Read Online Maggie's Mountain by Mya Barrett - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mya Barrett
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small hill, tickling her nose. She knit her brow as the subtle differences sank into her senses. Something smelled…wrong. She looked up, curious, then gasped when she saw the small curl of smoke.
She squinted and tried to focus on the woods. No flames were eating the trees nearby. No flare of orange and red shot up into the sky. But something was definitely on fire. Something not too far from her house. Considering her nearest neighbor was the Warrick horse farm, she knew this couldn’t be a controlled burning. She’d found the remains of campsites often enough to know that people camped in the woods surrounding her property, either not seeing the no trespassing signs or ignoring them all together. If someone had been camping last night they would have needed a fire. If that fire hadn’t been quelled correctly….
Leaping up from the garden, she raced inside to call the fire department.
****
Hale stood at the outside paddock, his foot propped on the bottom rung of wood as he watched his brother work with the horse inside. Trent had been right; Hestia was one hell of an animal. She was gorgeous, with a flawless mahogany coat, white socked fetlocks, and the regal personality of a queen. Smart, too, and vain enough to know her own worth. She’d win Warrick Farms shelves of ribbons and cups in the hunter/jumper classes.
“What do you think?” Trent called with a grin.
“I think you should start considering asking Wayne Blackburn about buying a piece of his property.”
His brother nodded at the mention of the owner of the land skirting the other side of their stables. “Glad you agree. It might not be as suited as the Cooper land, but it’s still a workable area.”
“You already had this all thought out, I see. Wonder why I bothered coming back since you have such good business sense.” Hale tilted his head, doing his best to hold back a laugh at his brother’s expression.
“If you hadn’t come back I think I would have ended up under Mother’s heel. God only knows what she would have done with all our businesses.”
“Sold everything but the real estate, called in half the loans and started a ruthless little empire, I suspect.”
Trent chuckled as he turned his attention back to a demanding Hestia. Hale watched as the other man stroked the horse’s muzzle, cajoling and praising the animal until she gazed at him with adoring eyes. It suddenly occurred to him that his brother might not have the hot blooded reputation that Hale had, but the way he was gentling the high strung filly said that Trent was just as dangerous when it came to women. That thought brought up the image of Maggie and the way Trent had defended her. His brother had never given him an answer to the question of whether or not he was after Maggie. The stab of jealousy was shameful but couldn’t be denied.
Grinding his teeth against the unfamiliar feeling, Hale turned his gaze in the direction of the Cooper cabin. He tried to imagine what she was doing right now, if she was boxing up products, labeling jars, answering e-mails. There was a barely suppressed desire to find some excuse, any excuse at all, to see her.
He wasn’t sure how long he looked at the horizon before he recognized the slender column of gray as smoke. It billowed up, all grace and cunning, then fanned out to coat the sky.
“What the hell…?”
He’d just whispered the words when he heard sirens approaching, their loud scream echoing off the trees. Police was his first thought. But the pitch wasn’t the same; there was more depth and a static-like undertone. No, not police, but—
“Fire. Shit!” Hale spun around and sprinted toward his car.
“Hale! Hey, Hale, what’s wrong?” Trent called.
He spared a quick look over his shoulder but kept moving. “Fire, the Cooper place.”
A few seconds later he was in his car, revving the high powered engine as he wheeled away from the stables and onto the winding two-lane road. His mind raced with
She squinted and tried to focus on the woods. No flames were eating the trees nearby. No flare of orange and red shot up into the sky. But something was definitely on fire. Something not too far from her house. Considering her nearest neighbor was the Warrick horse farm, she knew this couldn’t be a controlled burning. She’d found the remains of campsites often enough to know that people camped in the woods surrounding her property, either not seeing the no trespassing signs or ignoring them all together. If someone had been camping last night they would have needed a fire. If that fire hadn’t been quelled correctly….
Leaping up from the garden, she raced inside to call the fire department.
****
Hale stood at the outside paddock, his foot propped on the bottom rung of wood as he watched his brother work with the horse inside. Trent had been right; Hestia was one hell of an animal. She was gorgeous, with a flawless mahogany coat, white socked fetlocks, and the regal personality of a queen. Smart, too, and vain enough to know her own worth. She’d win Warrick Farms shelves of ribbons and cups in the hunter/jumper classes.
“What do you think?” Trent called with a grin.
“I think you should start considering asking Wayne Blackburn about buying a piece of his property.”
His brother nodded at the mention of the owner of the land skirting the other side of their stables. “Glad you agree. It might not be as suited as the Cooper land, but it’s still a workable area.”
“You already had this all thought out, I see. Wonder why I bothered coming back since you have such good business sense.” Hale tilted his head, doing his best to hold back a laugh at his brother’s expression.
“If you hadn’t come back I think I would have ended up under Mother’s heel. God only knows what she would have done with all our businesses.”
“Sold everything but the real estate, called in half the loans and started a ruthless little empire, I suspect.”
Trent chuckled as he turned his attention back to a demanding Hestia. Hale watched as the other man stroked the horse’s muzzle, cajoling and praising the animal until she gazed at him with adoring eyes. It suddenly occurred to him that his brother might not have the hot blooded reputation that Hale had, but the way he was gentling the high strung filly said that Trent was just as dangerous when it came to women. That thought brought up the image of Maggie and the way Trent had defended her. His brother had never given him an answer to the question of whether or not he was after Maggie. The stab of jealousy was shameful but couldn’t be denied.
Grinding his teeth against the unfamiliar feeling, Hale turned his gaze in the direction of the Cooper cabin. He tried to imagine what she was doing right now, if she was boxing up products, labeling jars, answering e-mails. There was a barely suppressed desire to find some excuse, any excuse at all, to see her.
He wasn’t sure how long he looked at the horizon before he recognized the slender column of gray as smoke. It billowed up, all grace and cunning, then fanned out to coat the sky.
“What the hell…?”
He’d just whispered the words when he heard sirens approaching, their loud scream echoing off the trees. Police was his first thought. But the pitch wasn’t the same; there was more depth and a static-like undertone. No, not police, but—
“Fire. Shit!” Hale spun around and sprinted toward his car.
“Hale! Hey, Hale, what’s wrong?” Trent called.
He spared a quick look over his shoulder but kept moving. “Fire, the Cooper place.”
A few seconds later he was in his car, revving the high powered engine as he wheeled away from the stables and onto the winding two-lane road. His mind raced with
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