ready.
âOkay,â she said. âCloudyâs trot is really smooth, but itâll probably still feel kind of weird. Just keep your heels down and try to absorb the movement in your back. If you start to bounce too much, you can stand up in the stirrups and hold on to her mane.â
âGot it.â Bridget nodded. âLetâs do it.â
Maddie clucked and gave a little tug on the rein she was holding. âTrot, Cloudy,â she said. âTrrrrot!â
At the same time, she broke into a jog herself. The pony started trotting, almost surging past Maddie.
âEasy, girl,â Maddie said, tightening her grip on the rein to let Cloudy know that she didnât need to go so fast.
Then she glanced back at Bridget, a little worried that her friend might have been thrown off balance by the sudden transition. But Bridget was still in position. Not only that, but she actually appeared to be postingârising and falling with the rhythm of the ponyâs gaitâeven though Maddie hadnât told her about that yet!
âIs this okay?â Bridget asked. âIt feels right, and it sort of looks like what Iâve seen you do when she trots.â
âYes.â Maddie smiled, proud of her friend. âItâs totally all right. Bridget, youâre a riding genius!â
Bridget giggled a bit breathlessly. âThanks! I have a good teacher.â She smiled at Seth as they trotted past him. âIsnât Maddie the best?â
He laughed. âSure! Have fun.â With a wave, he headed back inside.
Bridget made Maddie trot her around the ring one more time before they stopped. âThat was cool,â she said, all smiles as she leaned forward to pat Cloudy on the neck. âNow I sort of see why you spend so much time doing this.â
âYeah.â Maddie smiled back, glad that sheâd helped take her friendâs mind off her troubles.
Come to think of it, sheâd pretty much forgotten about her own problem for a while, too. Now it came rushing back as she looked at Cloudy and imagined moving a whole ocean away from her.
Glancing up at Bridget, she was tempted to spill what sheâd seen in that office drawer. But Bridget looked so happy that Maddie didnât want to spoil the nice moment. Telling her about the move would just have to wait.
⦠CHAPTER â¦
5
AS SOON AS SHE OPENED her eyes on Wednesday morning, Maddie reached for her laptop. Maybe she didnât feel right telling Bridget about her problem yet. But that didnât mean she had to keep it to herself. Sheâd poured out the whole story to the Pony Post last night right before she went to bed.
None of the other members had been on the site at the time, which wasnât surprising. When it was nine oâclock at Maddieâs house in California, it was already eleven p.m. in Wisconsin and New Orleans and midnight in Maryland. But that also meant all her friends woke up before she did, so Maddie guessed sheâd have some responses by now.
Sure enough, when she logged on, there were new posts from all three of her friends.
[BROOKE] Oh wow, M, Iâm so sorry! I canât believe this! Are you sure about what u saw? What did your parents say when u asked them about it? Is the move definite, or is there any possibility it might not happen?
[HALEY] OMG I canât believe this!!! London???? Wow. Exciting in a wayâbut how can they expect u to leave Cloudy behind??????
[NINA] Ack! H is right. London is amazing, but making you leave Cloudy behind is cruel and unusual punishment for sure!!
Despite her worries, Maddie smiled at Ninaâs âcruel and unusual punishmentâ comment. Ninaâs dad was a successful attorney, and clearly some of that had rubbed off on her. Maddie wondered if she could hire Mr. Peralt to sue her parents for ruining her life. She was sure no jury in the world could possibly vote against her, especially if she was allowed to