Crazy Horse (12 page)

Kirstie’s brother stepped forward alone. He crossed the yard until he and Cadillac met in the middle. The horse lowered his graceful head. Matt reached out and touched him. Together again.

“Save the questions till later!” Matt had work to do. There was San Luis Dawn inside the overturned truck. The mare needed his attention before they could get her out.

Kirstie dismounted from Crazy Horse and followed him. “But how did you all get here? How come you knew we needed you?”

“Let Matt do his work,” Sandy Scott said gently. She’d taken Cadillac’s lead rope from her son and led the horse to one side as Matt climbed into the back of the truck. “How’s she look?”

“She’s spooked pretty bad. But she’s on her feet, no bones broken. A couple of cuts on her front legs.” Matt ran through the situation. “I’m gonna wait a while before I move in on her.”

“So how come?” Kirstie turned her questions on her mom. “What happened with you?”

“Don’t ask!” Sandy ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “Halfway down to the Falls, we get a call from Larry. He double-checks the tip-off, late as usual, because, deep down, he’s not happy, and what does he find? The mystery caller’s number has a San Luis code. He looks it up, traces it back here.”

“To Ponderosa Pines?” Lisa broke in. She’d gone to get Lucky from his hiding place on the hillside and came in on the end of Sandy’s explanation. “So Logan was the one who sent you on a wild goose chase?”

“Seems that way. Maybe he wanted to keep us busy while he trucked Cadillac out of here. Anyhow, by now, Larry definitely isn’t smiling. He makes another call, this time to Columbine Falls. And guess what? The sale barn has no white gelding, three-quarters Thoroughbred for sale today!”

“Surprise!” Kirstie muttered. “So what did you do?”

“What could we do? We turn the car around and head for home. But we have a two-hour drive ahead of us, so we call Charlie at home to check in, tell him what’s happening, and see how things are.”

“And he tells you we’ve set out on the trail with Crazy Horse and Lucky!” Lisa predicted what was to come. “You go crazy with him for letting us out in a blizzard!”

Sandy grinned. “Something like that. Poor Charlie!”

“Hey, Mom!” Matt called from inside the horse box. “I need something to make a pressure pad, to stop the bleeding from one of these cuts!”

Lisa stepped in. “You wait here. I’ll fetch bandages from the first-aid box in the tack room!”

“So things are falling into place.” Sandy went on with her story, one ear open for more instructions from Matt. “Larry Francini is in the picture, and he’s arranging to meet us at Half Moon Ranch to discuss what to do. Only Matt’s worried about you and Lisa. He says we should head straight here in case you get yourselves into a fix.”

“Talk about a sixth sense!” Kirstie’s brother joked as he came to the buckled and dented back door of the horse box and reached out to take rolls of clean cotton bandage from a breathless Lisa.

“OK, so you know me!” Kirstie admitted grudgingly.

“Yeah, you and trouble, you’re like magnets!” Matt disappeared back inside the horse box.

Sandy raised her eyebrows at Lisa but made no comment. “Meanwhile, Charlie calls us again. We’re on Route 3, almost at San Luis by this time. Charlie says he just had a signal from the radio you’d taken along with you. The signal’s all broken up, and he can’t get a reply through to you. He’s trying. He can hear Lisa’s voice saying his name, sounding pretty scared, then suddenly the whole thing breaks up.”

Kirstie nodded. “That was Johnson creeping up from behind in the stable. He smashed the radio before we could make contact.”

“So now it’s urgent.” Sandy brought the girls up to date. “We get in touch with Larry again. He arranges for two cars to come straight over here and to meet up with us on the way…”

“And you made it!” Lisa concluded. “Boy, were we glad to see you!”

“But…!” Kirstie began. She saw the two patrol cars turn around in the narrow road. Logan sat in one, flanked by two cops. Gibb and Johnson had been bundled into the other. Alone in the yard, the young, dark-haired ranch hand who had set the girls free from the tack room watched from a safe distance.

“No buts!” Sandy cried. “Please, Kirstie, give us a break!”

“OK, I’ve strapped up the cut; we’re coming out!” Matt called at last.

They stood back to give him and San Luis Dawn some space. And while they waited, Kirstie slipped away with Crazy Horse for answers to her final questions.

“So why Cadillac?” she asked their secret helper. “Why did your boss risk everything for the one horse?”

“To make a pair. Cadillac and San Luis Dawn came from the same stud. They’re blood-related.” He offered the explanation in a low voice, apologetic and embarrassed. “Mr. Logan fixed up a deal through his wife in California before he even put in an offer to your mom to buy Cadillac.”

“And when she refused, he wasn’t too happy?”

“He doesn’t like being told ‘no.’ The way he looks at things, what he wants he gets. Legal or not.”

“Did you know about the plan to steal Cadillac?” For some reason, this mattered a lot to Kirstie. “Were you the third rustler?”

“No. I wasn’t in on it. Mr. Logan himself went along with Gibb and Johnson for the heist, I guess. Me, I’m just the drudge around here. They don’t tell me a thing.”

Kirstie took a deep breath. “Thanks for taking a risk and opening that door,” she said quietly.

