Spirit Riding Free: PALs Forever Read online

  Lucky climbed onto Spirit’s back and they settled in at a slow pace behind the wagon. She saw her father sit back in the plush velvet seats, wrapping his arm around Kate. Julian sat on the front bench with the driver.

  “Spirit,” Lucky said, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her horse’s neck. “The best thing about a big city is that you don’t have to see everyone all the time. There will be so many places to go, people to see, adventures to have. We can see Julian when we want and get lost in the crowds when we want, too.” She sat up and let the last few rays of sunshine warm her face. “This is going to be the best vacation. I just know it!”

  Dear Abigail,

  Greetings from Destiny Falls! We just got here a little while ago, and you are not going to believe who was waiting at the station. It was Julian!

  His family is living in Destiny Falls to help set up the new train depot. He’s acting as smug as ever. I’ll need to watch him with eagle eyes in case he tries to be tricky again!

  When Julian told us about the new train station, I got really worried my dad was going to work this whole vacation, but he promised he’d have time for me. We are going to take a horse ride tomorrow. Just us. I can’t wait to see the town in the daylight.

  You’d be so impressed. The hotel we are staying at is huge. It’s five stories, and there’s a café on the first floor that has the biggest, most delicious banana splits I have ever eaten. I couldn’t even finish mine!

  Kate told me she heard the schoolhouse here is as if three of our schools were put together, and—get this—there are even separate classrooms for different grade levels! No, I am not kidding. Could you imagine if Snips were in a different class than ours? I think that would be a great idea.

  Shopping is how I remember from living in the city. There isn’t just one general store for most things. Dad promised we’d go to a hat shop for hats, a dress shop for dresses (well… maybe more than one dress shop… ), and even a men’s store for my dad to buy a suit.

  I can’t wait to see it all. The adventure starts at sunrise! I also can’t wait until you write to me.

  PALs forever,

  Lucky

  PS: I hope Julian doesn’t think I’m hanging out with him. We are not hanging out. No way. Never. Nuh-uh. Negative. No.

  Pru!”

  Day one of vacation and Pru was already working at the barn. She’d just left Lucky at the train station, and Abigail had gone home to pack her bags.

  Pru sighed. “Be right there,” she called out to her father. First she had to make sure that Chica Linda had enough hay and fresh water.

  “It’s just going to be you and me for a while,” she told her horse. Pru gave Chica Linda a scratch behind the ears. “Spirit is off with Lucky, and Boomerang is going tomorrow with Abigail. Even Señor Carrots will be gone the whole spring break.” Chica Linda whinnied. “The good news is that Dad said he has something planned,” Pru told Chica Linda as she loaded more hay into the stall. “Whatever it is, I hope it’ll be fun,” Pru said, then rushed out of the barn to find her dad.

  He was sitting on a bale of hay by the corral. There was a clipboard in his hand, and he was making notes on a sheet of paper.

  “I’ve made a list of all the things you need to do in the next few days,” he said. With a flick of his wrist, he turned the paper toward her, and Pru read the list out loud.

  “Mend fences, paint barn, muck stalls, spread manure…” Okay, that one was her least favorite, but it had to be done. These were normal things and exactly what Pru assumed she’d be doing her entire break from school. Adventures with Chica Linda would have to wait until the workday was done.

  There were more items on her dad’s list, so Pru read on. “Put up posters, assign activities, get barrels from Turo, order ice cream from Mr. Winthrop, buy blue ribbons at the general store… Uh, Dad?” Pru was confused about the last few items. “These other things are strange. What’s going on?”

  “I told you I had something big planned for this week, Pru,” her father said. “A children’s rodeo!” He turned the list back around and jotted Set up lunch tables onto it. And under that, Order lunches.

  “A rodeo?” Pru squinted in the afternoon sunlight. “Oh. I figured we would be building fences for the pasture or maybe taking a ride up to Patriot’s Peak.” She’d always wanted to go there but had never had the chance.

