Blazing the Trail (Sunshine & Shadow Book 5) Read Online Free PDF

warm.

Chapter 3
     
     
     
    The following day, she
and Hailey were in the tack room, cleaning bridles and bits, in preparation of
the upcoming season.
    “What time did you get in
last night?”
    “I have no idea. Everyone
else was already asleep. I went straight to bed.”
    “I saw you talking to Kip
before you left.”
    “He was so mad.”
    “Worried more like. He
was pacing .”
    “Pacing?”
    Hailey nodded. “Up and
down the lodge. Said he wasn’t going to bed until you got home.”
    April frowned. “He wasn’t
up when I came in.”
    “He was. He slept on the
couch in the living room. He was just waking up when I went in this morning.
Then he ran to his cabin.”
    “I can’t believe he did
that...” April mused, running oil over the headstall in her hand.
    “Why not? He might be
upset, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about you anymore. He only just
got you back, April.”
    April looked at her.
Could that be true? She shook her head. She couldn’t think about that.
    “I’m gonna go see if dad
wants his saddle oiled.” She stood up and left Hailey cleaning the bridles.
    Inside, she headed
straight for the office.
    “Dad?” she said,
knocking. She pushed the door open.
    Her dad was on the phone,
and gestured for her to sit in the other chair.
    “Bill, I have no problem
with you trapping the beavers. But I’m telling you that the area you’ve chosen
is making things dangerous for us down here!”
    April frowned. She had no
idea what they were talking about.
    He continued. “I know
that’s how you make a living, Bill. But someone’s gonna get hurt...You’re
flushing them out of the mountains and onto my property...They’ve started
redirecting my creeks. My guys know those passes, and now there’s a new danger
because the beavers are finding new homes...I know that, Bill, but...” He put
his head in his hand. “I’m not asking you to stop. Just to change your area. Go
further up river, please...Alright, see ya.”
    He sighed and hung up the
phone.
    “Everything okay?” April
asked.
    Her dad nodded. “Yeah,
don’t worry about it. Just Bill, being cranky. What did you need, honey?”
    “I was wondering if you
wanted me to oil your saddle while we’re out there.”
    “I think Kip already did
it, but you’d have to check with him. If not, that would great. Thanks.”
    He began tapping on the
computer and April nodded to herself. She turned around and left the lodge. She
saw Kip heading down to his cabin but she decided to leave him alone. She
didn’t feel like dealing with his irritability right now.
    Hailey was still working
in the tack room.
    “In all the time I’ve
known Kip,” she said to her, “I’ve never seen him hold a grudge for this long.”
    “I don’t think it’s a
grudge,” Hailey said.
    “Then what do you think
it is? Because I sure as hell don’t get it.”
    “Like I said, I think
it’s just pain. He’s hurt from what happened.” Hailey picked up another bridle.
“Imagine if it was you, and you’d stayed in L.A, and had to work with Lex every
day, after what he did.”
    April bit her lip.
    “That’s what I think,” Hailey
said, “I don’t think he’s angry anymore, because being angry for that long
would be exhausting. I think he’s just hurting now. And seeing your face just
makes it hurt more - kinda brings it to the surface again.”
    “It’s different. Lex
chose his career over me.”
    “You chose Lex over Kip.”
    April almost dropped the
headstall in her hand. Her fingers went numb. The implication of what she had
done to Kip hit her with full force. She had made Kip feel as bad as Lex had
made her feel.
    “He was in love with you,
April,” Hailey said. “He’s always been in love with you.”
    “If he loves me, it’s
like a sister...we’re friends.”
    “No, April. He’s in love with you. Everyone can see that. You’re the only one who doesn’t—or won’t
admit it.”
    “If he loves me, then why
is he still avoiding