Read Sunset Ranch for Free Online

He cleared his throat. “Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong, West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads . . . ,” he sang. But his voice thickened and his fingers fumbled the chords. He stopped abruptly and jumped to his feet, handing the guitar to Stephen as everyone watched, surprised. “Sorry,” he mumbled, not looking at anyone, and then rushed out of the circle, stumbling on a branch and disappearing into the darkness.
    Dana and I looked at each other, eyebrows raised. There was something going on there.

ChapterFour
    I balanced a boot on the bottom rail of the fence and pushed the hose over the edge of the huge galvanized water trough that sat just inside the gate. The clear, cold water gushed into the trough, which I’d just spent the last hour emptying out, scrubbing, rinsing, and now refilling. “Come on, guys, come and get it,” I called across the grass to the grazing horses.
    A few of them lifted their heads and pricked their ears at the sound of my voice. They’d already learned who brought treats and who didn’t. Al and Diamond trotted across the grass toward me, probably hoping I was offering corn as well as water. I admired their beautiful stride as they broke into a canter, their heads high, Al graceful, Diamond a little stiff. I would never get tired of ­looking at them.
    â€œHey, boys,” I said as they came up. I stroked their broad cheeks as they thrust their velvety noses into my hands, snuffling their moist, hot breath; then I held out the apple I’d saved from my lunch.
    â€œNot the whole apple for you, Al,” I told the bay as he tried to snatch it. I held on firmly and let him bite off half, then showed the other half to Diamond, holding the greedy Al away with my shoulder. “Stop. Don’t be so piggy. Let Diamond have his.” The old white horse sniffed my hand, then slowly crunched the sweet fruit, the juice dripping from his chin whiskers. He’d been one of the first horses on the ranch, Jack had told me, and for years he’d pulled the chuck wagon whenever they took the guests into the hills for a picnic. Then he was the pony-ride horse and patiently ferried hundreds of terrified and excited little children on his back, never once spooking or startling. He never even stepped on any of their feet. Now he was twenty years old, but Jack had let him retire out to pasture, which I thought was only fair, considering how hard Diamond had worked all those years.
    I watched the horses relish their snack, then thrust their noses into the clear, cold water and drink it up eagerly. The trough was brimming full now. I shut off the hose and coiled it up on the spigot outside the fence.
    Walking slowly back toward the stable, I examined two blisters on my palm and the blackened fingernail on my other hand, the result of an interview with Mickey’s back hoof. I’d learned the hard way never to put tools down on the floor of the stall when I was grooming.
    A couple of days had passed since my arrival, and the boots Dana had given me felt like mine. I’d picked hooves, toted saddles, and gone on one very windy expedition to catch horses in the far reaches of the pasture. I’d gotten the crazy little Taylor girls down from the roof of the stable, where they’d climbed and then gotten stuck. I’d brought a wet washcloth and a cup of tea for Mrs. Coleman, the young widow, after finding her sobbing one cloudy day, head down on the fence.
    Ahead I spotted Stephen waving at me from the broad circle driveway in front of the stable. I hurried up to him, my heart beating a little faster. “Are you waiting for me?”
    â€œGood morning, Blue Eyes.” He flashed me a heart-melting smile. His hair was damp from the shower, and a charming trace of shaving cream was left on one cheek.
    I reached over and wiped it off. “Good morning.”
    â€œThanks.” He ran his hand over his cheeks