Wagon Trail

by Bonnie Bryant

  Just then Karen Nicely rode up on her buckskin mare. “How are our heroines doing today?”

  “We feel great, Karen,” said Carole. “How are you?”

  “Actually, Shelly said I could ask a favor of you. I was wondering if you would be willing to trade a bucket of Veronica’s milk for a quarter wheel of some cheddar cheese I’ve got.”

  “It’s fine with me,” Lisa said. She glanced back at the cow. “And I’m sure it’s fine with Veronica.”

  “Great. I’ll check back with you when we stop for lunch.”

  Just as Karen Nicely trotted off, Mr. Cate walked up.

  “Hey, Stevie, have you heard about the new restaurant on the moon?” He grinned up at her.

  “No, I haven’t, Mr. Cate.” Stevie raised one eyebrow.

  “They say the food’s great, but there’s no atmosphere!” Mr. Cate threw back his head and gave a deep belly laugh.

  “That’s a good one, Mr. Cate,” she said, chuckling.

  “I knew you’d like it!” Still laughing, Mr. Cate walked over toward his wagon.

  The train rolled on. The girls noticed that little Eileen was staring dejectedly out the back of her family’s wagon several lengths ahead of them. “Her parents must have wised up,” said Carole, “and put her in pioneer time-out.”

  “Good thing,” Lisa replied. “Now at least they can have some fun and not worry about what kind of trouble she might be causing.”

  “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to need to wash this dress pretty soon.” Stevie sniffed her bodice and grimaced. “It’s getting pretty ripe.”

  “Me too,” said Lisa. “Let’s wash together at the next creek we stop at. Polly Shaver brought one of those old-timey washboards with her and said we could use it anytime.”

  Stevie laughed. “I bet once we do our laundry with a washboard, doing it in a washing machine at home won’t seem nearly so bad.”

  After they had traveled a few hours, Carole spotted a huge rock that jutted up from the prairie all by itself.

  “Look!” She pointed to the single tall crag that broke the flat line of the horizon.

  “I bet that’s Miller’s Rock!” cried Stevie. “I bet that’s where we’re going to stop for lunch today.”

  Just as she spoke, Jeremy took off his hat and waved it at the rock. Slowly the wagons turned and began to roll toward it. They made good time on the dry ground, and by midday they were pulling to a halt just underneath the great boulder.

  “Lunch in half an hour,” Shelly called as the trekkers parked their wagons.

  “Let’s go,” said Stevie, leaping to the ground. She and Lisa grabbed two buckets and got fresh water, while Carole brought hay for Vernonica and the horses. After Stevie had used one bucket to water the livestock, Lisa used the other to cool Yankee and Doodle down in the hot sun. As they worked, other members of the wagon train tended to their own livestock and helped each other make sure their wagons were ready for the rest of the trip. Just as the girls finished their chores, Shelly rang the triangle for lunch.

  “Look at where we’re eating today!” Lisa said as they followed everyone to the chuck wagon.

  The girls peered over at Miller’s Rock Memorial Park, where several pioneers already sat eating their lunch. A hot dog stand and souvenir shop stood at one end of a busy parking lot, surrounded by crowds of tourists. One frantic mother was trying to calm her two crying children, while another man had his entire family posing in front of the Miller’s Rock historic marker as he tried to focus his camera.

  “Gosh,” said Carole as she waited in the chow line for baked beans and corn bread. “Looks like we’re back in the middle of the twentieth century.”

  “It looks so strange, and we’ve only been gone for four days,” said Lisa.

  The girls walked to the picnic area and found an empty table next to a family of five who all wore bright orange “Cummings Exterminating—We Won’t Bug You” T-shirts. The family stared at the girls as they sat down in their pioneer costumes to eat their simple meal of corn bread and beans.

  “Who are they?” they heard one little girl ask her father.

  “Oh, I think they’re Pennsylvania Dutch,” the father whispered.

  The Saddle Club looked at each other and giggled.

  “We could explain,” Lisa suggested.

  Stevie glanced over her shoulder at the man, who was splashing ketchup all over a giant order of french fries. “Forget it,” she said, shaking her head. “He’d never understand.”

