STEVIE called as she walked out the door. “Thanks for lunch. I’ll see you later!” She heard her mother’s muffled okay from the laundry room, then took a bite of her slice of still-warm gingerbread. There was nothing she liked better than finishing her lunch while she walked to Pine Hollow. She figured the eating part probably saved her five minutes of just sitting at the table, and the walking part gave her time to ponder what was going on in her life. She sighed as she thought about what was going on in her life right then. Earlier that day she’d attended the Horse Wise meeting at Pine Hollow and taken her regular riding lesson. Veronica hadn’t attended either of them, nor had she practiced driving with Stevie on Friday afternoon. Stevie had seen Veronica after gym class at school on Friday, but she’d been with a group of her own friends and they hadn’t had any time to talk. Though she’d answered Stevie’s e-mail, her message had only read, “Thanks. Okay. See you.”
