Free Maddie’s Dream by Catherine Hapka

much money we’re talking about.” Maddie drummed her fingers on the paddock fence. “I’ll have to find out. In the meantime I can work on pulling together a down payment, and then figure out the rest from there.”
    â€œMaybe you could just ask your parents for the money,” Vic suggested. “Maybe they’d buy you Cloudy as a late birthday gift or something.”
    Maddie’s fingers froze. Oh, right—her parents. She’d been so busy formulating her new plan that she’d sortof forgotten about them. Including the part where she’d begged them to buy Cloudy for her past two birthdays and Christmases. And the answer had always been a firm no.
    â€œI can’t ask my parents,” she told the twins. “They say we can’t afford to own a pony.”
    â€œOh.” Val looked worried. “So what are they going to say if you buy her behind their backs?”
    â€œMaddie can worry about that when it happens.” Vic grinned. “Like I always say, sometimes it’s better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.”
    â€œYeah,” Maddie agreed. “And this is definitely one of those times.”
    She felt a bit troubled by the idea of going behind her parents’ backs. Still, what choice did she have? This could be the only way to save Cloudy from going back to the Richardsons. Not to mention saving herself from losing the best pony ever.

    Maddie was distracted as she wandered into her bedroom a little while later. Tillie was over by her dresser, applying lip gloss.
    â€œDad’s running late at work,” Tillie announced, smacking her lips together and then examining her face in the mirror from various angles. “But Nick’s supposed to pick me up to go to the mall in like five minutes. Can you watch Ry and Ty until Dad gets home?”
    â€œI guess.” Maddie kicked off her paddock boots. “Where are they?”
    â€œIn the den, playing video games.”
    Maddie smirked. “In that case, they don’t even need watching. They won’t move until Dad gets home and takes a cattle prod to them.”
    Tillie grinned. “Later.”
    â€œBye.” As her sister hurried out, Maddie flopped onto her bed and reached for her laptop. The twins had helped her brainstorm ways to earn money, but they hadn’t come up with many useful ideas so far.
    Her fingers flew over the keyboard, going through the familiar steps to log on to the Pony Post. Nina was super-creative, Brooke was crazy smart, and Haley was one of the most practical people Maddie knew. If anyone could help her come up some great moneymakingideas, it was the three of them. Of course, there was one problem—Maddie still hadn’t told them about the Richardson Situation.
    But mentioning that Cloudy might be sold—or even that Maddie wanted to buy her—would only bring a zillion questions, and Maddie didn’t have time for that. Not when the Richardsons could make an official offer to buy Cloudy at any moment. She could fill her friends in later, once Cloudy was safely hers.
    There were a few new posts from Nina and Brooke, but Maddie barely scanned them. She opened up a text box and typed fast.
    [MADDIE] Hi all! Anyone have ideas for ways for me to make some $$?
    [MADDIE] And don’t say babysitting, lol. I need something that’ll make me the big bucks fast.
    After she sent the posts, Maddie sat back, staring at the screen without really seeing it. There had to be a way for herto make some quick cash. But what? She was pretty sure her parents wouldn’t let her sell any internal organs. . . .
    She blinked as her computer chirped. A new post had already popped up on the screen below hers.
    [HALEY] Hi Maddie! Funny u should ask! My uncle just paid me to help him paint the barn. Not fun, lol, but I made enough to pay for another lesson w/my jumping coach.
    Maddie glanced around her room, studying the walls. Painting