Star Rider Read Free

York—until today, of course.”
    Max nodded absently. “Of course,” he said. “But there’s a problem. This guy, Dithers, seemed sure I’d want to go along with his movie plans.”
    “You
do
, don’t you?” Lisa asked, horrified at the realization that there was a real risk Max would turn Mr. Dithers down.
    “Do you know how much work it would be to have this place turned into a movie set?” Max asked. “It would be totally disruptive to our regular riders. The movie people would almost shut the place down while they had the run of it.”
    “They’ll pay, won’t they?” Stevie asked.
    “That’s not my main concern,” Max said. “But, of course, they’ll pay. When Dithers got the idea I wasn’t totally enthusiastic, he practically doubled the amount of money he was offering. Yes, they’ll pay. A lot.”
    “Think what you could do with the money!” said Stevie, the pragmatist.
    “Think how much work its going to be!” Max countered.
    If ever there was a time for a Saddle Club meeting, this was it. The girls just had to have a chance to talk.
    “Uh, Max, I think those three horses over there ought to be checked,” Stevie said, pointing to two bays and a chestnut on the far side of the paddock. “We’ll go get them for you, okay?”
    Max nodded. The three girls headed for the horses—out of earshot of Max.
    “Isn’t this wonderful?” Lisa asked, trotting alongside her friends.
    “We’ve just got to convince him,” Stevie said.
    “Well, we’re The Saddle Club. We can do anything,” Lisa reminded her friends.
    “The only thing that’s going to convince Max is if he’s sure the movie company won’t disrupt the running of Pine Hollow and that the horses will all be safe and well tended.”
    “How can we convince him of those things?” Lisa asked.
    “By assuring him we can do it ourselves,” Carole said.
    “Ah, we have to be logical about this?” Stevie asked.
    Carole nodded. Then both of them turned to Lisa.
    “We’re going to need a work schedule,” she said. “We may even have to get some of the other riders to help.”
    “Do you think we can do that?” Carole asked.
    Stevie gave her a withering look. “When it means they’ll have a chance to actually see Cloud?—I mean Skye?”
    The three girls giggled. They were sure Max could remember Skye’s name just as well as they could. He was just being funny, and four could play at that game.
    “Let’s get the horses over to Max and make a proposal,” Carole said. She whistled to get the horses’ attention. They willingly came to her call and followed the girls back to the paddock gate, where Max was waiting for them.
    “We want to make a deal,” Carole begin. “Lisa will tell you about it.”
    Almost unconsciously, Lisa stood up straight and brushed off her blouse. She took a deep breath and began.
    “We’ve decided that it would be a good idea for Pine Hollow to have Mr. Dithers’s movie company here,” she began.
    Max looked at the three of them. “Oh, have you?” he said.
    Lisa nodded. “It would be good publicity and it wouldmake extra money for you. That might make it possible for you to make some improvements—not that this place isn’t already perfect—but there’s a mare you’ve been wanting to buy, and the feed shed needs a new roof, you know, stuff like that. Anyway, we propose to offer the services of Pine Hollow’s young riders, starting with this group, working in organized shifts, to help make things run smoothly for the duration.”
    Max seemed interested. “You girls are willing to do all this work just so I can put a new roof on the feed shed?” he asked.
    “Definitely,” Stevie chimed in. “The feed shed is important to all of us.”
    “And so is the mare you might buy,” Carole added.
    “Just for the experience of hard work,” Lisa said. “We really care, you know?”
    “I had no idea how devoted you were to Pine Hollow,” Max said.
    “Oh, we definitely are,” Stevie assured