Lucky Horse Read Free

said Stevie. “Lisa would muck out all the stalls every day and I could help Red tack up the horses for the riding lessons and Carole could paint some of the jumps and of course all the horses would be fed and watered and groomed twice a day. And, and …” Stevie desperately looked around Max’s office. “And we’ll sweep out your office and we could even try to shovel up that big pile of manure …”
    Max held up one hand. “Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. In exchange for bunking down in the hayloft for three nights, you’d be willing to do all those chores?”
    “Oh, yes!” cried Lisa and Stevie together.
    “Well, I’ll tell you something. Mom, Deborah, and I were just trying to figure out who we could get to watch the stable if we took a weekend trip up to Dorothy DeSoto’s training farm on Long Island. We’d almost given up on the idea, but if you three are willing to do all that, then this is a deal I can hardly pass up.”
    “Oh, Max!” Stevie cried.
    “But you won’t have to start moving the manure pile. I’ve hired some guys with backhoes to come and do that next week. Everything else, though, is perfectly acceptable.”
    Lisa and Stevie grabbed Carole and began to jump up and down.
    “Wait, you guys,” Carole said as her friends bounced in the air beside her. “I’ve got some bad news.”
    “Oh no,” said Lisa. “Won’t your father let you come? My mother let me, and she never lets me do anything unless it’s approved by every adult within a ten-mile radius.”
    “No, it’s not that. My dad’s big project at work has just ended and he got a four-day weekend as a reward. He’s planned this father-daughter camping trip for the two of us.” She smiled regretfully at her friends. “As much as I’d love to be with you guys, I don’t often get a chance to spend time like this with my dad.”
    “That’s okay, Carole,” Stevie said. “We understand.” She turned to Max. “Is it still okay if it’s just Lisa and me?”
    “You don’t think just the two of you will get spooked here in the middle of the night? Stables are full of scary noises at two in the morning.”
    “Of course not, Max,” Stevie assured him. “That’s kid stuff.”
    Max smiled. “Okay, then. It’s fine with me. Just to prove how good a sport I am, you don’t have to paint all the jumps. But everything else on your list remains.”
    “Great,” said Stevie, extending her hand. “It’s a deal.”
    As Max shook hands with Stevie and Lisa, his phone rang. With a wave he shooed them out of his office and turned to talk to the caller about dressage lessons.
    “Oh, wow,” said Stevie as the three girls walked toward their horses’ stalls. “I can’t believe we’re going to do this. A weekend sleepover at Pine Hollow!”
    “I’m just sorry you won’t be here, Carole,” Lisa said.
    “Right,” grumbled Stevie. “It’ll be fun, but it won’t be perfect.”
    Carole sighed. “I know. I really wanted to come, but I haven’t had a chance to be with my dad in a long time, and he’s so excited about this trip.” She looked at her friends. “He’s borrowed some really fancy camping equipment that’s all run by solar energy.”
    “Wow,” said Stevie. “That’s really state-of-the-art stuff. I’ve seen my brother Chad drool over that kind of gear in his camping magazines.”
    “I can’t wait to see how it all works.” Carole giggled. “I think Dad’s almost as excited about taking allthis equipment up into the wilderness as he is about taking me.”
    “It’ll be a great trip for both of you, though,” said Lisa.
    “I know.” Carole smiled. “I’ll just miss you guys a lot.”
    “Here are some other guys who’ve been missing us a lot,” Stevie said as they turned the corner. All along both sides of the passageway, the horses poked their heads out from their stalls. Their ears stood erect, and their eyes sparkled. Starlight’s and Belle’s stalls were together, and