A Horse for Kate (Horses and Friends Book 1)

by Miralee Ferrell

  Kate and Tori stared, their mouths hanging open. Kate grabbed Tori’s arm, yanking her away from the fence. “He’s not going to stop! He’s going to crash into the fence!”

  Carissa planted herself in the way and waved her arms. “Rocket. Whoa, boy!”

  The gelding didn’t slow but veered ever so slightly from where Carissa stood. Three strides from the fence, he seemed to gather himself, and in the next stride he leaped into the air, sailing over the top rail. He landed on the other side and galloped down the path that led toward the barn, with Carissa racing after him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kate and Tori sprinted after Carissa, weaving their way around the corner of the outdoor arena and jumping over a couple of poles that rolled away from the stack.

  “Rocket sure lived up to his name when he jumped that fence,” Kate told Tori as they ran. “I hope Carissa can catch him before he gets to the road.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Tori slowed to a jog when they reached the end of the barn.

  Kate pointed. “Look, he’s coming this way.” The big gray had circled the barn and slowed from a gallop to a fast trot, his head lifted and nostrils flaring as he moved toward them.

  Tori shrank against the barn wall. “What should we do? We can’t catch him, and I don’t want to get trampled.”

  Kate didn’t move. She lifted her arms out to the side. “It’s okay, Rocket. Calm down, boy.”

  Carissa skidded to a halt behind the horse. “Good job, Kate. Stand there and don’t move, and keep your hands out like that.” She moved toward the gelding, her voice low and soothing. “Come on, Rocket. Here’s an apple treat.” The halter and lead were still slung over her arm, but her other hand was extended with a treat on her palm.

  Rocket snorted and sidestepped as she approached, then took off again, tossing his head. He trotted toward the large outdoor arena, each step a thing of beauty as he arched his neck and pranced. Kate was so taken with how pretty he was, she almost forgot to worry about the horse.

  Mrs. Wilder ran from the barn with Mrs. Sorenson and Colt right behind her. Colt, eyes wide, drew to a stop only feet from Kate and Tori. “What happened? How did Rocket get loose?”

  Kate swung her gaze to his. “You should have seen him. It was awesome! Carissa called the horses in, and Rocket came at a full gallop. He jumped the pasture fence like it wasn’t even there.”

  “Nice! I wish I would’ve been there.” Colt rubbed his hands together and grinned. “I’ve never jumped a horse and don’t want to learn, but it’s still fun to see them do it.”

  Tori groaned. “It wasn’t fun at all. I thought he was going to run into the fence where we were standing and kill us, and then he sailed over close to our heads. I’m never learning to jump.”

  “I want to.” Kate breathed the words almost like a prayer. “I can’t think of anything that would be more fun.”

  Rocket acted as though he were playing a game as he evaded the women’s attempts to catch him, and once again he headed toward the barn at a fast trot.

  Colt jerked his head. “Come on! We’ll go around the other way and see if we can head him off. The driveway leading to the road is just past the barn, and he could get hit.”

  All three of them took off at a run, and Kate caught sight of the adults headed the other direction. Maybe they could stop him with their combined efforts.

  But when Kate, Tori, and Colt rounded the far corner, Kate sucked in a hard breath. “Oh no!”

  Rocket was headed toward the road, and a pickup was traveling toward them too fast to stop! If Rocket tried to run across, he could get killed and possibly cause a horrible accident.

  Colt kicked into high gear and tore out ahead of the girls, down the short gravel driveway. He ran to Rocket’s left, waving his arms and shouting. The horse skidded to a stop in the loose gravel and snorted, his neck arched and ears pricked forward. Kate and Tori moved up beside Colt, their arms extended to the side, and the three slowly moved forward as one unit.

  Kate dropped her voice to a low croon. “Easy, Rocket. You don’t want to go out in the road. Come on, boy. Easy now.” The pickup zipped past, and Kate almost cried with relief. Now if someone could catch Rocket before any other cars came.

