planning to take a well-earned break I’m guessing so was his rider out of this world Kami reminded Kellie In the few short weeks since she’d joined the junior stunt-riding team at Stardust she’d met lots of talented riders but none with Kellie’s sheer gutsy determination Kellie grinned and took a swig from her can of Coke I’d be nothing without him she said modestly That’s true of all of us Hayley didn’t beat around the bush She and Cool Kid Alisa and Diabolo Kami and Magic Kellie and Dylan great stunt riding relied on perfect teamwork between horse and rider So what jobs are next Kellie wondered loosening her wavy brown hair from its braid She looked out across the empty corral toward the meadow where the horses grazed in the evening sun
There aren’t any said Alisa Earlier that day she had overheard stable-owner Lizzie Jones talking on the phone to various contacts in the movie business Lizzie’s working really hard to get new contracts but right now there’s nothing happening Hayley sighed at the gloomy news especially since she was the only girl rider who hadn’t managed to secure a contract so far this summer but Kellie refused to be downhearted Hey she said You can bet your life that the next job is just around the corner Meanwhile look at what we’ve got right in front of our noses She spread her hands and invited the other girls to take in the view Beautiful sky and mountains Hayley agreed A bunch of great buddies Kami said Her new friends meant the world to her and she wanted to make sure they knew it
Fantastic horses Alisa added Yeah the horses said Kellie with a sigh gazing at Dylan taking a drink from the cool clear creek When you think about it life really doesn’t get much better Don’t you just thank your lucky stars Kellie asked Dylan Stars were on her mind She had gotten out of bed at midnight unable to sleep put on her jeans T-shirt and boots then walked out to the quiet meadow A million stars twinkled and a crescent moon shone Spotting her approach Dylan had come up to where she perched on the fence He pushed his nose against her shoulder nudging her so hard that she almost fell backward onto the dirt track that went around the meadow
Hey quit that she said with a laugh Here I am talking about how lucky we are to be doing what we’re doing and you’re not even listening Dylan nuzzled up more gently this time That’s better I mean look at the stars See the Milky Way And Orion And that mountain over there that’s Clearwater Peak No not that way this way She looped her arm around Dylan’s neck and turned his head in the right direction The one that’s shaped like a giant Egyptian pyramid It was a view she’d known all her life At 14,000 feet Clearwater Peak was visible from the home in Colorado Springs she shared with her mom and dad and her fellow-stunt-rider brother Tom She knew all the hiking trails through the Clearwater National Forest the picnic spots and the camping grounds Best of all though were the white-water rapids racing
