Before They Rode Horses Read Online Free

“It was fifteen minutes since the last one, so that’s the same as it was.”
    “Is that good?” Lisa asked.
    “It’s normal,” said Deborah. “It’ll take a long time for that to change. There’s still no hurry at all. So, now, where were we?”
    “Would you like us to read to you?” Lisa suggested. “I’ve got my copy of
Black Beauty
in my backpack.”
    “Thanks, but I don’t think so,” Deborah said.
    “I brought
National Velvet,
” Carole offered.
    “I’m rereading
Misty of Chincoteague
,” Stevie said. “I don’t have it with me, but it’s in my house and I could run and get it if you’d like.”
    Deborah burst into laughter. “You three are absolutely incorrigible!” she declared.
    “What does she mean?” Carole asked.
    “Beats me,” Stevie said. “Seems to me we’re all reading great books.”
    “Are you just annoyed because we beat you at Scrabble?” Lisa asked.
    Of course the girls all knew exactly what Deborah was talking about. They were teasing her back.
    “No. What were we talking about when my contraction started?” Deborah asked.
    “Not we—you,” Carole said. “You were talking about the time before we rode horses.”
    “That’s it, then,” said Deborah. “I don’t want you to beat me at Scrabble with horse words. I don’t want you to read to me from your horse books. I want each of you to tell me a real-life story that really happened to you.”
    “Great,” said Stevie. “There was the time Belle and I—”
    “No. I want to hear stories that don’t have anything to do with horses.”
    “What for?” Carole asked.
    “Well, my baby is going to be surrounded by horses and horse talk all of his life. Horses are fun, but they aren’t everything. I’d like to know that somehow, something other than horses was ever important to the three of you. I’ve got to admit that I find the idea that I’m about to be a mother even scarier than the idea that I’m about to have a baby. So, I need some help. I know I can always get help from you about horses. Give me some help about mothering.”
    The girls looked at one another.
    “No horses?” Carole asked.
    “Not a one,” Deborah said.
    There was a long silence.
    “How about a cup of tea?” Lisa asked.
    “Sure,” Deborah agreed. “It’ll probably help inspire your storytelling. I’ll let you fix the tea. The doctor said I shouldn’t eat anything, so just bring me some ice chips to munch on. I’ll wait here for you.” She put her feet up on a chair, leaned back, and closed her eyes.
    The girls hurried out of the living room into the kitchen, where they had a quick conference.
    “Is she okay?” Stevie asked.
    “No horses?” Carole echoed, still stunned by the idea that she might actually have something to say that didn’t have to do with her favorite subject. When she wrote a history paper, it was about the cavalry in the Civil War. In English, she’d only been happy when they’d read “Charge of the Light Brigade.” Horses were everywhere in Carole’s life. She always assumed that that was fine with everyone around her. Now Deborah wanted something else.
    As usual, Lisa was the voice of reason. “Come on, girls,” she said. “Deborah is acting a little odd because she’s about to have a baby. It’s normal. I heard her talk to her doctor. She’s supposed to take it easy and keep track of her contractions. If heridea of taking it easy is having a day off from horse talk, well, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal to me. We can do this for her.”
    Lisa took cups and tea bags out of the cabinet while Stevie filled the kettle and Carole found sugar and milk.
    “Max would want us to do it,” Stevie agreed. She checked to see if the saucers she’d found matched the cups Lisa had gotten out. The cups were green and the saucers were blue. That was close enough. Stevie put them on the tray.
    “Max couldn’t do it any better than we can,” said Carole, pouring milk into a pitcher that had