shifted her position on the couch and felt something jab her leg. She investigated and found a rattle sticking up between the cushions. “There’s no sense just sitting there getting crankier and crankier,” she told Stevie, pulling out the rattle and tossing it into the playpen. “Why don’t you try calling him?”
    Stevie looked over at her and frowned. Then she grinned. “You know, you sounded just like your dad for a second there.” She stood up again and grabbed the phone from the mantel, where she had put it to keep it out of Maxi’s reach.
    She dialed Phil’s room. There was no answer. Stevie let it ring seventeen times, then finally hung up in frustration. “He’s not there,” she said, her forehead beginning to crease into a frown again. “I guess he forgot all about me.”
    Lisa shot Carole a worried look. This wasn’t good. They already had one baby who seemed as though she’d never sleep again. The last thing they needed was for Stevie to start pouting and acting like a
second
baby.
    “I’ve got an idea,” Carole announced suddenly. “I think we need to tire Maxi out or she’ll stay awake all night. Why don’t we take her down to the stable to say good night to the horses?”
    Lisa sat up straight. “Great idea,” she said. “That just might do the trick.”
Besides
, she thought,
it also just might distract Stevie from brooding about Phil’s missing their nine o’clock phone date. At least until
ten
o’clock rolls around
.
    Stevie shrugged, but her frown faded a little. “I guess that could be fun,” she said. “Maxi loves the stable. And we did promise Max we’d look in on the horses.”
    It was settled. Within minutes, the girls had Maxi bundled in so many layers of clothing that she was almost twice her actual size.
    “That should do it,” Lisa said, straightening the hat she had just tied under the baby’s chin.
    Carole giggled. “She looks like an overstuffed sausage,” she said. She went to the closet and took out the girls’ coats. She handed Lisa’s to her, then looked doubtfully at Phil’s jacket. “Are you sure this is going to be warm enough, Stevie?”
    Stevie grabbed it. “I’ll be okay,” she said. “We don’t have far to go.”
    Lisa found the infant carrier and slipped it on before putting on her coat. “I’ll carry Maxi down in this,” she said. “She can ride under my coat and stay warm.”
    The air outside had grown even colder, and the wind was blowing harder than ever. Carole had to grab at her knit cap to keep it from flying away.
    “Are