Castaway Colt Read Online Free Page A

leaping onto horses and galloping toward Night Digger Point Beach right now.
    But Jonah reined them both in. “Tell me why you’re so sure it’s not some other colt,” he asked.
    â€œHis eyes are blue,” Darby said, “and his coat is creamy white. Oh, and his nose is pink,” Darby added, recalling how the colt had looked up to study her.
    â€œCremellos have pink skin,” Cathy said, “not black, like white Andalusians and Arabs.”
    â€œToo fancy for me,” Jonah scoffed, but Darby saw a slow smile lift one side of his black mustache. Then her grandfather laughed out loud. “Good. Sounds like we’ll be keeping that money in the family.”
    â€œAnd you say you know where he is?” Aunty Cathy sounded cautious.
    â€œWhy didn’t you bring the colt in?” Jonah asked.
    â€œI know where he was ,” Darby explained.
    â€œTango will find him!” Megan interrupted.
    That was a great idea, Darby thought. Megan’s rose roan mare would have perfect instincts for the task. Tango had been a wild horse, then a captive one. She’d been trained, then freed by an accident, and now she was home again.
    But Jonah hadn’t gotten that far in the plan. “You say Kimo’s out looking for him right now,” Jonah mused.
    â€œI would have kept searching with him, but he told me Aunty Cathy wanted me to try on my gym clothes,” Darby said as Aunty Cathy walked, smiling, toward the kitchen.
    â€œGym clothes!” Megan shook her head in disbelief, and then she was on her feet, practically dancing as she slung an arm around Darby’s shoulders.
    â€œIf Kimo doesn’t find him, Darby—my old buddy, old pal—I’ll help you. And we’ll split the money!”
    â€œDinner’s ready,” Aunty Cathy called.
    â€œMom!” Megan yelled at the wall between the living room and kitchen. “We’ve got to go find Stormbird!”
    â€œKimo will bring him, if he’s out there,” Aunty Cathy shouted back.
    Darby couldn’t help looking at Jonah.
    â€œI know it’s him,” Darby persisted. “He’s the right age and everything.”
    â€œAnd how many white colts with blue eyes are out wandering around alone?” Megan asked Jonah, then wheeled on Darby. “He was by himself, right?”
    â€œYes,” Darby said. “And lonesome, too. He wanted to play with Navigator.”
    Aunty Cathy returned. Carrying a platter loaded with food, she sidled in between the two girls and indicated that they should follow her to the table on the lanai.
    â€œPineapple chicken with sticky rice, stir-fried red and yellow peppers, broccoli, and—”
    â€œMom, we’ve got to go right now!”
    â€œIt’s dinnertime.”
    â€œSo?” Megan’s gestures were huge with frustration, and Darby could see Jonah’s amusement. “I’ll be able to buy you dinner every night for a month, two months—”
    â€œSimmer down, Megan,” Aunty Cathy said. “It will be dark soon.”
    Megan’s eyes beseeched Darby to help, and Darby would have, except that Aunty Cathy caught Megan’s silent plea for reinforcements. She pointed at Jonah and Darby, and snapped, “You two, sit down.”
    Darby did as she was told. Jonah pretended to flinch, then settled at his place.
    â€œYou knew about this,” Aunty Cathy said to Jonah as he began to eat.
    â€œAbout the colt and reward,” he admitted. “But I never guessed he was alive. Or nearby.”
    Darby ate, but her right foot jiggled back and forth with barely controlled energy. She was glad noone could see, because she couldn’t seem to stop it.
    â€œBabe was going to offer a week at the resort, instead of money,” Jonah told them. “But she’s afraid…How did she put it? That ‘someone unsavory might win.’”
    Aunty Cathy put down her fork and sat back in