Stardust Stables: Free Spirit

Stardust Stables: Free Spirit — page 5 — Fantastic horses Alisa added Yeah the horses said Kellie with a sigh gazing at Dylan taking a drink from the cool clear creek When you think about it life really doesn’t get much better Don’t you just thank your lucky stars Kellie asked Dylan Stars were on her mind She had gotten out of bed at midnight unable to sleep put on her jeans T-shirt and boots then walked out to the quiet meadow A million stars twinkled and a crescent moon shone Spotting her approach Dylan had come up to where she perched on the fence He pushed his nose against her shoulder nudging her so hard that she almost fell backward onto the dirt track that went around the meadow

Stardust Stables: Free Spirit — page 6 — Hey quit that she said with a laugh Here I am talking about how lucky we are to be doing what we’re doing and you’re not even listening Dylan nuzzled up more gently this time That’s better I mean look at the stars See the Milky Way And Orion And that mountain over there that’s Clearwater Peak No not that way this way She looped her arm around Dylan’s neck and turned his head in the right direction The one that’s shaped like a giant Egyptian pyramid It was a view she’d known all her life At 14,000 feet Clearwater Peak was visible from the home in Colorado Springs she shared with her mom and dad and her fellow-stunt-rider brother Tom She knew all the hiking trails through the Clearwater National Forest the picnic spots and the camping grounds Best of all though were the white-water rapids racing

Stardust Stables: Free Spirit — page 7 — between granite boulders alternating with stretches of the cold clear winding water of the South Platte River This is going to sound stupid she murmured her arm still looped around Dylan’s neck But you know how this night sky makes me feel He stood perfectly still ears pricked gazing toward the distant peaks I look up at the stars and I feel small she whispered We’re just tiny specks you and me Dylan turned his beautiful head toward her his eyes like dark pools But that’s okay she continued It means two things one we’re almost invisible and two we’re totally free The next day Saturday was a lazy day at Stardust Stables

Stardust Stables: Free Spirit — page 8 — Hey guys Lizzie and Jack gave us all the morning off Tom announced at breakfast with his usual mischievous grin Except for cleaning tack hosing down saddle blankets and taking alfalfa out to the meadow Zak added with a grimace Cool no scooping poop This was what pleased Ross the most Leaving the horses out in the meadow meant that the corral would stay poop-free all day long Like all the riders at Stardust Ross loved the training and the camaraderie but the chores Not so much Only Kellie was unhappy there were new stunts she wanted to try out with Dylan That was until Becca showed up with an idea What do you say we saddle up and take the horses along the Jeep trail Becca suggested to the girls I want to try cross-country loping through the pines trees along the ridge

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