  “Well, I hope you’re not too let down. This children’s rodeo is going to be a lot of work. I was thinking with your time off from school, you could lend me a hand.” Mr. Granger sighed and tapped his pen on his clipboard. “I know I’m forgetting things, and I haven’t even begun to prepare for the Wranglers’ meeting.” He turned to a blank page and wrote Meeting stuff at the top of the paper. Then, he set down the pen. “Will you be able to help?”

  “Of course,” Pru answered.

  Her dad ran his hands over his face. “Boy, am I glad to hear that. The Frontier Wranglers’ Association’s annual meeting was moved to Miradero last minute. Obviously I’m thrilled at the opportunity, but there’s so much to be done. Twenty wranglers and their families are coming. The meeting is a no-brainer, but it’s a tradition to hold a rodeo to entertain the kids, and I have no idea where to start.” He frowned.

  “So,” Pru said slowly, “if twenty wranglers are coming, how many kids does that mean for the children’s rodeo?”

  “Eight to ten,” Mr. Granger said. “Maybe a few more. I’m not sure.”

  “What exactly do you need me to do?” Pru asked.

  “Well,” Mr. Granger said, “I was thinking that while I take care of the meeting and the wranglers, it might be fun for you to organize and run the rodeo by yourself. I’m sure you could handle it on your own, and it’d sure be a big help to me.”

  “Run the rodeo?” That sounded… amazing! Pru, Lucky, and Abigail had run a summer camp before, so Pru knew everything she had to do to entertain kids and keep them busy. Her father’s list was a good place to start, but there were going to be so many other things that she’d need to prepare.

  Pru wished that Lucky and Abigail were there to help. It was a little scary having to do all the preparation for a rodeo and host it on her own. It would be only eight or ten kids, but still, rowdy frontier kids needed more than a babysitter—Pru was determined to do the job and to do it well.

  “I’ll take care of it, Dad,” she said, taking the clipboard and pen, then handing her dad the page on which he’d written Meeting stuff. “You just worry about planning the meeting, okay?”

  “Are you sure?” Mr. Granger said.

  “Yup!” Pru said with a grin. “Leave the rodeo to me.”

  “All righty, then,” Mr. Granger said, standing up and dusting the hay from his britches. “I trust you to do a good job, Pru.”

  “I will,” she said, then took the list with her into the barn. She posted the clipboard on a nail near the barn door. “Check it out, Chica Linda,” she gushed. “Great news. We’re organizing a kids’ rodeo!”

  The horse answered with a loud neigh.

  Pru studied the list. She needed to do all those things, plus make sure there were good, clean stalls for the rodeo kids to leave their horses, room to store their tack, enough hay and water and feed and—wow. It felt a little overwhelming.

  “Hiya, Pru.” Pru turned to see Turo entering the barn.

  “Hi, Turo!” Pru said. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m going to be heading to my cousin’s place to help with the barn, and I was wondering if I could borrow a duffel bag. I can’t find mine.”

  “Sure.” As Pru headed to the tack room to grab one, she remembered her father had written Turo’s name on their list of things to do. Get barrels from Turo. When she handed Turo her duffel, she said, “Do you happen to have extra barrels lying around?”

  “Barrels?” Turo asked. “What for?”

  “It turns out that the big plan my dad has over break is to organize a children’s rodeo, and he asked me to take care of it!”
Pru smiled. “The barrels would be awesome for barrel racing!”

  Turo frowned. “Unfortunately, I only make them when people need them.”

  “Oh.” Pru bit her lip. “So you don’t have any right now?”

  “No,” Turo said, shaking his head. “No barrels.”

  “And you wouldn’t be able to make a few real quick?” Pru prodded.

  “I’m sorry, Pru, but that’s an all-day job.”

  “Oh.” Pru deflated slightly. “Well, that’s okay. I’ll figure something out.”

  “Are you sure?” Turo asked. “I could maybe put off going to my cousin’s to build some barrels for you. Putting on a rodeo is a lot of work; I’m sure you need the help.”

  “No,” Pru said firmly. “I’ll take care of it. It’ll be fine—I know it.”

  “Okay.” Turo shrugged. He took the duffel bag from her. “If you’re positive. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!” He waved and headed out of the barn. “See ya!”

  “Yeah. See ya,” Pru echoed, feeling slightly uncertain. She could do this by herself… couldn’t she? She took down the clipboard from the wall and found a spot to sit in Chica Linda’s stall.

