Chapter Ten: Stuck in the Snow
Stevie woke up in a good mood. It was Thursday, and she would finally get to go on the trail ride with Phil. She jumped out of bed and walked over to her mirror. She sighed nervously.
"What if Carole was right?" She said to her reflection. There was no response from the person in the mirror.
Stevie shook her head quickly. As much as she was worried, she wanted to prove Carole wrong. She wanted to prove that she was right, sometimes.
Stevie got dressed and grabbed her backpack. She and Phil were going to eat a picnic lunch while they were out. Her mom started up the car and they drove off towards Pine Hollow. Stevie glanced out the window. The trees shook in the wind, and a few dark clouds rolled in slowly. Stevie bit her lip. Maybe Carole was right after all.
When they got to Pine Hollow, Phil was there with Belle and Teddy. Stevie smiled, and forgot about Carole for a moment. That moment wasn't very long, because soon Carole and Lisa came walking out of the barn.
Lisa still had her box of tissues with her, and her nose was tinted red. They started to walk towards the trail buddies. Phil had mounted Teddy and he handed Stevie Belle's reins. Stevie hopped up on Belle.
"Thanks so much for tacking her up! If I got here sooner I could've helped!" Stevie noticed her face get a little warm. She felt embarrassed that she wasn't here to tack up her own horse.
"Oh, no problem! I got here especially early to surprise you!" He smiled at her. Stevie returned the gesture. She felt a bit better that he had meant to do it.
"So are we still going to the lake?" Stevie asked.
"Uh huh! And don't forget the old barn!" Phil reminded her. She rolled her eyes dramatically.
"How could I forget?" She teased. Phil shook his head. They were about to leave when Lisa and Carole approached them.
"So you're still going?" Lisa asked with a sigh. She frowned when the couple nodded.
"Yeah, we're hoping to beat the blizzard on our way back!" Phil replied cheerfully.
Carole rolled her eyes. "Like that's going to happen. You can't race the clouds!" She cried.
Stevie glared at her. "We can try." She turned to Phil. "Ready to head out?"
Phil grinned and gave Teddy a squeeze. He was soon cantering towards the trail.
Before Stevie could follow, Carole gently grabbed Stevie's leg.
"Are you sure about this?" She asked worriedly.
Stevie nodded. "Affirmative!" She smiled and cantered off to catch up to Phil. Carole shook her head, and Lisa sneezed.
"Those two…" She trailed off and walked towards the lounge. The temperature was dropping, and she wanted to get warm. Lisa followed, dragging along her box of tissues. Both of them worried for Stevie.
Out on the trail Stevie and Phil approached the lake in good time. A few more clouds had appeared on the horizon, but nothing too bad, yet. Stevie dismounted and tied Belle to a log next to Teddy. She walked over to join Phil, who had laid out the blanket.
"What do you have for us today?" He turned to her. She laid out two sandwiches, a bowl of strawberries, and a couple brownies onto the blanket.
"Here, my mom helped me with the meal!" Stevie handed Phil a sandwich.
"I thought so. They looked too good to be made by you!" Phil teased. Stevie glared at him. She tore open the other sandwich and took a bite. Phil watched her, amazed. She stared back at him.
"What?" She asked once she had swallowed. "What are you looking at?"
Phil smiled and leaned forward. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked, placing his hand on her forehead to feel her temperature.
She gave him a funny look. "Um, yeah. Why?"
"Cause." Phil looked at her sandwich. "You're eating something!"
Stevie looked down. Her appetite had returned the other night, but she didn't think it was that important.
"Yeah, so?" Stevie asked.
"So? It's been what, four days since you've eaten something!" Phil shook his head. "I just can't believe it!" He leaned in closer and pecked her lips, mostly on instinct. She tilted her head in confusion.
"What was that for?" She felt her face getting hot again.
"That was for eating something." Phil smiled at her, his cheeks tinted pink. "I'm so glad!" Stevie just sighed and returned to her lunch.
About fifteen minutes later, they were headed towards the old barn. The sky was almost completely covered in gray clouds, but they failed to notice. They kept talking, and laughing, and ignored the rest of the world.
Back at the lounge…
Carole walked into the lounge. She walked over to the kitchen and grabbed two mugs. Lisa plopped down on the couch, still not feeling 100%.
Carole made some hot cocoa and handed one of the mugs to Lisa. She took it gratefully.
"Thanks Carole!" She rasped.
"You really should be at home!" Carole scolded Lisa. "Your cold is still pretty bad."
Lisa shook her head. "Nah, I'm fine. And I wanted to be here to help persuade Stevie! Not like it helped though.." She trailed off.
Carole nodded with a sigh. "I know. She's so stubborn! Someday it will cause her more trouble than she'll realize!"
Lisa grinned, her mouth covered in chocolate. "It's already caused her trouble!"
Carole nodded in agreement. "Here Lisa," She handed her a napkin. "You have a chocolate mustache!"
Lisa giggled and took the cloth. "Better?" She asked sarcastically, after she wiped her mouth.
Carole smiled. "Much."
Out on the Trail…
Stevie and Phil walked along the creek. The water had a thin layer of frost over it. It shone in the quickly disappearing sun. Stevie looked up as a shadow fell over them.
