Before They Rode Horses Read Free Page A

are in his blood and probably will be in our baby’s, too. But how am I going to be a mother to a kid who loves something I hardly know anything about?”
    Stevie laughed at Deborah’s concern. “I wish I’d been as lucky as your baby will be!” she said. “Your baby will be with horses from the very first day of his life! I had to wait until I was about in fourth grade!”
    “Much later for me,” said Lisa.
    “I was in kindergarten or something like that,” Carole said. “But Stevie’s right. Your baby only has to wait a month now—until he’s born, I mean.”
    A strange look crossed Deborah’s face. “I don’t think so,” she said.
    “Oh, yes,” Lisa assured her. “I’m positive that Max will have his son up and out in the barn within days of the time he’s born. It’s never too early to start that kind of training.”
    Deborah winced. “I don’t think it’ll be a month,” she said.
    “Well, maybe he’ll wait until the baby is like a week or two,” Stevie said.
    Deborah cringed. “I mean I don’t think we’ll have to wait as long as a month,” she said.
    “No, more like a couple of weeks,” Stevie said, repeating herself and wondering why Deborah hadn’t understood her.
    “But don’t worry, Deborah,” Lisa said calmly. “I know that the last month of pregnancy goes veryfast. I heard my mother talking with a friend of hers about it. It’ll be over before you know it.”
    “No,” said Deborah. “It’ll be over before
you
know it. I mean, it
is
over!”
    All three girls pulled their horses to a halt and looked at Deborah. As they watched, the pained look on her face cleared. She glanced at her watch. “Now, let’s see how long it is until the next one,” she said.
    “Next what?” Carole asked suspiciously.
    “Contraction,” Deborah answered. “And I think it’ll probably be a good idea if we head back to Pine Hollow now. Not that I haven’t enjoyed this ride …”
    “Y-You mean—” Stevie stammered.
    “Yup,” said Deborah.
    “It’s
now
?” Lisa asked.
    “That’s right,” Deborah confirmed.
    “Really?” asked Carole.
    “Really,” Deborah said. “Now is the time. Today’s the day. I am about to turn myself into a mother, Max into a father, and Mrs. Reg into a grandmother.… And you three?”
    “Into baby-sitters!” Lisa declared.
    “Let’s go!” Stevie shrieked. With that, she turned Belle around and kicked her firmly into a canter.
    “Whoa there!” Deborah called. Stevie drew on the reins and Belle came to a sudden halt.
    “Here?
Now
?” Stevie asked frantically.
    “No, not here and now,” said Deborah. “We’ve got a good long time, and racing back to Pine Hollow won’t help anything. We can walk at a leisurely pace, and when we get back, we’ll call my doctor and let him know that the process has begun.”
    “And Max. Should we call Max?” Lisa suggested.
    “Not yet,” said Deborah. “This labor is likely to take about twenty hours. There’s no reason why Max should be rushed back here. He’ll be here for most of it—and for the most important part, anyway. For now, you girls can take care of me, can’t you?”
    “Of course we can,” Stevie said. “We’re The Saddle Club. We can accomplish anything when we work together!”
    “Isn’t that what Max said he was afraid of?” Deborah asked, teasing.
    The girls couldn’t help themselves. They burst into laughter as they began a gentle walk back to Pine Hollow.

A LTHOUGH D EBORAH INSISTED she didn’t need any help, The Saddle Club insisted she would get it. Stevie and Carole took the horses to the stable. Lisa tucked her arm under Deborah’s and walked with her into the house. Deborah called her doctor.
    “Uh-huh, right.… Definitely.… No, he’s not here.… I’m fine.… No problem.… Yes, somebody’s here with me.… Fifteen minutes.… Sure, right,” she said. Lisa listened carefully, trying to figure out what the doctor was saying so she’d know what to do