“If we ever find Snowflake,” Finn said. “It’s too muddy here. I don’t even see the tracks anymore.”
“Look, there’s a clearing up ahead!” Ella said. “I bet they went that way!” She gave her horse a kick, and then Finn did, too.
“Oh brother,” Molly said. But this whole rescue mission was her idea. She tightened her grip on the reins and gave Dasha a little nudge with the heel of her boot. They followed Ella and Finn toward the clearing.
They all rode down a rocky path that led into a big open field filled with clover. Snowflake was all the way across the meadow. Alone.
“There she is!” Molly cried.
“Let’s go,” Finn said.
“Wait! We have to set the booby traps,” Ella reminded them.
The kids dismounted their horses. Ella had a lasso, so they used that to string up a couple of logs—perfect booby traps for Molly to duck under, when the time came to run away.
They were all set. Molly was ready to walk up to the cowboys and cry. She wasn’t playing a character, so she had to think of something sad from her own life. What made Molly sad? She got one question wrong on her spelling test. But she wasn’t really sad about that. And she hadn’t gotten what she wanted for her birthday. She wasn’t really sad about that, either. Just disappointed.
Molly fingered her friendship bracelet, thinking. Her friendship bracelet! She had no one to give it to. Now, that was sad! Molly felt tears start to form. She tiptoed forward and then—
“OW!” Molly cried.
“What happened?” Ella asked, her voice just above a whisper.
“I stubbed my toe on a tree root,” Molly whispered back.
“Shh,” Finn said. “Molly, you should—”
But before he could finish his sentence, there was a whooshing sound. A cowboy’s lasso fell around their shoulders. They were trapped!
“Got ’em!” one of the rogue cowboys cried.
He pulled them in closer. The kids kicked and screamed and tried to get loose. But it was no use. The lasso held them tight.
“Let’s see what we’ve got here, Chuck,” another one said. “Hey, I recognize these kids. They were with that Snowflake Ranch group.”
“Ah, how cute that they’d think they could come in here and get their cow back,” said Chuck. “That’s what you’re here for, aren’t you?”
Ella spit dirt out of her mouth. “Yes!” she said. “It’s not right for you to take something that doesn’t belong to you!”
The cowboys threw their heads back and laughed.
“What should we do with them, Butch?” Chuck asked.
“They’re too skinny to eat,” Butch said.
“You’d eat us?” Finn asked. His eyes widened in surprise.
The rogue cowboys ignored him. “Should we bring them back to EZ Cheezy and let the Cheez-master deal with them?” the third cowboy asked.
“Nah. Let’s just tie ’em to a tree and leave ’em,” Chuck said.
“But we’ll starve to death!” Molly cried.
The cowboys laughed again. Chuck dragged the kids back toward the line of trees. “Look at these,” he said to his fellow cowboys. “Booby traps.” He slipped a pocketknife through Ella’s lasso, and the log fell to the ground. “Where’d you learn to make these?” he asked the kids. “Preschool for cowboys?”
“We’re goners,” Finn whispered to his sister. “When I woke up this morning, I didn’t expect to die in Colorado.”
“Hey, Chuck,” the third cowboy said, “maybe we should let them go. They’re just little kids.”
“They found us once; they could find us again,” Butch said.
“Yeah,” Chuck agreed. “This cow is going to make us a fortune. Don’t throw away your millions saving these little weasels, Doc.”
Doc shook his head. He used his own lasso to help tie Ella, Molly, and Finn to the spruce. Across the clearing, Snowflake was eating grass, unaware that the kids had risked their lives to save her—and that they had failed.
“You’re not going to get away with this,” Ella said in a brave voice. “I’m sure my dad is already looking for us.”
“Our parents, too. They probably called the police!” Molly said. She hoped the men couldn’t tell that she was lying. She only lied in an emergency, and it might not even be a lie. If her parents had discovered she and Finn were missing, they would’ve made that call for sure.
“You think there are police out here who will come to rescue you?” Chuck asked. “That’s cute.”
“Let’s get going,” Butch said.
“Just a sec,” Doc said. “I want to tie them supertight.”
Finn had an itch on his back. Just his luck. He was tied up, and the itch was driving him crazy. Then he had an idea. An idea that was so unusual it just might work.
“Stop squirming!” Doc said.
But Finn didn’t listen. He fidgeted and moved his body against the scratchy bark of the trunk, using the tree as a back scratcher.
Suddenly, there was the shriek of sirens.
Doc jumped in surprise.
“We told you our parents called the police!” Finn said.
The cowboys scrambled to get on their horses. “Forget these kids, let’s get out of here,” Chuck yelled.
They left in a cloud of dust. Snowflake was still grazing in the field.
“Where are the police?” Ella asked.
“No police,” Finn said. “It’s my baseball video game. I remembered it was in my pocket. I figured that if I could get it turned on, the sound would scare those guys.”
“Wow,” Ella said. “You don’t have anything in your pocket that could untie us, do you?”
“No, sorry,” Finn said.
“What should we do now?” Molly asked.
“Let’s scream and hope my dad is looking for us, and that he hears us,” Ella said.
