Horse Thief Read Online Free Page A

sure the whole day will be a blast.”
    At that moment, the three girls overheard Max in his office, talking in a loud, annoyed voice to his mother. “I can’t take it anymore,” he was saying. “At least a third of the hay delivered this afternoon was rotten. The supplier obviously left it out in the rain. It was musty and smelled awful, completely unfit for horses.”
    Mrs. Reg said something in a soothing tone that the girls couldn’t quite catch.
    “No, no, no,” Max answered impatiently. “I’ve already given him a few chances, so don’t give me any stories about people learning from their mistakes! Feed is just too important to mess around with. I’m going to call him up and demand a refund for the spoiled portion, then switch back to Mike Morgan. He’s more expensive, but it’s worth it. I’m sorry I ever switched in the first place.”
    The girls heard Max pick up the phone and dial anumber and then begin to speak in firm, decisive tones. Stevie shook her head. “Brother,” she said, in a low voice. “Running a stable is hard work.”
    “You said it,” agreed Carole. She sometimes dreamed of owning a stable someday, but she knew that a lot of thought and planning went into running a place like Pine Hollow. In fact, making decisions about things like feed suppliers and money seemed like the most boring thing about owning a stable. Cleaning tack, by comparison, was almost fun.
    “I haven’t noticed anything wrong with the feed, have you?” Stevie asked.
    “No,” Lisa said. “But then Max checks it over before it gets put in the stable. We’d never know anything was wrong because he does such a good job.”
    The three girls went back to discussing the upcoming rally and Stevie’s picnic. They could hardly wait for Saturday.

“W HAT A GORGEOUS day!” exclaimed Stevie. Pine Hollow, which was always beautiful to those who loved it, almost glowed in the sunshine. After what had felt like weeks of rain, Saturday had dawned bright and clear. The mugginess had lifted, and a few white clouds dotted a breathtakingly blue sky. The girls were sure it was an omen and that the rally would be as perfect as the weather.
    Stevie, Carole, and Lisa were in the stable, grooming their horses. Although it was still a few hours before the rally, The Saddle Club had agreed to get to Pine Hollow especially early to get the horses into show condition and to help Denise with last-minute preparations for guests and spectators.
    “You can’t ask for a better day for dressage,” said Carole. She was carefully oiling one of Starlight’s hooves.
    Lisa didn’t say anything. She was examining Prancer. The mare looked healthy, but something was still wrong. She kept poking her nose over the door of her stall as if she expected something. Lisa had a hard time getting her to stand still as she groomed her. If she didn’t know better, she would almost guess that Prancer looked as if she were
yearning
for something. She was a little fidgety, too, but that wasn’t uncommon for Prancer. “What is it, girl?” Lisa asked the horse. “What can I do for you that I haven’t already done?” The mare shook her head and snorted.
    Stevie started braiding Belle’s mane. She brushed it with a wet brush and divided it into twelve even sections. Then she neatly divided each section into three smaller sections, braided the three sections together, then looped the braid under and sewed it tight with yarn. Stevie could be a messy person about many things—her parents had labeled her room a disaster area on several occasions—but not about dressage preparation. Her boots gleamed and her stock tie was perfectly pressed.
    “Stevie,” called Lisa, “I can’t get my sections even!”
    “Stevie,” called Carole, “can you help me sew this one section? I can’t seem to tuck it under!” Dressage preparation was one of the few areas concerning riding whereCarole ended up asking Stevie for advice, instead of the other way