Saddle Sore by Bonnie Bryant

she saw Emily lying across her bunk with her eyes closed, a picture of exhaustion.
    “Em, are you okay?” she asked. Since their first day, Emily seemed to have become used to spending long hours in the saddle and hadn’t been overly tired. Still, today had been a riding marathon.
    Emily opened one eye. “Do you think the Devines would care if I took my pillow into the ranch house and sat on it during dinner?” Shegrinned wryly. “I think I’m beginning to understand the meaning of the term
saddle sore
.”
    Lisa nodded. “Me too.”
    Carole looked up from her bunk, where she was trying to find one clean shirt to wear to dinner. “I saw these great cushiony fleece saddle covers—”
    “Don’t tell us,” Emily said. “Unless you saw four of them in the Devines’ tack room, I don’t want to hear a single word about them. I’ll just get envious.”
    Stevie had zipped into the bathroom when Lisa had left it. Now she came out, scrubbing her damp, clean hair with a towel. “Envious of what? Us? For getting to ride all the time?”
    Emily groaned and rolled over. “Oh, definitely,” she said. Her sarcasm was unmistakable. “I’m sure that’s it.”
    Stevie made a sound through her nose. Given that she and Stewball could be accepting Academy Awards right now for their wonderful, emotionally compelling performances in the historic Wild West Show, Emily ought to sound a little more grateful.
    Kate had gone to the ranch house to put on some clean clothes, but she came back to walkwith the girls to dinner. “Good news,” she said. “It’s ham and beans and cornbread, and lots of it.”
    They hustled out the door. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” Lisa said. “One thing about riding this much, it makes you hungry.” She stumbled over a root. “Ouch!” she said, rubbing her hip.
    “Are you okay?” Kate asked.
    Lisa grinned. “Ever heard the phrase
saddle sore?
”
    “
I
certainly know what it means,” Stevie offered. She laughed, and suddenly all of them were laughing. The tension that had built up during their afternoon ride disappeared.
    “I’d just like to point out,” Emily said, grinning, “that I’m walking faster than all of you.”
    “I’d say that we were walking slowly to keep you company,” Carole said, “except that it wouldn’t be true. I can’t move any faster.”
    “What happened to you being the worn-out one, anyway?” Stevie demanded.
    Emily shook her head. “I don’t know. I think maybe this trip has been good for me.”
    “You can say that again,” Lisa replied. “It’s been good for all of us.”
    “Ride, ride, ride,” Stevie muttered. Lisa whacked Stevie’s arm, and they all laughed.
    They went into the ranch house and sat down. Emily stowed her crutches beneath her chair, as always. “Hey,” she said, looking down at the place settings on the table, “are we expecting the honeymoon couples?”
    “Count again,” Mrs. Devine advised.
    “Monica!” Kate said, with a delighted smile, just as Monica and her parents appeared in the door. “Hi, Monica! Come sit by me!”
    Monica flushed, looking embarrassed and uncomfortable, but the soft smile she gave Kate was genuine. “Hi,” she said. She fumbled with her crutches and the back of her chair, and for a moment, after she sat down, she seemed too upset to look at anyone. But, Carole thought, she had come to dinner, and that was a major improvement. Maybe they would be able to get her on a horse after all.
    Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins fluttered around their daughter, looking anxious. “Let me take those for you, dear,” her mother said, reaching for her crutches.
    “Mom, I’m fine.” Monica let the crutches drop to the floor. “Please sit down.”
    “Yes, please, dinner’s ready,” Mrs. Devine said in a friendly voice. They all sat and began to eat, but for a moment there was silence at the table. No one seemed to know just what to say. Carole felt she ought to break the ice, but