Dream Horse by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page A

could that careless old man at that second-rate tack shop have the gall to leave a thread on her jacket?
    “Oh, Veronica, it’s just perfect!” Lisa said.
    “You think so?”
    “Well, it is now,” Lisa said. “And don’t worry about that. It was just a tiny thread. It could have happened to anybody.”
    But it shouldn’t have happened to me
, Veronica thought. She’d have a word with that stupid old man next time she went to The Saddlery. The thought made her happy. Perhaps it was time to go see if that lazy stable hand had tacked up Danny.
    “Oh, Red, are you finished yet?” she called loudly as she strutted out of the locker area, perfectly dressed—at least as far as Lisa and Carole were concerned. They could barely contain their giggles until Veronica was out of earshot.
    “You were perfect!” Carole said, hugging her friend. “An Oscar-winning performance! ‘Ooooh, Veronica!’ ” she mimicked. “ ‘The lines, the seams, the fabric!’ ”
    “And she actually believed me!” Lisa preened.
    “Of course she did,” said Carole. “That girl’s outsized ego needs constant feeding. She believes every compliment, no matter how outrageous.”
    “Well, let’s see how she likes being the center of attention today,” Lisa said.
    The girls followed Veronica’s route out of the locker area and went to get their own horses, tacked up by their own hands.
    The first snort of laughter came from Meg Durham. The second came from Betsy Cavanaugh.
    “Hey, look!” Lorraine Olson said, pointing at Veronica. Then she started laughing, too.
    Carole looked over the top of Starlight’s stall. There was Veronica, standing next to Danny, ready to mount her Thoroughbred. She was dressed in shiny black leather boots, doeskin-colored riding pants, a simple but elegant shirt, and a perfectly tailored black broadcloth jacket. To complete the outfit, she had a white band of cotton across her back with black lettering that read Point and Laugh.
    Everybody at Pine Hollow seemed only too willing to accommodate the request.
    Veronica looked annoyed and upset.
    “Just
what
is so funny,” she asked, stamping a foot. “Can someone please let me in on the joke?”
    That only made everyone laugh harder. Finally a red-faced Veronica yanked on Danny’s reins and stalked out of the barn, with the horse walking behind her.
    Lisa and Carole exchanged high fives over the wall between their horses’ stalls.
    “Who says we can’t pull off a great practical joke when Stevie’s not here?” Lisa asked.
    Carole just grinned.

C AROLE AND L ISA were still beaming with pride at their accomplishment when Deborah told them it was time to leave for Rock Ridge.
    “What are you two grinning about?” Deborah asked them as she pulled out of Pine Hollow’s driveway.
    “Oh, just a minor victory in defense of a defenseless friend,” Lisa answered. She was trying to sound as innocent as possible.
    “Does this have anything to do with what Max was trying to tell me about in the tack room before we left?” Deborah asked.
    “Max? Why, what was he saying?” Carole asked.
    “He wasn’t saying much,” said Deborah. “He was
trying
to tell me something, but he was laughing too hard to explain what it was.”
    Carole and Lisa exchanged glances. Max hadn’t given the slightest indication that he’d even noticed the sign on Veronica’s back. He’d ignored it so completely that they’d thought perhaps he actually hadn’t seen it.
    “Maybe he did see it,” said Carole.
    “But probably not,” Lisa said. “It’s just that, well …” She and Carole looked at one another, and then they couldn’t keep from laughing, just one more time.
    “I know that laugh,” Deborah said with certainty. “It’s exactly the same laugh Max couldn’t hold in. I guess I’ll just have to ask him about it later, huh?”
    “Good idea,” Lisa said. “For now, maybe I should try practicing my part,
Mom
.”
    “That sounds even stranger to me than it