Spirit Riding Free: PALs Forever

by Stacia Deutsch

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  DreamWorks Spirit Riding Free © 2019 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved.

  Cover design by Ching Chan.

  Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

  1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104

  Visit us at LBYR.com

  First Edition: February 2019

  Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2018953830

  ISBNs: 978-0-316-41361-9 (paper over board), 978-0-316-41360-2 (ebook)

  E3-20181123-JV-NF-ORI

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Miss Flores… I mean, Mrs. Prescott.” Snips raised his hand but didn’t wait to be called on. “Do you mean we have to do homework while we’re on vacation?” He frowned. “That wouldn’t be fair.”

  “Yes, Snips,” Mrs. Prescott said.

  Her new wedding ring glistened in the sunlight streaming in from the window. Lucky saw the metal glimmer and blinked hard. It was tough getting used to the idea that her teacher was now also her stepmom. But not as tough as the idea that they had a homework assignment over spring break. She agreed with Snips. It wasn’t fair.

  “You don’t have to do anything special for this assignment,” Mrs. Prescott explained. “Just have a normal, fun spring break. But I don’t want your minds to be idle, so be prepared to share what you did with the class.”

  A loud groan echoed through the room. It came from pretty much everyone, except Maricela.

  She raised her hand but, unlike Snips, waited to be called on.

  “I will recite a speech,” Maricela announced. “Would twenty pages be too many?” She smiled. “I have many important plans for the week. I’ll be working at my father’s office.” And then, as if no one knew who he was, she announced, “He’s the mayor.”

  Mrs. Prescott nodded slowly. “We all know your father, Maricela, and that sounds like a very interesting spring break.” She considered the assignment. “Let’s do this… The presentation doesn’t need to be a speech. It can be anything you want it to be.”

  Maricela’s hand went right back up. When she was called on, she asked, “But it could be a speech if someone wanted, right?”

  “Of course, but a short speech,” replied Mrs. Prescott.

  Pru leaned in so Lucky and Abigail could hear her whisper. “Maricela wouldn’t know a short speech if it hit her in the—”

  “Pru,” Mrs. Prescott interrupted. “Why don’t you share your idea for the presentation with the class?”

  Pru snapped back up in her seat. “I don’t know what I’ll do yet,” she said. “My plans are pretty boring. I’m going to spend the break with my parents, helping out around the range.” She looked over at Abigail. “It’s not as if I get to go visit my cousins or anything.”

  “You could always come with Snips and me,” Abigail said. She turned to Mrs. Prescott and the rest of her class. “We’re going to visit our mom’s sister’s brother’s brother’s sister and her husband in Dakota Springs.”

  Lucky frowned. “Wouldn’t that be your aunt and uncle?”

  “Maybe,” Abigail said. “Anyway, they have a daughter a little younger than me.”

  “Your cousin?” Pru prompted.

  “I suppose.” Abigail continued, undaunted in her storytelling, “We haven’t seen them in a couple of years. When we were little, my cousin Ariella and I used to get along pretty well. But her family is very fancy, and she and I are grown-up ladies now, so she’s probably become fancy, too! Snips and I are going to dress in our best clothes and use our best manners to show her how much we’ve matured.”

  Snips groaned loud and long. “Pru, can I stay here and help at the barn? Señor Carrots and me are good helpers.”

  “Señor Carrots and I,” Mrs. Prescott corrected.

  “What she said.” Snips pointed at their teacher. Then he put his palms together and begged, “Please, Pru. We’ll sleep in a stall. You won’t even know we’re there.”

  Pru laughed and shook her head. “Sorry, Snips. My dad was pretty clear that there’s some sort of job I have to take care of.” She sighed. “I wish Lucky and Abigail could stay, though.”

  “Ugh,” Snips said, pulling at the collar of his shirt as if he were wearing a necktie. “When I am fancied to death, you’ll be sorry.” He gave a dramatic performance of gasping and choking before flopping to the floor in a motionless heap.

  “No one ever died from being too fancy,” Abigail said, rolling her eyes at her brother’s theatrics. She told Mrs. Prescott, “I’ve been taking manners classes from Lucky’s aunt Cora for weeks. I’m ready to use my skills in the wild.”

  “That sounds like a lovely vacation,” said Mrs. Prescott. “I’m sure the class is excited to hear all about it.” She then went around the room and asked other students what they were doing over the vacation.

  “I’m going to help build a barn,” Turo said with a shrug. “Nothing too exciting.”

  “We’re going to do nothing,” Mary Pat said.

  “Nothing,” her twin sister, Bianca, echoed. “If you want to stay here in Miradero,” she told Snips, fluttering her eyelashes, “we could spend the whole break together.”

  “That would be fun!” Mary Pat said sarcastically.

  “Ugh.” Snips groaned again, peeling himself off the floor and sitting back at his desk. “I’ll take my chances with the fancy cousins.”

