Sonrise Stable Read online

  Jessie scrambled down the stack of hay again and flicked the lights on. The others watched as Jared tied a knot in the line near his hands and another larger one near the bottom for his feet. He moved to the front of the stack of hay and jumped out. After an initial drop of a few feet, he swung back and forth down the aisle.

  “Oh wow! That was fun!” Jared slid hand over hand down the rope and dropped to the ground. “You guys gotta try it!”

  Rosie was next. “Stand over there, in case I aim wrong.” She pointed across the aisle to Scamper’s stall.

  “Yeah, right,” Jared said. “So you can crash into me?” But he went ahead and stationed himself in front of the stall door.

  Rosie looked down, turned to what she thought was the right angle, and then jumped. There was an initial free fall as she dropped from the tall stack of hay. The jolt, after the slack in the rope played out, almost caused her to lose her grip, but she held on. She found the lower knot with her feet, which relieved the pressure on her arms, then she was able to relax and enjoy swinging back and forth.

  “That is fun!” She let go of the rope, dropped to the floor, and ran immediately to the haystack. “I want to do it again.”

  When they all had their fill of swinging, Rosie got out the Horse-opoly game. “Make sure you keep all the pieces on the sleeping bags. If we drop these little playing pieces in this hay, we’ll never find them again.”

  “And the horses might eat them,” Jessie held up her small horseshoe playing piece. “That would be hard on their teeth!”

  Several hours into the game, Carrie had purchased most of the horses and owned many barns and stables.

  “You’ve been practicing this, haven’t you?” Jared accused her.

  “No.” Carrie shook her head. “I’ve never played it before. Oh, by the way, you just landed on my stable.” She held out her hand. “You owe me two hundred dollars.”

  Jared groaned and tossed his last hundred-dollar bills at her.

  Jessie rubbed her eyes. “This game is boring.”

  Jamie elbowed her sister. “You only think it’s boring because you’re losing.”

  “No one can beat Carrie now,” Lauren said. “Why don’t we quit and get some sleep? I’m sure Grandma has a lot planned for us to do tomorrow.”

  They packed up the game, and everyone stretched out on top of their sleeping bags.

  Rosie wiggled around until she found a position where she wasn’t being poked by a stalk of hay or someone’s elbow. This was only the first day of Cousins Camp, but she didn’t see how it could get much better. Rosie switched the lantern off. She could hear the twins breathing heavily already. A horse moved around in the stall below, but she could no longer see either of them. A mosquito buzzed around her face, and she swatted it away.

  Suddenly she heard a strange hissing sound behind her. Without looking back, she said. “Jared, knock it off. I’m trying to get to sleep.”

  “What?” Jared asked sleepily.

  Her cousin sure didn’t give up easily. She turned around to face him. “You can’t fool me. I know you’re trying to scare me. Stop making that weird noise.”

  “What noise?”

  SSSS!

  This time the sound was louder. Rosie gulped.

  “It’s probably one of Grandma’s cats,” Jared said.

  “Katy and Jemimah would never hiss at us.” Rosie grabbed a flashlight and aimed it at the back wall. She tracked the light along the wall where the sloping roof met the top row of hay bales. She’d almost given up when the light suddenly revealed an ugly creature in the corner with glowing eyes and bared teeth. The animal flicked its tail, opened its mouth wide, and hissed again.

  “Aagh!” Rosie screamed and dropped the flashlight. Her heart thumped as she climbed over Carrie. She scrambled over the others who were between her and the way down from the hay.

  “What? What’s going on?” Carrie asked.

  “There’s a wild animal over there!” Rosie flung her arm in the direction of the wall behind her, but kept moving forward.

  If they had been asleep before, the cousins were definitely awake now—and all trying to climb down the stack of hay at once.

  Rosie waited for everyone to make it to the bottom, then she ran down the aisle to the front of the barn. The kids sprinted through the darkness to the house, entering through the laundry room door.

  The ruckus apparently woke Grandma in the next room. She stumbled into the hallway, rubbing her eyes. “What are you all doing back inside?”

