Spirit Riding Free: Lucky's Diary Read online

  She cast aside her curiosity.

  As her family turned and faded from view, Lucky was determined to make certain her new cousin had fun. She’d earn those two dollars and keep him far, far away from Julian’s bad influence.

  Diary Entry

  I love when Aunt Cora comes over and cooks up a family dinner for us. The food is always amazing. Tonight, Cora made a new chicken pot pie recipe, and I would have enjoyed it even more if things hadn’t been so strange.

  Oliver was super quiet, which was weird, but not the weirdest part.

  It was Julian. He kept casting me strange looks across the table.

  Aunt Cora, my dad, and his new girlfriend, Kate (aka my teacher, Miss Flores), were all there, and no one said anything about his odd expressions!

  First, he’d peek over at Oliver, who was sitting in silence, picking at his food, but not eating much. Then he’d tip his head toward the door, as if that were some kind of signal. Then back at Oliver. Then Julian would tip his head to Cora. I swear, I thought his head would fall off his shoulders, if he kept going like that.

  Finally, Aunt Cora noticed!

  “Is everything okay, Julian?” Aunt Cora asked him. “Do you have a neck ache?” She rose from the table. “I have this lovely new salve I bought at the store.”

  I’d seen the salve on the counter. The label had said it could cure everything from aches and pains to the pox.

  “No, no,” Julian said, rising from his own seat. “Don’t get up, Aunt Cora.” He put a hand on his neck, indicating that it really was the problem, and told her, “Lucky can help me.”

  I tried to protest. I wasn’t done eating, and the last thing I wanted was to be alone with Julian in the kitchen.

  “Thanks, Cora,” my dad chimed in. “Lucky, be sure to smear the salve all over his neck.”

  Kate said, “That’s sure to help.”

  “And give him a nice massage,” Aunt Cora added.

  Ugh! Yuck. The worst part was I had no choice, because Con Boy Cousin was now holding his head in both hands and groaning, as if he were in pain.

  “I’ll show you pain,” I whispered, and followed him into the kitchen.

  “Ha!” Julian said once we were inside, letting go of his neck and rotating it freely. He popped up to sit on the counter. Aunt Cora would kill me if I did that. She probably wouldn’t care if it was Julian, because he’d tell her some story about how his knees hurt and he couldn’t stand. Or how he was helping me reach something high.

  “I wanted to warn you about Oliver,” Julian said. “He’s not talking.”

  “I noticed that,” I said. In fact, I hadn’t heard him speak. Not on the street when we met and not yet at dinner.

  “Well, I recommended he not speak to anyone but me until this camp thing is sorted out,” Julian said. “I’ve given him a little daily incentive to hold him to it, too… a nickel a day.” He zipped his lips. “He’s not supposed to say a single word.”

  Huh? What? I had no idea what was going on.

  “It’s all part of making sure you keep the PALs’ fun camp promise.” He clicked his tongue. “See, Oliver is a nice kid. He’d probably tell you he was having a great time all summer, just to spare your feelings, and then we’d never really know if he was having any fun! If he’s just quiet, then we’ll know for sure. Now, I know it’ll be a bit of a challenge… but aren’t you up for that, RF?”

  I’m always up for a challenge, but this seemed unfair. “How am I supposed to get him to have fun at camp if he won’t talk?” Not talking? Not even grunting? Total silence? Uh, yeah, this is a problem. I can’t ever trust Julian! He not only set me up to watch his brother all summer, but now he tells me he’s paying Oliver not to talk!

  “What are you up to?” I asked him.

  He didn’t reply. Instead, he said, “It’s all about having fun, right? This will make you work a little harder to make sure everyone has fun.” He smiled. “I’m helping.”

  That didn’t seem like helping to me. “What are you going to do while I’m working extra hard to make sure Oliver has fun?”

  “I have ideas…” Julian told me. Then he said, “Don’t forget, I’m only paying you if Oliver has a good time. If he talks, you’ll know he’s having fun. This way you might even know before I do.” He made that sound like a bonus.

  That makes me wonder how he can afford to pay us at all, knowing he needs money for himself. I’ll ask Pru and Abigail later, but what will we do if he never pays us? Knowing Julian, it’s possible.