  They were just beginning to eat when a shadow fell across their table. They looked up. Gabriel stood there, his plate of lunch in his hand.

  “Hi,” he said, giving one of his lopsided smiles. “Could I sit with you guys?”

  “Oh, are you sure the assistant trail boss ought to be seen eating with a bunch of womenfolk?” Stevie cracked.

  “Sure, Gabriel, sit down,” Carole said, nudging Stevie in the ribs. She knew as well as Stevie that Gabriel was an obnoxious jerk, but he was part of their wagon train family, so that made him their obnoxious jerk. And after all, they had been through a lot together.

  “Have you girls had a good morning?” he asked politely, taking off his cowboy hat.

  “Yes,” replied Lisa. “It actually feels like we’ve done this all our lives.”

  “Well, I just wanted to make kind of an apology.” He brushed his dark hair back. “I think I might have judged you guys too quickly. All three of you really did a terrific job at the stampede last night.” He looked at Carole with his fierce blue eyes. “If you hadn’t waked everybody up, there might have been a real disaster.”

  He smiled at Lisa. “And you did more than your share of turning the herd away.” He swallowed. “You guys are all darn good horsewomen.”

  “Thanks,” Stevie said loudly, enjoying the blush that suddenly turned his cheeks red.

  “Yeah,” Carole and Lisa said together. “Thanks.”

  Gabriel smiled and ate a piece of corn bread. “You know, you’re such good riders, it’s too bad you won’t be able to compete in any of the open events at the rodeo we’re going to tomorrow night.” He looked at Stevie and grinned. “I’m going to be in the pole racing and the calf roping. But that stuff is really guy stuff. They’ll probably have a cow chip tossing contest for girls.”

  “A cow chip tossing contest?” Stevie felt her face flush with anger.

  “Yeah,” Gabriel laughed. “You know, where you take a little cow chip and see how far you can toss it. You’d be great at that, Stevie. I bet you’ve got quite an arm.”

  Stevie was speechless. Gabriel ate his last bite of lunch and stood up. “Well, I enjoyed eating with you ladies.” He tipped his hat. “See you around.”

  They watched as he strode back to the wagons. Stevie was the first one to break the silence.

  “Do you believe him?” she sputtered.

  Carole giggled. “I bet he stays up nights studying his be-the-biggest-jerk-you-can-be manual.”

  “I don’t think he studies it,” fumed Stevie. “I think he wrote it!”

  Suddenly Lisa stood up. “Come on, girls. Let’s go back to the wagon train. It looks like Jeremy is making some kind of announcement.”

  They left the picnic area and hurried over to the chuck wagon, where Jeremy was talking to a group of pioneers.

  “We’re going to take a little break today, since we’ve made it to Miller’s Rock. Our next campsite isn’t far away, so we’ll be staying here until midafternoon. You can spend the next couple of hours resting or relaxing, or you can climb Miller’s Rock if you want. It’s a moderate to strenuous climb that takes about two hours, round trip. Just make sure you’re back here by three, ready to roll.”

  The girls looked at the rock. They could already hear Gabriel’s voice behind them, advising Karen Nicely on the best way to climb in pioneer clothes.

  “What do you think?” Stevie asked, squinting at the tall, craggy rock glowing red in the sun.

  “We c
ould try it,” said Carole. “It would be neat to be able to say we’d done it.”

  “We could also relax.” Lisa frowned at the sharp granite face of the rock. “I mean, we kind of killed ourselves yesterday and last night.”

  “You’re right,” said Stevie. “I vote we take our chances on the ground. I mean, something even more exciting could happen down here.”

  “That’s fine with me,” said Carole. “For once, why don’t we just sit under a shady tree and wait for the next exciting thing to come along?”

  THE GIRLS FOUND a shady tree close to their wagon with a good view of Miller’s Rock. While they sprawled on the ground watching several pioneers attempting the climb, their animals rested nearby. Veronica dozed in the bright sunshine, and the horses browsed in the thick prairie grass. From a distance, Mr. Cate’s version of “The Tennessee Waltz” floated on the air, and a group of pioneer children ran past them in a fast game of capture the flag. Little Eileen was nowhere to be seen.