  Carissa stopped a few feet away. “Good job, guys. I think he’s done running now, aren’t you, boy?” She held her hand out, again offering the apple treat. Rocket sniffed the air, then moved forward, his lips working. Carissa pulled her hand a little closer to her side but kept the treat visible. As the horse took another step and reached for the treat, she slipped the end of the rope around his neck. “Gotcha! You’ve had your fun, you rascal. Time to go back inside.”

  Kate, Tori, and Colt held still until Carissa had the halter secured. Then they relaxed.

  As Carissa headed back to the barn with the gelding, Mrs. Wilder’s worried expression disappeared behind a wide smile. “Thank you, kids. I’m not sure we’d have caught him if it hadn’t been for your quick thinking. I definitely made the right decision when I hired you three. You can hang around if you want to or head home. I need to get back inside, but I’ll see you next Tuesday.”

  Kate glanced at Tori. Her friend was shaking so hard, it looked like she might fall over. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  Tori took two steps and sank onto a large rock positioned on the side of the driveway. “I can’t believe we did that.”

  “Did what?” Kate stopped beside Tori and glanced at Colt, who shrugged.

  “Stood in the path of that horse. He could have run over the top of us.”

  Colt grinned. “Yeah, pretty exciting, huh?”

  Tori glared. “No! It was scary, not exciting.”

  “Well, we lived through it, and Rocket didn’t get hurt. I’d say that’s what matters, right?” Colt’s smile faded, and his voice softened. “Were you really scared?”

  Tori heaved a sigh. “I guess not when it was happening. It was kind of exciting knowing I helped keep him safe. It hit me after Carissa caught him and Mrs. Wilder thanked us.”

  “See?” Colt spread his arms wide. “You’re going to make a first-rate horsewoman. You did the right thing when you were needed. Doesn’t matter that you got shook up later. That’s normal.”

  Kate grabbed Tori’s hand and tugged her to her feet. “Colt is right. It might be a good idea if you don’t say too much to your mom about what happened today—or maybe don’t tell her you were scared. She might worry.”

  Tori nodded. “Right. I guess no one got hurt. But I think I’m ready to be done with the barn and head home.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kate kicked at a rock on the edge of the road. Tori walked beside her in silence as they pushed their bikes down the short drive to the main road. Tori hadn’t suggested they ride, and Kate was waiting for her friend to explain what she meant about being done with the barn.

  Minutes dragged and felt like hours. Still Tori didn’t speak. Finally Kate couldn’t stand it. “Are you quitting?”

  Tori stopped and stared. “Quitting what?”

  Kate gripped her bike handles hard. “Working at the barn.”

  “No. What makes you say that?”

  “You said you were ready to be done with the barn and head home, and since then you haven’t spoken a word. I know how scared you were when Rocket jumped the fence, and I don’t blame you. I’m not gonna be mad if you quit.”

  Tori’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t even thinking of quitting, Kate. I was thinking about what happened, yeah, but mostly about what Colt said. That I got scared when it was over, not while it was happening. I did the right thing. I pushed past my fear and helped you guys keep Rocket from running into the road and causing an accident. That felt pretty amazing.”

  Kate gaped for a moment before she realized her mouth was hanging open. “Wow. Seriously?”

  “Seriously.” Tori nodd
ed.

  Kate shut her eyes in relief. “I’m glad. And yeah, it was pretty amazing. Want to stop by and see my mare?”

  Tori arched her brow. “Your mare?”

  Kate laughed. “Sorry. I guess I’ve been calling her that in my head because I wish she were mine. The one we found that’s thin. I’ve only stopped over there once since Pete ran away. I’d like to see if there’s any sign of hay in that shelter again. If not, I’m going to beg my dad to figure out who owns her or call the sheriff. I wish someone lived in that old house next to her pen so we could ask.”

  “I know. My dad hasn’t had any luck finding out who owns her either.” Tori swung her leg over her bike. “Let’s head over there. It would be so cool if you could get her, Kate. You guys have your own barn and pasture, and you even have a saddle and bridle. Have you asked your parents if you could buy her if you find the owner?”

