Stick in the Mud Meets Spontaneity (Meet Your Match, book 3) by Rachael Anderson Read Free Book Online

took a seat next to her father. “I’m thinking next time I should color it green. What do you think?”
    “Sort of like how your hair looked that summer after you made the swim team?” he asked.
    He made a good point. “You’re right. Blonde it is.”
    “My favorite look on you.”
    Kajsa only ate half her waffle before dragging Sam out the door, saying she couldn’t wait to see the mustang any longer. The two girls sped off in a flurry of purple, brown, and yellow, arriving at the McCoy ranch a little earlier than planned.
    They found Colton in the small corral next to the barn, holding the mustang’s lead rope and letting the animal run circles around him. Colton stood in the middle, spinning slower circles in a patient, lackadaisical way, almost as though the movements of the horse had hypnotized him. He wore a blue and gray flannel shirt.
    Kajsa scrambled up the fence and rested her elbows on the top rail, watching the horse with rapt attention. Sam stayed back a few feet, more leery of the wild animal after it had charged her yesterday.
    “What’s her name?” Kajsa asked.
    Colton glanced at Kajsa before his gaze settled on Sam. "Nice hat.”
    “Thanks." She’d pulled her hair into a ponytail and looked at him straight-on, trying to keep the purple hidden for as long as possible. “Where’s the rest of your family?”
    “Mom had to run a few errands, and Dad took my brothers to Denver to get a load of feed.”
    “All the way to Denver?” asked Sam.
    “We get it cheaper from a supplier up there, so we always stock up. That way we only need to make the trip every few months.”
    “So?” prodded Kajsa, more interested in the horse than the feed. “Does she have a name yet?”
    Colton continued to turn with the animal, his movements slow and methodical, but his attention remained on the girls. “I don’t know yet. I was actually thinking of letting you figure it out, Kaj.”
    “Really?”
    “It has to be a good name—one fitting of a beautiful animal with a wild heart and an intelligent mind.”
    Kajsa bit her bottom lip and cast a worried glance Sam’s way, as though the responsibility of the job was more than she wanted to take on.
    “You’ll figure out the perfect name,” Sam encouraged, taking a few steps closer. “Just make sure you don’t take too long deciding. Everyone needs a name.”
    “What would you name her?” Kajsa asked.
    Sam leaned her shoulder against the fence, facing Kajsa, and gave it some thought. What did people name horses, anyway? Black Beauty, Mr. Ed, Maximus, Whisper, and Maverick were the only ones she could think of. Apparently, they could be named pretty much anything.
    “Pineapple?” offered Sam as a suggestion.
    Kajsa doubled over in laughter. “She would buck you off if you ever called her that. Pineapple doesn’t fit her at all.”
    Apparently you couldn’t name a horse anything. The name had to fit. But fit what? Personality? Appearance? Nature? “I’m pretty sure she’d buck me off no matter what I called her,” said Sam.
    “She’s a leader, so it has to be a leader name. Like…” Kajsa’s voice trailed off, and a thoughtful frown replaced her smile.
    “Commander in Chief?” Sam joked. “George Washington? What about just Washington?” She actually liked that one, but Kajsa was shaking her head.
    A loud whinny, followed by snorting, came from the corral. “What’s wrong with you now?” said Colton as the horse pranced in place as though anxious about something.
    Ever so slowly, Sam stepped away from the fence and tensed, ready to grab Kajsa if the horse came charging again. “I don’t think she likes me much.”
    Colton gave the horse a considering look. “Why would you say that?”
    “She was doing fine until I showed up. And yesterday she charged me. Just look at her. I swear she’s glaring at me.”
    Kajsa giggled. “It sort of looks like she is.”
    Colton shook his head in a give-me-a-break sort of way. “She’s a wild