  “There’s a wild animal in the barn!” Rosie explained breathlessly. “It was hissing at us and looked like it was ready to attack. Should we wake Dad up? It might hurt the horses.”

  “Where was it?” Grandma blinked sleepily.

  “On top of the hay, by the back wall,” Rosie explained.

  “What color was it?” Grandma asked between yawns.

  “Kind of grayish, and it had huge teeth!”

  “How big?”

  Rosie frowned. “Its teeth?”

  Grandma shook her head. “No. The animal. How big was the animal?”

  “I don’t know.” Rosie shrugged. “About Jemimah’s size, I guess.”

  Grandma laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” Rosie was surprised that her grandmother wasn’t concerned for the horses’ safety.

  “Sounds like a possum. That’s about the only thing that would be up there, other than a raccoon. There’s not much danger of a possum attacking the horses,” (1) Grandma said. “I don’t suppose you brought your pillows over with you?”

  The kids looked at each other and shook their heads.

  “Go on upstairs and get some sleep. Quietly. No need to wake the whole family.” Grandma turned to go back to bed.

  Rosie allowed the others to go ahead of her. She watched as they tiptoed up the stairs.

  “Haven’t you ever seen a possum before?” Jared hissed.

  “What? You were scared too,” Rosie said in a loud whisper.

  “If you’re so smart, why didn’t you tell me it was a possum?”

  “I barely saw it. You’re the one who screamed like a girl and scared everyone half to death.”

  “I am a girl!” Rosie glared at her cousin.

  At the top of the stairs, the girls turned left, and Jared went right.

  Boys. Rosie sighed. They think they know everything.

  1 Possums may transmit the disease EPM (Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis) to horses if the horse’s feed is contaminated by possum waste products.

  Chapter 15

  Barrels and Barn Painting

  When the kids tromped down the stairs to breakfast the next morning, Eric greeted them with a big smile. “Come on and have a seat! Grandma’s prepared a special dish. I think you’ll like it.”

  “Mmm!” Everything smelled delicious. Rosie’s mouth began to water. She could use a good breakfast after last night. Jared had made fun of her again that morning before they came downstairs. He blamed her for ruining their campout.

  Grandma carried a large, covered pot to the table and set it on a hot pad.

  Eric removed the lid and looked inside. “It’s possum stew!” He slapped his knee and laughed so hard Rosie thought he might fall off his chair. Soon all the adults were laughing with him.

  “D-a-a-d! It’s not funny. That animal was creepy!” Rosie frowned and plunked herself down at the end of the table as far away from her father as she could get. She had never seen him laugh like that.

  Grandma placed a large serving spoon in the pot. “No possum stew, but how about some oatmeal?”

  Kristy and Lisa added plates of pancakes, eggs, and bacon to the table.

  “We’ll have Jonathan ask the blessing this morning,” Grandma said. “Eric doesn’t seem to be capable of praying right now.”

  Eric did his best to stop laughing. Rosie peeked at him during the prayer and saw him wiping tears from his eyes. She didn’t understand what was so funny about a possum.


  After Jonathan prayed, Grandma said, “Help yourselves, kids. Today’s agenda includes barrel racing and barn painting.”

  “We’re going to race barrels?” Carrie whispered to Rosie.

  At first Rosie thought her friend was joking. “Yes, haven’t you ever done that before? Someone rolls the barrel, then you run and try to beat it.”

  Carrie shook her head. “No. Is it hard?”

  Rosie smiled. “I’m just kidding. You’ll see. You run around the barrels on horseback.”

  “Oh! That makes more sense.”

  Although Rosie knew what it was, she had never tried it. Jared and the twins barrel raced, so everyone must be using their three horses today.

  After breakfast, Julie led the way to the barn. “This morning we’ll use Patches, Pearl, and Scamper to teach you how to barrel race.”

  What? Did her aunt mean to say Scout instead of Scamper? “My horse doesn’t know how to barrel race!” Rosie protested. This day was not getting off to a good start. What was Aunt Julie thinking, using Scamper for barrel racing?

