Read Online Opal by Lauraine Snelling - Free Book Online

her mind. . . .
    ‘‘If you weren’t going to school, what would you be doing?’’ Ruby would ask.
    ‘‘Training horses. Whatever Rand needed to have done on the ranch.’’
    ‘‘I see. And what if there are no horses to train?’’
    ‘‘Once I build a good enough reputation, people will bring me their horses to break and train.’’
    ‘‘What if they can’t afford your services?’’
    ‘‘I could take a colt or calf or something in exchange.’’
    ‘‘That’s true. But . . .’’
    Opal heaved a sigh. The conversation would just go around in circles. With Ruby there would always be one more ‘‘but.’’
    The heat felt good on her closed eyelids, soaking into her body. She listened to the sounds of spring. One of the hens was cackling. Must have laid an egg. A cow bawled somewhere off in the distance. A bee buzzed past her nose. The breeze tickling the cottonwood leaves set them giggling.
    That same breeze brought a whiff of the outhouse. Most likely needed to dump lime down the holes again. Per called for his mother. Ghost stuck her nose into Opal’s palm and nudged her silent request for an ear scratching.
    Opal tried to ignore all the sounds and smells so she could continue dreaming about rounding up wild horses to train.
    Ghost whimpered.
    ‘‘Oh, all right. How come you’re with me instead of Per, anyhow?’’ She rubbed the dog’s ears, headed into the house to set her cup in the dishpan on the stove, and went down the hall to change into work clothes. Chores were calling her name. The discussion with Ruby would have to come at some other time.
    ‘‘Hey, Miss Opal, how about you goin’ out and findin’ Fawn? We let that fool cow out of the fence to graze with some of the others, and she done left. I got me a feelin’ she’s hidin’ out to have her calf.’’ Linc leaned over the corral fence.
    ‘‘Sure. Walk or ride?’’
    ‘‘Better take Bay.’’
    Opal whistled, and Bay, who was grazing some distance away, threw up her head. Opal whistled again, and the mare broke into a jog, then a lope.
    Linc, his black skin glistening in the sun like he’d been oiled, chuckled and shook his head. ‘‘That horse minds better’n most kids.’’
    Opal fetched her bridle.
    ‘‘You might want to saddle up in case you need to rope that cow. She might be a bit testy when you try to drive her in.’’
    ‘‘I will.’’
    Once she was mounted again, Opal rode up to the house and dismounted. ‘‘I’m heading out to look for Fawn. Linc said she took off, and he thinks she is calving somewhere. I’m taking the rifle in case I see a deer.’’
    ‘‘Get home before dark.’’
    ‘‘I will.’’ Opal paused. ‘‘Ghost! Hey, dog. Ghost, come on. Cows.’’
    Ghost trotted around the corner of the house, tongue lolling. The word cows took precedence even over Per.
    Opal nudged Bay into a lope and, with rifle secured in the scabbard, headed north across the meadow in the direction Linc had pointed. Farther up the draw oak trees, Juneberry bushes, and other brush offered good shelter for both calving cows and resting deer. The closer to dusk, the more likely the deer would take the trails down to the river to drink. On the edge of the wooded area she waved Ghost to go searching. Having a cow dog trained to hand signals was sure easier than beating her way through the brush in search of a cow that wanted to stay hidden. As she rode on up the game trail, glued to Bay’s neck to keep from being dragged off by low-hanging branches, she heard something crashing off to her left. She stopped Bay, but her own heart picked up speed. When two steers crossed the path in front of her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Rand had warned her that bears were out of hibernation now, and if riled, they didn’t go through the brush lightly.
    She patted Bay’s neck. ‘‘You’d have told me if it was something to be afraid of, wouldn’t you, girl?’’ Bay snorted, ears pricked as Ghost took up her