Read Online Rocking Horse by Bonnie Bryant - Free Book Online Page B

right outside the office? I’d swear she was listening through the door.”
    Stevie nodded. “I thought so, too. And I didn’t like the way she was smiling. She’s up to something. She’s not going to let this drop.”
    Carole shrugged. “What can she do?”
    “I don’t know,” Stevie said, “but I bet that sooner or later we’ll find out.”

“R EALLY ? C OOL !” S TEVIE said into the phone. She waggled her hand at Lisa and Carole and gave a thumbs-up sign. Lisa rolled her eyes in response, but she still felt a little jolt of excitement run through her. Stevie was talking to Phil. It was Friday night, and they were just about ready to leave for the dance. “See you in a few minutes!” Stevie cooed. She hung up and grabbed Lisa’s hands, spinning her around.
    “He’s coming!” she said. “It’s official! Bart’s coming to the dance!
Whee!
”
    “Stop it!” Lisa said, laughing. She could feel herself starting to blush again. “I mean, I’m glad, but—juststop it, Stevie. It’s not like he’s coming with
me
or anything.”
    “But he’s coming,” Stevie said practically. “That’s a lot better than him not coming.”
    “True.” Lisa grinned. “So, how do I look?” She struck a ballet pose in the middle of Stevie’s bedroom. They had all decided to spend the night at Stevie’s. Mr. and Mrs. Lake were going to drive them to the school and then go out to dinner and a movie with some friends before picking the girls back up.
    “Fabulous!” Carole answered. Lisa hadn’t bought the pink sweater that Stevie had so admired, but she had done a little shopping with her mother the evening before. She had on a brand-new pair of dark blue jeans, a white short-sleeved sweater, and a new pair of off-white sandals.
    “Mom won’t let me wear actual white shoes before Memorial Day,” Lisa explained as she fastened her sandal strap.
    Stevie nodded, though she had no idea what Lisa was talking about. Lisa’s mother had very old-fashioned ideas about clothing, and it was a miracle she hadn’t expected Lisa to wear a velvet dress to the dance. Stevie said so.
    “Oh, no,” Lisa said, laughing. “She thinks you can only wear velvet between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.”
    Stevie shook her head. She knew she would neverunderstand. “What do you think of this?” she asked, zipping her skirt and holding her hands out to show off to her friends. Stevie almost never wore skirts, and when she did they were very modern, like this one—a short, straight,
jazzy
black knit. Stevie’s sweater was pink—a shocking, electric, Stevie-like pink.
    Carole laughed. “You two will put me in the shade. I’m just wearing old leggings and tennis shoes.”
    “Yeah,” Stevie argued, “with the most fantastic top I’ve ever seen.” Carole’s shirt was a cross between a sweater and a sweatshirt. It was bright yellow, a shade that perfectly complemented Carole’s skin, and it had concentric red and purple designs on it. “It’s sort of a take on an old African design,” Carole explained. She carefully fastened her wooden horse necklace—a very old family heirloom—around her neck, then brushed her hair back into a low ponytail. “I’m ready,” she said.
    “Me too,” said Stevie. When Lisa nodded, Stevie said, “I’ll go see if my folks are ready.” She started toward the door, but before she reached it, her phone rang again.
    “That’s Phil,” Lisa joked, “calling us to say that Bart isn’t coming after all.”
    Stevie shook her head at Lisa. “Stevie Lake,” she said cheerfully into the phone. Then, as her friendswatched, the color seemed to drain out of her face. “Sure,” she whispered. “But what—Sure. We’ll be right there.” She hung up the phone.
    “That was Max,” she said to her friends. “There’s some sort of problem at the barn. He
says
it’s not our horses, but he needs us there right away.”
    “It must be the horses,” Carole said. They clattered down the stairs