Free The Fox Hunt by Bonnie Bryant Page B

diAngelo?” Lisa asked.
    “There’s another one?” Carole asked.
    “You know what I mean,” said Lisa.
    “Yeah, ours,” Stevie said. “I saw them together at school today. They were giggling. The only time Chad ever giggles is with his girlfriends.”
    “Maybe it’s just because he’s been in love with every other girl at Fenton Hall and the only one left was Veronica,” Lisa suggested.
    Carole and Stevie looked at her. That was a thought with some merit in it.
    “And the good news is,” Lisa continued, “it will only go on for another four days.”
    “Unless he marries her,” Carole chimed in, “in which case, the whole Lake family can retire on her money.”
    “I’d rather work, thank you very much,” Stevie said.
    “The thought of Veronica as a family member is enough to ruin anybody’s day,” Lisa said. “So I’m glad you came to us with your troubles. We know just how to help you get your mind off of them.”
    “What’s that?” Stevie asked.
    “Mucking out stalls,” Carole said. “Mrs. Reg was here earlier and said that three of them needed cleaning.”
    “Where’s the nearest pitchfork?” Stevie asked.
    Mucking out stalls was not anybody’s favorite job. If Stevie was eager to do it, her friends realized that she must really be worrying about her brothers. They wereglad she had come to them. They would put her to work and get her mind off her troubles.
    “Follow me,” Lisa said.
    “I don’t need to. I can follow my nose,” Stevie teased.

S TEVIE BOUNCED OUT of bed before her alarm had finished sounding its first “ding.” It was pitch-black outside, but that didn’t matter. It would be light by seven o’clock, when the hunt would begin. Until then, there were a zillion things she had to do—if only she could remember any one of them. She rubbed her eyes and headed for the bathroom, pretty sure she would know what it was she was supposed to do by the time she finished brushing her teeth. It was hard to remember to be logical when every bit of her concentration was shattered by her excitement about the fox hunt that would start in—she squinted and tried to focus on the clock—two hours.
    *   *   *
    I T WASN ’ T HARD for Lisa to concentrate. Concentration was her specialty. However, she was already so organized that there wasn’t much for her to concentrate on. On Friday night, she’d laid out everything she would need to put on in the morning, in the order that she’d put them on. Underwear, socks, jodhpurs, shirt, boots, jacket. Everything was there. She was out of bed, washed, and dressed in fifteen minutes. She loved her special hunting clothes—the snowy-white shirt with its white stock tie and the pin to hold the tie in place. The trim tweed jacket made her look so wonderfully formal. She smiled at herself in the mirror. Then all she had to do was to sit and wait for the clock to say six o’clock so she could leave for Pine Hollow. That was a mere forty-five minutes.
    C AROLE WENT THROUGH her checklist a final time. She had to be sure to bring all of Starlight’s tack in the van with her horse. She’d need his saddle and bridle, of course, and the saddle pad. Then she’d also need her own grooming bucket. It was a good thing she’d remembered to pack her extra saddle soap. Her saddle was actually pretty clean, but there was no telling if somebody else might need it. It was best to be prepared. She didn’t want to disappoint her horse. Also, she had a new curry comb, and she wanted to take that. She dropped it into the bucket.
    Then she thought about sugar lumps and carrots.
    She didn’t like to give Starlight too many treats, but there was going to be some rough riding today, and Starlight would deserve a special snack. He also might like an apple. She burrowed into the vegetable drawer and emerged with a bruised apple that her horse would love.
    She stopped in the middle of the kitchen, trying to think if she’d forgotten anything. Yes. She had