Dances with Wolf Read Online Free

get his horse calmed down, but he ’ s another matter entirely.”
    “You ’ re probably right. That whole Markley clan ’ s sure had their share of run-ins with animals.”
    “Matt should be running a Jiffy Lube, not a horse ranch.”
    “Abby, stop. ” Her mom chuckled.
    Last week, in his rugged fashion, Matt had complimented Abby, calling her “a great-looking gal” before turning away to hide the blush that lit up like wildfire on his cheeks. A handsome enough guy, he ’ d asked her to dinner, though Abby had pretended not to hear the question. Markley was all right, but he ’ d didn ’ t compare to—
    “Then, of course, What’s His Name will be there.” That was her mother’s preferred nickname for Wolf, her least favorite of the Olsen children. “Probably best to avoid dancing with him. Just keep it calm, cool, and polite. Let bygones be bygones…”
    Abby allowed herself a memory of Wolf and Bridget practicing the foxtrot on the Olsens’ wrap-around porch as she ’ d sat speechless on the stairs, watching them. This was the day before his prom invitation, the day before her life had gotten a whole lot more complicated.
    “He ’ s all yours now,” Bridget had said. “He ’ s a klutz, anyway.” The truth was, Wolf had never been a klutz. He ’ d moved with a feline grace, seemingly straight out of the womb. That night, after Bridget had gone inside, Wolf had danced a few steps with Abby on the porch, under the apple trees that lined the Olsens ’ property. Blossoms rained down on them, and to this day Abby didn ’ t know if she ’ d imagined it, but she could have sworn he ’ d looked at her in a new light, taken her seriously for the first time. He looked nervous almost, his hand trembling slightly at the small of her back. The next day, he ’ d surprised her by asking her to the prom. And of course, no matter what the Olsens or her parents would think, no matter what her best friend would think, there was only one answer. Yes, yes, yes.
    Abby flashed a smile and answered her mom’s question. “If you ’ re asking your Native American daughter to bury the hatchet, yes, Mom, I can do that.”
    “Now you ’ re just being fresh.” She wagged a finger, and Abby breathed a sigh of relief.
    “Anything for Dad. Anything for you, too.” Abby could do this. She could collect herself. She still had two days until she came face-to-face with Wolf again. “One thing, though. If he asks me to dance, I ’ ll take a cattle prod to him. Right where it counts.” She cracked a boot onto the hardwood floor and air-jabbed toward an imaginary male crotch, a merciless warrior going for the kill.
    Her mom shook her head. “That ’ s my girl. Fierce as ever.” She picked up the mail and headed down the long hall toward the kitchen.
    Inside, Abby ’ s heart continued to burn, a raging furnace of memory. She had spent weeks shopping for a prom dress and heels tall enough to look all six feet of him in the eyes. Like two supporting actresses in a rom-com, Bridget and her mom had come with her, giggling, offering advice, debating the virtues of sapphire blue over sunflower yellow.
    The sunflower had won, though in the end it was all for nothing.

Chapter Three
    Ever since Abby had decided to leave veterinary school in Spokane eighteen months earlier, she found herself explaining her decision to others, and even to herself. Why had she abandoned her lifelong goal of becoming a vet? Why had she broken things off with Ben, who was sweet and kind and handsome, to move back to the Flathead and live with her parents again? Wasn ’ t that the telltale sign that she had failed utterly at becoming an adult?
    But Spokane hadn ’ t felt right, and neither had school. She’d been busting her butt trying to ace Organic Chemistry, while she hadn ’ t as much as mounted a horse since leaving Montana. No, living at home or not, she was on a new, more exciting path now. She was making up her own rules, one at a