Night Mare Read Online Free Page B

horse treats from your blog. Bullet will share with Dream. Won’t you, boy?”
    â€œWell, Dream and I both thank you two.” And I know right away this day is going to be something I’ll never forget.
    Only just as I think this, I feel that worry-cockroach crawling back up my neck. I stare at the blue sky and bright sun. But I imagine a black cloud lurking over the horizon. And I’m pretty sure that nasty cloud is Larissa-shaped.

6

    Joy
    Mr. Harper waves to us as we ride up. He’s busy leading three of his horses to a hitching post. The Harpers have so many horses that Mr. Harper always lets kids who don’t have horses ride some of his.
    That was me for a long, long time. Every horsemanship practice I’d ride one of the Harper horses because I didn’t have a horse of my own. I shoot up a prayer of thanks to God that now I have Dream.
    Ashley Harper comes yawning out of the barn. She’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt like me. Only she looks like she’s stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine. She shields her eyes from the sun and then waves.
    â€œHey, Ashley!” I call. “Which horse are you taking out?”
    She holds up one finger, then jogs back to the barn. When she comes out, she’s leading Galahad, a young quarter horse that has already won three ribbons.
    Mr. Harper takes off his cowboy hat and wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. “Can you believe that girl nearly forgot her horse?” he asks.
    I’m not sure Ashley would ride if it weren’t for her dad taking her to the shows. She doesn’t love horses the way Colt and I do.
    I’m surprised when Rashawn walks out of the barn behind Ashley and Galahad. Rashawn’s coal-black hair is caught up in a clip that matches the clip in Ashley’s long blonde hair.
    Rashawn is leading her horse, Dusty. Next to Galahad, Rashawn’s farm horse looks like a giant. She tries to get Dusty to hurry up, but that horse has a mind of her own.
    â€œWhat are you doing here already?” I ask Rashawn. “I thought you and Cassie would ride over together.”
    â€œMy fault,” Ashley says. She yawns again. “Rashawn and I are so far behind on our blog that she had to stay over last night so we could work on it. I’m a terrible partner.”
    â€œNo, you’re not,” Rashawn says. “We got a lot done yesterday.” Rashawn is a great student, and she always works hard. I haven’t heard her complain once about Ashley not doing her share of the work.
    â€œHow on earth did you and Colt get here so early?” Ashley asks.
    Colt grins. “Our horses are lightning fast.”
    â€œAnybody want to give me a hand here?” Mr. Harper shouts.
    Colt helps Mr. Harper saddle the horses he’s letting people use while Ashley saddles Galahad.
    I follow Rashawn back to the barn and help her with Dusty. Once we’re out of earshot, I quiz her. “What was it like staying at Ashley’s?”
    â€œAside from the fact that her room is bigger than my whole house, you mean?” Rashawn laughs. “It was cool. You should see her room. Seriously. She has a king-sized guest bed—for moi . I had to beg Ashley to show me her trophies. She keeps them in a trunk. And she doesn’t have her ribbons hanging on the wall like Larissa does.”
    I’ve never seen Larissa’s or Ashley’s rooms. “What else did you do?”
    â€œWe really did work on our blog. The project would have been easier if Ashley hadn’t begged me to stay away from anything related to horses. So we’re doing presidential candidates. Neither of us knows anything about that one. Or cares. That’s the problem.”
    It takes both of us to brush Dusty and hoist the saddle onto her back.
    â€œThere you are!” Cassie runs up to us. She’s leading her pony. At 14 hands, Misty is a true pony, and Cassie is fine with that . . . except