Lyddie stared into her wardrobe, trying to decide if she needed to bring extra clothes for the trip. "Isn't it an awfully long ride to Auburn and back, all in one day?" she said.
Frank sat up on Lyddie's bed where he'd been lounging while they planned their adventure. "We'll take two days, then. Bring a dress. We'll stay at the hotel tonight, and I'll take you to dinner."
Lyddie grinned. She'd been running around the ranch in trousers and boots like her cousins, but she still had all the dresses she'd brought from Washington. She packed faster than she ever had in her life, and only a few minutes later, she and Frank nearly crashed into Andrew and Uncle Will as they tried to dart out the front door of the large ranch house.
"Easy there, you two," Uncle Will said. "Don't get yourselves into trouble already."
Frank waved a dismissive hand. "We won't get into any trouble at any time, Pa. Believe it or not, me and Lyddie know how to be responsible adults."
Andrew and Uncle Will rolled their eyes as Aunt Elizabeth emerged from the kitchen. She handed Lyddie a basket that smelled enticingly like last night's fried chicken.
"I've packed you a lunch to eat on the way," she said. "Be sure to have the hotel pack you one tomorrow so you're not starving by the time you get home. Thirty miles is a long way on an empty stomach."
Lyddie and Frank thanked her and hugged her goodbye. Lyddie then turned and gave Andrew a big hug. After two years on the ranch, Lyddie thought of him as more of a brother than a cousin. Nothing bad would ever happen to her so long as he was around.
"Have fun," he muttered into her hair. He slipped a wad of bills into her hand. "Here's the money for the horse. You're looking for a man named Don Webster. He runs the livery stable, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding him."
"All right," Lyddie said. She hugged him again and then turned to Frank. "Let's go!"
******
Well down the road to Auburn, Lyddie and Frank were still talking and laughing as exuberantly as they had when they'd left the house. They let the horses amble along, and Lyddie enjoyed the spring sunshine and the sweet scent of wildflowers alongside the trail. Frank and Andrew had spent countless hours teaching her to ride—living in the city, she'd never needed to learn—but after nearly two years on her uncle's ranch, she could swing into the saddle as confidently as her cousins.
"I've never been to Auburn," she said. "Is it very big?"
Frank shrugged. "About the same as Placerville. Sprang up about the same time after the gold strike in forty-eight. Pa has a lot friends up there."
Lyddie nodded, excitement buzzing through her veins. She hadn't been out of Placerville since she'd arrived on the Lucky Star. What she'd give to explore the whole of the American West like Lewis and Clark. She'd have to leave Andrew at home, though. He'd want to plan the entire trip in advance, and that would take away the fun of getting hopelessly lost. Frank would be much better suited to such an adventure.
They stopped for lunch a little better than halfway there and breezed into Auburn in the late afternoon. Since they needed to board their horses anyway, they went first to the livery, where they introduced themselves to Don Webster.
While Webster drew up the bill of sale, Lyddie admired the sleek little Appaloosa Andrew had selected.
"She'll run like the wind," she said, patting the mare's nose.
YOU ARE READING
A Fine Mess
Cerita PendekTwo cousins in California in 1863 find themselves in a big mess when a prank goes horribly awry. Includes harmless gross-out humor because I work with middle schoolers, and they rub off on me.