leaned closer. âI canât hear you!â
âI said, whereâs Tracey?â Haley shouted into her ear.
Emma shrugged and glanced around. âI donât knowâwait, there she is!â
Now Haley saw her too. Tracey was winding her way through the crowd, pulling Owen along by one wrist.
âThere you are!â Tracey exclaimed when she reached Haley and Emma. âIâve been looking everywhere for you, Hales!â
Haley doubted that. For one thing, sheâd seen Tracey giggling and leaning against Nick Jankowski just a short while earlier. For another, Haley herself had been standing right there in the arched doorway leading to the kitchen hallway for at least the past fifteen minutes.
But she just smiled weakly. âHere I am.â
Tracey dragged Owen forward. âSo I was just telling Owen about your clinic thingy,â she said. âOoh! I love this song!â
The music had just changed to an up-tempo number with a pounding beat, though Haley noticed that Ashleyand Phil were still swaying to their own tune. Tracey started dancing in place as she poked Owen on the arm.
âSo anyway,â she said loudly, âI figured heâd be totally impressed, since you guys both spend all your time riding horses and stuff.â
âWell, sort of.â Owen smirked. â I ride horses. Haley prances around on a runt of a pony.â
Haley rolled her eyes. âMy runt of a pony could outrun and outjump your lazy horse any day of the week,â she said.
It was a familiar exchange. But tonight, Haleyâs heart wasnât really in it. Why was she here? She had too much on her plate right now to spend hours standing around doing nothing.
âYo, Vance!â Owen whistled as one of his friends wandered past. âGet over here. Did you hear Haleyâs doing a clinic with some fancy member of the tight pants club?â
âHuh?â Vance was a large, slow-moving boy who always looked sleepy. Despite that, he was one of the best under-fourteen ropers in the county. âWhatâre you talking about?â
âHaleyâs taking a lesson with an Olympic rider next week!â Tracey told him, still swaying to the music.
âShe hasnât been to the Olympics yet,â Haley corrected. âProbably someday, though.â
Vance blinked. âThe Olympics? So youâre doing reining now?â
âReining? No way.â Owen grinned. âThatâd be way too cool for Haley. Sheâs into the goofy English stuff, remember?â
âOh, right.â A slow grin spread across Vanceâs face. âJumping over flowers and stuff, right?â
Tracey giggled. âOh, you guys!â she exclaimed, giving Vance a playful shove.
Haley stared at her. Where had this weird, giggly, boy-crazy girl come from? And what had she done with her best friend?
âActually, that reminds me,â Haley said loudly. âI have to get up early to get a ride in before church. So I should probably go.â
âWhat? No!â Traceyâs eyes widened in alarm. âYou canât go nowâthe partyâs barely getting started!â
âYeah,â Emma put in. âWe havenât even had a chance to tell you about the dance yet either! Besides, you canât leaveâyou rode here with me, remember? And Momâs not coming to pick us up until ten.â
Haley was already reaching for her cell phone. âIâm sure Uncle Mike will come get me.â
Tracey frowned. âWhatever.â
âYeah, whatever,â Owen put in with a smirk. âHope I didnât scare you off. If you were a real Western rider, you could take a little joke.â
âIf you were any kind of real rider at all, you wouldnât care what kind of saddle I rode in,â Haley shot back. âBut thatâs not why Iâm leaving, so donât flatter yourself.â
Vance chuckled and punched Haley on the arm.