The Long Ride by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page A

Carole said. “Ben’s trying to give him the old Pine Hollow welcome and help him settle in. I think he doesn’t like traveling much.”
    Scott leaned up against one of the pillars, propping his elbow over his head and leaning easily. Carole remembered how he’d taken to the chair in her office, immediately making himself at home. She was struck by the fact that Scott managed to make himself comfortable wherever he was, and as a result she was comfortable, too—as long as he didn’t compliment her too much.
    â€œIs that one of those qualities of various breeds you were talking about?” Scott asked.
    â€œOh, I don’t think so,” Carole said. “Every horse has its own personality, regardless of breed. Some horses love to be vanned and walk up and down the ramp without any trouble. There are a couple of horses here who try to get on every van that comes into the yard. Others hate it, and every time they go anyplace, it’s a struggle. Your friend Fez here falls into that category.”
    Carole became aware that the two of them were talking around Ben—almost as if he weren’t there. Since he was, however, she thought it would be polite to bring him into the conversation.
    â€œBen, why don’t you tell Scott what we had to go through to get this guy off the van?”
    â€œOh, it wasn’t too bad,” Ben said. “Just had to persuade him. He’s okay now.”
    That was it. That was all Ben intended to say. He could be infuriating, Carole thought. What was the matter with sharing the tale with Scott? Some people would have enjoyed hearing about the mask and the bribes. Scott was one of them, Carole was sure.
    â€œWe kind of took the carrot-and-stick approach,” Carole said. “Literally. Except we didn’t dangle the carrot off a stick. I held the carrots close enough for him to be able to sniff them—which he had to do because he had a mask over his eyes.”
    â€œYou blindfolded him? You mean he’s so dumb he couldn’t figure out where he was going?”
    Carole had never actually thought of it in those terms. “We hope so,” she said. That made Scott laugh. His laugh was so infectious that it made her laugh, too. It didn’t, however, make Ben laugh. He simply kept up his work, grooming Fez.
    Fez’s ears perked up suddenly, and then Carole heard a car door slam. It didn’t surprise her that Fez had heard it open when the humans hadn’t. Horses had very keen hearing.
    â€œExcuse me, but I bet that’s Callie,” Scott said. “I’ll go check and bring her back here, okay?”
    â€œOh, sure,” Carole said. Scott was gone instantly. That meant Callie would probably be there in a few minutes. Carole glanced around. Was the stall ready for Callie’s inspection? Ben had been so busy with his grooming that he hadn’t noticed that Fez had eaten some of the hay in the tick. What if Callie thought they hadn’t given him enough food? And the water? There was work to be done.
    Callie stepped back from her father’s car. “I’ll see you tonight,” she said through the open car window.
    â€œBye, honey,” the congressman answered. “Remember to be home on time. Your mother has promised to make everybody’s favorite dinner.”
    â€œOh, right, that pizza place that delivers—”
    â€œFull pepperoni, half mushroom,” he said.
    â€œHope they’re as good as the place back home.”
    â€œThey are,” he said. “You’ll see.”
    Callie waved, and her father pulled out of the drive.
    She paused to look around. The place didn’t look like much, but then stables usually didn’t win awards for architecture. There was a single large house, probably where the owner lived. Max something. Regnery—she remembered. He’d had a couple of pretty good riders come through his school. Dorothy DeSoto, who had been