  “Well then, class.” Mrs. Prescott began wrapping it up. School was over and vacation was about to begin. “When you get back, you can each show us what you did in a skit, a song”—she looked to Maricela—“a short speech, or however you choose to present your—”

  “You didn’t ask Lucky,” Abigail blurted out, then slapped a hand over her own mouth. “Oh dear, shouting in class without being called on isn’t very fancy. Sorry, Mrs. Prescott.” She shrugged. “Miss Prescott would say holding my tongue is a growth area for me. She told me to concentrate really hard on not speaking until spoken to. Argh! I don’t know how anyone holds their thoughts in their head for so long without exploding. It makes my brain hurt. But,” Abigail went on, “Mrs. Prescott, you didn’t call on Lucky.”

  “That’s because we’re going on vacation together,” Lucky explained. It still felt odd that it wouldn’t be just her dad and her going on adventures anymore.

  “Yes, we are,” Mrs. Prescott said, coming to stand with Lucky. “We’re going out to Destiny Fa
lls. It’s a bigger city than Miradero.” She looked at Lucky and smiled. “I have no doubt we’ll have a great adventure—the three of us together.”

  Even though she wouldn’t see her friends for a whole week, Lucky was determined to have a good time. It would be exciting to see somewhere new… right? Throwing a smile on her face to mirror her stepmom’s, she agreed, “Yep. It’ll be great!”

  “I’ll see you all back here in a week,” said Mrs. Prescott as the students stood to leave. “And don’t forget to do your homework!”

  Hurry up, Lucky, we have a train to catch.”

  Jim Prescott was gathering the suitcases in the front hall. Lucky’s bag was a small duffel compared to Kate’s enormous trunk.

  “Is Kate taking everything she owns?” Lucky asked with a small laugh. At school, Mrs. Prescott was “Mrs. Prescott,” but at home she was “Kate.”

  “Of course I am,” Kate replied, coming in through the parlor with a smile. “I’ve never been to a city as big as Destiny Falls before.”

  “Really? Never?” Lucky had a hard time believing that. The Prescotts had come to Miradero from a very big city. How was it possible that Kate had never even been to a big city?

  Kate shook her head. “Never! I can’t wait to explore. Lucky, you’ll show me everything, won’t you?”

  “Sure.” Lucky had never been to Destiny Falls, but she knew there was a theater and several shopping streets, instead of just the one street in Miradero. There were quite a few restaurants and plenty of riding trails she and Spirit could explore.

  Just as she was thinking about him, Spirit neighed loudly from outside the front door.

  “Thanks for letting Spirit come along,” Lucky said to her dad. “He’s so excited!”

  Spirit had been standing outside the door for hours while they all packed and got ready. Lucky heard him paw the ground with his hoof. “We’re coming,” she called. “Be patient.”

  Spirit whinnied again. He’d waited this long; he could wait a few more minutes.

  “I’ll ride Spirit down to the station,” Lucky told her dad and Kate. “I’ll meet you and the wagon there so I can help unload”—she eyed Kate’s trunk—“that!” Glancing at Kate, she winked and asked, “Are you certain we aren’t moving to Destiny Falls?”

  Her dad snorted with a heavy laugh, then said, “Go on ahead, Lucky. Tell the conductor that we’re on the way.”

  “Can do!” Lucky said, leaving her small bag with the luggage. She pranced out the door and was about to climb on Spirit’s back when Pru and Abigail came galloping into the yard. Pru was on Chica Linda and Abigail was riding Boomerang.

  “We came to escort you to the train,” Abigail explained while Lucky climbed onto Spirit’s bare back. “I’m not going to my cousins’ house until tomorrow.” She leaned back in her saddle. “One more day to get my skills in order. Today, I have my last lesson with your aunt.” Aunt Cora was staying in Miradero.

  “Will it be to practice chewing with your mouth closed?” Pru suggested.

  “Or a review class on where your elbows go while you eat?” Lucky teased.

  “Not on the table,” Abigail said in a voice that mimicked Aunt Cora’s. But then in her own voice, she said, “I can’t figure out where to put my elbows if they aren’t resting on the table! They get so tired.”

  The girls all laughed.

  “I think we’re reviewing greetings today,” Abigail said, turning to Lucky. With a slight bow, she said, “It’s very pleasant to make your acquaintance.”

  “Seems to me like you’ve got it!” Lucky said with a giggle.

  The horses began trotting away from Lucky’s house. “I can’t believe Abigail and I are going out on adventures and you’re staying here,” Lucky said to Pru.

  “Well, my dad says he has something big planned over break,” Pru told them. “Maybe that’ll make up for my staying here.”

  “Oooohhhh, a surprise? I love surprises!” Abigail squealed, but then corrected herself. “I mean, I don’t always love surprises, like when Snips put a frog in my bed—that was a bad surprise—but I do love good surprises! Like cake! Cake is always a good surprise.”

  “So you don’t have a clue what it could be?” Lucky asked Pru. She loved mysteries and would have wanted to have helped Pru solve this one, if she wasn’t leaving town.

  “Nope,” Pru said, pulling back on Chica Linda’s reins. “But since it’s my dad, I’m guessing it’s something horse related, like building new fences for the pasture or maybe going on a long trail ride if I’m lucky.”

