Bumpy Ride Ahead! Read Online Free Page A

means
reliable.
“
    “I am reliable, but I thought you could feed Twinkles as a favor to me.”
    “I have enough of my own chores to do,” Mark said.
    Mattie folded her arms and frowned. “The only reason I asked you to feed Twinkles is because I was busy helping Mom do the breakfast dishes. I didn’t think I’d have time to get Twinkles fed before Grandma and Grandpa picked us up.”
    “We would have waited for you to feed the dog,” Grandma called over her shoulder.
    “See,” Mark said. “You should have told Grandma and Grandpa that Twinkles needed to be fed.” He was glad Grandma had heard what Mattie said.
    “But I didn’t, and you didn’t feed her, so now the poor hund is probably starving to death. You could have at least told me you didn’t feed her,” Mattie persisted.
    “She won’t starve from missing one meal.” Grandpa glanced back at Mattie. “Just remember to feed her as soon as you get home. Oh, and Mark, it would have been nice if you’d fed Twinkles for your sister.”
    Mattie looked over at Mark and said, “Don’t worry—I’ll never ask you to feed my hund again, and don’t ask me to feed your katz either.”

    By the time they had stopped at three yard sales, Mattie was bored. She hadn’t seen anything that interested her at all. There were a lot of baby clothes, some farm equipment, furniture, dishes, and some canning jars, which Grandma bought, but nothing Mattie wanted. Grandpa had found a new handle for the one that broke on his rake, and he’d also purchased a metal milk can to store birdseed in for the winter on their back porch.
    This third yard sale had something different from the first two they had gone to, however. There was a small concession stand set up selling hot dogs, barbeque sandwiches, homemade cookies, and peanut butter fudge. They also had bottled water available for anyone who was thirsty.
    “How would you like something to eat?” Grandpa asked the twins. “Your grandma and I are getting a little hungry from all this yard-sale hopping, and I see there’s some food tables set up over there under those big maple trees.”
    “I’m hungry, too,” Mark answered.
    “Same here,” Mattie agreed.
    They all decided to get hot dogs, except for Grandpa.
    He chose the pork barbeque sandwich. Grandma reminded everyone that she’d made peanut butter cookies yesterday, and they’d have those once they got back to their house.
    “I’ll have just ketchup on my hot dog,” Mattie told the teenage boy making the sandwiches.
    “I’d like mustard and relish on mine,” Mark said when it was his turn to choose.
    Grandma smiled when the boy asked her what she would like on her hot dog. “Ketchup, mustard, relish, and onions, please. I want the works.”
    There were chairs and a few tables set up, also under the shade of the trees, and they all took a seat to eat their lunch. Mark and Mattie were in a conversation about what they hoped to find at the next place they were going to. As Grandpa and Grandma Miller ate, they watched the small crowd of people looking over the items for sale.
    “I hope I can find a yo-yo,” Mark said to Mattie as he wiped a glob of mustard off the side of his mouth.
    “I’m not sure if I’m looking for anything in particular.” Mattie took another bite of her hot dog. “I thought you wanted a
new
yo-yo and not another used one.”
    “If I find one that’s better than the one I have, that would be okay with me. I just have to—”
    Mattie looked at Mark, wondering why he’d stopped in midsentence. Her gaze followed the direction her brother was looking, and Mattie’s heart almost stopped beating. It felt like it had jumped into her throat.
    “Carolyn! Carolyn! Are you all right?” Grandpa looked at Grandma with a panicked expression.
    Mattie watched in horror as Grandma pointed first to her throat and then to her mouth. It looked like she was trying to tell Grandpa something, but all she could do was make little gasping