Nothing But Horses Read Online Free PDF Page A

to match or surpass the
deal.”
    “Are you crazy? Why would they do that?”
    “Because you’re talking to the slickest
horse-trader in these parts,” Grandpa said. “I may be retired, but
I can still sell more bang for your buck than most fellas. You get
us there and I’ll do the gabbing.”
    * * * *
    “Okay,” Mom gave me and Grandpa a stern look.
“Where did you two disappear to this afternoon? You didn’t leave a
note. What mischief did you get into? And don’t tell me that you
just went on a KFC run.”
    Grandpa folded his arms and tried to look
stern. “I will have you know that I’m the man of the family and I
can do what I want.”
    “What he said,” I added, before I returned to
setting the table for dinner. “Yell at him, not me. I’m the kid.
He’s the adult.”
    “You’re hanging me out to dry here, Sierra
Morn.” Grandpa winked at Mom. “We decided to go check out Lincoln
High down in Marysville. Sierra wants to go to school with her
friends and I wanted to see what it would take to make that
happen.”
    “What will it take?” Mom asked, serving up
portions of the Colonel’s coleslaw. “And how will she get there?
She can take the bus to Stewart Falls Academy, or Centennial.”
    I couldn’t wait any longer. “Lincoln offered
me a full basketball scholarship.”
    “What?” Mom dropped the spoon on the plate.
She grabbed me in a warm hug. “Honey, that’s wonderful. How on
earth did you arrange it?”
    “Not me. Grandpa did it. He and Principal
Gallagher had a total meeting of the minds. They got along
great.”
    Mom hugged me again, then hugged Grandpa.
“Okay, now share all the details. When does she start? What are the
hours?”
    “We’ll wait a little bit for your mom and
Autumn,” Grandpa said. “If Sierra’s happy, then your momma can’t
whack me upside the head.”
    “She won’t anyway,” Mom said. “Stewart Falls
and Centennial are both impressive, but like Mom said, those kids
were intimidating. She didn’t think Sierra would feel comfortable
at either school.”
    “She didn’t tell me that.” I stared at my
mother. “I thought her mind was made up.”
    “It was until she saw the two campuses,” Mom
said. “We’ll have to take her down to Marysville to visit Lincoln
High. Now, what does the school look like? Do the students wear
uniforms? Tell me what you can while we put dinner on the
table.”
    After supper, I called Vicky and Robin. They
were majorly thrilled when they heard I was coming to their school.
I’d start right after winter break when their new semester began.
It would take some juggling for me to meet Robin every day, but she
said I could carpool with her to school. I liked both of her
parents and if I gave her dad money for gas, he’d be totally cool
with one more girl in the car. Robin told me if I played my cards
right, he’d even pay for my morning mocha the way he did hers and
Vicky’s.
    Since it was a half-day tomorrow, they
promised to come out to the barn and then they could help me choose
my classes from the schedule Principal Gallagher gave me. When I
finished talking to them, I headed back to the kitchen. I found
Grandma making fudge while Mom and Autumn frosted cookies. Grandpa
was in charge of sprinkles.
    “Vicky and Robin are majorly thrilled,” I
said. “We’re going to have so much fun at Lincoln. If you want to
see the school, Grandma, we’ve got to go early.”
    “I can do early,” Grandma said. “We’ll get
you out of Mount Pilchuck and enroll you in Lincoln High in the
morning. Then, we can go out for brunch and go shopping.”
    “Okay, but we’ll have students here about two
in the afternoon,” I said, “so we have to be back to make
money.”
    “A girl after my own heart,” Grandpa
announced. “She knows the hay-dealer comes first.”
    * * * *
    I was grooming Nevada when Robin and Vicky
arrived the next afternoon. After a pause to feed carrots to Prince
Charming, Robin arrived at my horse’s door.