Appaloosa Blues (Sisters of Spirit #8) Read Online Free PDF

kept her from fully savoring the heady excitement of the ride.
    No saddle with its hard cantle lay between them, so when they crested the ridge and began the downward, plunging journey, she was thrown hard against Adam. She altered her grip, put her arms around his waist, and let her head press against his back. 
    Adam had changed significantly from the tall, lanky boy she had ridden with years ago. His thin cotton work shirt lay soft and smooth beneath her cheek, enabling her to feel the shifting movement of muscle, the rhythm attuned to his horse’s downward plunge.
    She was relieved to be able to talk to him again. The silent years had been uncomfortable ones. It would be easy to say the wrong thing and build that barrier all over again, so she vowed to be extra careful.
    Adam's gelding was large and long-legged compared to Jo's small mare. The rough ground passed swiftly underneath and they soon approached the section of torn-up fencing.
    "Just ahead," she warned. “We need to stop.
    He slid his horse to a halt, threw his leg over the bay's neck and vaulted off. Jo jumped down behind him. Dropping the reins to ground-hitch the bay, they walked quietly over to Paca.
    Paca stood in the same position as before, except with one back foot stretched out awkwardly behind her. She lifted her head and nickered softly as they moved nearer.
    "Stand here while I cut her free," Adam directed, stopping Jo with a hand on her arm. "She might try to break loose before I'm done."
    The words made Jo's heart jerk in fear, and she grabbed his hand. "Wait, Adam. She doesn't know you. I'll go in and cut—"
    "No." His voice was low but harsh, and he yanked his hand away. "What kind of a man do you take me for?"
    "But she's my horse."
    "Doesn't matter. Stay back." He turned and started toward Paca, the cutters in his hand.
    "Be careful." She spoke softly, the words almost a prayer for his safety. Paca stood with her head up, ears pricked forward, nostrils flared, nervously looking first at Jo and then at Adam.
    Would Paca let him anywhere near, without panicking?
     

CHAPTER THREE
    As Adam surveyed the entangled wire, the cutters grasped firmly in his hand, he realized for the first time that Jo could have been killed. He shuddered to think of her in this death trap. If she had been riding any other horse, the outcome could have been tragic.
    They had had enough tragedies. After his father's truck smashed into her grandmother's little car, killing her, his dad had taken his own life, unable to handle the guilt. Adam blamed the suicide on Jo's grandfather, for the old man's ceaseless accusations had driven his father over the edge.
    If anything happened to Jo, he could be sure her grandfather would accuse him, somehow, but that wasn't the reason Adam's heart stopped when he first saw the wire and realized the danger Jo had been in.
    The reason was much more basic. He loved her. He knew it. She didn't.
    He had waited for her return from college. He had waited for her to grow up and out from under her grandfather’s influence. It felt like he had spent his whole life waiting for her. His patience was growing thin.
    Like the eagle, he intended to mate for life, and he had chosen Jo soon after he had driven her away from him with a stupid, irresponsible act. It had seemed harmless at the time, a high school bet, but when her grandfather once again won the battle for her allegiance, Adam had lashed out angrily at her...and paid for his careless words ever since. At first she had just stopped speaking to him, then she had gone back east to college and not returned.
    As soon as he recognized her in his tool shed, he had focused on her ring finger. It was bare. She hadn't committed herself to anyone. The fact made him happy, easing the anger he had first felt upon catching her sneaking into his shed like a thief, knowing she had chosen to "borrow" his wire cutters instead of coming directly to him. He even felt somewhat pleased that Paca's welfare