Red Feather Filly Read Online Free Page B

you did before.”
    Sam finished saddling Ace in silence. Jen hadn’t changed her mind about Dad, but she didn’t feel like arguing.
    â€œWait, we were talking about you riding with Ryan. How did we get off on this tangent about me?”
    â€œBecause it’s your kind of race,” Jen said. “You connect with your horse. If I understand what Mrs. Allen has in mind, that’s what half this race is about.”
    â€œMaybe,” Sam said, shrugging.
    But Jen was right. She might not be dynamite in the saddle, but she could usually communicate with horses.
    Ace’s head swung around to face her. His black forelock parted over the white star on his forehead and his big brown eyes studied her.
    Sam leaned forward and kissed his nose before bridling him. Maybe it was Ace, not her, who was psychic. Of course, she had stayed in touch with the Phantom.
    Sam stared past the ranch gates, toward the Calico Mountains. It was spring. He should be nearby. If she could beckon him to the river tonight, she’d do it.
    Ace’s back hooves danced, eager to be off. Witch flattened her ears and lashed her tail in annoyance.
    â€œWhere’s Jake, do you think?”
    â€œHe’s out there, working on the bunkhouse, see?” Jen nodded toward the half-finished structure.
    Of course he was. She’d heard all the racket and dismissed it as the carpenters pounding on the barn.
    But Jake wasn’t hammering. Using a handsaw, he was cutting lumber. His black hair had worked loose from its rawhide tie. Now, it swung forward with each stroke of the saw. As they watched, he dropped the saw, shrugged off his plaid flannel shirt, and tossed it toward a stump. It missed and hit the ground, but he kept working, oblivious to the fact that he only wore a plain white tee shirt over jeans.
    The sight of Jake’s bare arms made Sam shiver. The sun was out, but it was not warm.
    If Dad had asked him to come over and work, why hadn’t he mentioned it?
    Sam knew Dad hadn’t. The insurance company was paying the carpenters repairing the barn. They would move on to the bunkhouse as soon as they’d finished. Dad wouldn’t ask Jake to work without paying him. And Dad couldn’t afford to pay Jake when he already had a crew drawing wages from the insurance company.
    Besides that, Jake was on the school track team. Once the season had started, he used every spare minute to train for his long-distance events.
    Jake’s saw rasped through the lumber, and sawdust flew. He could have used Dad’s electric saw, but he seemed to welcome the exertion.
    He didn’t look over at her and Jen even once.
    Was he just concentrating or was he angry?
    Sam took Ace’s bridle reins and backed him away from Silly and Witch.
    â€œI don’t think I want to talk with him,” she said to Jen.
    Sam stepped into her stirrup, swung into the saddle, and turned Ace toward the ranch entrance.
    â€œHe’s sawing like he’s taking someone’s head off,” Jen said as she mounted, too. “So, I’m sure not going over there.”
    â€œHow ’bout later?” Sam asked.
    â€œOkay,” Jen said. “We’ll take care of everything after our ride, for sure.”
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    But after their ride, Jen chickened out.
    â€œIt’s getting too cold to work with the horses,” she said. “And Jake hates me even when he’s in a good mood.”
    â€œHe doesn’t hate you,” Sam said, but Jen had a point. She and Jake were too much alike to get along.
    So, Sam waved as Jen turned south, leaving her to ride back to River Bend Ranch alone.
    Gram would be there when she arrived, though. She and Jen had seen the big yellow Buick go by on the highway.
    â€œI saw Gram’s shopping list before she left,” Sam told Ace as she rubbed his damp neck. “And if you’re very good, I’ll bring you a sugar cube for a treat. She doesn’t mind spoiling