Hot Potato (Shelby and Blue) - Alyssa Brugman [27]
'Shelly Shoes, Lindsey Lu and Erin Banana – the three amigas.' A grin split across Clint's face. He tossed the knife into the tub and drew out a long rasp. 'How's that crazy little filly going?'
'That's what we're here about,' Erin said, crossing her arms.
'Yeah, we don't want you to tell Mum about her just yet,' Lindsey added.
Clint slid his hand down Ajax's hind leg and lifted his hoof. 'Oh? Why's that then?'
Erin and Lindsey darted a look at each other.
'It's her birthday present!' Shelby blurted.
Lindsey's eyes widened. 'Yeah!' Erin and Lindsey chorused.
'Birthday present, eh?' Clint ran his rasp around Ajax's hoof. 'That is a good reason for me not to mention it.' He looked up at Shelby and winked – a definite wink, not a tick or blink, or something in his eye.
Does he know? she wondered. Would he guess about the money too?
Shelby turned away, blushing furiously – just in time to see Hayley ducking into the doorway of the stable opposite. Is she spying on us? Shelby wondered. Great. Now she knows too.
'The annual barbecue is on this weekend,' said Erin, changing the subject. 'Are you coming?'
'Wouldn't miss it,' Clint replied.
Oh no! thought Shelby. Tammy and Clint would be at the same place at the same time. She had to return that fifty-dollar note as soon as possible.
19 The Chiropractor
It was early Friday morning. Shelby was out of breath. She had just led Hotty from the back paddock, running all the way. She took her to a yard on the far side of the feed shed that couldn't be seen from the office window. Lindsey was waiting there with the equine chiropractor. She had been looking at other horses and agreed to examine the pony before the two girls went to school.
The chiropractor's name was Julie. She had short blonde hair like Shelby, except Julie's was funkier. She'd put some sort of product in it to make it messy in a very styled way. Julie wore little rectangle spectacles with a tortoiseshell frame. Shelby thought she looked smart and efficient.
'Do you have a horse?' Shelby asked.
Julie nodded.
'Do you compete?'
'Eventing when I have time.'
Shelby nodded slowly. Julie was funky in every way.
'I'd like to do that one day.'
'Oh yeah? Is this your horse?' Julie indicated that she was asking about Hotty.
Shelby shook her head.
'You can see Shelby's horse from here, Jules,' Lindsey said, pointing to where Blue stood with Hiccup in the paddock.
Shelby wanted to yell out, 'No, don't look!' She was sure Julie would think she was silly for having dreams of eventing with a strange-looking old nag like Blue.
'That little paint horse? He looks like a pony I had once. My very bravest jumping horse. He was such a great little guy. He'd jump anything.'
Shelby smiled, relieved. 'Yeah, Blue's like that too.'
Julie had a plastic crate full of the strangest things – wooden sticks in various lengths, a few tennis balls, an assortment of spray bottles and other weird tools that Shelby hadn't seen before. It looked more like a toy box than the toolbox of a serious medical professional.
First Julie ran her hands all along the pony's body from nose to tail, tapping and pressing. Next she tested Hotty's flexibility – moving her head from side to side, twisting her neck so that her nose was touching her back, then stretching all of her legs, and bending her fetlock joints.
'Hmm,' Julie mumbled.
'What do you think?' asked Lindsey.
'She's a wee bit stiff in the shoulders,' she replied, running her hand over the offending area. Hotty's flesh twitched under her palm. 'But my guess would be that it was the result of this bucking you were talking about rather than the cause. I'll give her a bit of a massage, but she doesn't need any adjusting. She's been pulling your leg, I think. You know how ponies are.' Julie smiled