  Kate pedaled her bike harder and kept pace with Tori. “They aren’t too hot on the idea, but I’m going to ask them again after Dad’s been working a little longer. The grass is coming up in our pasture, and we wouldn’t need to feed her much hay until next winter. She’d need grain and vitamins and her feet trimmed, though. I wish I had a paying job so I could help.”

  They slowed as they neared the paddock where the mare lived. Kate propped her bike against a tree, and Tori laid hers on the ground. The chestnut mare trotted across the enclosure and whinnied. She stopped at the fence and stretched her neck toward the girls.

  Kate laughed. “She remembers us!”

  Tori rolled her eyes. “I think it’s more likely she remembers the carrots. Did you bring any?”

  Kate nodded. “I always have some in my backpack, in case. I haven’t been able to get over here for a few days, though, so they’re not going to be fresh.”

  “I doubt she’ll care. She’s pacing the fence waiting. She looks a little better, don’t you think?” Tori moved toward the paddock but cast a glance over her shoulder at Kate.

  “Yeah, she does. Her ribs aren’t showing as much, but her feet are still terrible. There are pieces of hay on the ground in the lean-to, so I guess the owner must have decided to feed her more often. Maybe somebody turned him in for starving her.”

  “He deserves it, if you ask me.” Tori stroked the mare’s face. “Poor thing. I’m glad you’re feeling better, girl.”

  Kate dropped her backpack on the ground and held the bag of carrots toward Tori. “Grab some. We’ll take turns. Even if she’s getting hay, she’ll still appreciate treats.”

  They passed the next minutes in silence as the mare munched the carrots and then sniffed their hands and arms for more.

  A crunch of gravel caused the girls to spin in time to see a four-door sedan pull in off the road and park several yards away. A white-haired man who appeared older than Kate’s grandpa pushed open the door. Glancing at the horse, he shut the car door and headed toward Kate and Tori. “May I help you girls with something?”

  Kate’s heart lurched. This must be the owner of the house, and we’re trespassing. Will he call the sheriff? Have we done the wrong thing by stopping to feed the skinny horse? “Uh, no, we don’t need any help. We came to feed her carrots.” She nodded at the mare, then gestured toward the house. “Do you live here?”

  Sudden anger flared. If this man was supposed to be taking care of the horse, he’d done a lousy job. He was the one who should be ashamed of himself, not her and Tori.

  He halted a yard or so away. “May I ask your names?”

  Kate narrowed her eyes, not missing the fact that he hadn’t answered her question or introduced himself. Her parents always told her not to talk to strangers. She shot a warning glance to Tori and began to edge toward the tree where she’d propped her bike. “We need to leave now. Sorry. We don’t know you, and we can’t stay. Our parents are expecting us home.”

  Tori nodded. “Yeah. My dad is probably looking for us right now.”

  The man gave a gentle smile. “My name is Harold Miller, and no, I don’t own this house or live here. My home is in Hood River.”

  Kate kept edging toward her bike. “Then why are you here, and why are you asking us questions?”

  He took a step back and held up his hand. “I’m sorry if I scared you, girls. That wasn’t my intention. I own this horse, and I’ll probably move her out of here soon.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kate felt as though she’d been kicked in the stomach and lost all her air. In fact, she felt close to losing her breakfast. This couldn’t be true! She wanted to tell this man to go away and leave her horse alone. Maybe it wasn’t true. Maybe he was lying and didn’t even own the mare.

  “If you own her, why haven’t you been feeding her?” Kate insisted. “Why did you let her get so skinny and let her feet get so long and broken?”

  A rush of red colored the man’s cheeks. “I’m sorry to say I thought the person I hired to care for her was doing a good job.”

  Tori cocked her head. “So you never once came and checked on her? Didn’t you want to know she was okay? When we first found her, she didn’t have any hay at all, and she was awful hungry. That’s cruelty to animals, you know.”

  Mr. Miller ducked his head and then looked up. “Yes, I know, and I feel bad about it. She belonged to my wife.” His shoulders slumped.

  Kate hesitated. She thought she spotted tears shining in his eyes when he spoke of his wife. “So … why doesn’t your wife take care of her? Is she sick?”

