Dark Sunshine Read Online Free Page A

“But there’s a brand inspector there. If he thinks the horses are mustangs, he won’t let them go up for sale.”
    â€œAre you sure?” Sam thought of the two mares and the beautiful black yearling.
    â€œYeah.” Jake sounded bored, but Sam could see he was just preoccupied, still staring at the buckskin. “When you get done, come back.”
    â€œWhy?” She’d had every intention of doing just that, but Sam didn’t like Jake bossing her around.
    â€œShe might let you take that blindfold off,” he said.
    Sam felt dizzy, remembering the mare’s charge on the mountain, remembering she’d almost fainted from fear. But Jake never suggested she do something dangerous.
    â€œPiece of cake,” Sam said, then hurried off to make that phone call, half hoping Gram would forbid her to leave the house.
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    â€œI’ll dispatch two rangers the minute we hang up. One can check out the auction yards. The other can go up by Lost Canyon and determine who’s responsible.” Brynna Olson, director of Willow Springs Wild Horse Center, sounded crisp and businesslike.
    She always did. Sam still had to look hard to see the kind woman inside that wrinkle-free government uniform.
    Still, Brynna was awfully good at her work. With a few questions, she’d pried a lot of information from Sam’s weary brain. Now, Sam could clearly picture the three men: the freckle-faced one in camouflage, the white-haired one with the buggy eyes, and the cowboy who’d flicked the black whip with such easy cruelty.
    The buckskin’s screams invaded the kitchen. Gram, who’d been sipping coffee and listening to Sam’s conversation, frowned.
    â€œI’ll read that location back to you,” Brynna said. “Correct anything I might’ve taken down incorrectly.”
    Brynna read Sam’s description of the trail into Lost Canyon. Of course, she’d copied it perfectly.
    â€œYou’ve got it,” Sam said, trying to block out the commotion coming from the barn pen.
    â€œThis evening when I drive out to talk with Wyatt,” Brynna said, “I’ll check the mare’s freeze mark and start tracking her owner. What else should I know?”
    Sam bit her lip. So far, she hadn’t mentioned the Phantom or said it had been his herd driven toward the trap. The less folks thought about the stallion, the better. It couldn’t possibly matter.
    â€œThey were using her as a Judas horse,” Sam blurted. “They must have turned her loose farther down the mountain, then spooked the mustangs after her. She led them right into the trap, as if she knew there’d be food there. She’s half starved and dehydrated.”
    â€œI’ll send a vet.”
    Suddenly there was a ringing thump outside, as if the mare were trying to kick her way out of the barn corral.
    â€œSend a big one,” Sam said. “She’s a fighter.”
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    It turned out Sam didn’t have to remove the buckskin’s blindfold. Sweetheart rubbed faces with her and accidentally peeled off the bandanna, and that’s when the mare had gone crazy all over again.
    â€œShe’s fine as long as she faces that way.” Jakepointed. He’d been watching her the whole time Sam was on the phone. “Looking into the dark barn, she’s fine. She started coming unglued when I turned on the light to get a look at her.”
    Was something wrong with the buckskin’s eyes? Sam had assumed the men had blindfolded the mare to make her helpless, but maybe she was extra sensitive to light. Sam knew nothing about horses’ eyes, and she had no time to ask Jake before she heard riders approaching.
    Dad and all three cowboys—Dallas, Pepper, and Ross—were crossing the bridge. They rode loose-jointed and tired, like men who’d already put in a full day’s work.
    Sam looked at her watch. She could hardly believe it was already 4 P.M. She