  “So what do you have scheduled for the first day?” he asked me. There was a light in his eyes, and I swear he was taking mental notes.

  Abigail, Pru, and I already have a list of activities and games ready. Because we love horses, we are using a lot of horse ideas.

  “Prancing Ponies and a rodeo race. We’ve got a piñata that looks like a wild stallion, and we’re planning a blindfolded trust walk around bales of hay.” When I told him all that, Julian grinned. He said the camp sounds “Western Wonderful,” which makes me wonder if it isn’t. Oh, he has snuck into my head and is confusing me! Did he mean it or not? What is he up to?

  I’m working hard to shake my doubts away. No matter what Julian does, PALs Camp is going to be so much fun that Oliver will forget his deal with Julian and start chatting—maybe he’ll talk even more than Snips!

  I’m determined to get Oliver to speak right away. I just have to show him that taking money from his brother is a bad idea. Being like Julian is another bad idea. I’m going to have to reverse that, and fast.

  Julian jumped down from the counter and found Aunt Cora’s salve. “Glad we had this little talk,” he said, unscrewing the lid. “Eww. Stinky.” He took a big dollop and smeared it on his neck. Then he smeared some on my arm, so we smelled the same way: bad.

  Before I could complain, he tossed the salve into my hands and said it was all part of the illusion, then dashed into the dining room.

  He told Aunt Cora that I “give a lovely massage” and have “magic fingers.” But all I cared about was that I smelled awful and my dinner was cold.

  Until Julian suggested I use the salve on Aunt Cora after dinner.

  Julian! He’d conned everyone, and now I couldn’t refuse rubbing Cora’s neck. “Sure,” I said, giving him a side-eyed glance. He winked.

  I knew that Oliver sat watching all this, and I could see he was soaking it in. If I don’t show him a good time at camp, he’ll turn out exactly like Julian. I have to stop that!

  Project Save Oliver begins first thing in the morning.

  It was the first day of camp. Abigail was marking off names on a clipboard with a pencil.

  “Camp helper, Turo.” Abigail called out his name, even though he was standing right in front of her.

  “Here,” he said, raising his hand. “Ready to assist.”

  “Mary Pat and Bianca?”

  “Here,” they said in unison. They were dressed alike, with the exception of Bianca’s blue boots and Mary Pat’s brown boots—which was the only way to tell the twins apart.

  “Snips?”

  “And Señor Carrots reporting for duty.” Snips saluted.

  “Lester?” New Kid One raised his hand.

  “Lilly?” New Kid Two raised her hand. This was clearly Lester’s younger sister. They both had choppy, wild brown hair. It looked as if they’d taken turns cutting each other’s bangs.

  “And, finally, Stella?”

  A little girl, about nine years old, began to raise her hand, but then changed her mind. She raised her voice instead. “I am here and ready for camp. If you don’t mind, I have some suggestions. First, we are currently standing outside on the porch.” She indicated the horses milling nearby. “I just think those animals are too close for comfort.”

  Lucky laughed. “Spirit is safe for—” she started.

  “Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for everyone if we moved inside to the living room?” Stella asked before Lucky could finish.

 
; “Pru is in the living room setting up for a scav—” Lucky began to explain.

  Stella cut her off again. “After our morning activity, Cook will be dropping my lunch. You’ll need to invite her in to set the table for me. We’ll be bringing our own silver, of course.”

  “Are you related to Maricela?” Lucky asked.

  “She’s my second cousin once removed,” Stella declared. She held up two fingers and twisted them together. “We’re very close.”

  “I’m sure you are…” Lucky said before turning to Abigail.

  “Maricela and her family are away for a few weeks. They went to the city for important business,” Stella explained. “My family is staying in their home. They’ll be back soon, and we will spend the rest of the summer together.”

  “I see,” Pru said, returning from the house. She approached Abigail and Lucky and whispered, “That should be interesting. This town is only big enough for one Maricela!”

  “And one Julian,” Lucky put in. They all laughed.

  “That reminds me—we have just one last camper.…” Abigail looked around. “Oliver?”

