Dream Horse by Bonnie Bryant Page B

and picked up the cordless phone from the hall and brought it back into Lisa’s room. They listened together.
    “I’m here, Stevie,” Carole said brightly.
    “Are you okay?” Stevie asked immediately. “You sound funny.”
    “I’m fine,” Carole said, trying to sound as normal as possible. These days it wasn’t easy sounding normal around Stevie.
    “Okay, so here’s what happened in my dream. This horse is struggling someplace.”
    “Like it’s sick or something?”
    “Oh, no,” said Stevie. “Not at all. She’s struggling because she has to climb something. It’s really tough going. She’s climbing a mountain maybe. There are rocks everywhere, but she doesn’t see them. All she can see is that she’s got to get there. Somehow, she knows it’s really important.”
    “What is?” Lisa asked.
    “Whatever it is,” said Stevie. “I don’t know. I mean, nobody’s told me what’s important. I just know the horse knows.”
    “Wow,” said Carole. “That’s an exciting dream.”
    “I think I should start writing these things down,” said Stevie. “These dreams I’ve been having are good ones. Don’t you think it would make a good story? Nobody would believe it, of course. But dreams are dreams.”
    “That’s right,” Lisa said quickly. “Dreams
are
dreams. These are dreams, aren’t they?”
    “That’s what I said, didn’t I?” Stevie asked. There wasan edge to her voice, and Lisa knew she was pushing a little too hard. She didn’t want to upset Stevie, especially when there was so much she didn’t want to have to explain.
    “Of course,” Lisa said.
    “I sure wish I could be with you guys tonight. I’m tired of being sick. I’m even tired of being tired. I want to be well. I want to stop having strange dreams. Know what I think this is all about?”
    “What?” Carole asked.
    “I think my mind is so bored with being in bed all the time that it keeps on making up strange stuff.”
    “I’m sure you’re right,” said Carole, but she wasn’t sure at all.
    “Well, to keep me from having wild dreams, you guys have to tell me everything you’re doing. What are your plans for tomorrow?”
    “Oh, we’ll just go to Pine Hollow and hang around,” Carole said. “We’ll check on Belle for you.”
    “Thanks,” Stevie said. “And tell her I will get better and I will ride her really soon, okay?”
    “Deal,” Carole said.
    “And we’ll stop by tomorrow, too,” said Lisa. “Probably late in the day.”
    “Phil said he’d come by, too,” said Stevie. “Have you talked with him?”
    “Um, no, not, er, today,” said Lisa.
    “Of course you haven’t talked with him today,” Stevie said, almost snapping. “He’s been up in that glider with his uncle. The two of them have been having a wonderful time, and Phil hasn’t even had the consideration to give me a call to let me know that he’s all right. I have half a mind to call him right now.”
    “Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” Lisa said quickly.
    “Why not?” Stevie asked.
    “Well, it’s—I mean, probably if they were flying all day—um …”
    “It’s pretty late,” Carole said. “I bet those two were so tired they just fell asleep as soon as they got home.”
    “You’re probably right,” said Stevie. “I’ll call him in the morning.”
    “Um, Stevie?” Carole began.
    “No, I won’t,” Stevie said, correcting herself. “I don’t need to chase him down. If he wants to talk to me, his friend who is sick in bed, well, then he can just give me a call. I’m certainly not going to call him!”
    “Good idea,” said Lisa.
    “Good night,” Stevie said, and then she hung up.
    “Whew,” said Carole.
    “Definitely,” agreed Lisa.

L ISA AND C AROLE arose before dawn the next morning. They wanted to get to Pine Hollow early to look after Belle for Stevie and to take an early trail ride. Later in the day, the woods around Pine Hollow would be filled with other riders, a lot of them inexperienced. At