Horse Whispers by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online

door, didn’t you?”
    Carole nodded. “I’m sure I did.”
    “Well, then—”
    “But, you see, I should have stayed with her instead of going and riding those other horses because I knew she was scared and—”
    “Carole,” John interrupted, “it’s not your fault. Anyway, it wouldn’t matter if it
was
. It will be dark in an hour. It’s snowing like crazy. Going to look for the mare now would be the most idiotic thing you could do.”
    “But—”
    “No buts,” John said firmly.
    Stevie, Kate, and Lisa looked from John to Carole and back. They knew John was right, but they felt awful for Carole. They knew she had formed an instant attachment to the mare. When Mick left to tell Frank, Lisa put a consoling arm around Carole. “They’ll find her in the morning. She won’t go far.”
    “The
morning
?” Carole whispered, dismayed. She could have kicked herself for not staying with the mare. Why had she gone and ridden the other horses? She had let down one beautiful black horse already, and look whathad happened to him. Her eyes filling with tears, Carole looked out the window. The few flakes had escalated into a real storm. “If anything happens to her out there, I’ll never forgive myself!” she vowed.
    T HAT EVENING THE mood in the bunkhouse was glum. Carole headed for bed right after dinner. Not wanting to disturb her, Stevie and Lisa followed suit. Now they couldn’t sleep. They could hear Carole sniffling every few minutes. It was torture! Finally Lisa had to say something. “Carole, are you okay?” she whispered across the room.
    Carole gulped, trying to make her voice sound calm. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” she said. Normally she would have talked things over with The Saddle Club, but this time she didn’t know what to say. Everyone would think she was getting too involved, making too much of it. She sighed aloud. That was the problem with The Saddle Club: Sometimes they cared too much.
    Carole tried to look on the bright side. Frank had been very understanding. Several times he had told her that it wasn’t her fault, that they ought to have replaced that bolt months ago. And he had organized a search party for the morning. She had to believe they would find the mare and bring her back. And yet, Carole wondered, why didn’t that thought make her happier?
    T HE NEXT MORNING , Carole was awake at dawn. She had tossed and turned all night. She wasn’t sure she had slepteven one wink. A glance out the window told her that it had stopped snowing, at least for now. As fast as she could, she yanked on long underwear, jeans, two shirts, a big bulky sweater, boots, gloves, a scarf, and a hat. She raced through the fresh snow to the main barn. Maybe there would be news about the mare. Maybe she had come home in the night of her own accord.
    The first person Carole saw was Walter Brightstar, John’s father and the ranch’s head wrangler. He greeted her warmly.
    “I was down mending fence in the big pasture all day, so I didn’t get to say hello yesterday,” he explained.
    But Carole heard only three words. “The big pasture?” she said. “Did you see a black mare go by—loose—in the afternoon?”
    Walter shook his head regretfully. “John already asked me. Can’t say that I did. But that pasture is huge. She might have walked right by me, ten yards away. With the snow, I wouldn’t have noticed. If I were her, though, I would have headed north.”
    “North?” said Carole, paying careful attention. “Why north?”
    “That’s where she came from. If she’s trying to get back home, that’s the direction.”
    Carole nodded. She had several more questions. “Are you going out with the search party? When do they leave? Can I take Stewball? Stevie reminded me how good he is on the trail.”
    Walter began doubtfully, “No, I’m not going. I’ve got work here. And sure, sure, you can take Stewball. But you’d better hurry. They’re leaving in two minutes!”
    Carole was down the aisle