Read Sixteen and Dying for Free Online

know, Ben? The last pretty woman you talked to fainted dead away.”
    Catcalls followed. Anne grasped the fence and leaned against the rough wood. She saw Morgan gather the rope tighter, until he was almost nose tonose with the horse. He ran his gloved hand along the bay’s tense neck and said, “Take it easy, boy. I won’t hurt you.”
    Anne watched as Morgan retrieved a bridle that dangled from the back pocket of his jeans. Expertly, he slipped the bit between the animal’s teeth. The horse protested, half rearing. Anne gasped, as she saw the hooves strike the air near Morgan’s head. Morgan maintained control with the rope, using his strength to force the bay down. Dirt flew from the horse’s hooves. The men shouted more encouragement.
    Tossing the reins over the horse’s shoulders, Morgan stepped to one side and, catlike, sprang onto the bay’s broad bare back. A cheer went up. In the gathering light of dawn, Anne could make out the tenseness of the horse’s muscles. They looked like springs waiting to uncoil.
    “Here goes nothing,” Morgan announced. He leaned forward and whipped the bandanna off the horse’s eyes. The bay struggled to dip his head and then exploded into a bucking, twisting banshee.
    Morgan stayed with the horse for what Anne thought was a long time. Then, the horse flung him off, and Morgan flipped through the air and hit the ground hard on the far side of the corral. She squealed in spite of herself.
    The minute the horse was relieved of his burden, he stopped bucking and began to gallop around the ring. Morgan scrambled for safety. Hands reached through the bars of the fence as the horse thundered past, and Morgan was pulled to safety. “You all right?”
    Gingerly, Morgan dusted himself off. “Sure.… That was some ride.”
    “What’s going on?” A man’s voice bellowed. Anne spun to see Morgan’s uncle charging toward the corral like an angry bull. “You get to your chores!” he commanded. The men slunk away.
    Anne tried to vanish but was trapped by the wall of the barn. She hid in its shadows while Morgan’s uncle continued, “Not you, Morgan. You stay put.”
    Anne saw Morgan bend, pick up his hat, and stand to face his uncle, squaring his shoulders in defiance. “What is it, Uncle Don?”
    “What do you think you’re doing? Are you crazy?”
    “Breaking in the horse. You said I could have my pick of the range ponies, and that’s the one I want.”
    “You know how to break a horse proper. You break him to saddle first.
Then
you climb on. You could have gotten killed out there.”
    “So what?”
    “Don’t take that tone with me. Maggie would never get over it if anything happened to you.”
    “Something could happen to me no matter how careful I am. Her too. You know what I mean.”
    “No one can see the future, and you don’t know anything for sure,” Uncle Don said angrily. “I won’t have you taking needless chances while you’re on my spread and under my care.”
    “I’m eighteen. I can come and go whenever I want.”
    “You go and you’ll break your aunt’s heart.” Uncle Don ran his hand through his close-cropped hair and released a heavy sigh, his anger spent. “I don’t want to argue with you, son, but I have a ranch torun. It might be your ranch someday. I can’t let my hands defy me—not even you, no matter if you are family. I have rules, and I expect them to be followed. If that’s the horse you want, you’ve got him, but you break him right. Fair enough?”
    Morgan shoved his hands into his pockets. “Fair enough,” he agreed.
    “I need you to ride out and check fencing today. Can you handle that?”
    “I can handle it.”
    Anne sensed a thick tension coming from Morgan. She held her breath and hugged the wall tighter. If either of them caught her eavesdropping, she’d be embarrassed to death. She hadn’t meant to listen but now that she had, she found Morgan more intriguing than ever.
    She couldn’t help wondering if one