  “I’ve got this,” she told herself, letting the negative feelings pass. “So no barrel racing. What other events should we do, Chica Linda?”

  The horse was silent.

  Pru closed her eyes, trying to think of what they’d done at the hundreds of rodeos she’d gone to, but nothing came to mind. Pru knew she was trying too hard.

  Deciding to think about it later, she turned to a new piece of paper and took out the pen. She was going to write a letter to Lucky.

  Dear Lucky,

  You’ll never believe what happened! My vacation just went from Basic Boring to Special Spectacular.

  Apparently, we’re going to be hosting the Frontier Wranglers’ Association’s annual meeting. That means wranglers and their kids are coming to Miradero this weekend, and that means the kids will have their traditional children’s rodeo this weekend. The spectacular part is that my dad wants me to organize the rodeo while he organizes the meeting!

  I wish you and Abigail were here to do it with me. It’s gonna be a lot of work, but everyone knows that I love rodeos! I can’t wait to show my dad that I can do it by myself.

  Unfortunately, I’ve already met a bit of a hurdle. With Turo going out of town, it turns out that there aren’t any barrels available for a barrel race. And what’s a rodeo without a barrel race? I’m gonna have to be creative and figure out something else I can do. I’ll just have to be imaginative like you always are and brainstorm like Abigail always does.

  Right now, I’m trying to make a list of rodeo events.…We I mean, I could make three days out of the rodeo: one will be for speed, one will be for skills, and one will be just for fun.

  So on speed day, the kids could do racing and jumping (but no barrel races).

  On skills day, they’ll do pole bending, scarecrow roping, and maybe some other kinds of tricks.

  Finally, on fun day, we can do egg-in-spoon races, a Boot Scoot, and some horse painting!

  Hey, thanks! Before I wrote to you, I was having trouble coming up with stuff to do, and now I have a whole list! See, you can help all the way from Destiny Falls.

  This rodeo is going to be so much fun! I’ll make sure of it, even without Turo’s barrels. If you have any more good ideas, let me know!

  Hope you are having a good time with your dad and our teacher.

  PALs forever,

  Pru

  Aunt Karen! Uncle Tony! Ariella!” Abigail leaped off Boomerang’s back and rushed to greet her family. As she was running, she caught herself and remembered that “ladies don’t run.” Instead, she smoothed her nicest pair of riding pants, straightened her best button-down top, and walked carefully toward her relatives. They were standing on the steps of a big yellow house with a long wraparound porch that housed a small dining table and chairs.

  Aunt Karen was her mom’s sister, and it had been a while since they’d all seen one another.

  Snips tumbled off Señor Carrots’s back and sauntered slowly to the house as well. Abigail glanced at him, noted that he had a streak of dirt across his forehead, and inwardly groaned. She then looked at the small girl standing on the steps. Though Ariella was ten, the age right between Snips and Abigail, she was short for her age and had dark-brown hair neatly braided down her back. Eyeing her outfit, Abigail noted that Ariella wasn’t dressed very fancy—she dressed how the other girls in Miradero did—but that didn’t mean she didn’t act fancy.

  But when she and Snips got closer, Ariella took one look at Abigail and her perfectly primed outfit and instead turned toward Snips.

  “Hey,” she said to him.

  “Hey,” he replied.

  “Nice donkey,” she said with a grin.

  “Thanks,” Snips said.

  Abigail noticed right away that she complimented Señor Carrots but not Boomerang, who was far more majestic than the little donkey. Boomerang snorted at the offense.

  Snips said, “Me and Señor Carrots are hungry after the long ride. Got any snacks?”

  “Snips!” Abigail hissed under her breath. “Polite people don’t beg for food.” That was one of the things Lucky’s aunt had taught her. “Wait until snacks are offered.”

  “But we’re hungry,” Snips whispered back.

  “That’s all right, dear,” Aunt Karen said, motioning back to the table on the porch. “We expected that you’d be famished after the long ride. Our cook is serving lunch as we speak.”

