Chapter 1
Part 2
. . . Continued- He didn’t move but set his massive head on my shoulder. I squeezed him hard, choking myself with tears. He snorted and I stepped back.
“Thanks, Ebb” I said, patting his neck.
I wiped my eyes on the back of my hand and took a hold of Ebb’s red halter. I took him back to the house, where I saddled and bridled him quickly, praying that Granny staying put in the kitchen. I surveyed the house, which was void of all movement. I plopped a foot in the left stirrup and slid up on the saddle. I clicked my tongue and Ebb started forward at a slow walk. A nice walk around the barnyard on Ebb would do me good. I heard a noise and twisted around in the saddle. It was Granny! The kitchen door opened and out stepped Granny.
“Casi!” she called.
Just as she turned and saw me, I slapped Ebb’s black rump and, startled, he surged forward.
“Casi!” I heard Granny call from behind me.
I urged Ebb faster, gripping my saddle tightly with my knees. We quickly left the barn behind. Ebbs was nearing one of the side pastures. I peered ahead, it seemed to be empty. Strange. The foreman, Jacob, was just talking about turning out some yearlings in the far side pasture up by the mountain. I’d thought he meant this one..must have been another pasture.
But what other pasture?
I quickly snapped out of my thoughts as Ebbs slid to a halt right in front of the fence. I hopped off and opened the gate. It was empty, how strange. I shrugged and closed the gate after Ebb. Just as I was mounting up, I saw something out of the corner of my eyes. What? I twisted around in the saddle. Nothing. Couldn’t be our yearlings, they would have run up to greet Ebb and me right away. Dax, maybe? Dax was a big black and tan lab mix Jacob had talked dad into getting as a guard dog. Dax wouldn’t be wondering around in an empty pasture. I looked up as Ebb stopped in front of the other gate. I started to dismount, when I realized the gate was open! Jacob had a very strict policy about never leaving gates open. I left the two-year-old paddock unlatched once after visiting Sierra, our one of our fillies that I was soon to be breaking. Luckily, the lot of them didn’t get any farther than the house and Granny’s flower beds. I lost a good hour of that day sitting in the barn listening to Jacob drone on about security and gates and money and latches and things. I guided Ebb through the gate and paused.
“Should I latch it?” I asked Ebb.
A large horsefly landed behind his ear, making him give a big shake of his head. That was good enough for me and I clicked my tongue. Now his mane was all messed up and I dropped the reins and leaned over his neck to rearrange it. Straightening back up, I heard a sound somewhere between a growl and a screech. -To be continued . . .
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