Dude Ranch by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online

stock that is ready for sale. And, it gives us a chance to check on the herd as a whole. Sometimes you might find that there’s a disease or something like that. This just gives us a chance to check them all out.”
    “How many cattle are there?” Lisa asked.
    “We figure our land can support a herd between onehundred twenty-five and one hundred fifty. There were a lot of calves born this spring, though. Eli thinks there may be more than one hundred fifty. We’ll just see.”
    “What do we have to take with us?” Stevie asked. “I mean, are we going to have to carry a lot of equipment with us?”
    Kate considered the question. “You know, I’m not sure,” she said. “Best person to answer that is Eli. Why don’t you go ask him, Stevie, while we give Mom a hand with the dishes this morning?”
    “Okay,” Stevie said. Dishes weren’t her favorite thing and, besides, there was a piece of steak left on her plate that she thought Mel would really love. While the other girls were busy clearing, Stevie wrapped the chunk of beef into a napkin and slipped it into her pocket. Now that was a doggie bag!
    “See you,” she said, heading for the barn.
    “Oh no you won’t,” Carole whispered when she knew Stevie was out of earshot. “Come on, girls, let’s get back to the planning board!”
    As quickly as possible, the three of them finished clearing and retreated to Phyllis’s workroom, where they were creating the decorations for Stevie’s party.
    “You’re on the banner, Lisa,” Kate said. “Mom sewed a couple of bunk sheets together and we can stretch them between two trees at Parson’s Rock. Youcan use the paint there,” she said, pointing at jars of red, white, and blue paint. “It worked just fine for the barbecue we had last week.”
    “Okay,” Lisa said, agreeable.
    “Now, you can work on streamers and other decorations,” Kate told Carole. “There’s all kinds of crepe paper and construction paper and stuff over there.”
    “And what are you going to do?” Carole asked.
    “I’m going into the kitchen to help my mother with the dishes so I can head Stevie off if she comes back this way. We’re going to go on our trail ride in an hour and a half. Eli’s taking us out to sort of prepare us for the roundup. Think you can get most of your work done before then?”
    “We won’t have any other time, will we?” Carole asked.
    “Nope,” Kate said.
    “Then we’ll finish,” Lisa assured her.
    “Sounds good to me,” Kate said. She left Lisa and Carole in the workroom, closing the door behind her—just in case Stevie got nosey!
    “Y OU’RE GONNA NEED a clean pair of socks,” Eli told Stevie. “Always got to have those.”
    “That’s all?” she asked him.
    “Well, that ’n’ a lariat—nah, you won’t need a lariat. Wouldn’t know how to use it. Then you shouldhave a bedroll—nah, no point in botherin’ with that. Dudes like you never sleep anyway. Too worried about the rattlesnakes.”
    “Rattlesnakes?” Stevie said, genuine concern in her voice.
    “See, I told you,” Eli said. Stevie thought he could be more infuriating than anybody she had ever known in her life.
    “I brought something for Mel,” she said, changing the subject. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the chunk of steak. Much to Stevie’s relief, Eli smiled at her. Without a word, he headed for the dark door at the back of the barn. She trailed him, eager to visit Mel and her pups again.
    Mel gobbled the steak in two bites and licked Stevie’s hand when she was done.
    “She likes me,” Stevie said.
    “She likes steak,” Eli said sensibly. Stevie laughed. Eli had to get back to the horses, so she couldn’t visit with the puppies for very long, but she gave each one a quick pat before she and Eli returned upstairs.
    Stevie went back to the main house. She found Kate in the kitchen with her mother, washing dishes. “What are Lisa and Carole doing?” she asked suspiciously.
    “Peeling