Horse Fever by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online

boring. Well, maybe if we tested, like, overall fitness—strength,endurance, et cetera. I’d still whip you, but at least there’d be something interesting about it.”
    “One week,” Stevie said.
    “One week? I’d better give you two to try to get into something resembling fitness,” Alex said.
    “Ha, ha. I guess you think—” Stevie began, letting her guard down for an instant. Then she stopped herself. She refused to let Alex get a rise out of her. Freezing him out was her only hope of maintaining a last shred of dignity. Silently, though, she groaned. Two weeks!
Two weeks!
What was it about two weeks? Two weeks to get into shape. Two weeks to prepare a demonstration for Max. Two weeks till vacation ended. Didn’t she have some homework or something? Better not think about it.… Who knew what awful assignments lurked in her backpack? Luckily it was safely zipped and stowed in the back of the closet.
    “Look,” Stevie said, finally giving in to an overwhelming urge to snap at her brother, “would you mind taking the fitness parade out to the kitchen so I can watch
Priced to Sell
? You’re blocking my view.”
    “I’ve got a better idea,” Alex said. He got down on the floor and began to do push-ups. “One! Two! Three! Hey, aren’t you going to Pine Hollow? For some ‘exercise’?” He snickered. “Won’t Carole and Lisa be wondering where you are?”
    Ignoring him, Stevie took the remote and turned the TV up. Normally she had no trouble with snappy comebacks. But this time Alex was right. Carole had probably been there for hours. Lisa would have joined her after breakfast. “What do you care?” she growled. Mentally, however, she was forced to cede round two to Alexander Lake.

C AROLE WAS FAR from Pine Hollow. She wasn’t even in Willow Creek. She was two towns over, speeding along the back roads in Pat Naughton’s sports car. And this, Carole thought happily, was the life.
    “So anyway, Dave asked me what I most wanted for our tenth anniversary and I said, ‘A horse.’ I thought he was going to fall off his chair. But he’s gotten used to the idea. He might even try riding himself. If I ever find a horse, that is.”
    “That’s great. You guys could ride together,” Carole said. She had always thought that being grown up looked pretty boring. But Pat made it seem fun. Carole was almost sorry when they pulled over to the side of the roadand parked in front of the house where their first appointment was.
    The two of them had gotten out of the car and started toward the front door when a window was pushed open. A woman with her hair in curlers poked her head out. “Here about the horse?” she called.
    “Why, yes,” Pat said, walking toward the window. “I have a ten A.M . appointment to see …”—she consulted her day book briefly.
    “I know, I know, you’re here to see Princess. Well, you’re too late. She was sold yesterday,” the woman announced flatly.
    “Sold?” Pat repeated.
    “Yeah! Sold! You got a problem with that? Sold to a nice little girl over in Baker’s Village.”
    Carole was ready to turn around and go, but Pat put her hands on her hips and stood her ground. “Excuse me, but I
called
yesterday and you said the horse was still available.”
    The woman shrugged and gave them a “What can you do?” look. “Hey, I didn’t know if she’d pass the vet check. I mean, if anything fell through, you had a shot at her.”
    “Oh,
thanks
,” said Pat, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “You mean you were willing to sell us a lame horse?”
    “I didn’t say she was lame!” the woman yelled, her face turning a nasty shade of red.
    “What else would she be if she didn’t pass the vet check?” Pat retorted.
    “She did pass the vet check!” the woman shot back.
    “Right: Sound on Saturday, lame on Sunday, I’ll bet!”
    “Look, you better get outa here or I’m gonna call the cops!” the woman said, brandishing a fist at them.
    “Uh, Pat?” Carole said