Read Online Storm Chaser by Chris Platt - Free Book Online Page B

out the old bunk rooms and get them ready for guests. Wild Hawk Ranch is about to change.”
    Jessica wanted to jump from her chair and yell, Yes! but she sat tight. Beside her, Duncan frowned.
    â€œWe’ve got a lot of work to do, folks,” her mother said.
    â€œAnd we’ll need something safe for the city slickers to ride,” her father reminded them. “We can borrow a couple of gentle horses and tack from the Lightfoots to begin. I want to start small to make sure we can handle this. And find out if it’s what we want.”
    Jessica took the salad bowl from Duncan and put two big scoops of mixed lettuce and a bunch of cherry tomatoes on her plate.
    â€œAccording to one of the travel agents, some of the visitors may be real horsemen who are looking for someplace different to vacation with their animals. They’ll bring all their horses and tack with them. It’s the new ‘in’ thing to do,” he said with a chuckle.
    Jessica hoped that some of those visitors would be kids her own age. Summer vacation had barely started, and already she was lonely.
    She thought about Marybeth and felt a small twinge of guilt. The younger girl considered Jessica her best friend. But Jessica couldn’t help wishing for someone more her own age to be best friends with. The visitors would only be temporary guests, but it would be nice to have other kids around the ranch—especially if they were horse crazy like her.
    Duncan cleared his throat and waited for their father’s nod before he spoke. “We just lost our barn and hay supply. So…” He fiddled with his potatoes and stared down at his plate.
    â€œGo on,” Mrs. Warner encouraged. “What are your concerns, Duncan?”
    â€œCan we afford to do this? I mean, I love Wild Hawk and all, but it’s not exactly a five-star resort.”
    Jake Warner tipped back in his chair and laughed. It was the first time Jessica had heard him laugh since the fire.
    Mrs. Warner shushed her husband and squeezed Duncan’s hand. “We’ll be cutting a few corners, honey, but we’ve got enough money to get the barn started and buy the towels and linens and things we’ll need for the guests. A lot of the other stuff we’ve already got lying around here. It’s mostly going to be a matter of getting everything together and putting in a lot of hard work.”
    Duncan went back to eating. That told Jessica that her brother thought everything would be fine. She stared around the table. Everyone seemed to be okay with the project. That meant they’d have guests at Wild Hawk soon!
    Jessica could hardly wait to finish dinner. She wanted to get back to the corrals to check on Rusty and Chase, then maybe afterwards she’d give Marybeth a call. She was sure her friend would be pretty excited about the dude ranch, too. They’d talked many times when they’d ridden together, wishing that there were more girls nearby for them to hang out with.
    When she finished her last bite of salad, Jessica excused herself so she could check on the horses. Her mother winked at her as she left the table, and Jessie realized that her mom probably felt the same way about the prospect of dude ranch guests as she did, even though it would mean a lot of extra work. She flashed her mother a smile and went outside.
    Rusty nickered as soon as he saw her.
    â€œYou just finished eating, you old greedy-gut,” Jessica told him. “Don’t be asking for more. I’m just here to clean out the pan you guys were soaking your feet in.”
    Chase eyed her warily and snorted when Jessica dragged the metal pan to the edge of the corral. The water sloshed over the sides and was quickly absorbed into the dry ground. She dragged the container outside the railing and dumped it over, holding her breath as the smelly concoction spread across the sand.
    She rinsed and stored the pan, then returned to the corral and sat on the