  Julie was unfazed. “You’re right. Scamper doesn’t know how to barrel race—and neither do you. I’ll use him to show you how we start training barrel horses by first walking and then trotting the pattern.”

  Jared made a face at Rosie and ran to set up three large barrels. The girls helped Julie saddle the horses and lead them to the arena. Since Julie’s kids already knew how to barrel race, they acted as her assistants.

  Rosie was selected to go first. She mounted Scamper and guided him toward the starting line at the entrance of the arena. She stopped and looked at the barrel on her left, then shifted in her saddle, and glanced at the other one on the right. “Which way do I go, Aunt Julie?”

  “You’re allowed to start in either direction. Most people do the right barrel first. Ride to the left of that barrel and circle to the right. Then stay to the right of the next barrel, and circle it to the left. After that go all the way down and circle the farthest barrel. Turn left on that one, also. To finish, come straight down the middle back to where you started from. The pattern looks kind of like a cloverleaf.”

  Rosie walked Scamper through the pattern the first time, then repeated it at a trot. The pony made large, wide circles around the barrels, especially at the trot. In order to have a fast time, it was important for the horse to circle tightly around each barrel. It was okay for now though. Scamper was still learning. Maybe someday he would become an expert barrel racer.

  After each of the kids had taken a few turns practicing the pattern at a walk and trot, Julie asked, “Does anyone want to try Pearl at a canter? She knows how to barrel race already, but she won’t go too fast unless you really push her.”

  Carrie and Lauren looked at each other. Rosie could tell they were both afraid to try, so she volunteered. “I’ll do it.”

  “Hold her back a little,” Julie instructed as Rosie mounted Jamie’s horse. “And—hold on to the horn.”

  Was Jared watching her? Rosie hadn’t held on to the horn since she first started riding, and she didn’t want her cousin to think she was a beginner. He wasn’t looking her way, so Rosie grabbed the horn with her left hand and steered Pearl with her right.

  Pearl cantered toward the first barrel. It was a smooth, comfortable canter, which made Rosie wonder why Julie had told her to hold on. When they came closer to the barrel, Rosie wasn’t sure what to do, but it didn’t matter—Pearl knew. The horse dug her hooves into the sandy arena and made a sudden, sharp turn to the right, so close that Rosie felt her knee graze the barrel.

  Pearl could sure turn fast! Now Rosie understood why Julie had told her to hold on. She gripped the horn more tightly, and a huge smile spread across her face. This was fun! She was little more than a passenger as Pearl continued the pattern to the second barrel, then the third, and turned for home. Rosie encouraged the mare to go faster and was thrilled by the horse’s burst of speed.

  “Well, what do you think?” Julie asked as Rosie stopped back at the starting line. “Ready to start barrel racing Scamper?”

  Rosie nodded enthusiastically and hopped off Jamie’s horse. The excitement of barrel racing erased the bad mood that had been growing since the possum incident the night before.

  “Oh no you don’t,” Grandma objected. “You’re not turning Scamper into a barrel racer—at least not for a few more years. I’ve seen too many horses ruined by contesting them too early.”

  “I agree,” Julie said. “He’s not ready yet, but give him a few more years, and he could be good at it.” She nodded to Jessie. “The twins are going to demonstrate how fast these old Paints can go.”

  Grandma looked around. “Who has the stopwatch?”

  Jared pulled it from his pocket and handed it to her. Grandma positioned herself at the starting line, and the kids lined up outside the fence to watch Jessie warm up on Patches.

  When Jessie was ready, Julie yelled, “Go!”

  Grandma immediately clicked a button on the stopwatch. Patches kicked up sand in the arena as she sped toward the first barrel. She whipped around it with Jessie yelling crazily, urging her to go faster.

  “Wow!” That was much faster than she and Pearl had gone. Jessie stuck to her horse like a burr. Rosie had a new respect for her cousin. She would have to stop bringing up how much younger Jessie was. With the head start she had on barrel racing, it would be hard for Rosie to catch up.

  Grandma clicked the stopwatch at the precise moment Jessie crossed the finish line. “Twenty point seven seconds!”

