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

big about ten years earlier, had trained here. He had a good reputation. Not that he was known for endurance riding, but he was good with horses and riders. That was all that mattered to Callie. She had her own trainer. Or at least she used to have her own trainer. Back home.
    It was the second time in as many minutes that the phrase had gone through her head. Home was a long way away, on the other side of the country. But her father’s work was here now most of the year. Some congressmen left their families “back home.” For her father, that wouldn’t do. He wanted them to be together. So Scott and Callie had finished out the school year at their high school “back home” and had come to join their parents. They’d go to school here next year. She’d finish high school in Virginia, apply to college from Virginia, call Virginia home. No, she couldn’t do that. Home was back there, on the West Coast, where she came from, where she belonged.
    She wasn’t ever going to belong here. She wasn’t ever going to like people, make friends, understand that soft Southern accent so many people had. Her friends were going to be on the other end of a long-distance call or on e-mail. She’d ride this horse. She’d earn ribbons, maybe even a few blues. But staying in a house in Virginia wasn’t the same thing as living there. As far as Callie was concerned, “back home” was still home.
    The screen door of the stable swung open and slammed shut.
    It was Scott. She’d seen the car, so she knew he was there. Typical of him to have found his way into the barn. He’d probably already made friends with everyone. Scott was a natural-born friend to everyone. It was a skill he had clearly picked up from their father. He was funny, warm, kind, attentive, amusing, and comfortable with everyone. The worst part was that he actually meant it, too—at least when it came to everyone else. When he came to his sister, he wasn’t always Mr. Smooth.
    â€œWhere have you been?” he demanded.
    â€œI was waiting for Dad,” Callie said. “I couldn’t leave without him.”
    â€œWell, I may leave here without you,” he said. “I’ve got an appointment with the coach of the debate team in exactly fifteen minutes, and I have to get you to the dentist first. You’ve got to get in there, check out your horse, who looks just fine if you want my opinion, and then we’ve got to get out of here in five minutes so I can take you to your appointment.”
    â€œFive minutes? Scott, I can’t do that! This is the first time I’ve seen the horse in months. I can’t just wave to him. You don’t know the first thing about—”
    â€œWhat I know is that I don’t have a lot of time. Make it snappy.”
    â€œI’ll do my best.” She sighed. Scott wasn’t improving her mood.
    â€œInside, turn right down the aisle. He’s in the last stall on the right. There’s a girl named Carole and a boy named Ben looking after him, but I think the horse is in a really bad mood. I guess they had to go to a lot of trouble to get him off the van—not that he got hurt or anything. I’ll be waiting in the car.”
    â€œThanks,” she said.
    She stepped into the stable and paused for a moment. She heard Scott turn on the motor. It irritated her. She knew it was his way of reminding her, as if she hadn’t gotten the message, that he really was in a hurry. She knew he was rushed, just as she knew that he hadn’t been thrilled with his assignment to pick her up and drive her around. He wasn’t a lot happier about moving to Willow Creek than she was, and the only thing that made it easier for him was the excellent reputation of the Willow Creek High School debate team, a reputation he fully expected to help improve.
    It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the darkness after the bright summer sun