Star Gazer by Chris Platt Read Free Book Online Page B

her,” she said, defending herself. “She deserves better than being hauled to the auction just because someone didn’t want her anymore.” She stood silent for a moment, listening to Star Gazer’s steady breaths. “Jacob says the packers might buy her.”
    Nicole stared at Jordan in disbelief. “Are you sure? My dad said he’d heard a rumor that the packers had a guy who bought stock at this auction. He said the guy doesn’t always buy just the sick or injured ones either. I didn’t believe it.”
    Jordan frowned. “He’d probably be careful not to let anyone know who he is. Somebody might decide to get revenge or something.”
    â€œDid Jacob say he knew for sure that a packer was going to buy this horse?”
    â€œNot exactly. But he said it was a good possibility.”
    â€œThat would be horrible,” Nicole said, shaking her head. “What are you going to do?” she asked. “Do you want to use my phone to call your mom? I bet she’d let you buy her if you told her she’s going to be sold for dog food.”
    Jordan frowned. “Even if my mom said I could buy her, I still don’t have enough money.”
    â€œWell, it’s not a done deal yet.” Nicole put her arm around Jordan’s shoulders, lending sympathy for the bad situation. “There’s still a chance that someone could buy her and give her a great home.” She steered her toward the exit. “Let’s get back to our seats. My parents want to buy some lambs that’ll be going through the sale ring right away. My mom has your bid card. You’ll need it for your chickens.”
    Jordan followed Nicole down the aisle, careful not to look back. She didn’t want to see those big brown eyes begging for someone to take her home and save her.
    When they got to the poultry cages, Jordan sent Nicole ahead to their seats while she took one last look at the chickens. A small crowd had gathered. There were several families and a few older men looking, too, trying to decide which ones they wanted to bid on.
    One man in particular caught Jordan’s attention. He was short and stout, with a bald head and a corncob pipe stuck between his teeth. He pulled bits of grain out of his pocket and fed it to the turkeys while making gobbling sounds. The big birds answered him back and everyone laughed.
    When an announcement came over the speaker system warning the auction was about to start, the onlookers moved on.
    Jordan remained by the chickens for a few more minutes, trying to decide if she also wanted one of the funny-looking hens with the big fluffy feathers on their legs. As she stepped forward, the toe of her shoe hit something. She looked down and saw a brown leather wallet lying in the dirt.
    She picked it up, wondering who could have dropped it. Since it was right in front of the turkey cages, she thought of the funny little man who had gobbled with the turkeys. Glancing around quickly, she spotted him just leaving the barn and ran to catch him.
    â€œExcuse me, sir!” She jogged to his side and stopped. “Is this your wallet?”
    The man reached to check his back pocket. When he discovered his wallet missing, he took a closer look at the one Jordan held out to him. “Well, I’ll be…” He flipped it open and showed his driver’s license photo to Jordan. “You’ve got the right guy, and I thank you very much, young lady. Can I give you a reward for being honest? A lot of people wouldn’t have returned a wallet.”
    Jordan shook her head. “Thank you, but that’s okay. I’m just glad I found you.” The man smiled his thanks and walked off, and Jordan headed to the sale ring to join Nicole and her family.
    Jordan had thought it was noisy in the sale barn, but that was nothing compared to the auction area. Not only was everyone talking amongst themselves as animals were brought into the ring for