  “No.” He swallowed hard. “She went on to heaven ahead of me last fall. Capri was the last horse Nora owned. She sold her other two but held on to Capri because she’d been such a good riding horse. They won several hunter-jumper competitions together.”

  Kate gaped. “Your wife jumped her?”

  The man chuckled. “My wife was ten years younger than me. Don’t let this hair fool you. Nora was only fifty-eight when cancer took her, and she was fit as a fiddle and very athletic right up until the time she took sick. Capri hasn’t been used this last year or so, but Nora always enjoyed riding her.”

  “Wow.” Kate breathed the word. “She’s a Thoroughbred, right?”

  “Yes, although she’s not registered. I should have come over and checked on her through the winter, but the man I was paying assured me he’d bought the best hay, had several bags of grain and vitamins, and was having the farrier over on a regular basis to care for her feet. I paid him well and assumed he was honest.”

  Kate walked back to the paddock and stroked Capri under her forelock. “How’d you figure out he wasn’t doing his job? Tori and I have been coming over for a few weeks now, and we didn’t see any sign of hay at all at first. My dad was going to turn her in to the sheriff if she didn’t have any food the next time we came, but there was some in the lean-to the last couple of times.”

  “I’m afraid I know very little about horses. I called the man a couple of weeks ago and asked for a receipt for her hay. I’m guessing that might be when he finally purchased some and started feeding her. When I questioned him, he told me he didn’t want to continue, that it was too much bother.”

  Tori frowned. “That’s rotten! Why’d he take the job in the first place if he didn’t want to do it?”

  Mr. Miller shrugged. “I suppose he thought it was easy money, and he could get by with doing very little. When he realized I wasn’t checking on Capri, he slacked off. It was my responsibility, and I should have stayed on top of it. I guess I was having a hard time and didn’t think.” He leaned an elbow against a rail of the fence. “I appreciate you girls coming to check on her, but you won’t have to worry about Capri any longer.”

  Kate’s stomach knotted. Mr. Miller’s tone hadn’t sounded like good news was coming. “Why’s that?”

  “I’ve made arrangements to take her to the livestock auction in The Dalles at the end of the week. I’m not set up to care
for her, and she needs to go to a new home. I held on to her for as long as I did for Nora’s sake, but it’s not fair to her to continue.”

  Kate straightened. “My dad wouldn’t be able to buy her, but she could live at our place. We have a big barn and pasture, and I love her.”

  “That’s very kind,” Mr. Miller said firmly, “but I’ve made up my mind. I don’t want the ongoing responsibility of owning a horse. She’s going to be sold next Saturday.”

  Kate and Tori watched Mr. Miller climb into his car and drive off. Kate couldn’t believe they’d found out who owned Capri and that they might lose her, all in the same day. “We can’t let this happen.”

  Tori stared at her. “What?”

  “We can’t let Mr. Miller take Capri to the auction to sell her.”

  “Why not? At least she’ll get fed if she goes to a new home. That’s a good thing, right?” Tori absently stroked the mare’s neck.

  “No, it isn’t. There’s no way to tell if the people who buy her will feed her or starve her too. And what’s worse, she might end up going for dog food.” Kate slapped the top bar of the fence, and Capri snorted and bolted backward. “Oops, sorry, girl.” Kate held out her hand and allowed the mare to sniff it. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Tori frowned. “What do you mean, dog food? That’s a weird thing to say.”

  “Didn’t you know that a lot of horses at auctions get sold to meat plants?”

  “No. That’s awful!”

  “Yeah, it is. There aren’t nearly as many meat plants now, ’cause lots of them got shut down, but it still happens. Whole truckloads of horses get purchased and hauled to Canada for slaughter. There are so many horses for sale now, and tons of people don’t have the money to buy them or even care for the ones they own. I’ve heard news stories about it, and I researched it online once. It made me sick.”

  Tori’s eyes widened. “You think that could happen to Capri? But Mr. Miller said his wife loved her. I don’t think he’d want that to happen to his wife’s horse.”