Trail Ride Read Online Free PDF Page A

still asleep but had apparently decided that plastering Glory over her eyes was the best response to the bright sunshine and rowdy rooster’s chorus. Lisa rolled over to check on Kate. To her surprise the bed was not only empty, it was made!
    Lisa sat up abruptly. The air that had seemed so crisp and refreshing moments before suddenly felt chilly and uninviting. She yanked the covers up over her pajama top and forced herself into full wakefulness.
    Of course Kate’s up and gone
, she thought.
This is a dude ranch and everybody has morning chores.
A wave of guilt washed over her for her lazy city ways. She leaned over the side of her bed and spotted her new slippers. Wrinkling her nose distastefully, she picked one up. The red velvet monstrosities had her initials monogrammed onthe toes in gold thread: her mother’s idea of what the “best people wore.” She hated them. Taking careful aim, she tossed one at Carole’s feet.
    Carole muttered and rolled over, pulling her feet far under the covers, unknowingly presenting Lisa with her pajama-clad backside as a target.
    “Wakey, wakey,” Lisa called sweetly.
    Carole’s response was muffled by her pillow, but Lisa was fairly sure she had said something along the lines of “Just five more minutes, Dad.”
    Unable to resist the target, Lisa lobbed her other slipper at Carole’s defenseless posterior. She was delighted with her accuracy and the groan from her victim. “Rise and shine!” she bellowed.
    Carole faced her in a flash, sitting up stiffly and planting both bare feet firmly on the cold wood planking. “Lisa!” she cried with outrage. “I was still sleeping.”
    “Oooh, looks like somebody’s not a morning person,” said a voice from the doorway. Kate strolled in, carrying a tray.
    Carole rubbed her hands over her face. “Morning, Kate. Thanks, Lisa,” she added sheepishly. “I might have slept the whole morning away.”
    “Jet lag?” Kate inquired sympathetically. “A lot of our greenhorns experience that.”
    Lisa felt herself bristle and then realized their friend was merely teasing them. “I’m exhausted,” she said, throwing herself back on the pillow melodramatically. “What’s that? Room service?”
    Kate gave her a baleful look. “As a matter of fact, it is,” she said, putting the tray down on a table. “But don’t get used to it. Mom was shocked when I told her you weren’t out of bed two hours ago with the rest of the hands.”
    The smell of food coaxed Lisa from the comfort of her bed. Self-consciously she wrapped herself in her new blue bathrobe and hurried to the table. “Hot oatmeal and maple syrup. Mmmmmm.”
    “And homemade biscuits with gravy!” Carole cried with delight, joining her.
    Kate slid into an armchair next to the potbellied stove. “Cowboys have biscuits with every meal,” she said mournfully.
    “Don’t you like them?” Lisa asked around a mouthful of biscuit, butter, and gravy. The thought that her mother would have swooned at her bad manners somehow delighted her.
    “They were great,” Kate assured them. “Every day, for the first ten years of my life.”
    “Overkill,” Carole laughed as she generouslycovered her oatmeal with syrup. “Happens in everyone’s family.”
    “Look, don’t take too long eating,” Kate said. “I have the whole day planned. It’s a surprise. And you’ll need an extra T-shirt.”
    “Does this ‘something special’ involve riding?” Lisa asked hopefully.
    Kate rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you even need to ask. Get dressed and meet me at the corral. Only the paying customers get their horses saddled for them.”
    “I’ve got a couple of bucks,” Carole offered between mouthfuls.
    “That wouldn’t even pay for valet parking these days,” Kate said, lifting her nose in the air. “We do run a classy establishment, you know.” She got halfway through the door and turned around. “Hey, Lisa, what did your mom pack for you this time?”
    Lisa felt herself