  He wasn’t there. She put an x by his name and set down the clipboard on the porch railing. “Roll has been called. Now we can do our first activity.”

  The kids all cheered.

  “Wait,” Lucky said, stopping Abigail. “What about Oliver?”

  “I marked him absent,” Abigail said.

  Just then, Julian arrived with Oliver. “Girls, I’m so sorry we’re late,” Julian said. “There were some details to work out this morning.” He gave his brother a small shove forward. “He’s here.”

  “Camp already started,” Abigail said. “Sorry.” She sounded very professional. “Camp policy. Come back tomorrow.”

  “But he’s here,” Julian said. He looked to Pru and Abigail. “Be a pal, won’t you, Abigail? What’s this about a camp policy?”

  Pru shrugged. And Lucky looked blank. They had no clue what Abigail was talking about, but she had the clipboard, so she was in charge.

  “Let me think what to do.” Abigail considered the problem. “I suppose that we can give him a late pass for today.” She grabbed her clipboard and erased the x, putting a check by his name instead.

  “Wow. She is strict,” Julian said to Lucky with a wink.

  “Oliver had better be on time tomorrow,” Lucky said with a laugh. It always confused her a little when Julian seemed genuinely friendly.

  Julian nodded, giving Oliver another little shove. “See you later, little brother.”

  Oliver didn’t budge.

  “You ready for fun, Oliver?” Abigail asked him.

  He opened his mouth, then shut it quickly. Lucky watched as Julian slipped his brother a shiny nickel. She’d already told Pru and Abigail about Julian’s challenge. They were all determined to break Oliver’s silence with a good time—and get paid.

  “You ready for fun, Oliver?” Abigail asked him again.

  This time, Oliver didn’t even pretend to try to answer. He kept his lips pressed tightly together.

  “It’s okay, Abigail,” Lucky said. “I’ve got this.” She reached out to take Oliver’s hand. He shoved it away. She frowned and addressed all the waiting campers. “Now, where were we? Ah yes, who’s prepared for the best scavenger hunt ever?”

  Julian looked at Lucky and winked. “Go on,” he told Oliver. “I’ll pick you up later. You know what to do.”

  Oliver gave his brother a serious look and held out his hand.

  “You’re getting more like me every day, kid.” With a sigh, Julian pressed a second nickel into his palm. “I’m very proud.” Then to Lucky, Julian said, “Well, I’m off to do important grown-up things.”

  “You’re fourteen,” Lucky reminded her cousin.

  “Almost fifteen,” Julian corrected her. He took a giant step away from Oliver. “Have fun.”

  Oliver shook his head, refusing the idea.

  “Then don’t have any fun,” Julian said, smiling. “You’ll save me two dollars.”

  Lucky had to stop this madness. How had she gotten tricked into taking a kid who refused to talk, didn’t want to have fun so his brother wouldn’t have to pay her, and was getting paid nickels for his sabotage?

  Two dollars, she reminded herself. They all wanted the money. Plus, there was the chance to save Oliver from being like Julian. She puffed out her chest and announced in a cheerful voice, “Come on! The scavenger hunt starts inside.”

  Oliver gave one last look at Julian, then followed Lucky inside, where the kids were getting their instructions.

  “The scavenger hunt is starting!” Pru broke the kids into groups. Turo took Lester and Lilly in his group. Snips, Stella, Mary Pat, and Bianca were in the other.

  “Oh goody,” Bianca said, sidling up close to Snips. Mary Pat scoffed and stuck out her tongue at the sight.

  Snips moved away from them both. “I think I should be on Oliver’s team,” he said, noticing that Oliver still didn’t have a team. “We could be a two-man crew. The mighty Camp Comrades.” Snips went and linked arms with Oliver, who didn’t protest. “Just the two of us, against the world.”

  “Ah shucks,” Bianca said when Pru agreed to the group change. She blew a kiss to Snips. “See you at the finish line, sweetie.”

  Snips rolled his eyes. “Not if we’re there first.”

  That made no sense to Lucky, but Snips hardly ever did.

  “Okay then, we have three teams.” Pru handed each group an envelope and an empty grain bag. “You need to find one of each thing on the list. Winners get an extra piece of the cherry pie that Abigail’s grandma made for dessert.” It was the first day of camp. The PALs wanted to start off the week by impressing the kids with their best prize—there was nothing better than Grandma Stone’s pies.

