Tight Rein Read Online Free PDF

“That’s too bad.”
    “Stevie and Chad have been fighting all summer,” Lisa added. “Stevie did some things she shouldn’t, but Chad did, too, and he isn’t being punished at all.”
    Mrs. Reg nodded again sympathetically. “You know,” she said, “I don’t know if I ever told you, but the expression ‘get your goat’ is actually a horse term.”
    Carole and Lisa exchanged agonized glances. Mrs. Reg was famous for her stories, which usually seemed pointless,though they often weren’t. But now? Talking about goats when they were so worried about Stevie?
    “Yes,” Mrs. Reg continued, not seeming to notice how the girls squirmed, “it comes from racing. Many horses, you know, feel uncomfortable in strange environments, and a racehorse that isn’t happy won’t do well on the track. At the same time, racehorses are always being moved to different racetracks and different stalls. So, especially in the old days but sometimes even now, racehorses often traveled with an animal companion, such as a goat. The horse felt comfortable with his goat friend around, even when everything else was different.”
    Carole suppressed a sigh. She’d heard all this before. Mrs. Reg went on. “So, if you wanted to upset someone else’s racehorse, you stole his goat. You got his goat!” Mrs. Reg smiled.
    “We know that story, Mrs. Reg,” Lisa said politely. “When we went to the Preakness with Max and Deborah, some of the horses there had goats.” Lisa was surprised that Mrs. Reg didn’t remember this. She rarely forgot anything.
    Mrs. Reg nodded and patted Lisa’s arm. “It’s always good to consider all your resources,” she said gently. She paused to pat Belle, too. “Poor mare,” Mrs. Reg said sadly. “Poor, lonely Belle.” The office telephone rang, and Mrs. Reg hurried away.
    “What was that about?” Carole asked in amazement. “The goat story again? And why was she so sorry for Belle? She should be sorry for Stevie!” Really, Carole couldn’t remember a time when Mrs. Reg had been so vague—and that was saying something.
    Lisa scrunched down on the remaining hay bale, thinking hard. She was sure there had to be some meaning in what Mrs. Reg said. Suddenly she jumped up. “I’ve got it!” she said. She hugged Carole. “That’s it! The plan!”
    Carole cheered. “Tell me all about it!”
    A FEW MINUTES LATER they knocked on the door of Max’s office. Mrs. Reg wasn’t there anymore, but Max was sitting at his desk, looking at the lesson schedule.
    “Well,” he said when he saw them. “How are you two holding up?”
    “Pretty well, considering everything,” Lisa said.
    “Considering that we got up at seven to clean toilet paper off bushes,” Carole added.
    Max grinned. “If I remember right, taking the toilet paper off the bushes is never as much fun as putting it on.”
    Lisa couldn’t imagine Max TP’ing anybody. “We’ve got a favor to ask you,” she said. “We just remembered that Stevie wanted Belle to have her teeth fixed—”
    “Floated,” Carole corrected.
    Lisa winced. She still didn’t know the right words. When would she learn?
    “Sure,” Max said, nodding. “It’s been almost a year since she had Belle’s teeth done, hasn’t it?”
    “Yeah,” Carole said, “and Belle’s starting to act as if bridling hurts her.”
    “So would you mind calling Judy Barker for Stevie?” Lisa asked. “Because Stevie’s not allowed to use the phone.”
    “No problem,” Max assured them. “It’s a good time to have it done, since Stevie won’t be riding for a few weeks. I’ll have Judy come out as soon as she can.”
    “And then”—Lisa paused—“do you think you could call Stevie’s parents and tell them when the appointment is, so Stevie knows about it? We’d call them, but … Stevie’s parents aren’t exactly happy with us right now.” She looked down at her feet. Carole gave a sad sigh.
    Max chuckled. “I’ll bet not,” he said. “Don’t worry about