Wild Horses by D'Ann Lindun Read Free Book Online Page B

of us that our parents knew exactly where we were the entire time.”
    “It sounds like you and your brother were close.”
    She looked at her plate and stirred the stew. “When we were kids.”
    “But not now?”
    When she looked up tears glistened in her hazel eyes. “Not since my father corrupted Martin into believing the only thing in life that mattered was those damn mustangs.”
    Jake waited.
    “Martin was a happy kid, but when my father’s lost cause took him over it turned Martin into a sour, bitter man.” The coffee boiled over, making the logs pop. She stood and took it from the heat. “Want some?”
    “Please.”
    She poured two cups, placing one in front of him. Then she sat. “I can understand having a passion — mine is also horses — but Martin couldn’t take the setbacks. Whenever he won a scuffle with the government they’d come back and beat him twice as badly. This latest change in the law is bound to make him crazy.” She changed the subject. “What about you? Do you have a hate filled brother, too?”
    He should stay deep undercover, but sharing a little background shouldn’t hurt anything. “No. Just a sister who died of an overdose.”
    “I’m sorry,” she said.
    “Me, too, but it was a long time ago.” He’d never stop missing his baby sister, but the pain had dulled a little over time. “It was ten years ago. Nikki went wild and ran with some of the worst street gangs in Phoenix. We tried everything to get her shook loose, but nothing worked.” The heartbreak had made old people out of his parents and made him determined to save someone else from the same fate.
    “That’s terrible.” Castaña’s eyes brimmed with compassion. He hated pity of any sort. But coming from her, sympathy didn’t bug him as much as it usually did.
    “Yeah.” He blew on his steaming coffee. “It is.”
    One of the horses neighed and she cocked her head. “That’s odd.”
    “What?”
    She stood and walked to the door without answering. When she opened it a gust of wind and rain blew in. The horse neighed again. The sound of galloping hooves reached him over the storm. “I think someone’s out there.”
    She grabbed her slicker and slipped out the door.

Chapter Five
    For a minute, Castaña couldn’t see through the dark night. Rain still poured down in buckets and the wind picked up speed. This was an unusually strong storm for summer. Lightning flashed on the hillside above her, and for just a moment, she saw her three horses silhouetted in the light. Galloping madly, they spun around the corral with manes and tails flying. The weather really had them riled up. She opened the gate and stepped through. Sticking close to the fence so that the running geldings didn’t mow her over, she called to them. “Hey, boys. Settle down now!”
    Somewhere above them, a horse neighed shrilly.
    Wild horses!
    She heard the sound of their pounding hooves.
    They were coming this way. When another flash of lightning lit the night sky she spotted them along the ridge. Although she couldn’t see them clearly, she could make out shadows. One, two, three … four … five. More. Probably close to twenty.
    The geldings in the corral grew even more agitated. Rojo neighed, trying to entice the wild horses to him, Cloud plunged along the fence, and Gato spun circles. The mustangs disappeared into the trees along the ridge. About the same time, both Castaña and Cloud spotted an opening along the fence where some of the rails had been knocked down. Before she could stop him, he charged through it at a hard gallop, Rojo hot on his heels.
    Gato, too, rushed for the opening. Castaña made a wild dive for his halter. Her fingers found purchase on the nylon, and she held on with everything she had. Her 120 pounds couldn’t do much to stop a charging 1,000-pound horse, and he dragged her alongside, her heels making furrows in the wet earth.
    “Let go,” Jake shouted from somewhere behind her.
    She couldn’t. It was