page19 (1/2)
“I see that nois sawtier for ot out and found Fool’s Gold and now I have a ho to cry”
Heidi’s eyes were already bright “You can It’s okay”
“No, it’s not,” Charlie gru sx with Shane Where’s the bad?”
Annabelle grinned and her tears faded “I’ve told you The sex was a one-tiet me—and who doesn’t want all the complications of love”
“I believe that What I don’t believe is the sex not happening again That’s what they all say No one believes you, kid You ht as well accept that”
Heidi shrugged “She’s kind of right I know I’ain The Stryker brothers are pretty irresistible”
“You’ll see,” Annabelle told the powers of resistance I’ll stand firm”
Charlie looked at Heidi “Twenty bucks says she doesn’t last a week”
Heidi picked up herthat bet!”
“IF YOU TELL ANYONE, there’s going to be trouble,” ShaneReno toward the barn
“I assu to hi toto be trouble”
Shane wondered if hitting hio better Noas being threatened by a woman This had to be the low point of his life, because he couldn’t i much worse
Charlie was tall, only a couple of inches shorter than hi She had plenty of nificantly stronger However, she was fee in any fight Naht back It was how he’d been raised
The pony trotted along beside him, calm and curious, ears forward So far the animal had been friendly and a faithful companion to Priscilla
He tied Reno to a post and grabbed a brush “You sure about this?” he asked Charlie, deciding that ignoring her threat was the safest course of action “Depending on her age and size, one of the horses would be better”
“You’re a pony hater, whicha second brush and starting on Reno’s other side “Trust me He’s the better choice A horse would be too hard for Kalinda to get on More i, we can just pull her off”
He didn’t like the sound of that “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Yes She needs to get out into the world To experience things in a safe way” Charlie glared at hi she did a lot “I’ve told you about the burns”
“Yes ‘Don’t be shocked, don’t stare Just act normal’ I’m not an idiot”
“That’s yet to be seen”
What he didn’t tell her, mostly because he wanted to keep his head firmly on his shoulders, was that he liked this side of Charlie The sweet side that worried about a kid
When she’d called that reed She’d shown up and explained the pony was for a ten-year-old burn victi burns over forty percent of Kalinda’s body All this ti
Priscilla called from a nearby corral She hadn’t wanted Reno to leave, so they’d co her closer to where Kalinda would ride At least Wilbur and the cat family had been content to stay in Priscilla’s enclosure
“My life used to be nor the blanket on Reno’s s for the saddle
Charlie grinned at him “If you wanted normal, you never should have moved back here Didn’t your brother warn you?”
“I think he tried, but I didn’t believe him”
They finished saddling Reno Charlie grabbed the bridle and slipped in the bit The pony didn’t protest and almost seemed happy with the process
They’d barely finished when a car drove into the yard Charlie waved and walked toward the vehicle Shane stayed by Reno
He reh But Charlie’s warning hadn’t prepared hietting out of the car
Her face had scars that twisted red Only her startlingly blue eyes were undaical glove on one hand
Charlie walked toward her unhesitatingly “Hey, kid You made it Wait until youto like him”
A pretty woot out She was blonde like her daughter, on the sether
“Hi, Charlie,” the woood idea”
Charlie put her aroes, Fay”
“If you say so”
The group approached Shane smiled at Kalinda “Hi Welcome to the Castle Ranch This is Reno and I’m Shane”
“Hi, Shane,” the girl said in a soft voice “I’m Kalinda”
“Fay,” theout her hand “Thanks for doing this We’re—” Fay’s eyes widened and she screamed “Oh God! What is that?”
Shane groaned, wondering if Khatar had so toward them
“My mother’s elephant,” he said “Priscilla”
“I’ll get her” Charlie walked toward the large animal
“Your hter, heropen
“It’s a long story” He glanced at the girl, expecting to see the sa
“That’s so cool,” she whispered “An elephant”
“It’s ht her without knowing much about elephants Now that we’ve done research, we’ve learned female elephants are social Whichdifferent animals to keep her couy is her favorite”
Kalinda giggled “They’d look pretty funny together”
He found he liked that happy sound and wanted to hear it again “There’snamed Wilbur and a cat family Priscilla watches over them”
Kalinda grinned “For real?”
“Yup I’ll show you e’re done here” He patted the saddle “Okay, let’s get you on this pony”
They discussed the best way to get her on Reno Her burns went down her front far enough todifficult So Shane simply picked her up and put her on the pony