Hide and Seek by Alyssa Brugman Read Free Book Online Page B

brush. Then at meal breaks, or relaxing time, they could talk about horses. She'd be busy every minute of the day and fall into bed each night exhausted. It sounded like heaven!
    There was so much Shelby could learn from these people. She could study liberty work with ponies and train in classical dressage like those ladies on the black horses. She could do trick riding, just like the girl. They would be great friends, a dynamic duo – friendly rivals, pushing each other to achieve more and more daring tricks.
    Shelby remembered how she'd slid out of the saddle a few days before on the trail. She already had a talent for it. And she could bring Blue as well. He was so quiet and easy. He was sure to be calm and reliable in front of a crowd. They might even pay her. It was perfect!
    Her eyes drifted past the girl. On the other side of the arena there was a trail bike leaning on its stand and, sitting cross-legged in front of it, in his bike-riding leathers, was Chad. Her heart beat faster for a second and then she frowned.
    Chad had asked her to go with him to see the circus. It was almost, but not quite, a date. He was supposed to ring her. She had been dreading that call. All night she'd waited. She'd frozen the few times that the phone rang, but then when it was someone else she was disappointed.
    It seems he got over his shyness after all! she thought, and then she felt guilty. After all, she hadn't waited for him to call before coming here either.
    When Shelby looked again the girl was back on the quarter horse, crouching like a jockey. She urged the horse into a canter. This time she stood, turning her palms up and smiling just as the older man had.
    Chad clapped and put his fingers in his mouth for an ear-piercing whistle. 'You're the best!' he called out.
    Shelby reddened, angry at Chad for saying he would ring her when he didn't intend to. She also felt silly for telling everyone about the hot chips. Now if anyone talked about it she would be embarrassed.
    She looked away from Chad to a row of four ramshackle stables that faced the house. They were old but sturdy, made of corrugated iron with timber half doors.
    Three white faces poked out of the stable doors. Shelby wondered if they were Lipizzans – the original Spanish dancing horses. She'd only ever seen them on television and in pictures, but she knew they were elegant, athletic and took years to train.
    While she watched, absorbed in her thoughts, a fourth horse head emerged from within the stable to watch what was happening outside. This one was a dark face. Shelby recognised it immediately.
    It was Diablo.

12 Karma
    Shelby backed out of the shrubbery and scrambled into the saddle. She gathered up the reins. Obviously she had to tell Mrs Edel straightaway. But what would happen if Chad was still there when the police came? Would they assume he had something to do with it? She was cross with him, but she didn't want him to get into trouble. What if he had only met the circus people today? Would the police accuse him falsely? She really should warn him – or at least see what she could find out first. She should go back and ask questions, find out all she could.
    Shelby slipped out of the saddle and slid the reins over Blue's ears. She would ask them about the stallion.
    But what if it was a conspiracy and Chad was involved? Shelby had got the impression that Lindsey and Hayley already seemed to think he was a bit shady. Shelby hadn't known him for as long as Lindsey. She could be putting herself in danger going in there.
    What if all of those horses were stolen? Surely they wouldn't go around the countryside performing on stolen horses. Maybe the total audacity was what made the scheme work? Or it could be an elaborate front. Perhaps there was no circus at all – in which case, she should inform the police straightaway.
    She hadn't had much luck with the police before. It seemed to Shelby that they were either on the wrong person's side, or their procedures