Read Online Lois Greiman - [Hope Springs 02] by Home Fires - Free Book Online Page B

hurt herself.”
    “That’s asinine.”
    “It’ll be easier than trying to keep her up .”
    “Then how are we going to get her out of the trailer once we—” she began, but in that second, Angel’s knees buckled.
    “Hold her head up!” Sophie rasped.
    Angel stumbled, trying to right herself. Her left forefoot swung erratically sideways, striking Sophie’s leg. The girl staggered to her knees an instant before Angel collapsed atop her.
    Panic roared through Ty. He yanked at the lead, trying to pull Angel up. “Sophie! Sophie!” he yelled, but the girl was already dragging her legs out from under the mare, already crawling forward and stretching out on top of the gray’s outstretched head. It took him a while to realize she was actually taking his advice. Shoving that weird knowledge aside, he dove down beside her, covering Angel’s neck with his body.
    “You all right?” His voice shook, not to mention his hands.
    “Yeah.”
    Beneath him, Angel struggled to rise. Ty threw himself forward, adding his weight to the girl’s atop the mare’s head. She lay back down with a grunt. “Thatta girl,” he rasped. “Just stay put, now. It’s going to be okay,” he crooned, but he knew he was lying.
     
    Inside the cab, Casie wheeled around the final turn and came to a jolting halt in front of Dakota Equine Veterinary Hospital. The driver’s door resisted for a moment, but she shoved it open and held her breath as she raced toward the back of the trailer.
    “Is this the colic?” A voice from the concrete building stopped her in her tracks. She turned to see a young woman in jeans and a sweatshirt standing in the doorway.
    “What?”
    “Is this—”
    “Oh yes. This is Angel.”
    “You can bring her right in,” she said and disappeared back inside.
    Casie yanked herself from her stupor and rushed toward the trailer door. It creaked open. She stared inside, then jerked her gaze lower; both kids were stretched across the mare’s head.
    “Holy—”
    “We there?” Sophie asked.
    “Are you all right?”
    “Can we let her up or not?” Sophie snapped. Apparently, the ride hadn’t softened her disposition.
    “Yes. Be careful, though. If—” she began, but Tyler was already rising to his feet. Sophie was a little slower. Reaching out, he grabbed her by the shoulder of her shirt and dragged her with him.
    Casie was sure the old mare was dead, but in a moment she raised her head.
    “Come on,” Ty crooned. Angel blinked, shoved herself onto her belly, then heaved herself to her feet. Sophie shifted out of the way, limping a little.
    Casie snapped her gaze to the girl. “What happened?”
    “Hurry up,” Sophie said. “Let’s get her inside.”
    “What—” Casie began again, but Ty interrupted her.
    “Angel fell,” Ty said. “Sophie was underneath.”
    Casie felt herself blanch. She’d be lucky to survive a violence lawsuit. Add neglect to that and she might never again see the light of day, much less keep the ranch.
    “You okay?” Her voice sounded a little rusty.
    Sophie didn’t even glance in her direction. “They ready for her in there or what?”
    Casie skimmed the girl’s legs. There were no protruding bones or spewing blood. Was it a bad sign that that was the best she could hope for? “They said to take her straight in.”
    “Then what are we waiting for?”
    “I just want to make sure—”
    “Let’s get going,” Sophie said, but she winced as she stepped down from the trailer.
    Casie exchanged a glance with Ty. His expression was solemn, his brows low under his frayed, ever-present cap.
    “So this is Angel?” The girl in the sweatshirt was back, holding open an oversized door and watching the procession as they eased toward her.
    “Emily must have gotten ahold of you,” Casie said.
    The girl nodded and stepped back, directing them across the bare concrete floor to an exam room where a metal frame of heavy steel tubing was anchored into the floor. “How’s she doing?”