the barn felt shady and pleasant. A stout dapple-gray horse was cross-tied in the aisle while an olderand equally stout woman fussed over him with a currycomb.
âââScuse us,â Livi sang out, ducking under the tie on one side.
âWhat was all the commotion out there?â the woman asked.
âYou mean the whinnying? Thatâs Brookeâs pony.â Livi waved a hand at Brooke. âTheyâre both new campers this year.â
âAh!â The woman smiled at Brooke. âWelcome to Pocomoke StablesâI mean Camp Pocomoke.â She tittered. âItâs always such fun for us boring old boarders to see the things you girls get up to!â
âThanks.â Brooke smiled uncertainly, then followed Livi, who was already hurrying ahead, calling to two other girls halfway down the aisle. When Brooke reached them, they immediately gathered around, making Brooke feel surrounded even though there were only three of them.
âSo Brooke, this is Paige and thatâs Hannah.â Livi pointed to each of the other girls in turn. Paige was petite and pale, with bright red hair that hung in waves around her shoulders. Hannah was African-American and eventaller than Livi, with wide-set eyes and sleek dark hair pulled into a short ponytail.
âHi,â Paige said, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. Her smile was big and friendly, and Brooke couldnât help smiling back. âBrooke, right? We were wondering when youâd get here.â
âAt least for the past hour, anyway. We actually didnât know you were coming until we got here ourselves,â Livi put in with a giggle.
âYeah.â Hannah was studying Brooke with a slightly puzzled look on her face. âI mean, of course Lauren texted us when she found out she had to cancel. But we didnât think Robin would find anyone to take her place at the last minute.â
âBut weâre glad youâre here,â Paige added quickly. âYouâre going to have a blast. This place is the best!â
Livi nodded vigorously. âTotally! Royal and Iâthatâs my horse, Royalâwe went from doing the preâchildrenâs hunters to the childrenâs after camp last summer, all because of Robin. Sheâs an awesome trainer. Did you know she was long-listed for the Olympic team once?â
âOf course she knows that.â Hannah rolled her eyes.âEveryone knows that. Thatâs probably why she wanted to come, right, Brooke?â
Brooke wasnât sure what to say. She didnât want these girls to know how out of place she felt. Then again, theyâd figure it out sooner or later. Probably sooner.
âNot exactly,â she admitted, staring at Hannahâs crystal-studded belt to avoid meeting any of their eyes. âUm, Iâm not really into showing and stuff.â
âOh!â Liviâs eyes widened in surprise. âBut then whyââ
Paige elbowed her. âNever mind,â she said. âYouâll have fun anyway. Robin teaches all kinds of people and horses. Sheâs amazing.â
The other two nodded. Brooke smiled weakly. âOkay. Thanks.â
To her relief, the others seemed to lose interest in her after that, turning their chatter to other topics, full of names she didnât recognize and stuff she didnât care about. Brooke stopped listening after a while, focusing instead on looking around the barn. The older woman finished her grooming session and led her gelding into a stall, then disappeared. A cat crept out of one empty stall and into another, tailtwitching. Several horses, all of them tall and sleek and gorgeous, hung their heads out over the stall doors.
Finally a teenage girl who looked a couple of years older than the others wandered in. âHey, whose stuff is that in the courtyard?â she called out. âWeâre going to try to get a ride in before darkâRobin said