Pleasure Horse by Bonnie Bryant

Author:Bonnie Bryant [Bryant, Bonnie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-82548-3
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-02-06T05:00:00+00:00

SUNDAY MORNING DAWNED cold and gray in New Jersey. Stevie turned over and pulled her down comforter tighter around her. It was half past ten, but she was hoping to stay in bed as late as possible to avoid the final party preparations. With one hand, she reached out and lifted the window shade to check the weather. There were a few inches of snow on the ground from the night before, but the plow had already been by and cleared the roads. A few snowflakes drifted down out of the uniformly gray sky. Only time would tell whether the storm was going to hit full force.

Resting her head back on the pillow, Stevie thought of how much fun it would be to take a ride in the new snow. All of the horses’ shoes had been pulled for the winter, so there was no danger of snow balling up in their hooves. But she was sure nobody would have the time, let alone the inclination, to go riding with her on the very day of the party. If she even suggested it, her brothers would probably have a field day teasing her about her one-track mind. So she might as well close her eyes, go back to sleep—

“Everybody up for breakfast! Stevie! Chad! Alex! Michael! Time to eat!”

Stevie scowled at her aunt’s cheery tone. Normally she would have been happy to join the breakfast feast, but the idea of another pre-party meal almost made her lose her appetite. There was a sharp rap on the door, and Aunt Lila poked her head in.

“Seven and a half hours till party time!” she announced.

Stevie sat up in bed and did her best to look enthusiastic. “Wow, not much time left,” she said, hoping that her aunt didn’t notice the robotlike sound of her voice.

“If you’re like Angie, you’re probably too excited to eat, but come down anyway and join the crowd, okay, honey?” Aunt Lila urged.

Stevie nodded weakly as her aunt closed the door. “Sure, Aunt Lila. I’ll be down right away.” Under her breath she added, “Too excited to eat? More like hearing about this party is ruining my appetite!”

Despite Stevie’s misgivings, breakfast was a lively affair. The seven cousins squeezed around one table, the three sets of aunts and uncles around another. Everybody put away huge piles of pancakes and bacon. Even Angie mentioned how good the food tasted—instead of describing party hors d’oeuvres for the millionth time.

Stevie found herself enjoying the sibling sparring that her brothers initiated the minute there was a pause in the conversation. “Boy, it’s almost eleven A.M. and Stevie hasn’t mentioned horses yet,” Chad remarked.

“That’s because she can’t talk with her mouth full,” Alex practically yelled. The two of them snorted with laughter.

“Yes: Unlike some people at the table, I actually have manners,” Stevie shot back happily.

Before her brothers could respond, both tables fell silent to listen to Uncle Chester read the newspaper’s weather report. “Continued snow, temperatures in the mid-twenties, slightly warmer tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Who cares about tomorrow?” Angie demanded.

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