The Judge by Jan Hudson

Author:Jan Hudson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

When Frank saw Carrie take off lickety-split, it scared the devil out of him. He sprang into Apache’s saddle, yelled, “Watch the kids,” and took out after her.

He couldn’t catch her.

When he finally drew within sight, he could see that she was bent low over Betsy’s neck—probably holding on for dear life and frightened to death. Urging Apache faster, he closed the gap until he could see that Carrie wasn’t on a runaway—or frightened.

She was laughing, and she rode as if she were born in a saddle. He wanted to break her neck.

Carrie slowed, and Frank drew up beside her. She was still laughing.

“You scared the hell out of me,” he bellowed.

Sobering instantly, she looked at him as if he were a frog in a punch bowl. “Who stepped on your tail, Your Honor?” She turned Betsy and walked her through a pasture full of yellow wildflowers.

He followed and caught up with her. “I’m sorry. I thought that Betsy had run away with you and you were in trouble. I must have aged ten years when I saw you shoot off.”

Looking amused, she patted Betsy’s neck. “I’ll have you know that I was a junior barrel racing champion for three years running. And on a paint that could be a twin of this one. I lost her a few years ago, and it broke my heart.”

“You’re a great rider,” he said as they walked the horses through the pasture. “You look like you grew up in the saddle.”

“Except for occasional pony rides at the fair, I didn’t get on a horse until I was fourteen and went to live on my uncle’s ranch. Then you couldn’t get me off one. Calico was just over a year old when I arrived, and we sort of grew up together.”

“Calico?”

“My horse. Windwood’s Calico Spring. She had a foal named Calico Summer Storm that paid my way through law school.”

“How so?”

“His sire was a champion, and he won a bunch of awards as well. A fellow in Louisiana was eager to have him. Turned out that a rancher in Dallas wanted him, too. They got into a bidding war, and he brought big bucks.”

“Who got him?” Frank asked.

“The man from Louisiana. When I heard Betsy’s name, I wondered if she might have been from the same line. Of course Calico is a common name for piebalds.”

“It might be a possibility. I bought Betsy through a breeder in Shreveport. We can check it out.”

“Wouldn’t that be something if they were related? She’s such a beauty.” Betsy tossed her head as if agreeing. Carrie smiled and patted the horse’s neck. “She knows she’s special. Would you consider selling her to me?”

Frank shook his head. “Sorry, I couldn’t. She…well, she’s not for sale.”

“I understand. Janey said she was your wife’s horse.”

“Yes. I’d just bought her for Susan’s birthday the week before she…was killed. Susan only rode her once.” The mention of Susan’s name brought back painful memories as it always did. Susan hadn’t been as thrilled by the gift of a horse as he figured she might be.

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