Sunset Ranch by A. Destiny & Emma Carlson Berne

Author:A. Destiny & Emma Carlson Berne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Chapter Nine

“A ll right, get along!” Dana called, riding easily on Sunny, her palomino mare. She squeezed the horse to a jog, moving close to Mrs. Coleman, who was bouncing helplessly in her saddle, clutching the horn with both hands. At the back of the group, one of the Taylor girls was crying again, while the father tried to comfort her in his usual desperate, placating whisper. The oblivious mother rode up front, peppering Rick with questions about the sustainability of the ranch’s water supply, and I brought up the rear on Magic.

All three of the new horses had made a lot of progress, but Magic had made even more progress than I thought he would. He would let me and Zach put on his halter and bridle, as long as we worked slowly and carefully and didn’t touch his ears any more than absolutely necessary. He still wouldn’t let Stephen near him, though—not since that first day when Rick had made Stephen tie him up. Stephen said he wasn’t worried, but I didn’t believe him. And the tension in his hands and voice whenever he came near Magic now just made the horse avoid him more. He’d even tried to bite Stephen the other day, and Zach had laughed, which hadn’t helped the situation.

The water problem was the worst, though—every time I filled his bucket with the hose, he rolled his eyes and stood in the very back corner of his stall, as far away from the hose as possible. And he wouldn’t drink at all from the big trough in the pasture if a hose was filling it up at the same time. But as soon as the surface of the water was calm, he relaxed.

Now I ran my hand up and down his beautiful gray-brown fur and guided him with the other. His mouth was beautifully responsive—the slightest twitch of my fingers and he pricked up his ears, waiting to see what I was asking. Even his trot was smooth, jostling me just slightly in the saddle.

Dana led the group through one of the main pastures. “This way, everyone!” she called, waving us to follow her. She squeezed Sunny into a slow lope, and with varying degrees of competency, the guests followed in a straggling line.

I asked Magic for a canter and he picked it up easily while I relaxed, enjoying the rocking motion of his lovely gait, admiring the way the dry, yellow grass contrasted almost violently with the jewel-blue sky.

The path twisted and meandered, carrying us up and down little hills. I pressed my heels down further, trying to imagine my legs as long lines clinging to Magic’s sides without gripping, as my old riding teacher used to say. Then a small burbling creek appeared in my peripheral vision, and the path dipped and turned until it was running parallel.

Magic pulled up suddenly, almost rocking back on his legs. I gasped and gripped the reins, struggling to keep from falling forward onto his neck, and quickly scanned the path for snakes, by far the most common cause of spooking out here.

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