Stable Hearts by Bonnie Bryant Page B

stared at Carole. “That’s it!” she said.

“W HAT ’ S IT ?” Carole asked.
    “The problem with Dime! You’ve solved it!” Lisa was so excited that she grabbed Carole’s hands and started swinging her around the room.
    “How did I solve it?” Carole looked confused. “All I said was do you think he has a girlfriend. I was
joking
.”
    “But what if he does have one? What if it’s Penny? It
is
Penny—that makes perfect sense!” Lisa sat down and started pulling on her paddock boots. “Come on, hurry! We’ve got to get to Pine Hollow.”
    Stevie sat down beside Lisa and slowly pulled on her cowboy boots. Carole remained standing,her hands on her hips and a perplexed look on her face. “You really think that’s it?” she asked. “I mean, I know horses form friendships—”
    “And you know that sometimes those friendships can be very important to them. Dime just got moved into his new stall last week. Before that he lived next to Penny for—how long, Stevie?” asked Lisa. Stevie had ridden at Pine Hollow the longest.
    Stevie shook her head, but she was starting to look excited. “I don’t know,” she said. “Years and years. Ever since I can remember.”
    “His being lonesome for her would explain everything,” Lisa said. “He’s not eating because he’s sad. He’s pinning his ears back and trying to bite us whenever we put him in his stall, because he wants to go back to his old stall. He’s acting so atrocious in lessons—and at that games practice—because he gets so excited whenever he sees Penny again.”
    “Penny’s been acting a little weird, too, come to think of it,” Carole said. “Remember how bad she was at Cross County? She’s not as upset as Dime, though. I don’t know, Lisa. I think what you’re saying makes sense, I just never would haveguessed that Dime had any special feelings for Penny.”
    “He’s just a shaggy little lesson pony,” Stevie said. “He doesn’t seem like the romantic type.”
    “Oh, come on,” Lisa protested. “Why should Dime’s appearance have anything to do with his feelings?”
    Carole grinned and grabbed her coat. “It shouldn’t. After all, I wouldn’t have guessed Mrs. Reg was the romantic type either, until I saw her react to what Mr. Stowe said. Poor Dime! I hope you’re right, Lisa. We can cure him so easily.”
    “I know I’m right,” Lisa replied.
    Stevie grabbed her coat, too. “Let’s go!”
    L ISA ’ S MOTHER DROVE past the hay barn and dropped them off at the main stable. A single light shone through a window of the hay barn, but the rest of Pine Hollow was dark and quiet; everyone had left to get ready for the party. Lisa flipped the stable’s aisle lights on. Most of the horses were eating their dinners, and they looked up, still chewing contentedly, as The Saddle Club rushed past their stalls.
    “I’ll get Romeo,” Stevie said. The gelding had been put in Dime’s old stall, next to Penny. Stevie quickly put his halter on. “I’ll get Romeo’s dinner,” Lisa offered. She grabbed his grain bucket and took it out into the aisle.
    “Don’t forget his water bucket,” Stevie said. “Maybe I could hold him out here while you fix up the stall?” Romeo was already plunging his nose into his grain bucket, which Lisa had set on the aisle floor. “Romeo’s not going anywhere until he’s finished his oats.”
    “Good idea.” Lisa grabbed a pitchfork and hastily tidied the stall. Red had already cleaned it thoroughly that afternoon, so she didn’t have much to do.
    Meanwhile, Carole had gone straight to Dime. She slid the stall door open, and the little pony pinned his ears back at her. His grain sat untouched in his bucket. “You poor darling,” Carole crooned. At her sympathetic tone Dime relaxed slightly, and Carole gently slid his halter on. “Don’t worry. We’re taking you home.”
    She led him down the aisle. Dime lagged behind her, then suddenly seemed to notice where they were heading. His