Read Hard Hat for Free Online Page B

minute’s trouble with him after that, and he spent the rest of his days with us out in the field.”
    Mrs. Reg strode toward the barn, then called back over her shoulder, “You girls better get in here! I think Maxi wants to get into Nickel’s stall!”
    Carole and Lisa dashed after the little girl and stopped her right before she unlatched the pony’s stall door. Nickel had a sweet nature, but he was still a lot bigger than Maxi.
    Lisa tucked the wiggling little girl under one arm and turned to Carole, who seemed in a hurry to get to the tack room.
    “What was that all about?” she asked, referring to Mrs. Reg’s story.
    “Maxi, of course,” said Carole.
    “You think she wants to jump a fence and go into the field?” Lisa asked.
    “Of course not,” said Carole. “She wants to ride!”
    “And you think it’s a good idea?” Lisa asked.
    “It’s not my idea,” said Carole. “It’s Mrs. Reg’s. Don’t you see?”
    And then Lisa did see. Maxi was just like the stallion. She’d be much happier if they let her do what she really wanted, which was to ride. And as long as they saw to it that she rode safely, she’d be much safer than when she was running around in schooling rings or trying to open stall doors.
    “Right!” said Lisa. “Sure she wants to ride. It’s in her blood. Anybody named Regnery would be happier on a horse than anyplace else, right?”
    “Right,” Carole agreed.
    It took the two of them just a few minutes to tack up Penny, the stable’s smallest pony. Maxi, seeming to sense that this was about her, sat patiently on a bale of hay and watched the girls work. Carole got a lead rope, then Lisa lifted the little girl and put her in the saddle, securing her riding helmet before settling her in. She adjusted the stirrups to their shortest length, which was exactly right for Maxi’s short legs. The look on Maxi’s face was pure joy when the pony began to move forward.
    Their first stop was at the stable’s good-luck horseshoe, where they showed Maxi how to touch it for luck. They each gave it a swipe, too, since the little girl’s safety was more in their hands than in her own. Maxi seemed oblivious to any possible dangers of riding. She held the reins as if she knew exactly what she was doing and waited for the girls to get Penny moving.
    It didn’t take long. Carole led the pony at a gentle walk while Lisa walked next to the saddle, being sure at every step that Maxi was secure in it. She needn’t have worried. Maxi behaved as if she’d been born to be in a saddle, which seemed about right when Lisa thought about it.
    They’d gone around the ring five times at a sedate walk and Maxi was showing no signs of wanting to stop when Deborah’s car pulled into the driveway.
    Neither Carole nor Lisa saw the car, but Maxi did.
    “Mommy!” she cried out.
    Lisa’s heart sank as she realized that she and Carole were letting Deborah’s daughter do something that Deborah might very well not approve of. Deborah wasn’t horse-crazy. She didn’t exactly hate horses, and she wasn’t as afraid of them as she had been when she first met Max, but she’d neverreally learned to love horses the way Max and Mrs. Reg did. Maybe it would have been a good idea for Lisa and Carole to get her permission before putting Maxi on Penny.
    Lisa and Carole looked over at Deborah. She stood by the open door of her car. Her face was pale with worry. Lisa was about to say something. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was going to say, but she was about to open her mouth when Maxi spoke for all of them.
    “Look at me!” she cried with delight.
    Deborah closed her mouth and sighed. She walked over to the young equestrienne.
    “Are you having a good time?” she asked.
    Maxi’s smile was all the answer anyone needed. The little girl kicked gently at the pony’s belly, getting her to move along at her easy walk.
    Deborah looked at Lisa and Carole. “Thanks, girls,” she said.
    “You’re welcome,” Lisa