Saddlebags (2 page)

Her two friends chuckled and followed her inside.

W
HEN THE MEMBERS
of The Saddle Club left the Horse Wise meeting later that afternoon, Colonel Hanson was deep in conversation with the other parents.

Stevie stopped dead in her tracks. “See what I mean? Something’s definitely up!”

The grown-ups were standing beside the Lakes’ station wagon. Stevie’s brothers, Chad, her twin, Alex, and Michael were sitting inside, waiting.

As the girls approached, Stevie heard snatches of the conversation.

“Sugar airplane …,” she heard Colonel Hanson say.

“Greek spleedum …,” she thought was her father’s answer. And then someone said something about a ban or a bun. Were they having an impromptu French lesson? She didn’t get it. But at least no one looked angry.

“Hi, girls!” Colonel Hanson turned to them as they walked up.

“Is it my imagination,” said Stevie, “or is there something fishy going on here?”

Her mother chuckled. “Well, it’s not exactly fishy. Horsey’s more like it. I think we ought to let Mitch break the good news.”

“Well, I have a big surprise for all of you girls,” the colonel began. “I even kept it a secret from my black-eyed beauty, Carole, here. This year’s spring vacation plans include a trip on a private plane. To a certain part of Colorado—”

“The Bar None!” cried all three girls.

The Bar None was a dude ranch in Colorado, and the home of the girls’ good friend Kate Devine. It was also The Saddle Club’s favorite home away from home. The girls had made several visits out there already—in fact, they had formed a Western branch of The Saddle Club
with Kate, whose parents, Phyllis and Frank, owned the ranch, and with Christine Lonetree, another horse-crazy girl who was a neighbor of Kate’s.

Lisa, Carole, and Stevie let out whoops of delight and hugged and jumped up and down.

“I thought I was in trouble!” Stevie almost shouted, throwing her head back with a laugh.

“Why ever would
you
think that?” Mrs. Lake asked in mock surprise.

Lisa looked at Colonel Hanson, and then at her mother, and then back at Colonel Hanson, and caught her breath. “So all three of us are going?”

The parents got very quiet.

Colonel Hanson cleared his throat. “As a matter of fact, all eight of us are going.”

The three girls looked at each other. Their parents were going to the Bar None? They broke out in grins all over again. Showing their parents the dude ranch would be so much fun.

Hoonnnk
!

Alex was reaching over into the front seat of the Lakes’ car, leaning on the horn. “C’mon, guys! Let’s get going!” he called.

“Okay, just a minute!” said Mr. Lake.

“How long has this secret been kept from us?” Stevie asked.

Colonel Hanson began. “I’d been planning to surprise Carole with a trip out west for the two of us. Then, about two weeks ago, Frank called and said that a party of eight who’d reserved the same week had canceled. Apparently Kate had convinced him to suggest that the rest of The Saddle Club and their parents come along. So I made a couple of calls to your parents.”

“And the only thing left to figure out,” Mrs. Atwood told Lisa, “was whether your father and Stevie’s parents could get time off from work.”

“Until yesterday neither Stevie’s mom nor I knew if we could get the time free,” Mr. Atwood added. “But as of last night, we’re all set.”

“Wow!” said Lisa to her father. He was always so serious. But this time she could tell he was excited. “I can’t believe it!”

“So that’s what the phone call from Carole’s dad was about,” Stevie said to her mother, who smiled in response.

“So I guess
we’ll
be the teachers!” Carole gave her father a poke in the ribs.

Colonel Hanson put his hands on his hips. “And just what do you mean by that?” he asked.

“She means,” Stevie interjected, “that we’ll get a chance to be the experts, and show you grown-ups what to do.”

Colonel Hanson laughed. “Don’t you do that enough already?” he asked.

“Not on horseback,” answered Carole. “When do we leave?”

“One week from tomorrow,” replied her father.

“This is so great,” Lisa declared. “I can’t wait to show you my favorite thing about the Bar None, Mom. We go on this bareback ride just before dawn and we watch the sun rise!”

Mrs. Atwood pursed her lips. “Sounds like a nice ride,” she said. “But personally, I think I’d rather use a saddle.”

“I think I’ll stick to my favorite predawn activity—especially on vacation—sleeping,” Mr. Atwood chimed in.

“It does sound a bit early,” Mrs. Atwood agreed. “Do you think we could leave after breakfast instead?”

“For a sunrise ride, Mom?” Lisa shook her head.

Beeep! Beep, Beeeeeep!

“That’s enough, boys,” Mr. Lake yelled to Stevie’s brothers. He shook the colonel’s hand. “Well, Mitch, thanks for doing all this legwork. Right now, we’d better go, or Chad’ll miss his plane and have to go to the Bar None instead of Paris!”

“No! No!” Stevie groaned. “A fate worse than death!”

Carole and Lisa laughed. They waved good-bye to Stevie.

As Lisa climbed into the backseat of her parents’ car, she thought about their response to the sunrise bareback ride. Every time she stayed at the Bar None, the ride up into the mountains to see the sun rise over the majestic Rockies had thrilled her. Why weren’t her parents more excited about the ride? Lisa sighed, hoping this wasn’t an omen. At first Lisa had been happy that her parents had planned this wonderful trip. But by the time they pulled into their driveway, Lisa realized she had lots of mixed feelings. Her mother was so concerned about appearances and staying neat, she’d probably prefer a swimming pool and sauna to a dusty trail ride under the blazing western sun. Plus she couldn’t imagine either of her parents interacting with Kate, Christine,
and
John
Brightstar, the young Native American Indian wrangler with whom she had a special friendship.

