Read Blue Ribbon Summer for Free Online Page B

Like the movie.”
    â€œYou mean the book?” Paige said. “ Misty of Chincoteague . I read that when I was younger—it takes place near here. And it’s totally based on a true story. Morgan told us she went to watch them swim across the water once, remember?”
    Brooke had no idea who Morgan was. Probably another good friend she didn’t know. “Right,” she said. “That’s where I got Foxy. We went to the pony penning and bought her at the auction.”
    â€œReally? I never heard of anyone doing that.” Paige smiled. “Well, except in the book, I mean.”
    â€œChincoteagues are kind of a rare breed, right?” Hannah put in. “Was your pony really expensive?”
    Brooke hesitated, not sure how to answer that. Foxy had seemed expensive to her, but she had a feeling these girls might have a different definition of the term.
    â€œUm, not really,” she said.
    Luckily, the others didn’t seem interested in the details. They headed out of the bunkhouse and back over to the barn, arriving just in time to meet Robin as she led Foxy inside. Brooke was relieved to see that her pony seemed calmer. Foxy was walking obediently at Robin’s side, looking with interest at the stalled horses on either side of the aisle.
    â€œPerfect timing,” Robin said when she saw Brooke. “Foxy is feeling better about things now, I think. You can take her to her stall and let her relax for a while.” Sheglanced at Paige. “Show her the empty stall next to Snow.”
    Foxy was going to stay in a stall? Somehow Brooke hadn’t been expecting that. She took the lead from Robin, who hurried off down the aisle.
    â€œCool, Snow is my horse—we’ll be neighbors!” Paige said brightly. “Come on, it’s this way.”
    Brooke bit her lip and glanced at her pony. Foxy had never been shut in a stall in her life. The only time the mare had ever spent the night indoors was the previous fall, when a hurricane had passed over the peninsula and she’d gone to stay with the neighbors’ draft horses in their big, open barn. How would she handle being stuck in a small stall, all by herself?
    Maybe it will be fine, Brooke told herself. She didn’t mind being in the trailer, and that’s even smaller, right?
    Paige led the way to an empty stall. Next door was a tall, elegant gray mare with a short mane. “That’s Snow,” Livi informed Brooke.
    â€œShe’s pretty.” But Brooke wasn’t focused on Paige’s horse. She held her breath as she led Foxy into the empty stall beside Snow’s and let her loose. Foxy stood there for a moment, andBrooke quickly let herself out and shut the door.
    â€œWant us to give you a tour of the rest of the farm?” Paige suggested. “We could show you where—”
    She was interrupted by a loud whinny as Foxy leaped forward, stopping just short of the stall door. The pony shoved her head out into the aisle, her eyes rolling and her nostrils flared. Brooke reached out to pat her, but the mare whirled away.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with her?” Hannah wondered as Foxy spun in a circle before returning to the door.
    Paige shrugged. “She’s new here, that’s all.”
    â€œMaybe,” Brooke said. “Um, or maybe it’s because she’s not used to being in a stall.”
    Livi turned to stare at her. “What do you mean?”
    Brooke chewed her lower lip as she watched her frantic pony. “She lives in a field with a run-in shed. I never shut her in. I never had a reason to before.”
    â€œReally?” Hannah sounded surprised. “Huh. Vegas would die if I forced him to live outside. He loves his cozy stall.”
    Foxy whinnied again and kicked the wall. Several of the other horses nickered or snorted in response. A moment later Robin returned, looking concerned.
    â€œEverything all right?” she asked.
    â€œI’m