  Abigail looked to the table, where an eggplant-shaped man in a white shirt was setting out plates. She inhaled deeply. Whatever he was serving smelled delicious. She was hungry, too, but wasn’t going to blurt it out like her brother. Instead, Abigail said, “That sounds lovely. I can’t wait to partake in a meal.” Perhaps she should have said, I look forward to partaking.…She couldn’t remember the correct grammar. It was too late now.

  “Come along,” Uncle Tony said, taking their packs off Boomerang and handing them to a woman who had appeared so quietly that Abigail hadn’t even noticed her. “Martha will set these in your rooms.”

  “Rooms?” Snips asked. “I have my own room?”

  “Of course!” Aunt Karen said, tossing back her light-colored hair with a laugh. “You’ll be in the spare room near Ariella, while Abigail here will be in the guest room next to Ashton.”

  “Oh, the baby!” Abigail gushed. “I can’t wait to meet him.” Ashton was a toddler now. Abigail had last visited right before he was born. That was the last time they’d all been together.

  “He’s not such a baby anymore,” Aunt Karen said.

  “More of a terror,” Uncle Tony remarked.

  I have a brother like that, too, Abigail thought. With the similarities between their brothers, Abigail hoped that Ariella would be similar to her.

  “Ashton is napping now,” Aunt Karen said. “So let’s enjoy lunch while we can.”

  They went to the porch and sat down.

  Chef Paul filled their plates with chicken and rice. While Abigail was trying to recall which fork to use, the smaller one or the bigger one, Snips picked up a chicken leg with his fingers and took a huge bite, juices dripping down his chin. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

  “Yum,” he said.

  “Snips!” Abigail hissed. She’d have to talk to him in private later.

  After a moment’s hesitation, Abigail noticed that her uncle picked up the bigger fork, so she did the same. She used her knife, as she’d been taught, and sliced a small piece of meat. Chew. Swallow. Then, after checking her elbows were not on the table, she started to cut another piece.

  “I have the best plans for this week!” Ariella announced in an excited whisper so her parents couldn’t hear. “There’s a huge surprise, and I want you to be part of it!” Abigail noticed that Ariella hadn’t started eating yet and wondered if this was one of those situations where you were supposed
to wait for others to start. Manners were confusing.

  “I love surprises!” Snips roared through a mouthful of rice. Speckles of his food sprayed across the table and hit Abigail in the eye.

  “Eww,” she said, gently dabbing at her eyelid with her crisp linen napkin. “I enjoy an unexpected occurrence as well,” she said, while dipping her fork into the rice and collecting a few grains, then placing them carefully in her mouth. Chew. Swallow.

  At this rate, Abigail figured she’d be done eating the meal in two or three years.

  “What’s the surprise?” Snips asked.

  Ariella glanced at her parents, who were still talking to each other and not listening to them. “I can’t tell you. But it’s big!”

  “Ooohh,” Snips said. “Can Señor Carrots help, too? He loves to help.”

  Ariella nodded. “We’ll find just the right job for your magnificent steed.”

  “What about Boomerang?” Abigail asked hesitantly. “He loves helping, too.”

  Ariella looked across the yard to where Boomerang was walking in circles around a tree. There was a low branch and he hit his head on it, then shook off the bump, continuing around. On the next revolution, he hit his head again, as if this were the first time he’d seen the branch. And so on… again and again.

  “Maybe. We’ll see,” Ariella said, before turning away.

  What?! Boomerang, though a little mixed up, was a much finer “steed” than Snips’s donkey. Abigail felt as if something was off, and she wanted to make it right.

  “Since the surprise is a secret,” Abigail said, “let’s talk about the other things we are going to do. I can’t wait to explore the house and the garden. Are there good trails to ride around here?”

  Ariella snorted and said under her breath, “Exploring is boring.”

  Abigail wasn’t sure she’d heard her cousin right. She remembered Ariella being a lot of fun. They’d had a blast when they were together before; they had played hide-and-seek in the big house and had nighttime bonfires. The house had a beautiful stable and Abigail remembered building a maze out of hay bales with Ariella and sneaking out at night to ride horses in the ring. None of that seemed boring then. But maybe Ariella was too fancy for outdoor activities now.