Nickel-Bred Read Online Free PDF

pretty much my only friend. I sat on my bed and tried to
read, but I kept thinking about Mom and Sam. And I also thought
about Nickel. My cell phone rang with a number I didn’t
recognize.
    “Hello?”
    “Is this Piper?”
    “Yes, who’s this?”
    “This is Angel.”
    “Oh, hi.” Why would she call me? “Is
something wrong with Nickel?”
    “No, Nickel’s fine.”
    “Good, but how did you get my number?” My dad
doesn’t let me give out my number to very many people.
    “Oh, I got it off Chickie’s phone,” she said.
“So, Piper, here’s why I called. I was wondering if you could talk
to your dad and see if he would come out here and talk to me? He’s
single isn’t he?”
    “Yes, why?”
    “Well, I really think he’s cute and I want to
convince him that I’m a lot of fun.”
    “But I thought you were going with
Chickie.”
    “I’m not his girlfriend!”
    “Well, he thinks you are.”
    “He’s crazy, and he’s a skinny, deadbeat
loser. I’m only staying with him till I find someone better. Like
your daddy. Now, he’s real smart and I bet he makes a good living,
being a vet and all.”
    “Why are you telling me this stuff?”
    “So you can put in a good word for me. We
could be best friends. I could help you learn about makeup and how
to dress and what boys like and all that stuff. Wouldn’t that be
fun?”
    How creepy! I didn’t care about makeup and
clothes. That was for girly girls. And even if I did, she was the
absolute last person I would ask for advice. But I tried to be
nice-- I wanted that horse.
    “Angel, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with
Dad. You have to do that on your own. And I’m not into all that
stuff you said, makeup and things. And I don’t want a
boyfriend.”
    “But what did he say about me? Did he think I
was cute?”
    “No, he didn’t say anything.” I couldn’t tell
her what Dad really said and how we made fun of her.
    “But I want him to think I’m sexy and cute.
You could tell him that.”
    “Look, Angel, this is getting creepy. Please
don’t call me anymore, unless it’s about Nickel.”
    “Well, that’s mean. You’re just mean. And
weird!” Angel hung up on me, and I sighed in relief.
    Now what to do? Should I tell Dad about
Angel’s call? She had already called him earlier and he said no to
her. Would she cause problems with us getting Nickel? Dad was
working, so it would have to wait.
    I tried to read, but eventually quit, put
down my book, and walked back out to the farm. It was the middle of
a hot day and my t-shirt was sopping by the time I got to the barn.
I put a halter on Dotty, tied her to a post in the shady barn and
started brushing. It must’ve felt good because Dotty stood still
with her eyes closed, gently nodding her head.
    When I was done with her coat, I brushed her
mane. After brushing and untangling her mane and tail, I still
couldn’t hold still, so I began braiding them. I had finished the
braids when a wet-haired Addie walked in the barn. Her curls went
crazy when they were wet. It was pretty funny.
    “So is this a horsey beauty parlor? I’ve got
some old Hello, Kitty barrettes,” she said.
    “I was antsy,” I said. “How was
swimming?”
    “Agh! Old Adkisson kept us doing laps and
treading water forever!”
    “I thought you liked Mrs. Adkisson. Does she
still have all that red hair and those little curls?”
    “Afraid so. I used to like her, but she’s
turned into a tyrant. You shouldn’t have dropped out.”
    “Oh, so I could suffer, too?”
    “So there would be someone to suffer with me.
The other kids are stupid and giggly. Except for Richie-- he’s
cute.”
    “You think guys are cute because they’re
guys. You’re going to end up like Angel.”
    I told Addie then about Angel’s phone call
and how creepy it was.
    “What do you think she’ll do if she’s
mad?”
    “I don’t know. It isn’t her horse and she
says she’s not Chickie’s girlfriend, so maybe she can’t make him
sell Nickel.