Red Moon Rising Read Online Free PDF Page A

But . . . ,” I say. “I mean no disrespect to Boone”—and here I toss him a feeble glance that’s supposed to be a smile—“but Heetle needs her armor. She’s still getting used to it, and if she’s not accustomed to it before high summer, well—”
    Papa holds up his fingers again. I really hate it when he does that. “Do as I say, Rae. Or we won’t be going anywhere.”
    I bite my bottom lip again and wonder why Papa hates me so much. Then I stomp out to the side of the house, with Boone and Temple right behind me.
    I flip the latches under Heetle’s belly and up under her throat. I unsnap the casing around her full snout andremove the shades from her eyes. Temple is cooing to her and letting her snuffle her hands while I yank and tug and grumble.
    Boone is silent, taking the lightweight pieces of polymer as I hand them to him. Soon he has a stack on his arms nearly up to his gum eyeballs.
    Heetle whinnies and stamps her feet in a little dance and I shake my head, trying to stay mad and not smile. “I know, girl, you think you’re free of that mess. But you’re not. Just for this afternoon.” I shoot Boone a look so he knows what I said is true—just for this afternoon. He sees my look and then stares at his dusty boots. They’re so worn that his mama has patched them in places with canvas. Then it hits me. Oh, Rae, you’re such a rockhead. Of course Raj needs the armor for our trip today. He’s nearly as old as Boone’s boots—in horse years. And you can’t patch a horse with canvas when he gets worn out.
    I throw Heetle’s saddle onto her back and situate the bridle while Boone and Temple work on getting the armor snapped and strapped to Raj. Raj doesn’t seem too happy about it, but once he’s running across the open plains, I know the old beast will think differently. I walk over to make sure the armor is secure. It’s loose in some places but there’s nothing to do about that. Raj is all skin and bones compared with Heetle. There’s only so much adjustment the armor plating can take. If he were to wear it all the time I could probably scrounge some metal and wire and fashion up a few new buckles, but he won’t be. This isHeetle’s armor. Maybe someday Raj will get his own.
    â€œClamp on tight with your knees,” I say to Boone. “We don’t need you sliding off in the middle of the gum plains.”
    â€œI’m not a rockhead, Rae,” Boone says, his nose twitching up in the briefest of snarls.
    I don’t say anything, I just hop onto Heetle and pull Temple up with me. A black mood is settling between my eyes and the fact that it’s happening on a day when I am about to see Old Settlement makes me feel even blacker.
    â€œHyah!” I yell, giving Heetle a squeeze, and she bursts out and away from the schoolhouse in a cloud of red dust.
    â€œYou best slow her down!” Papa yells after me. He’s riding the one-man. It belches its stink into the air, mingling with the dust, and my face crinkles with the gum yuckness of it all. Temple pulls out her handkerchief and ties it around her nose. My handkerchief is in a ball on the floor next to my cot. Blast.
    I pull back on the reins and Heetle slows to a trot. Boone and Papa catch up to us, and Papa takes the lead. He lets one hand rest easily on the cage that surrounds the seat, while he steers with the other. It’s hard to miss that the hand resting on the cage is the one with his handbow. The plains are common territory for both the homesteaders and the Cheese. We are all supposed to have easy access and safe passage, but that’s not how it always works out. It didn’t work that way for Aunt Billie’s son, Benny, who was taken like Rory.
    Benny. The only boy ever taken by the Cheese. A special badge worn by the Darling family. I wonder if Papa told Boone’s mama that we