  “I won’t be eating the pie,” Stella announced. “Cook will bring me my own dessert. So what do I get if I win?”

  “Your team, you mean,” Pru said. “What will your team get?”

  “Sure,” Stella said, frowning at Mary Pat and Bianca. “Them.”

  “We want the pie,” Mary Pat countered. “Mrs. Stone’s pie is famous in Miradero. Don’t change the prize,” she begged Lucky.

  “The prize stays,” Lucky agreed. “Sorry, Stella.”

  Stella grumped. “My aunt will hear about this later.”

  Abigail had a small copper bell. “When I ring the bell, the hunt is on.”

  Lucky looked straight at Oliver. “Have a fun adventure,” she said, and winked.

  He pinched his lips together and didn’t say anything. Snips still had his arm looped through Oliver’s. “Come on, Ollie, we gotta win us some pie.”

  The bell rang and each team opened their lists.

  On the paper were things that should’ve been easy to find:

  Riding boots

  A round rock

  A green leaf

  A horse bridle

  Something red

  A hoof pick

  A summer flower

  An old newspaper

  A grooming brush

  Since the kids could go anywhere in Miradero to find things, the PALs followed the groups on their horses. Every time Lucky passed by Oliver, she could see him staring at Spirit. It looked as if Oliver really wanted to ride a horse.

  Lucky pulled alongside him and Snips as they were about to pluck a flower from old Mrs. Gerstein’s garden.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Lucky warned them.

  “How are we supposed to get a dumb flower if we can’t pick one?” Snips asked. He sneezed. “I hate flowers.”

  “Go ask Mrs. Gerstein,” Lucky said. The secret was that she, Abigail, and Pru had already visited several homes and asked if the kids could pick flowers. That meant if they asked, the answer would be yes. If they didn’t ask permission, their team would be disqualified from the pie prize.

  Suddenly, Spirit reared back. There was a bee and he swished his tail at it, snorting and huffing for it to go
away.

  “Calm down, boy,” Lucky said, holding on for the wild ride. “It’s just a baby bumblebee. It’s looking for a pollen snack.”

  Spirit relaxed, and the bee flew off toward a flower in the garden.

  When Lucky looked back at Oliver, his face was flushed.

  “The bee’s gone,” she told him. He shook his head. “Then what?” Lucky prodded gently. “Why do you look so scared?”

  Oliver shook his head again.

  “Come on, Oliver,” Lucky said as nicely as she could. “Julian isn’t around. You can tell me.”

  Snips stepped up to his new friend. “He’s afraid of you, Lucky,” Snips teased. He grabbed Oliver’s wrist. “Come on, Ollie. You don’t have to talk to her. Or me. Or anyone. Just be yourself.” He tugged Oliver along. “Let’s go ask Mrs. Gerstein for a flower. She might give us a cookie, too. She’s nice like that.…” Oliver glanced back at Lucky and Spirit as Snips dragged him away.

  When they all got back to camp, Pru collected each team’s bag and went through the items. Abigail, Pru, and Lucky had agreed when they’d first planned the scavenger hunt that it wasn’t going to be truly competitive. This first one was about team building and having an amazing day.

  “The winner,” Pru announced at the end of lunch, “is everyone!”

  All the kids cheered.

  Abigail brought out a second serving of pie for all the kids, even Stella.

  “I guess the first piece was pretty okay,” she said, licking her lips. “I think I should see if the second is any better. I mean, the recipe might be the same, but it’s a different pie… technically.”

  Pru stood on a chair. “I’m surprised. No one missed anything on the list.” That was intentional. She playfully scratched her chin. “Tomorrow, I’ll make it harder.”

  The first day had done exactly what they wanted it to. Build confidence. Be fun. Get everyone into the activities. It might not have been the most “adventurous” activity, but Lucky thought it was a huge success.

  “Add carrots to the hunt,” Snips suggested. “I’ll bring Señor Carrots.”

  From near the front of Lucky’s house, she heard Señor Carrots bray with a loud hee-haw.