Autumn Trail by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page A

instead of concocting some sort of devious plan to trick us into agreeing to it.”
    Stevie didn’t know quite how to answer that, so she just smiled. She also crossed her fingers under the table. Her parents hadn’t actually said yes yet, and now that she’d come up with this idea, Stevie knew it was an absolutely perfect Thanksgiving project.
    “Well, I think she’s crazy to want to pass up this trip,” Alex announced.
    “Me, too,” Michael piped up.
    Chad didn’t say anything. Stevie glanced at him and saw that he was gazing down into his mashed potatoes with a goofy smile on his face. He was slowly stirring the potatoes and humming softly. Stevie was sure he was thinking about Ellen, but she resisted the strong urge to tease him and looked back at her parents. They were both still looking thoughtful.
    “Please, Mom and Dad,” Stevie said. “This means a lot to me.”
    Her parents exchanged another glance. “We’ll think about it, Stevie,” Mr. Lake said. “And we will take your sincerity into account.”
    “Thanks,” Stevie said, with what she hoped was an encouraging smile. This was the first time she could remember trying the straightforward approach with anything this important. She couldn’t believe it, but it seemed to be working.

    A FTER DINNER S TEVIE called Lisa and told her about her plan. Lisa checked with her parents, who said they’d be happy to have Stevie stay there. Lisa also promised to help pitch in at the stable herself.
    Stevie found her parents relaxing in the den and told them what the Atwoods had said. “So what do you say?” she asked, holding her breath while she waited for their answer.
    Mr. Atwood set down the magazine he was reading. “Well, Stevie, we’ve discussed it. We know that you must really want to help Max if you’re willing to give up the trip to Maryland for him.”
    “That’s right,” Stevie agreed eagerly. “Max does so much for me all year long, I just thought he needed his trip more than I need mine.”
    “All right, Stevie,” Mrs. Atwood said. “If it means that much to you, you have our permission.”
    “Oh, great!” Stevie exclaimed, giving both her parents giant bear hugs. “Thanks a million! I’ve got to go call Max and tell him the good news right away.”
    She rushed into the kitchen to call Max and volunteer her services as an assistant stable hand. At first she had a hard time convincing him that, first of all, she was serious about it, and second of all, she had already cleared it with her parents. But after she put Mrs. Lake on the phone to confirm it, Max was full of gratitude.
    “I really appreciate this, Stevie,” he said. “This trip is very important to me, and for a while there it was lookingas though my mother and I weren’t going to be able to go.”
    Stevie was surprised to hear that Mrs. Reg was going along with Max on his romantic visit. That seemed to disprove Carole’s theory about an elopement. Maybe Lisa was right and this was a first date, and maybe Mrs. Reg had arranged it. Stevie decided that this was just one more mysterious detail they would have to investigate.
    “It’s all set,” Stevie told her parents after she finished talking to Max and hung up the phone. “Max leaves tomorrow morning.”
    “I hope you realize, Stevie, you’ve taken on a big responsibility,” Mr. Lake said. “Max is really counting on you.”
    “I know,” Stevie said. “It’ll be even more work than that time Carole and Lisa and I took over for Mrs. Reg when she had to go see her sick friend.” She smiled at the memory. That time The Saddle Club had misinterpreted some of Mrs. Reg’s instructions and had ended up doing more work than they really had to because of it. But everything had turned out all right in the end, and Stevie was sure she’d learned a lot from the experience. That knowledge would come in handy now, especially with both Max
and
Mrs. Reg away. “But it’ll be fun. I can’t wait.”
    “Well, we’ll