Broken Horse Read Online Free

from the tub. Then, after much hesitation, she stepped forward, lowered her head to examine the tub’s contents more closely, and finally started to eat.
    When the mare had finished every drop of mash in the tub, Nicholas reached in and removed it. The mare shied away from him, returning to her spot on the far side of the corral. “That should help her,” he commented with satisfaction.
    Judy was more cautious. “At least she’s eating,” was all she would say.
    Carole turned to Nicholas. “Have you heard anything about the owner?”
    “I haven’t,” Nicholas said. “But maybe someone has. Let’s go find out.”
    Judy nodded. “And I’d better find out who’ll be watching the mare overnight and give them some instructions.”
    The group headed into the CARL building. While Judy went to the front desk to find out who would be on duty that night, the girls and Nicholas found Luanne in the dogroom. She was brushing one of the inmates, a big, friendly mixed breed with long brown-and-white fur.
    “How’s the mare?” Luanne asked after greeting them.
    “Judy has done all she can for her,” Carole reported. “Now she says all we can do is wait and see.”
    “Did the police catch the creep who owns her?” Stevie asked.
    Luanne shook her head. “Sorry, sweetie. They didn’t. They waited around for an hour or so, then gave up and left a note. They’re going to check back at the farm later, but they’re afraid the owners might be out of town. If so, I just hope they left some food for that dog.”
    “Me too,” Carole said. She was crazy about horses, but she loved other animals, too, and she hated to think that another creature might still be suffering on that terrible farm.
    “Don’t worry, they’ll track the owner down sooner or later,” Nicholas assured the girls, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.
    “I hope it’s sooner,” Stevie said. She yawned. “Boy, am I tired. All that veterinary nursing is exhausting.” She glanced at her friends. “I think we’ve done all we can do here for now. What do you say we call my dad to come pick us up? It’s time to head back to my place and relax.”
    “Sounds good to me,” Carole said.
    Lisa shook her head. “You guys go ahead. I think I’ll stay here for a while. Judy might need my help.”
    “But how will you get back to my house?” Stevie asked. “It’s too far for you to walk. Maybe we should all stay.”
    “That’s okay,” Luanne put in. “I’m not leaving for another hour or so. If Lisa wants to stay, I can drop her off on my way home.”
    “Thanks, Luanne,” Lisa said quickly, before her friends could protest any further. “That would be great. I’ll see you guys in an hour then, okay?”
    “Well, okay,” Carole said. “If you’re sure you want to stay.”
    “I’m sure,” Lisa said firmly.
    W HEN C AROLE AND Stevie walked into the Lakes’ house with Stevie’s father, the first person they saw was Alex.
    “Well, if it isn’t Romeo,” Stevie commented. “Where’s Juliet?”
    Mr. Lake just smiled. “Take it easy, Stevie, okay?” he said. “By the way, you girls missed dinner. There’s leftover chicken in the fridge and pizza in the freezer. Just help yourselves.” With that, he disappeared upstairs.
    “It’s funny you should mention
Romeo and Juliet
, Stevie,” Alex said with a smile. “Paige and I were just talking about it today in school. We might ask our teacher if we can act out one of the love scenes for our final English project next semester. We think we’d be perfectly cast as star-crossed lovers.”
    “Star-crossed
losers
is more like it,” Stevie muttered.
    Carole heard her, but she didn’t think Alex did. He was gazing into space, a dreamy look in his eyes and an even dreamier smile on his face. He was also humming quietly. It took Carole a moment to place the tune, but finally she recognized it as a popular song called “You’ve Stolen My Heart.”
    Stevie obviously recognized it, too,