Harnessed Passions Read Online Free PDF

toward
him. He wasn't even sure what they looked like, although he could
imagine both had dark hair, a trait shared between their parents.
He imagined both were stubborn, conceited, arrogant and vain due to
their lavish upbringing and money. He only hoped they didn't remain
in Kentucky long enough to cause trouble.
    The noise of hooves brought Daniel out of
his stupor in time to witness Rally Overton - the stable's foreman
- hurrying his stallion in his direction. Daniel estimated the man
to be at least twenty years his senior, making him close to fifty
years old, if not more. Overton’s skin was dark brown from the many
years in the sun, skinny and short in stature, as well as being an
illiterate who never desired to alter his circumstances. He may not
have been able to read or write, but he was damned good at reading
the land and animals around him. He could tell when a mare was
going to give birth and when the ground was too cold to let the
horses out to graze, even if it felt warm to the rider.
    “ Mr. Brownin’," the man
shouted, pulling his horse to a halt next to Daniel's. "We've got a
problem." That was nearly how every sentence the man began started.
There was always a problem , even if it was nothing more
than a cat having a litter of kittens behind the
woodpile.
    "What is it Mr. Overton?" Daniel asked with
a sigh
    "One a the mare's is real sick. I think its
colic, but I ain't fer certain sure. We found some moldy feed in
the back o’ one o’ the stalls, but I ain't for certain sure, how it
got there."
    "Have you told Mr. Turner about this?"
Daniel had been overseeing the stables for Victor since he helped
the man draw up his first will four years ago. They had developed
an instant liking for each other, as well as a deep respect for the
other's intellect concerning well-bread horseflesh. Victor offered
to sell Daniel his prize stallion, Roustabout at an almost
obscenely low price. Daniel had been so pleased with his horse - a
hopeful for next year's Beaumont Stakes – he had been willing to
help the old man at the ranch, which he had done nearly every day
for the past three years.
    "No sir, I ain't. Do ya think I’s outta?"
Daniel shook his head, aware more than anyone - with the exception
of Louise - just how sick the land's owner really was. To keep the
ranch hands respect and loyalty, he had to help with the charade
that all was normal at the main house.
    "I think we can take care of it ourselves.
I'll tell him after supper. By then we'll have it all under
control." Daniel and Overton hurried back to the stables, plotting
the cure and cause of the moldy feed.
    Several strange things had occurred lately,
but there were too many contradictory reports to point a finger at
just one person. The only thing everyone agreed on, was the dark
haired woman seen riding off the day they found three dead horses.
Nobody knew who she was or where she came from and she rode too
fast and knew the terrain too well to find. Even with Roustabout,
they couldn't catch her.
    Hopefully they would be able to discourage
anything more serious from happening in the future, or from causing
trouble at the annual fall sales. Daniel feared for Victor's health
and feared too that he would demand helping them find the culprit
behind the accidents. He not only had to protect the old man from
an early grave, but he had to make certain the stables didn't
suffer from these strange events. A little bad publicity could
cause a huge ripple in the gossip chain and the stables would
suffer the consequences.
    Until Julia and Jeremy Turner returned home,
it was Daniel's responsibility to keep things under control, and
out of respect for the old man, he vowed to do just that. He didn't
give a damn what the Turner brats had to say about it. If it was a
fight they wanted, he would be prepared for it!

    The peak of the dark brown roof rose above
the towering trees, as the hack pulled up the dirt road leading
home. The ranch style windows with their