High Stakes by Bonnie Bryant

Author:Bonnie Bryant
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781497654112
Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween

NINE

“Tanner Finnegan’s kind of cute,” Lisa murmured into the gray mare’s ear, switching her body brush to the other hand. “But I don’t know if I could deal with his constant wisecracking on a date. Then there’s Gary Korman—he’s always seemed like a really nice guy, even if he’s not my usual type. But I’m pretty sure he has a crush on that new girl in our physics class. Then there’s that Fenton Hall guy I met at Stevie’s party. What was his name again? Kevin, Ken …?” She trailed off with a sigh.

What am I doing? she wondered, giving Eve a pat and then bending down to exchange the body brush for a grooming cloth. I’m standing here talking to a horse about which guys I should date. Of course, the way I’m feeling, Eve just might have a better handle on that particular topic than I do.

Smiling at the image that popped into her head—herself lying on a psychiatrist’s couch while Eve sat in a chair tapping her chin thoughtfully with one hoof as she gave advice—Lisa got back to work on her grooming. She’d just returned from taking a quick ride in the schooling ring; she hadn’t quite worked up the nerve to go back out on the trails after what had happened the day before.

Now she was trying to psych herself up to ask someone out. But so far she wasn’t having much success. “I don’t have to be madly in love with someone to invite him out for a burger, right?” Lisa asked Eve as she polished the mare’s coat to a sheen. “I just have to start somewhere. Get right back on the horse, so to speak.”

She was still smiling at her own bad joke when she heard footsteps approaching. Glancing over her shoulder, she spotted Scott and Callie. “Hey, Lisa!” Scott called. “How’s it going?”

“Fine,” Lisa said. “What are you guys up to?”

“I have an appointment to see a couple of horses at a farm over toward Quantico,” Callie replied.

“And as usual, I’m playing chauffeur.” Scott smiled. Then he cocked his head to one side and studied Lisa’s face. “Hey, are you okay? You look kind of glum.”

Lisa shrugged, not wanting to get into it. “I’m just at loose ends, I guess,” she said lightly.

“Why don’t you come with us?” Scott suggested. “There’s always room in the car for one more. Not much room, but hey, you don’t take up that much space, right?” He grinned. People were always giving him a hard time about the tiny, cramped backseat of his sporty little car.

Lisa hesitated. It was tempting to accept his offer, just for the sake of having something social to do. “Are you sure I won’t be in the way?”

“Of course not,” Callie replied with a smile. “You can back me up when I refuse to buy whatever they show me today. They’re supposed to be some pretty nice Arabians, but the way my luck’s been going, they’ll probably be Percherons. Or maybe goats.

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