Whirlwind by Alison Hart

Author:Alison Hart [Hart, Alison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-375-86006-5
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2010-12-05T05:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

LIKE ME. JAS COULDN’T GET THE TWO WORDS out of her head. She’d spit them out like a dare, hoping Ms. Baylor wouldn’t see how afraid she was. But, really, Hugh scared her.

She was huddled in the clean straw in a corner of Shadow’s stall. The barn’s ceiling fans rotated, stirring the hot air and keeping the flies away. Beside her, Shadow chewed contentedly on a flake of hay.

Like me. Jas had lived at High Meadows Farm since she was nine. She’d worked with Hugh almost every day. Yet she knew in her heart that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if he found out she was still looking for Whirlwind.

Closing her eyes, she pictured her old life. Grandfather had always worked on horse farms, so Jas had been riding since she could walk. But Hugh was the first to notice her talent. Taking her under his wing, he’d instructed her every day. Not only did she love the hours of riding, but also she was a natural. It wasn’t long before the horses she rode won classes, then championships. Soon he’d called her his protégé. Soon he’d loved her.

Or so she’d thought.

But Hugh loved only Hugh. She’d been a pawn. “Great job!” he’d tell her, but his praise was always followed by “You bring out the best in Hero”—or Blossom or Raisin or whatever horse she was riding.

His praise had seduced her into thinking he cared about her. But really, the only thing he’d cared about was that she made his horses shine in the ring and in front of clients. Her talent sold horses. It made him money.

And it had been a curse. Like Chase had said, she’d been on her way to becoming a mini Hugh.

Thank goodness for Second Chance Farm. She glanced up at Shadow. He gazed at her with big brown eyes, a hunk of hay sticking from his mouth. Whirlwind’s “death,” the farm, and especially riding Shadow had saved her.

Drawing up her knees, Jas wrapped her arms around them. Shadow bent down and blew at her hair. She reached up and stroked the white stripe that ended with a dot. “Thank you, buddy,” she whispered. “For helping me break the curse.”

Outside, a car door slammed. Jas startled, banging her head against the stall wall. Wincing, she rubbed the bump already forming. No wonder she was jumpy. Ever since meeting Hugh in the courthouse, she’d felt his eyes peering from every dark corner. Felt his fingers squeezing her neck.

Rubbing her throat, she tried to erase him from her mind. He was still after her, that she knew.

It was stupid of her not to have said something to Ms. Baylor. Maybe Hugh hadn’t acted on his threats, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t.

Chase’s voice came from outside. It was late afternoon, time to turn out the horses. He was talking to George about which horse went in which pasture.

Jas held her breath as the two came into the barn. She didn’t want to see George or Chase.

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