So that’s what they did. They yelled louder and longer than they ever had in their lives. All the while, Snowflake lazily ate grass. Finally, they heard voices in the distance. “We’re over here!” the kids cried. “Help!”
Roger rode up and quickly untied the kids from their tree. He gave Ella a big hug.
“Dad, we saved Snowflake!” Ella cried.
“But the rogue cowboys got away,” Molly said.
“No, they didn’t,” Roger said. “We found them. Turns out your old dad is good with a lasso, Ella. We tied them together, and we’re waiting for help to arrive.”
“Phew,” said Finn.
“Nice job, ranchers,” Roger said, tipping his hat. “Thanks to your help, Snowflake is safe. But I don’t want you ever wandering off without a grown-up again.”
“We won’t,” the kids promised.
“All’s well that ends well,” Roger said. “You did good work today.”
Work! Finn and Molly looked at each other with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. They half expected PET to show up right then.
But it didn’t.
“Y’all follow me now,” Roger said. “You’ve earned yourself a celebration!”
After a few more miles on the trail, they finally arrived at a clearing with picnic tables and— “Is that a dance floor?” Molly asked.
“What’s a dance floor doing in the middle of Colorado?” Finn asked.
“You’ll see,” Ella told them.
Helen was straightening trays of food on the tables. She walked over to Finn and Molly as the group rode up. She offered a hand to help the twins off their horses, but they were able to dismount on their own.
“Impressive,” she said. “I can see that you’ve learned a lot on your travels. Help yourself to fresh lemonade and treats.”
“How’d you get here so fast?” Molly asked her.
“Cliff and I rode without cows,” Helen explained. “It went much faster.”
The sound of music filled the air, and t
he kids’ heads swiveled toward a group of musicians at the edge of the clearing. They were wearing matching plaid shirts and playing fiddles and banjos.
“The band is doing a sound check,” Helen explained. “They’re almost warmed up!”
Ella, Molly, and Finn headed toward a table covered in a blue-and-white-checkered tablecloth. They poured glasses of lemonade and ate cheese sticks, mac and cheese, and miniature grilled cheese sandwiches, and they dunked pieces of bread and apples into a towering fountain of melted cheese. It was all made from Snowflake’s prized milk, and every bite tasted better than the last. The cheese was creamy and sweet with the slightest hint of clover. No wonder those EZ Cheezys wanted to steal Snowflake!
“Welcome, ranchers!” a voice boomed. “Let’s get this party started!”
Ella clapped her hands together excitedly. “It’s time for the square dance!” she cried. “The state dance of Colorado!”
“Colorado has a state dance?” Molly asked. “I didn’t know there was such a thing as state dances!”
“Looks like you don’t know everything about the United States,” Finn said.
“You’re right,” Molly said. She offered Finn a small smile. “I’m sorry I can be such a know-it-all.”
“You do know an awful lot about geography,” Finn said.
“But you knew how to scare off those rogue cowboys,” Molly said. “That was really smart.”
“Thanks,” Finn said.
“Plus, you know a lot about baseball,” she told him. “I’ll never give you a hard time about your game again.”
“Can I get that in writing?” Finn asked.
“You wish,” Molly said with a grin. She pushed her brother’s baseball cap down over his eyes.
Finn straightened his cap.
“Come on,” Ella called. “Let’s go!”
The kids ran to the dance floor. Helen explained that everyone had to stand in a square—four pairs per square. Helen and Cliff, Roger and Ella, Finn and Molly, and the man with the green shirt and his wife stood together.
“Now, we’ll start with a little do-si-do,” Helen said. “Ladies, stand at your partner’s right shoulder. He’ll circle around you. Then, gents, step back and let the ladies do the same.”
“I have a question,” Molly said, and Helen nodded for her to ask. “I get to keep my feet on the ground the whole time, right?”
“You sure do,” Helen said, laughing. “I promise.”
Molly glanced at her boots. “I’m still not sure about this,” she said.
“The caller will tell you what to do,” Helen assured her, nodding toward one of the guys in the band.
The music started up. “Bow to your partner. Bow to the corner. Wave to the folks across the square.”
Finn and Molly and all the others bowed and waved. Finn circled Molly, and Molly circled him. Before they knew it, they were do-si-do-ing, flutterwheeling, and a whole lot more.
Roger smiled at the kids, which made Finn and Molly feel slightly homesick for their own mom and dad.
But there wasn’t any time to think too hard about that, because the bandleader was shouting more instructions.
“All join hands and circle to the right, circle to the left!”
“Now promenade the square!”
Finn was a natural. He didn’t mess up any of the steps. It looked like he had been square dancing all his life. Molly did her best.
“Swing your partner round and round, swing ’em all around the town!”
“I’m so dizzy,” Molly said, knocking into Ella. “But this is really fun.”
“One last do-si-do!”
“We have to square dance back in Ohio,” Finn said.
After a while, the band announced it would be taking a quick break. The kids went to get lemonade refills.
“You guys are good for first timers,” Ella said. “I’m so glad you came to the Snowflake Ranch!”
