Free A Winning Gift by Catherine Hapka Page A

realized that herself. Then she shrugged.
    â€œI guess you were right all along,” she said, breaking into a big grin. “Cloudy is magic!”
    The rest of the ride was fun. By the time she dismounted, Bridget was all smiles.
    â€œThat was great,” she said as they headed back into the barn. “I totally didn’t think about Tony at all that whole time! Partly because I was, you know, afraid of dying at first.” She laughed. “But mostly because it was fun. Can we do it again tomorrow?”
    â€œTomorrow?” Maddie echoed. “Are you sure you want to ride again tomorrow?”
    â€œDefinitely.” Bridget shot her a look. “Unless you don’t want me here, hmm? Looking for some alone time with your boyfriend, and I’m cramping your style?” She waggled her eyebrows and smirked.
    Maddie winced. She’d started to think that Bridget had forgotten about the whole Maddie-likes-Seth theory. Obviously not.
    â€œVery funny,” she said, glancing up and down the aisle to make sure the stall cleaner wasn’t nearby.
    â€œLook, there he is.” Bridget stared toward the main entrance.
    Turning, Maddie saw Seth wandering toward them, a backpack slung over one shoulder. “Hey, it’s the pony girls,” he greeted them in his usual friendly way. “What’s up?”
    â€œNot much, except you missed our ride,” Bridget informed him. “Maddie was a brilliant teacher, as usual.”
    â€œCool.” Seth shifted his bag farther up his shoulder. “I’m late today—football practice ran long. Better get to work. Catch you later.”
    â€œBye!” Bridget sang out as he hurried away.
    â€œSee you,” Maddie added, relieved that he wasn’t sticking around to give Bridget the opportunity to try to embarrass her. “So anyway,” she said, turning to face her friend, “about tomorrow—I have an idea. How about if we ride together this time? Wouldn’t that be fun? I can take Cloudy, and you could try one of the other ponies. Maybe Chip? He’s the sweet little guy Vic rode in the lesson yesterday.”
    Bridget looked alarmed. “You mean the one who kept trying to pull the reins out of her hands? No thank you. I’d better stick to Cloudy—you know, at least until I’m feeling more confident. Is that okay?”
    Maddie hesitated again. Normally she wouldn’t have minded sharing Cloudy with anyone who seemed to need her. Especially a good friend like Bridget. But things weren’t normal right then.
    I need Cloudy too , she thought. Especially since I might not have her much longer.
    Bridget peered at her. “Mads? Is that okay? It’s just that tomorrow is Friday, and that was always date night for Tony and me.” She stared wistfully into space. “You know—we’d talk on the phone, pretend we were together. . . .”
    Maddie shook off her resentment. How could she be so selfish? Cloudy was helping Bridget get over her heartbreak, and that was the most important thing right now. It was just lucky that forcing her friend to ride a different pony hadn’t totally put her off riding. If she needed to stick with Cloudy for a few more days to get her mojo back? Well, Maddie would just have to deal.
    â€œOf course it’s okay,” she assured Bridget. “Tomorrow it is.”

♦ CHAPTER ♦
7
    [NINA] Hi, everyone! How’s it going, Mads? Anything new to report? I’m still thinking about how to help; will keep u posted! Off to the barn now. Will check in later . . .
    [HALEY] Hope you’re having a fun ride, N! I just came in from a ride myself. Wings was great, but I was a little distracted b/c of what Maddie told us. Did u talk to your parents yet, M? Let us know what they say. Is there any chance they’d let you stay with friends to at least finish the school yr or something? That would give u a little more