Town Darling Read Online Free PDF Page A

pleased with his training.  He was
a smart horse, although sometimes he was a little too smart for his own good. 
Storm tossed his head and rocked slightly as if wanting to rear again.  His
ears perked forward with anticipation.
    “Okay,” she sighed.  “One
more, but then that’s it.”
    Casey raised her hands
again.  Storm reared up and thrashed out with his hooves while towering high
above her.  Seeing his underbelly just a few feet away from her face was almost
sobering.  She lowered her hands.  Storm didn’t come back down.  He thrashed
his hooves and maintained his balance on his hind legs.
    “Now you’re just showing
off,” she scoffed.
    He finally landed and
snickered at her, arching his head and awaiting his treat.  Casey approached
and gave him a treat then firmly patted his thick neck.
    “We’ll need to practice a
little more before we try that with me on top.”
    “You’re kidding, right?”
came a male voice from behind her.
    Casey turned toward the
gate where her brother, Grey, stood and leaned on the top railing.  Grey was a
lean, tall man only a few years older than Casey was.  He didn’t have their
father’s rugged good looks.  He actually looked more like their mother.  It
wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.  Not to say he was girly; he just had more of a
sweet boy look.  He was never going to have their father’s muscular build.  If
he was lucky, he’d end up more athletic, but for now, he was just gangly.
    “That was a private conversation
between me and my man,” Casey informed him.
    She looked at Storm and
shooed him away.  He took off across the paddock and stuck his head over the
fence to converse with the pretty mares one pasture over.  Casey approached
Grey by the gate and leaned on the top rail near him.
    “Tell Dad and you’re
toast,” she said firmly.
    “And then when you end up
on your ass with a broken leg or a concussion, they’re going to yell at me,” he
replied.  “I wish they’d gotten me that puppy instead of a sister.”
    “You’re no prize yourself,”
she said teasingly while flashing a smile.
    “Things were nicer around
here when you were off at college during the week,” he scoffed and
straightened.  “I don’t know how they could stand you at college.”
    “Why do you come out here? 
Just to torment me?”
    Grey appeared surprised
while staring at her with his most serious look.  “Of course, why else?”
    Casey hid her smile and
shook her head.  “I’m wishing I’d gotten a puppy instead too.”
    “You’d miss me,” Grey
informed her.
    She appeared to consider
the comment then smiled and shook her head.  “No, I don’t think so.”   
    †
    I t was later that evening. 
Casey finished saddling her gray horse, which was tied to the hitching post
just outside the barn.  Her father approached and placed his arm across the
horse’s rump.  Casey glanced at him and knew immediately what was on his mind
before he even spoke.  He smiled pleasantly, as was his usual warm-up for one
of his ‘talks’ with her.  She just smiled and continued tightening the saddle’s
girth.
    “I know you hate when I
lecture--” he began. 
    Casey smiled teasingly. 
“Then don’t.”
    “We’ve been over this
before,” he announced with a defeated sigh.  “You’re twenty-one and have every
right to go to the tavern, but I don’t like the element that hangs out there. 
It’s a breeding ground for ill-mannered young men.”
    “You mean the Harford
boys?”
    “Of course I mean the
Harford boys,” he said with a groan.  “I’ve heard and seen things that
bother me, Casey.  They’re bad news.”
    Casey wondered why her
father felt compelled to state the obvious.  No one needed to be reminded of
the Harford boys’ reputation.  They were bad news since kindergarten.  She
smiled as she placed her hand on the saddle horn above her while facing him. 
    “You don’t have to worry,
Dad,” she assured him.  “They aren’t