Pleasure Horse Read Free Page A

tomboy Stevie remembered, Angie was stylishly dressed in a short wool skirt and V-neck sweater. She was wearing lipstick, pearl earrings, and a gold headband to hold back her long blond hair.
    “Stevie, great to have you here!” Stevie’s uncle enveloped her in a bear hug.
    Talking a million miles an hour, the two families headed to the lot where the New Jersey Lakes’ van was parked. Angie and Stevie fell into step together.
    “How’s Sparkles?” Stevie asked right away. Sparkles was the nickname of Angie’s horse, a well-built palomino whose show name was Spark of Genius. He was talented over fences, and Angie had done well with him in junior jumper classes.
    “He’s fine—same as always,” Angie answered briefly. Then she smiled. “I’m so glad you could make it down for the weekend, Stevie. My party is going to be incredible. Did you know we’re having it catered? The food is going to be great—hors d’oeuvres, a buffet supper, and a super-fancy cake for dessert. And we’re getting the mostgorgeous flowers—not just plain bouquets but special arrangements. The best florist in Philadelphia is doing them.”
    Stevie nodded absently. Of course the party would be fun, but she could hardly wait to get out to the barn and see the horses. She was planning on taking at least one ride a day with Angie. “So how many horses do you have now? Bones and Birdie are still around, right?” Stevie asked, referring to the Lakes’ two hunters. Bones was older and had been semiretired for a few years.
    “Oh, sure,” Angie said offhandedly. “We’ll never get rid of those two.”
    Stevie was about to ask where Angie wanted to ride first when her cousin gave a little cry of excitement. “I almost forgot! You know what else?” Angie asked.
    Stevie shook her head.
    Angie beamed. “There’s going to be a really cool band from my school. It’s a bunch of guys I know. They played at one of my friends’ sweet sixteen parties, and they were amazing.”
    Overhearing, Chad turned to the girls. “Yeah? What kind of music do they play?”
    “Everything!” Angie replied. She and Chad began to compare notes on the music and bands they liked. Only half listening, Stevie found her mind straying from the conversation.
    “So, isn’t that going to be great?” Angie said finally.
    It took Stevie a minute to realize that her cousin was addressing her. “Yeah, it sounds fun,” she answered, hoping that she sounded more enthusiastic than she felt. Somehow Stevie wasn’t all that impressed by the party details. But Angie seemed so excited that the only thing Stevie could do was to try to act excited, too.
    It was strange, though. In the past, the girls had spent hours riding and fussing over Sparkles, Bones, and Birdie. Now Angie seemed too preoccupied with the party even to talk about the horses.
    Stevie decided to have another try. A couple of years ago, the thing Angie had wanted most of all was to compete successfully on the “A” circuit, the highest level of horse showing. Her parents had bought Sparkles, an experienced show horse, to help her accomplish that goal. Stevie vividly remembered Angie vowing to be one of the top junior jumper riders on the east coast by the time she was sixteen. And that was only two days away. “Angie,” Stevie began tentatively, “how did you and Sparkles do last season on the show circuit?”
    Angie looked surprised by the question. “I haven’t been showing him all that much,” she replied.
    “Really?” Stevie repeated. “But I thought you were planning to—”
    Angie interrupted with a loud laugh. “Planning to goall the way to the American Horse Show, right? I remember. Boy, that seems like a long time ago.” With that, Angie once again abruptly changed the subject back to her party. She started to tell Stevie about her choice of dresses: green velvet or black silk.
    When the two families reached the van, they all piled in, and Uncle Chester headed for the bridge to New