"Um, Phil," She tapped him on the shoulder.
"Huh? What?" Phil snapped out of his daydream.
"I think we should skip going to the old barn and head back!" She motioned to the sky.
Phil looked up. "Hmm…maybe. I think we'll be okay if we go through with the plans! We should have enough time to go there and get back if we canter."
Stevie shook her head. "Belle's tired; I think we should just trot home." She worried that Carole was right all along.
"Please Stevie! We can trot to the barn, and trot home! We'll be fine, don't fret!" He smiled at her. Stevie sighed.
"I guess so…" She trailed off as they trot towards the old barn. They wouldn't approach it for a decent fifteen minutes, but they continued in that direction.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few white flakes fall from the sky. She gave Belle one last squeeze and she trot a little faster. She just hoped that Carole wasn't right, and that they would be able to make it back in time.
In the lounge…
Carole got up from the chair she was on. Lisa had drifted off on the couch after much persuasion from Carole, and was snuggled up in one of the blankets. Carole walked over towards the windows. The snow was coming down a little heavier than before, and she worried about Stevie. She stood there and watched the trailhead, hoping to see the two riders. She did not.
Suddenly, Veronica walked in. She scowled as she saw Carole and Lisa there.
"Oh great, is there some Saddle Club meeting going on?" She asked.
Carole glared at her. "You know we wouldn't start a meeting without Stevie!" She scolded Veronica.
Veronica looked around, and noticed Stevie was indeed, not there. "Where is Stevie?" She asked, though she honestly didn't care too much.
"She's out on a trail ride with Phil." Carole replied, not taking her gaze off the window.
Veronica's eyes widened. "She's out there, in the snow?"
"No, she's out on the beach." Carole answered sarcastically. Veronica rolled her eyes.
"You know what I mean."
Carole sighed. She sat down at the table with Veronica. "Yeah, she's out in the snow. I hope she gets back here soon, before the weather gets worse." She looked down at her hands.
"Yeah, I guess." Veronica got up and walked towards the couch. She accidentally sat down on Lisa's legs.
"Ouch!" Lisa cried, sitting up quickly.
"Ahhh!" Veronica shrieked. She shot up and ran over to the couch.
Carole laughed.
"Sorry, you scared me!" Lisa apologized. Veronica stood, wide eyed.
"I scared you? Hah! "She shook her head and sat on the chair.
"Hey, where's Kristi?" Carole asked, just noticing she was absent from the group.
"She stayed home with her mom to go shopping for new breeches." Veronica growled.
"Why didn't you go?" Lisa asked. She knew that Veronica and Kristi did everything together.
"My dad signed me up for lessons today and so I couldn't go." She said glumly. Lisa nodded, understanding.
Carole glanced outside, but Stevie and Phil had not gotten back yet. The snow had worsened quite a bit, and if they didn't make it back soon, they'd be trapped out in the woods.
On the Trail…
Stevie squinted her eyes to see ahead. Her and Phil were almost at the barn, but they had to cross a windy plain to get there. The snow had worsened a ton, and was now a full out blizzard.
"Hey Stevie!" Phil yelled, his voice barely heard through the wind.
"Yes?" She screamed back. The snow was much deeper where they were, and Belle could only walk through it slowly.
"I think we should dismount and walk our horses towards the barn!" He yelled.
Stevie dismounted immediately and trudged through the deep snow. She felt the water sink into her pants, but she walked on, Belle following. Phil and Teddy weren't that far ahead, and she could make out the barn in the distance.
Within ten minutes, they arrived at the barn. Phil could barely get the door open because of the snow, but he managed to get it wide enough to fit their horses inside.
Stevie closed the doors as soon as she got inside. Belle and Teddy stood together to keep warm. Phil flipped on the lights, which worked, luckily. Once the door was shut, the wind locked out, the barn warmed up a little. Stevie shivered.
Her legs and mid-waist were soaking wet, and Phil wasn't much better. She didn't have anything to change into, so she sat on a hay bale and watched as Phil untacked the horses. She wanted to help, but her legs were sore and weak, and she couldn't really get up from where she was.
"I should have listened to Carole." She whined. Phil sighed.
"It's not all your fault, I'm to blame too! If we'd have gone back when you said too, we wouldn't be in this mess." Phil pointed out. Stevie nodded slightly.
"I guess." She shivered again. Phil pulled out the blanket from his saddle bag and draped it over her. She smiled at him.
"Thanks."
Phil grinned. "No problem! My coat is longer than yours, so only my shins and ankles are wet." He pointed to his pants. Stevie groaned as she looked at herself. Her pants and part of her shirt were soaked.
She turned to Phil. "So what are we going to do?" She asked.
Phil shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't think we're leaving anytime soon." He motioned outside. "It looks as though we'll be staying here all night.
Stevie sighed and looked out the window. It was going to be a long, and not to mention cold, night.
I am so so so sorry it took me so long to finish! I was so caught up with school and homework I wasn't able to write as much as I had hoped. Thank you to everyone and I hope you enjoy these last few chapters! Few meaning like….seven or so. Depends…