Dark Horse Read Online Free

you take me to her?”
    “Sure. Come on.” He leads me toward his squad car.
    I turn back to Mom. “Tell Dakota to put Starlight and Blackfire in the south pasture with the others.” It’s the pasture that’s farthest from the barn.
    She nods. “Be careful!” She wraps her arms around herself like she’s trying to keep warm, like it’s not a thousand degrees out here, like the whole world isn’t on fire.
    The police officer opens the back door of his squad car and motions for me to climb in. I do, wondering if this is what it feels like to be arrested. I imagine grabbing the person who started this fire and shoving him into the back of this car, sending him on his way to prison. That’s where he belongs.
    The policeman gets behind the wheel and starts the car. Then he turns to me. “I’m Deputy Hendren.”
    “Hank,” I return.
    “I figured. Sorry about you riding in back and all. Regulations.”
    “It’s okay. I don’t care. I just want to get to the horse.”
    He nods, and we back away from the barn.
    I try not to look at it, but I can’t help myself. The flames have all but died out now, leaving a sickly wash of smoldering black and gray. I turn away.
    We bounce over the lawn, skirting the driveway, the fire trucks, the news van. We pass Dakota and the horses, but I don’t think she notices me in the car.
    Once out on the road, Deputy Hendren steps on it, and we’re flying. Dust rises to the windows.
    We don’t talk. I want to ask him if there have been other fires around here, if he has any idea who could have set our barn on fire. But there’s a screen between me and the front seat, and I can’t bring myself to shout through it.
    I know we’ve driven more than two miles when we come to a squad car parked on the shoulder of County Road 175. We slow down, but two cops wave us on, motioning us around the corner. We take the turn, and I see more squad cars, three of them. My heart’s pounding. Why so many cars? Cleo’s only one horse.
    Then I see her. She’s rearing, pitted against four policemen, each with a rope hooked to her halter or looped around her neck. She rears straight up, pulling two big men off their feet. Cleo stands on her haunches so long I’m afraid she’ll fall over backwards.
    “Stop the car!” I yell. I try to get out of the patrol car, but there’s no door handle on the inside. My ears hurt from Cleo’s squeals. The shrill cries pierce my eardrums and travel through my nerves.
    I can’t take it. It’s worse than I thought. Cleo. The fire. Everything. Everything is worse than I thought.

Six
    Deputy Hendren shuts off the engine and hops out to open my door.
    I race past him to the field. Then I shout back, “Call the vet! We need to sedate her.”
    I run to the nightmarish scene. Cleopatra rears and tries to throw her head, but the ropes are taut.
    Forcing my legs to slow to a walk, I try to gain control of myself. Horses read fear. Cleo doesn’t need to add mine to hers.
    I recognize Mike Mooney, Nice chief of police, standing back and watching his men struggle. I walk up to him. “Chief Mooney, that’s my horse. Would you let me try to calm her?”
    “I thought she’d be yours,” he says. “Sorry to hear about that fire. Everybody get out okay?”
    I nod. “Everybody made it out. Thanks.”
    He glances at Cleo. She’s pawing the ground and snorting. “This horse one of your rescues?”
    “Yeah,” I answer. “She was in pretty bad shape when we got her. Then the fire pushed her over the edge. She stayed in the burning barn a long time. I think maybe I could calm her down if you could get people to back off.” I sound so convincing. But I’m not convinced. Not at all. Cleo didn’t trust me before. She’s got to hate me now. Still, I can’t stand seeing her yanked around like this.
    Chief Mooney has been staring at Cleo the whole time I’ve been talking to him. He turns to me now and seems to study me. “You sure, Hank? That horse is wild and angry.