He gave her a fleeting grin before he turned and went inside the stable to check on things in there.

“No problem,” he said. “Tell your brother I’m glad he got both his horses back.”

Later that evening, when they were home at Half Moon Ranch, Kirstie passed on the message.

She sat with Matt on the fence overlooking Red Fox Meadow, legs dangling, hands in her jacket pockets.

“Not half as glad as I am,” he said. His eyes followed Crazy Horse and Cadillac everywhere they went; feeding at the hayrack, trotting here and there amongst the herd of ranch horses just to let everyone know they were back.

Crazy Horse nosed up to Jitterbug and butted her in a friendly fashion. Cadillac danced up to Johnny Mohawk and shook his mane at him. Yukon and Moose wandered slowly by.

“Do we know how Crazy Horse got loose from Logan in the first place?” Matt was rerunning events from Sunday night to now.

“Rob says Gibb loaded him into the horse box, drove out onto Route 3, and dumped him,” Kirstie answered. She smiled as Cadillac and Crazy Horse spotted them on the fence and came toward them.

“‘Rob says’!” Matt grinned from ear to ear.

“The young guy who let us out of the tack room,” she explained, her face burning. Chalk it up to the evening sun hitting her as it sank behind Eagle’s Peak. “He wasn’t part of the robbery. He’s staying put at Ponderosa Pines until they sort something out.”

“Rob!” Matt wouldn’t let it drop. “So how far does Rob say Gibb drove before he dumped Crazy Horse?”

Still blushing, determined to ignore Matt’s teasing, Kirstie jumped into the meadow and went to meet the two horses. They approached in step, Cadillac adjusting his long stride to Crazy Horse’s short legs. “Thirty or forty miles,” she told him. “A heck of a long walk back here!”

“What a star!” Matt followed her into the meadow. As Kirstie walked toward Cadillac, he split off and met the sturdy, plain, ordinary quarter horse with the strong, loyal heart. He slung an arm around his neck and walked with him.

“How many people do you know who would do as much for a friend?” Kirstie asked. Cadillac lowered his head to nuzzle her shoulder, keeping Crazy Horse at the edge of his sight.

“Not many. Animals, yes. People, no.” Matt fell into step with the geldings. “Animals give you loyalty, no question.”

“Especially horses,” Kirstie murmured happily. “Though I’d do it for Lisa, I guess.”

“Risk your life?” Matt mused.

Holding up her wrist to show him her bracelet, Kirstie nodded. They walked in silence toward the sun.

“Mom’s happy,” Matt said out of nowhere.

“That’s good.” Kirstie stopped, one hand on Cadillac’s neck.

“We talked. I’m gonna finish college, be a vet.”

She took a deep, deep breath. “That’s real good.”

Crazy Horse leaned his head across Matt to nudge her arm. His mane fell across his half-closed eyes, he seemed to be smiling:
It’s been a close call, but hey, everything worked out fine!

Kirstie is leading a horse trek through Miners’ Ridge when a sudden storm causes a landslide. She is trapped alone in Dead Man’s Canyon with a herd of wild horses whose leader—a proud stallion—has been hurt by falling rocks. Cold, wet, and alone in the gathering storm—can she find a way out and help the injured stallion?

While at a local rodeo contest, Kirstie is horrified to see how Rocky, an injured horse, is treated. Kirstie persuades her mother to buy him but soon learns that training an ex-rodeo horse is not easy. And when Rocky throws Kirstie on a trail far from the ranch, she quickly realizes that the only way to get them both home safely is to trust herself and the unruly horse.

Kirstie Scott knows her beloved horses are friendly and gentle, so when a guest at Half Moon Ranch accuses Johnny Mohawk of throwing him off, she is positive that he is lying. With the threat of a lawsuit looming, Kirstie must prove that Johnny Mohawk is not to blame before time runs out. Kirstie is certainly no detective, so how can she possibly prove that Johnny Mohawk is truly innocent?

Kirstie Scott can’t wait to meet the neighbors that have just moved in, especially their strong-willed and elegant mare, Midnight Lady. But she is shocked to discover that they mistreat their horses. Appalled by the abuse, she vows to rescue them. However, her plan backfires when many of the horses escape deep into the mountains. Kirstie is now faced with a tough choice—confess or sneak off herself in search of Midnight Lady and the other missing horses.

Kirstie Scott adores all of her horses, but Lucky is her favorite. She is devastated when Lucky suddenly falls ill and his life hangs in the balance. Even more unsettling is that no one can figure out what’s wrong with him. Desperate for answers, Kirstie takes Lucky deep into the Rockies to find a reclusive but legendary horse doctor before she loses her beloved friend. Who is this mysterious doctor—and will he even be able to save Lucky?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and brought up in Harrogate, Yorkshire, Jenny Oldfield went on to study English at Birmingham University, where she did research on the Brontë novels and on children’s literature. She then worked as a teacher before deciding to concentrate on writing. She writes novels for both children and adults and, when she can escape from her desk, likes to spend time outdoors. She loves the countryside and enjoys walking, gardening, playing tennis, riding, and traveling with her two daughters, Kate and Eve.