Free Horse Fever by Bonnie Bryant

of herself? In front of Pat, her new friend, and Mrs. Reg, who would probably tell Max! Fighting off tears of frustration, Carole dejectedly led Starlight to his stall. She untacked him as quickly as possible and went to the tack room.
    Mrs. Reg was inside, straightening up. Carole looked atthe floor, humiliated. “Say, where are your other two thirds?” Mrs. Reg asked.
    “Huh? Oh—Stevie and Lisa? They must be coming this afternoon,” Carole said. She was so upset, she hadn’t even noticed their absence. Anyway, she was glad they hadn’t been around to witness her second horrible performance. First the lesson and now this.
    “Bad day?” Mrs. Reg asked quietly. When Carole didn’t answer, she said gently, “Everyone has them sometimes.”
    Carole’s frown only deepened. She wasn’t in the mood for the older woman’s cheery wisdom.
    “The other day,” Mrs. Reg went on, oblivious, “I was in a bad mood because I had to clean out my attic. But you know what? It paid off. I found a dress up there that I hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a dress I’d made myself. I wore it, oh, for years. Everyone complimented me on this dress, and I was very proud of it. It was blue gingham with— Well, never mind. The fabric’s not important. The point is, I found it again! I was so excited because I thought I had passed it on ages ago. Now I can’t wait to start wearing it again. Funny how that works, isn’t it? You think you’re through with something and then—”
    “Mrs. Reg?” Carole broke in. “Can I use the phone?”
    Mrs. Reg paused in midsentence. She gave Carole a searching look. The phone in Max’s office was to be usedonly for very important calls. “If you need to, dear … Yes, of course you can,” she said.
    Carole fled the room before Mrs. Reg could change her mind. She ran to the office and drew a slip of paper from her pocket. Her hands were trembling. She dialed the number. After several rings, Jenny picked up. “Sorry!” the older girl said breathlessly. “I was in the barn!”
    “It’s Carole Hanson,” Carole said, getting right to the point. “I—I was wondering if I could come ride King again.”

“S URE !” J ENNY SAID after a slight pause. “In fact, I’m on my way over to the tack shop in Willow Creek, so I can give you a ride. Where are you?”
    “I’m at Pine Hollow,” Carole said.
    “Perfect. I know just where that is.”
    “I’ll wait at the end of the driveway. It’ll be easier that way,” Carole added hastily.
    The moment the call ended, she grabbed her things from the locker room and trudged out to the road. She knew it would take Jenny half an hour to get there, but she didn’t want to wait around Pine Hollow. She didn’t want to answer questions about where she was going—or why.
    “I’m so glad you changed your mind!” said Jenny when she pulled up in a white pickup. “Hop in—and watch out for all the tack. I just had a bunch of stuff repaired.
    “You know, I meant what I said about you and King,” the older girl continued once they were on the way. “You’re a good rider, and you and he could go far.”
    “Thanks,” Carole mumbled, embarrassed by two things: one, the compliment, and two, the fact that Jenny seemed to think she was seriously considering buying King. And why wouldn’t she? Carole had said nothing to reveal the true situation: that though she could never, ever afford King, she longed to ride him again.
    “Have you ever thought of doing top-level dressage?”
    Carole swallowed. She nodded.
    “Well, then, King is your horse,” Jenny replied.
    “I—I would probably still ride in Pony Club events and other shows,” Carole said hesitantly, “I mean, for
fun
 …”
    Jenny gave her a smile. “You really think so? I’ll tell you, when I started riding dressage—I mean for real, none of this backyard stuff—I never looked back. Carole, every rider has to choose sometime. Every great rider, that is.”
    Carole shifted