Trail Ride by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page A

the trees and let them graze while they dry off.”
    As soon as the horses were secured, the girls headed back into the water.
    It turned out that Kate was the one who had tied the rope to the branch stretching over the water. The girls took turns swinging on it and seeing who could jump the farthest. With no grown-ups to tell them to be quiet, they all felt free to do exactly as they wished,which meant whooping and hollering and splashing like maniacs. Finally they crept onto a dry boulder to warm up in the sunshine.
    Lisa climbed to her feet. “I claim this land in the name of The Saddle Club,” she declared to the world.
    Kate and Carole dissolved into giggles.
    Carole shivered happily, stretching her T-shirt down over her knees and hugging them. She couldn’t remember feeling happier in her whole life. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m ravenous.”
    Kate jumped from the boulder to the shore. “Say no more. Mom packed us a huge lunch. Fried chicken, cheese, pickles, fresh apple pie, and …”
    “Homemade biscuits?” Carole guessed.
    Kate nodded. “What else? Come on, let’s chow down.”
    The girls ate a sumptuous meal sitting in the grass under the trees. They washed everything down with fresh water from the waterfall, which Kate caught in her canteen.
    Everyone agreed it was the finest day ever.
    All too soon it was time to get dressed and head back.
    “It’s a longer ride than you think,” Kate warned them as she packed up.
    “Oh no!” Lisa cried, jumping to her feet from where she had sat to pull on her boots.
    “It’s not that bad,” Carole assured her.
    “It’s not the ride home,” Lisa said mournfully. “It’s the e-mail.”
    They all shuddered at the thought. How were they ever going to make this day sound dull to Stevie?

I T WAS UNBELIEVABLE . I almost fell over when she said it. “I love horses, I’ve been such a fool.
” Those were Dava’s exact words!
    It was after supper at the Bar None, and Carole, Lisa, and Kate were gathered around the computer, unable to believe what they were reading in Stevie’s latest e-mail.
    I was all prepared for a miserable afternoon and it turned out okay. In fact, better than okay. We talked about horses almost the whole time. It turns out that Dava and some friends went on a pleasure ride at a local stable. Actually, she confessed she only went along because a boy she liked was going. Anyway,
she ended up loving it. She kept talking about how wonderful Boddington is. That’s the name of the horse she rode. She doesn’t know a lot about horses yet, but she said she’s eager to learn. She wants to take lessons, and she asked me to help talk her folks into it. Of course I said I’d be happy to.
    I swear it’s almost like she had a personality transplant, and none too soon.
    Anyway, I wanted you guys to know that things are looking up here. I really think everything’s going to turn out all right after all.
    Write soon.
    Love, Stevie
    “This is so great!” Carole exclaimed.
    Lisa, who was sitting at the keyboard, couldn’t have agreed more. “You know what this means, don’t you? It means we can tell her the truth about today.”
    “You go first with the picnic, and then I’ll fill her in on the truth about the plane ride,” Carole suggested eagerly.
    It took them a long time to finish the message to their mutual satisfaction. Finally they sent it off into cyberspace, and they all fell into bed, exhausted and satisfied.
    The next day, Lisa and Carole rose bright and early, determined to show everybody they could pull their own weight around the ranch. They made it to the ranch house in time for breakfast with the rest of the hands. Lisa couldn’t help noticing Paula’s look of surprise when they walked in.
    “So, you two ready for another hard day of picnicking?” she chuckled, clearing her plate from the table.
    Lisa looked over at Kate. “Actually, I don’t know what we’re doing today,” she confessed.
    “Come on, Paula,