  “You know, this is really nice.” Stevie sighed and relaxed against the tree. “Even though I didn’t know any of these people four days ago, I feel completely at home.”

  “I do, too,” said Carole, plucking a blade of grass. “I feel that together we could handle most anything.”

  “It’s Miller’s Rock.” Lisa smiled mysteriously.

  “Huh?” Stevie and Carole said together.

  “It’s Miller’s Rock. Remember what Jeremy said? He guaranteed that by the time we reached Miller’s Rock we’d be totally different people. Well, here we are. Totally changed at Miller’s Rock. And it only took four days.”

  “Plus a tipped-over wagon and a stampede and a know-it-all assistant trail boss and a little brat who couldn’t get over her missing teddy bear,” Stevie reminded them.

  “And also the departure of Deborah,” said Carole.

  “That’s true. But you know, I think everybody else has changed, too,” said Lisa. “I mean, everybody seems more helpful and more interested in seeing that other people are okay.”

  “You’re right,” Carole agreed. “I don’t even think Gabriel is as bad as he was. He can be nice when he wants to be.”

  Lisa smiled. “He wasn’t nearly as obnoxious at lunch today. And he does have gorgeous eyes!”

  “Oh, don’t be too sure,” said Stevie. “Aren’t you forgetting the fact that he was taunting us about the rodeo?” She imitated his words. “ ‘I’m riding in the races. You girls will have to do the cow chip toss.’ ” She snorted. “If that’s not obnoxious, I don’t know what is.”

  Carole frowned. “Stevie, give him credit. Did you see the jump he took last night? Over the corral fence with no saddle or bridle? He rides awfully well.”

  “Oh, he just got lucky,” Stevie muttered. For some reason the idea of Gabriel’s being a good rider made her mad all over again. She couldn’t believe that Lisa and Carole didn’t think he was obnoxious anymore. If Gabriel wasn’t obnoxious, that would mean that Phil’s new girlfriend wasn’t obnoxious, either. And if she wasn’t obnoxious, what was she? Did she even exist? Stevie scratched her head in dismay. There was so much about Phil’s trip she didn’t know, and she didn’t like the idea of not knowing.

  “I’ve got an idea,” said Lisa. “Since we’ve made it to Miller’s Rock and become true pioneers, let’s drink a toast.” She uncapped her leather canteen. “To The Saddle Club. We can accomplish anything when we work together!”

  “To The Saddle Club,” Stevie added, “which still has more to accomplish. We have to beat the assistant trail boss at his own game. We’ll show him a thing or two at the rodeo!”

  Carole laughed. “Stevie! You’re on the wrong vacation. You should be reenacting the gold rush to California.”

  “Yeah, Stevie,” giggled Lisa. “Or maybe the Pony Express. You could have been the first one there with the most mail.”

  Stevie grinned. “Well, maybe I am slightly competitive. But isn’t winning something you want to win what teamwork is all about?”

  “I suppose,” laughed Lisa. She held her canteen in the air and repeated, “To The Saddle Club!”

  Stevie and Carole clunked their leather canteens against Lisa’s. “To tomorrow,” added Stevie. “When The Saddle Club will teach the assistant trail boss a thing or two!”

  The girls took a sip from their canteens. Just then Shelly’s triangle broke the still air. Their minivacation had ended.

  “The trail leads westward again,” said Carole.

  “Right,” Stevie said with a grin. “Westward to the sunset, westward to the rodeo, and westward to all points beyond!”

  What happens to The Saddle Club next?

  Read Bonnie Bryant’s exciting new series and find out.

  High school. Driver’s licenses. Boyfriends. Jobs.

  A lot of new things are happening, but one thing remains the same: Stevie Lake, Lisa Atwood, and Carole Hanson are still best friends. However, even among best friends some things do change, and problems can strain any friendship … but these three can handle it. Can’t they?

  Read an excerpt from Pine Hollow #1:

  The Long Ride.

