Desert Dancer by Terri Farley

Author:Terri Farley
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2003-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Sam’s mind spun with envy.

But Callie had just asked a question and she was waiting for an answer.

“I think we should leave Queen where she is,” Sam managed. A breeze blew through just then and Sam was amazed at its frigidity. She pulled her jacket closer, but the wind seemed to slice right through. “We do have other mustangs, but if we turn her out with them, I don’t think we’d ever get her back in this round pen where we can work with her.”

“Ever?” Callie said. As she bunched her cloak closer around her neck, she smiled.

“You know what I mean.” Sam tried not to sound impatient. “We couldn’t do it without roping her and dragging her back.”

“She doesn’t need another trauma,” Callie agreed.

“Besides, I can’t rope, can you?”

“No.” Callie climbed up on the fence and laid her crossed arms on the top rail. She watched the mare watch her.

Sam joined her.

Callie sounded almost hypnotized as she said, “So we’re back where we started. Given the kind of week Queen’s had, what should we do next?”

“What would you want?”

Callie frowned, really thinking about it as they watched the mare lift her head and sniff. Sam wondered whether the sudden cold signaled snow. It could, she supposed, but the clouds overhead were dark gray, not white-bellied.

“I’d want a hot bath and a cup of mint tea. What’s the horse equivalent of that? Just being left alone with a little food and fresh water?”

“Sounds about right to me,” Sam said. For the horse’s sake, she tried not to be jealous that Callie seemed to have a knack for reading Queen’s mind.

Sam put Ace back in his stall, then helped Callie unload the hay and grain she’d brought. The wind was so cold, it felt almost wet as it snatched bits of hay and sent it blizzarding around the ranch yard before they could get it under cover.

When all the hay was stacked in the feed room, with the burlap bags of grain alongside, Sam sighed. At least Dad couldn’t complain that she’d allowed a strange mustang to come in and eat their expensive food.

Soon, they’d scattered loose hay in the corral. Sam suggested sprinkling a handful of grain on the top, so Queen would gradually get used to eating it.

Right now, the mare only wanted to drink. She kept her body turned so that her eyes showed over the top of the bucket. She observed them, closely, ready to run if they invaded her new home. As they let her get used to them, Sam and Callie worked out a schedule.

Callie had classes at the beauty college every morning, but she was usually finished by noon. Two days each week she worked from twelve until five doing haircuts, manicures, and other beauty treatments.

“For people who are brave enough to be my guinea pigs,” Callie said. She rubbed her hands together like an evil genius, then pulled her cloak to cover both of them.

“They’re not risking much,” Sam said. “You did a great job with me, and I’d just had my head shoved in a horse trough.

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