No right here said Darcy Some horses moved into the old stables in the park Right over there She pointed My parents are happy Darcy said Now they won’t have to drive my sister so far Maddy’s stomach gave a little lurch of excitement Horses here Maddy and Mom turned over the sale to Darcy and her dad Maddy waved then grabbed Mom’s sleeve Mom come on said Maddy She pulled Mom in the opposite direction of the parking lot 10
Mads what are you doing asked Mom Where are we going Maddy dropped Mom’s sleeve and sprinted ahead To the stables For as long as she could remember Maddy had loved horses Even more than she liked dogs and cats She hardly ever got to see horses and she’d never ridden one Once at a fair she’d had a pony ride But that wasn’t the same She liked how big and wise horses seemed They were independent like cats and friendly too like dogs 11
Maddy dreamed of becoming friends with one special horse And she’d even get to take care of it Now there were stables right here close to home This could change everything Maddy hoped she could convince her parents to let her take horseback riding lessons Here they are she called The old wooden buildings came into sight The stables had been empty for years She ran to the fence enclosing a large yard and leaned against it Mom came up beside her 12
There was one horse in the pen It had black and white spots and big brown eyes The horse saw Maddy nickered softly and clopped over to her Oh look at her said Maddy Or is it a he It’s a she all right said a voice A man in cowboy boots walked out of the barn This is Nessie Here feed her this apple That’s how you get a horse to fall in love with you The man held out the apple Maddy looked at Mom who nodded 13