  Jamie was up next on Pearl. Patches and Pearl were equally fast. This time, though, Jamie finished two tenths of a second faster than Jessie.

  “Good job,” Jessie congratulated her sister.

  Rosie blinked. She had expected Jessie to be angry that Jamie had beaten her, but she was being a good sport about it.

  Grandma waved them all toward the barn. “You can ride again tonight, but right now my old barn is long overdue for a fresh coat of paint. After you put the horses up, run to the house and change into your work clothes.”

  ***

  The weathered, white barn was not very big, as far as barns go, but it served Grandma’s purposes well. She had enough room for her own horses and had occasionally boarded horses for friends over the years. The two stalls opposite Scamper and Kezzie were now used as hay storage. That way she no longer had to climb the ladder to the hayloft. Rosie and Carrie enjoyed pushing bales down from the loft for Grandma when her supply below ran out. Rosie hadn’t noticed it before, but now that she looked more closely, the barn could definitely use a fresh coat of paint.

  Everyone split into groups to work on different sides of the barn. Rosie and Carrie grabbed a paint bucket and brushes and walked to the front where they found Jessie squatting down, pulling tall grass and weeds away from the lower boards of the wall.

  Rosie set the bucket down and dipped her brush carefully into it.

  Carrie stood watching the other two as if she was unsure what to do. “You’re good at barrel racing.”

  Rosie didn’t think Carrie knew which twin she was talking to, but it didn’t matter. They were both good.

  “Thanks.” Jessie looked up. “It’s fun.”

  “Too bad Jamie beat you.” Rosie couldn’t resist teasing her cousin, and she wanted to let Carrie know which twin they were working with.

  Jessie threw the weeds in her hand at Rosie.

  Carrie splashed white paint on the wall, slapping the brush from side to side. “I like Cousins Camp. It’s even fun working, because we’re doing it together.”

  Rosie nodded. “I know. The work is more fun than I thought it would be when Grandma first told us about it.”

  Carrie dipped her brush deeply into the bucket, and globs of paint dripped from it. When Jessie stood up, Carrie took a quick step toward her and brushed paint down one of the girl’s arms.

  Jessie squealed and leaped back. “Hey, why did you do that? You’re supposed to
paint the wall—not me!”

  “Oh?” Carrie laughed. “Sorry, but it’s not nearly as bad as raw egg in your hair.”

  Jessie stared at her arm and sputtered.

  Rosie and Carrie laughed and ran to the other side of the barn before Jessie had time to avenge herself. Water fights were fun, but a paint fight was not anything Rosie wanted to be part of.

  When the painting project was finished that afternoon, Grandma stood back and marveled at the gleaming, white barn. “You’ve all done a great job! I don’t remember it looking this good when it was brand-new.”

  ***

  On Wednesday, Jared helped the men repair the pasture fences while the girls saddled up and rode around the back of the property, through the woods and along the creek.

  That afternoon they packed the trucks and trailers with the camping equipment, tack, and supplies they would need for their trail ride the following day. The girls gathered things from their room to carry to the truck.

  Rosie couldn’t believe that Carrie had never been camping or on a trail ride before. “Here. Take your sleeping bag.”

  “Who will be in our tent?” Carrie asked.

  “All of us girls. You, me, Lauren, Jessie, and Jamie.”

  Carrie frowned. “I hope Jessie doesn’t bring any paint.”

  “Or eggs!”Rosie started out the bedroom door. “Maybe you two are even now.”

  Carrie followed her down the stairs. “And what do we do with the horses? Is Scamper staying in the tent with us?”

  Rosie rolled her eyes. “The horses will be tied to picket lines. You’ll see when we get there.”

  They ran to catch up with Grandma, who was on her way to the barn. Rosie counted in her head. “Grandma, we have thirteen people but only six horses.”

  “They have horses to rent at the camp,” Grandma explained. “You kids will each ride your own, except Carrie will take Scout so Lauren can ride Kezzie, and Jared will use a rental.”

  “Your mom and dad are riding with us?” Carrie said. “I’ve never seen them on horses before.”

  “Rosie’s mom is an excellent rider,” Grandma said.