True Riders Read Online Free Page B

“How’s that sound, buddy?”
    â€œYeah! Trot, trot!” Ethan exclaimed, instantly excited again.
    Brooke frowned. She wasn’t sure trotting was a good idea. The twins were pretty wobbly up there, and they weren’t even wearing helmets. Still, she didn’t want to argue with Adam when he was being so nice.
    â€œOkay, I guess,” she said. “But you lead and I’ll jog beside him, okay?”
    â€œSure.” They traded places, and Adam clucked to Foxy. “Come on, girl—let’s go!”
    The mare took a few quick walk steps, then surged into a trot. “Easy,” Brooke called, grabbing her little brother’s knee to stop him from toppling off the far side of the saddle.
    Ethan giggled, thumping both legs on the mare’s sides again and almost kicking Brooke in the face in the process. “Faster, faster!” he yelled.
    â€œStop kicking,” Brooke ordered. “She’s going fast enough.”
    They trotted halfway to the opposite fence line and back. After that, Emma wanted a turn at the faster gait. She was a little more nervous than her brother, clutching the horn tightly as the pony started trotting. But after a few seconds she was giggling.
    â€œI’m galloping!” she squealed, letting go of the horn and waving her hands over her head like someone on a roller coaster. “We’re running like the wind!”
    Brooke smiled distractedly, her mind flashing to Kiersten’s book report on King of the Wind . Then she tuned back in as she saw Emma tipping backward.
    â€œSit up,” she said, reaching up to steady her sister as Adam glanced back and brought Foxy to a walk again.
    â€œEverything okay back there?” he asked.
    â€œGo again!” Emma insisted. “I want to do it again.”
    Brooke wanted to tell Adam to ignore her, that it was time for the pony rides to be over. But once again she held her tongue. As long as Brooke stayed right beside her, Emma would be fine, and another brief trot certainly wouldn’t hurt Foxy any. Besides, this was the most time she and Adam had spent together in ages—and if the pony rides ended, he might decide to go home.
    â€œOkay,” Brooke said, taking a tighter grip on her sister’s leg. “One more time . . .”

    The pony rides continued until Brooke’s stepfather arrived home twenty minutes later. As soon as they saw him, the twins ran over, shouting over each other in their eagerness to tell him all about their adventures. The three of them headed inside, along with Brooke’s mother, leaving Brooke and Adam with Foxy.
    â€œThat was fun,” Adam said with a smile. “I forgot what a riot the twins can be.”
    â€œYeah, well, you don’t have to live with them,” Brooke muttered, stepping over to loosen Foxy’s cinch.
    Adam chuckled. “You going to ride now?”
    â€œNah, it’s getting dark.” Brooke had warmed up a little while jogging alongside the pony, but now her teeth were starting to chatter again.
    Adam squinted up at the sky, which was going shades of purple and orange as the sun set. “Yeah, guess so. Here, I’ll get the saddle.”
    With his help Brooke got Foxy untacked and settled into the pony part of the barn with her dinner. By the time they’d finished, it was almost fully dark. Leaving the pony with her face buried in her feed bucket, the two of them wandered outside and leaned on the gate, watching the shadowy shapes of the draft horses on the far side of the field.
    â€œThanks for helping out today.” Brooke shot him a look. She wanted to say something about the basketball team but didn’t quite dare; Adam could be funny about stuff like that sometimes. “Actually, I’m glad you came by,” she said instead. “I wanted to talk to you about something. . . .”
    She quickly explained about her plans to start jumping more, and