Horse-Sitters by Bonnie Bryant

with a paper clip Red found in his pocket.
    At dinner that night, Stevie ate ravenously. Working so hard for the past few days had given her quite an appetite. Naturally, her brothers had noticed and started teasing her about it.
    “Hey, Chad, did you hear about the world pea shortage?” Alex asked his brother, staring at Stevie.
    “No,” Chad said, looking up from his plate.
    “Well, you will—if Stevie keeps eating this way,” Alex said.
    Stevie glared at him. “Hey, Alex, guess what your pea brain looks like,” she mumbled around a mouthful of half-chewed peas. She started to open her mouth wide to give him a good view of the contents.
    “Stevie! Please,” scolded Mrs. Lake.
    “Sorry, Mom,” Stevie said after swallowing. “I guess I’m a little tired.”
    “Well, I can certainly understand why,” Mr. Lake said. “You girls have been working hard these past few days.” Stevie had already told her family about The Saddle Club’s latest project. Her parents had been impressed by all the work Stevie and her friends were doing, and her brothers had been even more impressed by how much money the girls were making.
    Stevie nodded vigorously. “We’re exhausted,” she said, giving her parents a piteous look. “See? I can barely lift my fork.” She let her hand go limp, dropping a forkful of peas and potatoes back onto her plate.
    “Poor baby,” Mrs. Lake said sympathetically. “It really does sound like you girls have taken on a lot of responsibility.”
    “We have,” Stevie said. “And it’s awfully tiring. All I want to do after dinner is fall into bed.” She yawned. “
Right
after dinner.”
    “Hey, no way,” protested Michael, Stevie’s youngest brother. “It’s her turn to clear the table. I did it last night.”
    “Stevie,” Mr. Lake said. “If you’re that tired, you can hit the sack early—right after you finish clearing the table.”
    Stevie frowned. “Couldn’t you make one of
them
do it tonight? I’ll make it up later in the week, I promise. I’ve just been working so hard today …”
    “We understand, Stevie,” Mrs. Lake said. “But just because you’ve taken on more duties at the stable doesn’t mean you can forget about the ones you have at home. And that goes double for your schoolwork, by the way. Have you done your homework yet?”
    “Um, well …” Stevie suddenly remembered somethingabout a one-page English essay she was supposed to write this weekend. And hadn’t her math teacher said something about some word problems? “Not exactly all of it, yet.”
    “Not exactly?” Mrs. Lake repeated.
    “Well, not exactly any of it,” Stevie replied, stifling a yawn. “I’ll do it … as soon as I clear the table.”
    “That’s my girl,” said Mr. Lake.
    “Why should she bother with homework?” Chad said, grinning. “Soon she’ll be so rich she won’t ever have to go to school again.”
    “Yeah,” Alex put in. “She can buy the whole school if she wants to. Although if I were her, I’d rather buy a boat. Or maybe a motorcycle.”
    “Or a mansion!” Michael suggested excitedly. “With a pool table and a bowling alley!”
    “That’s enough, boys,” Mrs. Lake said sternly. “I think it’s time to change the subject.”
    The rest of the family started talking about other things, but her brothers’ words had set Stevie thinking. She rested her head on one arm and stared down at the remains of her peas. Yes, this weekend had been exhausting, but it would all be worth it, wouldn’t it? Soon Belle would have her new bridle. And after this week was over, maybe The Saddle Club would get more horse-sitting clients. Maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to take on so many at once next time, but school would be out soon and the girls would have plenty of free time. If they had even one client per week, they would be rolling in money before the summer was out. Stevie was too tired to figure out exactly howmuch money, but she knew it would be plenty.