Summer Rider by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page B

Winter brothers.”
    “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Stevie,” Barry said. “But I’m afraid there’s really no point. Moose Hill is gone. I’m finally starting to accept it. You’re going to have to do the same.”
    Carole sat down next to Stevie. “We know that, Barry,” she said soothingly. “We’re just curious, that’s all.”
    Stevie shot her a dirty look, but her expression brightened when Barry and Betty glanced at each other and shrugged. She realized that Carole wasn’t really giving up—she was just trying to get the adults talking.
    “I don’t blame you for being curious,” Betty said. “It’shard to believe that something like this could happen to such a great place.”
    Barry nodded. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about the Winters,” he said. “They’re not bad guys. In fact, they’ve been awfully good to the staff here—they even found jobs at their other businesses for some of the people they fired this year. And they took a lot of pride in the reputation we’ve built over the years. Unfortunately, that’s not as important to them at this point as cold, hard cash.”
    “It’s too bad that these developers happened along and were willing to pay so much,” Betty put in. “There wasn’t much chance that anyone who wasn’t familiar with Moose Hill would want to invest that heavily in a riding camp. But that’s just because the camp’s real potential hasn’t been brought out.”
    That gave Stevie a great idea. “I’ve got it!” she cried, turning to Barry. “Why don’t
you
buy it? You know all about the potential, and you said your brother was advising you about the money part—”
    Barry cut her off with a rueful smile. “I’m way ahead of you on that one, Stevie,” he said. “It was the first thing I thought of when I heard that the brothers wanted to sell. But the developers’ offer is just too high.”
    “Are you sure?” Carole asked. “Maybe you could get a big loan from the bank or something.”
    “Believe me, I’m sure,” Barry said with a heavy sigh. “I’ve been over the numbers a hundred times. Even withthe biggest bank loan I could get, along with my savings and an optimistic estimate of what I could beg, borrow, or steal from family and friends, I’m still a good thirty thousand dollars short.”
    Stevie and Carole couldn’t help gasping at the number. “Th-Thirty thousand?” Carole repeated in disbelief.
    Barry nodded. “It’s a shame, too. I’m sure the brothers would break off negotiations with the developers if they thought I could match their price.”
    “I’m sure of it, too,” Betty said. “I think they’d like the idea of Moose Hill continuing as it is.”
    “As it is, only better,” Barry corrected her. Then he sighed again. “But what’s the point of thinking about that now? Fred called just this morning to say the deal should be worked out around the time camp ends next week.”
    Stevie hardly heard him. She was still turning the number he had mentioned over in her mind, and it was making her head spin. Thirty thousand dollars! That was real money, and she knew it. Despite her natural optimism, she was having a hard time believing that even The Saddle Club could find a way to solve this problem.
    But as she and Carole got up and said good-bye to Barry and Betty, one thought emerged clearly from Stevie’s muddled brain. It might seem impossible, but they had to save Moose Hill. They just had to!

B Y THE NEXT day, Stevie hadn’t come up with any ideas, though she had thought about it until her brain hurt. The girls talked about the problem while they cooled down their horses after one of their morning classes. “Our only chance is to raise enough money for Barry to buy the camp instead of the developers,” Carole said for about the tenth time that day.
    “Definitely,” Stevie answered for the tenth time. Belle nudged her on the shoulder, and Stevie rubbed the mare’s nose thoughtfully. “But