and climbed into her sleeping bag.
A good night’s rest will do us both a world of good
. She stayed awake long enough to turn off the solar lamp. A moment later she closed her eyes and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.
“U GGHHH ,” L ISA GROANED as she smoothed a saddle blanket on Calypso’s back. “I can’t believe all these people are here to ride this morning. I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“Me neither,” said Stevie, who was brushing Patch in the next stall. “And all these riders look so bright-eyed and cheerful.”
“Right,” agreed Lisa. “They act like
they’ve
had a whole night’s sleep! How’s Patch this morning?”
“Steady as ever,” Stevie reported. “You’d never know there’d been a storm by looking at him. No after-rock band distress, either.”
“That’s good.” Lisa ran Calypso’s stirrups up. “At least he won’t be jittery when he gets ridden today.”She frowned suddenly. “Stevie, I’ve been thinking about that storm.”
“And?”
“And I think whatever weather system came here would’ve come through the mountains first. Carole must have been out in the middle of all that thunder and lightning last night.”
“Gosh,” said Stevie, her hazel eyes clouding with concern. “I hadn’t thought of that. But she’s with her dad. He’s a colonel in the Marine Corps, for Pete’s sake.”
“I know. But you never know what might happen. Let’s take extra-special care of Starlight today, just for Carole.”
“Okay,” said Stevie, fighting back another yawn. “That way we’ll keep ourselves busy and not worry so much, plus we’ll be doing exactly what we promised Carole we’d do!”
“R UN , D AD , RUN !” Carole cried. “We need water! We’re going to die of thirst!”
“Carole!” Colonel Hanson’s voice rang out. “Carole!”
“Huh?” Carole opened her eyes and blinked. She was surrounded on all sides by brilliant orange light. She sat up in her sleeping bag, perspiration dripping from her forehead.
Colonel Hanson laughed. “Wake up, honey. You were having a dream.”
Carole looked over at her father. “I dreamed we were in the desert, dying of thirst,” she said sheepishly.
“Well, it’s hot enough in this tent to feel like the desert.” Colonel Hanson sat up and checked his watch. “Good grief! No wonder it’s hot. It’s almost noon!”
“Wow.” Carole rubbed her eyes. “I guess we really slept in.” She looked over at her father’s leg. He’d slept with it propped up on two pillows, but the ice pack had fallen off in the night. “How does your ankle feel?”
Colonel Hanson moved it slightly, then grimaced with pain. “It’s not as swollen as it was last night, but it sure does hurt when I wiggle it.”
“If you can move it, then it probably isn’t broken,” Carole said, slipping out of her sleeping bag. “I guess the horse bandage and the ice were the right things to do.”
“I don’t think I could have found a better paramedic than you,” Colonel Hanson said. “I mean, curb service on horseback in the middle of the night after a thunderstorm?”
Carole giggled. “It was a pretty strange night.” She remembered her near miss with the lightning bolt. “Not one I’d like to repeat anytime soon.”
“How about we just kick back here today?” her father suggested. “I mean, there’s no point in cutting our trip short now, since we’ll be leaving tomorrow morning anyway. Let’s relax and enjoy the rest of our wilderness weekend.”
“Fine by me, if you’re sure you feel like it,” said Carole.
“Just set up one of those folding chairs with a stool close to the fire so I can issue orders to you all day long and I’ll be fine,” her dad said with a grin.
Carole opened the tent flaps and pulled one of the collapsible armchairs into the bright sunlight. She helped her father to his feet, and together they hobbled to the chair.
“Ah,” said Colonel Hanson as Carole elevated his leg with a
A good night’s rest will do us both a world of good
. She stayed awake long enough to turn off the solar lamp. A moment later she closed her eyes and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.
“U GGHHH ,” L ISA GROANED as she smoothed a saddle blanket on Calypso’s back. “I can’t believe all these people are here to ride this morning. I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“Me neither,” said Stevie, who was brushing Patch in the next stall. “And all these riders look so bright-eyed and cheerful.”
“Right,” agreed Lisa. “They act like
they’ve
had a whole night’s sleep! How’s Patch this morning?”
“Steady as ever,” Stevie reported. “You’d never know there’d been a storm by looking at him. No after-rock band distress, either.”
“That’s good.” Lisa ran Calypso’s stirrups up. “At least he won’t be jittery when he gets ridden today.”She frowned suddenly. “Stevie, I’ve been thinking about that storm.”
“And?”
“And I think whatever weather system came here would’ve come through the mountains first. Carole must have been out in the middle of all that thunder and lightning last night.”
“Gosh,” said Stevie, her hazel eyes clouding with concern. “I hadn’t thought of that. But she’s with her dad. He’s a colonel in the Marine Corps, for Pete’s sake.”
“I know. But you never know what might happen. Let’s take extra-special care of Starlight today, just for Carole.”
“Okay,” said Stevie, fighting back another yawn. “That way we’ll keep ourselves busy and not worry so much, plus we’ll be doing exactly what we promised Carole we’d do!”
“R UN , D AD , RUN !” Carole cried. “We need water! We’re going to die of thirst!”
“Carole!” Colonel Hanson’s voice rang out. “Carole!”
“Huh?” Carole opened her eyes and blinked. She was surrounded on all sides by brilliant orange light. She sat up in her sleeping bag, perspiration dripping from her forehead.
Colonel Hanson laughed. “Wake up, honey. You were having a dream.”
Carole looked over at her father. “I dreamed we were in the desert, dying of thirst,” she said sheepishly.
“Well, it’s hot enough in this tent to feel like the desert.” Colonel Hanson sat up and checked his watch. “Good grief! No wonder it’s hot. It’s almost noon!”
“Wow.” Carole rubbed her eyes. “I guess we really slept in.” She looked over at her father’s leg. He’d slept with it propped up on two pillows, but the ice pack had fallen off in the night. “How does your ankle feel?”
Colonel Hanson moved it slightly, then grimaced with pain. “It’s not as swollen as it was last night, but it sure does hurt when I wiggle it.”
“If you can move it, then it probably isn’t broken,” Carole said, slipping out of her sleeping bag. “I guess the horse bandage and the ice were the right things to do.”
“I don’t think I could have found a better paramedic than you,” Colonel Hanson said. “I mean, curb service on horseback in the middle of the night after a thunderstorm?”
Carole giggled. “It was a pretty strange night.” She remembered her near miss with the lightning bolt. “Not one I’d like to repeat anytime soon.”
“How about we just kick back here today?” her father suggested. “I mean, there’s no point in cutting our trip short now, since we’ll be leaving tomorrow morning anyway. Let’s relax and enjoy the rest of our wilderness weekend.”
“Fine by me, if you’re sure you feel like it,” said Carole.
“Just set up one of those folding chairs with a stool close to the fire so I can issue orders to you all day long and I’ll be fine,” her dad said with a grin.
Carole opened the tent flaps and pulled one of the collapsible armchairs into the bright sunlight. She helped her father to his feet, and together they hobbled to the chair.
“Ah,” said Colonel Hanson as Carole elevated his leg with a
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