“Corey, have you heard one word we were saying?” asked May.
“Sure,” said Corey. “Kind of.”
May and Jasmine looked at each other and shook their heads. “This is important,” May said.
“Storm clouds are gathering,” Jasmine said.
“What?” asked Corey. What on earth was Jasmine talking about?
“Actual storm clouds,” said Jasmine. “A snowstorm is coming from up north.”
“A really big one,” May said. “It was on the news this morning.”
“Oh,” Corey said. “You mean everything will be covered with a blanket of snow?”
May nodded.
Corey smiled to herself. This Christmas was getting more and more perfect.
“It’s the pits,” said May grimly.
“The pits?” Corey said. “You’re complaining about snow?”
“We can’t go trail riding when it snows,” May reminded her.
Corey realized that this was true. When it snowed, the ground became slippery. The girls weren’t allowed to ride outdoors except in the Grovers’ ring, which Mr. Grover kept shoveled.
“It could be months before we ride in the fields again,” said Jasmine.
“Exactly,” said May. “So we’re going to have one last super-duper ride. I have chores to do this afternoon, and so does Jasmine. First thing tomorrow morning we’ll ride in the field behind the barn.”
“Yes!” Corey said.
“Afterward we’ll go to Folsom’s to pick up the treats for the animals,” May said.
“Tomorrow is going to be one busy day,” said Corey with a happy sigh.
From across the yard came the sound of May’s mother calling.
“Back to earth,” May said. “I’m on kitchen duty this week. I’m peeling chestnuts for the Christmas stuffing. Have you ever peeled a chestnut? I’m telling you, chestnuts are slimy.”
Grumbling, May climbed down the ladder from the hayloft. Jasmine followed her, saying, “I’m stringing cranberries for the tree.”
When Corey got home, there was a message for her on the blackboard next to the phone. It read, “Your dad called.”
“Yes!” said Corey, pumping her fist in the air.
She was about to dial her father’s number when she realized that she had better rehearse what she was going to say. She’d tell him about missing three words on the spelling test. And then she’d say she was really worried about school. And then she’d ask if he could come over the next day so that they could talk before going to the animals’ Christmas party.
Corey dialed. The phone rang one, two, three, four times.
“Hello,” came her father’s voice on the answering machine. It sounded flat and far away. “This is 555–5976. If you’d like to leave a message, please state your name and the day and time you called.”
It sounded so impersonal, as if he didn’t know who was calling.
Of course he didn’t know it was her, she thought. It was a recorded message.
Corey heard a beep on the machine and realized that she had to leave a message.
“It’s me,” Corey said. “I keep calling when you’re gone. I’ve got this big problem. I missed three words on a spelling test. And it was a big test. I’m really worried. You miss three words, next thing you know you’ve missed five, then ten.” She took a deep breath. The message was getting longer and longer without getting anywhere. “It’s time for a family conference,” she said. “How about six tomorrow?”
She put the phone down. That was, she figured, one of the dumbest phone messages ever.
Jack came into the kitchen, carrying a kitten with a bandaged tail. Usually Corey would have had a million questions about the kitten. But right now she had something else on her mind.
“I have an idea about what you can give me for Christmas,” she said.
Jack’s face lit up. “Hey, great.”
“I’ve got this special party planned,” Corey explained. “I need your help.”
“No problem,” said Jack. “What can I do?”
“I need you to turn off the fuse for the dining room lights at precisely six-fifteen tomorrow,” she said.
Jack looked down at the kitten and then at Corey. She could tell he was wondering what was going on.
“I don’t get it,” he said.
“It’s kind of a joke,” she said.
“Tomorrow is Kelly’s birthday,” Jack said. “I told her I’d take her skating at six. I hate to disappoint her.” Kelly was Jack’s girlfriend.
“Take her at seven,” Corey said. “You can skate by moonlight.”
“Then we’ll miss the animals’ Christmas party at CARL,” Jack said.
“Go earlier in the day,” Corey said.
“I have to work,” Jack said. He scratched his head. “I’d really like to help you, Corey. I’ll try to change my plans, but it may be hard.”
Buy Corey’s Christmas Wish Now!
About the Author
Bonnie Bryant is the author of over one hundred forty books about horses, including the Saddle Club series and its spinoffs, the Pony Tails series and the Pine Hollow series. Bryant did not know very much about horses before writing the first Saddle Club book in 1986, so she found herself learning right along with the characters she created. She has also written novels and movie novelizations under her married name, Bonnie Bryant Hiller. Bryant was born and raised in New York City, where she still lives today.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1997 by Bonnie Bryant Hiller
ISBN: 978-1-4976-5380-1
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
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May's Runaway Ride (Pony Tails Book 14) Page 6