Just then, Finn and Molly heard a faint honk in the distance. PET?
“And we’re back!” the bandleader called. “Grab your partner!” The banjo music started up again.
“Oh yay, it’s time to dance!” Ella leapt to her feet.
Molly fingered her friendship bracelet. “Wait, Ella. I want to give you something first. It’s a friendship bracelet.” She took it off her wrist and put it on Ella’s. “Now, we can be friends no matter what state we’re in.”
“Thanks, Molly!” Ella said. “I love it! It fits perfectly!”
“If you’re ever in Ohio, you should come to a baseball game with us,” Finn said. “There are the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians, and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Or you could come to one of my Little League games.” He looked down so she wouldn’t see him blush.
“That would be awesome,” Ella replied. “Come on, let’s go dance!”
She turned back to the dance floor. But the twins knew what they had to do. They joined hands and ran across the field.
PET was parked in the grass on the other side of the trees. It was as if the camper had been waiting for them all along. The screen was lit up when the twins climbed in. “Fasten your seat belts, kids,” PET said. “We’re leaving in three, two—”
“Wait!” Finn said, fumbling with his seat belt.
The instant it clicked, the camper took off. The mountains, the prairies, and the rivers flew by the windows in a blur.
“We’re headed home, right?” Molly asked.
Before PET answered, it stopped with a jolt. Out the windows, the twins could see their white house, the hunter-green mailbox, and the Johnny-jump-ups in the window boxes. Their home at 24 Birchwood Drive had never looked so good.
“My work here is done,” PET said, and it went dark once again.
“Holy guacamole!” Finn said. “Can you believe that happened?”
“No, I can’t,” said Molly. “But we don’t have time to talk about it now. We have to let Mom and Dad know we’re home safe!”
She and Finn unbuckled their seat belts and headed for the door. Out of the corner of his eye, Finn spotted the map of the world, with its one lone pushpin stuck in Harvey Falls, Ohio. “Hang on,” he told his sister. He picked up a blue pushpin and stuck it smack in the center of Colorado. “All right, let’s go.”
They ran into the house, calling, “Mom! Dad! We’re here!”
Mrs. Parker walked into the foyer. She was wearing a sundress. She looked very relaxed for someone whose kids had been missing for a whole day.
“There’s no need to shout,” she told the twins. “Are you hungry?”
Finn and Molly looked at each other, knowing they were thinking the same exact thing. They both shrugged. “Sure, I guess.”
“Well, good. Your dad says omelets will be ready in five.”
They walked into the kitchen, their legs feeling funny. Almost like they were still riding horses.
Mr. Parker was at the stove, adding diced ham and peppers to the pan. “Well, hello, sleepyheads!” he said, turning around to greet them. “We thought you’d never wake up!”
“But, Dad, we’ve been up for hours,” Molly said. “Look at—”
She stopped herself. She was about to say “Look at our clothes.” But when she looked at Finn, she realized that they were no longer dressed for a cattle drive. Finn was wearing his pajamas, and she was back in her leggings and fuzzy bunny slippers. When had she changed out of her gingham shirt and jeans? What happened to their boots and her cowboy hat?
“Take a seat,” her father said. “Denver omelets coming right up.”
Molly and Finn shared a startled look. Did he just say ‘Denver’? As in the capital of Colorado?
They sat down at the table.
“We need to eat fast,” Mr. Parker said. “We don’t want to be late for the game.”
“But my game is on Saturday,” Finn said.
“Every week,” Mr
. Parker said. “We have to get a move on.”
“Wait a sec,” Molly said. “What day is it today?”
“Saturday, silly,” their dad replied. “Yesterday was Friday and school ended. Have you forgotten your days of the week already?”
The twins looked at each other, and without speaking, they knew that they were thinking the same thing: it had been a dream, after all.
Mr. Parker set plates in front of Molly and Finn, and they all sat down for their normal Saturday breakfast.
Mrs. Parker added a splash of milk to her mug of coffee. But before she took a sip, she paused to pick a piece of yellow hay from Molly’s hair. “It looks like you’ve been rolling around a barn in your sleep.”
Molly looked at Finn, then back at her parents. “Hey, Dad, about that camper…”
Colorado State Facts
The Rocky Mountains run along the western border of Colorado.
The Colorado state tree is the blue spruce. The state flower is the Aquilegia caerulea, also known as the white and lavender columbine, and the state bird is the lark bunting.
The Colorado state flag looks like this:
Colorado is bordered by Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Utah.
The southwest point of Colorado touches the corners of Arizona’s, New Mexico’s, and Utah’s borders. It’s the only place in America where the corners of four states meet.
Denver is the state capital.
The Blue River is a tributary of the Colorado River.
Mount Lincoln is the eighth-highest point in the Rocky Mountains.
Mount Elbert is the highest point in the Rocky Mountains.
PET’s favorite Colorado fact:
Rumor has it that millions of dollars’ worth of treasure is buried somewhere in the Rocky Mountains…. Maybe Molly’s and Finn’s horses galloped right past it!
Let's Mooove! Page 4
