Flying Horse by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page B

“Does your mother mind?”
    Dorothy laughed. “I don’t think so. She isn’t selling the town house, Lisa. She’s only going to run the inn between April and October. A lot of the businesses on Chincoteague close down for the winter—there aren’t many tourists then.”
    Lisa nodded. She could see the attraction of spending part of each year in two such different places—so long as she could ride in both places. When The Saddle Club had visited New York, they’d ridden in Central Park. “Are there places to ride here?” she asked.
    Dorothy shook her head. “Not lesson barns, no,” she said. “Some of the people who live here ride, of course—they have to, at the Pony Penning Roundup. But I haven’t seen or heard of a place yet where you can just go and ride. I’m sorry.”
    “That’s okay,” Lisa said.
    Carole sighed. “Wouldn’t a trail ride on Assateague be wonderful?” she said.
    “Wonderful,” said Dorothy. “But I don’t think it would be allowed. I don’t know for sure what the rule is, but I do know that you aren’t allowed to bring pets onto Assateague. It’s a wildlife refuge, and I think they’re worried about pets bringing diseases into the wild population. I think horses would qualify as pets, in this case.”
    “Darn,” Stevie said, and the others, including Denise and Dorothy, nodded. A trail ride on Assateague would have been fantastic.
    On the second floor, there were five guest bedrooms, but only two contained furniture. “This is the room Nigel and I are using,” Dorothy said, opening the door to reveal a four-poster bed, newly varnished wood floor, and stripped-down walls. “It’s not quite done, but we thought we’d leave the finished rooms for you.”
    She walked across the hall and opened a second door. “This is the largest room at the inn, and whenwe’re open it will be our finest. We finished it first, to inspire ourselves.”
    The visitors oohed and aahed. The corner room overlooked the bay and the garden. An enormous antique bed with an elaborate lace counterpane stood squarely between two lace-curtained windows. Opposite, a small fire was laid in a marble-fronted fireplace. An antique dresser, a spindle desk and chair, and a claw-foot bathtub in the private bathroom completed the furnishings.
    “No TV,” Denise noticed.
    “No. Mom decided she wouldn’t have any TVs in the entire inn,” Dorothy explained. “Each room has a private phone, and we have heat and central air-conditioning, but that’s as modern as she wants to get. No TVs, no VCRs, no faxes. This is a place for vacations.”
    “It’s a beautiful room,” Lisa said, examining the fine wallpaper and the rose rug in front of the fireplace. “It’s for Mrs. Reg, of course.”
    “Of course,” said Dorothy, smiling. “Nothing but the best for the first person to ever put me on a horse.”
    The third floor held two guest rooms that shared a single enormous bathroom between them. Denise’s room was small and cozy, with a slanted ceiling and a double bed tucked under the eaves.
    When they saw their room, The Saddle Clubcouldn’t help thinking that they’d gotten the best deal. The room had two gable windows with deep window seats giving them a beautiful view of the bay. A brass double bed took up the middle of the floor, and a matching daybed nestled between the window seats. The walls were covered with yellow-flowered paper, and the beds bore eyelet comforters.
    Stevie sank down onto the big bed with a sigh. “This is fantastic,” she said. “And to think I didn’t want to come. And look, guys, Nigel brought my books up. Do you think I have time to read, or do you think Mrs. DeSoto needs us now?”
    “I think she needs us,” Carole said firmly. Lisa agreed. Wasn’t anything going to take Stevie’s mind off flying changes?
    T HEY HAD TIME to explore the sandy strip of beach before dinnertime. Then, at her insistence, Mrs. Reg treated all of them to a seafood dinner at a restaurant