Bridle Path by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online

it settled on her, all three girls were overwhelmed with the image, for there, standing in front of a dingy mirror in a dusty attic, wearing an old-fashioned riding outfit, was a bride. Carole looked as if she were completely ready to ride down the aisle to meet up with the man of her dreams.
    “Look at that!” said Lisa.
    “What inspiration!” said Stevie.
    Carole immediately sensed something in Stevie’s tone of voice. “Inspiration?” she asked.
    “Sure,” said Stevie. “We can have a wedding!”
    “We’re missing only two things,” Lisa commented. “The bride and the groom.”
    “No, we’ve got them already. The new stallion is the groom and Delilah is the bride! It’s going to be great. We can do it on Saturday,
after
the horse show. You can ride Delilah, wearing that outfit—you might want to consider adding a string of pearls somewhere, though—and then one of us can wear the outfit I had on before—you know, the Southern-gentleman thing—and that person can lead the stallion, and then the other one can be the justice of the peace.”
    “Just where is this going to take place?” Carole asked.
    “In the paddock,” Stevie said quickly. Then she had another idea. “Or maybe we’ll think of someplace more romantic. Anyway, we can ask all the members of Horse Wise to bring food. We can make it a surprise for them, too. You know, just the three of us will be in on it, so everybody will be bowled over. It is, after all, The Day—I mean April Fools’—and it’s the kind of joke that’s fun and nobody gets hurt, and that’s the kind you’re always wanting me to think up.”
    Carole had a couple of questions she wanted to ask Stevie right then, like if she was totally out of her mind and how they could possibly plan a whole party, to say nothing of a wedding, in four days when they had a whole lot of other things that had to be done—but there was no stopping Stevie. Her mind was totally engaged and her mouth was just as active.
    “… then there’s the music. I guess we’ll just have to use a battery-powered tape deck. I can probably borrow my brother’s, though he may kill me if anything happens to it, but he won’t even notice, since I think he’s going away this weekend. I’d better borrow it Thursday so he won’t even think of taking it withhim on Friday. What music? I mean, we’re going to have to have classical stuff for the ceremony—oh, the ceremony, I guess I’m going to have to write that. Or better still, Lisa, you write it. You’re good at writing.…”
    Lisa and Carole began sorting some of the clothes they’d taken out of boxes, listening to Stevie’s chatter as they worked. When Stevie was this enthusiastic about a plan, it usually turned out pretty well. Usually.

B Y THE TIME riding class started on Tuesday, Stevie had everyone thoroughly confused. She’d decided that the “wedding” for Delilah and the stallion should be a surprise not only for Max, but for everyone. However, in order to get everyone to work on it, she had to give them a reason.
    “It’s Max’s birthday, and we need somebody to bring punch,” she said to Meg Durham. “Can you do that?”
    Meg agreed.
    She asked Veronica diAngelo to bake the cake, not because she thought Veronica would actually bake it,but because she suspected that Veronica’s cook would do a better job than most of the students.
    “White, it has to be white,” Stevie said.
    “Why? I thought Max liked chocolate cake the best.”
    “Maybe,” said Stevie, thinking fast. “But all I have is white candles—oh, and by the way, don’t write anything on the cake.”
    As usual, Veronica was being contrary. “White candles go just fine on a chocolate cake, and what’s wrong with writing ‘Happy Birthday Max’?”
    “My white candles won’t go on a chocolate cake, and don’t write anything on it because I told you so.”
    Stevie could be contrary, too.
    With only ten minutes to spare before class started, she’d