  “DO YOU THINK we’ll get there in time?” Stevie Lake asked, looking around for some reassuring sign that the airport was near.

  “Since that plane almost landed on us, I think it’s safe to say that we’re close,” Carole Hanson said.

  “Turn right here,” said Callie Forester from the backseat.

  “And then left up ahead,” Carole advised, picking out directions from the signs that flashed past near the airport entrance. “I think Lisa’s plane is leaving from that terminal there.”

  “Which one?”

  “The one we just passed,” Callie said.

  “Oh,” said Stevie. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and looked for a way to turn around without causing a major traffic tie-up.

  “This would be easier if we were on horseback,” said Carole.

  “Everything’s easier on horseback,” Stevie agreed.

  “Or if we had a police escort,” said Callie.

  “Have you done that?” Stevie asked, trying to maneuver the car across three lanes of traffic.

  “I have,” said Callie. “It’s kind of fun, but dangerous. It makes you think you’re almost as important as other people tell you you are.”

  Stevie rolled her window down and waved wildly at the confused drivers around her. Clearly her waving confused them more, but it worked. All traffic stopped. She crossed the necessary three lanes and pulled onto the service road.

  It took another ten minutes to get back to the right and then ten more to find a parking place. Five minutes into the terminal. And then all that was left was to find Lisa.

  “Where do you think she is?” Carole asked.

  “I know,” said Stevie. “Follow me.”

  “That’s what we’ve been doing all morning,” Callie said dryly. “And look how far it’s gotten us.”

  But she followed anyway.

  ALEX LAKE REACHED across the table in the airport cafeteria and took Lisa Atwood’s hand.

  “It’s going to be a long summer,” he said.

  Lisa nodded. Saying good-bye was one of her least favorite activities. She didn’t want Alex to know how hard it was, though. That would just make it tougher on him. The two of them had known each other for four years—as long as Lisa had been best friends with Alex’s twin sister, Stevie. But they’d only started dating six months earlier. Lisa could hardly believe that. It seemed as if she’d been in love with him forever.

  “But it is just for the summer,” she said. The words sounded dumb even as they came out of her mouth. The summer was long. She wouldn’t come back to Virginia until right before school started.

  “I wish your dad didn’t live so far away, and I wish the summer weren’t so long.”

  “It’ll go fast,” said Lisa.

  “For you, maybe. You’ll be in California, surfing or something. I’ll just be here, mowing law
ns.”

  “I’ve never surfed in my life—”

  “Until now,” said Alex. It was almost a challenge, and Lisa didn’t like it.

  “I don’t want to fight with you,” said Lisa.

  “I don’t want to fight with you, either,” he said, relenting. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I want things to be different. Not very different. Just a little different.”

  “Me too,” said Lisa. She squeezed his hand. It was a way to keep from saying anything else, because she was afraid that if she tried to speak she might cry, and she hated it when she cried. It made her face red and puffy, but most of all, it told other people how she was feeling. She’d found it useful to keep her feelings to herself these days. Like Alex, she wanted things to be different, but she wanted them to be very different, not just a little. She sighed. That was slightly better than crying.

  “I TOLD YOU SO,” said Stevie to Callie and Carole.

  Stevie had threaded her way through the airport terminal, straight to the cafeteria near the security checkpoint. And there, sitting next to the door, were her twin brother and her best friend.

  “Surprise!” the three girls cried, crowding around the table.

  “We just couldn’t let you be the only one to say good-bye to Lisa,” Carole said, sliding into the booth next to Alex.

  “We had to be here, too. You understand that, don’t you?” Stevie asked Lisa as she sat down next to her.

  “And since I was in the car, they brought me along,” said Callie, pulling up a chair from a nearby table.

  “You guys!” said Lisa, her face lighting up with joy. “I’m so glad you’re here. I was afraid I wasn’t going to see you for months and months!”

  She was glad they were there. It wouldn’t have felt right if she’d had to leave without seeing them one more time. “I thought you had other things to do.”

  “We just told you that so we could surprise you. We did surprise you, didn’t we?”

  “You surprised me,” Lisa said, beaming.