Searching for a New Home by Karen Ward Read Free Book Online

better.
    Once the kitchen is clean, I spend the
morning getting reacquainted with Dani and listening to all that
has happened since that day in Casper three weeks ago.
    Dani says, "Jana, I am so glad you're here! I
didn't think I would ever see you again and that made me very
sad."
    "Oh Sweetie, I'm glad I'm here too. I missed
you!"
    When Dani takes me to the barn to introduce
me to her pony, Sheba, she asks, "Do you ride Jana?"
    "Not really. I have always lived in the city
but I love horses. I always wanted one when I was a little girl but
I never got to have one. My daddy said we didn't have a place to
keep a horse."
    "That's okay. Daddy and I will teach you to
ride." Dani tells her. "We all go riding together every week. Well,
Aunt Jenny can't go with us right now, but she will once the baby
comes."
    Seeing Jana and Dani in the barn, Jacob
calls, "Hey you two. Dani what are you telling Jana? She doesn't
have to ride if she doesn't want to."
    "She wants to Daddy. She always wanted a pony
when she was a little girl like me but she never got to have one. I
just told her you would teach her to ride so she can come with us
when we go together." Dani says patiently.
    Smiling indulgently Jacob says, "Oh, I see.
Jana I'll be happy to teach you to ride. We have a very gentle mare
that is perfect for people when they first start out."
    I help Jenny prepare a light lunch and insist
on helping her clean the house with me doing the heavy cleaning.
Late that afternoon my SUV rolls into the yard. Jacob had made
arrangements to have it delivered with all of my clothes and other
belongings. After carrying all of my clothes up to my room and
unpacking I ask Jenny,
    "Do you mind if I do some laundry?"
    Jenny laughs, "Of course not! Make yourself
at home." Her friendliness warms my heart. I am going to like it
here.
    ******
    Thinking over Jana's case as he works with
the horses, it occurs to Jacob that someone must have taken Jana's
Glock out of her car at one of her stops after leaving the gun
range in Bozeman. They must have seen her with the weapon at the
gun range and then watched as she placed it in the console of her
car.
    "Jana, I want you to carefully go through the
belongings in your car and see if anything else is missing. Someone
must have taken your Glock so maybe they took something else we can
trace."
    After a thorough search, I report to him that
some quarters are missing out of the ashtray where I kept them for
the toll booths. My Glock and a blue tooth headset for my cell
phone are missing from the console. My laptop is still in the car
but it had been buried underneath my clothes and other items in the
back.
    Jacob notifies a private investigator, Tom
Christensen that he uses on all of his cases. He gives him a
thorough description of the blue tooth headset and asks him to
track it down, if possible. He also asks him to trace Jana's route
from the time she left the hotel in Casper and see if he can find
anything unusual or questionable along the way.
    ******
    The days pass quickly as I settle into my new
life on the Rocking J helping Jenny around the house and spending
time with Dani. True to her word, Dani and Jacob teach me how to
ride and to care for the horses. They introduce me to Copper, a
very gentle mare and I love the hours the three of us spend just
wandering through the hills and meadows together.
    I learn that Jenny is seven months along with
her and Jason's first child, a little boy. They are very excited.
It took a long time and several surgeries for Jenny to conceive and
Jason worries constantly. Jenny is tired a lot of the time so I am
happy I am able to take some of the load off her shoulders,
especially doing the heavy housework.
    I also help Jason with the ranch's books. My
bookkeeping background allows me to pick up quickly on the
accounting program they use and I am learning how they track the
horses in their breeding program. It is obvious the ranch is a very
prosperous endeavor. I learn that the ranch