Here to Stay by Catherine Anderson Read Free Book Online

but now she believed an animal like that might be the answer for her brother. She couldn’t let someone else beat her to the draw. She’d figure out how to pay for Rosebud later. Somehow.
    There was no listing in the Yellow Pages for quarter horses. Next she looked under “Horses.” She found several boarders, breeders, and trainers, most of their names displayed as subheadings under different ranches or stables. Her finger stopped on the Crooked H. Under the ranch’s name in small, bold italics were the words, Champion Quarter Horses, Training and Behavioral Correction . Zachary Harrigan, Proprietor .
    Mandy jotted down the number and address, then glanced toward the living room. She couldn’t handle another argument with Luke today. She’d wait until she got him down for the night before she called to see about getting a sitter to stay with him while she went out for a while this evening. A hesitant smile touched her mouth. Her brother didn’t know it yet, but maybe he’d finally gotten his wish. With a little luck, she might never have to discuss the guide dog issue with him again.

Chapter Two
    Z ach had just opened a rear door of his SUV for Rosebud to unload when he heard the spitting of gravel and a blast from the distinctive horn of his brother Clint’s pickup. He groaned. Zach had been home less than three minutes, and the Harrigan clan was already descending. Baby brother messes up again. Now he’s playing with toy horses on TV. Let’s get over there and uphold the family honor . Terrific. After the disaster in the pharmacy, Zach was worried about Rosebud being sick, and was in no frame of mind to deal with his family.
    Clint’s tooled boots had barely touched the ground when another pickup, green this time, careened up the gravel access road at a speed better suited to a freeway. When riled, Parker drove like a maniac. Ignoring the racket, Rosebud stood awaiting her next cue. As Zach’s brothers approached, the mini pricked her ears and looked across Zach’s north pasture, where a rumbling sound could be heard. That would be Quincy coming over on his battered red ATV. For Zach, one of the drawbacks of owning one-sixth of what had once been a twelve-hundred-acre parcel of Harrigan land was living so close to all of his family. He didn’t mind impulse visits—enjoyed them, in fact—but this evening he was tired and concerned about Rosebud, and he just wanted a cold beer.
    Loosely holding the mini’s halter grip, Zach knew without question that his brothers had seen the broadcast. And they must have considered it a major screwup for them to tear over here at dinnertime. It was after six. Clint and Parker both had wives who’d be miffed if they were late to the table and the meal grew cold.
    Quincy swung off the ATV, his brown eyes sparking as he shot a scathing look at Rosebud. He didn’t mince words. “Do you realize you’ve just made a laughingstock of the whole Harrigan family? A mini horse? What the hell are you thinking ?”
    Clint slammed the door of his truck. “Amen. If you’re bent on training that damned thing, don’t embarrass us by doing it in town, where everybody and his cousin can see you make an ass of yourself. Just how many times has it crapped in public?”
    This was going to be worse than Zach had expected. And they did have a legitimate gripe. They were a tight family, and he hadn’t said a word about training Rosebud. If he mucked it up, the less said, the better. Needing to succeed and impress his brothers were hang-ups of his, a result of being the youngest and the black sheep of the family. It had probably been a shock to find out the way they had. “She isn’t a damned thing , Clint. She’s a horse.”
    Parker strode across the grass-pocked dirt, the heels of his boots kicking up puffs of dust. His red shirt was streaked, a black smudge lined his jaw, and when he tugged off his Stetson to slap it against his leg, Zach saw that his pitch-black hair was as dusty as