them divorced?”
Carole laughed. She explained how she just hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell them not to come.
“That’s okay, I’m sure they’ll have fun,” Lisa said. She did some quick mental arithmetic. “Wow, that means eighteen extra people, including the three Cartwright sisters, the waitress, and Stevie’s baby-sitter.”
The conversation stopped momentarily as all three girls imagined the hoard of eligible women—plus married couples and child—descending upon Pine Hollow and, more important, upon Max.
“Who do you think will win?” Stevie asked after a minute.
“Stevie,” Lisa admonished, “it’s not a contest!”
“Not a contest?” Stevie said. “Are you kidding? With Max Regnery the Third up for grabs, and Max the Fourth at stake, I’d say every single woman from Boston to Baton Rouge would want to show up for the trials. He’s a pretty great trophy in the husband-hunting game, you know.”
“It’s true,” Carole said, a touch wistfully. “I hope I’ll marry someone just like him—in twenty years or so, that is,” she added hastily.
“Still planning on having the entire wedding on horseback like Dorothy and Nigel?” Stevie asked playfully. Carole’s intention to canter—rather than walk—down the aisle was well-known to The Saddle Club. The girls had recently helped stage a wedding at Pine Hollow between two famous horse people, trainer Dorothy DeSoto and British Olympian Nigel Hawthorne.
“That’s right,” Carole said. “And we’ll wear pink coats and stocks instead of black tie.”
“And have a carrot wedding cake so the horses can enjoy it, too,” Stevie finished.
“Hey,” Lisa chimed in, “that reminds me. We’d better figure out some way to feed all of these extra people on the Fourth. It is a picnic and cookout, after all. And Mrs. Reg will never have enough hot dogs and hamburgers and stuff unless we tell her.” It was typical of logical Lisa to think of the practicalities in any Saddle Club scheme.Her foresight had saved them all from any number of fiascoes.
This time, however, Stevie was a step ahead. “Oh, I thought of that already,” she said airily. “It’s Chad’s turn to cook for us again on Saturday, so I’ll just tell him to allow for seventeen extra.”
“O KAY , SO THE food problem is solved,” Lisa said. She and Stevie had both taken turns holding the horses, and they were now making their way slowly back to Pine Hollow. “Or at least, I’m going to assume it’s solved.” She turned around in her saddle to give Stevie a meaningful glance.
“Assume away,” Stevie said with a slightly wicked grin.
“But there’s another question. How are we going to get Max to meet all of these women? With any other guy, you could safely predict he would be interested in meeting tons of eligible women. But for all we know, Max will be too busy with the students and horses to even say hi.”
“Then I’ll drag him over,” Stevie said grimly. “There’sno way I’m going to let him waste this opportunity and put us back to square one.”
“Wait a minute, I’ve got an idea,” Carole said. “Lisa, you made me think of it. Maybe he could do some kind of introduction to the horses at Pine Hollow. We’ll just say that our friends want to try riding and learning more about horses.”
“Do you think he’d do it?” Stevie asked.
“Absolutely. Look how nice and patient he was with Deborah. I was thinking—I’ll bet he’s like that with all the single women,” Carole said.
“You think so?” Lisa asked dubiously.
“Sure,” Carole replied. “What else would explain how nice he was being? I’ve never watched an adult lesson, but I’m sure he’s easier on them than on the younger riders.”
“Actually, he does get after them, too,” Stevie said. She explained that she had once given a jumping demonstration to a beginning adult class, and that Max had been barking commands nonstop.
Carole wrinkled her nose.
Carole laughed. She explained how she just hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell them not to come.
“That’s okay, I’m sure they’ll have fun,” Lisa said. She did some quick mental arithmetic. “Wow, that means eighteen extra people, including the three Cartwright sisters, the waitress, and Stevie’s baby-sitter.”
The conversation stopped momentarily as all three girls imagined the hoard of eligible women—plus married couples and child—descending upon Pine Hollow and, more important, upon Max.
“Who do you think will win?” Stevie asked after a minute.
“Stevie,” Lisa admonished, “it’s not a contest!”
“Not a contest?” Stevie said. “Are you kidding? With Max Regnery the Third up for grabs, and Max the Fourth at stake, I’d say every single woman from Boston to Baton Rouge would want to show up for the trials. He’s a pretty great trophy in the husband-hunting game, you know.”
“It’s true,” Carole said, a touch wistfully. “I hope I’ll marry someone just like him—in twenty years or so, that is,” she added hastily.
“Still planning on having the entire wedding on horseback like Dorothy and Nigel?” Stevie asked playfully. Carole’s intention to canter—rather than walk—down the aisle was well-known to The Saddle Club. The girls had recently helped stage a wedding at Pine Hollow between two famous horse people, trainer Dorothy DeSoto and British Olympian Nigel Hawthorne.
“That’s right,” Carole said. “And we’ll wear pink coats and stocks instead of black tie.”
“And have a carrot wedding cake so the horses can enjoy it, too,” Stevie finished.
“Hey,” Lisa chimed in, “that reminds me. We’d better figure out some way to feed all of these extra people on the Fourth. It is a picnic and cookout, after all. And Mrs. Reg will never have enough hot dogs and hamburgers and stuff unless we tell her.” It was typical of logical Lisa to think of the practicalities in any Saddle Club scheme.Her foresight had saved them all from any number of fiascoes.
This time, however, Stevie was a step ahead. “Oh, I thought of that already,” she said airily. “It’s Chad’s turn to cook for us again on Saturday, so I’ll just tell him to allow for seventeen extra.”
“O KAY , SO THE food problem is solved,” Lisa said. She and Stevie had both taken turns holding the horses, and they were now making their way slowly back to Pine Hollow. “Or at least, I’m going to assume it’s solved.” She turned around in her saddle to give Stevie a meaningful glance.
“Assume away,” Stevie said with a slightly wicked grin.
“But there’s another question. How are we going to get Max to meet all of these women? With any other guy, you could safely predict he would be interested in meeting tons of eligible women. But for all we know, Max will be too busy with the students and horses to even say hi.”
“Then I’ll drag him over,” Stevie said grimly. “There’sno way I’m going to let him waste this opportunity and put us back to square one.”
“Wait a minute, I’ve got an idea,” Carole said. “Lisa, you made me think of it. Maybe he could do some kind of introduction to the horses at Pine Hollow. We’ll just say that our friends want to try riding and learning more about horses.”
“Do you think he’d do it?” Stevie asked.
“Absolutely. Look how nice and patient he was with Deborah. I was thinking—I’ll bet he’s like that with all the single women,” Carole said.
“You think so?” Lisa asked dubiously.
“Sure,” Carole replied. “What else would explain how nice he was being? I’ve never watched an adult lesson, but I’m sure he’s easier on them than on the younger riders.”
“Actually, he does get after them, too,” Stevie said. She explained that she had once given a jumping demonstration to a beginning adult class, and that Max had been barking commands nonstop.
Carole wrinkled her nose.
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