Read Online Summer Rider by Bonnie Bryant - Free Book Online Page B

then practice lead changes for a while.”
    Stevie could hardly believe her ears. “But you have calls to make!” she exclaimed. “Sponsors to seek! Money to raise! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already.”
    “Of course not,” Lisa said, sounding a little annoyed. “But I have a lot of other things to do, too. I’ll make my calls later.”
    “When?” Stevie said. “We don’t exactly have months to spare, you know.”
    Lisa sighed. “Look, I’ll spend part of the lunch hour on the phone, okay? I promise.”
    Stevie decided she would have to be satisfied with that. She left Lisa to her riding and raced to the rec hall.
    Her first call was to her house. She had spoken to herparents earlier that morning, but none of her three brothers had been home at the time.
    Her twin, Alex, picked up the phone. “Oh, it’s you,” he said, sounding less than thrilled.
    “Nice to hear your voice, too,” Stevie said sarcastically. Then she remembered why she was calling and decided to try to be nice. “Um, so how’s it going?”
    She could almost hear her brother shrug over the phone. “It’s going,” Alex said. “Mom and Dad are both out. So if you’re calling to ask for money, you’ll have to try again later.” He laughed loudly at his own joke.
    Stevie gritted her teeth and did her best to keep her voice pleasant. “Actually, it’s funny you should mention money,” she said. “I have sort of a favor to ask.” She quickly filled him in on the situation. “So how about it?” she finished. “How much should I put you down for? Does three dollars a fence sound about right?”
    Alex snorted. “Try
negative
three dollars,” he said. “That way you’ll owe
me
money—if that mangy horse of yours makes it over any fences, that is.”
    Stevie clutched the phone cord so hard that her fingernails dug into her palm. She hoped all her sponsors weren’t going to be this annoying. “Come on, Alex,” she said, her voice getting dangerously close to a whine. “I’m serious about this. If I don’t get enough sponsors, Moose Hill will close.” Suddenly she remembered something. “Besides, I’d hate to have to be the one to tell Mom andDad that you snuck out after curfew to meet your girlfriend that time.”
    “Hmm.” Alex paused to think about that for a moment. “Well, I guess that stupid camp serves some purpose—it keeps you away from here for a few weeks every summer.”
    “Right,” Stevie said brightly. “So how much is that worth to you? Two bucks a fence? Even a dollar would help.”
    “I’ll give you ten cents a fence,” Alex said.
    “What!” Stevie exclaimed. “That’s it? One lousy dime? Remember, you were out
way
after curfew—and it was a school night, too …”
    “All right, a quarter a fence,” Alex said. “But that’s my final offer.”
    Stevie could tell he meant it. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll take what I can get. A quarter it is. Put Chad on, will you?”
    As Alex yelled for their older brother, Stevie sank down to the floor and leaned against the wall. This wasn’t going to be easy.
    S TEVIE DIDN ’ T SLOW down her efforts for the next couple of hours. She made more calls, she told more campers about the fund-raiser, and she urged the ones who already knew about it to keep on working at getting sponsors. In fact, she was so busy that she was almost late for her afternoon jump class. Although the girls had had separate classesthat morning, The Saddle Club were all in this class together, along with Phil and Todd.
    “Hi,” she whispered to her friends, riding into the ring just as Betty called the class to order.
    “We thought you weren’t going to make it,” Carole whispered back.
    Stevie reached down to finish tightening Belle’s girth. “Me too,” she replied. “But I have some good news. My mom’s law partner agreed to sponsor me. She’s only pledging a dollar a fence, but that’s more than some people are willing to give.”
    Phil glanced cautiously