Horse-Sitters by Bonnie Bryant Page A

“That’s great,” he said. “I had a job as an exercise boy at the racetrack when I was about your age.” He smiled. “Although it hardly felt like a job. Working with horses doesn’t really seem like work somehow, you know?”
    “I know exactly what you mean,” Carole said, and Stevie and Lisa nodded.
    “Hey, what’s the holdup here?” demanded the older groom, a lanky man with thin brown hair and a deep suntan. While the others were unloading the horses, he had leaned against the side of the van smoking a cigarette. Now he strolled over to where The Saddle Club and Mick were standing. “We’ve got to getgoing. My vacation starts as soon as we get this van back, you know.”
    “Uh, sorry, Luke,” Mick said quietly. “The girls and I were just talking. I’ll take Tempest in now.”
    “Make it snappy,” Luke said, lighting another cigarette. “And try not to waste any more time standing around talking to little girls.”
    Mick cleared his throat. “These girls will be helping take care of the ponies, Luke,” he said. “There are a few things we need to tell them before we leave.”
    Luke raised an eyebrow and looked The Saddle Club up and down. He exhaled a puff of smoke and frowned. “These kids work here?” he said in disbelief. “What kind of operation is this, anyway?”
    Max returned just in time to hear the man’s last remark. “Is there a problem here?” he asked.
    “There might be,” Luke replied. “What’s this I hear about a bunch of kids taking care of my boss’s horses? They’re very valuable animals, you know.”
    “I’m well aware of that fact,” Max replied coldly. “And I can assure you, sir, that I would never ask these girls to take on more responsibility than I thought they could handle. They’re more than qualified to care for your horses, and I’m confident they’ll prove that to your satisfaction, and to your boss’s as well. I’ll stake my reputation on that.”
    Luke shrugged, looking a bit taken aback. “Well, I guess that’s exactly what you’re doing, then,” he muttered. “Come on, Bonner.Take Tempest in and then let’s get out of here. I’ll fill in Regnery here on everything he needs to know.”
    Mick nodded. “Just show me the way,” he said to the girls.
    “Carole and Lisa, you’d better go help Red with the bedding for the stalls,” Max said. The two girls nodded and hurried inside. “Stevie, you can help take Tempest in,” he added. “Put him in the empty stall on the end of the aisle near the tack room.”
    Stevie led Mick and his charge into the stable building, pausing to let the groom soothe Tempest before leading him in. As soon as they were inside, out of sight of Max and Luke, she broke into a grin. The old Max was back! That little speech had been vintage Max Regnery, and it sounded good. Then her grin faded a little. For the first time she stopped to think about how much extra work the six polo ponies would be. Then she shrugged. The next day was Saturday, and they’d just have to spend the entire day at Pine Hollow. Sunday, too. Then there were only a few more days before all the owners came back. They could worry about next week when they had to. In the meantime, Stevie preferred to think about all the money they would be making. She added the figures in her head. Could it be? Yes, she was sure of it. When all their horse-sitting jobs were complete, The Saddle Club would have more than enough money for the things they wanted—including the beautiful new bridle.
    “Take that, Veronica,” she muttered.
    “Excuse me?” Mick said politely. He had been busy murmuringquietly to Tempest. The gray horse had been perfectly calm until he had been asked to enter the strange barn. Now he looked nervous.
    “Oh, nothing,” she said. “Just talking to myself. Is he okay?”
    “Oh, sure,” Mick said, giving the horse an affectionate scratch. “He’s always like this his first time in a new building. Don’t know why. Once