Rodeo Rocky Read Online Free

he glanced around at her, his face red and angry, the corners of his mouth turned down beneath the heavy black mustache.
    “They’ve used an electric prod on the bay stallion!” she cried. “He’s already cut from the earlier race. No way is this fair!”
    The tall man frowned and pushed her to one side. Kirstie lost her balance and had to put out a hand to stop herself from falling into the dirt. Then she was up and following him across the arena to the squeezes.
    Williams stopped short of Rocky’s chute and turned on her. “Quit it, will you?” With a quick look sideways, he gestured to Jake Mooney to get ready to mount his horse, which kicked and barged inside the trap. “Soon as they’ve carried Fenney clear and got him into an ambulance, you’re on!” he yelled.
    The tough cowboy nodded and pulled on his black leather gloves. As he climbed the chute fence, poised ready to swing his leg across the protesting horse, his silver spurs clinked and glinted.
    “Please!” Kirstie cried. She ran around to face the angry organizer. “You have to stop this!”
    “I said, quit it! Do you have any idea what you’re asking?” His voice nasty and loaded with scorn, Williams stood by Rocky’s chute and stared down at her.
    Kirstie held his gaze. She clenched her hands until her nails dug into the soft palms. “Use another horse!” she pleaded. “Rocky’s hurt. Don’t send him into the ring!”
    The organizer sneered and shook his head. “Come here, let me tell you something.” He leaned into the chute and roughly took hold of the bay stallion’s reins.
    Squinting into the sun, Kirstie saw Rocky pull away, eyes rolling, ears back. Above them, balanced on the top rung of the fence, Jake Mooney’s black figure towered.
    “What you gotta understand, little girl, is that this bronc is special,” Williams explained. “He’s strong, he’s fast, and he’s mean. If we play our cards right, we’ll make a champ of him!”
    “What kind of champion?” Kirstie protested. She was stung by the organizer’s insulting tone, but felt hot, dizzy, and helpless before him.
    Rocky strained away from the man’s grasp, swinging his head, shaking his tangled mane.
    “A prize bronc. We’ll send him around the circuit; San Luis, Renegade, Marlowe County.”
    Inside the narrow chute, Rocky reared and whinnied.
    Williams held onto the reins, dragging the horse down. “Then, in the fall, when he’s got himself a big name as a bucking bronc, we’ll truck him up to the Denver sale barn and sell him for thousands of dollars.”
    Kirstie swallowed hard and bit her lip. She saw her mom quickly push her way to the front of the crowd, climb the fence, and jump into the arena.
    No way!
she cried to herself, gazing up with tear-filled eyes at the struggling horse.
No way will we let that happen!

3
    “I’ll give you two thousand dollars for the horse.” Sandy Scott’s offer came across quiet and firm. Her hand shaded her eyes from the sun’s rays, which caught her fair hair and made it shine the color of corn.
    Taken aback, Wade Williams let go of Rocky’s reins. “You can’t be serious!”
    “I’ve never been more serious in my life.” Kirstie’s mom didn’t waver. She stood beside the chute, one hand on the back pocket which held her checkbook.
    Kirstie felt she could hardly breathe. She really loved her mom, she decided. She loved her more than anything in the world!
    “Two thousand dollars,” Sandy repeated. “But only if you sell me the stallion
before
you let Jake ride him.”
    “Hey, boss!” The cowboy climbed down from the fence to protest. “You can’t do that. I’m down to ride the bay. It’s a big chance for me.”
    The frown on Williams’s face deepened. He batted his hand in Mooney’s direction, as if swatting a fly. “Let’s get this straight. You want to buy Rodeo Rocky here and take him to work at Half Moon Ranch?”
    “You got it,” Sandy replied. She glanced sideways at Kirstie and gave a