Free Autumn Trail by Bonnie Bryant

family. I have a ton of stuff to do.”
    “You mean you told him you’d do all the work yourself?” Lisa said. “Are you crazy? You’ll never be able to do it. Besides, you can’t skip Thanksgiving dinner!”
    “I have to, Lisa,” Stevie said. “The horses need me. Thanksgiving is all about sacrifice and generosity, remember? Besides, I’ve got things to get ready.”
    “Get ready for what?” Lisa asked, instantly suspicious. “What are you up to?” She could always tell when Stevie was keeping something from her. And she knew that when that happened, it usually meant that Stevie was up to one of her schemes.
    “You’ll see,” Stevie said. “But right now I’ve got to get going. Just promise you’ll meet me at four, okay?” Withouteven waiting for an answer, Stevie dashed out Lisa’s bedroom door to the stairs, taking them two at a time.
    “Okay, I’ll be there,” Lisa called out after her. “But only if you promise me one thing in return.”
    “What is it?” Stevie called back from halfway down the stairs.
    “Check on Pepper for me,” Lisa said, hurrying out to the head of the stairs. “Make sure he’s feeling okay.”
    “Will do,” Stevie shouted as she disappeared through the Atwoods’ front door.
    Lisa sat down on the top step and sighed. She couldn’t wait for four o’clock. For one thing, she’d get to find out what Stevie was up to, and if Stevie was running true to form, whatever it was would probably be something fun.
    But more important, she’d be able to check on Pepper herself.
    A FEW MINUTES later Stevie was on her way to Pine Hollow. Lisa’s house was only a fifteen-minute walk from the stable, but today Stevie had to walk a little slower than she usually did. That was partly because the temperature had dropped below freezing again the night before and there were patches of ice everywhere. But it was mostly because she was dragging along her little brother Michael’s red wagon, and it was overloaded with a strange variety of things that wouldn’t make any sense at all to anyone but Stevie. She had already taken over anothersuch load when she’d gone to do the seven-thirty A.M. feeding that morning.
    When she arrived, Stevie left the wagon and its contents by the entrance to the indoor ring. Then she set to work, trying to do her chores as quickly as possible so she could move on to the more interesting task that was ahead of her. When she got to Pepper’s stall, she remembered her promise to Lisa and checked him over quickly. He looked a little tired, but seemed fine otherwise. She shrugged and gave him a pat on the nose as she left the stall, wondering what Lisa was so worried about.
    Finally, she finished everything and headed for the locker area of the stable. There was a large table there, across from the students’ cubbies, and with some effort Stevie managed to drag it to the indoor ring. Then she returned for two of the long benches that stood in front of the cubbies. When she had them set up in the ring on either side of the table, she stepped back and brushed off her hands, looking pleased.
    But there was no time to lose if she wanted to be ready by four. She set to work unloading Michael’s wagon, placing the contents on the ground beside the things she’d brought over earlier that day. First, though, she lifted off the bright-orange paper tablecloth she’d borrowed from Lisa’s mother, and which she had used to cover everything else in the wagon. She spread it on the table, noting with satisfaction that it was just the right size.
    When everything was unloaded, she opened the large bag containing the papier-mâché food that her school used every year in their Thanksgiving play. There was a giant turkey, only slightly worn-out in a few spots, along with corn, potatoes, and all kinds of other vegetables. It had taken Stevie some effort to track down where the fake food was and convince the teacher who had it to lend it to her. She had made Stevie promise