Moon Shadow Read Online Free Page A

legs and rose from the spiky bush, dusting off his pants. The girls watched all three horses disappear over the hill.
    â€œWhat do we do now?” Billie said in dismay, looking to Callie.
    â€œI guess we have no choice.” Callie glared at Luke. “Unless Mr. Mustanger here has his cell phone so he can call his dad to come pick us up in his four-wheel drive, it looks like we’re going to be walking home.” She brushed past Luke and started down the trail. It was going to be a hot, dusty two miles back to her house.

Three
    â€œThat was awesome!” Luke said, pulling the hat off his sweaty brow.
    Callie ignored him and continued to march homeward. Her boots were pinching her feet and she could feel a blister forming on her heel with each step she took.
    Billie kept pace with Callie. “Who do you think that chopper belonged to?” she asked. “I don’t remember ever seeing anyone out here when we were riding.”
    â€œI don’t know.” Callie kept her voice low so as not to invite a three-way conversation, but Luke pushed between them. Callie glared at him. “I was too busy trying to catch Celah to get much of a look at the copter, but it looked like the ones the Bureau of Land Management uses. Their logo isn’t very big, so it’s hard to tell.”
    Luke grabbed a lock of Callie’s unruly hair and gave it a teasing tug. “Oh, come on, why would the BLM be out here?” He reached down to pluck a long stem of wild grass and stuck it between his teeth. “There’s nothing here to manage but sagebrush and jackrabbits.”
    Callie ignored him and directed her answer to Billie. “They’re probably looking over the mustang herds, getting ready to do a roundup. Harvey said he heard them talking in the office back at the adoption center. He’s not too keen on helicopter roundups. It’s really hard on the horses.”
    As they tromped across the sand, a hollow pit opened in the bottom of Callie’s stomach. What if they round up Cloud Dancer’s herd? she thought. It really bothered her that Moonbeam could be gathered in the pens and put up for adoption. Callie knew that she’d saved almost enough from her allowance to cover the $125 adoption fee, but Moonbeam would have her foal soon, and her parents wouldn’t be able to pay for the everyday upkeep of two horses.
    She took a deep breath and told herself not to worry. Cloud Dancer had been grazing these valleys with his mares for years and he’d always kept his herd safe. He had produced a legacy of beautiful wild foals that would roam the hills for many more years to come.
    â€œI’ll call Harvey when we get home and see if he knows anything more,” Callie said. “Hopefully, they’re just doing a head count.”
    Luke gave Billie a toothy grin. “They haven’t done any roundups out here for a long time,” he said, trying to show off his knowledge of horses. “They’re not allowed to use the chopper in the spring because it’s foaling season. After June, they can use the helicopter to round up the horses and drive them over long distances.”
    â€œBut your mustang is still in foal,” Billie said to Callie. “What will happen to Moonbeam if they do a roundup?”
    Seeing the warning look on Callie’s face, Luke threw an arm over each girl’s shoulder, dragging them to a slower pace. “Callie’s mustang?” he asked as he looked from one to the other. “Ha! Callie doesn’t own a mustang mare. The only thing she’s got is that big tank she passes off as a horse. She ought to get herself a real horse, like one of our registered quarter horses.”
    Callie shrugged out of his grasp. “Okay, that’s it!” she said with a stomp of her foot that she knew probably seemed childish. “You’re not fit company for a vulture, Luke. This is where we part ways.”
    â€œI