  The horses slowed as they arrived at the station. Lucky climbed down from Spirit’s back. She’d ride the train and he’d run along, taking his own journey to meet her in Destiny Falls.

  “Well.” Abigail looked at the big black train as it spewed smoke from the tracks. “I guess this is farewell.”

  “Only for a week,” Lucky said.

  “A week that’ll feel like forever,” Abigail said with a sigh.

  “Hmmm.” Lucky thought for a moment, and then she smiled widely. “I have a great idea! We should write one another letters while we are gone!”

  “Oh, I love that,” Pru agreed. “We can tell one another everything about our vacations!”

  “And then we can turn in the letters for Mrs. Prescott’s homework assignment!” Abigail suggested.

  “That’s a great idea, Abigail! I’ll write one tonight,” Lucky said, “and I’ll send it right away so it’s there when you arrive at your cousins’.”

  “Then I’ll write to Pru,” Abigail continued.

  “And I’ll write to Lucky,” Pru finished. “And then we’ll switch around.”

  “I love it,” Abigail said. “Almost as much as I love cake and Boomerang.” She paused. Leaning forward over her saddle, Abigail told her horse, “You know I love you more than cake, though.”

  “Lucky!” Her father was calling.

  Lucky looked over to see her dad and Kate were already on the train. Their bags were stacked in the luggage car.

  “First to arrive, last to board,” Lucky said with a shrug. She said a quick good-bye to her friends and hurried onto the train.

  As the train pulled away from the station, Lucky leaned out the window and shouted to Pru and Abigail, “Don’t forget to write!” And then to Spirit, “See you soon!”

  The train chugged slowly toward Destiny Falls.

  It was sunset when they finally arrived.

  Lucky looked out at the town in the golden light and was amazed. It was so different from Miradero. There were paved roads, more horse-drawn carriages, and big, ornate buildings. A quick look at Kate confirmed that she was even more amazed than Lucky. Her eyes were wide and she craned her neck, trying to take everything in through the window.

  “I have a surprise for you,” Mr. Prescott said as the train gave its final chug.

  “That’s funny,” Lucky remarked. “Pru’s dad had a surprise for her, too. I wonder if there’s a spring break surprise waiting for Abigail.”

  “I guess spring break is just a perfect time for surprises,” Mr. Prescott said with a smile.

  “Well?” Lucky asked expectantly. “What is the surprise? I can’t wait to—”

  “Hiya, RF!” An all-too-familiar voice floated through the door of their train compartment to interrupt Lucky. “Welcome to Destiny Falls!”

  “Oh, good grief,” Lucky muttered, sinking down in her seat. “Why couldn’t the surprise be ice cream or balloons or some top-grade oats for Spirit?” Any of those would have been better than a meet-up with her cousin Julian, who was now leaning against the compartment door and grinning at her. Julian was nothing but trouble, and he always called her RF. He thought it was funny because it was short for “Rabbit’s Foot,” as in lucky rabbit’s feet.

  Lucky sighed. So much for a relaxing vacation with her new family. With Julian around, she would have to watch her back at every turn. Who knew what kind of tricks he could get up to?

  “Hello, Uncle Jim,�
�� Julian said cheerfully. He helped unload their luggage and placed it in a cart that was far nicer than any cart in Miradero. He gave a bow and said, “Aunt Kate. It’s nice to see you again.” Lucky’s dad and stepmom both smiled and greeted him politely.

  Lucky couldn’t help thinking that Abigail could have taken greeting lessons from Julian instead of Aunt Cora. He was smooth and savvy. Of course, she hoped her dad still had his wallet after the big hug Julian gave him. Julian turned to Lucky with a grin.

  “Hi.” Lucky took a deep breath and promised herself that having Julian around would in no way diminish her excitement about the vacation. “It’s interesting to find you here,” Lucky said. “What are you doing in Destiny Falls?”

  “My parents are building a new train depot and helping this place become an even bigger city,” Julian explained as he pushed the luggage cart and led them off the train. “Just like when you moved to Miradero to get things settled, my family moved here.” He gave her a nudge. “I just know that your dad is going to love the place. Wait until he sees the plans for the new station. He’s going to want to get started building it right away.”

  Lucky looked around at the small but clean and pretty station they were in. There was art on the walls and ornate iron benches to sit on while waiting. That was already more than they had at home. “Looks fine to me,” Lucky said as they made their way to the exit and the street beyond.

  “It’s going to be incredible!” Julian said. He held out his hand to help Lucky into the carriage that was waiting for them. “There will be a restaurant and a boot shine and a place to store your luggage if you’re just here touring the city for the day.” He grinned. “And then, there will be all the new train lines to cities all over the frontier. This city is going to be the center of the region!” He seemed so excited about the changes, but Lucky wanted to think about what they were seeing today, not what the city might be like in the future. Who even knew when she’d be back here?

  “I’ll ride Spirit, if that’s okay,” she said, refusing Julian’s hand. “Can I, Dad?”

  “Of course,” her father said. “Just follow us so you don’t get lost.”