As Lisa climbed out of the car and headed into the house, an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Until they arrived in Colorado, she couldn’t be sure how her parents were going to react to any of it—the horses, the rustic atmosphere,
and
her friendship with John.

“G
OOD NIGHT
,
DAD
,” said Carole, giving her father a hug and kiss.

“Good night, hon.”

“And thanks for the surprise. I can’t wait to go!” Carole padded off to bed.

As she climbed in and pulled up the covers, the phone rang. She looked at her clock and shook her head: 11:02. It had to be Stevie.

Carole’s father called down the hall. “For you, sweetheart. And tell Stevie, we’re still on Eastern Standard Time!”

She knew it. Stevie. Carole went down to the kitchen and picked up.

“Well, we made it to the airport by the skin of our teeth,” Stevie reported.

“I guess that means Chad won’t be coming to the Bar None.”

“Nope,” Stevie answered. “And Alex and Michael will be at Boy Scout Camp. What a relief.” She hesitated. “Sorry to call so late, but I just had to talk to you and Lisa.”

“What’s up?” asked Carole. She could hear the note of tension in Stevie’s voice.

“To tell you the truth,” Stevie went on, “I’ve been thinking about what it’ll feel like to have our parents come to the Bar None. I mean, it’s always been The Saddle Club. The three of us, and Kate and Christine. I guess I don’t really want my parents
in
on everything.”

Carole tried to reassure her. “Just because your parents are coming with us doesn’t mean they have to know everything about what we do. They’ll probably leave us alone sometimes and go off by themselves.”

Stevie yawned. “Yeah. You’re probably right. I still think it’ll be fun to bring them along, but it might feel a little strange, that’s all. I just hung up with Lisa. She’s nervous about her mom and dad too.”

“You two need to stop worrying so much,” Carole said. “By the time we’re packed and ready to go, I’m sure
you’ll be too excited to care who comes with us—even if it’s your brothers.”

Stevie laughed in spite of her worries. “Don’t even suggest that!”

C
AROLE THOUGHT THE
following weekend would never arrive. All week long the trip to the Bar None was all she could think about. She couldn’t wait to see Kate and Christine, plus she was excited about showing the Bar None to her father—even if he might embarrass her a little. Finally the day arrived.

On Sunday morning, as they were taking their suitcases out to the Lakes’ car, Carole told her father about the strange dream she’d had the night before.

“You were riding this Appaloosa bareback,” she said, “and you were galloping along, roping a runaway steer!”

“Sounds plausible,” the colonel answered, his brown eyes twinkling.

“Get serious, Dad,” Carole answered, “that’s something even
I
couldn’t do!”

She called hello to the Lakes and lifted her suitcase into the back of the station wagon. Her father had laughed about her dream, but Carole couldn’t help wondering if he’d actually try some daredevil riding stunts
like steer roping. She hoped not. Sometimes he liked to joke around and show off, but he didn’t have nearly enough riding experience to tackle anything much beyond a trail ride.

When her friends pulled up in the Lakes’ station wagon, Lisa was waiting impatiently on her front steps. She grabbed her duffel bag and ran down to stow it in the car.

“Mom’s running a little late,” she called, rolling her eyes. “She and Dad are having trouble closing the suitcase. I think she packed fourteen different outfits.” She climbed into the back next to her friends. “Last night I had a dream about Mom making a disgusted face at Dad while Phyllis showed them their bunkhouse. Then she called the curtains quaint right to Phyllis’s face!”

“You think that’s bad,” Carole said grimly. “I dreamt my father was acting like a rodeo daredevil!”

The girls exchanged uneasy glances.

“Maybe we can ignore them,” Stevie began. “Maybe once we’re out West they won’t even—”

“ ‘Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam, and the deer—’ ”

Her father’s cheerful voice crooning “Home on the
Range” interrupted Stevie’s short-lived burst of optimism.

“Aaaaaaaagh!” cried Stevie.

Mr. Lake stopped singing. “What’s wrong, honey? Don’t you like my voice?”

“You just reminded me of a dream I had last night!” Stevie cried. “Actually, it was more like a nightmare!”

“Were we in it?” Stevie’s mother asked. “Singing cowboy songs?”

“You were both singing ‘The Streets of Laredo,’ as a matter of fact!” was Stevie’s reply. Everyone burst out laughing.

“Well, pardners, westward ho!” Mr. Lake called out. Then, while the three girls huddled in the back, hands over their ears, the rest of the parents joined in the song.

L
ISA SAT IN
her favorite rocking chair on the porch of the girls’ bunkhouse at the Bar None and looked out at the sky. It always surprised her how huge it was. She knew it was the same sky she saw in Willow Creek, but here it seemed to go on forever.

She sighed. Eight days ago she had no idea she’d be out here. Now here she was, with her best friends—
and her parents!
For a moment she stopped worrying about her mother or anticipating seeing John Brightstar. She simply enjoyed being back in this wonderful place. Lisa rocked in the chair and smiled.

A few minutes later Stevie and Carole joined her on the porch.

“I can’t believe we’re here!” exclaimed Stevie.

“Me neither,” answered Carole, “and I can’t wait to go for a ride!”

At that moment Kate rounded the corner to the bunkhouse. “How about right now?”

“Kate!” All three girls bounded off the porch to hug their friend. She looked the same as last time they’d seen her except maybe taller, her deep auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail.

“Sorry I couldn’t meet you at the airport. I had this dumb dentist appointment—”

“That’s okay,” said Lisa.

“How are you?” Carole asked.

“Great, just a little numb,” answered Kate, rubbing her jaw.