Eagle River Read Online Free Page B

That’s a wild animal you’re sitting on.”
    Jethro gazed at him tolerantly with one enormous, soft caramel-colored eye and proceeded to yawn.
    That struck Kjersten as even more hysterical. She leaned over the broad neck of the gentle giant and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face in that thick, butter colored mess of mane. “He is friendly, isn’t he? And he smells good, too. Dusty, salty sweet, you know what I mean?”
    “That’s how all horses smell.”
    “He must be old. He’s so big.”
    “Age doesn’t have anything to do with how big a horse is. Most horses are finished growing at two or three. Jethro’s a work horse, so big and strong. And he’s also kind of old. He doesn’t work hard anymore, except around Christmas time when Kyle hitches him and James up to a wagon and takes people for drives in the snow at the Christmas tree farm. Jethro loves that kind of stuff. He likes attention.” Galen patted the horse’s face with fond appreciation.
    “He’ll let me ride him?”
    “Well, to a point.” Galen enjoyed being the one in the know. “Jethro doesn’t like to go fast anywhere. But you can learn the basic stuff on him. All of us kids start on Jethro, just as soon as our legs were long enough so that we could sit up there.”
    “How do I get him started?”
    Galen saw that some of Kjersten’s fear had thawed. “Give him a kick with both legs, and you’re going to have to keep kicking him. He’s lazy and he’s not a motorcycle. Cluck a little, too.”
    She brushed old Jethro with her heels. He swished at a fly with his stump of a tail. She kicked a little harder. Jethro swung his great head to one side, almost dragging Kjersten off with his movement, as she had a death grip on the rein, and began to industriously scratch at his shoulder. Kjersten looked perplexed but unafraid. This time, she belted Jethro one. His head cocked. Galen could see that canny old mind spinning. Jethro began to mosey along while Galen stood still watching, enjoying Kjersten’s excitement.
    “I did it! He’s moving. This feels funny. But wait, how do I steer?”
    “Pull on one rein or the other.”
    Jethro’s head swung left and then right, but he moved inexorably in the same direction, towards the barn.
    “How do I stop?” Kjersten’s voice was shrill but not yet panicked.
    “Act like you know what you are doing.”
    “He knows what he’s doing.”
    Galen broke into a jog as the struggling Kjersten disappeared behind the wide opened barn door. He dashed into the barn, expecting the worst, only to find Jethro complacently standing in his stall chomping hay. Kjersten was still sitting on his back, patting the broad shoulders of the beast.
    “I guess he’s hungry.”
    “That doesn’t make any difference. That was really bad of him.” He walked into the stall and grabbed Jethro’s reins. He struggled to drag the horse’s nose out of the hay.
    “He’s tired and hungry.” Kjersten awkwardly slid off of Jethro’s back. The horse studied her with satisfaction. She rubbed the side of his head. Jethro eyed Galen uneasily and then rubbed his great head against Kjersten’s side. Next, he rested his head on her shoulder and blew gently from his nostrils onto the side of her neck.
    “He’s telling me to take that thing...”
    “The bridle,” Galen supplied.
    “Off. He’s itchy. Isn’t he cute?” Jethro was in hog heaven as Kjersten began to scratch him behind his fuzzy ears. “He likes me.”
    Galen watched, his irritation at Jethro giving way to enjoyment of the girl’s happiness. Kjersten was fun to hang out with, almost as good as a boy , and she sure was pretty.
    Even today, her beauty still made him ache. He didn’t remember when exactly he’d become aware of her as a girl, but he’d gone along with them just being pals more or less successfully until the night of the homecoming dance her junior year. The memories of that night remained so vivid in his mind.
    A sophomore, he had